Chapter 3
Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem to obtain the
plates of brass-Laban refuses to give them up-Nephi exhorts and encourages his
brethren-Laban steals their property and attempts to slay them-Laman and Lemuel
smite Nephi and are reproved by an angel. About 600–592 B.C.
Nephi returned to
his father’s tent after speaking with the Lord and learning the truth of Lehi’s
words. Lehi spoke to him, telling him he had “dreamed a dream.” He had been
commanded his sons should return to Jerusalem. They were to meet with Laban and
do what was necessary to obtain brass plates. On the plates, there was a record
of the Jews and a genealogy of his forefathers. They were not to return without
the plates.
This raises the
question, why did Lehi not take the plates at first? One possibility is that if
they took them when they first left, it is possible someone would notice Lehi
had taken them and they would have been followed.[1]
Another possibility was it was a challenge and teaching opportunity for Laman
and Lemuel.[2]
Returning to get the plates would be a testing ground for
Nephi. Throughout the Book of Mormon, the Lord tells the Nephites if they kept
His commandments, they would prosper. It was Nephi’s first opportunity to
demonstrate he was willing to obey the Lord’s commandments.[3]
He begins to assume role he will occupy through the rest of his life.[4]
Lehi tells Nephi
that his brothers murmur. This is hard. We don’t want to do it. They ignore the
fact Lehi’s task is a commandment the Lord gave him.
Throughout 1st
& 2nd Nephi, we read of their constant complaining.
Murmurings of Laman and
Lemuel[5]
Laman and Lemuel
murmured incessantly against Lehi, Nephi, and the Lord. One major theme of
their complaints was that Nephi, their younger brother, was domineering;
another was that the requirements of the Lord, such as living in the wilderness
and obtaining the brass plates, we too difficult. This chart catalogs those
complaints and others.
|
Target
of Complaint
|
Reference
|
Reason
for Complaint
|
|
Lehi
|
1 Nephi 1:11-12
1 Nephi 3:5, 28
1 Nephi 17:20-21,49
|
Commandment to
leave Jerusalem.
Commandment to
return for the brass plates.
Hardship.
|
|
Nephi
|
1 Nephi 16:3
1 Nephi 16:18, 20
1 Nephi 17:17-18
2 Nephi 1:26
2 Nephi 1:25; 5:3-4
|
Nephi explains
Lehi’s vision and condemns wickedness.
Nephi breaks bow.
Nephi builds a
ship.
Nephi rebukes
them.
Nephi rules over
them.
|
|
Lord
|
1 Nephi 3:31
1 Nephi 4:4
|
Difficulty in
obtaining the plates of brass.
Difficulty in
obtaining the plates of brass.
|
“I have thought
about the accounts of several individuals in the scriptures. Take, for example,
Laman and Lemuel. Like Nephi, they were ‘born of goodly parents’ and taught ‘in
all the learning of [their] father.’ Yet they murmured because their father was
a visionary man. From their point of view, his decisions defied logic, for they
knew not the things of God, and therefore they would not believe.
“It is interesting
to note that their choices allowed them access to potentially faith-building
experiences. They left their home and their riches. They suffered through
wanderings in the wilderness. They eventually helped build the boat, and they
agreed to journey to an unknown land…
“Mortal life is not
easy for any of us. We are placed on earth to be tried and tested. Our response
to life’s experiences will often greatly influence our testimonies. Consider
some of the reactions of Laman and Lemuel: They murmured when their father
asked them to do hard things. They attempted to obtain the brass plates, but
when success did not come, they gave up. Their attitude was ‘We’ve tried; what
more can we do?’”[6]
For whatever reason,
Nephi chooses to write sparingly about Sam. “Sam is obviously one of the ‘brethren,’
but is he also among the ‘brothers’ who murmur in 1 Nephi 3:5? We do not know,
but it would not be extraordinary if he did so – Lehi and Sariah murmured (1
Nephi 16:20; 5:2–3).”[7]
Nephi obeyed his
father. His words are one of the most quoted scriptures in the Book of Mormon, “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).
“When Lehi heard
Nephi speak those words, the scripture says that ‘he was exceedingly glad.’ He
was glad because he knew that Nephi had been blessed with confirming revelation
that his father’s dream was a true communication from God. Nephi did not say, ‘I
will go and do what my father told me to do.’ Rather he said, ‘I will go and do
the things which the Lord hath commanded.’”[8]
“Nephi, son of Lehi,
is one example. His first act when he heard his father teach about the
destruction of Jerusalem was to cry unto the Lord till his heart was soft and
he believed all the words spoken by his father (see 1 Nephi 2:16). The Lord
spoke directly to Nephi, saying, ‘Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy
faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart’ (1 Nephi
2:19). Nephi teaches the importance of desire and diligence in keeping
commandments and calling upon God in order to have the ability to say with
ease, ‘I will go and do’ (1 Nephi 3:7).”[9]
It is here we learn an important doctrine. God will command
nothing lest He prepare a way for his commandments to be fulfilled. Lehi also
sees Nephi has a spiritual testimony.[10]
This will still be a test for Nephi. The Lord doesn’t
provide a way to get plates immediately. They will have to do a lot of work to
get them. They will be put to a test.[11]
“[W]hen the
prophetic requirement came to return to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates,
containing a ‘record of the Jews,’ the two oldest boys rebelled, saying, ‘It is
a hard thing.’
