1 AND it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands? [ Military ruler who answered to Egypt. While Laman and Lemuel are not as sure as Nephi they still go with him, showing something of either their respect for the father (or they do not want to go home and tell their mother that Nephi perished on their watch) to keep Nephi safe or their love at the root level for Nephi - or some other reason maybe their teachings to this point, maybe because they saw an angel. Whatever the reason they do go back with Nephi. ]

2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. [ Look at what Nephi is asking the Lord for, some big miracle here akin to parting the Red Sea. Why does the Lord part the Red Sea one time for some and then do something as simple as allowing Laban to be drunk in another? Nephi is required to do more here than raise his hands. Does Nephi learn anything from being commanded to slay Laban? ]

3 Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? [ Sometimes even seeing an angel is not enough without some prodding. ] Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

4 Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem [ Fun Fact: While Joseph was translating 1 Nephi 3 and 4. He realized that he was talking about Nephi and his brothers waiting outside of a wall that was around Jerusalem. So that evening Joseph asked Emma in a hesitant fashion, "Is there a wall around Jerusalem?". To which Emma who was better educated than Joseph, said "of coarse there was, have you never read the story of read Nehemiah?" And Joseph is like oh well I don't really know, I have never thought about it until now, all I know is that Palmyra doesn't have a wall. So I was wondering since I did not understand, I thought maybe I was getting this all wrong. I think that we picture Joseph beginning to read the bible in Genesis 1 when he is 13 years old and then a a year or so later, he has finally gotten to James 1 at the age of 14. So now he is 1300 pages into the bible and now he gets his answer to his question and so he goes and asks the Lord what he should do. From the words of his mother she says that of all her kids Joseph was the least inclined to book study really he just wasn't a bookworm. Joseph was one who would rather go wrestle and skip rocks, or go dig Wells, today he might even be suggested to have ADHD. That was his personality, he was a total people person, who enjoyed athletic activities. He was not one who would be curious enough to sit in a room and study all day. So his approach to the scriptures at least at first would have been something along the lines of simply hearing a minister teach the text found in James 15 and Joseph goes home, opens up the bible, reads it for himself, and the exclaims "Never has any passage of scripture come to the heart of man as did this verse at this time come to me". ] .

5 And it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves without the walls. [ Note the change in Nephi - this time they did not cast lots - Nephi just said here is what we are going to do and convinced them to come- Leadership. ] And after they had hid themselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban.

6 And I was led by the Spirit, [ Or he did not leave with a plan, but only the direction that was given him by God. After all he had tried all of his plans and ideas before and they had failed. ] not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. [ Why didn’t Nephi just leave this story out of the book altogether? Why didn’t he say something like, “And after much effort and anguish of spirit, I did obtain the plates of Laban and did depart into the wilderness unto the tent of my father?” At the very least he might have buried the account somewhere in the Isaiah chapters, thus guaranteeing that it would have gone undiscovered up to this very day. But there it is, squarely in the beginning of the book—page 8—where even the most casual reader will see it and must deal with it. It is not intended that either Nephi or we be spared the struggle of this account. I believe that story was placed in the very opening verses of a 531-page book and then told in painfully specific detail in order to focus every reader of that record on the absolutely fundamental gospel issue of obedience and submission to the communicated will of the Lord. If Nephi cannot yield to this terribly painful command, if he cannot bring himself to obey, then it is entirely probable that he can never succeed or survive in the tasks that lie just ahead. “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7). I confess that I wince a little when I hear that promise quoted so casually among us. Jesus knew what that kind of commitment would entail, and so now does Nephi. And so will a host of others before it is over. That vow took Christ to the cross on Calvary, and it remains at the heart of every Christian covenant. “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.” Well, we shall see. In all of this we are, of course, probing Lucifer’s problem—he of the raging ego, he who always took the Burger King motto to have it his way.." Jeffery R Holland Brigham Young University 1988–89 Speeches Dallin H. Oaks (Quorum of the Twelve) Fundamental to any effort to receive revelation is a commitment to do all we can with our own efforts and judgment. This means we need to serve and to work. Going forward with our service and work is an important way to qualify for revelation. In my study of the scriptures I have noted that most revelation to the children of God comes when they are on the move, not when they are sitting back in their habitations waiting for the Lord to tell them the first step to take. For example, it is significant to note that the revelation known as “the Word and Will of the Lord concerning the Camp of Israel” (D&C 136:1) was not given in Nauvoo as the Quorum of the Twelve planned the exodus from Nauvoo in those sorrowful days following the Martyrdom of the Prophet in 1844; nor was it given on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was given at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, after the Saints had spent a punishing year moving from Nauvoo westward across Iowa to temporary camps on the Missouri River. The revelation to guide the movement of the Saints across the plains was given on January 14, 1847, when the Saints had already gone about a third of the way to the valleys of the mountains. We will get promptings of the Spirit when we have done everything we can, when we are out in the sun working rather than sitting back in the shade praying for direction on the first step to take. Revelation comes when the children of God are on the move. so we do all we can. Then we wait upon the Lord for His revelation. He has his own timetable. ("In His Own Time, in His Own Way," Ensign, August 2013)]

