That Our Children May Know

One of the things that impresses me about Nephi is the intensity of his feeling towards his future posterity. He had been given many visions and knew what would become of his descendants hundreds of years into the future, and he was filled with sorrow for the destruction which would come upon some of them. After describing how many of his posterity would be killed in the calamities among the Nephites at the time of the death of Christ, he wrote this, “O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.” He was nearly overcome with grief because of those of his seed 600 years later who would suffer. He also knew that the majority of them would be destroyed several hundred years later when they turned again to their wickedness: “And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught” (2 Nephi 26:7, 10). His soul was filled with pain because of what he knew was going to come upon some of his descendants about 1000 years after his time. He witnessed these future events in vision when he sought to see the things that his father had seen, and directly after that revelation he wrote this as his reaction, “And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall” (1 Nephi 15:5). He was overwhelmed with sorrow because he saw that many of his descendants would turn to wickedness and be destroyed. He had a heart full of love not just for his own children but for all who would come after him.  

                Nephi’s love for his posterity led him to teach all that he could to try to lead them towards the Savior. He was very aware of those who would come after him for generations and sought to leave teachings that would help them. For example, he wrote, “Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken…. Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away” (2 Nephi 25:3, 27). He sought to prepare His future posterity to accept the Savior when He came among them. He wrote hundreds of years before Jesus would come among the Nephites, “Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. I think that Nephi’s example reminds us that we should pay more attention to the future” (2 Nephi 32:6). Even though he encouraged his people to keep the law of Moses, he did not want that to be a stumbling block to receiving Christ when He would finally come among them. He took the long view and sought to bless not just His own children but all those who would follow Him. His example reminds us that what we do affects not just us and our children but others who will follow us for centuries to come. We should, like Nephi, seek to leave as our legacy a firm testimony of Christ and invitation for all to come unto Him. We can talk and rejoice in Christ and write according to our knowledge so that “our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26).