1 Nephi 7:20

20  And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would ^aforgive them of the thing that they had done against me.

            -anger is the antithesis of sorrow.  Both are profoundly deep emotions.  The differences between the two are humility, submission and a measured sense of accountability before God.  The same tragedy or circumstances can make a man angry (and then vengeful and hateful) or sorrowful.  The angry man looks to blame others for the condition while the man of sorrow recognizes his role/place in the circumstances as it relates to God’s will.  Sorrow trusts God  -that he is ultimately in charge, that he will make things right but these require a certain level of sophisticated faith.  Anger is one of the natural man’s most profound qualities.

     “they were sorrowful… did plead with me that I would forgive them”

            -against the context of everything we know about who Laman and Lemuel are (their behavior up to this point, what they will do and become in the future, etc.) this contrition is surprising, beautiful and also confusing.  What caused such a tremendous change in heart?  If they could experience such moral and spiritual alertness now, what does it indicate about their potential and why did this sensitivity not grow within them?  Clearly they are within the realm of feeling a moral influence upon them.  Clearly they are able to recognize right and wrong.  

      “did bow down.. (and).. plead with me (to) forgive them…”

            -the anger is subdued and the Spirit comes back to stir up their conscience to a point where they realize the grossness of their actions.  Anger is a blinding evil that rejects the presence of God.  It is sometimes more blinding than physical drunkenness.

 

1 Nephi 7:19

19  And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought to lay hands upon me; but behold, one of the ^adaughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did cease striving to take away my life.

     “were angry with me again…”

            -here is the anti-godly characteristic of anger again!

            -in the face of a miracle –which was entirely overlooked by Laman and Lemuel- there is absolutely no change in behavior or outlook.  Laman and Lemuel are actually more angry.  They are becoming more steeped in their wickedness.  With every wrong action or decision they are becoming more entrenched in their position against God.

        “one of the daughters… her mother… one of the sons… did plead with my brethren”

            -what is the power of a righteous woman?  Where is their influence and contribution in the scriptures?  It is right here!  Consider the reality of this situation:  Nephi’s life is in the balance.  The founder of a great civilization (although it has not yet, at this point, come about) and the archtype of righteousness for that people may have been killed at the hands of his brothers if a daughter and a mother had not stood up in this critical moment to change the course of a bad situation.  This expedition which would eventually journey to the new world and establish a Christian civilization –including writing a spiritual record that would change the world several millennia in the future- balanced on the edge of a knife and was seriously threatened before it ever began.  And in this moment, a daughter of God and a mother stood up and saved it all.  That is the power of women.

            -why a strong stance taken here and now?  I guess the most important thing is that a bad situation was changed because a few people –who before might not have been participants in the evil/wrong) chose to stand up and take a position for righteousness.

            -God’s intervention in the affairs of man rarely solves our problems outright.  It provides an opportunity for man to act.  God opens doors that requires us to exercise significant faith and courage to act.  It is this action that becomes a turning point and the trajectory of a situation changes.  Usually these are very small, simple, straightforward actions.  They, however, are attended by the imposition of God.  He blesses and prospers them and his power is unleashed by the actions of man.  It is as if He magnifies his influence through these actions.  In this case Laman and Lemuel’s hearts are touched and they back off;  they take a different stance almost inexplicably.

            -what could they have said that was more powerful than an angel?

     “they  (Laman and Lemuel) did soften their hearts…” (vs. 20) “they were sorrowful…”

            -I don’t know what was so powerful and convincing to turn the anger to (some level of) humility, but the influence of a few is undeniable.  In prior instances God had intervened, here mortals acted and were as tools of righteousness.  We often do not recognize our power to bring about the purposes of God.  The work/persuasion of these there was as powerful as the angel who had earlier come to change the actions of Laman and Lemuel;  they brought about results as great as were accomplished by angels.  Such is the power often dormant in us.

          “they did cease striving to take away my life.”

            -can people change?  Can a desperate situation where wickedness has a grasp on the heart, the thoughts and the objectives of man be turned?  It may appear unlikely if not improbable, but it can.  There is no way to tell about the passage of time from verse 18 to verse 19, but in one moment Laman and Lemuel were so enraged that they were about to take their brother’s life and not too long afterwards, their disposition changed.  This is as mighty a change in the hearts of men as anything we read about.

1 Nephi 7:16

16  And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me.  And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did ^abind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.

     “were angry with me..”  “were exceedingly wroth…”

            -another example of anger being expressed by those whose hearts are contrary to God.  Anger is a trait of the weak and those who stand against Godly things.  It is a manifestation of one who is challenged in their pursuit of selfish goals (CR:  D&C 3:1-4).

