Amazing Institute

Our second week of Institute and the evening went by way too fast. But it was very much fruit for thought. It hadn't occurred to me until then that there are four groups mentioned in Lehi's vision. The first group commenced in the path to the tree of life, but were blinded by the mists of darkness and lost their way. The second group took hold of the rod of iron, made it to the tree and partook of the fruit. But thanks to the mocking and pointing fingers of the people in the great and spacious building, they became ashamed and "wandered off into forbidden paths and were lost". The third group also clung to the rod of iron, pressing forward, likely neither looking to the right or left, but firmly setting their gaze on the tree, and came to partake of the fruit "sweet above all that is sweet". The fourth group wasn't even trying to make it toward the tree, but to the great and spacious building. They likely wanted nothing to do with the fruit of the tree, wanting only the supposed enjoyment that the people in the building seemed to have.


Where are we among those groups? Good food for thought.

After Lehi shared his vision, Nephi wanted to be able to understand it. So he actually did something about it. 1 Nephi 11:1 - "For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart, I was caught away in the Sprit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot."

Compare that to Laman and Lemuel in chapter 15 verses 8-9 "And I said unto them: Hve ye inquired of the Lord? And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." They just wallow in confusion, grieving Nephi for their hard hearts and the inevitable destruction of the people. He gave us a pattern to follow when we want to understand something in the scriptures.

I can't wait for next week.