Monday, January 26, 2009

Book of Mormon Mondays - Murmuring

I'm sure you've noticed a lot of people murmuring in the Book of Mormon.  The two that stick out to me the most are Laman and Lemuel.  It seems like they are always murmuring!

1 Ne 2:11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.

1 Ne 3:31 And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?

1 Ne 17:49 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship

Yesterday, in Relief Society, the teacher mentioned something about murmuring.  I'm not exactly sure what she said, partly because as soon as she said it I started another train of thought, and partly because I was just struggling to pay attention all day yesterday.  Bad, I know... but it was just one of those days!

As soon as she mentioned murmuring, I remembered a thought that I had a few months back.  I was thinking about the members of the church during the time of Christ.  Many times they seemed to have little faith, or little understanding of His teachings.  And then I was struck with the realization that I can not judge those people's actions.  It was probably just as hard, or harder to have faith when Christ was on the earth as it is now when we're waiting for him to return. 

So as an extension of that thought, I realized that I couldn't judge Laman, Lemuel, or anyone else who murmured in the scriptures.  I wasn't there.  I don't know the whole story.  But what I do know was that they had it TOUGH!  Lehi's family had to leave almost everything behind and travel through the desert for several years.  The Arabian Desert.  Not a fun desert. 

Now, I'm not trying to make excuses for Laman and Lemuel's actions.  They definitely could have done better.  Lehi's whole family was dealt the same hand and many chose to be postive and full of faith.

But I did stop and think that maybe I should be a little less critical of the "bad guys" of the scriptures.

2 comments:

  1. What a great little insight on murmuring. As I've looked through your blog, I think to myself where do you find the time to be so clever and post so often? You go girl. I'll have to check more often.

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  2. Thanks Shauna! It's a lot of fun to write everyday. Blogging is the kind of writing that I like. I always struggled with writing papers in HS and college, but now that I can write what I want, I love it!

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