June 9, 2020

Still reading in 1 Nephi 2.  In verse 11 Nephi talks about the murmuring of Laman and Lemuel, and how they complained and whined about having leave "THEIR gold and silver, and THEIR precious things".  I can't help but wonder about their acquisition of those things.  I don't know how old these boys were, I presume mid teens or so - my logic simply being that if they were adults, they wouldn't have gone, but they were old enough to really cause trouble with their complaining.

In any event, assuming they are somewhere in the mid-teen range, did they earn the money to acquire the gold and silver?  What was really THEIRS?  Perhaps Lehi was too generous with his older boys, but either way, they were making quite a scene about having to leave "THEIR" stuff, which I would bet was the result of little if any sweat of their brows.  

That said, it's an interesting idea - this thought of things being OURS, and our reticence to part with our material possessions.  Are we indeed owners of anything?  I think in our more lucid and spiritually attuned moments we remember that we are simply stewards of things.  "I have made you ruler over few things; now I will make you ruler over many things".  This may be cliche, but we simply need to do something with the things for which we are responsible.  The more we can make of those things, or the more we can grow the vineyard, the more that is added upon as to appropriately utilize as we feel guided to do.  Stuff is simply stuff, but in the right mindset, 'stuff' are the tools we have at our disposal to bless our home and family, and any others in our stewardship.