In the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

, Laman and Lemuel () are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi,

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

, and

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second Books of Nephi. Their descendants became known as the

Lamanites In the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites () are one of the four peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas. The Lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and reve ...

and Lemuelites, while the descendants of Nephi and their other brothers became the

Nephite In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, poli ...

s. Disputes over the proper

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

's narrative.

Narrative

Laman and Lemuel are introduced as the two eldest sons of the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Lehi and his wife

Sariah According to the Book of Mormon, Sariah () was the wife of Lehi (Book of Mormon), Lehi, and the mother of Laman and Lemuel, Laman, Laman and Lemuel, Lemuel, Sam (Book of Mormon), Sam, and Nephi, son of Lehi, Nephi. She traveled with her husband ...

, and older brothers of Sam and Nephi. When Lehi announces that the family will flee

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Lemuel and Laman " murmur" as they follow their father into the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

. Notably, their father names a river and a valley after Laman and Lemuel, respectively. Lehi then sends the pair with their younger brothers to retrieve the brass plates from

Laban Lakas ng Bayan ( or People Power), abbreviated as Laban, was an electoral alliance, later a political party, in the Philippines formed by Senator Ninoy Aquino for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidat ...

. Laman attempts to retrieve them first, failing to reason with Laban and escaping to brief his brothers on the issue. The sons of Lehi make a second attempt, using

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

to try to bribe Laban into giving them the plates. This attempt also fails, with Laban confiscating their property and the four brothers hiding in a cave. Laman and Lemuel then attack Nephi and Sam with a " rod." An angel appears, interrupting the assault. The angel indicates Nephi's eventual stewardship of the family and affirms that there will be divine aid to retrieve the plates. Laman and Lemuel are dubious about the practicality of this as Nephi goes into Jerusalem for a third try, this time alone. Nephi

returns Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

, bearing the plates, Laban's gear, and with Zoram in tow. Laman, Lemuel, and Sam initially do not recognize Nephi (as he is wearing Laban's armor) and attempt to escape. In Nephi's attempt to calm them, Zoram realizes that Nephi is not his master and has in fact killed him. Nephi extracts an oath from Zoram that he will leave Jerusalem with them. Zoram and the brothers then return to the tent of their parents. Lehi then sends Zoram and his sons to the "land of Jerusalem" to retrieve Ishmael and his family. While Zoram and the sons of Lehi are escorting Ishmael's family to Lehi's encampment, there is a dispute that splits the party, with Laman and Lemuel taking one side and Sam and Nephi taking the other. Nephi then rebukes his brethren. Laman and Lemuel then tie up Nephi in an attempt to kill him. After praying for strength, Nephi escapes his restraints and Ishmael's family intercedes to halt the hostilities. Eventually they return to the camp of Sariah and Lehi. After the two families begin traveling together, Lehi has a vision of his family and what he identifies as the

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

. In the dream, Laman and Lemuel refuse to join their parents, Nephi, and Sam at the tree and do not eat the fruit. Later, Laman and Lemuel ask Nephi for his interpretation of the vision. Laman, Lemuel, Zoram, Sam, and Nephi then marry the daughters of Ishmael. Many year pass in the wilderness. The party is guided by the Liahona which gives directions in the wilderness, particularly to such things as sources of food. When Nephi's bow breaks, Laman and Lemuel complain with the rest of the family. After Nephi makes a new bow and returns with sufficient food, they rejoice with the company. During the wilderness travails, Ishmael dies. This leads to an attempted

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

, headed by Laman, that subsides quickly. On the coast, Nephi is commanded to build a boat. Laman and Lemuel refuse to aid him until they are rebuked and smitten. While the brothers are building the vessel, Lehi and Sariah have had two more children,

and

. During the voyage, Laman and Lemuel assault Nephi after he rebukes them again. They refuse to untie him until a storm threatens to sink the party. After Nephi is released, the party lands in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. Upon arrival, Lehi gathers his family for a

farewell speech A farewell speech or farewell address is a speech given by an individual leaving a position or place. They are often used by public figures such as politicians as a capstone to the preceding career, or as statements delivered by persons relating ...

, in which he

prophesies In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divin ...

about and conditionally blesses his children and their descendants. Laman and Lemuel's children are blessed that their descendants will remain upon the land and eventually accept the gospel. Their children are also blessed that their sins will be held to the account of their parents. Once Lehi dies, discord arises again in the new colony, leading to the departure of Nephi's party. Laman and Lemuel and their descendants remain in the original site.

Interpretation

Popular culture

''The Book of Laman''

In 2017, BCC Press published a novel entitled ''The Book of Laman'' by

Mette Ivie Harrison Mette Ivie Harrison (born September 13, 1970) is an American novelist. She writes young adult fiction and in 2014 began publishing an adult mystery series. Her background as a Mormons, Mormon has influenced her topics of interest as a writer, esp ...

. The novel reframes the events of

First Nephi The First Book of Nephi: His Reign and Ministry (), usually referred to as First Nephi or 1 Nephi, is the first book of the Book of Mormon, the sacred text of churches within the Latter Day Saint Movement, and one of four books with the name Neph ...

and

Second Nephi The Second Book of Nephi (), usually referred to as Second Nephi or 2 Nephi, is the second book of the Book of Mormon, the primary religious text of the Latter-day Saint Movement. Narrated by Nephi, son of Lehi, unlike the first Book of Nephi, ...

from the imagined point of view of Laman.

Dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

reviewed the book as "a courageous addition to the many retellings of Book of Mormon stories that dot the landscape of

Mormon literature Mormon literature is generally considered to have begun a few years before the March 1830 publication of the Book of Mormon. Since then, Mormon literature has grown to include more scripture, as well as histories, fiction, biographies, poetry, hy ...

." Rebecca Bateman, in a review on the Association of Mormon Letters blog, critiqued it for issues with

characterization Characterization or characterisation is the representation of characters (persons, creatures, or other beings) in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include dire ...

and for

anachronisms An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

in the text.

''The Nephiad''

Michael R. Collings wrote an

epic poetry In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard t ...

adaptation of the mission to retrieve the

brass plates Laban () is a figure in the First Book of Nephi, near the start of the Book of Mormon, a scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement. Although he only makes a brief appearance in the Book of Mormon, his Book of the Law of the Lord, brass plates ...

. In an interview with William Morris, Collings acknowledged the cowardly characterization of Laman and Lemuel in the epic, attributing it both to the source text and the Miltonian style of the piece.

River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel

In 1 Nephi 2:2–11, Lehi's party makes its way from Jerusalem towards the promised land. The passage also recounts the naming of a river and a valley after Laman and Lemuel.

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolif ...

, an LDS scholar and apologist, thought this area referred to as "the borders" was by Jabal al-Lawz (), also known as Gebel (el-Lawz), Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO a mountain sometimes identified with

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

although most people reject this classification.

Proposed etymology

"Lemuel" (Hebrew:לְמוּאֵל) is the name of a Biblical king mentioned in

Proverbs 31 Proverbs 31 is the 31st and final chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Verses 1 to 9 present the advice which King Lemuel's mother gave to him, about how a just king should reign. The r ...

, but otherwise unknown.

remarked that Lemuel has a "good pure Arabic name, incidentally." Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO

Narrative

Interpretation

Popular culture

''The Book of Laman''

''The Nephiad''

River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel

Proposed etymology

Family

References

Further reading

See also