1 Nephi 1:16-17

Nephi records that Lehi beheld many visions and dreams and that he recorded many of his prophesies and counsel to his children.  Nephi will follow his example in recording events and revelations in his own life.

When I look at my parents and their lives, I see the echoes in my life, or maybe they're seeds that have taken root and started to grow.  I guess parents and children are like the parable of the sower.

Children don't have a lot of control over what happens in their lives.  Parents provide the environment and the seeds, but eventually the children are responsible.  Lehi's children probably had similar environments and similar seeds, but each had to eventually choose their own path, their own soil, their own seeds.  I've never really understood why, when given a choice between what is good and bad and wrong and right, people ultimately make the choice they do.

I'm old enough to pick and choose what I will nurture and what I will grow in my life, so the question is, What do I choose?  What am I choosing today?  What will I choose tomorrow?  What seeds am I choosing to sow, which am I inadvertently sowing along the way and how will I make changes to the seeds I don't like?

From "The Family: A Proclamation To The World" paragraph 6,

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children...Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another. The Family: A Proclamation To The World

The scriptures tend to shine light into the dark recesses of my soul and make visible what I may not have otherwise seen.  Things I am lacking, things I need to improve.

I don't remember where I originally heard this story related by Robert Fulghum, but it is beautiful.  Here is the ending:

I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world -- into the black places in the hearts of men -- and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.  http://christysclipart.com/mirror.html

What am I doing with my soil and how am I nourishing the soil of my family/friends/community/county?

How far can my influence reach?

What are my purposes and responsibilities in this life?

How do you see yours?