Sariah and Perspective

In one section of my book "Nephi's Journey: The Lord Prepares a Way," I discuss one of Sariah's greatest trials. She had to let her young sons return to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates. For simplicity, I will dive right into the message of this post, but for more background on these events, feel free to visit the About Page.

Assumptions and Anxiety

Nephi records: “[Sariah] supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also … complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 5:2).

Sariah had waited and prayed for her sons’ safe return. But as days turned into weeks, she assumed her sons had died in the wilderness and she deeply mourned their loss. This was an easy assumption to make.

Anxiety is a funny thing. It causes us to worry about things that might never be. Our minds torment us with thousands of imagined scenarios. Sariah was agonizing over dangers which were not even relevant. She was worried about the perils of the wilderness, when in fact Laban was the real threat. Her anxiety caused her to project her own fear of dying in the wilderness onto the awful death she imagined for her sons.

Sariah complained that Lehi had led them into the wilderness, not the Lord. She did not yet have the vision that they were being divinely guided. She looked at her current circumstances and saw only wilderness all around her. Her scope of vision was not grand enough to include any sign of the promised land ahead. Because of this, she was discouraged and despondent. Perhaps the primary purpose of this trial was to help Sariah gain a vision of the Lord’s guidance in their lives, which she was able to do, as shall be discussed.

If we fail to see the Lord’s guiding hand in our lives, everything becomes more difficult. We see far too many things wrong in this world; wrong in others, wrong in ourselves, wrong in our circumstances, and wrong in society. On the other hand, if we can see the Lord’s guiding hand in all things, everything becomes easier and makes more sense. We become kinder and happier people.

Sariah’s complaints contained many words used by Laman and Lemuel. “Lehi was a visionary man who had led them out of the land of their inheritance to perish in the wilderness.” Later, when she realized Lehi was being led by the Lord, she used the words of Nephi and Lehi in praising him.

Sariah Now Knows

Nephi and his brethren returned safely to their parents in the wilderness. Sariah rejoiced to see them and exclaimed: “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and … that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them” (1 Nephi 5:8, italics added).

Just as her complaints had contained the words of Laman and Lemuel, her newfound testimony contained the words of Nephi and Lehi. Just as her complaints had suggested that Lehi had brought them into the wilderness, her newfound testimony declared that the Lord was leading them. Without the vision, Sariah had complained. With the vision, Sariah praised the Lord. Laman and Lemuel, on the other hand, never put in the work to gain this vision. As a result, they were almost always prone to complaining.

Note it well. Once Sariah knew the Lord was leading them, she was never known to have complained again.

One Lesson, Many Methods

Nephi learned that the group would be traveling to the promised land through prayer; Lehi learned through scripture study; Sariah learned through trial.

Person	Vision	Means	Level of Murmuring
Nephi	Gained the vision early	Through prayer	Never murmured
Sam	Gained the vision early	Through Nephi’s words and example	Never murmured
Lehi	Gained the vision fairly early	Through scripture study (the brass plates)	Murmured once after gaining the vision
Sariah	Gained the vision fairly early	Through trial	Murmured once before gaining the vision
Laman and Lemuel	Never fully gained the vision	Despite abundant prayer, study, example, and trial	Only had one period of life where they did not murmur

Just because one person murmured and another did not is not sufficient reason to assume that one was more righteous than another. Rather, Nephi uses these things to powerfully illustrate why we murmur, and how we can avoid murmuring through trusting in the Lord’s vision for our lives.

For more thoughts on these things, pick up a copy of my book "Nephi's Journey: The Lord Prepares a Way," available in both printed and eBook editions from Amazon. Thanks for reading.