Murmuring: Are You
Nephi or Laman?
You have probably noticed by now, but there is a huge
difference between Nephi and his elder brothers, Laman and Lemuel. They are
different in many ways, but what I think is the root of the difference simply
stated is Faith and Trust in the Lord. ……
Let
me give you an example in the difference between these men. In 1 Nephi, chapter
3, Lehi is commanded to have his sons go get the Brass Plates. When he asks
Laman and Lemuel, to do it they say, “It is a hard thing you have required of
us.”(1 Nephi 3:5) When he asks Nephi on the other hand, Nephi says, “I will go
and do!”(1 Nephi 3:7) Pretend for a moment that you were in Lehi’s sons’ shoes,
or sandals… What would you have said? Honestly think for a moment about what is
being asked. They have left their home, possessions and friends. They have
traveled down to the borders of the red sea and then 3 days onward which
according to Hugh Nibley, Book of Mormon scholar, is around 180 miles. The
people of Jerusalem want to kill them! And now Lehi wants them to travel back
180 miles and ask a wicked king who is keen on ending their lives for a book??
Now seriously, would you say, “I will go and do!” Or would you say, “It is a
hard thing you have required of us.”
For
the mere fact that I would complain simply because my Mom asked me to do the
dishes, I would venture to say that a lot of us would state that it was “a hard
thing”. I would say that was a big understatement from Laman and Lemuel, it was
a very hard thing, a nearly
impossible thing! But that did not scare Nephi! He did not murmur or complain.
How can we be like that?
Well,
we need to stop murmuring! And in order to stop it you have to recognize it. Just
as there are promises, laws and formulas for blessings in the scriptures there
is also a formula for murmuring. Before
I give you the formula, let me recount a story from the Book of Mormon, in 1
Nephi 3:26-31, Lehi’s sons have attempted to get the plates twice up to this
point, and Laban has stolen all of their precious things. Naturally Laman and
Lemuel are ticked! In their anger they start to beat their younger brothers
with a Rod! As they were beating their younger brothers an angel appeared unto
them and says, “Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not
that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your
iniquities?” and then this Angel of the Lord gives them an absolute promise,
“Behold, ye shall go up to Jerusalem
again, and the Lord will deliver
Laban into your hands.”
After
receiving a promise from an Angel it may be easier to say, “I will go and do.”
But still Laman and Lemuel murmur, and here we learn something about the
formula for murmuring. (1 nephi 3:31) First element of the formula: We
Question. Laman and Lemuel do it best, “How is it possible that the Lord will
deliver Laban into our hands?” How often do we find ourselves doing that? Our
mission President asks us to do something, implements a new rule or new mode of
doing something and we say, ‘Why?’
Second
element of the formula: We Justify. Back to Laman and Lemuel, “Behold he is a
mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty then why not
us?” How often do we do that? ‘I’ve been
doing that this way my whole mission and I have seen a lot of success, why
change?’
Third
element of the formula: We Are Slothful. Laman and Lemuel yet again show us the
way, in 1 Nephi 4:4 we learn that Laman an Lemuel, “were yet wroth, and did
still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of
Jerusalem.” While Nephi went into Jerusalem to fulfill God’s commands Laman and
Lemuel sat outside the walls. After questioning, and justifying, we then sit
out. We slack off, and our progression is haulted.
I
think we can see why it’s not good to murmur. I think all of us have made fun
of Laman and Lemuel for years for their murmuring, yet we do it just as often
as they did! Why do we do it? 1 Nephi 2:12 reads, “And thus Laman and Lemuel,
being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they
did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God
who had created them.” It is harsh reasoning, but it may be eye
opening for us to know that we murmur when we do not know the dealings of God!
In
contrast with that, why does Nephi not murmur? In 1 Nephi 2:16 we learn, “And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being
large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I
did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father;
wherefore, I did
not rebel against him like unto my brothers.” The answer to why
Nephi does not murmur: Personal Conversion. Nephi did not naturally want to say
“I will go and do” he first had to receive his testimony through faithful
prayer, humility, and diligence. (1 Nephi 2:19)
Sometimes
the Lord’s commands are tough to comprehend. Sometimes the counsel from his
appointed servants is hard to follow. But in those times I consider a few scriptures
from Doctrine and Covenants. Section 1, verse 38, “What I the Lord have spoken,
I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth
pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all
be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by
the voice of my servants, it is the same.” Also, Section
82, verse 10, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when
ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”
When
we start to murmur think about this: Are you Nephi or are you Laman? I hope we
will all strive to become personally converted!
In
conclusion, I ask this: Do you love Jesus? “If
ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) I do
love our Savior, and I hope to deepen my conversion and to follow the Saviors
example by saying, “…Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”(Luke 22:42)
In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Jonathan D. Yates
