One Man Mormon Blues Band: Music

I Nephi 2:7 "And it came to pass that he built an alter of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto . . . God."

I wasn't sure how to approach this episode. It was obviously an important and sacred moment. But the more I tried to imagine a primitive alter made of desert rocks, built under a hot sun, in a day when burnt offerings were still the practice, the more dramatic the event sounded. This was not only a labor of love and worship, but one built with great effort and sacrifice.

And then it struck me that, like Abraham, Lehi was placing all of his sons on God's alter. Not in terms of actual sacrifice, but by removing his sons from the culture of his day, he was giving God everything he had. The drums just happened after that.

We labor all day stacking them high
My sons can't seem to understand why
We dig and lift pull and pry
While fire beats down from the sky

Next the kindling to start the fire
This mound of stones a funeral pyre
Sacrifice of sons by their sire
Symbol of an allegiance higher

Sacrificial seed stacked on high
Brown and shifting rustling dry
We work and sweat and in panic cry
The night is coming by-and-by

What began with fire thus will end
Prayers of thanksgiving to God ascend
By the end we'll all comprehend
The time of our lives is what we spend

The love of God has a price
Flaming fire or frozen ice
I hope my offering will suffice
My sons have been my sacrifice