1 Nephi 15:25--To Keep His Commandments

Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

This is the same setting as yesterday. Nephi is still teaching his brothers. Here he urges them to remember to keep God's commandments. I'm not sure the significance of the word remember in this verse. Why not just exhort them to "give heed to the word of God and keep his commandments always in all things?" If anyone in my imaginary audience has a good idea, please share it in a comment to this post. What is different about remembering to keep God's commandments and simply keeping them? Is it just a filler word that doesn't change the meaning at all? It doesn't seem like Nephi, who elsewhere has commented on the difficulty of writing on plates, would include any word that wasn't necessary to convey the meaning he intended. Then again, maybe the reformed Egyptian characters didn't translate directly word for word, and this is simply the way Joseph Smith received and conveyed the message as he translated. I really don't know.

As I try to figure it out, though, there are a couple of things that come to mind. First, the word remember gives the message a more personal feel and somehow seems to imply, or even require, a more conscious and continued effort on our part. Even though analyzed closely I don't think there's any less volition on the part of one who keeps the commandments versus one who remembers to keep them, inclusion of the word keeps the thing we're to do (in this case keep the commandments, which is essentially all-encompassing) at the forefront of our minds. The same could be said anytime the word remember is used in conjunction with an action verb, and a purely textual analysis obviates the need for it entirely in that context. For example, love your neighbor versus remember to love your neighbor; read the scriptures versus remember to read the scriptures; pray versus remember to pray; give to the poor versus remember to give to the poor; shun pornography versus remember to shun pornography. All these examples give the impression that inclusion of the word remember encourages us to be agents unto ourselves, and forgetfulness is no longer an excuse. A person can be told to give to the poor, and he will likely do it once. He then may get so busy with life that he forgets to keep giving. He can skirt responsibility by claiming he simply forgot, and the excuse is not entirely invalid. All of us forget things, and it sometimes is out of our control. Our minds are not perfect, and we feel less accountable if our excuse is that we forgot. So to eliminate that excuse, Nephi tells us we are to remember to keep the commandments. Now the responsibility is ours to remind ourselves time and again throughout our lives, and we can no longer claim forgetfulness as an excuse because we've been told to remember. We now have to do those things that will help us remember. If that same person who was told to give to the poor is instead told to remember to give to the poor, it is his responsibility not just to give once until he is told or reminded again, but to make sure he remembers to keep giving, to effect some change on his mind so he no longer needs reminding.

As a kid I remember having the bad habit of coming home from school and dropping my coat and backpack on the floor as soon as I got in the house. It seems for years my mom had to tell me every day to carry my things to my bedroom and put them away. I obeyed her every time (though admittedly my obedience was sometimes delayed until after a snack and my favorite TV show), but my ability to put my things away was still dependent on her continued, repeated commands. I had not internalized the importance of putting my things away, and I never thought about it until she told me to do it each day. I'm sure my mother longed for the day that I (and my seven siblings) would remember on our own to put our things away, to think about it and maybe even enjoy it because we had finally come to appreciate the importance of living in an uncluttered house. Likewise, I think the Lord would prefer that we remember on our own to keep the commandments without having to be told every time. Nephi encourages us to remember to keep the commandments. He wants the commandments to be at the forefront of our minds; he wants us to be thinking about them and to understand and appreciate the blessings that come from them so that we enjoy keeping them and choose to do so on our own without having to be reminded.

The difference between Nephi and his brothers in this verse is striking. Not only does he teach them, but he exhorts them with all the energies of his soul and all the faculties he possesses. It's impossible to separate Nephi from his love for the Lord and his intense desire to keep the commandments. It is always on his mind. Laman and Lemuel, on the other hand, seem to never be thinking about the Lord or his commandments. They continually forget the things they've been taught, and they have to be reminded over and over. While Laman and Lemuel may keep some commandments occasionally when they're told, Nephi remembers to keep them always.

I will remember to keep the commandments always in all things.