Lehi’s impassioned plea to his rebellious sons, Laman and Lemuel, is a model of sincere parental counsel. What parent does not wish from the depths of the soul that his or her children will live the principles of the gospel and thereby avoid the destructive consequences of sin? What parent does not yearn for the joy and gladness that can come from children who “walk in truth” (3 John 1:4)? The anxiety of Lehi and Sariah for their children mirrors the anxiety of the Lord for all of His people. The awake-and-arise theme is sounded again by Moroni at the very end of the Book of Mormon:
And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.
And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. (Moroni 10:30–31)
In latter-day scripture, the Lord again sounds the call to awake and arise in the context of the Second Coming: “Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord” (D&C 133:10).