Lesson 64 - The Separation of the Colony

Scarcely was Lehi buried than trouble arose. Laman and Lemuel with their friends, would not be led by Nephi. They asserted" that they were the elder brothers, and theirs was the right to rule. They would not recognize Nephi’s authority, though they knew that God had appointed him to be their leader. So, by the command of Heaven, the two parties separated. Nephi, and those who would listen to him, moved away, and left those who clung to Laman in possession of their first home.

Those who went with Nephi were his own family, Zoram, Sam, Jacob and Joseph, and their families, and some others whose names the Book of Mormon does not give. Henceforth those who belonged to this branch of Lehi’s house were known as Nephites, after Nephi, their leader; while those who remained with Laman were called Lamanites.

The Nephites were those who believed in the warnings and revelations of God; while the Lamanites rejected His word and did not keep His commandments.

After many days’ journey the Nephites pitched their tents and began to build up a new home. To the land they now occupied they gave the name of Nephi, while the region they left in the possession of the Lamanites is frequently called “The Land of their First Possession."