Today’s entry is on 1 Nephi 3. Honestly, I don’t seem able to complete these as expeditiously as I’d like. Nevertheless, the effort is what counts, right? Right?
Never mind. Let’s just get to it.
This is the one chapter that contains the scripture most often memorized by Mormons.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 1 Nephi 3:7
What it basically suggests is that God won’t ask us to do impossible things. If the things he commands are outside our usual abilities, God will take up the slack to make things that seem impossible into things that are possible. The example given in this chapter is the Lord’s commandment to Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem for the Plates of Brass, which, according to Lehi, contained the record of the Jews (better known as the Old Testament of the Bible). When Lehi first mentions this to Laman and Lemuel, their first response was to suggest that this task was beyond their abilities, “It is a hard thing which [Lehi has] required of them”. Nephi’s opinion, on the other hand, is that nothing the Lord has commanded can be impossible because the Lord will make it possible. When he says that, Lehi rejoices because he knows Nephi has been well blessed.
So, anyway, they make three tries at getting the plates. The first two unsuccessful attempts are included in Chapter 3 and, along with Laman and Lemuel’s reactions, they make for an interesting contrast between the two sets of brothers.
For the first attempt, Nephi says they cast lots. That basically means they drew straws and Laman got the short straw. Their first idea was to simply go and ask for the plates. So Laman, as the one chosen for this task, went to Laban, who was the keeper of the plates, and requested them from him. We aren’t told what words Laman used in his attempt to persuade Laban to give them up. What we are told, however, is that Laban flatly refused, calling Laman a robber and threatening to kill him. Laman and Lemuel’s reaction is basically, they say “okay, we tried, let’s go back.” Nephi, however, puts a quick halt to this plan by the simple expedient of refusing to return until they’ve found a way to fulfill the commandment they’ve been given.
For the second attempt, the brothers return to their ancestral land and gather up all the family riches. With these they go back to Laban and offer to buy the plates in exchange for the entire amount. Laban’s response is, unfortunately, fairly typical. He gets greedy, kicks them out and sends servants after them to kill them so that he can keep their property. Obliged to leave their riches behind in order to keep their lives, they escape by hiding in a cave outside the city. Again, Laman and Lemuel’s response is telling. They pick up a stick and start beating on Sam and Nephi with it. We aren’t told the why of this action. However, thinking about what kind of people they were and why I might react in this fashion if I were them, I’m reminded that Laman and Lemuel were cut from more or less the same cloth as the people of Jerusalem who wanted to kill their father. More than likely, they were upset for two reasons. First, that they lost all their riches and, second, that the second attempt (which I assume was Nephi’s idea) nearly got them killed. This is stopped pretty quickly when an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Whenever I am called upon to read this passage aloud, I always read it as if I were talking to my own wayward children.
“Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.” 1 Nephi 3:29
However, when the angel disappeared, Laman and Lemuel’s response, I find, is more or less in direct opposition to Nephi’s assertion to his father that the Lord makes everything he asks possible. Laman and Lemuel reply with, “How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?”
Applying the Scriptures to My Own Life
Looking at the difference between the two sets of brothers, one responding with faith in the Lord’s ability to help his servants and the other in serious doubt about the same, I know that I need to let go of my own pride and doubt in my own personal abilities and remember what Nephi said about the Lord making his commandments possible. If He says build a food storage, I shouldn’t worry about where the food is going to go or how we’re going to get it. I should just get and store it and be grateful for those things that come to us. If He says grow a garden, I shouldn’t grumble about the extra work or wonder how I’m going to remember to water it. I should just do it and store the results. If He says to take care of my body, I should let go of all my useless excuses and just do it. I shouldn’t look too far into the future or back into the past. I should just concentrate on today and trust the Lord to make it possible for me.
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