CHECK YOUR HEART: A SPIRITUAL EKG

Nephi and his brothers returned to their camp in the Valley of Lemuel.  Their mother, Sariah was overcome with joy.  She had been so worried and accused her husband, Lehi, of having sent their boys to their doom. She had even begun to doubt that her husband was truly a prophet and that their entire journey was a mistake.  Seeing her boys alive, she rejoiced and bore testimony that her husband truly was a prophet and, therefore, their entire undertaking was under the direction of the Lord. 

As Lehi read the plates, he was astonished to find out that he was not a Jew! He was, in fact, a descendent of that Joseph who was sold into Egypt, through his son, Manasseh. According to their family genealogy which was included in the plates (in the same way some people would write their immediate family history in the fronts of their Bibles) many generations earlier, his ancestor had fled the wickedness of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the more righteous (at that time) Judah.  Lehi also learned from the plates that he had another cousin still living in Jerusalem: Ishmael. (Ishmael was also a descendent of Joseph through his son, Ephraim.) Sariah had been concerned that in the wilderness, her sons would have no opportunity to find wives and have families.  As Lehi prayed about it, the Spirit told him to send his sons back to Jerusalem again to invite Ishmael's family to join them. (By the way, Ishmael had several daughters! Laman and Lemuel didn't hesitate to go north again to find women!)

On the way back to camp, however, the older boys began to grumble again.  Ishmael had sons who joined in complaining and telling everyone they should go back home.  Nephi explained to them - again - that they couldn't go home or else they would be either killed or enslaved when Jerusalem fell. These older brothers went into a rage against Nephi and bound him with ropes and left him in the desert to die. Nephi prayed fervently that God would give him the strength to break his bonds.  He did break free and return to his brothers.  Laman and Lemuel begged Nephi for forgiveness and expressed sorrow for what they had done.

When difficult challenges arose, Laman's and Lemuel's responses were far different from Nephi's.  It all had to do with the condition of their hearts.

This was a recurring pattern of behavior on the part of the older brothers.  When Nephi faced hardship, he went to the Lord in prayer.  When Laman and Lemuel faced hardship, they complained and looked for someone to blame.  They often lashed out at Nephi because of his calm strength and obedience.

What made the difference in attitude and behavior?

Nephi had great faith. Because he knew God was directing him, he was able to do hard things.  Each time he experienced God's help, it strengthened his testimony.  He also believed his father and he respected and honored him, both as his parent and as a prophet.  He was humble and teachable. He forgave others.  We would say that he had a soft and open heart, ready to invite the Holy Spirit into his life. Because of the consistent presence of the Spirit, he was a strong man of great courage. He struggled and often felt inadequate, but he never gave in to despair.

Laman and Lemuel did not have the Spirit and didn't seek to have it.  They told Nephi on one occasion that God didn't make things clear to them like He did Nephi; that it was all sort of luck or fate; they just weren't lucky, that's all. It wasn't their fault if  God chose not to speak to them through the Spirit; it was not something over which they had any control.

But was it luck?  I don't think so.  Those older boys grew up in the same home as their younger brothers.  They came from the same gene pool. They had the same potential as did their brother. It was their choices that made a difference.  Because they were spiritually lazy, they chose the path of least resistance.  They avoided hard things and murmured when they were called to do them.  They were proud and arrogant; I am the eldest! Why should I listen to you, Nephi? They were selfish.  They desired the riches and comforts of the world and became resentful when those things were taken from them.

We also  live in a harsh world full of Lamans and Lemuels or worse. How do we avoid the hardness of heart that can destroy lives?  It's through what my friend Kathy called the SMA - Standard Mormon Answer:

• Pray regularly and sincerely.  Be open to suggestions made by the Spirit, even if they are not what you wanted to hear.
• Feast on the scriptures. Don't just nibble.  I have a problem with setting a goal of so many verses per day so that you can finish the Book by December.  As a wise educator once said, "If your goal is to cover the material, you may as well cover it with dirt because you're not learning."
• Someone said that a smart man learns from his mistakes; a wise man learns from other people's mistakes. The scriptures are full of stories of men and women who make wise choices and those who make unwise choices.  As the hymn says, "Do what is right, let the consequence follow." We don't have to pay through our own stupidity to learn; we can just read about the dumb mistakes made by others and the consequences that followed.
• Obey.  Avoid sins of commission, but also sins of omission.  When we align our lives with Jesus Christ, we take His name upon us and promise to keep the commandments which He has given us.  We are all human and we live in a fallen world, so we will all make mistakes - even sin.  But we don't have to make a habit of it!  
1. Study God's word to learn His commandments
2. Listen to the prophets, seers, and revelators
3. Keep the commandments to the best of our ability 
4. When we make a wrong choice, repent quickly and completely.
• Partake of the Sacrament regularly and worthily so that we may remember Jesus Christ and the covenants we have made with Him.
• Be humble and teachable.  Eschew pride. Love the Lord.  Love His children.  Serve.
  

Standard Mormon Answers.  Simple.  Sensible. By following these suggestions, we can turn even a hard heart into a humble and teachable heart. As the Lord taught through the Prophet Ezekiel:

When was your last Spiritual EKG?