7  Nevertheless [ The result of effect of just being led by the spirit. Since he had no idea what he should do. ] I went forth, [ This is the action that he took - he went forward trusting. ] and as I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the earth before me, for he was drunken with wine.

8 And when I came to him I found that it was Laban. [ in otherwords he recognized that it was Laban - he knew him ]

9 And I beheld his sword, [ Sword of Laban has been seen by 4 modern men, Nephi used it as a pattern (2 Ne 5:14), King Benjamin had it and used it (Words of Mormon 1:13). There really was a “Cave of Records” in the Hill Cumorah in up state New York. Joseph Smith and many others visited it. It has been spoken of all throughout Church History. It was not somewhere in Mesoamerica, it was in the Hill Cumorah in Ontario County, New York. Below are quotes offering strong indication that the Hill where the Jaredites and the Nephites were destroyed is also the hill where Joseph found the plates and where a great depository of records of both races were held. “Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting. . . . [Don] Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 17 June 1877 “President [Heber C.] Kimball talked familiarly to the brethren about Father Smith, [Oliver] Cowdery, and others walking into the hill Cumorah and seeing records upon records piled upon table[s,] they walked from cell to cell and saw the records that were piled up. . . .” Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 5 May 1867. ] and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; [ At this point Nephi is just taking the sword from Laban to disarm him. ] and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; [ Interestingly, Moses is also said to have hesitated to kill the Egyptian overseer until he received a divine revelation on the matter. According to Abot de Rabbi Nathan 20, thought to have been written in the second century AD but not available in English until the twentieth century, Moses summoned a court of ministering angels and asked them if he should kill the Egyptian, to which the angels responded, "Kill him." The same story is told in Midrash Rabbah Exodus 1:29, which adds that, before calling on the angels for counsel, Moses perceived that no righteous persons would descend from the Egyptian man. A similar story is found in an early Jewish text, Tosephta-Targum (V. 1) 2 on 1 Samuel 17:43, which says that just before he slew Goliath, David "lifted up his eyes to heaven and saw angels deliberating on Goliath the Philistine." Ancient Texts in Support of the Book of Mormon] but I said in my heart: [ Feelings, emotions desires. ] Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him. [ A bitter test? A desire to shrink? sound familiar? Compare with D&C 19:18. Why didn't the Lord allow Nephi to obtain the plates in some other manner—perhaps accidentally left at the plate polishers one night or maybe falling out the back of Laban’s chariot on a Sabbath afternoon. The idea that Nephi is brought to deal with something that he has been taught is wrong, but he is commanded by the spirit to obey and if he cannot bring himself to obey, then it is entirely probable that he can never succeed or survive in the tasks that lie just ahead. LIne upon line, the Lord is preparing Nephi, and Nephi is showing that he will do as directed by the Spirit. "I speak of Nephi’s obligation to slay Laban in order to preserve a record, save a people, and ultimately lead to the restoration of the gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times. How much is hanging in the balance as Nephi stands over the drunken and adversarial Laban I cannot say, but it is a very great deal indeed. The only problem is that we know this, but Nephi does not. And regardless of how much is at stake, how can. he do this thing? He is a good person, perhaps even a well-educated person. He has been taught from the very sum- mit of Sinai “Thou shalt not kill.” And he has made gospel covenants. Jeffery R Holland 1989 The Will Of The Father In All Things ]

