There
are two huge lessons in this chapter. They are fairly simple, but when backed
by the consequences of actual events, they make for powerful moral examples.
The
first lesson is the irreparable harm we can do not only to ourselves, but to
our children and their children (and so on) if we choose to depict ourselves as
wronged in our life circumstances. Laman and Lemuel did this 400 years ago
because they were too proud and hard-hearted to look within and seek after the
Lord’s way. Instead, they used Nephi as a scapegoat and caused a familial and
civilizational rift that is a primary source of the pain and difficulty that
the children of Lehi face over the 1,000 years of recorded history in the Book
of Mormon.
We
find the Lamanites in this chapter in a situation of their forefathers’ making.
Without the written record (the brass plates) to guide them, or the proper
influence of prophets to teach them truth, they are ignorant and debased. All
they can think of is to be parasites off the prosperity of the Nephites
(Zeniff’s people) who moved into their neighborhood a few years ago. And they
didn’t learn anything from the war from the previous chapter that turned out to
be such a disaster.
After
nine years, with the death of King Laman, Laman’s son stirs his people up to
battle again with Zeniff’s people (verse 6). Zeniff recounts how the Lamanites
have nurtured an eternal hatred of the Nephites since that crucial founding
generation, blind to any kind of moderating influence (verses 12-17). It makes
us think about the origins of our own core assumptions about the world. Is it
possible we might be seeing things from a skewed perspective, especially if we
have been taught to nurture animosity toward someone from a young age?
The
second lesson is that even strong men can’t compete with the strength of the
Lord. Zeniff tells us that the Lamanites were quite powerful in a worldly
sense, and yet even the ragtag group of young and old men Zeniff put together
to repel them was able to do so in a rout because they proactively sought the
help of power from the Lord outside their own (verses 10-11). We catch yet
another glimpse of the futility of Satan’s effort—when all you try to do is
drag someone else down, you find that you are doubling down on your own misery.
Much better to let the Lord propel you to great heights by developing the
desires and talents within you without letting outside adversity deter you from
the vision that you and the Lord create together.
Beyond
these two lessons, Zeniff also shows us the value of patient preparation. A
peaceful people can be prosperous and still fend off wild marauders if they are
watchful and vigilant. Wary from the last war, Zeniff had made sure his people
had weapons, were guarded and had spies to give them early warning of the
attack that eventually did come from the Lamanites (verses 1-2 and 7). It
conjures up thoughts of very consciously and carefully using our righteousness
as a preemptive antidote to creeping or sudden temptation.
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