1 Nephi 2:12 Laman
and Lemuel murmured against the prophet – their father. They saw all the trials
– or rather they saw everything as a trail: leaving their home – not the
blessing of going to a promised land; leaving their comforts and gold – not the
blessings of still having their FAMILY; having a ‘visionary man’ for a father –
instead of the blessing of having a PROPHET in their home and in their blood;
having to leave Jerusalem – instead of being grateful their lives were saved,
and on and on.
In every situation we can see the trial or see the blessing.
But their greatest fault was criticizing their Priesthood leader. “Criticism of those in authority is the first
step to apostasy.” When they criticized
their father and challenged his authority as a prophet, they were well on the
path to apostasy. Verse 12 says in English they “knew not the dealings” of God.
In Spanish it says, “no conocían
la manera de proceder de …. Dios.” In Spanish it gives more of a feeling
of – the way God proceeds – how He does things.
It isn't just that they didn't know WHAT He has done; they didn't know how He works with men. If
they really knew HOW GOD WORKS – His way of doing things, they would not criticize
His prophet – no matter what he tells them to do.
Can we follow our Priesthood leaders no matter what they
tell us or ask us to do?
That's an important point. Many people who criticize the Church today are really demonstrating that they don't know how God works, in fact, they don't believe that God is in charge.
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