11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" to "listen" and "obey". ] unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property. [ Nephi is reminded by the Spirit of three reasons why he should kill Laban. 1. Laban sought Nephi's life 2. Laban rejected the commandments (covenant breaker) 3. Laban stole Lehi's property Why does Nephi think of those things? They act as three witnesses to convict Laban. They first off justify Nephi in what he is about to do but more importantly act as a way for Nephi to work up the nerve to actually carry forth with the killing. ]

12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; [ Nephi is reminded by the Spirit of three reasons why he should kill Laban. 1. Laban sought Nephi's life 2. Laban rejected the commandments (covenant breaker) 3. Laban stole Lehi's property Why does Nephi think of those things? They act as three witnesses to convict Laban. They first off justify Nephi in what he is about to do but more importantly act as a way for Nephi to work up the nerve to actually carry forth with the killing. ]

13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. [ There were most likely a million ways that God could have gotten the plates, and he chose to have the innocent Nephi murder Laban. Why? Many people have a problem with this because they believe that God can only do good and the Satan can only do bad. That is how they have defined God. There are several problems with those views. 1) What is Good or bad, right or wrong to God, is not what is good or bad right or wrong to us. In other words Gods definition of right and wrong is being defined by the individuals definition of right and wrong. We are not the ones who get to decide what is good and bad - God does 2) Many people want to believe that God does not punish people, well we know that is just not true. But if you can make yourself believe that then you are on your way to the doctrine that I choose not to have my God (Again your definition of what and who God is) be one who would cause pain, turmoil or conflict to anyone. ] It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief. [ Or by doing this it is better than allowing a whole nation to perish in unbelief. This verse informs us that the Lord will do as he pleases with the wicked in order to bring forth his work. Does this give us an idea of how important having the scriptures in are life are? Having them or not would make the difference of dwindling in unbelief. How do the scriptures help us with belief and purpose? ]

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper [ Means to have God's presence with them. ] in the land of promise.

15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law. [ and neither can we. (See Exod 20). Now we see the reason why the Lord talked with Nephi in the wilderness. The Lord does not alway come an talk to each and everyone one just because they might ask, but he certainly does understand those things that he wants to happen. So it becomes necessary that he come to individuals Like Nephi, Mose, Joseph Smith, those who will have special assignments and teach them so that when they are called to react they will have been previously taught what they need to do, they will be able to call upon it in their time of decision. If the Lord would have taught Nephi at the exact moment that he was having him take Laban's life it might have been to much for Nephi to understand if he was doing the right thing. But because he was taught earlier he was able to simply reflect of what he already had been taught. ]

16 And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass.

17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments. [ The phrase, "according to his commandments" is important, because of the commandment given to Nephi and his brothers to get plates (1 Nephi 3:4) but also because Nephi's personal covenant was contingent on Nephi keeping all of the commandments given him (1 Nephi 2:20) including the commandment that he was just given here - to kill Laban. So in a way the spirit is saying, "either kill Laban, or all the promises of the Lord shall be taken away. ]

18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, [ How could Joseph Smith have known? When English shows a possessive or descriptive relationship between two nouns, it usually puts the possessive or descriptive noun first: the king's house or wood house. Hebrew, however, uses the opposite order: house the king (which would usually be translated house of the king) or house wood (house of wood). If the Hebrew word order is kept in the English translation, the word of must be added, even though it does not exist in the Hebrew. One of a large number of what appear to be translations from the Hebrew preserving the Hebrew word order: "voice of the Spirit" instead of the Spirit's voice (The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon - http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=72&chapid=862) ] and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

19 And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; [ Did he remove the garments before he cut off Labans head? Most likely as cutting off his head would have spilt a lot of blood. ] yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.

