We Did Take our Bows and our Arrows

1 Nephi 16:12 - 17, NC 1 Nephi 5 pars. 5 - 6 

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and departed into the wilderness across the river Laman. And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.

And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families, we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness which were in the borders near the Red Sea. And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way with our bows, and our arrows, and our stones, and our slings; and we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 5 pars. 5 - 6

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and departed into the wilderness across the river Laman. And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south - southeast direction, 
and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer. 

And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families, we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness which were in the borders near the Red Sea. And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way with our bows, and our arrows, and our stones, and our slings; and we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

What strikes me here about this account of their travels in the wilderness is that even though the flight of Lehi's family is a prophesied and a divine flight from Jerusalem to another land, the undertaking of the journey and everything associated with it at this point is so very mortal, so to speak.

What do I mean by this?

They are required day by day to walk and travel.  They are required day by day to provide food for their families.  They are required to pitch their own tents when they stop and then to take down and stow their tents when they travel. It appears to be a common ordinary existence of daily toil.

Except for the presence of the Liahona directing them, there does not appear from the record to be any indication that they were spared, at this point, from the daily menial labors that were constantly required for day to day survival and progress. 

Why would that be so, given that the journey they were undertaking was calculated to alter world history?

What is to be gained by being required to go through the day to day grind, even if you are involved in a divine project, that requires you to take time away from that divine project in order to meet daily needs?

Is this a pattern?

Is this a requirement?

I remember what God declared to Adam and Eve in the following, at the time Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden.

...And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said, Because you have listened unto the voice of your wife and have eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you shall return unto the ground, for you shall surely die, for out of it were you taken — for dust you were and unto dust shall you return. ... (Moses 4:20 - 27, OC Genesis 2 par. 18)

Was this command given to Adam, upon being cast out of the Garden of Eden, in order to create the opportunity for God to bless Adam's labors?

Is this command to daily toil related to participating in something divine?

Then there is this statement—it's a rather lengthy passage, but it's really worth hearing: 

Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the heathen where you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness; and from all your idols [I will] cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people and I will be your God. I will also save you from...your uncleanness, and I will call for the grain and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall you remember your...evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourself in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I do this, says the Lord God, be it known unto you; be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be built. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. ...they shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities have become fortified and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places and plant that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, ...I will do it. (Ezekiel 18:8-10 RE, emphasis added) 

So, the land is going to produce—you have to walk in His statues, you have to keep His judgments. And if you do, eventually you will come to the point that you recognize, in your own eyes, the loathsomeness of the things that you have done that were ungodly, that were unclean, that were inappropriate, selfish, unkind, unholy. You’ll do that. Because as you become more clean, you look back with abhorrence upon your past failures. 

Then, you get to go to harsh lands, bad places, desolate wastes, desolate, desolate. Okay, that's the list. That's what He's talking about. Here's what these people that He's going to gather are going to get to do: They get to go to desolate land; wastes shall be built; it's gonna lay desolate in the sight of all that pass by. And the people that pass by that looked at this place are going to say, “This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden!” Well, how did that happen? It's because, apparently, idiots went and tilled this crappy, desolate, waste place and invested their labor. By the sweat of your brow shall you eat your bread (see Genesis 3:1 RE). 

What He's saying is, “Okay—finally, finally I've got people who are willing to invest the sweat of their brow. I told Adam that was the deal. You didn't like paradise. So here, go take this, and turn it back into paradise. I made you a husbandman to the ground. You didn't like that; you're malcontent. So here, go out, and work this stuff.” 

This whole passage in Isaiah in Ezekiel is accounting for the surprise. “Oh, my word. Look at that!”—the surprise of the passersby who see tilling going on in pretty unfavorable conditions. Well, why would that be? It’s because the Lord agrees to prosper what you do. But it is the doing that is incumbent upon you. The Three Nephites aren't gonna come plow the field (folklore from early Mormon history notwithstanding). John the Beloved isn't gonna come out and say, “Hey, I've been saving these magic beans for, you know, generations. And if you plant ‘em….” Actually, now that I think about it, if you plan ‘em you might inherit a giant in the land. So, why don't you do without the magic beans? 

There's work to be done. Our covenant with the Lord says, Teach your children to honor me. Seek to recover the lost sheep remnant of this land and of Israel and no longer forsake them. Bring them unto me and teach them of my ways, to walk in them. And I, the Lord your God, will be with you and will never forsake you, and I will lead you in the path which will bring peace to you in the troubling season now fast approaching. I will raise you up and protect you, abide with you, and gather you in due time... (T&C 158:11-13) 

Notice that there's a sequence here within the covenant itself. He's saying He's gonna lead us and bring us to peace. But there's a troubling season that is fast approaching. That's gonna happen with some rapidity; it's gonna be upon you. “I will raise you up and protect you, abide with you, and gather you in due time.” That doesn't sound like we oughta be assembling ourselves in haste. That sounds like the troubling times fast approaching are going to precede the time in which He will gather us in due time.

 ...and this shall be a land of promise to you as your inheritance from me. The earth will yield its increase... (Ibid. 13-14, emphasis added) Yield requires effort. It requires something be pursued. It requires that there be effort. 

