Abraham 2: So Much to Learn From!

Ever have one of those days where you prepare a lesson for your students you are really excited about and go to class and they just sit and stare at you the entire time? Yup, happened to me today! And this occurred in the class I like to brag about in my inservice meetings!

We covered Abraham 2, which outlines Abraham's travel from Ur to Haran, then from Haran to Canaan, then on down into Egypt. I even showed them a map with Abraham's journey outlined on it! (unlike the one on the left, which is just an Old Testament map). At times like this I wonder, "So, was that lesson more for me or my students?" I am absolutely not arguing there is nothing wrong with presenting a lesson that perhaps the teacher gets more out of than the students, sometimes that is just how it shakes out. 

Here though, is what I found incredibly interesting and exciting from Abraham 2:

• In verse three, the scripture says, "Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee," and immediately in verse four, Abraham leaves "the land of Ur, of Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan." So he takes some of his family and ends up in Haran. He goes without delay!
• In verse six, "the Lord appeared unto [Abraham], and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice." So what does Abraham do? He goes to Canaan and is able to see a land in which he will not even be blessed to stay in, but his posterity, through their faithfulness will. He goes without delay!
• Finally, after traveling through Canaan, Abraham continues his journey south, due to a continued famine in the land, "I, Abraham concluded to go down into Egypt, to sojourn there." And later, as he was entering Egypt, the Lord said to Abraham, "Behold, Sarai, thy wife is a very fair woman to look upon;..." and the Lord gives Abraham more directions as he moves forward. These directions seem to me to be a confirmation that Abraham had made the right choice to head to Egypt in the first place, seemingly without delay. 

Here is what I found interesting that my students did not find so very interesting:

• In verse three, the Lord prompts Abraham to leave and head to a new land, probably by the still small voice of the Holy Ghost, the scripture does not specify exactly in what way the Lord led Abraham in this first instance. 
• In verse six, it reads as if the Lord Himself tells Abraham what to do exactly.
• Finally, in verse 21 it reads as if Abraham went to Egypt of his own accord, no direct revelation was involved, but a confirmation that the choice he made to head into Egypt came by the Lord warning Abraham to protect his wife's identity (as his wife) as they entered into Egypt.
• In all three cases, Abraham follows the directions the Lord gives, quickly! We will come back to this point in a bit, be patient for a moment please. 

All of these points reminded me of a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, titled, "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer," where he said:

"Some misunderstandings about prayer can be clarified by realizing that the scriptures define principles for effective prayer, but they do not assure when a response will be given. Actually, He will reply in one of three ways. First, you can feel the peace, comfort, and assurance that confirm that your decision is right. Or second, you can sense that unsettled feeling, the stupor of thought, indicating that your choice is wrong. Or third—and this is the difficult one—you can feel no response.

"What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision" (Apr. 2007 General Conference). 

It seems to me that Abraham's life, as described in Abraham 2 demonstrates the way the Spirit of the Lord or the Gift of the Holy Ghost will often help us along: 1. Sometimes the voice of the Spirit will provide a very clear direction of what to do; 2. Sometimes the Lord will come to make things happen Himself, although this is rare; and 3. Sometimes the Lord allows us to choose for ourselves, and then confirms the choice later as in Abraham's case. 

Now, back to that point I asked the reader to be patient about previously: In ever case,

Abraham was obedient, without delay to the instruction he was given. Like Mormon, from the Book of Mormon, Abraham could be described as "quick to observe" (Mormon 1:2). Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Quick to observe. Prompt to watch and to obey. A simple gift that blesses us individually and in our families and extends blessings to so many other people. Each of us can and should strive to be worthy of this significant spiritual gift—even the capacity of being quick to observe" ("Quick to Observe," BYU Speeches, given 10 May 2005). What blessings do I miss out on because far too often do I feel a prompting and think, "Good idea, I will get to that, later" and "later" never comes? Abraham was "quick to observe" and was blessed with further light, truth and revelation. 

Abraham has taught me so much today! Again, maybe today's lesson was only for me, but I felt very blessed to be able to open the scriptures and learn from the Lord with fantastic young people. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is simply true!