Study of 1 Nephi 3: The sin of Despair

Reading through this chapter, it struck me (rather uncomfortably) at how familiar some of Laman and Lemuel's behavior is.  It seems to me that they aren't out and out villains: rather, they're lukewarm Saints, whose failings may be very similar to some of our own.  Consider that in this chapter alone, Laman and Lemuel are both persuaded to go to the effort to go back to Jerusalem.  Laman went alone to Laban to ask for the plates.  Furthermore, both Laman and Lemuel are persuaded to trade everything they own for the plates.  Had that one transaction been successful, they would have still been impoverished.

Think about that for a moment.  Laman and Lemuel were consciously cutting off their last ties with Jerusalem.  They didn't have their father there, they had already tried to get the plates.  By attempting to purchase the plates with the family fortune, they were literally giving what they thought was their all to the work.  It was a hard thing they had been commanded to do (Lehi didn't object to that part) and they were willing to trade treasures and riches in order to do it.  What caused them to backslide?  What caused them to betray the angelic visitation they had seen?

In a word, despair.  The medieval theologians referred to one of the deadly sins as "ascedia," something that is sometimes translated as sloth, but can also be translated as despair.  This spiritual malady is derived from a lack or misplacement of faith.  When Laman returned empty handed from his first attempt, all of the brothers, Nephi included, were "exceedingly sorrowful."   For Nephi, that failure didn't affect his motivation.  For Laman and Lemuel, it made them want to return to their family camped in the desert.  Note that they didn't try to resume their lives in Jerusalem.

Nephi, however, convinced his older brothers to trade all of their gold and valuables for this one set of the scriptures.  They agreed, and helped haul all of the stuff to Laban's.  They had to know that if Laban had agreed to the deal, that they would never again be able to live in Jerusalem.

Laban, of course, reneged on the deal and stole all of their treasures, perhaps teaching Nephi and his brothers (if they were wise) to not trust in treasure and mammon to do the Lord's work.  The brothers fled, and hid in a cave.

What happened next is a very human and natural failing: Laban and Lemuel despaired.  They were without their treasure (that was going to happen anyway) but now they had nothing to show for it.  They assumed that because things didn't appear to be going their way, that the Lord wasn't going to be with them.  They were faithless in the face of adversity, willing perhaps to give their "all" in the light of day and when things made sense.  Real faith, however, is willing to give our all in the dark of night and when things don't make a lot of sense.

In reality, Laban's sudden windfall caused him to celebrate, and drove him into the drunken stupor that killed him.  Those treasures caused his downfall (lesson, anyone?), though Laman and Lemuel couldn't see that.

How often do we despair?  How often is our faith tied to our perceived success?  We can't see all of the Lord's handiwork; how often does our effort seem to depend on how much we see the Lord do?

Laman and Lemuel had cold-blooded faith.  When things were warm and favorable (like hearing a powerful sermon, for example) they could be convinced to follow the Lord.  When things went badly, they spiraled down into selfishness and faithlessness.  Let us remain warm-blooded, and have our testimonies kindle our success, rather than the other way around.