Sabbath Devotional :: Light on the Path

Everybody has a superpower. Mine is pretty straightforward, and it can best be described as an ability to see around corners. So the last few months have been incredibly disorienting for me, because not only am I unable to see around corners, I cannot even seem to see five feet in front of me. And frankly, I’ve been struggling with this.

During those same months, I, like many of you, have also been experiencing a very unusual degree of isolation. Some of that isolation is straightforward — my abundant and complex life narrowed overnight. But there is another layer. I am discovering that many more people than I had previously imagined see the world and its struggles very differently than I do. This isn’t new, but most disorienting is the realization that we don’t even seem to agree on what is wrong and what is right. That is an existential isolation that I didn’t anticipate would happen, and it has been painful. If possible, it bothers me even more than the life-blindness.

Right now there are many questions and few answers, so like many of you, I have simply doubled down on the basics: scripture study, prayer, and attempts at deeper reflection. But, to be honest, for months it didn’t feel like that was working very well. There were periodic moments of clarity, but it felt like these things were just sort of working, as if I were taking medicine that stopped me from throwing up but didn’t take away the miserable feeling that I needed to.

Then, over the last three weeks, the scriptures helped everything kaleidoscope together into a focused pattern, and for the first time in a long time I felt like I could see. I owe this clarity to Nephi. In the early chapters of Helaman his experiences offer us a case study in how to act with power and goodness when we are faced with uncertainty, a fracturing society, and personal isolation.

But what is most enlightening is the way that Nephi not only survives these difficulties but actually thrives. His authority to speak and act and bless seems to increase in direct proportion to the personal and circumstantial difficulties that surround him. Nephi is not only able to discern truth, he is able to communicate it, represent it, and actualize it.

After I read these chapters, I went back to search for a pattern that I could put to use in my own life, and I asked for some inspiration about how I could find the vision and clarity that I personally lack but need if I am going to move forward with faith and confidence. I left with some questions that I hope to answer for myself over the coming days and weeks, and I’d like to share them with you.

The first is simply: What do you need to remember?

As Nephi gives up the judgment seat and begins his ministry, he reflects on some profound words shared by his father Helaman. In Helaman 5:6–14 we hear a brief, yet powerful sermon on what it means to remember and why it is important. Remembrance gives perspective and context and wisdom. It is deeply grounding (5:12). But most importantly, remembrance connects us to the redemptive power of Christ.

The second is: What is my stewardship now, and what do I need to put into place so I can fulfill it without fear?

Nephi experiences extraordinary hardship as he fulfills his commitment to speak truth. He goes from a position of great temporal power, security, and public recognition to one of great insecurity and consistent danger. He is often threatened simply because he is right. But Nephi acts in perfect confidence because he knows two things: what his role is, and to whom he answers. Ultimately Nephi’s clarity of purpose is so extraordinary that he is granted power and authority that far surpasses the worldly power he voluntarily abandoned (Helaman 10:4-11).

The third question that emerged for me was: What gives me hope?

For Nephi it is clear, he finds hope in the promises of the Lord, irrespective of the temporal difficulties that he faced. He frequently bears witness, even in the darkest of times. “Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved” (Helaman 12:23).

Finally, I reflected on the fact that whether he found himself in prison or in public, alone in his garden or walking a dusty road, debating with the learned or calling the humble to repentance, Nephi had the extraordinary ability to never be alone. His work was painful and thankless, dangerous and wearying, but he did it in the company of the Spirit and angels and the Lord.

So I have been reflecting: What sacrifices do I need to make in order to have God with me?

As I have thought about these questions and sought answers I have felt surprised and inspired. I have had to reflect on some ways that I was falling short and have also felt deeply blessed with visions of what is possible. There has been some light shed on the path. I recognize that Nephi was an extraordinary man at an extraordinary time, and I have no illusions that my stewardship compares in any way to his. But I am increasingly clear that I have one, and I know that this is true of each of you as well.

These scriptures cannot only have relevance for the most powerful of prophets. I think they have been shared with us so that we might have a pattern of how we can live courageously in our own difficult times when our vision may be obstructed and we need to stand alone. For me, these scriptures provide both a path and some light, and because of that, they offer a way forward.

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Jennifer Walker Thomas is the senior director of the nonpartisan root for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

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