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Well, I may have picked the wrong day to jump back in here, because I am highly inexperienced in the realm of Isaiah, but I'll see if I can find a few interesting things. Most of the time, the wicked of the world are also those who vehemently reject the Lord, or at best are those who claim a form of godliness, yet deny the power thereof. How many SJW's are also proclaiming and rejoicing in Christ and the Father? Sadly, much of the world and society at large no longer rejoice in Christ, even to the point of persecuting him, and those who follow him. There is a disparity of people, both in and out of the Church who are faithful in their testimony of Jesus. And the subsequent verses clearly convey the true justice awaiting the wicked of Babylon. I think when it all happens, people will be completely flabbergasted. It's like when you prove a super left wing position wrong with actual facts and data and they just stare at you and have no idea what to say. They are amazed, and just don't want to believe it. You can only deny the truth for so long before you must accept it. An interesting lesson, especially for our youth. It doesn't really matter if you are doing wicked things; if you are continually associated with or 'joined to' the wicked, you will eventually fall with them. There are plenty of situations where a mostly innocent individual might receive punishment simply by association. Avoiding the appearance of evil has its reward.

All, I have been absent for a couple of weeks from the forum due to unexpected stressful, sad and painful events. I hope to be back in a somewhat more regular capacity, but it may still take me a while. As some of you know, my wife and I are unable to have children. After pursuing other options, we determined that becoming a concurrent foster home (meaning foster only for intent to adopt) was the most appropriate route for us to take. We have been blessed with two beautiful daughters who will be ours for all eternity. One is already adopted and sealed, the other is just a matter of completing the paperwork. About 4 months ago, we were blessed to bring in a third child, a precious baby girl. The child was placed directly into our care from being with actual family who was not in sufficiently good health to care for her. That family member (great aunt) has remained in contact with us and that whole side of the family came to her birthday party, etc. The family developed a relationship with us and wanted us to be her adoptive parents. The state recently decided they have their own plan. In an unexpected turn of events, state foster workers took her from our home last Wednesday (they notified us a week prior) and placed her in the care of a different family for the sole reason that she would be with her 3 older biological brothers, whom she had never before met. They ripped a child from a stable loving environment for only that purpose. My wife and I took every action we could consider to fight against this decision, as we are absolutely certain it was not within the best interest of this child who has a strong attachment to my wife, my daughters, and I. We were able to convince the child's social worker, and her supervisor, but it was a supervisor above her, who never had any interaction with us, the child, or the child's brothers or new foster family, who made this rash decision. The child's family and former caretakers are also grief stricken about the decision and are looking into other options to fight against it, as they also feel it is in the best interest of the child to remain with us. This has brought on a great slew of emotions for our entire family. We have been devastated by this experience. It is hard to bear the though of someone raising who we consider to be our child, knowing we may never be able to see her again. We are strengthened by our faith, and our love for one another. However, I no longer believe in the foster system workers actual concern for the specific welfare of each child. There are many different factors at play here, and I know it is difficult to lay them all out for everyone. Suffice it to say, we are confident that we and the family are right and the decision made was wrong and not based on the child's situation and needs, but merely an arbitrary decision to combine biological siblings. Federal law requires reasonable efforts (with some exclusions such as in our case) to combine siblings in order to preserve funding. I believe this decision was made with funding in the mind of the decision maker. I may be in and out over the coming weeks and months as my family strives to deal with this, but wanted to give an update for anyone who may have wondered about where I went.

I believe the world was created for us with the intent we would use all of its resources to our advantage, including fuel and other substances that are touted to negatively affect the global climate. I understand the general need to use physical evidence and data in the secular world to combat flawed ideologies and to establish what the world views as objective truth. However, regardless of whether or not climate change is real, and whether or not it is significantly affected by man, do those of us who are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim really need to care? For those of us who believe in the Second Coming, or at least a version of it, why would we need to be concerned in the least bit by such a thing? It is one thing to be responsible and to teach to recycle, that in my mind is a wise use of our resources, but if we are truly in the latter-days, aren't we expecting the coming of the Lord fairly soon? Do we really believe that if the Lord will come, whether for the first time or the second, that He will first let the human race go extinct? To whom would he return? Once the scientific data is irrefutable and model-able with near 100% accuracy 100% of the time, we can effectively use the data to act appropriately. Until that time, I will listen to the prophets and apostles of the Lord, expecting that He will reveal to them what we need to know to be prepared. Right now that revelation includes a one year supply of food and water in addition to other items for preparation. Aside from that we are counseled to lead righteous lives which will help enable us to hear and be prepared to act on future revelation. As it stands prominent climate change advocates fit my idea of those preaching 'another gospel'. I see no need to take any additional measures at this time, aside from continuing to research, but without bias.

