Hard-hearted yet keeping the Law of Moses

3 Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.

4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.

5 And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (Jarom 1:3-5)

These verses strike me as rather peculiar.  Jarom tells us how hard-hearted and stiff-necked his people are, and how much has to be done among them, yet two verses later he also says that they observed the Law of Moses, kept the Sabbath, and avoided profanity and blasphemy, and kept strict civil laws. 

Those conditions seem almost diametrically opposed to each other.

It seems that the people must have felt that keeping the laws was enough and did not allow the performance of their duty to change their hearts. 

Sometimes when you are so focused on keeping the commandments, you can develop a belief that everything is fine with you and you have no more improvement to make, when really there is a lot of refinement to do in our souls which can only be brought out through interpersonal relationships.

Sometimes it happens that I’ll be in the middle of doing something relating to one of my callings or keeping a commandment and I realize that I’m doing it with a spirit of apathy or impatience and annoyance.   When I notice that, I have to take a little time and ponder what my obedience means if done in the wrong spirit.  (Hint: It means the same as if I had been disobedient.)  But it is enough to at least give me the desire to do it in the right spirit.  And prayer is a good beginning for inviting a attitude adjustment.   I want to have the right spirit in my obedience.  I want to be joyful when I obey.  I want to find meaning in it and feel the Lord’s pleasure in it.

What do you do when you find yourself stuck in apathy or annoyance while obeying commandments?

Laman & Lemuel’s arguments and Nephi’s rebuttals

 

In 1 Nephi 17 when Nephi is about to build a ship, his brothers are reluctant to work on it, so they use a number of arguments to try to discourage him.  Nephi is able to rebut them, however, and it is instructive to see how he does it, point for point, but not necessarily in order. 

 One thing is clear—he sees how their journey is a parallel of the exodus from Egypt, complete with manifestations of God’s power on one hand and murmuring people on the other.  He draws strength from this account, perhaps by seeing that his father (and him) play the part of Moses, and he reminds his brothers of how they have murmured like the children of Israel, he does this in order to encourage them to learn from the warning stories of Exodus about suffering and chastisement that come from murmuring.  (Laman and Lemuel may not see it that way, however; they may just think Nephi is beating them over the head for their past mistakes.)

So let’s look at how the arguments correspond.

Laman and Lemuel – You can’t build a ship.  You lack judgment.  You can’t accomplish that great work. (v19)

Nephi—If God told me to do all things, I could do them.  He could command me to do miracles and I could do it.  He’s done miracles in the past. If so, He can instruct me how to build a ship.  (v50-51)
(Nephi has an ironclad trust in the Lord, but He also has confidence in his ability to discern what the Lord wants him to do, and he's willing to do it.)

Laman and Lemuel—You’re like our father—led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart. (v20)

Nephi—The Lord leads the righteous away into precious lands (v38).  (It’s the Lord that does the leading.)  You are slow to remember the Lord.  You’ve seen an angel and heard him speak, you’ve heard the Lord’s voice, both when it was a still small voice and when it was like thunder.  But you are past feeling and hard in your hearts (v45-48).  (Nephi is suggesting they should know better than to call it foolish imaginations when they’ve had dramatic manifestations of their own, which they’ve forgotten.)

Laman and Lemuel—We have wandered many years in the wilderness and we have suffered and our women have suffered, and we’ve suffered everything except death (v20,21).

Nephi—The Lord had to straiten the children of Israel with a rod because they hardened their hearts, and He’s done the same to you.  The Lord straitened them because of their iniquity, one example being fiery flying serpents that He sent among them.  He also prepared the way for them to be healed by looking and it was so easy that many died because they thought it was too easy to work (v42).  (Nephi implies that if his brothers just looked to God, they would not suffered as much or they would have been healed much faster.)

Laman and Lemuel-- During the time we have suffered, we might have enjoyed our possessions and our land and been happy in Jerusalem (v21).

Nephi—It was a good thing that the children of Israel were led out of their hard bondage (v25). (Nephi implies therefore that it is a good thing the family has been led out of Jerusalem because they have suffered and been in bondage because of the wickedness of the people, and that would have continued if they had stayed.)

