Ignorance (1 Nephi 2:4)

“And they [Laman and Lemuel] did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” (1 Nephi 2:12)

Although they were visited by angels, instructed by a prophet, and had the opportunity for direct communication with God, Laman and Lemuel really never got that long range view necessary to bolster and support them through the long haul. They never understood the what nor the why of this trek to the promised land. And so they murmured.

The more I recognize the Lord’s hand in my life, the less I murmur and complain about everything. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like I murmur less, because I’m just a gifted murmurer, been that way all my life. But really, compared to the murmuring I did a few years ago, today’s murmuring is nothing!

Two reasons I murmur less:
1) Gratitude—it’s really hard to work up a good murmur when I feel gratitude for what the Lord has given me
2) New Understandings—after the crisis (the event I’ve murmured about) has passed, I can look back and see how it strengthened me, how it prepared me, and how I was blessed for it. The act of looking back at the past makes it harder to murmur in the present.

So, the only two reasons for murmuring are 1) ingratitude and 2) ignorance. And the only way not to feel gratitude is to be blind to my blessings—ignorance again.

Harsh, but true. And oh, how I hate to be ignorant.

So what is the remedy for ignorance? Nephi must have known I would ask.

“having great desires to know…I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe…” (1 Nephi 2:16)

Prayer, scriptures, following the prophet—these are the remedies for ignorance. These are the answers to EVERYTHING.