Nephi has just killed Laban and put on his clothing. He approaches the servant of Laban and speaks to him in Laban’s voice, asking to be taken to the plates of brass.
21. And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins.
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.
Absolutely brilliant and inspired. Merely killing Laban would have served no purpose at all without going in to get the plates afterward, and this is exactly what Nephi does.
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.
We don’t know if Nephi really bore that strong of a resemblance to Laban, or if perhaps the Lord helped cast a look of Laban upon Nephi to carry off the deception. Maybe Laban’s clothes were very concealing – regardless of just how it happened, the servant completely believes himself to be following his master’s orders.
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.
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.
It’s interesting to me here that they’re showing more fear of Laban than they did of the angel that appeared to them. I think this is a good demonstration of the fact that they feared the arm of man more than they did the hand of the Lord.
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.
I feel a lot of compassion for the servant at this point. He’s convinced that he’s being obedient, and he’s just discovered that he has assisted in the theft of his master’s belongings. In addition, he sees that Nephi is wearing his master’s clothing, so he knows his master must be dead. He’s probably torn, wondering if he should call the authorities, or perhaps he’ll get blamed. Maybe he should go into hiding.
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 unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life.
33. And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear; 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? Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us.
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.
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.
Finally, after so many tries, Nephi and his brothers have the plates and are able to return to their father. They had to take a hostage of sorts with Zoram – they didn’t know this at the time, but Zoram would turn out to be a friend and an ally to Nephi in the things he would go through later on.
From today’s reading: when we’re trying to reach our righteous objectives, do we sometimes have to try repeatedly in order to get it done? Do we persist, or do we give up when we meet opposition?
Related Blogs:
LDS Week in Review — September 10-15
Choosing Your Battles at Scripture Time
Is It Hard to Get Into Your Scriptures?