Laman and Lemuel: Likening the Words of Isaiah

After their arrival in the promised land, Nephi told us, “I, Nephi, did teach my brethren….  I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us….  Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet… and liken them unto yourselves” (1 Nephi 19:22-24).  After this introduction he recorded for us and apparently read for his brethren what we know as Isaiah 48.  As I read this chapter this morning I realized just how well it applied to Nephi’s brethren, in particular Laman and Lemuel.  I can see why Nephi chose this chapter to read to these two brothers who could never stay faithful for very long.  

                Isaiah spoke to those of the “House of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.”  He continued by saying that these people of the House of Israel “call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts” (1 Nephi 20:1-2).  These words seem a very apt description of Laman and Lemuel.  They were of Israel and claimed to be part of the followers of the Lord and yet they did not speak or act “in truth nor in righteousness.”  They likewise had made appeal to the status of the “holy city” saying, “We know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people” (1 Nephi 17:22).  But Laman and Lemuel—and those inhabitants of Jerusalem they described—certainly did not “stay themselves upon the God of Israel”.  Isaiah continued by condemning those of Israel who were obstinate and had necks of “iron sinew”—a very good description of Laman and Lemuel—and the prophet then made reference to the great things done by the Lord which the wicked would be tempted to attribute to other sources like graven images (see 1 Nephi 20:4-8).  Nephi must have thought about how his brothers likewise were quick to attribute miraculous events to anything but the Lord.  For example, after they themselves had seen and heard an angel and many other miracles, Laman and Lemuel still said of Nephi: “He says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness” (1 Nephi 16:38).  Laman and Lemuel probably were too blind to see how well these words applied to them, but surely Nephi saw it.     

The final verses of this chapter from Isaiah likewise should have spoken very profoundly to Laman and Lemuel if they had had ears to hear.  Isaiah wrote, “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea” (1 Nephi 20:18).  They should have immediately thought of their experience on the boat when they had tied Nephi up and refused to loosen him.  Because of their wickedness, “There arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest” that nearly caused all of them to be drowned.  It was only after they finally made the righteous choice to free Nephi that “the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm” (1 Nephi 18:13, 21).  Their wickedness had not brought peace but the terrible turmoil of a raging sea.  They finally had “peace as a river”—a calm, serene river—when they let go of their wickedness.  They were given the stable, normal “waves of the sea” once they chose a work of righteousness.  Finally, Isaiah’s description of how the Lord “led [the children of Israel] through the deserts” and provided miraculous water for them should have reminded Laman and Lemuel of the miraculous way in which their party had been led across the desert and to the promised land.  Like the Israelites they had been given food by the Lord in unconventional ways and had been preserved despite great dangers.  It’s doubtful that Laman and Lemuel really applied these words to themselves given how hard of hearing of spiritual things they were, but Nephi’s testimony that the words of Isaiah could be likened to our individual experiences remains a powerful witness to us that we should do just that.