1 Nephi Chapter 7

To whine, or not to whine, that is the question. Whine Whine Whine Whine. Laman and Lemuel are most famous in the Book of Mormon for whining. The thing that they whine about the most is that they do not want their little brother to be a ruler over them. They want to be in charge because they are the oldest, best-looking, strongest, smartest, and so forth. I know all about it, I am a middle child. (I love you Ben).

The thing I like best about Laman and Lemuel is that they know when to whine. They whine when they leave Jerusalem. They whine when they have to go back to Jerusalem for the plates. They whine when they fail in their mission. They whine when they go back to their parents. However, nowhere in the seventh chapter of Nephi does it state that they whined about going back to Jerusalem to obtain wives. They know their priorities. How can you go on a voyage, never returning home without a wife? It was not until they finally convinced Ishmael to yield his daughters that Laman and Lemuel started whining again.

After fighting and wanting to stay in Jerusalem Nephi rebuked them once again. This upset Laman and Lemuel, so they bound him. They somehow forgot that an angel appeared to them. After Nephi performs his first miracle and breaks free of the chords which had him bound, Laman and Lemuel still wanted to kill him. Not until one of the daughters of Ishmael plead to save him did they stop. Nephi forgave, because he is the son that everyone wish they had. They went back to the wilderness and burnt a sacrifice.