            -they were angry because of the words Nephi spoke… and what was it that he said?  He actually gave them permission –pointed out that they could exercise their agency- to go back to Jerusalem.  This was the thing Laman and Lemuel had been complaining about since their original departure. So why would they be angry?  If they desired they could go back now.  Their anger, as does the anger of all who find themselves on the wrong side of truth, came because they were brought face to face with the consequences of truth and they do not like it.  They want their cake, to eat it and to not get fat.  They want to return to Jerusalem and a life of leisure and to wallow in self-indulgence without the threat of destruction.  The potential destruction ruins everything and they do not like it.  They especially don’t like someone telling them about it.  At least they can enjoy themselves during their their naivete or put it out of their minds until it happens.  Truth, morality and virtue always angers the natural man.

     “did lay their hands upon me… did bind me… sought to take away my life”

            -when we reject truth, morality, God and/or righteousness we become antagonistic to it and the distance between mental antagonism and physical antagonism is very short.Violence is the inevitable destination of those who reject the doctrines and the beliefs established by the Prince of Peace. 

            -why did Laman and Lemuel’s response elevate to violence –to assault, battery, kidnapping and attempted murder?  Obviously they subscribed to a different perspective than Nephi but they were not being physically coerced or threatened.  When right (the objectives of God) and wrong (the objectives of the devil or man’s whims) confront each other within a person, between indivduals or amongst groups of people there will be a struggle.  In this mortal-physical world that struggle will often become violent in nature.  There is a period of strained coexistence but the differences will escalate until one or the other is established triumphant.  God’s power and dominion is eternal in nature; Satan’s power and dominion are temporal –that is relegated to this mortal existence- in nature.  On earth then, we should not be surprised at the proliferation and success of Satan.  Good and evil cannot coexist any more than water and oil.  A house divided against itself cannot stand.

      “they sought to take away my life…”

            -this is the first time Laman and Lemuel make an attempt to murder Nephi.  Their degree of rejection of the Lord has already grown to this extent.

            -why don’t Laman and company just do as Nephi invited, that is, go back to Jerusalem?  But no, they became violent and attacked Nephi.  Why?  He did not try to stop them.  Because once we enlist to serve Lucifer and fight against God we want to extinguish all that is good and godly.  Hence Lucifer’s plan is not to simply get his own way, but to destroy all those who will not embrace his cause (every social and political cause authored by Satan and carried out by his, often unwary, pawns operates in the same manner).  It is slavery, absolute and uncompromising.  For those who don’t join, it is death.  Evil cannot endure the existence of goodness.

1 Nephi 3:28

28  And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman.  Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many ^ahard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.

      “Laman was angry”

            -Here is another example of anger being manifest by one who is not righteous.  Anger is a companion to wickedness.

            -In our time we speak of people, some young man or some young woman or even groups of people who are angry.  These seem to be consumed with an ire and a deep festering “problem” with society.  Often we seek to understand why they are angry, as if there is some justification or legitimacy behind their emotional state.  Anger is a chief tool of Satan.  Anger is one of his most descriptive qualities.  His anger and subsequent rebellion caused his expulsion from heaven and forfeiture of future endowments (body, chance at a redeeming experience in mortality, eternal kingdom, etc.).  No wonder his goal is to lure people into the cankering realm of anger.  No wonder he is expert about stirring men up to anger.  Anger is like a drug, which after entering our blood stream, shuts off all forms of higher thought.   One who is angry is not humble.  He seeks to blame his situation (usually the suffering that accompanies unrighteous living) on others.  He seeks for retribution and punishment.  His anger is based in comparing his position against others which is based on faulty judgment. 

      “angry with me… and my father…”

            -Laman still does not have the idea that this is the Lord’s errand and not Nephi’s or Lehi’s little escapade.  This is very much like a member who has a difficult time accepting the instructions of the prophet or other priesthood leader.  If we recognize that commandments come from God we would know that we must obey but if we can suppose they are only from another man we can find some questionable aspect to the command and justify our deliverance or stubbornness thereto (in a cynical world that is over-concerned with the rights of the self, in the world that Toqueville warned of and in which everyone is myopically pursuing their own interests in the name of enlightened self-fulfillment, it is easy to find “something questionable” about any man or woman who would make demands of us or suggest that we change some aspect of our behavior.  Why they are just trying to control us, to subdue our will, to gain a position of advantage over us.  We are our own bosses, we have rights and freedoms, who are they to say what we can and cannot do?   Oh, but this all sounds so very familiar to Laman and Lemuel’s  arguments… Things do not change.)

      “also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman…”

            -thus far Lemuel’s only real sin/shortcoming/major mistake was listening to, or being influenced by, the words of his brother.  I perceive that this was not a terrible thing by itself, but very soon we are to see where a person can end up –what larger transgressions they can be guilty of- when at first they only gave heed to wayward words and ideas.  We ought to be very careful who and what we listen to.

