They Began to Rejoice Over Their Brethren

When the righteous Nephites were anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of the sign of Samuel—the night without darkness—Mormon recorded this about the non-believers: "And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain" (3 Nephi 1:6).  Why would they rejoice that, as they supposed, their brethren were deceived by some false hope?  What was there to rejoice about?  Why did it make the non-believers' lives better that others were apparently in the wrong?  I believe they rejoiced because it provided them justification for their unbelief—if the sign didn't come, then they were, as they likely reasoned, fully justified in not following the prophets.  They had chosen to reject the call to repentance of Samuel, and so they had to find justification for that decision.  Seeing the sign not come to pass provided that rationalization, and therefore they were (temporarily) happy that they could continue in their sins and repress their guilt about rejecting the servants of the Lord.  

               Laman and Lemuel provided another example in the scriptures of this kind of behavior.  When Nephi wanted them to help with the ship at Bountiful, they resisted.  Because of their resistance, Nephi "was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts."  Like the unrighteous Nephites of 1 BC, Laman and Lemuel rejoiced at this fact that Nephi was sad: "And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work" (1 Nephi 17:19).  Why were Laman and Lemuel "glad in their hearts" at Nephi's sorrow?  Did it improve their lives for their brother to be sad?  I believe they rejoiced because his sorrow meant, they thought, that he couldn't really build the ship.  And if he couldn't really build the ship then this meant that they were justified in withholding their labor from him. If it wasn't a feasible idea in the first place, then, in their minds, they were smart to refuse to participate in the first place.  Their happiness over their brother's sorrow, like the unbelieving Nephites' happiness over the believers' apparently vain faith, was really an indication that they were seeking to rationalize their own disbelief and failure to do what they deep down knew they should have done.  

               I believe this behavior—to find satisfaction in the struggles of others when their difficulty justifies one's own actions—is more common than we realize.  It is not only something that the very wicked do.  For example, we can see it in the behavior of the Nephite associates of the sons of Mosiah who didn't believe that the Lamanites should be given a chance to accept the gospel.  Ammon recounted what happened when they proposed their plan to preach to the Lamanites: "Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn? For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning?" (Alma 26:23-24).  Why would these Nephites, who were believers themselves, "laugh to scorn" the sons of Mosiah for such a noble cause they were about to embark upon?  Why would they find this cynical satisfaction in criticizing this effort of love by the sons of Mosiah?  I believe it was because they needed to justify their own unwillingness to do the same thing.  Whether consciously or not, they were rationalizing their own refusal to preach the gospel or even show compassion to the Lamanites with laughter and scorn to make themselves feel good.  By claiming that such a thing was ludicrous they could comfortably sit back and justify their own unwillingness to show mercy or love to the Lamanites.  I don't think these were wicked Nephites; but they did, understandably, have hard feelings towards their enemies that they needed to validate.      

               We too may find ourselves in similar situations as we react to those who have done us wrong or caused hurt to us or someone we love.  If we find that we have satisfaction in the misfortune or troubles of these people, then that satisfaction may be a sign that we, whether consciously or not, feel the need to justify our own unforgiving heart.  If Nephi’s example of forgiving his murderous brothers over and over—and mourning repeatedly over their spiritual misfortune—teaches us anything, it is that we must, as the Savior counseled, seek to live this higher law: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).