Well, I finally got a good head start on the Book of Mormon. We’re studying the Book of Mormon this year in Gospel Doctrine, and my main New Year’s resolution for 2024 is to be more of a finisher. So, this is as perfect an opportunity as any.
Today, I completed 1 Nephi, chapters 1—6. This is probably one of the most famous Book of Mormon stories of all, the story of Nephi and the Brass Plates.
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I’ve always felt sorry for Nephi, because he goes through such a rough patch through no fault of his own. His brothers in particular treat him pretty badly. He even says in the very first chapter, “having seen many afflictions in the course of my days,” and he’s light on the details but doesn’t sprinkle a bit of sugar on anything. Family squabbles are one thing, but we’re talking about brothers who actually tried to kill him, more than once. Laman and Lemuel both sound like they had some serious anger issues, to say the absolute least.
On the other hand, I’m also in great awe of Nephi, because he never let anything get him down. He always remained faithful to the Lord, and he counterbalances his worldly drama with, “nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God,” which means his faith enabled him to become better instead of bitter. From what I gather, what he went through can break a lesser soul like a twig.
Of course, Laman and Lemuel are far from popular. They tend to be vilified a lot and I’ll admit they were never my favorite characters to read about. Then again, many of us are not so different. How many of us have a tendency to complain, to murmur, to get angry when things aren’t going our way? Not that I’m excusing Laman or Lemuel by any means (only God Himself can make the final judgment) but these days, I feel a bit more empathy than contempt toward those two.
They were human like anybody else, with a few strengths and plenty of flaws. Where they ran into trouble is, as Nephi put it, “because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” Unlike Nephi, they had too little faith and their mindsets were more secular than spiritual. If Nephi chose to let his trials build him up, his brothers most certainly let their trials tear them down.
They showed an incredible disrespect toward their father, which is scarily reminiscent of the disrespect I see toward parents today. People may not think it’s such a big deal, but back then, it was practically a capital offense, since one of the Ten Commandments is, “Honor thy father and thy mother.”
They also serve as an example of a toxic influence, because Laman sounds like he was a much bigger influence on Lemuel, since Nephi says about Lemuel, “for he hearkened unto the words of Laman.”
On the flip side, Nephi and Sam demonstrate a fine example of a positive influence. Personally, I feel Sam is one of those unsung heroes. There’s very little mention of him throughout the entire story, but from what little is said, he was always by Nephi’s side and retained the same faith and humility. It’s partly for that reason that I named one of my fictional characters Sam, a young faun who’s a soldier and a brother, and the most loyal, caring faun you’ll find anywhere. I also really like Samwise Gamgee, whom I consider the true hero of The Lord of the Rings.
Another subtle detail that catches my eye and warms my heart is Lehi’s kindness toward his wife while their sons are away on their mission to retrieve the Plates of Brass. While Sariah is in an understandably bitter mood, Lehi takes the time to hear her out and then comfort her. That’s what any good husband should do. Then she learns on her own to have more trust in her husband as well as the Lord. I love this little display of married life; the marriage has a few ups and downs, but if the wife and husband work together, their marriage can endure anything.
I also like how Nephi takes the time to learn the truth for himself rather than just taking his father’s word for it. He takes the time to pray to God all on his own, and then God acknowledges him and Lehi as individuals. First, the Lord says, “Blessed art thou, Lehi,” and later He says, “Blessed art thou, Nephi,” showing how He knows our names and loves us exclusively, not just collectively. Which brings to mind that inspiring snippet from Luke 12, “and not one of them is forgotten before God.”
Nephi could have just relied on his father’s testimony. Instead, he cultivated a testimony of his very own, and he shared what he had learned as often as possible. This inspires me to cultivate a testimony of my very own, especially where the Book of Mormon is concerned.
Granted, not everyone will take kindly to what we share. Just as Laman and Lemuel refused to believe Nephi, so too did Lehi’s fellow Jews at Jerusalem refuse to believe Lehi, to the point where they got angry enough to try to assassinate him. This was but one of the many reasons why Lehi was commanded to flee with his family and start a new life in a new land. Even though no one’s made any threats toward me (thank goodness), I’ve gotten into a few squabbles with people who don’t share my beliefs at all, including some who I thought were my friends, and I can tell you how painful the sting of rejection is. At any rate, I know it’s a harsh blow when someone you care about makes fun of something so close to your heart, and it can be a little scary how angry they get. That in itself is a sign of the truthfulness of the gospel, because it wouldn’t strike such a nerve otherwise. People would have no reason to get so scared and defensive.
Which is a nice segue to the big question the entire story of the Plates of Brass poses: how valuable is the gospel to you? What are you willing to give up for the Lord’s sake?
Lehi used to be a man of high position who lived a life of luxury. Growing up, Nephi and his brothers must have wanted for nothing. They must have worn fine clothes, eaten fine food, probably had some fine education and could go just about anywhere and do whatever they wanted. If not for the threats on Lehi’s life, the family would have had no need to leave all this luxury behind and venture out into the middle of nowhere and start a new life from scratch. In the eyes of someone like Laman or Lemuel, this really would have seemed like a completely crazy idea.
Later, Nephi and his brothers show a willingness to exchange all their property for the plates, and this particular property is noted to be “exceedingly great,” enough to make Laban “lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property.” And this was the very same man who had the audacity to accuse Laman of being a robber just a short while ago.
According to ancient Jewish law, this actually gave Nephi the legal right to slay Laban, aside from the Lord’s direct command to slay him. I remember what my dad once told me, how there’s a big difference between killing someone and murdering them. Nephi merely killed Laban for the greater good, whereas Laban intended to murder Nephi and his brothers in cold blood. Nephi at least showed a deep reluctance to kill; likely enough, Laban had no such qualms.
In the end, it all worked out, although Nephi most certainly could not have expected or even wanted things to turn out like this. In hindsight, he must have been very glad that he was “led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.”
Sometimes that’s all we can do, focus on putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Just like children learning to crawl before they walk, and learning to walk before they run.
