Oblivion to Sin

After Nephi and his brothers completed building the ship, they set out into the sea. The ship was guided without incident at the beginning of the journey. However, as Laman, Lemuel and the Ishmael's sons began to "make themselves merry....[and] forget by what power they had been brought thither" (1 Nephi 18:9), Nephi "began to speak to them with much soberness" lest the Lord should smite them and they be swallowed up in the sea (1 Nephi 18:10). To this, Nephi's brothers responded by tying him up. Upon doing this the Liahona stopped working and a great storm arose. For three days the storm drove them backwards. On the fourth day the storm became "exceedingly fierce" (1 Nephi 18:11-14). This whole time Lehi and tried to persuade them to free Nephi, but to no avail. In fact Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael "did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for [Nephi]" (1 Nephi 18:17). 

I found it interesting that even in the midst of this great storm, Laman and Lemuel failed to see the consequences of their actions. Even though others told them so, they failed to see that they were doing anything wrong because of a weakened conscience. Had they not began rebelling against God with their merrymaking, their consiences would not have ever allowed them to get to the point where they would assault their brother and place their entire family in harm's way. I believe that most people suffer from a similar problem although it may be on a much smaller scale. When we knowingly disobey God's will we are desensitized to the promptings of the Spirit and become apathetic to the needs of those around us. This is why it is so important to repent on a daily basis. We need the full companionship of the Spirit to be able to effectively teach and lead our families as well as fulfill any other callings that the Lord may have given us. When we do not repent, we begin walking down a path such that we get further and further from where we want to be without realizing it.