I, Nephi, having been born of...

Artist: Arnold Friberg

That's how 1 Nephi 1:1 begins. It seems like such a common verse, probably for a few reasons. I've heard many people joke about starting the Book of Mormon so many times or that they lost track of where they were reading and choose to start reading from the beginning again. But there's at least one more reason why we talk about this verse and that's what this post is about.

"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..."

Nephi's parents were goodly because they were righteous Jews who kept the commandments and followed the Spirit. Lehi was a prophet and had visions from the Lord to know how to protect his family. He lead his family away from the impending danger that befell Jerusalem a few years later. That would have been difficult to leave the comforts of home and live in the wilderness. It would be difficult for me.

The verse continues, "...therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father."

I have always taken this verse to mean that Lehi was a good dad and wanted to teach his kids about life, the universe and everything. With that in mind, I try to teach my kids stuff that I know as well as let them learn things on their own and explore their own talents. I have a feeling that Lehi did all this and much more.

Well, this verse was in our first Sunday School lesson this year. I happened to be in Texas at the time, but I shared something that we don't often think about with this verse. It's this:

Laman and Lemuel were also born of goodly parents.

So, what happened to them? The short answer is that I don't know. The long answer also involves me not knowing. It's just interesting to see that some of Lehi and Sariah's children were obedient and others were not.

That's really all I wanted to say in this post, but it seems like it's not enough. Maybe I'll say that Nephi didn't just follow his dad into the wilderness. Here's a verse that makes Nephi seem more like us, in that he had to gain a testimony for himself.

1 Ne 2:16, 19 show that Nephi wan't born with a testimony. He sought one. Verses 17-18 show that Nephi loved his brothers and shared his testimony with them. I'm proud of Sam for listening to his younger brother. That's not easy for some people to do. He (and I'm sure he wasn't the only one) also tried to help Laman and Lemuel understand the will of the Lord. We also know there are some sisters involved here because they married the sons of Ishmael. Striving to live the gospel was a family affair. Some just did better than others.

I want to be a goodly parent and a goodly son. I am grateful my parents taught me the gospel when I was young. They must have taught me from very young. I don't have any memories like, "Ya, that's when Mom and Dad started talking about church stuff." I hope to be a goodly parent by teaching my kids gospel principles. We already talk about baptism, dating and courtship, the law of tithing, fasting, the Word of Wisdom, temple sealing and eternal life. Angie and I love it when our boys teach us their understanding.

We are all very blessed. The Lord has showered many tender mercies upon us.