1 Nephi 2:14

14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.

I think the Lord will use as much “volume” as he needs to in order to get our attention. In 1 Nephi 17:45 we learn that He tried to get through to Laman and Lemuel by more subtle means (still, small voice, etc), but they were past feeling, so the Lord had to get “louder” so they could get the message. In this case, Lehi spoke with such force that Laman and Lemuel were visibly shaken. They had nothing to say; they dared not say anything against their father. He had spiritually beaten them into submission. And of course, they still didn’t learn their lesson, because they continued in rebellion. They were not converted. How much better it would have been for them to not be compelled to be humble, as Alma tells the poor Zoramites who were compelled to be humble (Alma 32:16). They would have been much better off to come willingly to the Lord.

• 1 Nephi 3:5
• Alma 32:13–16

1 Nephi 2:13

13 Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.

I wonder why Laman and Lemuel followed their father. They could have simply rebelled and stayed in Jerusalem. Surely they were old enough to take care of themselves. They obviously did not believe the things Lehi taught about the destruction of Jerusalem. This verse says they were like the other Jews in Jerusalem who tried to kill Lehi. And yet, to their credit, they followed their father, albeit grudgingly. They could have stayed home and kept all the gold and silver. Surely they had many opportunities to kill Lehi, if that’s what they wanted. Something must be going on here that is not recorded. Maybe those in Jerusalem who would have killed Lehi would have killed the whole family as well. It could be a fear of what would happen to them if they stayed. Sometimes they were repentant, apparently sincerely.

• Jeremiah chapter 52

1 Nephi 2:12

12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.

Many righteous parents have had rebellious children. That is the risk of free agency. However, they rebel at their own risk if the parents have done all they can to teach them. The interesting thing about this verse to me is why they murmured. “They knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” Why didn’t they know God’s dealings? Because they didn’t try to have personal experiences with Him. It was not a priority with them. John 17:3 tells us that knowing God is life eternal. And this comes from doing His will, according to John 7:17. Obviously Laman and Lemuel were not keeping the commandments, otherwise they would have understood them.

• John 7:17
• 1 Nephi 15:8–11

1 Nephi 2:8-11

8 And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman, and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in the borders near the mouth thereof.

9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!

10 And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!

11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.

Lehi, as a loving parent, really wants the best for his children. Good parents always seem to want this, even when the feeling is not mutual. In this case, Lehi compared his rebellious sons to how he would like them to be, righteous and steady. I don’t think he is just saying this so they will leave him alone. This is evident in 1 Nephi 8:37, when Lehi is preaching “with all the feeling of a tender parent.” He wants them to be righteous for their own sakes. Proverbs 20:20 says, “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." This seems to refer to the light of Christ. Everyone begins life with the light of Christ (Moroni 7:8), which is how we discern good from evil, even without the Gift of the Holy Ghost. If a person will harden himself to the point of rebelling against his parents, those who have given him life, then he will eventually rebel against Him who gives spiritual and eternal life, Jesus Christ. The light goes out, and he (the rebel) puts it out himself. This grows into apostasy, rebellion, and stiffneckedness.

1 Nephi 2:7

7 And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.

I suppose the type offering made was a peace offering. Lehi would have built the alter of whole stones, readily available from the river. These stones were not to be broken or worked in any way. Alters seem to be some sort of temple when no temple structure is available. In our own temples, our highest covenants are made at the alter, including the sealing of families. At Lehi’s time the offering would have probably been a ram or he-goat. When the Savior fulfilled the Law of Moses with His own personal sacrifice, blood sacrifice was done away with. So rather than offering a substitute animal, we are required to offer ourselves. We offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We offer, at an alter in the temple, all that we have, all that we are, to the Lord, for the building up of His Kingdom.

The Thank or Peace Offering offered by Lehi was entirely consistent with the Law of Moses and with the Lord’s later commandment to thank Him in all things (D&C 59:21). Lehi had just been allowed to save his family from certain destruction they faced in Jerusalem. Of course his gratitude was sincere. This alter building and offering were not just outward shows of worship. They were sincere, therefore accepted of the Lord.

1 Nephi 2:5-6

5. And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.

6. And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water.

I think these verses are there to give a backdrop or setting for the next few chapters. Lehi received some pretty amazing revelations while staying in this location. I think that when the scriptures refer to “wilderness” they must mean something different than the picture that word brings up in my mind. I always picture desolation. The dictionary doesn’t imply that the landscape has to be desolate, and in fact it could be quite fertile. The deciding factor is whether the land is inhabited or cultivated. I think Lehi and family stay in this location for some time, which would indicate that there were some resources of wood, etc., since they would want fire for various reasons. Later on, we’ll read where the Lord didn’t want them to have much fire, but being near a river, there probably was vegetation, etc.

1 Nephi 2:3-4

3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.

4 And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.

Clearly Lehi sacrificed all of his worldly possessions to follow the commandment. Lehi was obviously a wealthy man of station in his community. He didn’t merely give up his possessions; he sacrificed them. This is a higher act than abandonment. The Latin roots of this word mean to make sacred. What Lehi did was a type or example of what we need to do to gain our “promised land,” even exaltation. We need to put the things of God at a higher priority than the things of the world. One of the most significant things we can sacrifice or give up for the Lord is our sins. King Lamoni’s father makes this clear as he is converted. He prays and says in all sincerity that he will “give away all [his] sins to know [God].” (Alma 22: 18) Who would he give them to? The Savior. If Lehi had not sacrificed his possessions for the Lord, or left the world behind him, he would have been destroyed along with the rest of “the world,” represented here by Jerusalem. I need to sacrifice my connections to the world (sin), or in the last day I will be destroyed with the world. Those who followed Lehi (the prophet) were spared that destruction. Even Laman and Lemuel were blessed to the extent that they followed the prophet, albeit reluctantly. They physically followed him and were spared a physical destruction. Because they did not follow the prophet spiritually, they could not be spared a spiritual destruction, and became cursed. (2 Nephi 5:21) This would be like establishing food storage, but not preparing spiritually for difficult times.