The quoted comment in the OP is creating an issue for herself where there clearly is none. The brethren and the scriptures are strongly in favor of sexual intimacy. You have to learn about it somehow, and many people, like my wife, were not taught about it appropriately by their parents/family, which is in fact against the Church's teachings. So, yes, many are that reticent, but they are wrong. My wife's parents claim that they did talk about it but they wanted to keep it sacred, well, my wife and I can attest that's not entirely accurate. Where else would someone in that kind of situation find appropriate information besides from helpful and uplifting articles and books like these? The only other place is from friends, who, while a possibly great resource, are often going to be more biased to their specific circumstances. I see no problem with this particular article.

It's amazing how much pondering on the scriptures can bring the inspiration of the Spirit. For Nephi it brought great visions. For all it can help bring a witness of the Savior and the truthfulness of the gospel. I have gained a further testimony of pondering as I have joined in this study session sponsored by @pam and @Irishgrin. I have found myself taking more time to ponder each verse and contemplate its significance and have received great treasures of knowledge thus far. My wife reads my posts and asked me the other day about what I do if I read a chapter and don't have anything stand out in particular, to which I responded that I read it again, and again until I learn something, or make a connection, of which I previously had not been aware. I haven't studied the scriptures in chapter order before while explicitly using this method. This goes on throughout the chapter. What a marvelous experience to have a literal conversation with a member of the Godhead. From what I am aware, relatively few have been so blessed. Yet from these events we can trust that it is something with which we may each be blessed if pertinent to our individual profit and learning and God's plan for us. That's a rather rare occurrence. The Still Small Voice finds the opportune moment to belt it out there! I have never personally yet had an experience with the Spirit calling loudly. I have, however, been filled with the power of the Holy Ghost immensely. In that experience I knew my testimony could not be ignored by those with whom I was sharing it, and I felt as though I could literally move a mountain if it were expedient. That was the closest thing I can remember. An important point here is that, while often when communicating with Man, the Spirit of God acts as a still small voice, there are times when He is needed and used in other capacities. This is important as we must also know or at least be prepared to recognize when He communicates with us through one of these other mechanisms. Verse 7 is a clear pattern of instruction line upon line. It was only after a previous experience had ended that Nephi would be granted further light and knowledge added upon that which he had already received. This eventually leading up to seeing Christ Himself! Verse 11 - The fact that the Holy Spirit is in the form of a man was probably a new experience for Nephi. He felt it was important enough that he explained very clearly that the Spirit looked just like you and I; even going so far as to feel it important to remind us that the Holy Ghost is a still actually a Spirit, yet looks plainly like a man. Verse 12 - I wonder if the Spirit was both revealing truth and being appropriately humorous in that moment. 'Hey look over here! . . . Made you look!" Verse 14 - There are many unnamed angels in the scriptures. This angel shows Nephi may things, including the crucifixion of the Lord. I will be curious to learn the identity of these unnamed angels. I wonder why it was important that Nephi tell us he was not able to see or learn much about the 12 apostles? As I ponder this, the one thing that comes to mind is that he mentions that they followed Christ. They were not a focus of the dream, but Christ and His ministry was. Ultimately, even as we heed the words of the apostles and prophets it is Christ who we follow and not any other, we are not of Paul or of cephas, etc. It may have been important in that moment that Nephi be informed, but not distracted from the focus of his vision, likewise we should avoid distractions from the core focus of our mortal probation, eternity! Considering the chapter as a whole, we can see that Nephi is being shone not only the vision of his father, but also having it added upon by greater depth of understanding and other portions of the vision interspersed. Similarly as we read of these accounts, and scriptures in general, we receive not only the witness they bear, but also whatever else the Spirit is able to enlighten us with at the time.

In most cases, yes, but you can have open source with paid commercialization for t-shirts and other items not needed to the actual usage of the program/service. (i.e. the program is free but if you want here is a kit you can purchase for convenience to complete [x] merit badge) But also allow that they could just get the materials on their own.

I am an Eagle Scout and am grateful for the Scouting experiences and opportunities I have had. However, once I experienced the bureaucratic side of scout leadership, I quickly determined that I did not like scouting anymore. I believe that the advantages and opportunities it provided could be easily achieved without everything they require. I hope that the new program the Church implements will include teaching many of the same skills and doing many of the same activities, but with a reduced burden on the young men's leadership. The programmer side of my brain came up with the concept of Open Source Scouts, where people could collaborate to create a similar meaningful program that would not entail any bureaucracy and any person or organization could do it! I hope no one steals my idea! Does my posting this count as a copyright? Show me the royalties!