● “We got our army together, and we got our battering ram, and we beat against the door of the castle, and a lot of us took arrows from above—but we just kept beating and beating, and the door to the castle yielded. And then we were able to take the stronghold.” 

● “I saw this gorgeous gal when I was a freshman and asked her out 30 times my freshman year and 60 times my sophomore year and 90 times my junior year. And my senior year, her returned missionary came back and abandoned her, and she went out with me! She finally yielded!” 

Okay, think of that word “yield” in the context of the covenant. It doesn't mean, “There! I went out. I prayed. Jesus, I'd like wheat; oh, and barley; oh, oh, and oats—I like oatmeal. Oh, oh, oh, oh, grapes, too. Grapes. I want some grapes. And how ‘bout some peach trees? Love peaches!” [Denver singing] “Millions of peaches; peaches for me” (lyrics of the song “Peaches”). “Why is this a barren wasteland, desolate, no better than it was before my prayer? I don't get it, Lord, wasn't this supposed to be fairy dust that makes it all easy?” 

...The earth will yield its increase, and you will flourish upon the mountains and upon the hills, and the wicked will not come against you because the fear of the Lord [shall] be with you. I will visit my house, which the remnant of my people shall build, and I will dwell therein, to be among you, and no one will need to say, Know ye the Lord, for you [shall all] know me, from the least to the greatest. (Ibid. 14-15) That's at the end of the process that He's describing in the Answer to the Prayer or this is the Covenant itself that we're reading from. This is the process that He says is going to unfold. We expect a house of God with no labor, land that will yield without effort, a desolate wasteland to become the Garden of Eden when we do nothing more than to ask. ("Equality," Living Waters Ranch Retreat, Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Challis, ID 5 September 2021, pgs. 8 - 10)

The above is an excerpt of a talk delivered in Challis, Idaho speaking about the necessity for a people being gathered to Zion to labor.

Isn't the gathering of a people to Zion in the last days a divine undertaking?

Isn't the gathering of a people to Zion in the last days a prophetic event that has been hoped for by the prophets down through time?

Why the necessity with such an event to require daily toil to bring forth food for survival?

What is to be gained by such an effort?

Is it possible that the command given to Adam at the fall is a command the Lord intended to be followed in order to rise up while additionally sacrificing to be a part of a divine work?

Is that what the Lord intends to do; to bless the labors of a righteous people?

Do we have an example in scripture of a situation that approaches this?

... And when their priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God, they all returned again diligently unto their labors, and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers; for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner. And thus they were all equal; and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted. And they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely. And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions. (Alma 1:19 - 28, NC Alma 1 par. 5)

The priests and the teachers were all required to labor with everyone else.

In addition to laboring, the priests and the teachers sacrificed to impart the word of God unto the people.

Is it reasonable to consider that Nephi, who sacrificed to impart the word of God, was required to perform the same daily toil as everyone else in the company?

In this daily toil together were all the members of Lehi's company equal?

The priest and the teachers of the church in Alma's day did not esteem themselves better than the hearers and the learners.

They were all equal because they all labored.

In addition they imparted of their substance to the poor and the needy the sick and the afflicted.

Is equality required in a group that is tasked with a divine mission?

For verily I say unto you, the time has come and is now at hand, and behold and lo, it must needs be that there be an organization of the literary and the mercantile establishments of my church, both in this place and in the land of Zion, for a permanent and everlasting establishment and firm unto my church, to advance the cause which you have espoused, to the salvation of man, and to the glory of your Father who is in Heaven, that you may be equal in the bonds of Heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of Heavenly things. For if you are not equal in earthly things, you cannot be equal in obtaining Heavenly things, for if you will that I give unto you a place in the Celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded and required of you. (D&C 78:3 - 7, T&C 70 par. 2)

Is it possible that everyone toiling daily together has the effect of creating equality among a group who are tasked with a divine mission?

Is it possible that this requirement that everyone labor and have that commonality is part of what would make a group of people equal in earthly things for the obtaining of Heavenly things?

What did Alma mean by saying that every man did labor with their strength?

They weren't all priests. (Well, that's not equal.) They weren't all teachers. (That's not equal either.) But they were all equal. “And they did all labor….” Oh, so they have one thing in common, and the one thing that they have in common is work, “...every man according to his strength.” You have to give what you have. And one man's strength may not be another man's strength, but he needs to give according to the strength that he has. And one woman's strength may not be what another woman's strength is, but she must give according to the strength that she has. 

If I could point to one of this morning's examples (or mid-day examples, I guess): Connie Waterman is physically frail. But she has the strength to compose and the strength to sing a song of worship that means something to us all. It certainly means something to me; it certainly had an effect upon me.

Everyone has to labor. ("Equality," Living Waters Ranch Retreat, Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Challis, ID 5 September 2021, pg. 5)

This labor that brings equality among a people of God is required to provide the necessities of life.

I agree with the following.

