A few months ago, I wrote about some of Nephi's noteworthy characteristics (Oct 8, 2017). Someone in my ward today mentioned Nephi in his sacrament meeting talk, and it inspired me to write some more about this important person in Book of Mormon history. There are many important principles that can be learned from the story of how he got the plates. Today I would like to discuss two of them.
The pattern Nephi followed in his obtaining the brass plates from Laban can be an allegory for our lives.
When they first went to get the plates, Laman just walked up to Laban and asked for the plates. Sometimes we are like Laman and simply expect things to be given to us if we ask. A modern example of this is Oliver Cowdery. He was given the opportunity to translate the Book of Mormon, but failed to do so. Afterwards, the Lord told him why:
"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong"
(D&C 9:7–9)
We must be careful that we don't treat lightly the blessing of having personal revelation. God will give it to us, yes, but it does require some effort on our part.
After this failed attempt, Nephi and his brothers attempted to bribe Laban to give them the plates. How can we be like this sometimes? We will attempt to throw resources at a problem, assuming that the more effort we put into a problem, the sooner it will be resolved. However, if we are not careful, we can become like the man who cannot get in the door no matter how hard he pushes, because he does not realize that the door opens outwards.
How many of us have given up on a problem after not having succeeded in the first couple of attempts? It is a common thing. However, we can learn from Nephi that persistence pays off. After these failed attempts, and even though his brothers had just been beating him, Nephi chose to return to Jerusalem in another effort to get the plates. He said, "I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do" (1 Nephi 4:6). Without any knowledge of what was ahead, Nephi went forth anyway.
This brings to mind some things I have heard Elder Bednar say. In General Conference, April 2011, he said, "Most frequently, revelation comes in small increments over time." There are many other important principles in this talk including different patterns of revelation; I encourage you to study all of it.
From all of the above experiences, I hope you can see that, though our lives will not be easy, as these events certainly were not for Nephi, God will help you. He will sometimes give you just enough light to continue walking, but He will give you light. And all of us have the Light of Christ to help guide our footsteps.
The other principle that comes from these few chapters relates to self defense. When I was serving my mission, my mission president encouraged all of his missionaries to read the Book of Mormon with those they taught. However, I knew some missionaries who were hesitant to read 1 Nephi 4 with people because it has the part where Nephi kills Laban. I believe this is because they did not understand the principles involved in this encounter.
I will first list some scriptures, and then show how it applies to Nephi in this instance. Note that I am only including small parts of these scriptures for brevity's sake. You can learn even more by reading the whole reference, together with its context.
"this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients... if any nation... should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace... And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time,... Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle" (D&C 98:33-36. Read 98:23-48).
(See also Deut. 20:10-12)
"the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed" (Alma 43:46–47).
"Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives" (Alma 48:14).
When it comes to the laws of God concerning retaliation, Nephi was completely justified in killing Laban. Beyond this, the Spirit gave some other reasons to help Nephi, who if you remember, did not wish to kill Laban. The Spirit said,
"the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13).
You may be wondering how this applies to us. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people do not always give others the respect they deserve. If you are the victim of any sort of attack, you have the right to defend yourself. In fact you have a commandment to do so. Beyond this, we also have the privilege to help protect others. This can be seen with the example of the Nephites protecting the Ammonites from the Lamanites, who wanted to kill them. We can stand up in defense of others who are being bullied or abused. The Lord will justify us if our intentions are pure. I hope we can all benefit from these teachings.
See also:
Doctrine and Covenants manual
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The pattern Nephi followed in his obtaining the brass plates from Laban can be an allegory for our lives.
When they first went to get the plates, Laman just walked up to Laban and asked for the plates. Sometimes we are like Laman and simply expect things to be given to us if we ask. A modern example of this is Oliver Cowdery. He was given the opportunity to translate the Book of Mormon, but failed to do so. Afterwards, the Lord told him why:
"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong"
(D&C 9:7–9)
We must be careful that we don't treat lightly the blessing of having personal revelation. God will give it to us, yes, but it does require some effort on our part.
After this failed attempt, Nephi and his brothers attempted to bribe Laban to give them the plates. How can we be like this sometimes? We will attempt to throw resources at a problem, assuming that the more effort we put into a problem, the sooner it will be resolved. However, if we are not careful, we can become like the man who cannot get in the door no matter how hard he pushes, because he does not realize that the door opens outwards.
How many of us have given up on a problem after not having succeeded in the first couple of attempts? It is a common thing. However, we can learn from Nephi that persistence pays off. After these failed attempts, and even though his brothers had just been beating him, Nephi chose to return to Jerusalem in another effort to get the plates. He said, "I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do" (1 Nephi 4:6). Without any knowledge of what was ahead, Nephi went forth anyway.
This brings to mind some things I have heard Elder Bednar say. In General Conference, April 2011, he said, "Most frequently, revelation comes in small increments over time." There are many other important principles in this talk including different patterns of revelation; I encourage you to study all of it.
From all of the above experiences, I hope you can see that, though our lives will not be easy, as these events certainly were not for Nephi, God will help you. He will sometimes give you just enough light to continue walking, but He will give you light. And all of us have the Light of Christ to help guide our footsteps.
The other principle that comes from these few chapters relates to self defense. When I was serving my mission, my mission president encouraged all of his missionaries to read the Book of Mormon with those they taught. However, I knew some missionaries who were hesitant to read 1 Nephi 4 with people because it has the part where Nephi kills Laban. I believe this is because they did not understand the principles involved in this encounter.
I will first list some scriptures, and then show how it applies to Nephi in this instance. Note that I am only including small parts of these scriptures for brevity's sake. You can learn even more by reading the whole reference, together with its context.
"this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients... if any nation... should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace... And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time,... Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle" (D&C 98:33-36. Read 98:23-48).
(See also Deut. 20:10-12)
"the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed" (Alma 43:46–47).
"Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives" (Alma 48:14).
When it comes to the laws of God concerning retaliation, Nephi was completely justified in killing Laban. Beyond this, the Spirit gave some other reasons to help Nephi, who if you remember, did not wish to kill Laban. The Spirit said,
"the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13).
You may be wondering how this applies to us. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people do not always give others the respect they deserve. If you are the victim of any sort of attack, you have the right to defend yourself. In fact you have a commandment to do so. Beyond this, we also have the privilege to help protect others. This can be seen with the example of the Nephites protecting the Ammonites from the Lamanites, who wanted to kill them. We can stand up in defense of others who are being bullied or abused. The Lord will justify us if our intentions are pure. I hope we can all benefit from these teachings.
Doctrine and Covenants manual
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
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