Saturday Morning Common Sense 1 ---- Laman and Lemuel Passed the Checklist
Saturday Morning Common Sense
Laman and Lemuel Passed the Checklist
They left Jerusalem—but Jerusalem never left them.
A Little Common Sense for Latter-day Saints
We have not been very kind to Laman and Lemuel.
We usually make them the bad boys of the Book of Mormon—rebellious, faithless, and forever murmuring.
And yes, they could murmur with the best of them.
But give them a little credit. They completed a surprising number of assignments:
Leave Jerusalem? Check.
Go back for the brass plates? Check.
Return for Ishmael’s family? Check.
Cross the wilderness? Check.
Help build the ship? Eventually… check.
Climb aboard and sail into the unknown? Check.
They often complained all the way—but they went.
If discipleship were measured only by completed assignments, their record might look better than we think.
And yet Nephi gives us this painful little sentence:
“They did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.”
(1 Nephi 2:12)
They believed there was a God. They had a prophet for a father. They followed him into the wilderness.
But they did not know God’s dealings for themselves.
Nephi did something different. He did not simply say, “Father is the prophet, so I suppose he must be right.”
He went directly to the Lord:
“I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart.”
(1 Nephi 2:16)
That may be the whole difference.
Laman and Lemuel moved their feet.
Nephi opened his heart.
Later, when they could not understand their father’s teachings, Nephi asked them one of the finest common-sense questions in scripture:
“Have ye inquired of the Lord?”
Their answer was honest:
“We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.”
(1 Nephi 15:8–9)
There it is.
They wanted Nephi to explain what God meant—but they had not asked God.
That ought to make all of us squirm just a little.
We can attend church, read the lesson, sustain good leaders, go to the temple, complete assignments, and follow the approved path. Those can all be good things.
But nobody—not a parent, bishop, prophet, teacher, writer, or artificial intelligence—can inquire of the Lord for us.
The question is not merely:
Did I follow the instructions?
The deeper question is:
Did I go to the Lord and let Him soften my heart?
Laman and Lemuel physically left Jerusalem. But old fears, old expectations, and old ways of seeing the world came right along with them.
Maybe that is why this story was preserved for us.
Not so we could sit comfortably and judge two dead brothers—but so we could ask:
Am I following because somebody told me to?
Or am I learning to recognize and follow the Savior’s voice for myself?
Laman and Lemuel checked nearly every box.
They just never learned to check with God.
And if I am honest, there are days when I understand them better than I would like to admit.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Scriptures and Records Behind This Message
Book of Mormon
1 Nephi 2:11–12 — Laman and Lemuel murmured because they did not know the dealings of the God who created them.
1 Nephi 2:16 — Nephi cried unto the Lord and allowed the Lord to soften his heart.
1 Nephi 15:8–11 — Nephi asked, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” He then taught them to ask in faith without hardening their hearts.
1 Nephi 17:45 — They had seen an angel and heard the Lord’s voice, but had become “past feeling.” Outward experiences had not produced an inward transformation.
Nemenhah Sacred Records
The Book of Tsihohnayah Ahkehkthihm 14:84 — Priesthood orders and religious authority are described as schoolmasters and opportunities to do good; the Peacemaker Himself brings disciples upon the Way and instructs them.
The Book of Tsihohnayah Ahkehkthihm 14:85 — The people come to the Peacemaker with the full intent of their hearts and “live from revelation to revelation” because they have not rejected prophecy or the Gifts of the Spirit.
Bible and Restoration Scripture
James 1:5 — If we lack wisdom, we are invited to ask God.
John 10:27 — Christ’s sheep hear His voice and follow Him.
Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 — The disciple who receives light and continues in God receives more light.
The witnesses agree: good leaders can point us toward Christ, but none of them can seek Him, hear Him, or receive His light in our place.
Comments