Laman and Lemuel—It would have been better if our families had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered as they have (v20). 

Nephi-- Jerusalem has become wicked and nearly ripe and about to be destroyed (v43). (Nephi implies that if Laman and Lemuel had stayed there, they and their famlies might have been dead by now, so it is not like they would have escaped something by staying.)

Laman and Lemuel—The people in Jerusalem were righteous.  They kept the commandments in the law of Moses.  Our father judged them (v22).

Nephi—The Jews tried to kill our father, and so have you, so you are murderers just like the Jews (v44).  You are quick to do iniquity and show to remember the Lord, even though you’ve had some amazing manifestations (v45).  (Nephi implies that Laman and Lemuel only think Jerusalem was righteous because L&L are as bad as them, so they don’t see a problem with what went on at Jerusalem.)

We see that Laman and Lemuel really pulled out all the rhetorical arguments they could think of to keep from having to take part in the ship-building project.  They question Nephi’s intelligence, they question Lehi’s and Nephi’s sanity, they call into question the need for any of the experiences they’ve had since leaving Jerusalem, and they try to invalidate any reason for having left.

Nephi is able to counter everything they say with a combination of 1) strong trust in the Lord, 2) personal application of the scriptures, 3) knowledge of right and wrong, 4) and memory not just of his own spiritual experiences, but those of his father and his brothers.  

We can use this same combination in our own lives to counter attacks on our faith, and it seems to me that Nephi hoped we see that and apply that lesson in our own lives. 

We can see that Nephi’s faith is a living thing that he uses all the time, whereas his brothers can barely muster any faith at all.  They forget almost as soon as they get out of whatever predicament they are in, so they are caught unprepared for each subsequent problem that requires faith. 

Now, if it were only an argument, it might not mean as much.  The thing that makes this story really special is that the Lord backs Nephi's arguments with a manifestation of power.  Laman and Lemuel may have thought there was no way to prove who was right, but the Lord zapped that notion right out of their heads.  I think that means that when we are standing up for our faith, the Lord will also back us up with power, though it may not involve shocking people.

I am trying to increase my faith these days.  When I wake up, I think about the work of the day and sometimes I quail just a little, but then I try to exert my faith that I can do good things and the Lord will help me.  I remind myself that I will be happier if I give it my best effort than if I try to avoid it.  I work to keep a positive attitude.  I pray for help and to be courageous, especially since I’ve had to fight anxiety for a while.

Lessons from Coriantumr’s protection

You know how sometimes you take something for granted in the scriptures and then all of a sudden you see it with new eyes and it astounds you?  One of the things that I recently was struck by in the book of Ether is that Coriantumr survived so many years of battle when his enemies seemed to keep dying.  Coriantumr seems to be unkillable, although he gets really close to death in several instances. 

Now, I know you are probably thinking, “Duh!  Ether prophesied that every living soul would be destroyed except Coriantumr if he didn’t repent!”  Well, just humor me for a while on this, ‘kay?

I started looking for all the times Coriantumr could have been killed, but wasn’t:

1.     Shared brought him into captivity instead of killing him (Ether 13:23)

2.     Shared wounded Coriantumr in the thigh before Coriantumr killed him. (Ether 13:30-31)

3.     When Gilead broke through the siege on his men and killed part of Coriantumr’s army, it seems it wasn’t the part where Coriantumr was camped. (Ether 14:5)

4.     Lib wounded Coriantumr in the arm, but didn’t kill him, and Coriantumr’s army pushed Lib’s army back. (Ether 14:12)

5.     Shiz gave Coriantumr many deep wounds, which caused Coriantumr to faint with the loss of blood and be carried away as though he were dead, but he didn’t kill him. (Ether 14:30)

6.     There was another battle in which Coriantumr was wounded again and fainted with the loss of blood (Ether 15:9), but Coriantumr’s army pushed back Shiz’s army.

7.     When it gets right down to Shiz versus Coriantumr, the only reason Coriantumr could kill Shiz was that Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. (Ether 15:29-30)

He has more arch-enemies than anyone has any right to have—Shared, Gilead, Lib, and Shiz.  And more people wanted him dead even before the prophecy was given.

