Applying Ancient Scriptures to our Daily Life: Nephi, Setting the Standard for Receiving Answers

At Institute the other night our topic was on honesty and some how that got turned to Nephi and him being commanded to get the Brass Plates from Laban. If you don't know the story it goes a little something like this (short version of course).

Nephi's family had left Jerusalem and were many days travel away from there when he was asked to go with his 2 older brothers Laman and Lemuel as well as Samuel his younger brother back to Jerusalem and get the plates from Laban who was a wicked ruler of Jerusalem.

Nephi and his brothers tried first by asking, nicely, for the plates. Next they presented him with their families riches that were left when they had to flee Jerusalem. In both attempts Laban cast them out from before them and sent his guards after them.

It was at this point that Laman and Lemuel began to get extremely upset with Nephi and Samuel and began to beat them. At this time an angel appeared to Laman and Lemuel rebuking them and commanding them to go back to Jerusalem and that Laban would be given to them in a way that they would be able to get the plates from him.

Yet Laman and Lemuel did not want to and once again began to complain about how hard a task it might be. So, Nephi decided he would go by himself to receive the plates (who needs older brothers? KIDDING) telling them that when promised of the Lord he will provide a way.

Once again Nephi returned to the city of Jerusalem, this time alone, and before long he came upon a drunken Laban too far gone to even stand without assistance, but he was alone. Seeing this event and his sword by his side he was prompted to kill him by his own sword. He questioned that prompting never having been commanded to do something this intense before.

So that is the story, here are the thoughts I gained from this: Nephi did question the commandement, but does that mean it was a BAD thing to do? I think not for one of two reasons.

1-Nephi wanted to make sure this was a prompting of the Lord and not a prompting coming from Satan. Satan's powers are real and while the feeling we get can be different imagine how he would have felt later had he not ensured it was the right thing to do. Perhaps Satan would have come back to him later saying that he was unworthy of many things because he killed a man and the Lord never would have wanted that. He got the reassurance up front ensuring it was the right thing to do.

2-Nephi paved the way for the rest of us to know what we need to do to receive answers from the Lord. Nephi was given a commandment and while he knew that the Lord would provide a way, he did not know how that would come. When presented with a drunken Laban and prompted to kill him he probably felt that this was the answer to his prayers on HOW he would get the plates. He then asked for a confirmation from the Lord and after receiving his answer he then carried out the task.

Just like Nephi of old we are often faced with hard tasks that we know need to be overcome. We will ponder and meditate on different possibilities we can use to overcome our trials. When we have come to a decision about which way we see best to handle our situation we present that decision to the Lord, just as Nephi did before killing Laban. We then receive an answer and are expected to either act upon this decision or re-think the possibilities if we received a negative answer.