Same Old Song and Dance

Today I read 3 Nephi 2, which for all intents and purposes, is nothing we haven't seen at least 3 times before in the Book of Mormon. It is a scary time in their lives though I am sure. As I read the words and picture that these are real people it actually makes me shudder to think what these poor righteous Nephites and Lamanites had to put up with.

It says that the Gadianton Robbers were so bold as to be taking over cities. At least here in America, organized crime has never been so bold, not even during it's high point in the 1930's. I cannot imagine the state of mind these poor righteous had to deal with that the wicked were so wicked that they would just openly attack cities like this. It's really a very scary thought.

It is a neat idea though that one can become jaded to anything. At the beginning of the chapter it says that the people were getting less and less impressed with signs and wonders from Heaven. It does not say the signs and wonders stopped, it says the people became less and less impressed. Can you imagine how many signs these people would have to see for them to actually get to the point when they didn't even care about a miracle? The only thing I can even compare it to is if human beings were suddenly able to start flying without assistance. Yes, for the first year or so that would be an amazing thing and it would totally blow your mind. But after that first year it would become common place and not really anything special.

I remember a conversation I had with my Dad once about how the Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits and it leaves a more permanent impression on us than even if the Savior himself were to appear unto us. At first I did not really believe him or understand what he was talking about. But the older I get and the more miracles I see in my own life and in the lives of others and how people are just unimpressed with the miracles in their lives I see how that would be possible.

One last fun little musing for the day. Unlike Alma, that it was made known he had been translated, Nephi the elder departed out of the land and no one knew where he had gone too. He was apparently young enough that no one worried if he had died, at least not the way Mormon writes. And I would think the righteous of the church would have been told if Nephi had been translated or not. So where did he go? Well, it is just a theory of course but my Dad and I have actually long believed that he was one of the 3 wise men who came to see the Savior. The timing fits. Based on the language of Mormon he was not an old man, and no one knew where he went. We will of course never know until this life is over, but it's always fun to speculate. Until tomorrow.