1 Ne 8:37 he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender
parent
This verse, more than any other, shows
the great love and concern that father Lehi had for Laman and Lemuel. Nephi
accurately portrays the anguish of soul felt by parents with wayward children.
It is probably the same anguish that Father in Heaven feels when we are sinful
and disobedient.
Lehi¡¯s difficulty with his children is
similar to many parents today. Many parents have worked hard to teach their
children righteous principles and bring them up in the Lord only to find their
children despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of
evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers,
without natural affection (Rom 1:30). Parents often make the mistake of
second guessing their efforts, blaming themselves, or losing hope when faced with
wayward children. Laman and Lemuel had good parents, and yet, by their agency,
they were disobedient to the commandments of the Lord. They had an ¡°attitude¡±
problem. Lehi never gave up on his sons, even when a vision had shown him that
they would not partake of eternal life. Lehi did not waste time blaming himself
or Sariah, but rather spent his time exhorting them with
all the feeling of a tender parent.
¡°The restored gospel of
Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a voice of consolation. More than anything
else, the gospel message sets forth the eternal truth that our Father loves us,
that he is concerned with our welfare, that he will do all he can to ensure our
happiness and well-being, and that no one will be forgotten or overlooked. The
primary responsibility to teach the gospel to children rests with their
parents, not with the Church or any of its auxiliaries. Nevertheless there are
those children who, despite the best efforts of their parents, will choose to
stray from their teachings and example. Though their hearts will ache, there is
reason for faithful parents, whose children are heirs of the covenant, to have
hope even for those who wander. ¡®When a seal is put upon the father and mother,
it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by
virtue of the covenant of their father and mother¡¯ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 321).
¡°Elder Orson F. Whitney expounded
on this great doctrine of hope:
¡°¡®The Prophet Joseph Smith
declared-and he never taught more comforting doctrine-that the eternal sealings
of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in
the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their
posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon
them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence
reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life
or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to
justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if
it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving
father¡¯s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain.
Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your
faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.¡¯ (In Conference
Report, April 1929, p. 110.)¡± (McConkie, Millet, Joseph Smith, the Choice Seer, chap. 20)