Marriage in the Wilderness

 At the start of the journey of Lehi’s and Ishmael's families, Nephi told us, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.  And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him" (1 Nephi 16:7-8).  It was right after these marriages that the Liahona was given to Lehi and they took off in earnest across the wilderness on their trek to the promise land.  I think there is a lot of symbolism in this act of having the sons marry that tells us about the importance of marriage and family in the Lord's eyes as it relates to our progression towards a spiritual promised land.  I realized as I read this yesterday that there probably was another reason as well for these marriages to take place at the start of their 8 year trek across the Arabian peninsula.  These two families would be traveling in close quarters for the many years ahead with five single men and five single women who were all unmarried.  It was only practical to avoid the temptations to violate God's law of chastity—especially given how rebellious Laman and Lemuel already were—and have them be married up front, thus reducing the opportunity for sin.  

As I think about the general principle that this might teach us, two scriptural phrases come to mind.  The first is the simple counsel from Paul to the Thessalonians: "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  In general terms I think he is suggesting that we shouldn't do things that put us close to doing evil ourselves.  President Packer referenced the verse when he said this in a general conference address: "Young men and women, keep yourselves worthy.  Stay away from those environments, the music, the films, the videos, the clubs, and the associations that draw you into immoral conduct."  The more positively phrased corollary is this injunction from the Lord in our day: "But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved" (D&C 45:32).  The Lord underscored the importance of this message when He repeated it in another revelation about the difficulties of the last days: "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved" (D&C 87:8).  He said again about one year later, "Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places" (D&C 101:22).  One of the ways to avoid the traps of the adversary is to not put ourselves in unholy places, to as much as possible be in places that invite the Holy Spirit to dwell with us.  The Savior used similar language when He spoke to His disciples in the Olivet discourse: "When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso readeth let him understand" (JSM 1:12).  There the command to stand in a holy place was I believe quite literal--and the holy place was outside of Jerusalem since the city was going to be destroyed with over one million inhabitants killed according to Josephus.  Surely the command for us today to stand in holy places is as critical to preserve our spiritual lives as it was for His followers then to save their physical lives.  These scriptures and the story of the marriages of the sons of Lehi remind us to avoid temptations and stand in holy places.