What Laman and Lemuel Can Teach Us About Being Righteous (1 Nephi 7:19-21)

We always think of Laman and Lemuel as evil—two rebellious, good-for-nothings. Always were, always will be. Beyond hope, beyond the reach of the Spirit.

But they weren’t. At least not at this point in their story. They were still in the struggle between good and evil, and sometimes they chose good.

For example, despite their grumbling and murmuring, they were not in complete and utter rebellion when we first meet them. They chose to obey when they went with Lehi into the wilderness. Twice more they chose good, when they returned to Jerusalem, once for the plates and once for Ishmael and family. Both times they could have stayed. They could have taken all their wealth and instead of trying to purchase the brass plates, they could have left Jerusalem for parts unknown, taking off as fast as they could go in the opposite direction. When they went back for Ishmael, they could have said no more. Who was there to make them go back to their family?

And here, after becoming so angry with Nephi that they tie him up and threaten to kill him, they regain their senses and their hearts are softened (v19). They feel sorrow for their actions and they repent, begging Nephi to forgive them (v20). And then they prayed to the Lord for forgiveness (v21).

These men were not yet past feeling. The Spirit of the Lord still strove with them. Yes, they were full of pride, struggling with their character defects. But they were not yet lost. They still had their choice, and here, they chose good—and they continued on their way back to the wilderness, back to Lehi, back toward the promised land.

It’s important to see this aspect of Laman and Lemuel’s character. When all we see is the bad side, it’s too easy to write them off and to discount their story because there’s no way we’re as bad as they are. But seeing their good side, seeing their struggle for what it is, can teach us a few things about living righteously:

I am not so different from them. I have my struggle between good and bad, just as they did. I have times when I choose good and times when I choose otherwise, just as they did. I need to be vigilant in seeking and choosing righteousness so that I am not wooed to ‘the dark side,’ just as they were.

Don’t ever assume others are too hardened and evil to be beyond the reach of the spirit. The spirit may still strive with them and they may choose to do right. Appeal to their good side as frequently as you can.

Our actions are choices. We’re not intrinsically good or evil. We become so through our choices. At the end of 1 Nephi 7, Laman and Lemuel have repented and made a righteous choice. Had they continued in these choices, we would have an entirely different Book of Mormon. But just as they chose to be softened here, at some point later, they chose to resist that softening—and continued to choose to resist until that pattern was set.

Laman and Lemuel waffled between rebellion and repentance while Lehi was alive. Lehi’s influence kept them from complete rebellion. I’ve seen this happen to others. Men who skirted the edge of iniquity but managed to resist while they were in the bishopric but then went downhill quickly after they were released and removed from the regular righteous influence of others.

Eventually we have to be strong enough to stand on our own spiritually because sooner or later, whomever we’re leaning on will die, or move, or have their own struggles. If we can’t stand on our own testimony, we will fall.