Today we will be in 1 Nephi 5.
This is the chapter in which we learn that Sariah, Lehi’s wife, may have had doubts about her husband’s calling as prophet. To be honest, there’s every chance that the quest her boys had been sent on would take something in the nature of about nine days or so [the Math: three days journey to reach the family’s camp, and three days to obtain the plates, one for each plan. (3x2)+3=9 days], just speaking from personal experience, I can say that it’s quite natural for any mother to start to worry. Worry is a peculiar emotion and it often greases the way for us to say things we wouldn’t normally say, but that have been on our minds for a while. That seems to have been the case here. The real problem wasn’t that Lehi had visions that tore Sariah from her home and her things, although that may have bothered her a good deal. The real problem was that her boys had been gone for longer than she thought that they should have been gone and she was worried about them.
In any case, Lehi must have loved his wife very much and the Spirit must have helped him understand her fears, because he spoke gently to her, addressing each of her complaints, without calling her to repentance or rebuking her or anything like that. The main jist of what he said, though, was to reassure her that the Lord would protect their sons and deliver them from Laban. How she must have clung to those words. So, when the boys returned with Zoram and the plates, her faith was confirmed and she knew her husband was a prophet. In fact, both parents were so grateful that they offered sacrifices of gratitude on the family altar.
After that, Lehi sat down with the record to examine it. It’s here that we learn the nature of the Brass Plates. They are, in effect, the Old Testament, containing the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the record of the Jews (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and most of Kings and Chronicles) the prophecies of the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.) and, most important to a Hebrew, the family’s genealogy. Thanks to the plates, Lehi knew he was a descendant of Joseph, who had been sent to Egypt as a slave by his jealous brothers. Apparently the Brass Plates were the record of the descendants of Joseph, which was why Laban, another descendant of Joseph, and his forefathers had kept them.
When Lehi has finished looking over the scriptures, he was moved to prophecy, saying that the plates would never decay or be dimmed by time. Then he said lots of things about his family.
Nephi’s last comment in this chapter is to reflect on how he and his father had, thus far, kept the commandments the Lord had given them concerning getting the plates. They had examined them and discovered that they were a great treasure to them because, through them, they would be able to teach the Lord’s law to their children and their children’s children for as long as their family lived. So, as Nephi says, the Lord was wise to command them to get the plates and take them along on their journey.
Applying the Scriptures to My Own Life
There are so many important messages in this chapter. As Sariah, I learn to trust the Lord to guard my little family and guide me in keeping his commandments and to be a good example to my children of that precept, as well as gratitude to the Lord as he protects and provides for us. I learn from Nephi and Lehi what a treasure the scriptures are and to look to them often for counsel and guidance as I unearth the heavenly treasures they contain. Finally, I learn, as Nephi said, that the Lord has been wise to command us to study them regularly.
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