Lehi and I are kindred spirits. I know him. I feel his pain.
As I read this chapter, I can relate so much to Lehi. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve posted my thoughts on this very thing before.
You love all your children. They are all precious to you – even those who have strayed from the teachings of their parents. You can see how their minds have become skewed in how they view their world - a series of unfortunate events. You can see that these events really were tests that they failed. It’s a sad thing to watch, and Lehi expresses my feelings completely when he says:
13. O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.
14. Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth.
But the brethren constantly counsel us not to give up on these precious spirits. We love them and someday that love will shine through the dark clouds their minds have created in their lives. I know this is a truth, as I went through it myself. When I was ready to change, I knew where to go for support. It was my family. They saw me through the change and the warmth of their love, of the gospel and the hope for a better future kept me strong until my testimony of the Lord and my Savior’s love was evident to me. And that is why I tell other parents this same thing. Never give up; never surrender. There is always hope.
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