COMMANDED TO DEPART

It was the middle of the night when my father urgently woke me up. At least, it felt like the middle of the night, but since bedtime was a strict 8:00 PM, it may have only been 8:30 PM. He told me to grab the most important things to me and to meet him, my mother and siblings at the truck in five minutes.

I groggily reached around looking for my favorite doll, Starla. Mom had given her to me for my eighth birthday a few months before. I also grabbed my yellow blanket and stumbled to the truck along with my sleep walking brothers and sister. We were all confused and carrying our most important treasures.

Dad threw sleeping bags in the back of the truck, along with his backpack. Mom was dressed and comforting my little brother who was too young to understand what was going on.  We all piled into the vehicle and dad drove us to the wilderness, where we pulled over under a starry sky with few clouds. The wilderness wasn’t very far away in our small town of Grand Junction, Colorado, but it seemed far away from everything and everyone I knew.

Once we arrived at our destitute destination, we piled into the sleeping bags in the back of the truck around my mom. Confused, we watched as my dad opened his backpack and revealed a lantern and a Book of Mormon. He definitely had our attention. He turned to 1 Nephi chapter 2 and began to read: “… the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and… commanded my father… that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness. And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord….”

I knew the story well. I was raised hearing the story of Nephi and his family fleeing into the wilderness. But this was different. For the first time, I knew what it felt like to leave my home, and all the comforts it provided. When dad reached verse 4, he asked us if we had bought our favorite things? I hugged Starla tight, snuggled into my yellow blanket and felt I had chosen wisely. Then dad explained that the most important things we could have were our family, provisions and the word of God. Dad had remembered the Book of Mormon. Mom gathered us around her and spoke softly about how precious we all were.

I have lost my yellow blanket. Starla now belongs to my daughter. But I have the most important things I need in this wilderness called life: my family, provisions, my scriptures, and a testimony of Jesus Christ. I really don’t need gold, silver, and precious things. I already have everything!

At least that’s the way I remember it.