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
