Question - How is it ye are so hard in your hearts?

In 1 Nephi 7 we read that after successfully retrieving the plates of brass from Laban, Lehi was instructed to send his sons back to Jerusalem to invite Ishmael and his family to join them in the wilderness. It turns out that Ishmael had the same number of daughters as Lehi has sons, and one more for Zoram. Unlike the first trip, there was no mention of Laman and Lemuel complaining, until after they had convinced Ishmael and his family to join them and they were returning to join Lehi and Sariah in the wilderness. We read that, “it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem" (v 7).

Not one to be silent, and “being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,” Nephi “spake unto them.” He began with an observation and question combination in one sentence, “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?” It appears that before Laman and Lemuel could answer the first question Nephi asked more questions, one after the other, without waiting for a response from Laman and Lemuel. He asked, "How is it that ye have:

• not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?
• forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?
• forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?
• forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? (v 8-11)

He concluded the questions with, “Wherefore, let us be faithful to him” and then invited action and made a promise, “if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise; and ye shall know at some future period that the word of the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; for all things which the Lord hath spoken concerning the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.” This is exactly the same pattern as with his conversation with Zoram (http://www.themostcorrectbook.org/2019/05/question-shall-we-not-be-diligent-in.html)—bear witness, ask a question, and invite/promise. In this case, however, he felt the need to give Laman and Lemuel three times the number questions he gave Zoram. Maybe he felt more questions were needed to get through to Laman and Lemuel.

Unsurprisingly, Laman and Lemuel chose to become angry with Nephi. They again attempted to take his life, but others pled for mercy, and Laman and Lemuel released him and continued the journey to Lehi and Sariah, pleading for mercy from Nephi. Given such, we might be tempted to conclude that the best thing to do is to not speak up so much. However, Nephi had to speak up since returning to Jerusalem would likely result in their all being killed and their parents and Zoram perishing in the wilderness.

Given all this, let’s look a little deeper into Nephi’s questions. What is instructive in Nephi’s questions is that three of the four questions focus on forgetfulness. This is a theme throughout the Book of Mormon. Prophets routinely remind the people of what they already know, but have forgotten. There is a generalized form of Nephi’s questions about forgetfulness that is applicable to every disciple:

• How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord? We might be tempted to claim we have never seen an angel, so this question does not apply to us. However, the generalized form of this question is “ye have forgotten that ye have seen.” We have all seen extraordinary events, places, people... As Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” More specifically in this case, all of us have seen angels since one type of angel is one who does the Lord’s will and speaks his word. We would not be aware of the Book of Mormon without having encountered angels along the way. Some, however, have literally seen heavenly messengers and have forgotten, just like Laman and Lemuel. In either case the forgetfulness is not the lack of cognitive capacity. Instead, it is a choice that comes of hard-heartedness. Recognizing we are hard-hearted has proven to be a challenge for all of us. Hence, the question, have ye forgotten that ye have seen…? It is a question that attempts to penetrate our hearts.
• How is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record? This question moves from remembering what we have seen or heard to what the Lord has actually done for each of us. Therefore, the generalized form of the question is “How is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us…?” Notice the question asks if we recognize what God has done for “us,” not just “me.” Saint Ingatius is quoted as saying, “In the light of the Divine Goodness, it seems to me, though others may think differently, that ingratitude is the most abominable of sins and that it should be detested in the sight of our Creator and Lord by all of His creatures who are capable of enjoying His divine and everlasting glory.” The influential western philosopher, Immanuel Kant, taught that “Ingratitude is the essence of vileness.” More importantly, the Lord himself, speaking through Joseph declared, “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21). Hence, the importance of asking ourselves, “have I forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us?”
• How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Lastly, Nephi asks a question that probes our faith in God’s capacity to “do all all things according to his [not our] will” IF “we will exercise faith in him?" Therefore, the generalized form of the question is “how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do...if it so be that [we] exercise faith in him?” It is not enough that we recognize what the Lord has done for us in the past, we must recognize his ability and desire to do what he feels best for his children, “if they exercise faith in him.”

Together, these three questions help us answer, at least in part, why we don’t harken to the Lord. We have typically forgotten: what we have seen, what he has done for us and others, and that he is able to bless according to his will if we exercise faith in him. Ironically, when we do not exercise faith in him we enable a sad self-fulfilling prophecy in limiting what he can do for us, just like the people of Nazareth of  whom Christ marveled because of their unbelief and for whom he could do no miracle (see Mark 6:1-6). Our disobedience and forgetfulness is a measure of us, not of God. Therefore, it is so important for us to develop means whereby we may be reminded. 

Fortunately, the Lord has provided a simple, yet profound, means of helping us remember. Each week he invites us to partake of the sacrament whereby we witness, and are reminded, to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, to always remember him, and to keep his commandments. When we sincerely, worthily, and consistently partake of the sacrament and act upon the impressions of the Spirit resulting from doing so it is far less likely we will forget what we have seen, what the Lord has done for us, or that he is able to do all things according to his will if we exercise faith in him. What a magnificently simple, yet powerful, invitation for us all. Hence, the importance of the question, "How is it ye are so hard in your hearts?"