The Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 4

Today’s scripture is in 1 Nephi 4.

In this chapter, we get the details of the brothers’ final successful attempt at obtaining the Plates of Brass.  In the previous chapter, if you recall, Laman and Lemuel had just seen an angel of the Lord who had commanded them to return to Jerusalem, informing them that Laban would be delivered into their hands.  I don’t know about you but, if I was Nephi, I imagine I’d be shaking my head in wonder.  Rather than rebuking his brothers, which would have been beneath him, really, Nephi begins to teach his brothers about the nature of God.

God, he says, is mightier than the whole earth.  In other words, if the whole world were to go to war against God, he would win, hands down.  So why wouldn’t God be mightier than Laban and his paltry fifty men?  Why wouldn’t God be mightier than Laban, even if he had fifty thousand men?  I’m reminded here of the time when Elisha and his servant were about to be attacked by soldiers and the servant yelled that they were done for.  Elisha’s calm response was something to the effect of “Don’t be afraid, there’s more with us than there are with them.” Then the servant’s eyes were opened and he saw a multitude of angels all decked out for war(2 Kings 6:15-17). 

Nephi reminds his brothers of his own favorite Old Testament moment.  Namely, the time when Moses and the children of Israel were trapped by the Red Sea, about to be slaughtered wholesale by Pharaoh’s armies.  Moses spoke to the Red Sea and it parted for them, allowing them to pass through on the sea floor.  Then, when Pharaoh’s men tried to follow, they were drowned.  Only then does he remind them that they only recently saw an angel, which should have erased any possibility of doubt in them.  Then again, I’m reminded that we’ve been told that no amount of miracles are likely to change the heart of someone who’s not humble.  Laman and Lemuel are the purest examples of this.  Lots of miraculous things happened to them, of which this was probably just the first and sometimes they’d change, but only for a little while.  Then they’d revert to their old ways again.

In any case, nothing Nephi said to them was convincing enough to kill the older brothers’ doubts.  Still, they did follow Nephi back to the city.  Then he got them to wait outside, hidden, while he went inside, guided by the Spirit.  Now, here’s where we learn what the Lord meant when he said he would “deliver Laban into [Nephi’s] hands.”  Nephi comes to Laban’s house and, outside, he finds a drunk man collapsed to the ground.  After closer inspection, he finds that the man is Laban himself.  My assumption was that the man was out celebrating his recent windfall and didn’t make it back home before the wine he’d been celebrating with overtook him.  In any case, that’s how Nephi found him.

According to Nephi’s account, the first thing he noticed was Laban’s sword.  It was made from the most precious steel.  Its hilt was made from pure gold and it was very well made and, I assume, quite sharp.  Anyway, while Nephi was admiring Laban’s sword, the spirit suggested that the best use for that sword would be in taking Laban’s life.

I like the way that Nephi handled this.  He knew that killing people is against the Mosaic law.  So he questioned the commandment.  He didn’t express any doubt in where the command originated, he simply stated, “I’ve never killed anyone before,” and didn’t want to do it.

I noticed, at this point, that the Lord never, ever has just one reason for anything he asks us to do.  Here’s the list of reasons Nephi was given for slaying Laban.

1. the Lord delivered Laban into Nephi’s hands. (v11)
2. Laban tried to kill Nephi and his brothers (v11)
3. Laban wouldn’t hearken to the commandments of the Lord (v11)
4. Laban had stolen the property of Nephi’s family (v11)
5. The Lord kills the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes (v13)
6. It is better that one man should die than that a whole nation should dwindle and die because of unbelief. (v13)
7. Nephi has been promised that his seed will prosper in the promised land if they keep the commandments.  They can’t do that if they don’t have the law.  (v14-15)
8. The law was engraved on the brass plates. (v16)
9. The Lord delivered Laban into Nephi’s hands specifically so he could get the plates. (v17)

With all these reasons given to him, Nephi obeyed the voice of the Lord and cut off Laban’s head with his own sword.  After that, the rest of it was easy.  Here’s where we learn that Laban was probably a pretty healthy man and Nephi was likely about as tall, if not exactly as tall, as Laban.  Nephi is able to put on all of Laban’s clothing and armor and pass himself off as the man well enough to obtain the plates and the convince the servant who brought them to accompany him outside the city.

Needless to say, the rest of Nephi’s brothers are also fooled, thinking that Nephi has been killed and Laban has come himself to get revenge on the rest of them as well.  Nephi stops them by calling out in his own voice.  Then he has to turn around and stop the servant as well.  They learn the man’s name (Zoram) and get him to promise to come into the wilderness with them in exchange for both his life and his freedom.  Their main reason for this was that they were afraid Zoram would warn the Jews that Nephi and his brothers had the plates and that the Jews would then pursue and kill them all.  So, once Zoram had promised to come with them, the brothers stopped worrying about him and returned to their father with the plates.

Applying the Scriptures to My Own Life

I’m caught by two things in this chapter.  First, Nephi’s determination to follow the Spirit, even though he had no notion of exactly how he’d get the plates.  Second, the fact that the Lord gave nine reasons why Nephi should kill Laban.

With this in mind, I realize that the Lord really does take good care of the people who follow him.  He won’t ask you to do anything just on a whim.  He won’t say “do it because I said to.”  He always has many good reasons for the things he asks us to do and we may not know all of them.  On the other hand, the Lord is that good kind of father who, if we ask why something needs to be done, will give us a reason we can get behind.  I’m put in mind of Mary, the mother of Christ, who’s sole question regarding the coming of Messiah was, “How is this going to happen, considering I haven’t had sex with anyone, yet?”  The messenger didn’t question her faith in that instance any more than the Spirit questioned Nephi’s.  Rather, he quietly explained the thing to her.