Four Brides for Four Brothers

It’s been a busy couple days. Dad finished reading the entirety of the brass plates and gave us the highlights. Turns out Dad and Laban were some sort of cousins, X times removed.

Dad had another vision or something, and Laman, Nephi, Sam and I are headed back to Jerusalem again. This time it’s to try and convince Ishmael to come and bring his children with him. He has a couple sons, but more importantly, he has plenty of daughters. I didn’t know the daughters super well, so hopefully one of them works out for me. I’m kinda concerned what with me only having four possible options (and it’s not like I’ll get first dibs either). As I recall, Nephi was quite smitten with one of them, so we’ll see how that works out. He’s never really been what I would call “smooth."

I’m not sure how it’s going to work out attempting to convince Ishmael’s family to join us on this “adventure.” Ishmael and Dad know each other pretty well, and I think Ishmael also sympathizes with the Jeremiah faction. However, it’s one thing to agree with Jeremiah, it’s another thing to abandon everything because your buddy had one dream telling him to abandon civilization and a second dream saying you should go with him. So I guess we’ll see.

If you don’t hear from me for a couple days, it’s cuz I’m doing lots of walking. And if you don’t hear from me for lots of days, I’m probably in prison. I’m a bit concerned that they might’ve connected Laban’s beheading to our family, in which case showing our faces in Jerusalem isn’t the smartest thing to do.

I don’t think that’s the most likely scenario though. I think it’s more likely the authorities figure Zoram killed Laban. I imagine when the whole thing was discovered, the officials saw Laban dead, the brass plates gone, and the servant with charge over the plates gone too. They probably pegged the whole thing on Zoram at that point and are looking for him. I better mention this epiphany of mine to Dad because I don’t think it’d be smart to bring Zoram with us. Nephi will be sad he can’t bring his new buddy.

Kidding, not kidding. Just kidding. No Seriously.

Oh, and seriously, I only have a couple dozen readers, and I know you're all my bros, so please don't mention anything to anyone about the whole killing Laban thing. And if it does slip, make sure the authorities know it was Nephi, not me, that did it. Seriously.

One last item of business, I really need a new description for this blog. I'm thinking, "Managing the crazy." Anyone have any better ideas?

A Good Day to Die?

Okay, I’m starting to wonder if I’m the one here who’s a prophet. Seriously though, what did I say in my last post? I was worried that Dad was going to go even farther down this road of crazy, and he has. He wants me and my brothers to go back to Jerusalem and talk to Laban and see if we can get him to give us the brass plates.

I tried to explain to him the challenge involved in this task. Now before I recount our conversation, let me give you some background. Laman was explaining to me that ever since Babylon got rid of our last king and installed Hezekiah, Laban has been on a power grab. The guy’s official title is captain of 50, but he’s actually way more powerful than that. Also, he hates the Jeremiah followers, and I’m not sure why he even has the brass plates. I’m thinking he probably stole them. I’m not sure if my dad’s dream about his life being endangered was true or not, but if it was, then Laban was probably the reason. Anyway, so this is what I remember of our conversation:

Me: Soooo, we are supposed to go to Laban, and ask him to give us the plates.

Dad: Yes, the Lord commands that you seek the records from him.

Me: Okaayyyy, but, why would Laban give them to us? If your dream about people gonna kill you was right, those people are probably Laban. I don’t see him being very cooperative. In fact, he might kill us. And if he doesn’t kill us, he’ll probably send some of his men to tail us back here so they can kill you. Sooooo, I’m just not sure how this could possibly work? Did the Lord happen to mention to you how we should do this?

Dad: He only commanded that you go to Jerusalem and seek the records from Laban. You’ll need to receive guidance from Him on how to do the seeking. This is an important part of yours and Laman’s growth into followers of the Lord.

Me: Okay, well, we can tell him that you said the Lord commands him to give us the records, but I don’t know that such a statement will lead to the desired behavior from him.

Laman: Dad, Listen to yourself! You’re going to get us killed for nothing. There’s no way we can get those records. We can’t steal them, his compound has too many guards. We can’t request them, he’ll kill us. Lemuel’s trying to point this out to you diplomatically, but you’re too foolish to see the truth. This is impossible, and you’re going to get us killed.

Dad: The Lord will protect you. Go in faith, and He’ll guide you to accomplish His will.

Laman: Is it His will that you and Mom are left without any sons?

Me: Maybe that’s why they’re having another kid. [snicker snicker]

Laman: Shut up, Lemuel!

