29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
30 And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which was given unto Moses.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them (JST, Exodus 34:1)
With all of that background, I consider it significant that Nephi, after teaching his people plainly about the gospel of Jesus Christ, urges them to continue to observe the “performances and ordinances” of the law of Moses until the coming of Christ.
Are there times in our lives when we also must also continue to participate in preparatory activities even after we feel that we are ready to move on? I’m thinking of 11-year old children who are anxious to move into the Young Men or Young Women program at church and are tired of attending their Primary classes. I also think of high school seniors who have learned everything their school has to offer and are ready to move on to bigger and better things. It is human nature to want to abandon things which we have outgrown. It is a manifestation of maturity to continue to participate in activities which we might not feel are beneficial to us but which we are still duty-bound to fulfill.
Today, I will seek to emulate Nephi’s humble sense of duty. I will trust the Lord enough to fulfill my current duties, recognizing that some of those duties will change over time, but it will be in His time and in His way.