Moral Obligations

For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them... (2 Nephi 4:14)

constrained = forced, compelled, or obliged; to compel by physical, moral, or circumstancial force.

constraint = a moral obligation.

Nephi was constrained, morally and spiritually obliged, to speak to his brothers, to remind them of the words of Lehi, the ways of the Lord. He was constrained to lead his people, to be a prophet.

What am I constrained to do?

The first thing that comes to mind is to love and support and encourage and teach my family, my children.

A very close second is to make the world a better place through words—to write, to edit, to publish, to create. I don't just want to write, I must write. It is not just a vocation, it is an avocation; it is a moral and spiritual obligation. For me to deny it, is to deny God.

Nothing Without God (1 Nephi 20:1-8)

March 18, 2006

1 Nephi 20:1-8, quoting from Isaiah 48. You’re going to have to look this one up. It’s too long to type in.

The Lord tells Israel that although they have made covenants with Him, they do not rely on Him as they should. Although He’s led them from the beginning, given them signs, they do not rely on Him because they are proud and stubborn. They attribute His power, the works of His hands, to other sources, to idols.

Oh, how like that we are today. How like that I am. When good things happen, I’m too eager to take the credit myself, or I chock things up to luck, coincidence, fate.

In reality, every single good thing in my life comes because the Lord created it, orchestrated it, gifted me with it. Everything.

He gives me the power to breathe, to move, to think, to feel joy, to learn from my mistakes, to grow, to become more like Him.

I think I finally understand the concept of being nothing without God, less than the dust of the earth.