From the very first, Laman and his followers conceived the idea that they were wronged, and that Nephi had usurped certain prerogatives that rightfully belonged to the elder male member of each family. They took no cognizance of the fact that obedience to the laws of God is a detaining constituent of leadership. They reviled and mocked Nephi's steadfastness in serving the Lord. They taught their children that they had been grossly sinned against, that God did not really exist, that they were the victims of oppression and not the instigators of the fiendish practices of which the Nephites accused them. After many years of such tradition the Lamanites believed nothing of the purposes of the Almighty, and they put their trust in the things of the world.