This chapter reads as though Nephi had never heard such a doctrine until this point in time. Based on the phraseology, it seems that Lehi may not have been aware either, until after reading the brass plates. Imagine hearing this information for the very first time, and knowing it is coming from a true source. Imagine being Lehi, and reading from the scriptures for the first time, knowing you are reading the word of God as spoken/written by His prophets, and receiving the revelation about the gospel and the provision of a Savior. What a glorious doctrine! Salvation from death and from sin through the atonement. Without this knowledge, I presume many of the Jews in that time may have simply speculated about how sacrifices work to cleanse sin and other similar questions, just as we speculate about various things in our time. To Laman and Lemuel, as to many in our day, this concept seemed like a crazy fairy tale. To Nephi he thirsted for more and 'was desirous also that [he] might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost'. This chapter refers to the witness of the Holy Ghost many times (5 to be exact). It is reflected, therefore, that the witness of the Holy Ghost is the paramount experience in ones testimony of Christ, of His gospel, and of all truth. As Nephi reflects on his experience when writing this, he chose to mention the witness of the Holy Ghost with that frequency and stress its importance in his own conversion, and his own experiences. It was by the Holy Ghost that he was able to see, hear, and know these truth's. Without the witness of the Spirit, he may have seen, he may have heard, but he would not know. Additionally, the Spirit would have opened his mind and understanding to see and hear more than the spoken or written word. Christ, having this knowledge often said, 'he who hath ears to hear, let him hear'. If the Holy Ghost can enable so much, is it any wonder that denying the direct witness of the Holy Ghost is the one truly unpardonable sin? Even the very appearance of Christ could seem of little consequence without the revelation of the Spirit, therefore, Christ should manifest Himself, by the Spirit. By His power, is revealed the truth of all things. At the end of the day, the only way to know if something or someone is truly authorized of God is to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost for ones self. If the Holy Ghost is the one who gives the authority in the first place, how could you know of the truthfulness of said authority by any other means? I also found it interesting that we can tell from the text that Lehi had read the allegory of the olive tree, written by Zenos. Nephi did not feel it necessary to expound further. The Spirit would have prompted such, knowing that Jacob would later be called to present it on the record. This could be seen as a temporal evidence of the fact that the Book of Mormon is not a fabrication. Jacob did not refer back to this experience with His father when he presented the words of Zenos. It would be unlikely and rare that an author of even 'realistic' fiction would not have referred the reader to reflect back on the previously foreshadowed moment in some way. However, if Jacob were carving on the plates, I doubt he would think it necessary to make such a connection within the record itself. He would not have seen it as a foreshadowing, but merely two people testifying of the same thing (two witnesses!).

Exactly. Am I going to take the time to explain myself to someone who petitioned me to break my covenant of chastity? Or am I going to say the quickest, most polite thing I can come up with to high tail it out of the situation? I'd suggest that most faithful people, especially members, would pull a Joseph and flee as politely as reasonable.

So if I'm understanding correctly, I interpret your words to mean that if you were trapped in a room full of yoo-hoo and there was no other beverage or source of water, your preferred method of hydration would be proctoclysis?

Most of this chapter exists because Nephi referred to 'these plates' in the previous verse. Since, as is noted below, Nephi didn't know the Lords purpose for wanting the small plates, then whether before or after chiseling verse 1, he realized he was going to have to explain what he meant in case a later reader had not already read, or was not aware of the other plates. It's interesting how much time and effort we devote in life explaining things to other people that we understand clearly but that they might not understand without additional information. That is not necessarily a bad thing, simply noteworthy. We teach people the gospel, and then often must explain to whatever level of depth is needed for it to click in their mind sufficiently that the Spirit can act upon them. The same happens we teach or learn a new principle and the teacher says something like: "In order to understand what I'm going to teach you, you need to know [x], however, we really aren't going to go into [x] right now, you just have to know about it and then we will go into it more next week. . ." Just as Adam and others, Nephi was willing to keep the commandments of the Lord for no other reason than the fact that He commanded it. This is discussed often. What I find especially interesting on this read through is that Nephi automatically assumed and acknowledged that the purpose for making the additional set of plates was wise. How many people are more like Jonah at first and fail to consider the infinite wisdom of the Lord, or forget that he is able to do all things. At this point in his life, Nephi had enough experiences and witnesses that he likely was unwilling to question the Lord. While unproven, I think it reasonable to assume his pivotal moment was the experience of killing Laban. Nephi's obedience regarding the plates later made up for Joseph Smith's failure of the same.

