I want you to take a look at this picture for the next 5 seconds and try to find as
many things in the picture as are possible that are red. Ready, go. Now, I want you to
name to yourself everything in the picture that was blue. How did you do? Did you notice
the blue scissors, the blue cup, the blue on the table? You probably missed many of
the blue things in the picture because you were focused on looking for the red.
This little object lesson teaches us an important principle. We often see what we are looking
for. We all have little blinders that prevent us from seeing things clearly. This is true,
even among the best of us. Consider for example, Nephi, the son of Helaman. He was a mighty
prophet who lived 20 years before Christ’s birth. Despite his best efforts across several
years, the people were choosing evil and he felt powerless to stop them.
On one occasion, he said “Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father
Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, then were his people easy to be entreated,
firm to keep the commandments of God…Yea, if my days could have been in those days,
then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.”
Do you notice anything odd about that passage? When do we read about the original Nephi having
joy in the righteousness of his brethren? Were his people really easy to be entreated?
Lehi’s son, Nephi, actually faced incredible difficulties because of the poor choices made
by his brothers. Nephi, the son of Helaman, appears to be looking
at what is: the wickedness of his people, and wishing it were something else: the idealized
time of the original Nephi. Because he was so focused on a misperception on how things
had been in the past, he made his current life harder. And I love seeing from Nephi
that even valiant servants of the Lord can have difficult days and fall prey to the trap
of seeing things as they really aren’t. Do you and I ever do the same thing? Do we
ever look at others and think, “Oh, if only we could be them, then I would be happy.”
When we do that kind of thing, it’s like we’re focusing on the red when really, we
should be looking for the blue. Compare this experience with that of an incredible
example of one who was able to find peace amidst great distress, the almost unknown
Book of Mormon hero Anti Nephi Lehi. Sometimes we talk about the Anti Nephi Lehites, but
there was a person named Anti Nephi Lehi. He was the brother of King Lamoni. Both were
among the converts of the sons of Mosiah. Anti Nephi Lehi became king over all the Lamanites
just as some Lamanites were preparing to attack those who had joined the church. Anti Nephi
Lehi had recently lost his father, he had a new leadership role, and his life was in
danger. If anybody had an excuse to be gloomy, its him. And it was in this context, though,
that he declared to his people “I thank my God, that our great God in his goodness
has sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us. I thank my great
God that he has given us a portion of his spirit to soften our hearts. I also thank
my God, that he hath taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his
son.” Anti Nephi Lehi looked at what was: a terribly
difficult situation, but was able to see positive aspects and still be grateful. He was thankful
for the gift of repentance, for the missionaries, and for his conversion to the gospel of Jesus
Christ. To go back to our original analogy, we could say that even though there was a
lot of red in his life, Anti Nephi Lehi was still able to see the blue.
My good friend, Tammy, gave me this advice. She said, “John, the grass isn’t greener
on the other side. Its green where you water it.” We can take this advice to heart by
focusing on the good even when we’re surrounded by difficult circumstances. We can still choose
to look for the good, and as a result, find greater peace in our lives.