2 Nephi 25

(August 6, 2014)

                My thoughts were once again drawn to the idea of captivity, and I placed myself in the position of an Israelite hearing the prophesies of Lehi.  What should I have done in that situation?  Clearly, the answer was to repent and to follow the Lord.  But, even assuming that I did that (and there likely were some few who did), that would still place me in the position of waiting out the years until Babylon invaded and took away everything I loved and had worked for.

                What should I have done in this situation.  I couldn’t leave, because the Lord had not given me the command to (and the temple was in Jerusalem).  I couldn’t take adequate steps to protect myself and my family, because the calamity was coming regardless of what I did.  All I could do would be to repent, put my house in order, and hope for the best when the captivity arrived.

                This is a matter of non-trivial concern for me.  I foresee things coming in my life that are not going to be good for me or for my family (foresee in the natural, rather than prophetic, sense).  I do what I can to put my life in order, and I do what I can to prepare for what is coming, but ultimately it is beyond my ability by myself to escape this temporal calamity.

                The comfort through this, of course, is the same comfort given to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.  Would Daniel have been the man he was without the captivity?  Would Peter, James, and John have been the men they were without the captivity of their fathers?  The Lord will do His work – even if it is frightening and uncomfortable to us in our limited perspectives – and in the end faith means to trust Him that all things will work out for the best.  As we see those temporal hopes and aspirations fall apart around us, we must remember and hold tight to the spiritual promises that will never fail.  Even in temporal captivity, we may find spiritual freedom.