It's all in our ATTITUDE!

I began reading the Book of Mormon again at the beginning of the year. This time I decided to read through it quickly and I learned an interesting thing. The first books, first and second Nephi, talk about the journey that Lehi took with his family in the wilderness and across the ocean to the promised land. During that time, Lehi, who is a prophet, received revelation from God as to where he should go and what he should do. His family responded in different ways and it is interesting how their attitude and their response related to the experience they had while traveling.
Lehi's four oldest sons are named, in order from oldest to youngest; Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. Whenever Lehi asks his sons to do something, Laman and Lemuel will murmur, complain, have a negative attitude, hesitate to do it, and gain nothing from the experience. On the other hand, Nephi responds with no hesitation to follow what his father has asked. He knows that his father is a prophet of God and that when he speaks, it is necessary to obey. In obeying, he knows God will help him accomplish the required task and he will be blessed.
In the course of their travels it is obvious that Laman and Lemuel do not learn or grow in the way that Nephi does. I believe a big part of it is attributed to the fact that Nephi was always willing to follow God's commands and allowed God to shape him into the person he became by being optimistically obedient.
While going through hardships in life, I have found that there is great power in a positive attitude. It shows that we are aware of God and His ability to help us and while experiencing such trials, we are better able to learn from them. Laman and Lemuel show a great example of our natural response, sometimes we don't want to go through the experiences in front of us. It is human for us to complain. I have come to notice that as much as we want to complain, it doesn't change the fact that the situation is still before us. We still need to get over it so why not have a positive attitude and try to learn something valuable. It is up to us to create our destiny and I believe we can become amazing people as we seek to be optimistic throughout our days!