Upon a Tower

The other day I walked out to the car in my suit on a weekday when a neighbor walked by. I chatted briefly with him and when he asked where I was going, I told him that we were headed to the temple. The conversation ended and he continued his walk. My son walked out as well in his church clothes, and knowing that this neighbor was not a member of the Church, he seemed to feel a bit embarrassed and presumably thought the man would think we were weird. He asked why I had told him we were going to the temple and suggested that instead I should have told him we were just going to get ice cream (since that’s what we usually do after the temple). I laughed and said he surely would have thought us weird if we were going to get ice cream in a suit and tie! My son’s concern about being perceived weird for our faith is not uncommon for teenagers who are especially worried about fitting in. I thought about this experience this morning as I considered Nephi’s interaction with the wicked Nephites recorded in Helaman 7. After Nephi came back from the land northward to Zarahemla, he was grieved because of the wickedness of the people he found there. Mormon recorded, “Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years; and when Nephi saw it, his heart was swollen with sorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul: 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” (v6-7). He poured out his soul to God, mourning for his people. Interestingly, it was not in the privacy of his own home that he prayed; rather it was “upon a tower, which was in the garden of Nephi, which was by the highway which led to the chief market, which was in the city of Zarahemla; therefore, Nephi had bowed himself upon the tower which was in his garden, which tower was also near unto the garden gate by which led the highway” (v10). Because he prayed out in a place visible to others, some gathered to see why he was so upset and he was able to preach to them and invite them to repent. I don’t think Nephi was praying in this manner to get attention from the people—not any more than I was trying to get attention from my neighbors by walking out to my care in a suit— but Nephi also wasn’t afraid to be seen by them. Nephi did not fear to be noticed being active in his faith, and because of that he was given the opportunity to teach the people and bear witness of the truth.

                Two other scripture stories come to mind as I consider what Nephi did here on this tower. The first is the other “tower praying” story. The Zoramites built the Rameumptom so that individuals could go one by one upon it to “offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God, thanking their God that they were chosen of him.” Though perhaps there is some likeness in form between the Zoramite praying on top of this holy stand and Nephi praying on his tower, I think the similarities end there. These people were “lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride” and there was no sincerity of heart in their prayers—they all said the same thing (Alma 31:22, 25). Instead of seeking the Lord they prayed specifically to be seen of the others around them. Nephi, on the other hand, didn’t even know that people were watching and he “was pouring out his soul unto God upon the tower” (Helaman 7:11). The Zoramites were filled with pride and wanted to be noticed by their brethren; Nephi was filled with sorrow for his people and wanted to be heard of God. But he wasn’t afraid to be heard of men at the same time, just like Daniel in Persia. After learning about the decree that “whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days… he shall be cast into the den of lions,” Daniel went home and prayed. We read, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Like it was for Nephi, “men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God” (Daniel 6:7-11). Though he didn’t pray to be seen of men, Daniel wasn’t afraid to be heard by them and did not let the threat of persecution stop him from communing with the Lord. Nephi and Daniel were most concerned about their relationship with God, and because of that the others around them took notice. As we go about our lives in a secular world, their example should encourage us to not hide our faith. That does not mean that we necessarily have to pray on our roof in earshot of others, but we can live our religion in the sincerity of our hearts without going out of our way to conceal it from others. As we stop worrying about what others think, and think more about being true to the Lord, like Nephi we will find natural opportunities to bear witness to others of the truths of the gospel. The final result of his prayers on his tower was this testimony he bore: “Behold, I know that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be” (Helaman 7:29).