20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. [ How would Nephi had known this? was he associated with Laban and the servant in some way before to know that this was the servant that kept the keys? They Lord also prepared that way by have the servant come along at the right time so that Nephi did not have to waste precious time to find the servant and get the keys. In doing so he may have been discovered. ] And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.

21 And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins. [ It was night, it was dark, Zoram could have well be asleep or dozing off - and just maybe this was a miracle like unto the one that Nephi had asked for that was asked for at the beginning. a miracle like unto the parting of the Red Sea. A miracle such that Zoram even saw the face and really heard the voice that sounded like his master. ]

22 And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.

23 And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban.

24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.

25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.

26 And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me.

27 And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews, as I went forth unto my brethren, who were without the walls. [ So Nephi knows enough of what to say so that the servant is sure that it is Laban. ]

28 And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he was exceedingly frightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. And they fled from before my presence; for they supposed it was Laban, and that he had slain me and had sought to take away their lives also.

29 And it came to pass that I called after them, and they did hear me; wherefore they did cease to flee from my presence.

30 And it came to pass that when the servant of Laban beheld my brethren he began to tremble, and was about to flee from before me and return to the city of Jerusalem.

31 And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee.

32 And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" to "listen" and "obey". ] unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, [ Nephi gives an oath to Zoram - this kind of oath was a very serious oath in the days of Nephi as it was one that bound his own life with the power of God, it was a sacred oath and one which could be counted on to be kept. ] even so that if he would hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" to "listen" and "obey". ] unto our words, we would spare his life.

33 And I spake unto him, even with an oath, [ The oath places the seriousness of the promise upon the oath maker as a witness to God, as the ‘oath and covenant’ is between mankind and deity. It is that the oath taker would rather die than break the promise. Usually when it is made it shows up it is always accompanied by a symbolic gesture of a finger across the throat. The point is that he who is making the oath would rather die than break his oath. In the oath and secret combination, anyone in the organization could kill anyone who betrayed their secret plans, which is why Lamech killed Irad “for the oath's sake.” ] that he need not fear; [ Zoram’s fears were silenced when Nephi promised “with an oath”. It would have been immediately understood by Zoram that Nephi promised to put his life on the line with a symbolic act of death or sacrifice, ensuring the safety of Laban’s servant by an oath and covenant. ] that he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the wilderness with us.

34 And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing; and shall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord? [ Would you be willing readily to go with somone who has just killed your boss, go off on a journey with them? In essence Zoram has just witnesses the deception that was carried forth, maybe he can already see the hand of the Lord in the deception. There is much about Zorma's side of the story that we do not know. But we do know that Zoram was persuaded to go forward with Nephi and his brothers. ] Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us. [ as an equal ]

35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth.

36 Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for this cause, that the Jews might not know concerning our flight into the wilderness, lest they should pursue us and destroy us. [ Let's look at this a little further. If Zoram had known that the plates were taken by someone outside of the city walls then the investigation would have begun outside of the city walls. They would have lead to tracking down the son's of Lehi and maybe even Lehi as well. But with Zoram missing and no knowledge that someone from the outside had snuck in they looked for the killer inside the city walls as that would have been the most logical. ]

37 And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him.

38 And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass and the servant of Laban, and departed into the wilderness, and journeyed unto the tent of our father. [ After all that has happened, the sacrifice given to preserve the records - do you suppose that it is too much to ask us to read them? ]