Coriantumr’s seeming invulnerability does not come from righteousness, but rather it is directly because the Lord spares his life.  And we know it is the Lord sparing his life because of the prophecy that Ether made to Coriantumr as recorded in Ether 13:20-21.

20 And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that he should go and prophesy unto Coriantumr that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people—

 21 Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself. And he should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving the land for their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them; and every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr.

Now, here’s the interesting question--why was this promise given to Coriantumr if he was wicked?  Having one’s life spared is a blessing we usually think of as reserved for the righteous.  Why was he privileged to escape and the others perish? 

After thinking about it some, I realized that it had to do with how difficult it was for him and his people to believe in things they could not see.  “And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw them not.” (Ether 12:5)

It’s as if the Lord finally said, “FINE!  You don’t believe you must repent or the people will be destroyed?  You don’t believe that your great society can be displaced by another people?  If you do not repent, Coriantumr, I will keep you alive to see the people destroyed.  You can’t believe without seeing?  Okay, you are going to see it.”

I think this is why such emphasis is put on faith and believing in the few chapters leading up to the Jaredite demise.  We are given many positive examples of the marvelous acts done by faith and then come the end battles of the Jaredites so we see the consequences of disbelief.  The Lord wants us to hold onto faith, repent, and avoid that ugly end.

The prophecy that Coriantumr would live until the Jaredites were destroyed was something that would perfectly appeal to a society of fighters.  It was something that could be tested again and again and no doubt word got around about it.  It would also ensure Coriantumr would never have any peace.  He was like the gunfighter of the Old West with the fastest draw who is has to watch his back all the time because every other aspiring gunfighter is eager to test themselves against him.  For instance, Coriantumr’s last arch-enemy had two goals—one was to avenge his brother Lib whom Coriantumr killed in battle, and the other was to disprove the word of the Lord from Ether that Coriantumr would not be slain by the sword (see Ether 14:24).

It is notable that Coriantumr didn’t have to see all his people killed before he came to himself.  Unfortunately, two million people had to die before he started to see that so far all the prophecies were being fulfilled.  But even though he tried to end the killing, by then it was too late.  The wars had taken on their own momentum and he couldn’t stop it.  There’s an important lesson here that there is a window of time provided for repentance, and if we don’t repent while we can, we may pass the point of no return when the consequences pull us down further into the abyss in spite of ourselves.  That is truly sobering.

It is interesting that when Coriantumr offered the kingdom to Shiz to spare the people that Shiz insisted on no deal unless Coriantumr would let Shiz personally lop off his head.  From the perspective of the gospel, it is the ultimate test of a ruler—are they selfless enough to give themselves up to save their people?  If Coriantumr had accepted Shiz’s terms, he would have become a type of Christ.  There is no telling what would have happened then.  Perhaps his life would have been miraculously saved.  Or maybe he would have died after all and the Jaredite civilization would have survived longer.  Or maybe Shiz would still have destroyed the people anyway.  Again, no way of knowing. 

Coriantumr’s situation was quite tragic in that when he had finally decided he wanted to repent, his efforts to seek peace for his people put him in a double bind—if he took Shiz’s terms it seemed he would lose his life and if he rejected them, his people would continue to be killed according to prophecy.   This would have been a difficult choice for a righteous king, but for a person as spiritually unprepared as Coriantumr, who probably had lived a life as far from sacrifice as you can get, the choice would be virtually impossible.   Looking at it from the perspective of calculated risk, it is not surprising that he chose to reject Shiz’s terms, preferring to continue fighting rather than sacrifice his life on the promise of mercy from a hitherto rarely merciful Shiz, a man who had destroyed many cities and killed women and children without compunction.

***

Here’s another part of Ether’s prophecy to Coriantumr that intrigued me—the part that promised him the kingdom if he and his household repented.  It might seem like the promise was meaningless since Coriantumr already had the kingdom and he remained in command of significant numbers of people to the end of the war.  However, if we look closer, we can see certain events that indicate that Coriantumr lost the kingdom fairly early on and never regained it even though he persisted in acting as though he had full possession of it. 

