1 AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, [ That is, to justify means to ratify, approve, confirm, or give authorized sanction of an action. All actions relative to the gospel, such as repentance, baptism, temple marriage, etc., must be justified through the Holy Ghost or they are not enforce after this life is over. The Lord has stated: "All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power . . . are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead" (D & C 132:7). Therefore when an action is "sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise" it is approved or ratified by the Holy Ghost as being legitimate. In General Conference, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, gave the following instruction regarding justification: "Now, to justify is to seal, or to ratify, or to approve; and it is very evident from these revelations that every act that we do, if it is to have binding and sealing virtue in eternity, must be justified by the Spirit. In other words, it must be ratified by the Holy Ghost; or in other words, it must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. "All of us know that we can deceive men. We can deceive our bishops or the other Church agents, unless at the moment their minds are lighted by the spirit of revelation; but we cannot deceive the Lord. We cannot get from him an unearned blessing. There will be an eventual day when all men will get exactly and precisely what they have merited and earned, neither adding to nor subtracting from. You cannot with success lie to the Holy Ghost. "Now let us take a simple illustration. If an individual is to gain an inheritance in the celestial world, he has to enter in at the gate of baptism, that ordinance being performed under the hands of a legal administrator. If he comes forward prepared by worthiness, that is, if he is just and true, and gains baptism under the hands of a legal administrator, he is justified by the Spirit in the act which has been performed; that is, it is ratified by the Holy Ghost, or it is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. As a result it is of full force and validity in this life and in the life to come. "If an individual thereafter turns from righteousness and goes off and wallows in the mire of iniquity, then the seal is removed, and So we have this principle which keeps the unworthy from gaining unearned blessings. The Lord has placed a bar which stops the progress of the unrighteous; he has placed a requirement which we must meet. We must gain the approval and receive the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost if eventually and in eternity we are to reap the blessings that we hope to reap. "The same thing that is true of baptism is true of marriage. If a couple comes forward worthily, a couple who is just and true, and they enter into that ordinance under the hands of a legal administrator, a seal of approval is recorded in heaven. Then assuming they do not thereafter break that seal, assuming they keep the covenant and press forward in steadfastness and in righteousness, they go on in the next world as husband and wife; and in and after the resurrection, that ordinance performed in such a binding manner here has full force, efficacy, and validity." (Conference Report, April 1956, p.65). ] and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, [ Why because usually those that have chosen to live wickedly have chosen to live according to their own laws; they have excused themselves for one reason (the law of justification D&C 88:35 "they create their own laws") they want leanency and expection for themselves - they do not feel or what to be subject to the law - because it is sure or hard to them. Black and white verses grey. ] for it cutteth them to the very center.

3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearkenwhich means to "listen" and "obey". ] to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort [ To incite by words or advice; to animate or urge by arguments to a good deed or to any laudable conduct or course of action. I exhort you to be of good cheer. Acts 27:22. Young men also exhort to be sober minded. EXHORT servants to be obedient to their masters. Titus 2:6. 2. To advise; to warn; to caution. 3. To incite or stimulate to exertion. ] my brethren, with all diligence, [ Latin , to love earnestly; to choose. - Steady application in business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention. ] to keep the commandments of the Lord.

5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel. [ They are still in the base camp so to speak outside of Jerusalem. ]

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife. [ According to Erastus Snow some of Lehi's son's had already married Ismaels daughters. "Hidden Treasures" vol 1 pg 46 notes from I Haven Barlow. ]

8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly. [ One more thing he is now thankful for is his new wife as we see from the revious verse. Knowing Nephi she was most likely a good woman as well and for that - a companion he would have been extremely grateful. ]

9 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.

