The Iron Rod

For family home evening the other night, my lesson was on Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life. This is one of my MANY favorite stories in the Book of Mormon. I love how detailed his account is, so I can picture it in my head. That's what I had my kids do as we read it. They were to draw it as I described it word for word from the scriptures. I must say they did pretty well. I loved the drawings so much, I wanted to make sure they made it into our family journal.

I love seeing each different interpretation. Each kid made it a point to have people drowning in the river. And where Aaron thought that people were actually clibimng the tree, that cracks me up!! All a little different, but pretty close.

We talked abouth the four different groups of people described in the scripture account and took an inventory of our personal lives to see which catagory we all fall under. I believe we are the ones holding tight and "pressing forward," but I know sometimes we might be ones that have let go for a brief moment and have gotten lost in the mists of darkness. Thankfully each time we find our way back! No one has been lost to the river yet!

Nephi is one our favorite prophets. He was so humble and teachable. And so willing to do what was asked of him. I love how he set the example for his brothers each time they chose to whine, complain, or attempted to kill him or his father! He truly shows us by example how to know the truth through prayer. Laman and Lemuel chose to complain how hard it was to understand what their father was saying, but Nephi knew what to do. He just prayed for knowledge and he got it. I also love that the actual vision was given in chapter 8 and Nephi's interpretation wasn't until chapter 15. I'm sure he prayed for a while to understand and his knowledge kept growing "line upon line" until he knew enough that he could share it.

How grateful I am for this great book! I love reading it and I love studying it. I'm happy that we are doing it as a family. We have also encouraged the kids to read it on their own. Grace is in 3 Nephi, Ryan and Aaron are in Heleman, and Kate and Becca are in Omni. I know it is hard for them to understand what they are reading, but I hope the Spirit is touching them as they do. I want my kids to have a love and appreciation for the Word of God in it's many forms, especially the Book of Mormon.