Friday, March 17, 2006

Just Walk Away (1 Nephi 16:37)

March 6, 2006

“And Laman said…Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi…” (1
Nephi 16:37)

Ishmael has died. His children are unhappy. They want to go back to Jerusalem. Laman and Lemuel are ticked again.

And their solution is to kill Lehi and Nephi??

I just don’t get this kind of thinking. If they are that unhappy, why don’t they just leave? It’s obvious they don’t feel their survival is dependent upon Lehi and Nephi. If that were the case, they’d take them captive and force them to lead them back to Jerusalem.

And it’s not like Laman, Lemuel and the others are being held hostage. They could just pack up and leave.

Maybe they’re afraid they’d be shunned if they went back to Jerusalem. But it was a pretty big town. And there had to be other towns not too far away. I just don’t get it.

It’s the Mark Hacking mindset. His lies are discovered so he kills his wife. Why didn’t he just leave?

Reminds me of some people in the Church who are unhappy. They feel repressed or oppressed or something. If they are so unhappy, then the Church (for them) must not be true. Why don’t they just leave, go start their own church with rules and expectations they like. But no, they hang around, insisting they should be able to behave as they wish and still call themselves Mormons. They want the Church to change while they stay as they are.

If you’re unhappy with something, don’t kill it. Don’t destroy it. Just walk away.

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