Coriantumr lost the kingdom to Shared within three years of the time Ether was kicked out.  Yes, Coriantumr’s sons got him the kingdom back, but by then Coriantumr had lost the power to enforce peace among the people, as it says that “he did not go to battle again for the space of two years, in which time all the people upon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to restrain them” (Ether 13:31).  This also suggests that he had lost monarchical power to execute justice. 

The next indication we see is of the brother of Shared (named Gilead) outmaneuvering Coriantumr and placing himself on Coriantumr’s throne.  Yet, this is a hollow victory and as time goes on, the constant chasing back and forth and around of armies makes the holding of a throne (or any kind of stable capital location) impossible and even meaningless. 

Next, Coriantumr loses friendly territory as Shiz overthrows and burns many cities, and with the murder of the women and children that keep the home front together, he loses the productive capacity to support his army’s perpetual campaigning.  And finally, he loses control and loyalty of people; many of them file off to join his enemy Shiz, since it seems that Coriantumr can’t protect them from Shiz’s depredations.  By the time Coriantumr starts to repent of the evil he’d done, for all practical purposes he is no longer a king but a warlord-general.  Yet he parleys with Shiz offering the kingdom, as if he had anything besides people to give.  By all means, appearances of monarchy must be kept up.

Coriantumr’s loss of the kingdom has an important lesson—the Lord is in charge, and power is held at His sufferance and can be taken away when the Lord pleases.

All in all, we should in no way count Coriantumr fortunate or blessed to have his life spared through the Jaredite destruction.  It was a curse to him instead of a blessing.  From him we learn it is much better to believe the Lord’s warnings and repent than to be stubborn just because we don’t see the bad consequences coming yet.  We also learn that there is a window of time given for repentance beyond which the consequences drag us down further.

What lessons do you derive from Coriantumr’s life?

Lessons from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is one that can be really uncomfortable, and it is easy to want to forget it as quickly as possible or else ignore it completely, but there are important things to learn from it.

19 ¶There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (Luke 16:19-21)

Lazarus is in such abject poverty that he is acting like a dog, waiting for leftovers.  That image of dogs licking his sores is really disturbing and makes it clear just how wrong it is for humans to be in that kind of condition.  He is considered a second-class person.  This is like the story of the Good Samaritan, but unfortunately it doesn’t end happily while in mortality. 

 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (Luke 16:22-24)

The positions of Lazarus and the rich man have been precisely reversed.  The want the rich man ignored in Lazarus, he begins to suffer.  Unlike Lazarus, who merely desired to feed from the leftovers—Lazarus’s sense of his own worthiness had been beat down under the ground you see—in contrast, the rich man kicks up a serious rumpus and takes his complaint as high as he can.  “Have mercy!  Can’t you see I am tormented!?” he cries to Abraham, who is often considered father of the faithful.  (By the way, it is interesting that the rich man recognizes Abraham, even from afar off, though having never met him in mortality.  What does this teach us about what we will know after death?)

It is also curious that when the rich man finds himself in hell, he discovers he is thirsty.  He has no body, yet he is thirsty.  This suggests to me that his thirst is actually spiritual rather than physical.  I think that his thirst may represent the desire to do good that he squelched all his life.   In the eternities he finds the thirst still there, but with no way of satisfying it; all his wealth has been left behind in mortality.  This reminds me of Isaiah’s words that everyone who fought against Zion would be as those who dreamt they drank and then awake thirsty.

Another thing I noticed recently in this parable is even after death, the rich man still thinks of Lazarus as a second-class person and only meant to be a servant.  We can tell because the rich man only talks to Father Abraham to ask for things, not Lazarus, implying he assumes Lazarus is only there on Abraham’s sufferance, rather than as an equal in Abraham’s estimation.  Also, the rich man wants Lazarus to be sent to serve and comfort him.

This gives us an important warning—that riches have a tendency to cause people to forget the inherent equality of each soul’s worth, and that mistake continues beyond death. 

 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. (Luke 16:25)

The positions of Lazarus and the rich man have been reversed because there is a huge amount of inequitable treatment that happened on earth that has to be made right.  Heaven is fair after all, and unfairness on earth, if never remedied on earth, must be remedied in heaven.

