Consider a child born under the following circumstances: parents live in a desert away from civilization where he nearly starves to death, at a young age travels by ancient boat across the Atlantic ocean with his family for months on end, almost dies on the trip during a tremendous storm, and his older brothers cause parents so much grief they almost die and the child almost dies because of his need for nourishment and mother’s grief so great that she can’t take care of him.
It would be understandable if someone with such a traumatic childhood grew to be bitter, calloused, and negative. It would be quite a feat and admirable if this person became refined, selfless, and positive.
These were the circumstances of Nephi’s younger brother Jacob. The path Jacob chose was the harder but higher path and he became a great teacher.
Here are the characteristics he developed:
- Caring for others to the extent that he felt much anxiety for their welfare
- Constantly thinking about how to encourage others to be better people
- Humility
Jacob is an inspiration and a great example of overcoming challenges from the past.
No comments:
Post a Comment