Referring to 1 Nephi 2:12, Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught: “Early on, Laman rejected the role he should have played, and, instead, wanted to be ‘top dog in the manger,’ resenting all the while Nephi’s spiritual leadership. Lemuel was not only Laman’s dutiful satellite, but he was also his enabler by allowing himself to be ‘stirred up’ by Laman (see 1 Ne. 16:37–38).”
Elder Maxwell concluded, “Hence Laman and Lemuel became rebels instead of leaders, resentful instead of righteous—all because of their failure to understand either the character or the purposes of God and His dealings with His children” (“Lessons from Laman and Lemuel,” 8).