As the great Book of Mormon prophet Lehi lay dying, he called his children together and gave them his final words of wisdom, knowing, perhaps, that it was the last time his two oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel, would bother to listen to the gospel at all.
He told his wayward sons what would happen to their descendants as a result of how they were choosing to live their lives. This could be prevented only through repentance. If they repented, they might be able to retrain their own children and set in motion an entirely different future for their own descendants, and those of Lehi’s faithful, testimony-filled other sons, who would be negatively affected by the rebellious descendants.
Unfortunately, this seemed to have no real impact on Laman and Lemuel. Their lives had been lives of selfishness. They cared only about what was best for them, or rather, what they thought was best for them.
We’ve all seen young people, and even older ones, who proudly announce it’s their lives and they can live them any way they choose. They presume they can do anything they want without negatively impacting the lives of those around them, or, even if they realize the harm they do, they don’t care. The world is all about them.
Sides were drawn on the issue of selfishness before the world began. Prior to our lives here on earth, we lived with God, loving Him and building a relationship with Him. Then God announced He was giving us a wonderful, unselfish gift—he was going to give us a new home where we could go to be tested and to learn and grow. We would need to be worthy to return, but God, knowing us far better than we know ourselves, knew we couldn’t be perfect, and so He offered us a Redeemer, a Savior. Jesus offered to take on that role, and to take none of the honor or glory on Himself. He would do it for His Father. Lucifer also wanted the job, but he wanted to do it in a way that defied God’s laws, and when it was all over, he wanted all the glory and credit and honor for himself. The Savior’s offer was one of pure love and unselfishness; Lucifer’s was a self-centered one, and because of this, he became the father of lies—wanting to promise us what God couldn’t deliver because of eternal laws—and of selfishness.
All selfishness is of Satan. Selfishness is a natural condition, but it is one God expects us to overcome. This can require a long struggle, as we learn to put the needs of others before our own needs.
Laman and Lemuel seemed unwilling to do this. When God instructed their family to leave behind their wealth and comfort and move into tents, traveling through the wilderness to places unknown, they whined and complained. When inconvenienced, they often responded by trying to murder their brother and their father. They wanted their comfortable lives back and didn’t care who they had to hurt to get it. When confronted with prophecies about how their actions would affect their posterity, they were disinterested. After all, they wouldn’t be around for those bad times. They were worried only about today’s good times.
Neal A. Maxwell, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “The selfish individual has a passion for the vertical pronoun I. Significantly, the vertical pronoun I has no knees to bend, while the first letter in the pronoun we does.” Neal A. Maxwell, “Put Off the Natural Man, and Come Off Conqueror,” Ensign, Nov 1990, 14
Because a selfish person can’t bend, he can’t go to his knees in humble prayer, since humility and selfishness aren’t compatible. As a result, selfishness leads to putting distance between the selfish person and God.
To be a true follower of Christ, one must be humble and unselfish, able to put aside his own desires for those of his Father’s in Heaven.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
