The Trouble With Lehi (1 Nephi 2)

Source Material: 1 Nephi Chapter 2

Question: What do you do when others resist your vision?

The Law of Attraction view is that we exist in a realm of abundance.   We create things spiritually in an instant through our desires and these desires will eventually manifest in the physical realm as we align our feelings with the spiritual creation. ( From a Mormon perspective, this is the story of creation from the beginning. )  The subtle trick to physical manifestation is a disconnection of the feeling of abundance from the physical manifestation of it.  Lehi shows this in an example:

4 And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.

The sense of abundance is so strong for him that he is able to leave behind his physical wealth.  Clearly, it is not dependent on possessing the objects we associate with abundance. And yet in some things Lehi has great difficulty in sensing abundance this way.  Nothing gives better evidence of this than his relationship with Laman and Lemuel:

7-10 [Lehi builds and altar and gives a little lecture about righteousness to Laman and Lemuel]
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.

Lehi was “out of The Vortex” with respect to his children.   The LOA talks about our true eternal self as “Source” or “Source Energy”.   When we are aligned with that intelligence, we are said to be “in the Vortex”.   (In Book of Mormon terms, we would say an aligned person “has the Spirit”.)  A person who is aligned feels cooperative with the universe and is willing to allow others the freedom to act as agents unto themselves.   Lehi had no such feelings with regard to his grumbling sons.  These were adult men with their own lives and ideas and yet we see Lehi trying to cajole them into behavior that he wants.   In true LOA fashion, Lehi’s focus on conflict set him up to attract more conflict.  Laman and lemuel were never aligned with Lehi's vision.  They had a strong alternate point of attraction.  Sadly, we will see that compelling them on this journey has out-of-vortex repercussions that will last for generations.

Now, I think most Mormons would object on the above point because Lehi has this aura of can-do-no-wrong righteousness about him.  As parents, we can certainly feel for Lehi, and the scriptures clearly state he had a vision and was trying to protect his family, so wasn’t he righteous then to try to compel his sons?   Let’s see:

12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.

God is merciful, kind, and abundant.  When visions move us, they are moving us downstream toward what we desire.  Nevertheless, Laman and Lemuel were not in alignment with this or with Lehi’s visions.  Is it reasonable to think we can compel them in their belief?  Can you be compelled in your belief?  We talk about a war in heaven that was fought over agency and freedom.  Is there any record of God compelling belief?   We’ll see later that Nephi sought for himself to get this vision, and he never needed to be compelled.   It’s just impossible to force an unwilling person into alignment.  They must choose it.   And yet, Lehi gives it his best shot:

14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.

Lehi give the boys such a stern lecture that they just shut up and do what he says.   Was this a success?  Maybe in the short term because Lehi got the compliance he was seeking, but he never really improved the spiritual circumstances of Laman and Lemuel, and they never aligned with him.  Contrast this with Nephi:

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

What a difference!  Nephi wanted to know, he wanted to be aligned.  Lehi never had to do much to persuade him.   This is the way of the Law of Attraction.  The things we desire are downstream.  They flow to us without compulsion.   Doing the work of vision hardly requires anything that feels like effort.

There is one last point about LOA to be made here, and that is illustrated with a curious interaction between Nephi and God:

18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them.
19 … the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, …
20 … inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; …
21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

In a nutshell, Nephi’s inner voice is saying, “Look, don’t worry about it.  Just follow your inner guide and you’ll be OK.  I’ll take care of your brothers.”    Everyone has the same access to the same blessings as everyone else.  We can choose to receive them or not and we don’t need to try to make others believe one thing or another.  It’s enough to tell people what we know and we can drop the issue if they don’t want a part in it.   Here Nephi shows a greater spiritual maturity than Lehi who is unwilling to let Laman and Lemuel go.  (Though we will see that even Nephi struggles with this too at times.)