How is it that ye have forgotten?

posted by Isaiah’s Fan

1 Nephi 7 portrays a family under stress. Lehi, his wife, and children have been living in the wilderness for some time. They have not yet been directed to the Promised Land, but they cannot return to Jerusalem. Already the prophet Jeremiah has been cast into prison and the people of the city have rejected all of the prophets, putting Lehi’s life at stake should he atttempt to go back. The destruction of Jerusalem is imminent. Further, Ishmael and his large family have joined them, and the blending of the two families is difficult. Alliances are being formed, and loyalties are being tested.

When Laman and Lemuel lead a group to rebel, Nephi steps forth to admonish them. He asks them how is it that they have forgotten

• that they have seen an angel of the Lord
• that the Lord delivered them out of Laban’s hands, and helped them obtain the brass plates
• that the Lord can do all things

It is here that Nephi really becomes a prophet in his own right. A prophet’s chief task involves communicating a divine warning to an erring, disobedient people. He is to bring the Lord and His ways to their remembrance. Before Moses’ people entered their Promised Land of Canaan, he reminded them: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

Up to this time, Lehi has been the prophet and patriarch of the family. There is reason to believe that Lehi was the prophet of the Old World. He prophesied to the people in Jerusalem, he led his family into the wilderness, he experienced guiding dreams and visions, and he sent his sons on errands back to Jerusalem. All along, Nephi was being groomed as the prophet of the New World. By the time the party arrives on the shores of the Promised Land, Nephi will be firmly established as the leader of his people.

Much of Nephi’s ministry will be to try to stir his brothers to remember the Lord their God. In 1 Nephi 15:11, 25 and 1 Nephi 17:45 he pleads with them to remember the Lord, until he realizes that they are “past feeling” and will not hearken to his words. Nephi’s exhortations in the Book of Mormon apply to each of us as we cycle through periods of sin and disobedience in our lives. We must not forget

• the spiritual promptings and experiences we have had (see D&C 6:22-23)
• things that the Lord has helped us do
• that the Lord can do all things