1 Nephi 1:18

Today I watched the newly released first episode of the Book of Mormon video series. After previously watching one behind the scenes video on YouTube, it seems that both cast and crew put a great deal of thought into the creation of these episodes to accurately depict the lives of prophets and disciples in the Book of Mormon. Though I've read the Book of Mormon many times, watching this video helps to humanize scripture stories, put myself in the experiences and emotions this family may have felt while leaving Jerusalem following prophetic warnings from prophets like Jeremiah.

In the very first verses written in the Book of Mormon, Nephi gives some background about what was happening in Jerusalem and how his father, Lehi, prayed to know what his family needed to do. The answer to his prayer came as a confirmation of what the prophets were preaching to the people - that God would allow Jerusalem to be destroyed due to overwhelming wickedness in the city. This first chapter in the Book of Mormon doesn't go into much detail of what was so wicked in Jerusalem. However, I found it interesting that the video depiction features Lehi walking through a busy market in Jerusalem surrounded by instances of what looks like normalized human trafficking.

In 1 Nephi 1:18 it reads:

18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

Two things stood out as I watched this first episode. Firstly, I was impressed by Lehi's courage to stand in the middle of a busy metropolitan area and tell people about his faith and what he had learned by praying. When I put myself in his shoes, it would be easy to think, "Oh, there are others, more qualified that I am, who are already warning the people." It was an act of faith for Lehi to obey God's direction to share what he had learned with people, who, by easy estimate, wouldn't want to hear what he had to say. Secondly, it would take trust in Lehi's character to listen and adhere to what he said. Again, if I were to put myself in their shoes - standing in the middle of the mall (let's say) listening to someone standing on food court table preaching of destruction, I'm more likely to consider them as crazy then to listen. I would have to know and trust Lehi, or I would need to have a strong spiritual impression to go and pray about it myself, in order to even have a lingering thought about what was said. It made me wonder, besides Lehi's family, who in the community was best situated to trust and heed Lehi's warning.