Verse two of the first chapter of first Nephi says "Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians." A couple of questions flared up as I read this verse. First, why write in a unique mix of two languages? And two, why does Lehi know Egyptian? I suppose the Book of Lehi would tell us, but since we don't have it are we left to pure speculation? Several LDS scholars propose that Lehi was a tradesman. It makes a lot of sense. He led his family out of Jerusalem which seems like was a trade route. It also would explain that he speaks Egyptian probably for the use of trading with them. Egypt and Israel have a long history together. The jews were slaves to the egyptians for years upon years ending with the exodus of Moses. From the time of Moses to the time of Lehi is about 1800 years.
Anyways, that's getting a little off track. Assuming that the LDS scholars are correct about Lehi's occupation, it makes sense why he speaks Egyptian. Are there any other explanations? I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject. The most correct answer obviously is that the Lord wanted/needed him to know egyptian. He needed Lehi to teach his children so that Nephi and the rest of their posterity could write in the plates in this unique language. I don't know why the Lord wanted the plates to be written in that language, but all things are done in the wisdom of the Lord. I wonder if Nephi knew why it must be written in reformed egyptian. Perhaps it was simply for Charles Anthon to examine to say that an excerpt was authentic. It probably has a lot more to do with it than that. Perhaps that which was written is so sacred that it reformed egyptian articulated it best. No matter what the reason, it proves to me that the Lord uses people's gifts to advance His work.
The Lord will invest talents in His children, and later He will help us use those talents to help others and to help spread the Gospel. Two talents in which the Lord has helped me develop is my average musical ability with the Violin and with my second language of Spanish. I have often played my Violin along with others at church meetings, baptisms, and wedding receptions for no price. Music can bring and communicate the spirit to others better sometimes than words.
I have often wondered why the Lord sent me on a Spanish speaking mission in the states. Why didn't he send me to Tacoma, Washington english speaking? Preach my Gospel chapter 7 reads, "Strive to master the language throughout your mission and after you return. The Lord has invest much in you, and He may have uses for your language abilities later in your life." I can't help but feel that the Lord wanted me to learn Spanish not only to help those I met in Tacoma, but to serve him in a greater capacity after the mission. At work, I often times come in contact with Latinos who don't speak very much English. I try to reach out and communicate with them. They almost always light up and smile as I attempt to speak as well as they do. If making people smile for just a moment was the purpose of me learning Spanish, that would be sufficient for me. Hopefully I can serve the Spanish community in more and greater ways in the near future.
So I guess after a few questions, I have come to learn that the Lord invests much in all of us. We all have different talents, but we do have them. Some of them not so physical as playing the violin. For example, I have a friend that knows exactly how to make people feel loved. That's a gift! The Lord can definitely use that kind of gift.
Please leave a comment if you agree with anything that I've said, if you can answer anything better than I have, would like to give additional input, or even share a story. I love hearing faith filled stories. Again, I really enjoy learning from others. That's half the point of this blog. On the mission, we would have one hour of personal study and then one hour of Companionship study. During that second hour, we would share what we had learned during the first hour and teach each other. Honestly, I have had some of the most spiritual experiences in my life during that one hour with a mission companion. I miss those opportunities. Oh, and I don't mean to go verse by verse. That's just how it's worked out so far. I'll probably take more than one verse at a time in most of my future posts. Thank you for reading.
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