Helaman 11 – Must it Hurt?

Nephi prays to God for a famine in the land so the people will be more occupied in the sustenance of life than the destruction of it.  It seemed to work.  They suffered for three years and went to Nephi, a prophet of the Lord, and asked him to ask Heavenly Father to bring rain so they won’t perish.  They were repenting!  Nephi did as they asked and told the Lord they had learned their lesson.  It rained.  The famine ended.  The Lamanites and Nephites were of the same mind again – for a short period of time, about 5 years to be exact.  The Gadianton robbers began to have power in the land again and in seven years, the dissenters were many and the people began to “wax strong in iniquity (v36)”. 

Over and over in the Book of Mormon we read of the highs and lows.  The people are righteous and blessed, and then they become proud because they are blessed, then they become evil because they are proud.  There really is no shortage of examples. 

We see this today in the individual lives of many.  We see people leave the Church for whatever reason.  They could have a difference of opinion, be offended, be weak to the things of the flesh and then feel unworthy, or they could just be indifferent and fall into activity.  It is only a matter of time before the offender misses the blessings they are missing out on because they are not keeping all the commandments.  Sometimes it is dramatic like an accident, death, illness, broken relationships, etc.  Those blessings they are missing are like the shocks in our vehicle through life.  To those living righteously, these blessings prevent utter destruction when things don’t go right.  The Savior’s love is felt as we have our trials.  The Holy Ghost navigates us around those trials or comforts us so that we may endure them.  So far, as a Church, we have been blessed not to suffer as did the Nephites.

Our RS lesson yesterday was most interesting.  We were told of a young man in the teacher’s family who was outstanding as a youth in every way and had such great promise for his future.  He told his parents he was leaving the church, and they are of course devastated.  He just couldn’t buy it anymore.  The family has called all their extended family to pray for him and send him notes or call him and ask him to reconsider.  I couldn’t help but reflect on my own life.  Would that have worked for me?  I had plenty of “reminders” from my own parents that I wasn’t living a life that would bring me happiness.  Did I need a truckload of reminders?  I think probably not.  I am of the mind that the two most valuable things we can do as family and friends is 1) pray for our loved ones and 2) love them perfectly – as the Savior loves them.  We are to accept them without accepting their behavior.  This isn’t an easy thing to do, but it is critical to the end result.  I believe covenant children will feel the tug of these prayers as they try to navigate their own way through a very harsh world.  Eventually, it will hurt.  Like the Prodigal Son and the Nephites, the dissenter will remember the things he/she was taught as a child and desire change that will bring happiness.  We must be there for them.  We must keep that relationship strong so they will feel comfortable reaching out for help.  We can’t return without the help of friends and loved ones.  We need the strength of each other to break old habits and establish new.  It is just the way it is.  This is my experience, and testimony.

These were my thoughts as I read Helaman 11 this morning.  The Nephites and Lamanites remembered Nephi was a prophet and went to him when it became too hard to bear.  I believe it is a natural process and a blessing that comes attached to the consequences of breaking the commandments.  If you look at the commandments carefully, the consequence of breaking each one is painful.  It was meant to be that way.  That said, what parent in their wisdom would dare to pray those consequences away?  Shouldn’t our prayers be more that their actions will lead them quickly back to the path that will lead back to their Heavenly Father, realizing that it will have to hurt sometime?  Better in this life than to have to wait for the next, which is a big possibility if life is just too easy.

I know our Heavenly Father has a Plan for each of us.  I remind myself of this daily as I ache for those of my own children and nieces and nephews who have let go of the Iron Rod.  I’m grateful there were people waiting to help me when it became too painful to continue in the direction I was going.  I pray that I will be at the ready when someone I love is at that point in his or her life as well.

I would be interested in feedback on this.  My data base is small and maybe there are other ways.  I'm not aware of them though.