**So, I'm taking a religion class, Book of Mormon. This post is part of my assignment which is to discuss related gospel topics. There is a section in this particular lesson entitled Digging Deeper that I would like to focus this assignment on. I want to discuss the topic of Murmuring.
Elder Neil A. Maxwell gave an address entitled Murmur Not. He spoke that 'murmuring is defined as a half suppressed resentment or muttered complaint." I recall when I was on my mission, my companion would always preface any negative statement, by saying "I'm going to murmur for five minutes," or "I'm going to be Laman and Lemual for a while." She was never petty or spiteful, she had just found a scriptural turn of phrase that made it convenient for either her or I to speak without any accountability -- or so we thought. Now, years later, I had never given our actions any thought until now. Having listened to Elder Maxwell say, "our intentions are at least as important as our deeds" showed that there really is no such thing as slightly murmuring, even if it's only for five minutes. And choosing to pattern ourselves after Laman and Lemuel, really showed poor judgment on our part.
In 1 Nephi 2:11, Lehi spoke of the "stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father . . . " Perhaps they, too started with a five minute limit of murmuring, and perhaps it started off with what the brothers may have considered minor. But Nephi recognized that "they (Laman and Lemuel) did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them (1 Nephi 2:12)." How the Lord must have shaken his head and said, "What?! No, seriously, what?!" Elder Holland, really hit the nail on the head when he quoted out of Ephesians 4:30-32: "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God . . . " because surely we as mortals, must truly try the patience of the Lord and the Spirit.
I had a co-worker who was from the south, and she would always use the phrase, "bless your heart." My co-worker said, you can cover up any type of negative or off the cuff comment, so long as you follow up the comment with "bless her heart." Elder Jeffery R. Holland gave a talk entitled The Tongue of Angels. He said that "the opposite or pessimistic spirit drags [you] down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield to obedience."
Towards the end of my mission, I had a different companion who had made me aware that perhaps the reason people murmur about others is because they find something lacking within themselves. So we pondered on how we could better our attitudes and be more centered in Christ. We came upon a passage in James 5:37 which reads: "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." We truly struggled to stay within the parameters of saying "yea" or "nay." It is so tempting to fill the gaps of our speech with other words that neither uplift of edify.
