19 And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of the afflictions of their mother; and also my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did not soften the hearts of my brethren that they would loose me.
Having described the cost to his parents of his imprisonment,
Nephi now briefly tells us about the effect this episode had on other members
of the family. Jacob and Joseph, Nephi’s younger brothers, could not have been
more than eight years old. They were both born in the wilderness, where the
family had lived for about eight years. So these boys were still quite dependent
on Sariah for many things in life. Notice that their grief came because of the
stress on their mother, not so much because of Nephi. They were probably too
young to fully understand what was really happening, but they sure knew that
whatever it was really was hurting their mother. Nephi’s wife and children had
no impact on Laman and company. All of their pleading and tears could not
soften the hearts of these proud brothers. Laman and his followers were too far-gone
down the path of anger and wickedness. They had no compassion. They only cared
about themselves. This whole thing started when Nephi tried to get them to stop
doing what they wanted to do. They are consumed with selfishness.