            -what a difference it would have made if Lemuel was less of a follower and took active steps to find out for himself regading the hand of the Lord in his life.  Lemuel could have shifted the balance of power significantly in the direction of his father and his brother Nephi.  Three (Lemuel, Nephi and Sam) against one (Laman) would have created very different power dynamics than two against two.  As it was, however, Lemuel abdicated much of his agency as a follower of Laman.  His eternal path was determined by falling in with and following his brother.  This type of passive living is dangerous.

     “hard words”

            -how much of our current/everyday conversations could be categorized in this generic phrase: “hard words”.  How many of us are frequently involved in conversations that include hard words about others?  How quickly will hard words turn, like they did so quickly for Laman and Lemuel, to sinful actions?

            -Let us here observe that the progression of any thought or emotion to its action is not very long.  Also let us admit that there is a natural evolutionary course that must be followed.  An emotion/thought that is felt within the soul will arise as a word which will, sooner or later, become an action that will in turn mold and form a person’s character.  Anger, hostile communication will eventually evolve into physical violence.  The way to cut the cycle before it runs its full course, or to correct it when it has already begun its destructive result is to supplant the evil origin/root with a good one.  Anger must be replaced by compassion, understanding and/or charity.  To assume that anger can still exist and focus on squelching the verbalization is not to treat the real wound and will never serve to cure the problem.  The fruit of a tree will always be the resemblance of its seed and roots.  Anger can never beget anything but its own.

1 Nephi 3:13

13  And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records.  Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee.

      “Laban was angry”

            -here we have another example of anger being related to a wicked man and wickedness.  (See 1Nephi 1:20 notes).

            -why does this request make Laban angry?  From the record we have, I don’t see anything that Laman did that would merit Laban’s anger like it was.  Sure Laban was a wicked man consumed with greed, pride, a bloated feeling of self-importance and drunk with the love of power and worldly things, but with all these characteristics we can guess that he did not esteem the scriptures to be important (surely he did not spend much time reading and pondering them) enough that Laman’s request centered around an object he valued highly.  So why, then did he  become so infuriated at Laman’s request?  Could it be that Laman actually had a backbone and approached Laban with words such as, “the Lord has sent me to claim the plates of brass and commands you to deliver them to me”… that would have sparked this kind of reply from Laban?

      “he would not that he should have the records”

            -as above, why did Laban not want Laman to have the records?  It is curious to me that Laban should put such a high priority on them when he did not use them for the intent for which they were written (to study and as a behavioral standard/guideline).

            -Laban, although mostlikely ignorant of his situation, is on the wrong side God.  He did not want to deliver the record to Lehi.  Contrast this with God’s objective and plan for things:  “the Lord hath commanded thou and thy brothers (to) seek the records, and bring them down hither”.  God wants the records with Lehi.  Laban wants the records to himself.  This is a tug of war not unlike the ones that frequently play out in the lives and hearts of men (you and I included).  God wants one thing, we want something else (we want what we want).  Too often we do not realize that we are standing in opposition to God.  In fact we may hardly give God a second thought, we are so occupied with our own wants, wills and desires.  And when someone does tell us that our way is divergent to Gods and that we had better shape up, we get mad, defiant and become ideal manifestations of the natural man.

    “thou art a robber and I will slay thee”

            -these two short accusations reveal much about Laban’s character and evidence what a wicked man he was.  In these declarations he breaks a number of God’s commandments and the moral code which is supposed to bind the people of God together:

       "thou art a robber"  =  lie/false witness;  violation of the 9th commandment

       "I will slay thee"  =  attempted murder;  violation of the 6th commandment

     (vs. 25: “he did lust after” our riches) = lust after riches, violation of the 1^st commandment

     (vs. 25: “he might obtain or property) = steal; violation of the 8^th commandment

            -here we gain a peek into Laban’s soul.  He commits two serious sins:  he bears false witness by saying that Laman was a thief and he attempts to murder him.  Those both reek of a dishonest, narcissistic soul who is not in tune with the Spirit (which would have, in fact may have been, whispering to him to deliver up the plates) We can safely discern Laban’s conniving and vicious nature.

            -projection is one of the most frequent and predictable qualities of the natural or carnal man.  Laban is a theif at heart; a condition which will manifest itself in 12 short verses (Nephi 3:25).  He is a robber and yet he accuses Laman of the exact same act.  His accusation alone is evidence that he knows robbery is wrong.  Yet he engages in the very same action he supposedly decries.  The truth is, in his moral relativity, robbery is only wrong when the wrong is committed against him.  Robbery is just fine when he is the one prospering from the action.