And My Father Dwelt In A Tent

2 Nephi 2:15
And my father dwelt in a tent.

This is one of those scriptures that a load of cynical teenagers, like myself, tend to pick whenever we're chosen to memorize a non scripture mastery scripture, because it's both so short and found so early in the Book of Mormon.

But let's think for a second. What do we know about Lehi, Nephi's father? He was a prophet in ancient Jerusalem. He was rich, he was powerful; he had a huge house and many pricey possessions. And because the Lord requested it of him, he abandoned the city, leaving all his wealth and possessions there in the city, to go dwell in a tent.

We live in Katy, and I'm sure none of us are, well, poor or not well off. Would you really be willing to leave your home, your friends, this city, and go off into the wilderness to "dwell in a tent" if your Father in Heaven asked it of you? It takes a great deal of faith and Christian courage to follow through with a request so- as Laman and Lemuel viewed it -pointless and inane, even if it had been sent from God.

Compare it to asking Noah to build an ark. Noah had no idea what an ark was, how large it should be, or what to build it out of. But, upon being prompted and instructed, he followed through, and built an ark. This might be a bit more of a seemingly ridiculous request out of context, but it was just as necessary. Through Noah and his family's survival, the human race was preserved.

How do I justify this comparison?

Through Lehi and his family's survival, the line of Manasseh was preserved, the Book of Mormon was eventually written, the church was restored, and here we are today. If Lehi didn't have the faith necessary to follow God's commandments and go "dwell in a tent," our religion would still be lost.

So, my friends, do you have the faith necessary to follow God and go "dwell in a tent"?