The Women on Lehi's Voyage

Sariah, though the only woman named in Lehi’s party, was of course not the only woman on the great journey described in 1 Nephi.  I believe it is worth considering the experiences of the other women in the group.  From 1 Nephi 7:6 we can gather that in Ishmael’s family there were five daughters—all old enough to be married at the start of the trip—as well as Ishmael’s wife.  The two sons of Ishmael also brought “their families,” which surely meant they had at least wives and possibly children as well.  So that makes eight women who joined the group from Ishmael’s family.  Four of those women, two of the daughters of Ishmael and the two wives of the sons of Ishmael, were part of the rebellion against Nephi as they journeyed from Jerusalem to join Lehi (it is likely that those two daughters of Ishmael became the wives of Laman and Lemuel).  In that rebellion one of the daughters of Ishmael (perhaps the one who would become Nephi’s wife) and the wife of Ishmael “did plead with my brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts” (1 Nephi 7:19).  That is the last that we hear about Ishmael’s wife, and given that Ishmael died at the start of their journey, it is likely that she died as well sometime in the voyage.  The fact that Nephi did not mention her death before the death of Ishmael, it is likely that she passed away sometime during their eight years in the wilderness after Ishmael’s death.  If that is the case, then it is a testament to her faith that she was not one who murmured against Lehi when all of her daughters did as recorded in 1 Nephi 16:35. 

               Of course, we can’t fault the seven daughters/daughters-in-law of Ishmael for murmuring when their father died, for the challenges they faced were enormous.  All seven were married and likely bearing children, a tremendous feat in such a desolate region.  Nephi wanted us to know that though they only murmured for a short time, for they repented and became more able to bear their trials: “We did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness….  They began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.”  Nephi emphasized how they were able to miraculously nurse their children despite living on a diet of raw meat, saying that they “were strong, yea, even like unto the men.”  Laman and Lemuel described the suffering these women faced in these words: “Our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death” (1 Nephi 17:1-2).  Though Laman and Lemuel were emphasizing their dissatisfaction with choosing to come in the first place, this comment gives us a glimpse of their tremendous difficulties.  They had enough faith and strength to survive eight unimaginably long years traveling the desert with little children and little of anything else.

            Only some of these women, though, remained faithful.  We see that the four wives of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael joined their husbands to “dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness” (1 Nephi 18:9).  Nephi’s wife, on the other hand, “wife with her tears and prayers” sought to get her husband freed from Laman and Lemuel, showing her faith and devotion.  Ultimately only three of the seven stayed with the Nephites: the wives of Nephi, Sam, and Zoram.  The other four, those who participated in the revelry on the ship, ended up as Lamanites.  Just as the sons of Lehi were separated, so too were the daughters of Ishmael forever separated by the family split.