The Lamen and Lemuel Effect

I started studying the scriptures from the beginning about a week ago. I did this because I have been feeling a little empty in my own testimony lately. Everything that has happened in the last couple months (my grandfather’s death, friends leaving the church, etc.) left me with a lot of questions. It left me with a lot of doubts. I am horrible at studying the scriptures every day, so I decided that this was something that I really needed to do. I needed to take on Moroni’s challenge once again for myself and make sure that my testimony is where it needs to be to be able to teach my son correct principles. How can I teach him if I am feeling doubts myself?

Long story short…I started reading The Book of Mormon from the beginning. I have been using “Scripture Study for Latter-Day Saint Families” by Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen to help guide my study and make it more meaningful than just reading.

As I have started, I noticed some interesting things about Lamen and Lemuel, Nephi’s brothers. My first questions about them came up in 1 Nephi 3. In this chapter, Lehi asks his sons to go to Jerusalem. Lamen and Lemuel murmur. Honestly, they have every right to murmur…they just traveled almost 175 miles and now they were being asked to go back and then come back again. Talk about exhaustion. They tell their father that they don’t want to do it, but then they go anyway. Here is where my first questions come…

Why did Lamen and Lemuel go all the way to Jerusalem? Why didn’t they just stay put or even go part way and come back and say that they were unsuccessful?

When they arrived at Jerusalem,  my next set of questions came up…

Why didn’t Lamen and Lemuel just stay at Jerusalem? Why didn’t they go back to their home where they left all of their riches and live out their lives there? It would have been so easy! If they thought that their father was a visionary man and that there was no way that Jerusalem could be destroyed, why not stay? Upon further thinking, I know that they might have been mocked for coming back, but I feel like they could have gotten over that eventually and made a new life for themselves in Jerusalem or in another nearby town.

However, Lamen and Lemuel do try to get the plates back.  Lamen even was the first one to try to persuade Laban to give them the plates. Plans A and B fail, but still they wait (after being chastened by an Angel) for Nephi to retrieve the plates and then they go back to their father.

As I thought about it, I realized that Lamen and Lemuel weren’t completely lacking in testimony. They had some sort of testimony—however, I don’t believe that it was their own. They were relying a lot on the faith of their father, mother, and brother. Sometimes, that is okay. If that is all you have, that is better than nothing. Lamen and Lemuel were saved from being destroyed at Jerusalem. They were delivered to the Promise Land. However, it is not the BEST thing.

(P.S. Notice how Lamen and Lemuel were quick to obey their father in 1 Nephi 7 when they are told to go back to Jerusalem again to get wives….no testimony needed there ;) )

As I was listening to General Conference this weekend, President Monson’s talk seemed to answer my questions.

Immediately after announcing new temples the very first thing that President Monson said was:

“This morning I speak about the power of the Book of Mormon and the critical need we have as members of this Church to study, ponder, and apply its teachings in our lives. The importance of having a firm and sure testimony of the Book of Mormon cannot be overstated."

At this point I was already in tears. I had just started my new journey with the Book of Mormon and I knew that this talk was for me...

He then goes on to say:

“If you do not have a firm testimony of these things, do that which is necessary to obtain one. It is essential for you to have your own testimony in these difficult times, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far."

So back to Lamen and Lemuel-

This is the part that really stood out to me that answered my questions. Lamen and Lemuel probably had a testimony of the things their father said- otherwise, why did they go out into the wilderness or follow their father’s direction to go back for the plates. However, I don’t believe that their testimony was fully there own. They leaned too much on their father and brother, that when times got hard, they gave up on it too easily. This is evident only a couple chapters later when they tie up Nephi and want to leave him in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts. They didn’t have their own testimony, and it only carried them so far. They go back and forth (after seeing miracles happen) with their own testimonies, but they don’t fully believe.

President Monson then talked about the importance of keeping your own testimony-

However, once obtained, a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through continued obedience to the commandments of God and through daily prayer and scripture study.

That has to be where Lamen and Lemuel were lacking. Nephi was ALWAYS trying to keep the commandments. He was always praying. He was always studying. Obviously we don’t know for sure, but I don’t know that Lamen and Lemuel were doing everything they needed to do to 1.) Obtain their own testimony or 2.) Keep their testimony vital and alive.

President Monson then made a promise for us:

“I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives.”

It is so easy to be Lamen and Lemuel. It is so easy to just ride on the testimony of others. However, it is not a solid testimony. It will not hold up when life gets hard. Doubts will be able to sneak in when we don’t have a wall to help keep them out. I have felt it in my own life- that when I am actively trying to maintain my testimony, life is just a little bit easier (or at least a little bit easier to deal with). When I am not- then I get more stressed, more anxiety attacks, and more depressive thoughts. I hope that as I study the Book of Mormon this year (actually study as opposed to just reading), that I can become less of a Lamen and Lemuel myself.