10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, [ When something happens at the door of your tent, we need to look at it in light of what has happened with others at their tent doors. Those examples of temple like experiences include: Genesis 18 with Abraham and Sarah: Abraham sitting (Genesis 18) in the door of his tent when the 3 True Messengers from God appear to him (v. 1) and he ran to meet them from the door of his tent (v.2). Sarah hears from the door of the tent that she is to bear a son (v. 10). It is this experience at the tent door that Abraham hears the news that he and Sarah are finally going to bear a child. Later, in Exodus, the children of Israel each stand in the door of their tents as Moses enters the Tabernacle, and they stand and worship in their own tent doors (Exodus 33:8, 10). Here we have Lehi find the Liahona at the door of his tent; When king Benjamin gives his great discourse, which in essence is a Temple endowment experience, they all pitch their tents with the doors facing him, just like it was done in Exodus with Moses (Mosiah 2:6) as well as Ex 40: 12-13 "thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle" All of these are Temple experiences, as there are covenant blessings involved. Nephi is crafting his narrative to tell us that Lehi is faithful to covenants, and he receives blessings because of his faithfulness. And he receives them at the door of his tent, which is a Type for a Temple, or at least a Tabernacle. ] to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; [ Alma 37:38 "our fathers called it Liahona", in Egyptian Liahona means God's light. I Haven Barlow. ] and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; [ Arab 2 arrows I haven Barlow H.T. Pg 85. ] and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness. [ It pointed the way that we should go, interesting that it pointed the way that they needed to go to accomplish the task at hand, where it wa travel or to obtain food or whatever. Do you think if they knew they would be in the wilderness for 7 years on their journey that some would have backed out right at the beginning? Maybe it is good thing that we don't always know the entire plan of the Lord. The good news is here all they needed to do was follow the direction of the Lord thru the compass. ]

11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.

12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents [ The tents of their day were very heavy, not something that would usually be carried by a man; so most likely they had some sort of pack animals like camals on their journey. ] and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

13 And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer. [ A transliteration to English. As indicated in the footnotes of the 1981 edition BofM, the similar Hebrew term translates to "twisting" or "intertwining", which might be referring to the geography of a river valley. The similar Arabic term would translated to "clump of trees". or place of trees Regarding the name "Shazer," Hugh Nibley wrote:

The first important stop after Lehi's party had left their base camp was at a place they called Shazer. The name is intriguing. The combination shajer is quite common in Palestinian place names; it is a collective meaning "trees," and many Arabs (especially in Egypt) pronounce it shazher. It appears in Thoghret-as-Sajur (the Pass of Trees), which is the ancient Shaghur, written Segor in the sixth century. It may be confused with Shaghur "seepage," which is held to be identical with Shihor, the "black water" of Josh. 19:36. This last takes in western Palestine the form sozura, suggesting the name of a famous water hole in south Arabia, called Shisur by Thomas and Shisar by Philby. . . . So we have Shihor, Shaghur, Sajur, Saghir, Segor (even Zoar), Shajar, sozura, Shisur, and Shisar, all connected somehow or other and denoting either seepage--a weak but reliable water supply--or a clump of trees. Whichever one prefers, Lehi's people could hardly have picked a better name for their first suitable stopping place than Shazer. (Lehi in the Desert [Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1952], p. 90.)

In a brief article in the 1992 Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Nibley simply suggested that Shazer is derived from the Arabic shajer, meaning trees or place of trees ("Book of Mormon Near Eastern Background," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), p. 188).

The Book of Mormon description of Shazer as a place where Lehi's group would stop and go hunting--obviously a place with water and wildlife where one could stay for a while on a long journey--agrees well with the meaning of the word Shazer. Again, the Book of Mormon text provides a highly plausible name that accurately corresponds to the place described. But is there such a place in the area required by the Book of Mormon?

Before going any further, let us note that Shazer is introduced in a classic Hebraism: "we did call the name of the place Shazer" (1 Nephi 16:13). In normal English we would say that we called the place Shazer or named the place Shazer, but in Hebrew one would say that he called the name of the place, for it is the name that is called, not the place itself. This point is made by John L. sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne, eds., Rediscovering the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), p. 89.

But what of the place itself?

