Why did Laman and Lemuel rejoice in Nephi’s sorrows?

Thomas R. Valletta

“Nephi felt bad, and his brothers were glad that he felt bad. It is typical of the fallen man to rejoice in a righteous person’s sadness. The wicked use name-calling, labels, and false accusations … .

“‘We might have enjoyed our possessions,’ they lamented. Of course life could have been more comfortable and more pleasurable—and shorter! They might have been facing imminent death or exile back in Jerusalem. They were short-sighted indeed. The same attitude that afflicted the citizens of Jerusalem also blinded Laman and Lemuel. … [They] probably acquired their attitude from the Jerusalemites of their day” (Ogden and Skinner, Book of Mormon, 1:76–77).

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