1 Nephi 16 Post Commentary

We have discussed much about the spirituality of Laman and Lemuel. It has become poignant for me as I've studied here that it was purposeful that Nephi inserted these comments on Laman and Lemuel's attitude with respect to spiritual matters. First, here is the insight from the Book of Mormon Institute Manual:

1 Nephi 16:36–39. Never Truly Converted
Never at any time were Laman and Lemuel truly converted. To be converted is to undergo change within the inner man. This change requires a contrite spirit and a broken heart, which means to humble yourself before God. Laman and Lemuel refused to do this, for as Nephi stated, they were “hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Nephi 15:3). Laman and Lemuel refused to yield their hearts unto the Lord, so no experience could have changed them. They were impressed with the miraculous power demonstrated by their brother, but the effect was not lasting and did not change their hearts because, as Nephi later commented, they were “past feeling” (1 Nephi 17:45).

This is an interesting statement. One that I believe is true. One of the purposes that Nephi probably had including Laman and Lemuel when writing the spiritual account of his life was to illustrate for us what can happen when we do not give our total selves to the Lord. Ultimately, this is the only thing that we can give.

Elder Maxwell said, "The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. It is a hard doctrine, but it is true. The many other things we give to God, however nice that may be of us, are actually things He has already given us, and He has loaned them to us. But when we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him. And that hard doctrine lies at the center of discipleship. There is a part of us that is ultimately sovereign, the mind and heart, where we really do decide which way to go and what to do. And when we submit to His will, then we’ve really given Him the one final thing He asks of us. And the other things are not very, very important. It is the only possession we have that we can give, and there is no lessening of our agency as a result (Neal A. Maxwell, “Insights from My Life,” Ensign, Aug 2000, 7)."

Laman and Lemuel never did that. They did humble themselves a few times and stopped their complaints for a while, but in the end they did not try and become converted and submit their will to the Lord. Mosiah described the process in this way in Mosiah 3:19:

"19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Now, what does this have to do with us in the here and now? We must take a look at the spiritual choices that Nephi makes versus the ones that Laman and Lemuel make. With whom does our current attitude align more with? Are we like Nephi who said that he would go and do anything that the Lord commands, or do we pick and choose like Laman and Lemuel and murmur the whole way when we are doing something good, which choice to do good is rare? Now, the one great thing is that if we are more like Laman and Lemuel right now, we have the opportunity to change our will and desire and give it to the Lord, by sincerely following the commandments. It may take time, but it can be done. I know that we cannot go wrong by doing this.

So, from the quote from the Book of Mormon Institute Manual, in Chapter 17 we will see more of the repercussions of spiritual choices of Laman and Lemuel, and probably more examples of what we should do from Nephi.