2 Nephi 1: 21

 21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

Lehi has basically two requests of his older sons: that they be men, and that they are unified. By this time Laman and Lemuel are grown adults with families of their own, so in that sense they are already men. Lehi wants them to be men in the sense that they are spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity comes with obedience to God and His commandments. It’s more than just knowledge; it’s understanding and courageous application through experience. Laman and Lemuel, by this time, had to have knowledge, especially after all the teaching and testifying they had received from Lehi and Nephi. What they lacked was true conversion that would lead them to obey the Lord no matter what.

We got a glimpse at what being a man really is when Nephi obtained the plates of brass. Just prior to that experience he describes himself as “being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature” (1 Nephi 2: 16). After following the Spirit to do some pretty difficult things to obtain the plates, when he grabbed Zoram to keep him from running away, he described himself as “being a man large in stature” (1 Nephi 4: 31). In both verses he says he was large in stature, so being a man was not related to size. He called himself a man probably a month or less after calling himself exceedingly young, so age was not the difference. He was not married yet, so marital status was not a factor. The difference between the first and second descriptions was his conversion and covenant with the Lord (1 Nephi 2: 16–24), and successfully passing the trial of his faith by obeying the Lord no matter what, when, against everything he had been taught about the Ten Commandments, he killed Laban to obtain the plates (see 1 Nephi 4: 5–31). This experience is where Nephi became a man, the kind of man Jesus Christ himself refers to as he tells his disciples what kind of men they should be (see 3 Nephi 27: 27), spiritually mature, obedient to God, having passed the tests to their commitment. It wasn’t the killing that made Nephi a man; it was the obedience that made him a man. That’s the kind of men Lehi wanted his sons to be. Every time prior to this point when they repented and recommitted, they would stumble again when the tests came. Lehi wanted his sons to stop stumbling. That’s the kind of men he wanted them to be, and that we should be, whether you are a man or a woman.

The other thing Lehi wanted was for his sons to be united in all things. Again, this is referring to a unity with God. They had already shown themselves to be united in their persecution; the kind of unity they needed would come only after they became men in the true sense of the word. In other words, they should be united in righteousness, not in sin. After all, at the end of the Book of Mormon we read about people who were united in all things, but they proved to be the undoing of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Gadianton Robbers were united against God, and I’m sure that’s not what Lehi meant. Unity is important to the Lord though. From the very beginning, God has commanded married couples to be united, even going so far as saying, “they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2: 24). Christ prayed that his disciples would “be one, as we are,” referring to the unity He has with the Father (John 17: 11). He tells the latter-day saints that “if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38: 27). The Pearl of Great Price describes a people called “Zion, because they were of one heart and mind” (Moses 7: 18). So in each of the Standard Works of the Church we find the encouragement, even commandment, to be united, multiple times, as I have only cited one reference from each. Lehi wants his children to be of one heart and mind, but he really wants them united with the Lord. He wants them to follow Nephi’s example, for whom they should be setting an example.

• 1 Nephi 4: 31
• 3 Nephi 27: 27
• Moses 7: 18

2 Nephi 1: 20

20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

This promise is referred to over and over in The Book of Mormon. It’s almost as if the people (at least the righteous ones) cling to this promise with their might. As well they should. There is no evidence that I can find in the scriptures that would indicate the Lord does not want his people to prosper. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that the opposite is true. He wants to bless all of his children. As it turns out, though, we are our own worst enemies. The Lord stands ready and willing to bless us, but how often do we, through our sin and/or weakness refuse to accept? Why, when we have so much evidence before us, so we reject His blessing and assistance? And then, when we do receive his blessing, we take it for granted, and get proud in those blessings, such that we stop doing the things for which those blessings are a reward. So they are removed again. Individuals may not be predictable all the time, but groups of people can usually be counted on to be predictable in behavior, and as a people, we can pretty much count on the Nephite “pride cycle” to apply. And this same blessing that applies to our temporal lives also applies to our eternal salvation. Heavenly Father, who loves us all beyond measure, wants success for all his children. He wants us all to return to him, but we are the ones who cut ourselves off from His presence, based on our desires and behavior.

• Leviticus 26: 3 (3–20)
• Psalm 67: 6
• Proverbs 22: 4 (4–5)
• Joel 2: 25 (23–26)
• Amos 5: 4 (4–8)
• Jarom 1: 9
• Omni 1: 6
• Mosiah 1: 7
• Mosiah 2: 24 (21–25)
• Mosiah 26: 30
• Alma 9: 13 (13–14)
• Alma 36: 30
• Alma 37: 13
• 3 Nephi 5: 22
• D&C 82: 10

2 Nephi 1: 19

19 O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a favored people of the Lord. But behold, his will be done; for his ways are righteousness forever.