 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26)

In mortality there was no obstacle standing in the way of the rich man helping Lazarus.  There was no gulf between them, but the rich man made one by completely ignoring Lazarus’s existence.  Might it be too much to say that by doing so, rich man made the very gulf that in the afterlife prevented any comfort coming to him?

 27 Then he [the rich man] said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him [Lazarus] to my father’s house:

 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:27-28)

We see that when the rich man begins to suffer, his sympathy and feeling for others begins to grow and he begins to wish to save others from suffering what he is currently in.  For him that’s a start, even though his anxiety for others only extends at this point to his five brothers who still live in as rich abundance as he did.  (This shows that concern for our siblings is the beginning of charity.)

But at the same time, the rich man still doesn’t understand what he’s doing wrong; he still wants to send Lazarus hither and yon, if not to serve him, then to serve his rich brothers, not realizing how fully things have changed. 

 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16: 9-31)

Abraham shares the principle that unless people already listen to the witnesses they have in this life in the form of the writings of prophets and the words of living oracles of God about helping the poor, no heavenly messenger can do any good in sharing what conditions are like on the other side and what needs to be done to prepare.  If the rich man still didn’t recognize Lazarus’s equality of worth in heaven, no way would his brothers on earth heed any message from Lazarus, if their perception of Lazarus was anything like the rich man’s.

I think this is a warning for me too; if I don’t pay attention to this account or the other scriptures about building Zion and helping others, no angelic visitation that warns will move me either.  I'm not rich, but come on, how rich do we have to be before we feel obligated to help?

Now, we might not have starving sore-ridden people laying at our driveways, but we will know people in need when we see them.

One of my friends told me she learned that one of her classmates didn’t have enough money to buy the book for the class because she barely even had money to buy food.  This friend of mine was shocked, and rather than ignore it, decided to take action.  Although my friend couldn’t spare much money herself, she decided she wanted to anonymously send some money to her classmate.  She asked the major’s administrator for her classmate’s address, and when the administrator found out what for, she made an exception to the privacy rules, on condition that the teacher also be notified.  My friend’s teacher was surprised to learn about such want among one of his students and gave a textbook to the classmate.  My friend heard later that a scholarship was spontaneously bestowed upon her classmate not long afterward, and she gave it as her opinion that the teacher had been behind that.

I’ve tried to help when I have seen needs, but I still feel I have done less than I should have.

Here are some thoughts from other Christian writers about the meaning of this parable:

"This parable targets the violence of apathy and neglect which is widening the chasm between rich and poor. The trouble is that even such abstractions [of “rich” and “poor”] become easy to live with.  We need some first hand experience of encountering the real people whom we will then not be able to dismiss as relative statistics. And if that cannot be first hand, we need to help people engage in active imagination of what it really means to be poor, to be a refugee, to be caught on the wrong side of the chasms…" ("First Thoughts on Year C Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 18, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia. [http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/LkPentecost18.htm])

One way we engage in active imagination of what it really means to be poor and hungry is when we fast.  Our experience with hunger can guide our giving.

"If our hearts are closed to hearing the cry for justice, mercy and bread, the words of the resurrected One will not be convincing, but convicting." ("No Way Out," Mark Harris, The Christian Century, 2001. Religion Online. [http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2129])

 “The greatest deception is that people start to believe they are owed a privileged status.  They actually think they are exceptional and believe that they have become more valuable because they have more valuables.”  ("The Man Who Wore Purple and Linen," Jerry Goebel, One Family Outreach. [http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Luke/lk_16_19-31.html])

“Some chasms cannot be crossed. Some things harden…. Even Abraham cuts no ice with a God determined to be just.”  ("Send Lazarus," J. Mary Luti, The Christian Century, 1998. [http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=624])

"We would do well, I believe, to explore those things which our culture highly esteems, and then to consider whether or not these things are well pleasing in the sight of God." ("The Rich Man and Lazarus," Hampton Keathley IV, a study from the Biblical Studies Foundation. [http://bible.org/seriespage/rich-man-and-lazarus])

What inner obstacles do you struggle with when you are confronted with people in desperate need?  How have you overcome them?