It turns out that there is a perfect fit for Shazer, a large, extensive oasis region with what is said to be the best hunting in all of Arabia, and it is in the right location to have been a four-days' journey south-southeast of the established location for the Valley of Lemuel, near a branch of the ancient frankincense trail and in the region of Arabia near the Red Sea called the Hijaz. This oasis is in the wadi Agharr.

In Lehi in the Wilderness, Potter and Wellington explain that they initially though it would be easy to find Shazer, knowing that Nephi's group traveled 75 miles from the Gulf of Aqaba to the now-located Valley of Lemuel in three days (p. 73). They concluded that the four-day journey from the Valley of Lemuel to Shazer required simply finding an oasis within 100 miles south-southeast of the Valley of Lemuel. However, many challenges stood in their way, and it would require three more field trips in their spare time over the next two years before they knew for sure that they had found Shazer. The following excerpt from Potter and Wellington describes the process of locating Shazer (pages 74,76-78):

Our first attempts at finding Shazer took us to the wells of Bani Murr and an-na'mi, to the east of the valley. Our second trip through the Khuraybah pass proved no more successful. These sites did not fit the description of a valley with trees. In fact, they were down- right inhospitable. . . .

It wasn't until the summer of 2000 that the whereabouts of Shazer became apparent. We realized that Lehi's first camp after the valley had to have been at an authorized halt along the Gaza branch of the Frankincense Trail [the Valley of Lemuel was along this branch]. He would not have been allowed to stop anywhere else, and it had to be at a well site. That spring Richard had been reading the works of Alois Musil, a Bohemian academic and explorer who doubled up as a German spy before World War I. . . . One piece of his record stood out to Richard. Musil recorded, "We . . . crossed the old Pilgrim Road of ar-Rasifijje leading southward to the hills of Kos al-Hnane, where spirits abide. Date palms were still growing in parts of the valley, so that the oasis of Sarma could be extended a full twenty-five kilometers to the east."

Musil described a fertile valley with an oasis over fifteen miles long which was approximately south-southeast from the Valley of Lemuel and was crossed by the old pilgrim route that followed the Gaza arm of the old Frankincense Trail that was an active trade route in Nephi's time. We found Musil's description of Agharr most interesting because on a prior trip to Midian we had been told by the Police General at al-Bada that the best hunting in the entire area was in the mountains of Agharr.

Here at last was the solid clue we had been looking for. . . .

[The authors then discuss evidence from old Arab geographers that the first rest stop after al-Bada'a, also known as Midian, was Al-Aghra', which appears to be the wadi Agharr.] Nephi recorded that their first halting place after leaving the Valley of Lemuel was a place of trees where they stopped to hunt.

Now we had evidence from independent sources that the first rest stop after Midian on the ancient Gaza branch of the Frankincense Trail was in a fertile valley with trees, wadi Agharr, and the surrounding mountains presented the best hunting opportunities along the trail. The next step was to visit Al-Agharr. . . .

From al Bada'a we headed the sixty miles south southeast to wadi Agharr and our potential location for Shazer. To our right the Red Sea glittered in the bright noon light, to our left the mountains of the Hijaz towered over us, purple in the midday sun. Between al Bada'a and wadi Agharr we found a few small scattered farms and a few old wells. Here, where the water table was higher, there may well have been halts anciently where the families could have rested each evening as they headed southeast. As we reached wadi Agharr . . . [t]here was a gap in the mountains where the trail led. Through the gap we could see some palm trees in the wadi. Entering the wadi we were amazed to find an oasis that ran as far as the eye could see both to our left and to our right.

Wadi Agharr was exactly as Musil had described--fields of vegetables and plantations of palms stretching for miles. It is a narrow valley, perhaps one hundred yards across, bounded on each side by high walls stretching up a few hundred feet. "Shazer" was certainly an apt description for this location--a valley with trees, set amid the barren landscape of Midian. Here, after three years of fruitless searching, systematically visiting all the wells in a seventy-five mile radius of wadi Tayyab al Ism, we had finally found Shazer.