“Despite his older
brothers’ murmuring, Nephi’s faith in and obedience to the Lord’s commands led
to obtaining those brass plates. A nation was built, a language was preserved,
and the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught for generations to come.”[12]
Paul expressed
similar sentiments in his epistle to the Philippians, “I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). The Lord told Martin
Harris, “Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command
thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I
have commanded thee” (D&C 5:34).
Lehi rejoiced at
Nephi’s response. He knew Nephi had been blessed by the Lord.
“I once told as a
joke the story of a student who wrote in an exam that when we are told that
there were no poor in Zion, it meant that only the well-to-do were admitted. To
my amazement this is no longer a joke; most students are surprised and
sometimes offended to be told that that is not actually the meaning of the
passage. The objection to the law of consecration is that it is hard to keep.
We want eternal life in the presence of God and the angels, but that is too
high a price to pay! God has commanded and we have accepted, but then we have
added a proviso: ‘We will gladly observe and keep the law of consecration as
soon as conditions make it less trying and more convenient for us to do so.’
And we expect Atonement for that?! We
are clearly told in the Book of Mormon that when God commands us to do
something, no matter how hard, he will open the way for us if we put our hearts
into it … How fortunate for Nephi that the Lord did not ask him to observe the
law of consecration! And perhaps he should have prudently waited until the
coast was clear before going back to Jerusalem for the plates. (emphasis in
original)”[13]
“In connection with
this familiar scripture, [K. Douglas] Bassett quotes George Q. Cannon: ‘There
are some people who seem to have the idea that rebellion and disobedience are
evidences of independence and of manhood. Well, I am glad to know that, so far
as I am concerned, I never took that view. I always felt that I was just as
independent in being obedient, and I know I felt much better than I could
possibly feel if I were disobedient. It is not necessary to be disobedient to
show independence ... I suppose each one of us is fond of having his own way. I
know I am. I am willing to confess that I like to have my own way. But I do not
like my own way well enough to want it in opposition to [the leaders of the
Church]. Quoted in Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon: Insights from Prophets, Church Leaders, and
Scholars, (pp. 12-13).’”[14]
Having accepted his
father’s task, Nephi and his less than enthusiastic brothers left camp and went
to Jerusalem. Nephi’s description in his record gives us insight to Nephite
descriptions in the future. The record will describe directions, cities, and
large areas using Nephi’s description.
“We read, for
instance, that Lehi dwelt ‘at Jerusalem in all his days’ (1 Nephi 1:4), yet we
know that he did not live in the city of Jerusalem. Consider the following
account: Once in the wilderness, the sons of Lehi returned to the ‘land of
Jerusalem’ (1 Nephi 3:9) intent on acquiring a scriptural record known as the
plates of brass, in Laban’s possession. Laman was chosen to visit Laban in his
home in the city of Jerusalem.”[15]
“It is important to
remember that in the idiom of Nephi one always went up to come to the Jerusalem region, and one always
went down when
exiting the Jerusalem region. This is also the Hebrew idiom employed in the
Bible, where persons in both the Old and New Testaments typically are said to
go down to leave
Jerusalem (see, for example, 2 Samuel 5:17; Luke 10:30; and Acts 8:15) and
go up to come to
Jerusalem (see, for example, 2 Chronicles 2:16 and Matthew 20:18).”[16]
[1] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Paul Hoskisson.
[2] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Clyde Williams.
[3] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Gaye Stratheran.
[4] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Terry Ball.
[5] Charting the
Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and Gregory Welch, Foundation for Ancient
Research and Mormon Studies, 2007, Chart 77.
[7] Notes and
Communications: Sam: A Just and Holy Man, Ken Haubrock, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[9] An Easiness and Willingness to Believe, Elder Michael T. Ringwood, October 2009 General
Conference.
[10] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Terry Ball.
[11] Discussions on the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3-7, KBYU,
Dr. Gaye Stratheran.
[14] Bassett’s
Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Ronald Asay, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[15] Jesus’
Birthplace and the Phrase ‘Land of Jerusalem’, Robert R. Bennett, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[16] Lehi’s House at
Jerusalem and the Land of His Inheritance, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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