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Scripture Study: 1 Nephi 2:8-14

Our scripture segment today is going to be a little longer than usual because I want to discuss a whole portion of story. The antagonists, if you will, are Nephi’s older brothers Laman and Lemuel, but they have only been mentioned once so far. This next portion of reading will go to illustrate a bit about them and to show us some of their character, and help us to understand some of the opposition Lehi and Nephi were up against in trying to preach the word of God and lead their family to the Promised Land.

As we concluded our reading last time, we learned that they were camped near a river. In verse eight, we learn that Lehi named that river after his son, Laman.

In verses nine, ten, and eleven, we read:

And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!

And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!

Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.

Lehi is trying to help his two oldest sons see the importance of being righteous, but they aren’t willing to listen. They aren’t at all impressed that he named the river and the valley after them—they saw the spiritual lesson behind it and they didn’t want spirituality. They were thinking about all the riches they had left behind and complained that their father was visionary, not realizing that God could give them more than riches, and that their father’s visions had saved their lives.

This is further illustrated by verse twelve:

And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmer because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.

Laman and Lemuel were raised in the same house as Nephi, and would have had every chance to hear the same preaching Nephi had. But Nephi desired to hear the truth, while his older brothers were too proud to listen. Because of their pride, they could not be visited by the Holy Ghost, and thus, they didn’t know God.

Verse thirteen:

Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.

This is a perfect example of believing in the arm of flesh. Jerusalem was a mighty city, and they couldn’t imagine that it could be destroyed. But God isn’t stopped by walls or bricks and mortar.

Verse fourteen:

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.

Lehi, being filled with the power of the Lord, confounds his sons and yet he doesn’t convince them to believe. He has their outward obedience, but not their hearts, as we will see made manifest time and time again throughout the Book of Mormon.

From today’s reading: are we merely performing the outward rituals of obedience, or is our heart truly believing? How can we strengthen our testimony in God’s power and turn from trusting the arm of flesh?

Related Blogs:

1 Nephi 1:6-9

1 Nephi 1:10-14