Always Before Our Eyes

I was struck by the words of King Benjamin to his sons when he said “we have his commandments always before our eyes” (Mosiah 1:5).  It reminds me of the phylacteries (amulets) that the Jews would wear on the forehead and the scriptures of the Old Testament that inspired the practice.  In the Law of Moses the children of Israel were told, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart….  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:6,8).  This idea is emphasized again a few chapters later: “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 11:18).  The Lord later told Joshua: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8).  The idea of all these passages is that the scriptures should be at the forefront of our minds.  We should constantly be meditating upon the scriptures and thinking about them.  Having the words of the Lord “always before our eyes” means that they are a part of us and that we always remember his commandments to do them. And I have to wonder if the Nephites didn’t have some form of the Jewish practice to literally put the words of the scriptures on one’s forehead because of King Benjamin’s statement, but the principle is what’s important: the words of the Lord should always be in our hearts and minds.