Hey y'all!
[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has the time or attention span to read this.]
Once upon a time there was a prophet named Lehi. Some of the identities he valued most were: father, husband, child of God, disciple of Christ. Lehi was a good man & he knew his Savior.
Lehi lived in a city where the people were being wicked and the Lord warned him to leave so Lehi took his family and only what they needed and they left.
Lehi and his family lived in the wilderness and it was hard. They missed their friends. Their home. They had to work hard to get food and everyday they were just so very tired. But the Lord promised to take care of them as they obeyed His commandments. And the Lord did take care of them, He always keeps His promises.
Lehi loved his family. He was completely in love with his wife Sariah and he wanted her to be happy, he always did his best to take very good care of her. They had four sons; the oldest was Laman, then Lamuel, Sam, & last Nephi. Lehi loved his boys. He hoped they would grow up to be righteous, and firm and steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord.
Sometimes Lehi would ask his boys to do things that were very hard. One time they had to travel all the way back to their home town so they could get a very special book. People tried to hurt them but the Lord protected them. Their mother was very afraid for them but as they turned to the Lord they were all okay and they all learned new things & grew in faith!
One day as they tarried in the wilderness Lehi had a dream or in other words he saw a vision.
It began in a dark and dreary waste. Lehi traveled in the darkness for many hours.
How would you feel if you were in darkness for hours?
I would be very scared & if I was there for a really long time I might start to feel hopeless.
After Lehi had traveled in the darkness for the space of many hours he began to pray to the Lord & asked for mercy, he knew the Lord was merciful!
Some time passed and Lehi saw a field, and he saw a tree with fruit that makes people happy! So Lehi went to the tree and he tried a piece of fruit and it was the best thing he had ever tasted!
What's the yummiest thing you've ever had?
I really love my mom's cinnamon rolls and her chocolate chip peanut butter cookies!
Lehi also saw that the fruit was white, really, really white, it might have looked like it was glowing! Lehi says that the fruit made him so happy that he wanted his family to try the fruit too!
Lehi notices a river near the tree and at the head thereof a little way off, he saw his family! But they were confused and didn't know where they should go. So he got their attention and invited them to come and try the fruit!
And not all of them came. Laman and Lemuel, his two oldest sons, didn't come and try the fruit with the rest of the family. This made Lehi very sad.
Lehi’s dream continues and he sees an iron rod between the tree and the river.
Then Lehi sees us! Or at least people like us. And then the mists of darkness come. It's physical darkness. You can feel it sometimes.
All of us struggle in the darkness. But we know to hold onto the iron rod. As we cling to the rod we can press forward through the mist of darkness.
The darkness is real but so is the iron rod! And everyone who clings to it, everyone who holds fast to the iron rod, they get to partake of the fruit.
Would you hold onto the rod? I hope you would. I hope you are! The iron rod is the Book of Mormon! It leads us through darkness and helps us come closer to God!
The fruit is God’s love! Clinging to the iron rod is the easiest way to reach the fruit.
Have you ever felt God's love? What is it like?
It is the opposite of darkness. It's light! Overwhelming goodness, it feels like everything is worth it.
As the people hold the rod of iron and move forward they get to try the fruit! They rejoice! It is so wonderful to be a part of something so marvelous!
The next part is so sad, even more sad than when Laman and Lemuel didn't come to the tree. But it's important so I'm going to tell you about it.
Some of the people make it to the tree and they try the fruit but then they see this building. On the other side of the river there's a huge building with all kinds of people in beautiful clothes and they were mocking those at the tree of life. The people in the worldly palace would point and scoff at everyone by the tree.
And as many as heeded them, fell away.
People who ate the fruit chose to leave the tree because they stopped focusing on what was most important.
What is most important to you?
Are you spending your time on the things that are most important in this life, and in life after this one? Are you giving the Lord a fair share of your time?
Please stay. Please come and partake of the fruit, please feel this joy with us. And then please stay. Yes, people will mock and the world will cast doubt at you but please stay. Stay focused on Jesus Christ. Remember what His love feels like.
That worldly palace with the people in the beautiful clothes is destroyed. The building falls. No one there receives the everlasting joy that we partake of at the tree.
Lehi loves his family so he beckons them to come to the tree and to stay at the tree.
I love my family, you're all a part of my family and I invite you all to do the very same.
Lehi is so sad when some of his sons choose not to come to the tree.
I want you all to be happy so I invite you to come and feel the Savior's love by holding to the iron rod, by reading the Book of Mormon.
Will you read the Book of Mormon everyday?
I promise I will. I promise. And I promise that as you read the Book of Mormon everyday you will gain a personal witness that Jesus is the Christ and that He is your personal Savior, you will feel His love.
If you're already reading the Book of Mormon everyday I invite you to stay and to beckon others to come and feel this great joy.
There will be opposition. The pride of the world will never approve of the humility required for discipleship. But let our confidence be in Christ.
I am confident in the Savior. I can testify of His love and power. I am confident in the Book of Mormon, I know it testifies of Jesus Christ. I say these things and I make those promises in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Still holding to the rod,
Sister Owens
Summary:
1 Nephi 8
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