Lehi prays that his sons will make serious changes in their lives to avoid the consequences that will unavoidably be theirs otherwise. He, like our Heavenly Father, wants his sons to succeed. He wants them to be a favored and covenant people of the Lord. Unfortunately, there are natural consequences for sin. For example, Alma teaches Corianton that “wickedness never was happiness” (see Alma 41: 10). I think that is probably a principle that extends into the eternities. It’s a natural law that literally cannot be broken, like gravity. Another natural consequence for sin is that justice must claim the sinner. The rest of Alma’s correction of Corianton covers the relationship between justice and mercy (see Alma chapters 39–42). This law is so fundamental that there just is no way around it. If God were to break this law of justice, this principle, He “would cease to be God” (Alma 41: 25). So he could break the commandment, but the natural consequence of doing so is that He would cease to be God.

By way of contrast, consider the commandment we have against murder. The Lord has killed the mortal bodies of many people, both by his own hand (such as the Great Flood), and by the hands of his people (such as when Nephi was commanded to kill Laban to obtain the brass plates). He has even authorized genocide by the hands of the Israelites as they were led to inherit their Land of Promise. This commandment holds for us on of the stiffest penalties possible, yet it does not cause God to cease to be God. However, taking away the natural consequences for sin (i.e. justice) would strip Him of his Godhood. That is why the Atonement is so critical. This loving father, who does not want his children to suffer, literally cannot stop it from happening without some way to satisfy the demands of justice.

It’s kind of like Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Likewise, for every sin there has to be an equal and opposite consequence, in the form of punishment (justice). A price must be paid that is equal to the sin. If not, then justice would not be satisfied, and God would cease to be God. The punishment endured by Jesus Christ during the Atonement was so great as to potentially pay for all sins that had been or ever would be committed. The punishment was so great that it balanced out all those sins and satisfied the demand for justice in every case. If that were not the case, God would cease to be God, because he must keep the law of justice, or suffer the consequences.

Lehi states that the Lord’s ways “are righteous forever.” The commandments of a loving Father are designed to help us avoid the inevitable Law of Justice. The Atonement is necessary because we all too often rush into the teeth of justice and make ourselves miserable, like Satan. The misery is what Lehi wants his sons to avoid, but knows they can’t if they will not keep the commandments.

• Hosea 14: 9

2 Nephi 1: 18

18 Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.

This is the prophetic scripture that kind of sets the tone for the animosity between Nephites and Lamanites in the future. I’m sure Lehi had to know that his sons would split up and become two nations. That doesn’t mean that he should stop trying to prevent it from happening though. It was inevitable; the only thing really keeping the family together up until this point was Lehi and Sariah. In a few chapters, the Nephites will have to separate themselves for their survival. At that point the Lord curses the Lamanites. There is an outward manifestation of that in the dark skin, but the real curse goes much deeper and has much more eternal consequences than skin color. I’ll discuss that in greater detail when we get there, but for now, the worst part of the prophecy is the last part, the part about being led according to the will and captivity of the devil. If they could overcome that one, they can avoid the other consequences as a result.

• 2 Nephi 5: 20–24

2 Nephi 1: 17

17 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and destroyed forever;

God is extremely patient with us, by our standards especially. But even He has limits, and when a population gets so wicked that there is no chance of them turning back to him he removes them. This is what happened when the children of Israel completely destroyed the nations occupying their land of inheritance. We often say that the children of Israel were bad or unfaithful, but they replaced people who were even worse than the Israelites (see 1 Nephi 17: 32–38). This is what Lehi was afraid would happen to the generations of Laman and Lemuel.  They would eventually be cut off and destroyed forever. So he pleads with his sons to repent and be righteous. Of course, one generation’s righteousness does not guarantee the safety of each subsequent generation. We don’t need to look any further than the Book of Mormon for evidence of that. After all, it was the Nephites who eventually were destroyed by the Lamanites. Of course, by that time the actual bloodlines were mixed, and the Nephite/Lamanite designation was more political than familial. That being said, Lehi doesn’t want his sons, his next generation, to be the ones who are cut off and destroyed. So he calls them to repent and be righteous.

• Genesis 6: 13
• 1 Nephi 17: 32–38
• Mosiah 12: 8
• 3 Nephi 9: 9