Laman and Lemuel

:"This article is about Laman and Lemuel, the sons of Lehi in the "Book of Mormon". For other uses, see Lemuel (disambiguation) and Laman (disambiguation)".

In the "Book of Mormon", Laman and Lemuel are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Nephi. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second Books of Nephi. They and their descendants became known as the Lamanites, while the descendants of Nephi and their other brothers became the Nephites.

Laman was Lehi's first-born son. He rejected the teachings of his father (in particular Lehi's prophecy of the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem in 600 BC. He and Lemuel persecuted and beat their brothers Sam and Nephi, who supported Lehi. Because God chose Nephi to lead Lehi's descendants after his death, Laman maintained that he had been robbed of his birthright, resulting in constant wars between the two peoples for nearly 600 years.

River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel

In lds|1 Nephi|2_ne|2|2|11, Lehi's party makes its way from Jerusalem towards the promised land. Verse 5 says that Lehi "came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea." The group traveled for three more days after they had reached the waters of the Red Sea before making camp. At this point, they make camp "in a valley by the side of a river of water." Verses 8-10 read:

Given the rarity of continuously flowing rivers in any part of Saudi Arabia, the existence of a river such as that described in the Book of Mormon has long been questioned by its critics. However, a candidate for the location accepted by several LDS scholars was discovered in May 1995. [See George Potter's article, [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=NDQ1ODAwOTgzLTgtMS5wZGY=&type=amJtcw= A New Candidate in Arabia for the Valley of Lemuel] ]

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External links

* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3405626521396568709&q=mormons&hl=en Book of Mormon Movie "The Journey" (Google video)]