THE NEPHITES AND THE LAMANITES.
I am going to tell you this evening what took place soon after the death of Lehi. Laman and Lemuel grew more wicked every day. Their hearts were full of hatred towards Nephi and Sam.
One evening they went off by themselves. They sat down under a large tree and talked together for a long time. I am sure you could not guess what they were doing. They were making plans to kill Sam and Nephi. Laman and Lemuel thought that if Nephi and Sam were dead the people would choose them to be their leaders.
They did not seem to know that the Lord was looking down upon them and listening to their wicked plot. But the Lord had seen and heard all, and He at once prepared a way for the escape of Nephi and Sam.
That night the Lord told Nephi to gather together all the people that wished to follow him and to take them away into another part of the country. All the good people agreed to go with Nephi and Sam, the wicked ones decided to stay with Laman and Lemuel.
Nephi and his people were guided on their way by the wonderful brass ball which I told you about in one of my other stories. After traveling many days they came to a place where they decided to settle.
"What shall we call this place?" asked one of the company.
Several voices answered at once: "We will call it Nephi, after our faithful leader." So the place was named Nephi. From that time all the people that followed Nephi were called Nephites. Those who stayed behind with Laman and Lemuel were called Lamanites.
Now that they were away from their wicked brethren, Nephi and his people felt very happy. They had brought with them many kinds of seed, so they laid out farms and gardens and planted the seed in them. God blessed their labors. His gentle rains and warm sun caused the seed to grow and to produce splendid crops, so that there was plenty of food for all.