36 And it came to pass after my father had spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us, because of these things which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence of the Lord.
37 And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.
38 And after he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and he did cease speaking unto them.
Lehi never gave up trying to get his sons to be converted. His dying words to them were an expression of concern for their eternal welfare and for them to repent. (See 2 Nephi 1:13–29) I suppose if I had any rebellious children I would take it personally, as so many parents do. They feel like they didn’t do enough, or that they should have done something differently. Often that is the case, but there is no evidence from Lehi’s experience that he was judged for his children’s rebellion. (2 Nephi 1:15) We believe that children will not be punished for their parents’ sins, so likewise parents should not be punished for their children’s sins as long as they are doing everything they can to bring those children to Christ. In my situation, with no rebellious children, it’s easy to see that parents are not judged for their children’s sins, as long as they are doing their best to teach them correct principles. It may be more difficult to see that if my situation were different. When you teach and work and love someone, like your children, and they don’t respond, it must be very difficult to not blame yourself. But as long as parents are doing their best, there is no evidence that they need fear for their own eternal welfare, just for their children.
- 2 Nephi 1:13–29
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