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Mormon Where I live, the statistical chance that someone else would use this word is near zero. If this word was offensive to the interviewer, I don't want to work for them anyway. If they interpret the ideals behind it, as many of my current bosses and co-workers do, scout-law-esque, then it would be to my advantage. Regardless, chances are they would remember it! I have no qualms with my religion being a factor for or against my being hired in today's society (even though it's technically illegal). Thus far, it has come up in every serious employment endeavor I've ever had, and the times it affected me negatively, I'm glad I found employment elsewhere. Anecdote: At my current employer's annual retreat, they always purchase yoohoo as a special option since I don't drink alcohol. Interestingly, it's now pretty much the only ever time I drink the stuff. When I went to the first retreat they came to me and asked what special item I would like them to bring to drink. They were thinking alcohol, it didn't cross my mind and I essentially said, "I don't know. . . yoohoo!" They laughed, then thought it was awesome. There has been yoohoo every year since, and others have joined in on the enjoyment as well.

I believe I understand you're main point on this, and you are absolutely right that there's no way this person was actually 'all in' as they claim. The fact that they believed the General Authorities were saying and doing hurtful things is evidence enough. When do the GA's actually do and say hurtful things? Except for the occasional times when they may be acting individually and not within their calling, the ones who are hurt are most often the wicked/guilty who take the truth to be hard. One huge problem is that many lie to themselves or lead themselves to believe they are truly 'all in' just because they are studying their scriptures the right way like they hadn't done before; that's not enough. With that in mind, it is also true that it's not always that simple. Often those who are taking offense are offended by their interpretation of actions/statements rather than the actual thing that was done/said and the true meaning/intention. In the end, in this persons case, they really weren't 'all in', because they didn't adequately seek additional interpretation of what was said/done, nor appropriately reevaluate their own opinion on the matter to determine that the GA's were right and they were wrong. Now what the reason is behind why they weren't doing that is what is left for discovery. Either the Church is true, or it's not, it is that simple (conceptually). If it's not, one then must determine how important that is to their ideals of religion and the universe, and act accordingly. If it is, then one must figure out what is wrong with themselves, and change. Too many people believe it is true but do not change, or refuse to; those people are not 'all in' either.

It is interesting to note that in verse 1 they gathered only every kind of plant life known to them, unlike Noah, who gathered every kind of animal life, and possibly every kind of plant life as well, but with emphasis on the animals. There may be no deep significance here, but it is a pattern that the Lord, on at least three known occasions of trans-continental journey (Noah, Lehi, Jared), has instructed his children to take with them food of every kind, whether of beasts or of seeds. How might we apply that to our day and time? Food storage! Someone recently asked in the forum if Heavenly Father can truly always have joy when many of His children do not make it to the celestial kingdom. Here we see that Lehi was able to rejoice just in the fact that many of his decedents would make it, even knowing that many would not due to their wickedness. How long must those both with and without the gospel in their lives travel in darkness before they seek mercy and turn unto the Lord? The answer is different for everyone, and sadly, some never do. From the way the text reads, Lehi, if he was 'conscious' during his dream, may have traveled on his own expecting to find a way out, but finally turned to the Lord as it became clear that was the only way he could escape the darkness. When he finally did pray, seeking the guidance and aid of the almighty, he was immediately shown the path to the tree of life! The fact that in Lehi's dream, he found the tree of life alone, and his family was not already there, and that he then had to beckon them to come, showing them the way is enlightening evidence of the sacred patriarchal role of a father. A righteous father is able to receive revelation for his family, and it is his responsibility to do so, and to keep the commandments so as to be able to do so. This also underpins the responsibility of the spouse and children to hearken unto a righteous father, and heed his counsel and advice, as he heeds the council of our Father in Heaven. The result of not doing so is clear by what happened to Laman and Lemuel in the dream. Heavenly Father is brilliant; He finds a way to account for every needed thing, even often in our personal revelations! I find it interesting that the word 'arose' was used. This hints at the idea that the mist of darkness was not there on the path at first. Perhaps many who started on the path to the tree of life could at first see the whole path. This is similar to how we start a project for work, school, etc, and can easily see the end from the beginning. Yet, as we continue on the project, complications, and a whole slew of unforeseen issues come up to burden the completion of the task. Does Satan try very hard on those who are not seeking the path of righteousness? It is doubtful that it is needed. I think there is wisdom to be found in the idea that the mist of darkness arises only after we begin our course. Even those in darkness are often searching for something. How sad it is when that something they find is complacency in wickedness, or what they interpret as 'fun'. I think of gangs, the Gadianton Robbers, many (not all) sororities and fraternities engaging in sinful acts of every kind, etc, etc, etc. While there are some who are genuinely evildoers, there are many more who have felt their way to such an end, who simply sought something they interpreted to be of substance and value. This further indicates the importance of proclaiming the gospel to all the world, how many of those feeling their way, might we help to feel their way toward the path of the iron rod? Not only was it great and spacious, but it was also strange! Makes me think about all of the strange acts of those who are led by the spirit of evil and of confusion. I think about men seeking to become women and women seeking to become men and other seeking to support and promote this ideology. There are so many other 'strange' acts and ideas that could be included, but suffice it to say that it is very noteworthy that the great and spacious building was strange! I never noticed that before. We see in verses 35-38 the pain of those who see and who know when attempting to guide those who do not. Just as our Father in Heaven sees all, and counsels us based on His knowledge, we often receive counsel from others and give counsel to others based on a similar principle. Sadly, so many times we end up learning things the hard way, thinking we have a better way. I am grateful for our Savior's love; His version of I told you so is to just keep loving us and allowing us to repent, even when we thought we knew what we were doing. Even so, eventually, only so much can be said and done, and the rest is up to us, just as Lehi 'did cease speaking to them,' so does the Lord to his continually unrepentant children. Once all is said and done, what more can He say than to us what He has said? Eventually the responsibility is 100% our own.

