Free According to the Flesh

One of the most important themes in the story of Lehi and his family in the Book of Mormon is that of agency. Despite what they may have said later, Laman and Lemuel were not forced to go to the promised land—it was their choice. When they rebelled against Nephi, he said this to them: “Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem ye shall also perish with them. And now, if ye have choice, go up to the land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go ye will also perish; for thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me that I should speak” (1 Nephi 7:15). They did have choice, and they chose to stay with the family and make the trip despite their objections. It was they, on the other hand, who sought to take away Nephi’s agency. They tied him up and left him for dead in the wilderness, and then on the ship they tied him up again for four days. After Nephi, not seeking to force them but encourage them, spoke against their actions, Laman and Lemuel sought to silence him: “And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work” (1 Nephi 18:12). Laman and Lemuel couldn’t bear to let someone else exercise their agency to speak against them. At various times they also sought to kill their father and Nephi, or at least expressed the desire to do so, and to take away the agency of those who seemed opposed to them. But Lehi was clear that agency was essential and did everything to help Laman and Lemuel understand the choice they had. He taught them, “And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:26-27). Men are free to choose because of Jesus Christ, and we must seek to honor that agency in others even when it is used to their own detriment.

                I thought of the importance of agency because of these words of Nephi that he wrote after teaching about the Savior: “And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 19:18). He knew that even if his words were inspired by the Holy Ghost, they still might not be accepted by those he loved. Nothing he could do would ensure that his people would be guaranteed to accept the Savior; he could only teach and love and testify and then know that “perhaps” they would be persuaded to believe in their Redeemer. He wrote this about these efforts towards his brothers: “That I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23). To me the word “might” used twice in that verse is key: he was teaching them the words of Isaiah because those inspired scriptures might help them to believe in the Lord and they might be for their learning and profit. It was not certain because Nephi could not control their response or their actions. He summarized why this is the case towards the end of his writings: “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men. But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught” (2 Nephi 33:1-2). The Holy Ghost can carry words to our hearts, but if those hearts are hardened by our own choices, then the Holy Ghost can’t get into them. When it comes to helping those we love, we can only bring the Holy Ghost unto their hearts, and it is up to them to soften those hearts and let the light of Christ in. And sometimes, as it was for Nephi, those efforts on our part will seem in vain and we may find that “[our] eyes water [our] pillow by night, because of them” (2 Nephi 33:3). But we trust in the Lord that agency was essential to the plan from the beginning and that there is no way back to Him but through our so choosing.