Nephi begins rhetorically. Even though Nephi was probably sincerely puzzled by his brothers’ obduracy, he also probably knew that Laman and Lemuel could give him no satisfactory answer because his own commitment was so completely different. However, Nephi remembers that he was able to convince them once before so perhaps he hopes that the same approach—emphasizing Yahweh’s role in their current state—will work again. That is, after all, the critical issue: Is the family following Yahweh’s directive or being led astray by the rantings of a visionary man?