55 And now, they said: We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us. And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would not suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.
This verse shows a lack of faith on the parts of Laman and
Lemuel. If they had possessed faith, they would have worshipped God as Nephi
directed them to do. But rather than worship the source of the power they had
just experienced (and acknowledged), they started to worship the conduit
through which that power was expressed or channeled. They couldn’t see the
source, God, but they could see His servant, Nephi. Fortunately, Nephi tries to
set them straight by directing their devotion to the Lord instead of to
himself. Nephi also takes this opportunity to remind them that his their younger brother, and he should be the
one looking up to them instead of the other way around. He also takes this
opportunity to reinforce their need to honor their parents, which is part of
worshipping God. If Nephi had a desire to rule over them, as his brothers
repeatedly accuse him of desiring, this would have been the time to set himself
up. Instead, Nephi redirects their devotion to the Lord and to their parents.
Not even a word about obeying him in building the ship. I think Nephi just
really wanted his brothers to step up and act their part as leaders in the
family. And they won’t do it, at least not in a way that honors and worships
God.
