I think you may be on to something here. But, just to suggest a possible counter-argument, isn’t it possible to accept the fact that goodly is tied to education, and yet to believe that goodly means righteous, because righteous members have a religious duty to educate their children?

* Ben: Thanks for the pointer. It looks like Schindler and I are on the same wavelength. It seems to me that I have heard one or two other people mention this, too, though the thought was original to me when I first had it.

* Renee: I didn’t mean to imply that being wealthy was a sin, but I did want to suggest that this may cast the story of Lehi’s family in a different light. If we begin the BofM with the notion that Lehi and Sariah were righteous parents who somehow, inexplicably, ended up with unrighteous olders sons, that is a different story than thinking of them as worldly parents who went through a conversion process. Frankly, it makes Laman and Lemuel more sympathetic to me. Read Lehi’s dream again (1 Nephi 8), and I think you will agree that Lehi is telling the story of his conversion:

“I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.”

It appears to me that Lehi’s conversion happened after Laman and Lemuel were old enough to be fairly accustomed to the “good life,” and they (naturally?) rebelled. Also, Sariah took a lot of convincing and clearly was not very happy about the trek into the wilderness. Indeed, Lehi himself faltered a bit along the way. Of course, we have only Nephi’s record, but from that it appears that Nephi — the impressionable young man — was the one who most internalized his father’s teachings.

This reminds me of Joseph Smith. We often say that the Lord chose him as a young man because he could be shaped and molded. Similarly, we observe that Lehi proved tougher to change than Nephi. By the way, I think it is no coincidence that Nephi was given the same visions as his father. The Lord appears to have been working through Lehi to create a great leader (Nephi) for this branch of His people.

Kaimi: The connection between righteousness and education strikes me as a fairly modern notion, and one that is most prominent in the US. While I do not gainsay the value of education (after all, that’s how I make my living), I wonder about the connection to righteousness. I would be interested to hear what others have to say on this, as I am far from expert on the topic.

“And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them. And my father dwelt in a tent. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”

The reference to Lehi in the tent falls between a description of the difficulty that Lehi is having with Laman and Lemuel and a description of Nephi’s conversion. Perhaps Nephi is noting how far his father has come, how greatly he has sacrificed for his visions. Perhaps Nephi is explaining that Lehi’s changed circumstances prompted Nephi to inquire of the Lord and to allow his heart to be softened. Quite a moving tribute of father from son.

I’m not sure I agree that the emphasis on education is entirely modern. I’m not an expert on the topic either. But, a few thoughts:

1. The ideas that “the glory of God is intelligence” and that whetever intelligence we recieve will go with us to the next life, are modern, at least in articulation. But, when combined with the idea of an unchanging God, these may be considered eternal principles.

2. Nephi’s use of the scriptures shows the value of education. As does the return for the brass plates in the first place.

3. Much of Exodus, etc. is about teaching Israel. Other examples of education, such as Samuel, suggest its benefit.

4. On the other hand, education is a detriment if it keeps one away from God (i.e. Pharisees in the New Testament).

As for the very worthy project of giving solace to parents of inexplicably rebellious offspring, we’ll always have Cain.

One last thought: The word “goodly” has a variety of meanings in scripture. In my mind, it’s obvious that Lehi was wealthy, for the family left riches behind when they left Jerusalem. However, in my mind, it is a little pointless to speculate about Lehi’s pre-1-Nephi conversion status. What matters is that he *was* converted and was willing to sacrifice all to obey God. Sure, he had a few moments of weakness, but so did (and does) every other mortal!