35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.
I can understand mourning for the death of a parent, but the
rest of this verse indicates to me that these daughters of Ishmael may have
been on this journey for the wrong reason. I assume everyone in the company
understood at the outset that this would be a difficult journey. I doubt any of
them realized how difficult until they got into it. Those who have come in
obedience to the Lord pretty much seem to roll with the punches. Those who came
in obedience to a person, such as a father, are complainers. We see it with
Laman and Lemuel, now we see it with the daughters of Ishmael. In my experience
those who do things for a higher cause, or a reason bigger than themselves or
their own self-interest are less bothered by difficulty and hardship. Or
rather, they are too focused on the cause to be distracted by obstacles.
Obstacles are what we see when we take our eyes off the goal. At this point in
the journey, though, it would be just as difficult for them to go back to
Jerusalem like they want to, as it would to push forward. They are committed.
It’s like walking on a tightrope, and halfway across losing your nerve, so you
turn around and go back. Going back is just as difficult as going forward. The
difference with Lehi’s company is the unknown. If you don’t have faith in the
trip leading to the Promised Land, Jerusalem looks pretty good, even if it is
just as difficult getting back as going forward. There is also the added factor
of whether they would receive the Lord’s help to go back rather than forward.
My guess is that He would hinder more than help that. For example, I doubt the
Liahona would have cooperated with a return trip.
