Let There Be A Famine

After the Nephites had once again become wicked in the days of Nephi, son of Helaman, “the contentions did increase, insomuch that there were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi. And it was this secret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness.” Nephi was upset by their return to the ways of the Gadianton robbers, and he sought to help them in a unique way: “And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee.” The famine indeed came in the 73^rd year and it lasted until the 76^th year. So the people suffered with insufficient food for about three years, and it was so bad that many died because of it: “For the earth was smitten that it was dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land” (Helaman 11:1-6). What struck me as I thought about this story is that Nephi also had to suffer through it. Nephi lived among the people, and he would have similarly had to endure the same famine with inadequate food and water for himself and his family. Clearly the Lord ensured that he did not die, but undoubtedly he had to feel the consequences of what he had asked the Lord for as well. It shows the love that he had for his people to request a punishment upon them that would affect himself. But his greatest desire was for them to repent, and he was willing to endure the famine to help them come back to the Lord.

                This story of Nephi and the famine he called down upon the Nephites reminds me of the story in the Old Testament of Elijah. He also lived among the Lord’s people who had mostly turned to wickedness, and at one point he met with the wicked King Ahab of the northern kingdom. We read, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” So, like Nephi, he called down a famine upon the people of Israel in order to spur them to repentance and righteousness. And also like Nephi he had to endure the same consequences, though we read the unique way in which the Lord took care of him: “And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” Elijah obeyed and was miraculously preserved by food that ravens brought him: “So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” The Lord preserved him, but he certainly couldn’t have been eating very well with it coming in small portions from the mouth of ravens. And eventually the water dried up, highlighting the thirst he must have suffered through: “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land” (1 Kings 17:1-7). It was at that point that he went to the widow of Zarephath and she with great faith was able to miraculously keep him (and herself and son) alive with a cruse of oil that did not fail. The point is that Elijah too had to suffer because of the famine, and only through his trust in God did he receive enough food and water to survive. Like Nephi, he had been willing to call down a famine from heaven in order to help his people repent and be saved from destruction, even though it meant pain and suffering for himself. These stories highlight the love that prophets have for their people, and perhaps suggests that sometimes we too must sacrifice and suffer in order to help those we love to receive the blessings of the gospel.