"Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi,
did cry much unto the Lord my God,
because of the anger of my brethren.
But behold, their anger did increase against me,
insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.
And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me,
that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness,
and all those who would go with me" (2 Nephi 5:1,2,5)
There are times when it is necessary to physically flee from evil, such as with Nephi and his followers who were told by God to separate themselves from that part of the family who chose not to believe in the warnings and the revelations of God. It must have deeply wounded Nephi's heart to have to guard against his own brothers who sought to take away his life but as always, Nephi obeyed the Lord in his instructions and removed himself and those who wanted to follow God (2 Nephi 5:6) from those who sought their destruction.
This separation was not only expedient for Nephi's temporal welfare but also for the spiritual welfare of his followers. Nephi records that because of their unwillingness to hearken to God's words, his brothers and their families were cursed by being cut off from God's presence (2 Nephi 5:20). As a sign of that cursing and to limit the spreading of more wickedness, the Lord caused "a skin of blackness to come upon them" (2 Nephi 5:21). Alma explained that the darkness of their skin was for the purpose of preserving the Lord's people, that in not mixing with the Lamanites, they would not 'believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction' (Alma 3:7,8).
Like Nephites of old, there comes a time in our lives also when it becomes necessary for us to separate ourselves from certain people who would potentially become the cause of our destruction. In our politically correct world, we are constantly encouraged to accept and mix with people of all persuasions, beliefs and lifestyles and it is often done under the guise of 'love'. In our willingness to comply with this edict we sometimes confuse the world's admonition for acceptance of people of all walks of life with the Lord's commandment to love one another. This erroneously leads us to become involved with people who live lives in direct violation of God's commandments. The danger that lies in this involvement is that the seeds of their beliefs and behaviour eventually gets sown into our own belief system and dilutes the strength of our commitment to follow Christ and His teachings. From there it can become a slippery slide as we start to put ourselves in places we should not be in and in which it becomes easy to behave in similar fashion to our non-Christian friends. I concede the difficulty exists for many families who are caught in the predicament where some children choose to follow paths that are not in accordance with the Church and its' laws. In my opinion, the emphasis there should always be on the parents' and siblings' love for them rather than acceptance of their lifestyle. The world would have us believe in the correctness of 'support' of ones' children no matter what their choices are but this is clearly not compatible with the teachings of the gospel. As followers of Jesus Christ we are commanded to uphold His teachings and none else.
Often times we come to believe that we should keep company with those not of our religious persuasion for purposes of converting them to the truth or helping them overcome their worldly ways and addictions. In those instances, we need to make sure that we ourselves are strong enough for such a path and that the person we are trying to help is serious about change. If we innocently put ourselves in places where the Holy Ghost would not keep us company, we go unprotected against the powers of darkness which seek to destroy us. It is in these mists of darkness that Satan has power to lead us by the neck with a flaxen cord until he binds us with his strong cords forever (2 Nephi 26:22). Notice how the leading away from righteousness starts with one cord but the further you are led away the cords magnify until they become a strong rope that cannot be broken, ever. For this reason Alma wisely admonishes us: 'come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things' (Alma 5:57). The more we touch, the more contaminated we become until worldly things become a part of us and we can no longer separate ourselves from them.
On a lesser scale, we should also be aware of those people around us who drain our spiritual and emotional energy by their constant negativity, criticizing, complaining and lack of faith. Sometimes it becomes necessary, after all you can do, to distance yourself from such friends for the sake of your own mental health. I was a participant of such an experience once when I was going through a period of diminished faith. The friend I was being a drain on let me know very diplomatically that she could not bear my melt downs along with her own challenges. This was the greatest thing that she could have done for me because not only did it make me assess the strength of my faith but it helped me see the importance of uplifting and nurturing others instead of being a burden to them. It also made me see that I was not being true to my convictions and the knowledge I possessed about the character of God. In other words I was not being true to myself, to who I professed to be and to my testimony. If the person you are seeking to correct is not blinded by pride and ego, they will take your correction on board and use it to their advantage. If not, they will depart from you. It is important for all of us to know that nobody wants to be with someone who is high maintenance. There is a difference between needing temporary support through trials and being an ongoing concern. In all situations though it is important to have resilience and a trust in God who is our true deliverer from predicaments.
"And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit;
and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,
Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou,
bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship,
he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid;
and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord save me."
(Matthew 14:26-30)
Peter walked on the stormy sea with eagerness towards the Saviour until he directed his gaze elsewhere. The minute he did so, he could see the wind whipping up the waves around him and he lost his focus. If he had kept looking at the Saviour he would not have begun to sink. Lucky for Peter he cried out immediately and he was rescued forthwith. So it is with us. We must focus on the Saviour at all times and if we so much as begin to sink we need to cry out 'Lord save me' but if we wait until we sink to the bottom the Saviour will no longer be within our view and we will not have sufficient faith to cry out for help. The Lord can rescue us from the deepest ocean and the deepest sea but He can become lost from our sight forever if our vision is obscured by the watery depths. At that point we run the risk of becoming lost. May we stay on the surface of life's stormy seas keeping the Saviour always within our sight. We, the children of the covenant, do not belong in the depths of the sea, drowning in the ways of the world. May we separate ourselves from its' ways never losing sight of our divine destiny.
"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell
combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock,
they cannot prevail.
Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."
(D&C 6:34,36)
