Nephi has gone back into Jerusalem to try once again to get the brass plates from Laban. He doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to do, but the Spirit leads him to Laban, who is laying drunk in the street. The Spirit commands Nephi to slay Laban, but Nephi is struggling with the commandment, never having killed anyone before.
12. And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;
13. Behold 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.
There was simply no way that Laban would ever give up those plates. The Lord knows our hearts and He knew that Laban’s greed would never allow him to relinquish any part of his treasure. This was the only way to get them to Lehi, where they should be, by rights.
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 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.
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.
18. Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.
Notice how long Nephi has to justify this to himself. He really doesn’t want to kill Laban, and he has to talk himself into it. Logically, it’s the right thing to do, but he doesn’t do it willingly for the sake of killing – he does it because he wants to be obedient.
This right here is why I think Nephi was sent to do it instead of Laman. Nephi was led by the Spirit, was told by the Spirit what to do, and only did it for the right reasons. Because he did it in this way, he was under no condemnation from the Lord. If Laman had gone in there and found Laban drunk on the ground, he probably would have killed him, it’s true, but it wouldn’t have been for the right reasons. It would have been revenge for the way Laban had treated them, and then Laman would have been condemned of the Lord.
Furthermore, Laman would not have been led by the Spirit, and so would not have had the brilliant idea Nephi had immediately following, which was this:
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; 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. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.
I can’t help but wonder how Nephi feels at this point. The servant of Laban knows the voice and the mannerisms of his master, probably better than nearly anyone. Is Nephi worried that he’ll be discovered, or is he calm, knowing that he’s on the Lord’s errand? He certainly demonstrates some good thinking-on-his-feet strategies at this point.
From today’s reading: when the Lord gives us a commandment, do we argue about whether or not it makes sense? How can we increase our faith in obeying the commandments of God?
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