[The authors then discuss the presence of "Midianite" archaeological sites in the region, dating to the late second to mid-first millennium B.C., suggesting that the valley was fertile anciently. ]

On a later expedition we returned to Shazer and drove up into the mountains in the area we thought the men of Lehi's party would have gone to hunt. We spoke with Bedouins who lived in the upper end of wadi Agharr who told us that Ibex lived in the mountains and they still hunted them there. We were reminded of the words of the Greek Agatharkides of Cnidos who called this area anciently the territory of Bythemani. According to Agatharkides, "The country is full of wild camels, as well as of flocks of deer, gazelles, sheep, mules, and oxen ... and by it dwell the Batmizomaneis who hunt land animals." [Alois Musil, Northern Hijaz--A Topographical Itinerary, published under the patronage of the Czech Academy of Arts and Sciences and of Charles R. Crane, 1926, p. 303] It may have been these very animals that Lehi and his sons went out to hunt.

Here at wadi Agharr is a site that perfectly matches Nephi's Shazer. It probably has the best hunting along the entire Frankincense Trail. It is the first place travelers would have been allowed to stop and pitch tents south of Midian, and as the Book of Mormon states, it is a four days' journey from the Valley of Lemuel (1 Ne. 16:13).

A few small photos of Shazer are available on the photo page at NephiProject.com, but a much more impressive photo of the many palm trees at Shazer is on page 77 of Potter's and Wellington's book, which I urge you to read for yourself.

Potter and Wellington offer much more as they retrace Nephi's journey. For example, after Shazer, Nephi writes that they traveled through the "most fertile parts" (1 Nephi 16:14) and then subsequently through "more fertile parts" that can be understood to be less fertile than the "most fertile" parts. These fertile regions were encountered before they turned due east, which began the most difficult part of their journey. Along the ancient incense trail, continuing just after Shazer until Medina, one encounters a region of the Hijaz called Qura Arabiyyah or "the Arab Villages" which are described by Arabs as the "fertile parts" of the land. It is the part of the trail with the highest concentration of farms and rest stops for caravans, and truly fits the Book of Mormon description. After Medina, there are fewer farms, but still enough fertile places to be called "the more fertile parts." (See pages 82-92 of Potter and Wellington, including excellent photos and a satellite map.) knowledge of these many fertile regions in the midst of the barren Arabian Peninsula was largely hidden from the west until recently. These are rare and unusual places in the Arabian Peninsula, and Joseph simply could not have known of them.

Consider what we have here, with the finding of a plausible candidate for Shazer, and the many other "direct hits" the Book of Mormon provides regarding the Arabian Peninsula. There is no way Joseph could have made up this kind of thing. Nothing in the information available to him in 1829 could have guided him in providing so many correct details of Nephi's voyage to the sea through the Arabian Peninsula. Nothing would have enabled him to describe the Valley of Lemuel, the River of Laman, or the place Shazer, a four-day journey (by camel) south-southeast of the Valley of Lemuel, with the best hunting in the entire area and an abundance of trees, corresponding well with the Semitic meaning of the name Shazer. Joseph knew nothing of Hebrew or Arabic at the time, and the western world knew precious little about the Arabian Peninsula. Attempting to describe details of the voyage would have been foolhardy in the extreme.

If Joseph or anyone else had made up the story, it would have been important to be as vague as possible, not giving specific directions, distances, and descriptions. The only way such an account could be done with any hope of being plausible would be if the account were written by someone who actually made the trip. That's exactly what happened: Nephi was real, his voyage through Arabia was real, and Joseph translated his words through the power of God. Frankly, it's the most plausible explanation for the Book of Mormon. ]

14 And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

15 And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.

16 And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

17 And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; [ The "steel" might have actually been bronze. Regardless of the metal used, ti most likely would not have been solid metal; as the most powerful ancient bows, save the English Longbow, were typically made of composite materials in which layers of different materials were sandwiched together. In this case, Nephi's bow apparently had some metal sandwiched in between the wood, perhaps with bone as well as that was a common material for composite bows. ] and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

