Laman and Lemuel’s question assumes some level of torment associated with the gulf between the wicked and Yahweh. However, they do not understand precisely the references Nephi has made. It is too simplistic to dismiss Laman and Lemuel as not very smart or to see them as literary foils to promote Nephi’s status as scriptural interpreter. Given the changing nature of the Hebrew conceptions of the underworld (particularly how many of these changes coincide with the reforms of Josiah and Jeremiah, pinpointing these issues to the very lifetime of these brothers) we may better understand Laman and Lemuel as men in a time of change. Nephi is explaining a concept in flux, using terms or details that perhaps differed from those Laman and Lemuel were familiar with.
Laman and Lemuel understand the gulf’s function to separate but are still uncertain about how it operates. Nephi explains that the gulf works in two time frames: in mortality and after the judgment. Nephi begins his exegesis with the judgment, noting that judgment results from one’s activities in this life.