In the Days of Nephi

After the great success of Nephi and Lehi preaching the gospel to the Lamanites, they left for about the land northward and preached the gospel there for about six years.  During this time the people of Nephi became very wicked, and when Nephi and Lehi returned to the land southward to Zarahemla the Gadianton robbers had great hold upon the hearts of the people.  Mormon suggested that their missionary labors in the north had not been a success, saying, “They did reject all his words, insomuch that he could not stay among them, but returned again unto the land of his nativity.”  Nephi seems to have been quite distraught to learn that both those in the land northward and the Nephites at Zarahemla had rejected the gospel, and he gave this lament upon his tower, “Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord—Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren. But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren” (Helaman 7:1-9).  His love for his people was so great that he longed for them to be righteous and was overcome with grief at their wickedness. 

               Those words of Nephi, though, have always seemed a little odd to me.  Who were the people “easy to be entreated” in the days of Nephi?  Certainly Nephi, son of Lehi, had to deal with some serious challenges as his brethren Laman and Lemuel rejected the gospel and were not easy to be entreated.  The contention was so bad that Nephi had to separate permanently from them, and there was then violence between the two groups.  Nephi, son of Helaman, spoke of having joy in the righteousness of his brethren, but Nephi, son of Lehi, lamented that he was angry because of his brethren and that his soul did “linger in the valley of sorrow” (2 Nephi 4:26-27).  Certainly Nephi, the son of Helaman, could not have been referring to these times in the life of his forefather.  He must have been referring to the time when the people of Nephi “lived after the manner of happiness” after the separation between the Nephites and Lamanites.  During this time Nephi recorded, “The Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly” (2 Nephi 5:11, 27).  We don’t know a lot about the level of righteousness of the people during this time, but it seems that they were obedient to Nephi.  Still their lives were not easy because they had “wars and contentions with [their] brethren,” and wickedness had already crept in by the time Jacob was their later and they had problems of pride and immorality (2 Nephi 5:34).     

             So it seems to be that Nephi, the son of Helaman, was focusing on this period of Nephite history after the separation of Lehi’s family.  But in this moment of his great frustration over his people he may have failed to see clearly the other challenges that the original Nephi had to deal with, perhaps not unlike what Nephi, son of Helaman, had to deal with on a larger scale.  I think there is a simple lesson from this: even prophets can get discouraged and for a moment fail to properly put their own struggles in perspective of the problems that all prophets have had.  Nephi’s sorrow was perhaps not unlike that of Elijah’s, who was so depressed about his own people’s wickedness that he wanted to die, and he exclaimed to the Lord, “I, even I only, am left.”  He felt that he was literally the only righteous person left among his people, but the Lord corrected him: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal” (1 Kings 19:14, 18).  We too may have times when we get discouraged, and if that’s the case it’s okay—we are in good company with Nephi and Elijah and others.  And if we let the Lord help us see, He may put our challenges in proper perspective so we know that we are not alone in our troubles.