I'm sure you were being serious, but my wife and I couldn't help but laugh in enjoyment of your use of words.

My one year old daughter frequently points to this picture on the wall and says 'da-da'. Then she points back at me and says 'da-da'. I am of middle eastern decent, and usually have a short beard. I will gladly take the complement

Notice that Laman and Lemuel are not mentioned to have complained about going back to Jerusalem for the purpose of obtaining wives. They complained about leaving, they complained about going back for the plates, they complained on the way back with their wives to be, but they sure as heck werent about to complain about going back to get them in the first place. In fact, the way the record is written, Nephi indicates 'we', as in all 4 of the brothers, spoke the words of the Lord to convince Ishmael to come. I have to wonder, and personally would assume that Laman and Lemuel's intentions were less than noble. They probably saw the opportunity to have a wife as a positive thing for a number of reasons, due to their culture. However, given their overall nature, I would say that the natural lusts of the flesh were enticing enough to them to convince them to go and even teach the words of the Lord to Ishmael and his family. It kind of reminds me about how many more people will show up to a church activity, conference, temple session, etc, if you entice them with 'free' food. However, once Laman and Lemuel had achieved their goal, had their 'girlfriends' as @zil wisely pointed out, what was stopping them from staying in Jerusalem and letting everyone else go back? Hence the main events of the chapter took place. Nephi was grieved. He was grieved because he was 'sick and tired' of his complaining brothers. "I mean, seriously, whats it going to take? When will these guys get it?" were likely the types of questions going through his mind at that moment. How many times do we ask ourselves that question about our children, or siblings, or friends, or co-workers? I would assume, enough for us to adequately empathize with Nephi. More importantly though, is how many times Heavenly Father must face a similar experience with us. What will it take, when will each of us finally reach that moment where we decide to strive for exact obedience? How many times does He have to tell us to have faith in His son, Jesus Christ, before we will realize what that really means for us. How many times does he have to remind us to repent, or to do x/y/z thing and then reap the reward? Nephi continued to strive to help his brothers, despite their clear wickedness and rebellion, because he loved them. Just as Christs hand is stretched out still, all the day long, to those who will take hold, even after turning away time and time again. In other words: "I dare you! I dare you to go back to Jerusalem! Do it and see what happens. You have agency. If you want to go back, be my guest, but. . . if you go, you will die. I'm just telling it like it is; this is what the Spirit told me to tell you." I truly hope that I live sufficiently in tune with the Holy Spirit to recognize when the Lord deems it appropriate to call upon him to loosen my bands. This applies equally to literal bands as well as with our trials. I sincerely believe that if we are righteous, after we have done our part and are on the brink of the bitter end, assuming it be the Lords will, we can call upon Him to 'loosen our bands' and provide an escape alongside the trial, sometimes even a miraculous escape, just as he loosed the literal bands restraining Nephi. Nephi, got right back up on his feet and started teaching them the truth they didn't want to hear once more. Such resilience is awe inspiring and faith inducing. Interestingly it reminds me of a popular lyrical refrain 'I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down!' Wow! How many times will Nephi do this over the course of his journey? What is equally interesting is how sincere Laman and Lemuel actually were in their repentance. As Zil pointed out, these guys really desired all of the things that led them to act out as they did, but they also had at least enough of the light of Christ that they were willing to sincerely repent (at least for a time) when they recognized the seriousness of their atrocities. But alas, how fleeting those feelings from the Spirit can be. No wonder we are extorted to write down our spiritual impressions and to refer back to them again and again. In our day we have even more evil pulling us in all directions except the straight and narrow, when you think about it, Laman and Lemuel just wanted to go be lazy at home in peace and not have to work hard to do the right thing. That's about 50% of the USA these days, and then we have many, many other temptations on top of that! We must always give thanks to God when we see His hand in our lives, both spiritually and temporally. Failure to express gratitude is akin to actually being ungrateful. When you really think about it what do we have in this life that we actually deserve? Nothing, that is the answer, nothing. All belongs to the Lord; He giveth and He taketh away. Even if we are seemingly left with nothing, we have our salvation in and through Him, and that is more than we could ever gain for ourselves. If all is the Lord's, we ought to be grateful for whatever he sees fit to bestow unto us.

