To Walk Uprightly Before the Lord

Towards the end of the lives of Jared and his brother, they gathered the people together in the promised land to number them. After they counted them, Jared and his brother asked the people what they wanted: “And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should anoint one of their sons to be a king over them.” The brother of Jared correctly prophesied that this thing would lead into captivity, but Jared wanted to do what the people asked. So, they asked them who they wanted for their king, “And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he refused and would not be their king. And the people would that his father should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be their king” (Ether 6:20-25). To his credit, Pagag did not want to be the king, and neither did any of his brothers. We don’t know how many sons that the brother of Jared had, but he did have 22 children. So, there is over a 99% chance he had at least six sons, which for me is very impressive: all of these sons had the humility to refuse the opportunity to serve as king over the people. The people then asked the sons of Jared, of which there were four, and all refused except for the last one (Orihah) who did become king. As I thought about this, I realized that these sons who did not want the kingdom for themselves must have been greatly influenced by the righteous example of their fathers. And, unfortunately, it seems to be the last time in the Jaredite history that a son did not want to be the king! At any rate, the rest of their history is full of stories of sons of kings who tried to usurp authority and take over the kingdom for themselves when it didn’t belong to them. How different the Jaredite history could have been if only they all could have followed the humble example of Pagag and his brothers!

                Recently I went to a driving presentation with my daughter as a part of her drivers ed class, and they asked us parents if we would be happy if our child drove just like us. It was a good question to ponder, and this story of the Jaredites invites us to consider whether we would want our children to become the kind of people we are. Pagag and his brothers, I believe, wanted to be humble and righteous like their father and so they rejected the opportunity to be king. Children, especially when they are young, want to follow the example they see in their parents. For example, recently we watched a home video of my youngest son trying to help his mom mow the lawn when he was probably about two years old. He tried to walk between his mom and the mower, “helping” to push it. He wanted to do what she was doing. Now at the age of eight he actually can mow the lawn and did so recently (with some supervision). Unfortunately, that mimetic desire seems to wear off in the teenagers who gradually start to doubt whether their parents are worthy of emulation. But the question at the drivers ed meeting reminds me that I should consider more frequently this question: Do I want my children to follow my example? The Lord said in our dispensation, “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents…. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, 28). Surely the most important way that we teach our children these things, especially walking uprightly before the Lord, is by the example we set and which they always watch. I’m certainly not like the brother of Jared, but I hope that my actions in front of my children can help them want to do what is right before the Lord.