19 And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food. [ See Exod 16:3. ]

20 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions [ To strike down or cast down - being downcast  or brought low humbled in body~ mind~ or spirit  including tribulation~ adversity~ calamity~ distress~ grief~ trouble~ trial or sorrow- evidence of divine chastisement. ] in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; [ How does a prophet of God who has had so much good happen to him, that has seen visions, understands the reason for the journey murmur against the Lord? 1) he is still human 2) Humans get tired - look at what Moses did when he was at the end of his rope- he said why must I fetch you water from the rocks and that sentence cost him the opportunity to see the promised land. so what can we learn from this? Note that Nephi does not judge his dather - he left that to the Lord. ] yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, [ They knew how to hunt with bows but they were not very experienced with using slings and so it was becoming very difficult to get anything. Large animal can onlt be brought down in a few places with a sling - not an easy task. ] yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they [ "because that they " in 1830 edition How could Joseph Smith have known? Biblical Hebrew begins subordinate clauses with prepositions plus a word that translates as that, such as in Ezekiel 40:1: "after that the city was smitten." Such a use of that in English is awkward and therefore rare. Yet it appears frequently in the Book of Mormon, another evidence of Hebrew influence. It was even more frequent in the 1830 edition, but many of the thats were dropped from later editions to read more smoothly.(The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) ] had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food? [ This guy is incredable He sees that his father the one who he respects as the prophet is in a funk so he goes to him and asks him to pray and receive the revelation as to where Nephi should go. I suppose that Nephi could have done this on his own given his ability to receive answers from the Lord as has been demonstrated but he shakes his father up by just asking him to do his job as head of the family and the prophet. I suppose that Nephi needed him to be strong as well. ]

24 And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.

25 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, [ When we compare this with Moses who said "Why do I have to fetch water from the rocks for you" - as a result he was not permitted to enter the promised land. Nephi also draws some parallels out himself as he compares their journey with that of ancient Israel. ] insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

26 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.

27 And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

     And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families. [ See Exod 16:12-15. ]

32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.

33 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time. [ They have stopped a few times could it be that Ishmael is suffering from ill health? This would then follow that the daughter's mourning and their subsequent complaints about their own afflictions and present condition saying "we must perish in the wilderness with hunger". ]

34 And it came to pass that Ishmael died, [ Ishmael was an Israelite and as such to die and be buried not in your homeland (the land of your inheritance) would have been the source of great stress for the family. ] and was buried [ Past tense ] in the place which was called Nahom. [ Not the place that they decided to call Nahom - but "which was" the name of the place; it was known. The name is derived from the Arab word "Nah" which means "to cut stone". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6MVOV92cuA Altars and temples that would have been then in 600 BC have been uncovered reciently that show the Nahom was the name as it was carved in at least 3 of the altars that have been found. There is no way that Joseph Smith could have known Nahom. ]

35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger. [ Their father has succum to the harseness of the wilderness; are they thinking that they might be next? ]

36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; [ Implying that Lehi is guilty of Ishmael's death because he dragging him out into the desert, and is also guilty of endangering their lives as well by subjecting them to death by starvation. ] and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

37 And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren. [ Instead of to be a ruler and teacher to us, who are his elder brethren. How could Joseph Smith have known? In Hebrew, the word that marks the beginning of a relative clause (generally translated which or who in English) does not always closely follow the word it refers back to, as it usually does in English. some Book of Mormon passages give the impression of having been translated from Hebrew.(The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes). ]

38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, [ In otherwords if we cannot see it then how do we know that it happened? cp. 3 Ne. 2 :1-2. ] thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.

39 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; [ The Lord steps in here; he does not just warn Lehi and Nephis that Laman and Lemuel want to kill them - but rather the Lord warns them using his power to not lay a hand on Lehi and Nephi. He does not take away their agency but scares them a little I suppose. Enought that they turn away from their plans for the time.] and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.