Difficult Family Decision
Though we don’t have many details about it, I really like
the story we read about in the first few verses of Mosiah 28. It shows a real, difficult decision that
members of a family were trying to make, and it was not a question of bad versus
good. Those kinds of questions involving
right versus wrong are easy in principle when we understand the gospel; some of
the hardest questions in life involve trying to understand the Lord’s will and
deciding what will be best for us in an uncertain future.
After the sons of Mosiah repented of their sins and tried to rectify their actions among the people, they came to their father and desired of him that they might “go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:1). This was not an easy question for Mosiah, and he clearly must have told them no at first. The text tells us that “they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi” (Mosiah 28:5). King Mosiah was surely thinking about the great risk involved in them going into the land of the Lamanites and the fact that they had to plead with him probably implies that he really did not want them to do it. As some point he was convinced enough by them that he agreed to ask the Lord, and understanding the feelings of a parent, I imagine that he was really hoping the Lord would say no and then he wouldn’t have to worry about it. He “went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word” (Mosiah 28:6). We don’t know how long it took him to get an answer from the Lord, but it likely wasn’t as quick as the text seems to imply. The Lord did give him an answer, and that’s what finally allowed him to make a decision and permit his sons to go among the Lamanites. This story is an excellent type for us as we try to make decisions, especially in families. They first diligently sought to figure out what was right for their family using their own reasoning, and then they diligently sought to know the Lord’s will in the matter. I think that both steps are crucial in trying to make hard choices as families; first we “study it out in [our] mind” and then we “ask if it be right” (D&C 9:8). Ultimately, though, only the Lord knows the future and only He could confirm to King Mosiah that his sons would return alive from their mission to the Lamanites. We have to learn to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart; and lean not unto [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
After the sons of Mosiah repented of their sins and tried to rectify their actions among the people, they came to their father and desired of him that they might “go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:1). This was not an easy question for Mosiah, and he clearly must have told them no at first. The text tells us that “they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi” (Mosiah 28:5). King Mosiah was surely thinking about the great risk involved in them going into the land of the Lamanites and the fact that they had to plead with him probably implies that he really did not want them to do it. As some point he was convinced enough by them that he agreed to ask the Lord, and understanding the feelings of a parent, I imagine that he was really hoping the Lord would say no and then he wouldn’t have to worry about it. He “went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word” (Mosiah 28:6). We don’t know how long it took him to get an answer from the Lord, but it likely wasn’t as quick as the text seems to imply. The Lord did give him an answer, and that’s what finally allowed him to make a decision and permit his sons to go among the Lamanites. This story is an excellent type for us as we try to make decisions, especially in families. They first diligently sought to figure out what was right for their family using their own reasoning, and then they diligently sought to know the Lord’s will in the matter. I think that both steps are crucial in trying to make hard choices as families; first we “study it out in [our] mind” and then we “ask if it be right” (D&C 9:8). Ultimately, though, only the Lord knows the future and only He could confirm to King Mosiah that his sons would return alive from their mission to the Lamanites. We have to learn to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart; and lean not unto [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
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