Lehi continued his words to Laman and Lemuel. He told them he wanted to die “with gladness” because of them, not dying
with grief and sorrow. He called on them
to rise from the dust, be one in mind and heart and not enter into captivity.
He reminds them a curse faces them if they “not incur the displeasure of a just God
upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and
body.” (2 Nephi 1:22). He makes it
clear that if they incur the displeasure of God, it will the displeasure of a just God. What happens to them happens because of the
choices they make.
He pleads with them, appealing to them to “put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound,
and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust” (2 Nephi
1:23).
One of the classic biblical themes
presented throughout the Book of Mormon includes the notion of rising from the
dust. This Book of Mormon admonition reflects the account of man's creation
described in Genesis 2:7. The imagery of rising from the dust held considerable
meaning for Lehi, who, following his initial admonition in 2 Nephi 1:21,
continued the theme: "Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and
come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust" (2 Nephi 1:23).[1]
Lehi’s words were not only for Laman and Lemuel, but also
for their descendants.
[I]t is first essential that
modern-day Lamanites know their cultural history. Just as the brass plates had
been essential to the cultural and spiritual preservation of the Nephites, so
the Book of Mormon is necessary to the ultimate spiritual preservation of
Lehi's living descendants. Lamanites today can "arise from the dust"
(2 Nephi 1:23) in learning their true identity from the precious record which
itself is brought forth "out of the dust" (Moroni 10:27).[2]
Cease to rebel against Nephi, he says. He has “kept
the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument
in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it
not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless,
ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because
of you” (2 Nephi 1:24). (Lehi is
referring to the incident after the death of Ishmael – “And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold,
let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him
to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren” [1 Nephi 16:37]).
Noel Reynolds explains Nephi was given the leadership of the
family by Lehi, based on Laman and Lemuel’s behavior.
Lehi had formally given to Nephi
the leadership and even his first blessing (if the eldest son did not hearken
to Nephi), commanding the brothers not to rebel against Nephi anymore, for the
Spirit of the Lord was in him and "opened his mouth to utterance that he
could not shut it" (see 2 Nephi 1:24–9). The implicit argument of the
small plates is that Laman and Lemuel knew on various occasions that Nephi's
authority to rule was from God and that they acknowledged this in word and deed
on those occasions. Consequently, their ultimate rebellion against Nephi and
their accusations that he was a usurper were based on intentional lies that
denied their own experience and broke their own solemn agreements.[3]
[1] The
Bible vs. the Book of Mormon: Still Losing the
Battle, David E.
Bokovoy, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed May 29,
2013.
[2] Annual
FARMS Lecture: The Book of Mormon, Designed for Our Day, Richard Dilworth
Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, May 29, 2013.
[3] Nephite
Kingship Reconsidered, Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 29, 2013.
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