Writing on Metal plates would be difficult

I was reading in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 4 this past week and had some moments of enlightenment that I felt moved to write about. Verse 1 and 2 read:
1 NOW behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain;
2 But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon aplates must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers—

It struck me hard as I read these scriptures, (they are not a new thought) but for whatever reason it made me think about it being so difficult for the prophets to write their history, their testimonies or their thoughts on plates and know that was the only way they would be preserved for the future generations.

Jacob also mentioned several times that he felt the responsibility which being under God, of magnifying his office with soberness as he was weighed down with anxiety for the welfare of the people. He surely had much more to say that could not be written or at least was not preserved for us to read.

In Chapter 1: verse 2 and 3 we are told:

2 And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should awrite upon bthese plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi.
3 For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his aother plates, and that I should bpreserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.

I am thinking how effortless it is for me to write, preserve and keep the memories of the important events in my life and those of my family in comparison to the challenge of record keeping that Jacob was faced with. We have at our fingertips the opportunity to write whatever we would like as we see it for the welfare and benefit of our children. We are not limited to writing a “little” as Jacob was limited to. We are afforded every technology and method of preserving our plain and precious writings imaginable. Why, then, I ask myself is it so difficult, yes even akin to suffering to write about the passion and art of living my daily life.

I am wondering and discovering what I think should be preserved. What are the things that I would consider to be most precious so that I would want to preserve them? These scriptures have caused me to dig deep inside myself and think about what I would like to preserve in my library of stories, histories and thoughts. What would I desire to leave for my posterity? What would I write if I had the difficult circumstances that the prophets in the scriptures were faced with? These are questions that I would like to answer for myself.

I would like to find pleasure in writing without the anxiety of feeling like my writing is not good enough, without feeling like I need to write and rewrite my thoughts. My quest continues as I persevere to write my monthly thoughts and stories. Thank goodness we are given innumerable chances to improve and start again.

If I were given a set of metal plates and knew that I had to write my story or my experiences would I be faithful enough to follow through and do it. I don’t have to write on metal plates, neither of copper, gold, iron, lead, silver or tin. I have reams of paper, boxes of pens and a computer and I can make the time to write a few words which I can give my children. I can write just to write, let my thoughts pour out onto the paper without worrying that someone is going to read them or critique them. For now, I will continue to work on freeing up my thoughts, writing as often as I can and being inspired by my writing friends and hoping that somewhere inside of me is a dormant writer.