25 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have accused him that he sought power and authority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare.
Lehi, of course, recognizes both what Nephi is doing
(following the Lord), and what his rebellious sons are doing in response. So
Lehi tries to get them to see that they have no reason to be jealous of Nephi.
Because Lehi is also a prophet, he gets it. He understands Nephi’s motivations,
and recognizes that they are not selfish. But when Nephi tells his brothers
what to do (retrieve the brass plates, build a ship, repent, etc.) or not to do
(don’t return to Jerusalem, don’t party on the ship, etc.) they get offended
and assume that he is trying to be in charge of them and run their lives. They
think that it is Nephi’s aim to usurp power, to rule them, and be their
teacher. Never mind that an angel had told them that Nephi would do just that
(see 1 Nephi 2: 22; 3: 29). Pride and jealousy are major stumbling blocks for
these brothers. I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Let me never
fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am
contradicted." Laman and Lemuel could have learned from that, if they were
humble enough to receive it.
- Genesis 37: 10 (9–11)
- 1 Nephi 2: 22
- 1 Nephi 16: 37
- Mosiah 10: 14