Complaining in 1 Nephi

Recently I read something that suggested that when similar events reoccur in the Book of Mormon, we should study those events to see what the differences are between those events. Something that happens over and over in 1 Nephi is complaining and murmuring, so I decided to study the different incidents to see what I could learn. I ended up making a chart in which I examined who did the complaining, what was complained about, and then what the solution turned out to be. I felt this was important for me to study because I recently had a few days of complaining against the Lord and I got heavenly admonishment for it, so I wanted to learn what I could do to fortify myself against situations that might cause me to complain.

Some questions I asked myself after having made this chart were the following:

Is there a pattern in the type of things that Laman & Lemuel complain about?

Do the types of things they complain about change over time?

If so, how does it change?

How are the complaints solved?

Who tends to administer the solutions to the complaints?

Who complains besides Laman & Lemuel and why?

Who doesn’t complain? Why?

Why do Laman & Lemuel change from complaint to anger? What are they angry about? Are these good reasons to be angry?

Reference & event	Who complains	Cause of Complaint	Solution
1 Nephi 2:11-13 leaving Jerusalem	Laman & Lemuel	Father Lehi is a visionary man Father led family out of Jerusalem We left precious things behind We will perish in the wilderness	Lehi speaks with power and the Spirit Lehi confounds them Their frames shake They dare not speak against him They obey
1 Nephi 3:5 getting the plates	Laman & Lemuel	We have to get the plates from Laban (hard thing)	Sam & Nephi to go with them
1 Nephi 3:28 losing family inheritance to Laban	Laman & Lemuel (beat Sam & Nephi, speak hard words)	We lost all property to Laban We have not obtained the plates (returning to Jerusalem to the same standard of living as before is now not an option)	Angel comes Angel chastises L & L Angel commands them to go get plates Nephi goes to get plates, succeeds
1 Nephi 5:2 waiting for sons to return with plates	Sariah	Husband Lehi is a visionary man I’ve been led from land of inheritance My sons have perished My family will perish	Lehi comforts her: (“I am visionary, I’ve seen things of God, I know God’s goodness, We’ve left Jerusalem so we won’t perish, We’ve obtained a land of promise, The Lord will save our sons”) Lehi’s sons return safe with the plates
1 Nephi 7:6-7 returning from getting Ishmael’s family	Laman & Lemuel, 2 daughters of Ishmael, 2 sons of Ishmael + their families	? (We want to return to Jerusalem)	Nephi chastises Laman & Lemuel 1 daughter of Ishmael + wife of Ishmael plead for Nephi Laman & Lemuel repent
1 Nephi 16:1 Nephi explaining Lehi’s dream and prophecies	Laman & Lemuel	Nephi speaks hard things we can’t bear about no unclean thing inheriting kingdom of God and being cast out as filthiness	Nephi exhorts brothers to diligence
1 Nephi 16:18-22 Nephi breaks his bow	Laman & Lemuel, sons of Ishmael, Lehi	Nephi broke his bow Our families obtain no food We’re tired We’ve suffered and affliction in the wilderness Laman & Lemuel’s bows lost their springs God (is making us do this)	Nephi makes a bow and arrow Nephi asks Lehi where to hunt for food Voice of the Lord chastens Lehi New words written on Liahona to give understanding of the Lord’s ways Families fear and tremble Nephi observes guidance comes with faith and diligence Nephi gets food
1 Nephi 16: 35-38 Ishmael’s death	Daughters of Ishmael, Laman (to Lemuel, sons of Ishmael)	D: Father Ishmael has died in the wilderness We’ve wandered much in the wilderness We’ve suffered hunger, thirst, fatigue We’ll die in the wilderness of hunger L: Nephi is acting as ruler, getting revelations (suspicious of Nephi’s motives, stirring others to ANGER)	Voice of the Lord speaks to them (which ones? All of them?) Voice of the Lord chastens them exceedingly They repent Blessed with food
1 Nephi 17:17-18, 19-22 Nephi starts to build ship	Laman & Lemuel	Nephi is trying to build a ship (foolish, no boat can cross the waters, don’t want to work, don’t think God commanded him) Our wives had to labor hard while pregnant We might have enjoyed inheritance during all this We might have been happy at Jerusalem Death would be better than what we went through Jerusalem was righteous Lehi judged Jerusalem unjustly ANGER at Nephi’s words	Nephi preaches to L & L (God has chastened them like rebellious children of Israel, the righteous are favored, Israel was ripe for destruction, L & L are murderers in their hearts, L & L past feeling, fear L & L will be cast off,God can command me and help me build ship) Nephi: “Touch me not!” God tells Nephi to shock L & L L & L repent
1 Nephi 18:9,10,17 While on the ship	Laman & Lemuel, Sons of Ishmael	Nephi speaks soberly to us about our rudeness Nephi is trying to rule over us ANGER (they tie him up) Others are pleading for Nephi	Huge 4 day storm (Liahona stops working, Lehi speaks to them,family cries, parents about to die) All about to be swallowed by mountain waves
2 Nephi 4:13 Nephi preaches after Lehi’s death	Laman & Lemuel, Sons of Ishmael	ANGER at Nephi because of admonitions of the Lord We think Nephi wants to rule over us We’ve had trial because of Nephi We don’t get to rule over the people	(Nephi prays) (Nephi takes good people and leaves)