I perceive that while most responses thus far do provide an applicable answer, they might not address what you are actually seeking to know. Here is my perspective on the matter: The reality is that, yes, as you posited, God 'could' have disposed of Laban some other way. However, there is an important principle at play: God works within the bounds of the agency of man. While He often influences men, sometimes even in very direct or extreme ways, such as with Paul, Alma the younger, etc, whenever possible, He will allow men, using their agency, to fulfill His purposes for Him. God knew where Laban would be, why he would be there, where Zoram would be, what their states of mind would be, etc, etc, etc. With that knowledge, He could guide Nephi by the Spirit to where Laban would be, have him kill Laban, impersonate Laban to coerce Zoram who would lead him directly to the plates, and then return safely back to his brothers. Not only did this accomplish the goals the Lord had in mind, it also enabled the salvation of Zoram (who would likely not have received this opportunity any other way), who was a friend to Nephi from that time forward. Additionally, in regard to the killing of Laban, not only are the words the Spirit spoke to Nephi applicable, as well as what @zil pointed out in her reference to Abraham 3:25, but it is also important to realize that mortality is relatively insignificant to the Lord, who has a truly eternal perspective. Regardless of the possibly many lives impacted, murder is wrong mostly because it removes an individuals opportunity to repent. God, however, has a perfect plan that accounts to provide every one of His children the opportunity to repent. In the end, those who would have received the gospel in this life may inherit every blessing as those of us who do. It is clear that not only Laban, but also his forefathers were the keepers of the plates. He would have had the opportunity to read them, study them, and have the knowledge of the truth. Since Zoram perceived it as normal for Laban to present the plates to the elders, it is apparent that he may have done so on occasion. Regardless, however, the Lord knows and knew Laban's heart. Laban was living a life of wickedness, it is highly doubtful that the Lord would end his life if he knew he would repent and become righteous. Was Laban not aware of the many prophets, including Lehi, who had prophesied? Even so, as @skalenfehl pointed out, Jerusalem was on the brink of destruction and captivity, and Laban's days were likely numbered anyway. If God had disposed of Laban via different means, how much more difficult might it have been for Nephi to procure the plates? Would they have been in the same location? Would Nephi still have been able to successfully impersonate Laban? Would the Lord just as easily have been able to allow for the freedom and salvation of Zoram? My assumption is that while obviously all things are possible to God, such an interference, would have required additional interference to play out as needed. There are many additional historical occurrences of God allowing men (both righteous and wicked) to use agency to bring about his purposes. Some examples include Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit to induce the fall, the many many times the Israelites and Nephites were captive to incite them to the remembrance of the Lord, and even the Crucifixion of his own Son by His children acting in ignorance and wickedness. In regard to your other questions there was no need to prove Nephi's loyalty, it is clear that once he had a sufficient withness of the Spirit, he acted swiftly and decisively. It is unlikely that any transformation occurred for Nephi aside from the strengthening of his testimony, because once he knew of a surety that the direction to kill Laban came from the Lord, he would never at any point in his life have reason to look back on his decision with remorse or regret. The rules had not changed for Nephi, only the Lord can command to kill with a perfect knowledge of the repercussions, Nephi's witness of the Spirit would also lead him to know that should such action be required again, he would be able to recognize whether it were of God or not. It was obvious from Nephi's previous experiences that he knew he could not return to Jerusalem, this event/action would not have been related. Nephi was being tested, but only in the same way each of us are tested in our trials and through our spiritual experiences and personal revelations. Notice that Nephi's initial reservation was not that it was a terrible thing to take Laban's life, but that he had never taken a life previously; he was likely shocked that he himself would be commanded to do such a thing, which normally is a grave sin, but might not have been as shocked that Lord would use this method to achieve his purposes. So now we come full circle and can piece together these ideas to reasonably conclude, that God, using and allowing for the agency of man, and acting in use of his foreknowledge of individuals and events, called one of His children to take a seemingly very serious action that would ultimately be of little significance in the eternal perspective, but which would enable blessings and opportunities of extreme significance to His great plan. Thus He declared, "It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."