I've heard it said that there are people who think that the Lord expects them to spend their time studying the Scriptures. And that that's the labor to which they've been called. I think that's absolutely fantastic. And when you get through gnawing on your leather-bound Scriptures (which may have some limited nutritional value), then I hope that the ink on the cotton (which certainly has fiber) won't kill you when your Scripture study leads you to eating your Scriptures to fill your growling belly. Because it doesn't matter what God gives you, you're not gonna be able to feed yourself. And if the labor of your hand consists in turning a page… Well, I would suggest we build a glass booth and put the person in the booth and put a hat out front for the entertainment value. And we can all drop our spare change in as we go by, watching the man who turns the page produce the labor necessary for Zion. Because Zion is hard work; it's taking what is desolate and making it become something that it’s not. ("Equality," Living Waters Ranch Retreat, Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Challis, ID 5 September 2021, pg. 13)

My present understanding is that there are several purposes for the command God gave to Adam at the fall that requires daily toil.

I believe personally that daily toil also allows an individual to see everything God has placed to testify of Christ in the world.

As individuals daily toil are they not allowed to see the ebb and flow of nature?

Please consider the following.

Nature testifies endlessly of the Lord. It also invites us endlessly to turn back to Him. This continuing patience and enduring invitiation shown in nature is a reminder of how loving and patient, how persistent and committed the Lord is to our salvation. Salvation is predicated upon the same, universal standard for all who would return to Him. In that respect it is as exact and unchanging as the cycles of nature. Despite its exacting requirements, it is endlessly inviting and continually encouraging us to accept that standard and to live it. Not just to say, but to do. ("Solstice," Denversnuffer.com, 18 December 2010)

And the following.

Yeah. But all things bear testimony of Christ​—​all things​. Whether they are on the earth or under the earth or in the earth or above the earth, all things bear testimony of Christ. The Scriptures say so. You think about the caterpillar ​that’s a pest, that’s something to wreck your garden, that goes into a cocoon​—​and then it comes out of the cocoon, and it’s now something that helps fertilize and pollinate. And it leaves its grubby, earthly confines to become airborne and colorful and a contributor to life and to your gardening. It’s the same animal. And tell me ​that isn’t a testimony of Christ. All things bear testimony of Him, and science simply ratifies that. ("113:Nature, Part 3," Denversnuffer podcast, May 24, 2020)

I believe that in any divine mission there are various and multiple "labors" that must be performed in order to sustain life and to bring joy to this existence.

I believe that it is possible to recognize the signs all around us that point to Christ in whatever labor we are engaged in if we will look.

As mentioned above, I believe as well, that every person must labor according to their strength, whatever that is, in the daily toil to survive and move forward in any divine work just as Lehi and his company were required to do.

I believe that God intended for us to have daily toil in order for us to be reliant upon Them for our support.

I believe that God intended for us to have daily toil in order for us to see that all things do bear testimony of Christ.

I believe that God intended for us to have daily toil in order for us to have a commonality that would make us all equal, the commonality of labor.

I believe that Nephi intentionally took the time and performed the labor by his sacrifice of inscribing onto metal plates this account of their journey so that we might understand that any divine action will necessarily be accompanied by daily toil and labor to sustain life and move forward.

From what I am able to understand from the scriptures, it appears to me presently, that there is no magical sprinkling of fairy dust that removes the first command of the Lord to Adam, upon casting him out of the Garden, to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life. 

My present understanding is that this dying society we live in presently has rejected this commandment as a whole.

I believe for me, that if I am ever to consider that I might be able to be a part of a divine work at this moment in the history of the world, I must be willing to labor with my own hands according to my strengths and contribute to the daily toil that this life requires of all of us.

As far as I know, none of us… And certainly I cannot provide for everyone. But I can provide for my own family. And each of you should labor to do the same... ("Equality," Living Waters Ranch Retreat, Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Challis, ID 5 September 2021, pg. 13)

I believe that I have a very important and divinely imposed burden for my family.

Verily thus says the Lord: In addition to the laws of the church, concerning women and children who belong to the church, who have lost their husbands or fathers, women have claim on their husbands until they are taken, and if they are not found transgressors, they remain upon their inheritances. All children have claim upon their parents until they are of age, and after that, they have claim upon the church, or in other words the Lord’s storehouse, for inheritances. (D&C 83, T&C 79)

I know this may seem a strange post but I do honestly believe that nothing recorded by Nephi in the Book of Mormon was done haphazardly or simply as a travel log.

I presently believe that what I got for myself from this part of the record right now might or very well could or should be something even more if I were to revisit this part of the record in the future.

I believe now that the Book of Mormon is more like a parable than a history.

I have come to see things contained in the record that I had not encountered upon first reading the Book of Mormon or even upon subsequent readings.

I have been working to cast off cultural, religious, and even familial traditions that have colored my view of the message of the Book of Mormon; hoping to read it as a completely new book.

I believe that if I will repent and if I will be diligent in crying to God, that my views will become increasingly more like the views of a child reading this record.  I believe this is necessary for the Lord to be able to open to me the ever layered teachings that exist in the Book of Mormon parable.

I would invite everyone to follow the same course of casting off all preconceived notions and all traditions that confine the message of the Book of Mormon and cry unto God and repent so that He will open up the message of His Book of Mormon to you personally.