1 Nephi 2:11

11  Now this he spake because of the ^astiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did ^bmurmur in many things against their ^cfather, because he was a ^dvisionary 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.

     “this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel”

            -parents see the weakenesses and character faults in their children.  A proactive parent will engage opportunities to help their children overcome those tentencies that will bring sadness and difficulties later in life.  Parents, motivated by love, like our heavenly parents will apply longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness and pure knowledge;  these will also accompany chastisements not out of meanness but because a parent loves those who they reprove.  It is the easiest thing to look away and let a child get away with poor behavior.

     “the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel”

            -for the first time in this record we are shown the character of Laman and Lemuel.  Even at this early time in the journey they displayed stubbornness, obstinance and defiance.  Evidently they complained about their father’s spiritual insights and failed to develop or possess faith. “Stiffneckedness” is close to a more contemporary description: hardheaded.

      “murmur”

            -an interesting word to say the least.  What is the extent of its meaning?  To complain… to object… to resist… to oppose… to cry… what?  Perhaps the closest synonym is “complain” but it also contains more meaning.  To murmur is an expression of weak or absent faith.  It also evidences a childish attitude frequently expressed as “but I don’t want to…” and contains an ugly self-deceptive (unaware) ignorance  -a lack of vision that another way is better than what you want to do particularly because long-term conditions that require short-term sacrifices are infinitely better than current ease.  Murmuring is an adult behavior that illustrates infantile, ignorant and obstinant character.

     “because”

            -because statements are priceless since they connect an eventuality or situation with its antecedent.  This because statement identifies the reasons why Laman and Lemuel murmured.  ALL of the reasons show their temporal (versus eternal) orientation to life:

      1- “because he was a visionary man”

            -Laman and Lemuel weren’t really upset about the visionary part, they were upset because of what the vision was.  It meant leaving their worldly status (their money, comforts, etc.).  I might suggest that if Lehi’s vision was one of increased wealth and leisure with their friends, they would have praised their father.

      2- “because he… had led them out of the land of Jerusalem”

            -this complaint is not uncommon since many young adults have experienced relocation during the time in their lives when home, friends and status have become important.  Laman and Lemuel simply did not want to leave the context that was such a central part of who they were.

      3- “because… to leave their inheritance, their gold, their silver, their precious things”

            -the choice was between the treasures of mortality and the promise or potential of eternal treasures.  Granted, the eternal treasures would be deferred until eternity and would be accomplanied by temporal/immediate difficulties.  Treasures now or treasures later….  Not a tough one for Laman and Lemuel (or for many of us so profoundly engaged in the here and now).  By and large, one of the choices we make in this life is the nature of our inheritance:  are we living for (striving for, focusing on, dreaming of) a mortal inheritance or an eternal inheritance.  They require very different paths.  We cannot be double minded.  Lehi’s family was torn apart because a portion was focused on each  -a house devided cannot stand.

        “their precious things”

            -we can see where we stand in relation to God by asking ourselves the question:  What are our ‘precious things’?

        4- “to perish”

            -what a sad commentary about their attitude!  They were going to die in the wilderness, they just assumed that they were.  What a lack of vision!  The wicked have no vision while they persecute those who do  -- even when the visions of the righteous are promises of good things for all; even for the wicked and those fighting against the vision.

            -those whose lives are oriented around a worry or a fear of dying cannot have a healthy view of living.  They will be so preoccupied with things of this temporal world that their vision will not extend toward those things of eternal consequence.  In their trepidation over the end of life they will engorge themselves ironically in things of a temporal (not lasting) nature.  They have died before their heart stops beating.

        “foolish imaginations of his heart”

            -isn’t it amazing that the wicked consider the “things of the heart” to be foolishness.  The voice of God --which is spoken, not in the mind nor is it always rational but through the heart—is fundamentally “felt” in the heart.  Most assuredly, leaving all your wealth, your possessions and your home and then trekking into the desert is not the most logical thing to do.  But it was the right thing to do because God commanded it.  Yes, it would be considered “foolish” by the prevailing opinion of the masses but it was not an imaginary directive.  Lehi did not imagine this course of action within himself nor did he imagine a divine directive.  It was actual.  And like Joseph Smith, the world has a difficult time differentiating between spiritual actuality and imagination. A world build on sensory (eyes, ears, touch, smell, etc.) reality will not recognize spiritual realities.