Nephi Obtains the Brass Plates

Event 4

Reference: 1 Ne. 3:1-31; 4:1-38

AND it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speakingwith the Lord, to the tent of my father.NephiLehi’s tent atvalley of Lemuel600 to 593 B.C.2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying:Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hathcommanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return toJerusalem. 3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews andalso a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven uponplates of brass. 4 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me thatthou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seekthe records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness. 5 Andnow, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which Ihave required of them; but behold I have not required it of them,but it is a commandment of the Lord. 6 Therefore go, my son, andthou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast notmurmured.Lehi7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father:NephiI will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for Iknow that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children ofmen, save he shall prepare a way for them that they mayaccomplish the thing which he commandeth them.8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard thesewords he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had beenblessed of the Lord. 9 And I, Nephi, and my brethren tookour journey in the wilderness, with our tents, to go up to theland of Jerusalem.Wildernessoutside Jerusalem10 And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the landof Jerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one withanother. 11 And we cast lots—who of us should go in untothe house of Laban.Land ofJerusalemAnd it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; andLaman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked withhim as he sat in his house. 12 And he desired of Laban therecords which were engraven upon the plates of brass,which contained the genealogy of my father.Laban’s house inJerusalem13 And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, andthrust him out from his presence; and he would not that heshould have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him:Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee.Laban 14 But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the thingswhich Laban had done, unto us. And we began to beexceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about toreturn unto my father in the wilderness. 15 But behold I saidunto them that:NephiWildernessoutside Jerusalem600 to 593 B.C.As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto ourfather in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thingwhich the Lord hath commanded us. 16 Wherefore, let us befaithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; therefore let usgo down to the land of our father’s inheritance, for behold he leftgold and silver, and all manner of riches. And all this he hath donebecause of the commandments of the Lord. 17 For he knew thatJerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of thepeople. 18 For behold, they have rejected the words of theprophets. Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after hehath been commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he wouldalso perish. Wherefore, it must needs be that he flee out of theland.19 And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain theserecords, that we may preserve unto our children the language ofour fathers; 20 And also that we may preserve unto them the wordswhich have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets,which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power ofGod, since the world began, even down unto this present time.21 And it came to pass that after this manner of language didI persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful inkeeping the commandments of God.22 And it came to pass that we went down to the land of ourinheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and oursilver, and our precious things. 23 And after we hadgathered these things together, we went up again unto thehouse of Laban.Lehi’s house24 And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, anddesired him that he would give unto us the records whichwere engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we wouldgive unto him our gold, and our silver, and all our preciousthings.Laban’s house inJerusalem25 And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property,and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it,insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slayus, that he might obtain our property.26 And it came to pass that we did flee before the servantsof Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind ourproperty, and it fell into the hands of Laban. 27 And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, andthe servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hidourselves in the cavity of a rock.NephiWildernessoutside Jerusalem600 to 593 B.C.28 And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, andalso with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkenedunto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemueldid speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers,and they did smite us even with a rod.29 And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold,an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and hespake unto them, saying:Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye notthat the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and thisbecause of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalemagain, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.Angel30 And after the angel had spoken unto us, he departed. 31And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel againbegan to murmur, saying:NephiHow is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands?Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, evenhe can slay fifty; then why not us?Laman andLemuel1 AND it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying:NephiLet us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keepingthe commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than allthe earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, oreven than his tens of thousands? 2 Therefore let us go up; let us bestrong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of theRed Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers camethrough, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaohdid follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. 3 Nowbehold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angelhath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; theLord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroyLaban, even as the Egyptians.4 Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth,and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they didfollow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem.5 And it was by night; and I caused that they should hidethemselves without the walls. And after they had hidthemselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forthtowards the house of Laban.Outside walls ofJerusalem 6 And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand thethings which I should do. 7 Nevertheless I went forth, andas I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, andhe had fallen to the earth before me, for he was drunkenwith wine. 8 And when I came to him I found that it wasLaban. 9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth fromthe sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, andthe workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I sawthat the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.NephiNear Laban’shouse inJerusalem600 to 593 B.C.10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spiritthat I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart:Never at any time have I shed the blood of man.And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him. 11 Andthe Spirit said unto me again:Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands.The SpiritYea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mineown life; yea, and he would not hearken unto thecommandments of the Lord; and he also had taken awayour property.Nephi12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again:Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; 13Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteouspurposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nationshould dwindle and perish in unbelief.The Spirit14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, Iremembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto mein the wilderness, saying that:NephiInasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shallprosper in the land of promise.The Lord15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep thecommandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses,save they should have the law. 16 And I also knew that thelaw was engraven upon the plates of brass. 17 And again, Iknew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands forthis cause—that I might obtain the records according to hiscommandments.Nephi18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and tookLaban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head withhis own sword. 19 And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put themupon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did girdon his armor about my loins.NephiNear Laban’shouse inJerusalem600 to 593 B.C.20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasuryof Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury ofLaban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keysof the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice ofLaban, that he should go with me into the treasury. 21 Andhe supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld thegarments and also the sword girded about my loins. 22 Andhe spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, heknowing that his master, Laban, had been out by nightamong them. 23 And I spake unto him as if it had beenLaban. 24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry theengravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to myelder brethren, who were without the walls. 25 And I alsobade him that he should follow me. 26 And he, supposingthat I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I wastruly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did followme. 27 And he spake unto me many times concerning theelders of the Jews, as I went forth unto my brethren, whowere without the walls.Laban’s treasuryin Jerusalem28 And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he wasexceedingly frightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. Andthey fled from before my presence; for they supposed it wasLaban, and that he had slain me and had sought to takeaway their lives also.Outside walls ofJerusalem29 And it came to pass that I called after them, and they didhear me; wherefore they did cease to flee from mypresence.30 And it came to pass that when the servant of Labanbeheld my brethren he began to tremble, and was about toflee from before me and return to the city of Jerusalem. 31And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and alsohaving received much strength of the Lord, therefore I didseize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that heshould not flee.32 And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if hewould hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as Ilive, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, wewould 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 likeunto us if he would go down in the wilderness with us. 34And I also spake unto him, saying:NephiOutside walls ofJerusalem600 to 593 B.C.Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing; and shall wenot be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord?Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my fatherthou shalt have place with us.35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at thewords which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of theservant; and he promised that he would go down into thewilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oathunto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth. 36Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for thiscause, that the Jews might not know concerning our flightinto the wilderness, lest they should pursue us and destroyus.37 And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oathunto us, our fears did cease concerning him.38 And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass andthe servant of Laban, and departed into the wilderness, andjourneyed unto the tent of our father.Wilderness southof Jerusalem