1 Nephi 7:8

8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?

How it must have hurt Nephi and Lehi that Laman and Lemuel were so hard and rebellious. Little brothers want to look up to their big brothers. I think that Nephi would have loved to have the luxury of letting Laman be the spiritual leader after Lehi. It’s a great feeling when that responsibility is someone else’s. And I think Nephi would have been a good follower. He never really got the chance to follow his older brothers, however. Nephi was the one who put forth the effort to be converted. From all that I can read, I think Laman and Lemuel had testimonies, but they were not converted. Someone who is not converted cannot be a spiritual leader because their behavior is not worthy of being followed, at least not consistently. Laman wanted the position of leader, but he wasn’t willing to make the changes needed to be the leader. Nephi, on the other hand, was converted and not willing to compromise. Therefore he, by default, became the spiritual leader, and usually the temporal leader as well.

• Mosiah 28:3
• Alma 31:2
• 3 Nephi 17:14
• Moses 7:41

1 Nephi 7:6–7

6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.

7 And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem.

We learn a couple of things about these two families here. We learn that Ishmael had seven children that came on the journey: two daughters and two sons with families of their own, who were inclined to rebellion. They are followers of Laman. These two daughters probably married Laman and Lemuel. Ishmael also had three daughters who were inclined toward righteousness. These are most likely the ones who married Nephi, Sam, and Zoram.

We can also see by the rebellion that Laman and Lemuel did not make this trip because of conversion to the Lord or any desire to serve Him, even though we have no record of murmuring until now. If they had willingly made the trip due to their conversion, they would not have rebelled on the way back to the tent of their father. The fact that they wanted to go back to Jerusalem says they still didn’t believe the situation there was as serious as it actually was.

1 Nephi 7:4–5

4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.

We have no record that Ishmael was a prophet. In fact, the scripture says that “the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household,” which would probably already have been done if he were a prophet. But he at least was a religious man who would listen to the words of the Lord. If Ishmael was not a prophet, I’m sure that as the Lord softened his heart he could see an advantage to leaving Jerusalem. It’s possible that it wasn’t healthy or safe for anybody who believed in the prophets at that time. So in addition to his heart being softened, Ishmael and his family may have seen joining Lehi as their ticket out of a very bad situation.

• Proverbs 3:5–6

1 Nephi 7:3

3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.

It is interesting that there is no record of murmuring on this trip. Apparently Laman and Lemuel felt like obtaining wives was a more acceptable reason for returning to Jerusalem than risking their lives for the brass plates.

1 Nephi 7:2

2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

Why Ishmael? One obvious reason is because his children matched up favorably with Lehi’s children. There were enough daughters for Lehi’s sons to marry. According to The Journal of Discourses, 23:184–85 (as quoted in the Book of Mormon Institute Manual, p. 19), Joseph Smith said that in the 116 pages of manuscript that was stolen, Lehi found out that he was of the lineage of Manassah. Ishmael was of Ephraim, thus fulfilling prophecy that Ephraim and Manassah would grow into a multitude (Genesis 48). Because their children intermarried, both lines of Joseph’s children were represented in the “Stick of Joseph.”

1 Nephi 7:1

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.

Obviously there are practical reasons to have women and men together on a journey such as Lehi and his family are making, but the commandment was to “take daughters to wife,” not just “take daughters.” Marriage is critical for many reasons. Among those reasons is that marriage provides a sense of order to society. The family organization is the basic unit of any society. The stronger the individual family units, the stronger the society is. It’s like a chain made up of individual links. Any weak link affects the integrity of the whole chain.

On an eternal level, celestial marriage is critical for our exaltation. Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4 says that without celestial marriage we cannot attain the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom. We can come close, but marriage is what makes that last reward possible. Men and women depend on each other to be exalted. It’s been said that salvation is individual; exaltation is a family reward.

• D&C 131:1–4

1 Nephi 7 overview

Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem and enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause—Laman and others rebel—Nephi exhorts his brethren to have faith in the Lord—They bind him with cords and plan his destruction—He is freed by the power of faith—His brethren ask forgiveness—Lehi and his company offer sacrifice and burnt offerings. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

Here is the account of another trip taken to Jerusalem, this time to get wives. There’s no account of Laman and Lemuel murmuring that they had to make another trip to Jerusalem. Perhaps they felt like a wife was a more worthy mission than a record. After they got the wives, however, they started in with the bad attitude again. The Lord and other faithful family members had to intervene in order for Laman and his followers to not take Nephi’s life.