“He Left… His Precious Things”
Lehi’s trust in Jehovah was complete. Having an “actual knowledge” that he was pursuing a path laid out by the Almighty, he was now called upon to sacrifice all for the truth’s sake. “For a man to lay down his all,” Joseph Smith taught, “his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also—counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God” (Lectures on Faith 6:5). Such was the knowledge and faith of Lehi like all who aspire to the approbation of the Lord, he was required to strip himself of the things of the world in order to qualify for the treasures of eternity.
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