And that was pretty much it. So yeah, now we’re gearing up to go back. I never had to deal much with Laban before, but Laman did, and he really doesn’t like the guy. He says we’re going back to our graves. Gonna be walking a lot the next couple days so I probably won’t have time to update everyone until we get back…if we get back. Probably shouldn’t be so morbid on this blog, but honestly guys, I’m kind of scared. Even if God did command this, it’s not like everyone who does God’s bidding always lives. Sometimes they die too. Pray for us.

Update: Nephi thinks it’s a great idea. Talking to him about the inherent problems with the plan was about as effective as talking to dad. Laman is more worried now because we have Mr. Social Skills himself coming along to interact with Laban.

Dreams Followed

Surprise! We’re not in Jerusalem anymore, and no, we aren’t doing the whole trading caravan thing either. Dad followed through on what he believed his dream told him, and so we all packed up and left Jerusalem three days ago. Now, we’re just camping next to a river near the Red Sea.

Obviously, I’m concerned. Dad’s visions contributed to him joining Jeremiah's followers in the first place, and those followers generally just hate on God's chosen leaders. I’m not sure why Jeremiah has such an ax to grind. It’s possible he was jealous of the fact that he’s not the High Priest. Some people don’t understand that in the Lord’s household, the office you occupy doesn’t matter. It only matters that you serve. Ambition for anything else can lead to apostasy. Anyway Dad’s visions sent him down this path of apostasy in the first place, so how does he expect us to trust his visions that led us out here?

But, since we’re here, pics!

Luckily, there’s a little greenery and shade here where we’ve set up camp.

Okay, but seriously, I’m really conflicted about everything right now. Abandoning my family doesn’t feel right, but when Dad is taking us down the wrong path, what do I do? Right now I’m thinking I stick with my family and try to be the voice of reason. Hopefully, I can convince Dad to see the light regarding this path he’s taken, and things can return to how they should be.

Oh, and it looks like I might need a new blog description for the top banner. "Learning the trade of my father" doesn't seem like the direction this blog will be going, unfortunately. Comment below if you have any better ideas for a description.

Follow Your Dreams, Eh?

Hey everyone, how’s it going? Nothing big? Well, I have news. We’re leaving, but not for the next leg of the caravan. We’re getting out of dodge. Or at least, that’s what Dad says. He said he had a dream where God told him that people were planning to kill him, and that we all need to head to the wilderness.

The realtor admitted the location is sub par, but at least we won't be crowded by neighbors.

And the thing is I kind of believe him (maybe not the dream, but definitely the fact that he’s made some enemies). A couple buddies were telling me their parents are concerned about Dad. One of them even called him a wolf in sheep’s clothing because of the way he twists the scriptures to condemn our religion. I don’t know why Dad insists on pursuing this path, but he’s apparently not so crazy (yet) that he can't sense when he’s making enemies and causing contention. I think most of us would prefer to live our religion in peace.

Anyway, hopefully this’ll blow over and Dad will realize dreams just happen. I have some crazy dreams, and I’d be even crazier for trying to live my life according to them. I’ll be praying for dad. If you read this blog, please join me. I’ll keep you updated.

Desert Sun

So this is supposed to be a blog about the trade industry, but I gotta deviate a bit because I think the desert travel might’ve affected Dad’s mind. He was being kinda weird today when he got home from Ramoth-Gilead.

He’s always been a pretty religious guy, but lately he seems a little...off. You know those haters like Jeremiah and his followers who are always speaking evil of our leaders and the prophets? Well, I’ve noticed him listening to some of their sermons recently, and he’s been more critical of our leaders of late.

Anyway, he came home from his most recent work trip with a weird expression on his face, didn’t say anything to anyone, and just went to bed. Then after dinner I overheard him telling Mom something about “destruction of this people.” Does he thinks we, the Jews, are going to be destroyed? It’s pretty clear in the scriptures that we’re the Lord’s covenant people. I don’t know how he could come to that conclusion.

So maybe the first rule of caravanning is make sure you don’t get too much exposure to the sun… ;)

First Post!

Hey everyone, I’m starting my own blog. I’ve gone on two minor trading trips with Dad and Laman (my older brother) recently. In a couple months, I’ll be traveling with them all the way to Egypt to learn the trade business there. I figured I’d start this blog for those who haven’t had the opportunity to see this kind of travel.

I’ll be chronicling how we get ready for a caravan trip, what we take with us, and I’ll include lots of stories and pics from Egypt (hopefully said stories will include some Egyptian girls too). I’m thinking that in addition to getting into the trade business myself, I can help others using what I learn and share on this blog. Also, please send this blog to any friends you have that might be interested in getting to this industry.

Thanks everyone! I look forward to your comments in future posts.