So, the following things can lead to complaining:

• Having one’s course of life unexpectedly changed in a direction one doesn’t like
• Being unexpectedly asked/commanded to complete a large and complicated project
• Trying to do something important and then failing or having an unexpected setback
• Loss of valuable belongings
  
• Breakage of important tools
  
• Circumstances of physical hardship—hunger, thirst, fatigue, extended suffering
• Seeing loved ones suffer
• Feeling one’s own common sense suggestions are being ignored in favor of a risky course with no end in sight

I noticed that Laman and Lemuel begin to try to add greater weight to their complaints by rehearsing past complaints as well. At the same time, they forget the blessings that have come. This shows me that rehearsing all past problems along with current complaints without acknowledging past solutions is ungrateful and only makes it worse.

I also noticed a progression through these incidents:

1. Being swift to do iniquity and slow to remember the Lord causes our hearts to harden. (1 Nephi 17:45)
2. Complaining arises from a hard heart.
3. Complaining about circumstances gradually leads to complaining about the people who seem to bring these circumstances.
4. Complaining against people leads to anger against people (even righteous people)
5. There may be a reason for complaint, but when ANGER enters it, soon any kind of reason is enough to raise anger. Anger is unreasonable.

Nephi always responds to complaints and murmuring by preaching faith in the Lord, using examples from the scriptures and from shared past experiences.
Nephi cries to the Lord in difficulty.
Nephi doesn’t complain in difficulty; he focuses on being part of the solution and he keeps trying solutions.
Nephi only complains once (instance not on the chart), but that is about his own sins and the temptations that so easily beset him, and then he quickly remembers all the Lord has done for him and prays for strength. (see 2 Nephi 4:17-35)


Doctrines that help us not complain:

• The righteous don’t do anything except by (or according to) the word of God. (The righteous get their assignments from God.) (1 Nephi 17:3)
• If God has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that He can’t instruct me to__________? (1 Nephi 17:51)
• If God commanded me to do all things, I could do them. (1 Nephi 17:50)
• The Lord makes us mighty. (1 Nephi 17:32)
• The Lord goes before us, leading by day and giving light by night, doing all things for us which are expedient for us to receive. (1 Nephi 17:30)
• The Lord prepares a way for us to accomplish His commandments (1 Nephi 3:7)
• If we keep the commandments, we will be led to a better place. (1 Nephi 17:13)

Is there anything that you’ve learned that helps you not complain? Will you share with me a time when you didn’t complain when in difficulty and were blessed?

When Nephi is tied up on the ship

In my last blog entry I observed how Nephi prayed for deliverance and to burst the bands he was bound by. It is natural for us to think that after such a miraculous escape, he could be sure of achieving escape in the same way if ever he was tied up again. However, some chapters later, while on the ship, Nephi’s brothers tie him up again and this time Nephi is stuck.

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked. (1 Nephi 18:11)

I like that Nephi observes that the Lord suffered it to happen, because it shows Nephi’s faith was not shaken even when he wasn’t immediately delivered. He says that the Lord suffered it “that he might show forth his power”. How interesting! When the Lord delivered Nephi before, He showed His power, and when He suffered Nephi to be tied again and not immediately delivered it was to show His power.

