Laman - The Natural Man

Sariah comforts Laman after his first temper-tantrum.

Laman is the birthright son--he leads the family when his father is away, which is often. He teaches his younger siblings to walk in the paths of holiness. He is strong physically and mentally. Everyone looks up to Laman. He has it all. Strength, good-looks, riches, intelligence, creativity. At the start of From the Dust, Laman is doing everything right, at least on the outside. But no one can hide the pride in his heart forever.

In a flashback in Season 3 of From the Dust we visit Laman in his childhood years. Season 3 covers the family's desert journey through Arabia. During this journey, Laman's control on his passion and emotion truly begin to falter. For years he has allowed his heart to entertain destructive emotions like jealousy, hatred, and anger. He feels justified in this. After all, when you are wronged, is it not the just thing to feel angry about it?

But harboring these evil emotions will eventually make you evil and Laman's "true colors" are finally revealed to his father. Lehi realizes his eldest son is not just struggling to be good, like many of us do...he's actively choosing to be evil, a fact that had never yet crossed Lehi's mind.

Laman's story is a tragic one, and it can rightly be said that From the Dust is the story of Laman's fall from grace. We watch him bit by bit, step by step, choose the wrong path. This tragic fall is the heart of From the Dust.

So if you thought Laman was going to be just another shallow, uninteresting, unrealistic stereotype of evil--think again. Laman is perhaps my favorite character in From the Dust and by far the most interesting.

You will get to see first-hand how someone can go from this innocent state as a child and become a powerful instrument in the hands of evil.

Fortunately, you will also get to see many wonderful miracles of goodness as well!