One of the saddest stories in the Book of Mormon is found in the book of Omni. It is not sad for what is written, it is sad for what is not written.
The small plates of Nephi, created by Nephi to record sacred events and teachings, had been passed down from father to son or brother, for 470 years. During the first 320 years, the prophets had recorded their trials and teachings, and the fate of their people based on the people's righteousness.
238 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, there is a sad and dramatic change in the writings on the plates. The plates were passed to a man named Omni who candidly admits that he is a wicked man. He has not kept the commandments of the Lord as he ought to have. His entry is brief. He tells of his involvement in the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. He then passes the plates to his son Amaron.
Amaron makes one entry onto the plates. He writes about the destruction or preservation of the Nephites based on the righteousness of the Nephites. He makes the entry the same day he passes the plates to his brother Chemish.
Chemish makes one entry on the plates and that is only to say that he's passing the record to his son Abinadom.
Abinadom makes a very brief entry and it is to say that he has lived his life in war with the Lamanites, and knows of no revelations or prophecies. He then passes the plates to his son Amaleki.
In this approximately 150 year time span, the only thing that is recorded is that there are wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Each writer has had to fight to preserve the Nephites. However, not one of them wrote about why they were fighting. Not one of them wrote any stirring words along the lines of Captain Moroni's title of liberty, we fight "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."
Not one of them wrote of revelation, including personal revelation. They did not record their trials or successes. They were not even affiliated enough with the prophets that were in the land, to record those prophets' revelations. These men were all of the noble line of Lehi, the kingly men, the line of prophets, and they only wrote that they fought in many wars.
One can fight for all that is right, or fight merely to save one's life. Survival without purpose beyond staying alive is an empty existence. I feel this emptiness deeply as I read the lack of words that could have been written.
What is my legacy? What will I pass to my children?
My legacy is that I came into the world to survive. I have survived many things including abuse, illness, and loss, but with a purpose much greater than mere survival. I have survived with the purpose of living a life of service, doing good, keeping the commandments, and teaching others to do the same. I have recorded in my journal my trials and successes; my failures and repentance. I have recorded my personal revelations, the ones that have kept me progressing forward.
Silence is not golden, it is only silence. It teaches nothing; it adds nothing. We have been advised to keep journals. I have kept a journal for 38 years and it is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I am not silent in my journal. I learn and grow as I write and pray. I could not have learned as much, without the process of recording what I've learned.
I do not want my legacy that I pass to my children to be, "She lived, she survived, she died." I want to record the stirring words the Lord has put into my heart, the trials that have brought me to my knees and the love of the Lord that lifted me again. I want to break the sounds of fear, too much business, survival without purpose, and a life without faith. I want to break the sounds of silence.