In our time we have practically unlimited storage capacity for the written word, and are able to preserve it digitally for a perceived eternity. Nephi had a purpose and a calling to fulfill, and those who were to write upon the plates must take the responsibility to write those things which would persuade men to come unto Christ. Imagine if all authors had this perspective in mind, or even if they sought to just be completely truthful in their writings. Nephi's wisdom is notable as he wanted us to know how important it was that he would not write things which are pleasing to the world. Given that the Book of Mormon was written and prepared for our day, we can clearly see that the world is replete with those who seek to please the world. The mingling of the philosophies of men with scripture is used to justify many abominable actions. Nephi laid down the law, so to speak, by giving a commandment unto his seed. This command was taken seriously enough that not only was it passed on with each new generation, but even Omni, a self acknowledged wicked man, did his part to preserve the record and add information of worth! I hope that I can and will pass my testimony on to my children and grandchildren, etc, in a way that could somehow impact them similarly.

In my mind, this verse provides additional insight to note that Lehi was likely not yet called as a prophet prior to the revelatory experiences detailed in chapter one. This would also give further credence to the idea that if Lehi was just recently called, his family, including his wife, would not yet all have had the personal revelation to know that his calling and actions have been true. Nephi and Sam had already received their witness; Laman and Lemuel continually rejected the opportunity to receive theirs; now, finally, Sariah was pushed to the trial of her faith, and from my perspective she mostly failed. The fact that Sariah complained and did not initially endure her trial faithfully is important for our profit and learning. We see in verses 4-6 that Lehi comforted Sariah. He did this by sharing his own testimony of his experiences and of the things the Lord had called their family to do. When we experience trials, the Lord does not want us to go it alone. He stands ready to comfort us and bless us with His Spirit, but also often places spouses, family, friends and others who can help comfort us if we allow them to do so. Sariah's trial is scriptural evidence that even the faithful fall and rise again. She was the wife of a prophet was she not? However, after the trial of her faith, she received her witness, and her experience was powerful enough for her to proclaim "Now I Know of a surety. . ." Thomas, even an Apostle of the Lord, faltered in a similar capacity and would not even believe the witness of his brethren, but still received the mercy of the Lord further enabling him to go on to fulfill his calling. In His mercy, even when we falter, the Lord will still provide means to strengthen us and enable us to receive of Him and to have exceeding joy, as did Sariah and the whole family upon the return of Nephi and his brothers. No matter our experiences, murmurings and misgivings, we can find comfort, and in the end, in the Lords time, receive our own witness for each trial we are called to bear. Prior to reading directly from the plates, it appears Lehi had little knowledge of its contents. The opportunity to read scripture in such a fashion was a new experience for this family, and they devoured the words within excitedly. Imagine what knowledge we could have if we sought to read the the scriptures as much as we fight over who's turn it is with the remote, or the car, or the newest Harry Potter book, or whatever it is that calls to us so strongly. If today the First Presidency announced a new book of scripture, who among us would not jump at the chance to delve into its pages? Yet somehow we often fail to search, ponder and pray on the words of the prophets we have today. Hopefully we each see for ourselves that they are 'of great worth unto us' and teach our children to do the same.