Perhaps it is not so urgent this time that Nephi get free. In the desert they were going to leave him behind, but here he is still with them. They haven’t tossed him overboard.

No doubt Nephi was praying like crazy for deliverance and for his brothers to soften their hearts. When it didn’t happen immediately as it did before, notice how he bore up:

Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions. (1 Nephi 18:16)

In the previous incident, Laman and Lemuel were softened when one of the daughters of Ishmael and her mother and one of Ishmael’s sons pleaded with them on Nephi’s behalf. Evidently they remembered this from last time, because this time they were determined not to listen to anyone else again.

17 Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them, and also unto the sons of Ishmael; but, behold, they did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for me and my parents being stricken in years, and having suffered much grief because of their children, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds.
18 Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow into a watery grave.
19 And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of the afflictions of their mother; and also my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did not soften the hearts of my brethren that they would loose me.
20 And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that they loosed me. (1 Nephi 18:17-20, emphasis added)

It certainly looks like most of the people on the boat were absolutely miserable (though it says nothing about Laman and Lemuel’s wives and children..) and none of the lectures or tears or prayers had any effect.

I think that is a very scary thing—to be so hardened that a person is beyond influence from any other person. When the Lord can’t influence a person through other people, that’s when He has to get tough by threatening with destruction.

The Lord started by causing the Liahona to stop working to show them that they were without guidance and He wasn’t helping them. That didn’t work. Then the Lord caused the storm to come up and drive them backwards to show them that He was against them. That didn’t work. So the Lord had to make the storm so violent and extreme with waves so tall that when they were in the trough of the waves and looking up at each wave crest as it came towards them, it looked like they would be buried in the depths of the sea. This was to show them how near death was to them. (Did you know that a wind speed of 60 knots can raise waves 78 feet high?* That’s about as tall as two school buses turned on their end and stacked on each other!) Finally they got the message. “when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they repented of the thing which they had done” (1 Nephi 18:20)

One question I found I had in this incident is that Nephi said that the word of the Lord would be fulfilled “which he had spoken concerning the wicked” (1 Nephi 18:11). There was no hint of what that word would be, except for some footnotes that among other places steered me to Alma 14:11 where Alma is telling why the Lord is keeping him from saving the martyrs in Ammonihah:

But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. (Alma 14:11)

This is enlightening, but because Alma came AFTER Nephi, Nephi didn’t have those particular words to remember. It is my guess that just as Nephi often used the story of the Israelites being led out of Egypt by Moses for inspiration and encouragement, he probably used that story in this case as well. I figure that since he was on the ocean, he probably thought about when the Israelites were going through the Red Sea and being pursued by the Egyptians. I went and looked for that in Exodus and here’s what I found:

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
19 ¶ And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 ¶ And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
26 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. (Exodus 14:17-27)

(Quick note: Recall that the Joseph Smith Translation of verse 17 said “And I say unto thee the hearts of the Egyptians shall be hardened”) This reminds us that the Egyptians were hardening their own hearts.

I figure that Nephi thought of this particular section about how the Lord told Moses that He would allow the Egyptians to go on in the hardness of their hearts and He would discomfit them until they knew it was the Lord they were dealing with. (And of course by the time the Egyptians realized this it was too late.) Nephi knew his brothers would get themselves “swallowed up in the depths of the sea” (1 Nephi 18:15) like the Egyptians if they persisted in their hard-heartedness.

As it happens, Laman and Lemuel finally repent enough to untie Nephi… but I notice there is no record of any apology.

I really get a feeling from this story that the Lord was not only very kind and merciful to Nephi, but also to Laman and Lemuel, even when He was angry with them. It would have been so easy to strike them with lightening or wash them overboard or send a large sea creature with lots of sharp teeth to have them for lunch. But no, the Lord worked with persuasion and kept trying to find some way to speak to them in a way that they understood until they realized they were making a mistake. That point was reached when they were afraid they were going to die.

Gee, I really want to make sure I never have to be threatened with death before I’ll repent!


* “A Few Basics for Forecasting Waves”, Dr Steve Lyons, The Weather Channel, http://www.weather.com/activities/recreation/boatandbeach/surf/articles/surfingarticle_one.html