pgs. 62 and 63...nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support...

22 And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of old ^aprophesy.

23 Wherefore, because of this covenant thou art ^ablessed; for thy seed shall not be destroyed, for they shall ^bhearken unto the words of the book.

24 And there shall rise up ^aone mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much ^brestoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren.

25 And now, blessed art thou, Joseph. Behold, thou art little; wherefore hearken unto the words of thy brother, Nephi, and it shall be done unto thee even according to the words which I have spoken. Remember the words of thy dying father. Amen.

CHAPTER 4

Lehi counsels and blesses his posterity—He dies and is buried—Nephi glories in the goodness of God to him—Nephi puts his trust in the Lord forever. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 And now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning ^aJoseph, who was carried into Egypt.

2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the ^aprophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater. And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the ^bplates of brass.

3 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my ^afirst-born, I would that ye should give ear unto my words.

4 For the Lord God hath said that: ^aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

5 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a ^ablessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye are ^bbrought up in the ^cway ye should go ye will not depart from it.

6 Wherefore, if ye are ^acursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the ^bcursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the ^cheads of your parents.

7 Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will ^anot suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be ^bmerciful unto you and unto your seed forever.

8 And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he caused the sons and daughters of Lemuel to be brought before him.

9 And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my second son; behold I leave unto you the same blessing which I left unto the sons and daughters of Laman; wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed.

10 And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of speaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the sons of ^aIshmael, yea, and even all his household.

11 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy ^aseed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days.

12 And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had ^aspoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed ^bold. And it came to pass that he died, and was buried.

13 And it came to pass that not many days after his death, Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael were ^aangry with me because of the admonitions of the Lord.

14 For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word; for I had spoken many things unto them, and also my father, before his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine ^aother plates; for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.

15 And upon ^athese I ^bwrite the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul ^cdelighteth in the scriptures, and my heart ^dpondereth them, and writeth them for the ^elearning and the profit of my children.

16 Behold, my ^asoul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my ^bheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great ^agoodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O ^bwretched man that I am! Yea, my heart ^csorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily ^abeset me.

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have ^atrusted.

20 My God hath been my ^asupport; he hath led me through mine ^bafflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his ^alove, even unto the ^bconsuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine ^aenemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me ^aknowledge by ^bvisions in the night-time.

I can only imagine how hard it must have been for this family to say goodbye to their father and leader Lehi. They had all (even Laman and Lemuel) placed so much trust in Lehi and followed him as he led them out of Jerusalem, through the wilderness, across the ocean and to the promised land. It is so touching to read Lehi's final address to each of his children and grandchildren and hear his one last blessing to them. Lehi's contribution to the entire human race is enormously significant...he is essentially the "father" of the Book of Mormon.

For Nephi, losing Lehi and realizing that he would have to fill his father's shoes as their spiritual leader must have been overwhelming. It doesn't surprise me that he immediately starts to write about how weak and inadequate he feels. That humility only reinforces to all of us how adequate he actually was to carry on Lehi's legacy.

P.S. I just have to add a personal note to any of you who know the Rex family that I was so thankful to hear the news that Xander is going to be OK. Everyone who I have talked to who was there when the accident happened or has talked to the family (I haven't) has told me that they have no doubt that the Lord performed a miracle for Xander. It gives me goosebumps just to think of it. What a blessing!