38. The Wait

CHAPTER 38

THE WAIT

Nephi turned west.  The setting sun had fallen below the tree tops.  He usually walked faster on his way back from Zarahemla.  The sky would be nearly dark by the time he returned to his one room hut this evening.

The narrow dirt paths of the forest usually renewed him after a long day spent on the hard, stoned-paved streets of the city.  He normally picked up his pace when he heard the sound of the leaves in the wind, and the birds in the trees again.  Those were the sounds of home, and home meant getting something to eat and sharing time with his wife while they administered to each other, and strengthened each other in the Lord.

Nephi was not in a hurry today, however.  He walked slowly in order to think.  It had been another day not unlike most days lately.  Was it really time to leave Zarahemla for good?  Have I done enough?  Is it time to move our home to the land Bountiful?

Hasai, his wife, certainly thought so.  They had already gone over the pros and cons many times.  The pros seemed to outweigh the cons, but Nephi still procrastinated.  He wanted to wait long enough to be absolutely sure.

Nephi paused under a fruit tree.  He took a deep breath and sighed.  He was discouraged.  To leave Zarahemla would be conceding that his father was not coming back.

Many years had already passed since the sign of Christ’s birth.  Each new year was numbered from the time the sign was given.  And it was now the thirty and first year.

The people in Zarahemla had been unrighteous for the past several years.  A great amount of evil had existed even back in his father’s time.  But as awful as Zarahemla was back then, the wickedness that prevailed now was even greater.  Most of the believers in Christ had already migrated to the land Bountiful.

The judgment-seat had been destroyed in the last year.  The chief judge of the land had also been murdered.  Secret combinations had destroyed the regulations of the government.  The people were divided one against the other, and had separated one from another into tribes.  Every man ruled according to his family and his kindred and friends.  The government of the land no longer existed.  Instead, every tribe appointed their own leader.  And the more family and kindred and friends that followed their own leader, the greater was the tribe of that leader. 

The most powerful leader of all the tribes was Jacob.  Unfortunately, Jacob was an evil person.  He was the chief leader of a wicked band that raised its voice against Nephi and the prophets who testified of Jesus.  Although the tribes of the people were not united, Jacob united those who desired evil.  They were united by a covenant to destroy the government.

Disputes between the tribes caused great contention in the land.  There had not been outright wars among them, but all this iniquity had come upon the people because they yielded themselves to the power of Satan.

The more righteous part of the people had nearly all become wicked.  Despite Nephi’s patient and faithful preaching, the people were like the dog returning to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire.

Perhaps the presence of Nephi and Hasai, along with Nephi’s brother, Timothy, was the only thing that kept Zarahemla from God’s destroying justice.  Zarahemla was as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days prior to the Lord sending rain of brimstone and fire upon them.

Nephi had done all that he could.  He grieved because of the hardness of the hearts and the blindness of the minds of the people in Zarahemla.  He had gone forth among them to testify, boldy and tirelessly, for many years.  He had preached repentance and the remission of sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nephi had done that again today.  The same that he had done each day; enduring for years and years.  He had cried repentance to the people everywhere.  He constantly preached to them to forsake their evil doings and be baptized for the remission of sins.

Today, he was fasting.  Yet, like other days, he was consistently rejected.

Nephi kept a faithful record.  He was diligent and careful that his records were accurate.  He made every effort to ensure that no mistake was entered into his record.  His record was a true account of the miracles he had done in the name of Jesus and established when each miracle occurred.  Nephi’s record testified of his life-long faithfulness.

Despite Nephi’s constant and consistent efforts, the people were angry with him.  Perhaps they were angry because he had greater power than they had.  Although they witnessed Nephi perform miracles which they were not able to do themselves, they refused to believe his words and refuted his great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  They claimed it had to be the power of the devil that allowed Nephi to perform miracles.

          On days that Nephi didn’t preach, he either wrote in his record or studied the sacred records.  And in the past few years, he had begun transferring many records from the land of Zarahemla to the temple in the land Bountiful.

The records containing the prophecies of Samuel, the Lamanite, were particularly significant to Nephi.  Nephi felt that those records were among the most important for him to have at the temple in the land Bountiful.

A year ago, he had gone once again to the sacred record vault to take more records to the temple.  The plates of Lehi were on the table, open at the leaf where the map of Lehi was drawn, just the way his father had left it.  He always left it in that position too.  But on his return from the temple in the land Bountiful seven days later, the plates were closed!  Who could have closed it?  The hope that it had been his father teased his mind.

Nephi left the fruit tree and started walking again.  It was nearly dark when he trudged wearily through the garden.  The chickens, as usual, were pecking at the ground in the yard.  He entered his hut through the single, open doorway.

Hasai was waiting for him.  “You are later than usual today.  Any reason?”

“No.  Not really,” Nephi replied, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek.  “Actually, I took my time getting back.  I wanted some time alone to think.”

“Oh, think about what?”  Hasai hoped her husband was thinking what she was thinking.  Or, if not, she was skilled at steering the conversation in the direction she desired.  “Perhaps about what I said again last night?  That I want to go to the land Bountiful before much longer.”

“Yes, that.  And other things.”  Nephi answered.

“Good.  Don’t you think it’s about time we made the decision to go?”  Hasai was ready to list all the pros once again.  Nevertheless, it had to be a joint decision, and she valued her husband’s partnership.

“You know I want to wait for as long as possible.”  Nephi was reticent.   “Just in case …”

“Oh, I do. I do.  We’ve waited!  For over thirty years!   And I understand that.  But when is enough, enough?  Your father said to give him ten years.  And you’ve done that, threefold.  Really, Nephi, that should be enough.”

“I know, I know.  It really has probably been enough.” Nephi’s long-suffering patience was partly his stubbornness.  “It’s hard for me to think about leaving this place.  This is where I was born and have lived my whole life.  My father and grandfathers were chief judges here.  But, I admit, there are plenty of positive reasons to permanently settle in the land Bountiful.”

“I’ll say there are,” exclaimed Hasai.  “Zarahemla’s time is past.  In the land Bountiful, you’ll be nearer to the temple and it will be easier for you to meet with the members of the church.  We’ll be able to see our children and their babies more often.  We’ll have our future there.

“I may even find some friends.  Just like you found Moriancom there.”

“I wish father could find out about Moriancom,” mused Nephi.

“Finding out about Moriancom is another reason we shouldn’t wait a moment longer,” Hasai asserted.  “Your father was probably killed shortly after getting to the land northward.”

“I know,” said Nephi reluctantly.  “But, …”  Nephi’s thoughts reverted back to a memory.