NEPHI ON THE BANKS OF THE RED SEA

You will recall how Lehi had another one of his dreams, this time on the banks of the Red Sea, in which he was commanded to send his sons back to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates from a man called Laban. After a failed attempt and losing all their precious things in the process thereof, Nephi's brothers were more than ready to abandon the mission. But not Nephi. In his final attempt to rustle up some enthusiasm, Nephi used a surprisingly high standard of achievement to motivate his brothers to press on. He reminded them of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, and asked them to 'be strong like unto Moses'. He then assured them that the Lord is able to deliver them as He did the Israelites of old and to destroy Laban like He destroyed the Egyptians (1 Nephi 4:1-3). But his brothers were not convinced, in fact, they were even more discouraged (1 Nephi 4:4). You can just hear them saying: "This is ridiculous! How can you compare Moses leading 2 million Israelites out of Egypt to this dinky, arduous task we have received from our father?" But it wasn't ridiculous to Nephi. For Nephi getting the plates from Laban was akin to Moses crossing the Red Sea with 2 million people. Why? Because it was beyond his capacity but not beyond God's. And he knew if he couldn't achieve it, that meant that God would. Unlike his brothers who believed that parting the Red Sea was possible for God to do but not possible to deliver into their hands Laban and his fifty (1 Nephi 3:31). Quite a paradox.  Nephi didn't know how he was going to get those plates but he went anyway. The rest of the story we know.

It is the start of a new year. Everyone is setting New Year Resolutions. The statistics to this end are bleak. One study revealed out of 159 people followed, 29% gave up just two weeks into the new year; at 1 month mark, 36%,  and six months into the year, 54% were no longer on course. Is there something dear to your heart that keeps popping up on your list, the achievement of which has eluded you thus far? Something that is crucial to your spiritual or temporal wellbeing? Something akin to some ancient brass plates?

When you are standing on some precipice of life facing something that is beyond your capacity to achieve, do not back down, only believe. Do not look to your left or to your right but forge straight ahead expecting the God of all might to intervene on your behalf. Nephi moved forward wading waist deep into his Red Sea until it parted. I am certain he never expected Laban to be dished up to him on a silver platter (1 Nephi 4:7,8). All he did was trust the spirit by which he was led (1 Nephi 4:6). The God of miracles did the rest. The God who cares, the God who wants to help us, at every turn, at every corner, on every bank of the Red Sea. To him no challenge is too big or too small. All that matters to you, matters to Him. He is at our front and at our back. When we call, shall He not answer and say, "Here I am" (Isaiah 58:9)? He is our forerunner who prepares the way and our rearward in case we should fall (D&C 49:27; Isaiah 52:12; 3 Nephi 21:29). Can you not rejoice and have hope when you hear:

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee....I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight...for I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.....Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no fathoming of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint."
(Isaiah 41:13; 45:2; 54:10; 40:28-31).

- Cathryne Allen

THE LEGACY OF MORMON

I am in awe of Mormon. Worthy of my admiration is his spiritual tenacity to survive the most evil period of Nephite history morally unscathed and for that he deserves every praise. My ultimate admiration, however, concerns his achievements as a historian and a writer. I know of no other historian who has had the capacity to intimately connect with his readers like Mormon has. The Jewish historian, Josephus, comes close but nowhere near Mormon's standard because Mormon, unlike all the others, was a man of God with a vision. When I read the Book of Mormon I do not hear his voice even though he occasionally interrupts his narrative to reveal himself. What I hear when I read his record is the voice of God. This speaks volumes regarding his true intent which was not to bring himself to prominence but to bring men unto Christ. Mormon was a visionary man and he wrote with this one purpose. Having witnessed the destruction of his people fueled his desire to in some way save the future generations 'that they may once again be a delightsome people' (Words of Mormon 1:8).

As a writer, my biggest motivation comes from my readers. A writer needs to be read. Mormon never had this satisfaction. Imagine writing a book for people who would live almost 2,000 years after you and beyond. What would you say? What motivation would you have for doing it? So why did Mormon do it? Besides his desire to save the remnant of the House of Israel (Mormon 7:1-5), the obvious reason is that the records were handed down to him with a commission when he was just 10 years old that he keep them going (Mormon 1:1-4). The second reason is that he was commanded what to write (3 Nephi 26:12). But here is the crux of the matter, I believe Mormon who was a visionary man, knew his readers. He knew us and he knew us at close range.

Why do we have the Book of Mormon today? Because Mormon's son Moroni caught and continued his father's vision. And herewith is another amazing visionary man with an equal commitment to the salvation of others and preservation of the house of Israel. Moroni had a clear vision of our day and he described it in impeccable detail. I cannot help but believe that he saw my home land when I read: "Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands" (Momon 8:29). Right now Australia is burning. The smoke has reached New Zealand. 6,300,000 hectares of its land is scorched and burnt to the ground.  Did Dorothea MacKellar's heart ache when she penned her famous poem "I love A Sunburnt Country" as much as Moroni's when he saw it burn?

The Book of Mormon is your book. It is a book you can recognise yourself in. It will prick your conscience when you need it; give you answers when you feel lost; give you understanding when you have none and equip you with knowledge to enable you to fight your every foe. You were before Mormon's eyes when he wrote it and before Moroni's when he preserved it. They knew you. They prayed for you. And they wished against all hope that you would read it. Can you not feel this through these words: "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Mormon 8:15)