Disputing or Inquiring?

In a previous post, I wrote about how Laman’s and Lemuel’s troubles stemmed from a lack of testimony. As Nephi’s record unfolds, that reality becomes increasingly evident.

At the beginning of 1 Nephi 15, Nephi comes upon Laman and Lemuel “disputing one with another” (read: arguing — or at best, debating) about what the prophet, their father, had taught them. Nephi explains that Lehi had spoken “great things,” things that were “hard to be understood” without further revelation from the Lord. Compounding the problem, Laman and Lemuel were hard-hearted — and because of that hardness, they did not ask the Lord for additional understanding.

Nephi, worn out from the vision he had just experienced, first rested and regained his strength. Then he returned to his brothers and asked what they were disputing about. When they told him, he responded with a simple but piercing question:

“Have ye inquired of the Lord?” (1 Nephi 15:8).

What Blocks Revelation

Their answer reveals the core issue — a lack of faith. Nephi reminds them that pride, unbelief, and disobedience sever connection with God and hinder revelation:

“Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?–If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you” (1 Nephi 15:11).

The pattern is unmistakable: hardness of heart leads to disputation; humility leads to inquiry; inquiry leads to understanding.

Hard to Be Understood

When the prophet teaches something that is “hard to be understood,” how do we respond? Do we “dispute one with another,” or do we “inquire of the Lord” as Nephi did?

I will readily admit that at times the prophet teaches things that are hard to be understood. But when that happens, the responsibility shifts to us. We are invited to humble ourselves, act in faith, and walk in obedience so the Lord can make “such thing[s] known unto us.”

Who — and What — We Choose to Follow

We follow a lot of things in this world: favorite celebrities on social media, sports teams, television shows, political movements, blogs and bloggers, causes close to our hearts, and grassroots efforts of every kind. The options are endless.

But all of these should remain secondary to following the prophet — and ultimately, following Jesus Christ.

Several years ago, while jogging through Forest Park in St. Louis with a close friend, he asked me, “Isn’t following a prophet blind?” Thankfully, I had enough oxygen reaching my brain to remember a truth I had learned long before:

“We do not follow because we are blind. We follow because we can see.”¹

A testimony of the prophet and the things he teaches does not obscure vision — it clarifies it.

The Question That Matters

So the next time it feels difficult to follow the prophet because something he has taught is hard to be understood, pause and ask yourself:

Have I inquired of the Lord?

Then, humbly, faithfully, and obediently, wait on Him to make the answers you seek known unto you.

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1. see Boyd K. Packer, “Agency and Control,” Ensign, May 1983, 66