Verse 6 is often cited as an example showing that the Spirit is able to lead us even when we ourselves are unable to see the path. A few things came to mind about Nephi's situation as I was pondering this verse: Nephi knew where he was going - towards the house of Laban. Nephi knew how to get where he was going - he had been to Laban's house at least once before. Nephi knew why he was going there - to get the brass plates and to preserve language and scripture among his people. Nephi knew going by night gave him the best advantage. In this particular situation, Nephi had tried all other reasonable options he could think of; he also had a sufficient knowledge and plan related to his purpose and task. There was only one piece missing. He knew the end goal, but given previous failed attempts he did not know what specifically to do to achieve it. As a result he trusted in the Lord, and we clearly see that the Lord did provide. We are often blessed with the knowledge of our end goal and the reasons we want to achieve it, but yet still are burdened with determining what we must do to achieve it, or how we can accomplish those things. The most recurrent example of this is the process of repentance and overcoming the natural man. We are blessed to know our end goal, eternal life in God's presence. We even know how to get there, by keeping the commandments and relying on the atonement of Jesus Christ. Additionally, we even know why we want that goal, to become like God and receive of all the Father hath. Yet day in and day out we struggle to make the best decisions as individuals, parents, employees, citizens, etc. Often our struggles result in sin, defiance, addiction, and sorrow, among other things. This is where the Lord steps in. In and through His grace and mercy we can be blessed with the Spirit to lead us and guide us in our daily lives. Even when we don't know the things which we should do to accomplish what he asks of us, He will prepare the way as we trust in Him. Sometimes that way is painful and difficult, but it always leads us to achieve the end goal. An example of such a difficult task is that which Nephi was given: to kill, having never done so before. Imagine what might go through your mind if given such a command. "Was that my idea, or was it the Lords? Can it possibly be okay to kill a man for this purpose? If it wasn't the Lord, and I simply imagined that it was, what will become of my salvation and standing before Him? Should I go consult with my brothers first? Is there any other way I can get this done?" I would assume that such a command from the Spirit would cause many to shrink with the desire to not follow through. How many times has the Spirit spoken to men who's initial reaction involves a desire not to obey. (Um. . . Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Joseph Smith, Amulek, Moroni and many more examples come from our scriptures alone) How often does this happen with each of us? A second prompting is certainly a great blessing to encourage follow through of an inspired course of action. However, now that Nephi is more certain that this is what the Lord wants him to do, I personally interpret that he is trying to justify it in his mind, but with his limited perspective. 'Laban tried to kill me, he rejects the commandments, and he stole our stuff! (which we had already forsaken anyway)'. While rationalizing a command of God is completely reasonable, it is His purpose to fulfill, it is upon His knowledge that it is based, not ours. And so the Spirit prompts Nephi a third time, this time revealing unto him a deeper and more divine objective in this difficult task: Now with the Lord's purpose in mind, Nephi's thoughts are guided to an eternal perspective and his eyes are opened to see the great importance of the task at hand: I imagine that for Nephi this was one of those powerful connect the dots moments, such as when you read the scriptures and find something amazing you've never noticed before; an epiphanic moment when truth is not only revealed but is also spiritually welded into your being and becomes a part of you forever. Such a knowledge and such an experience is sufficient to lead one to swift decisive action, as it did for Nephi: No more wavering, no more wrestling with the Lord. Nephi knew what he was called to do, and the implications, so he acted. We too are often called to act, often on a much smaller scale, yet with possibly similar repercussions. Our children, families, neighbors, and others with whom we come in contact rely, in measures of varying degrees, on our spirituality, wisdom, knowledge, and preparedness. As we seek and follow the guidance of the Spirit, we can be blessed with the Lords wisdom in our lives, which will enable us to do things we could never, or would never do without Him. On an anecdotal side note, if we consider verses 18-23 from a secular 'birds-eye' perspective, we read that Nephi, after rationalizing killing a man, also dressed in his clothes, and altered his voice to act out the identity of his victim. These could be identified as traits of a psychopathic murderer, with a potentially long list of mental health issues. Yet we know Nephi lived a righteous and fulfilling life. The difference? One is led by the fallen nature of man, potentially incited further by the adversary, the other received a true command from God. This is one example, where only the Spirit will lead both the one who acts, as well as those who observe (or in this case read) to discern the truth. Hence the insincere non-believer would more vehemently find cause to reject, while the humble receiver would behold the miracle and the wisdom of God.

@pam I am enjoying studying along and posting my thoughts, but have one suggestion/request to add. Could you place a link in the initial 'discuss' post to the actual chapter on lds.org for those who might want to click and read. I pull it up and read regardless, but it makes it easy enough that anyone can just click and read. Perhaps it would even bring more people in on the discussions! Example: discuss

This is a great practice, and will definitely strengthen the mind and spirit. That being said, to date there is no real evidence of a single individual with a true photographic memory, ever. There are many many people with very good memories, and many with strong mnemonic skills who are able to memorize a lot of content in a short period of time, but no true photographic memory. In fact the 60 days in a row of memorization to obtain the photographic memory has also been told before in many forms; when I heard it it was 1 full year of memorizing. I would assume that memorizing scriptures would become easier over time though since there are phrase and concept repetitions occurring regularly.