“Laman and
Lemuel wold not hearken unto my words”
-here is
there second chance, a second turning point that would prove to define their
lives. They first had opportunity to
believe their father. When their
brother, Nephi, also shared his experiences and spiritual witness, they were at
a point of divergence. Had they reacted
differently everything about their life could have changed in this instant
where Nephi first confided his experience.
As we know, however, their decision set forth a path that would impact
untold individuals for generations. They
could not have known the significance of their decision in this moment, but the
consequences were no less severe and lasting.
We rarely know the turning points and critical moments of our lives when
we are in the midst of them. No lights
or sirens blare alerting us to the seriousness of our choice. These come and go often without fanfare or
self-awareness. We make the grand
decisions of our lives in blind ignorance.
"being grieved...I cried unto the Lord
for them."
-Nephi
didn't get mad at his brothers and revile or curse them, he prayed for heavenly
intervention on their behalf. Are there
words of greater pathos or anguish than these: being grieved. It broke Nephi’s heart!
-something
about this degree of compassion for his brothers greatly impresses me. Nephi is not mad at them, but rather is
This is
tremendously sad. From this point
forward the paths of these sets of brothers begin to deviate until, years later
and many hard experiences, Nephi describes his brothers, who should have been
bound to each other in the sweet companionship of love and respect, as enemies.
sorrowful and concerned.
“I cried unto the
Lord for them.”
-Laman
and Lemuel would not cry unto the Lord on their own behalf but Nephi did. This presents a very interesting case of
conflicting agency. Laman and Lemuel
seemingly want nothing to do with the Lord.
Can the Lord, therefore, insert himself into their lives? How much efficacy does Nephi’s prayer
have? Clearly it is not entirely in vain
to pray for those who have rejected the Lord’s presence in their lives. Alma the Younger is specifically told one of
the reasons for Heaven’s intervention in his life is because of the prayers of
his father. So how are we to understand
thisvicarious effort?
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