1 Nephi 7:11

11  Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in ^adelivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?

   9 – 12.  Nephi identifies some important weaknesses that are intimate ingredients to Laman and Lemuel’s character:

            1.  “have not hearkened”

                        -they didn’t listen/give heed to the word of the Lord.

            2.  “have forgotten”

                        -they must have felt that it was not important or worth remembering.

                        a.  have seen an angel

                        b.  great things the Lord had done for them (delivered them from Laban)

                        c.  the Lord is able to do  (bring to being) all things.

            -I have often struggled with what makes one person align themselves with the Lord and another completely fight against him.  Did one have some kind of advantage over the other?  Did the one receive preferential treatment?  Verses 9-12 illustrate that both were given the same experiences, the difference is that each deals with or accepts them in different manners.

     “what great things the Lord hath done for us”

            -this statement can be, for us, a rich point to ponder.  It is a point of departure that illustrates the difference between Nephi and his brothers.  Our answer to the question (what great things has the Lord done for us?) is a valid measure of who we more resemble in our spiritual character.  How are we able to respond:  What are the great things the Lord hath done for us?  When we contemplate and examine our lives, do we see his hand or does it appear that we are the architects of our own situation?  Is there divine direction in the path our lives have pursued?  If there is not, or if we do not see it, we can be sure of one thing:  heaven is willing to be our guide through this wilderness of mortality but are we willing to follow?  The absence of God in our lives is entirely up to our disgression.  He will not intervene without our permission, that is one of the groundrules of mortality.

       “in delivering us out of the hands of Laban”

            -from Laman and Lemuel’s perspective, how was it that they obtained the brass plates and escaped unscathed from Laban’s fifty?  Did they attribute this unlikely achievement to the Lord?  What seemed impossible to them became reality….  How would they explain this?

1 Nephi 5:7

7  And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.
    "my mother was comforted."
           -a mother's concern about her children (especially when out of sight and out of her ability to directly affect their situation) is difficult to overstate.  It is a gift (and a burden) of motherhood.  The departure of a child on a mission is felt differently by a mother and a father. This is a male-female difference and this appears to have been a part of the reason why Sariah reacted differently than did Lehi. 
         -at the same time, we can see shades of Thomas the apostle at play here.  When Thomas did not physically see the resurrected Lord he refused to receive the same comfort as the other apostles.  He was not comforted nor did he have the same belief in the reality of the resurrection until he, like Sariah, physically saw and held. 

1 Nephi 2:6-7

6  And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a ^avalley by the side of a ^briver of water.

7  And it came to pass that he built an ^aaltar of ^bstones, and made an ^coffering unto the Lord, and gave ^dthanks unto the Lord our God.

    “made and offering unto the Lord”

            -what prompted this action?  What type of offering did Lehi make?  Ironically, his obedience (in leaving the “world” and obeying the Lord’s command) represented a far greater sacrificial offering than any animal sacrifice.

     “gave thanks”

            -I wonder how thankful I would (or most of us) have been after such an arduous journey where we no longer have one earthly measure of wealth or position.  This one action shows the greatness of Lehi’s character.  To leave all that they had because of being commanded is noble enough, but to express gratitude and thanks is something of more strength. To do the hard things, the inconvenient things that the Lord asks (going on a mission for two years during the prime of our lives, for example) is one level of discipleship, to do so and to express sincere thanks in the midst of the sacrifice or hardship is another level entirely.