"...That the Lord did soften the heart..."
-Who
did? The Lord did. It wasn’t , “the things we said did soften …” Herein lies the answers to the questions
begged in verse four.
-Nephi gives credit where credit
is due. Not only is Nephi humble enough
to give the credit to He who actually brought the end to pass (giving us a hint
of one of the qualities that makes Nephi, and all people, a great man) but in
doing so he teaches us a vital lesson:
The Lord is the journeyman in his own tasks. We may be privileged to help out, even to be
an instrument, but the one who brings about the substantive changes is
God! There is absolutely nothing Nephi
could have done on his own or by his own power to soften a heart.
“soften the
heart”
-the lord
did not “convince the intellect of Ishmael” or anything else except for
softening the heart. It was not the most
rational thing to do –leaving your safe, comfortable and established home… in
fact it probably seemed foolish, crazy and stupid. Are we willing to do similar things when
required of the Lord?
“insomuch that
they did take their journey with us…”
-Wow! What kind of faith would it have required to
drop your entire life and all society as you knew it and go with four young men
into the wilderness (especially when two of the young men may have manifest
some resistance to the idea)? But they
did! What a tribute to the character of
Ishmael.
-Family
of Ishmael:
5
daughters, 2 sons.
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