1 Nephi 3:3

[HoosierGuy]

1 Nephi 3:3

CHAPTER 3

Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass—Laban refuses to give them up—Nephi exhorts and encourages his brethren—Laban steals their property and attempts to slay them—Laman and Lemuel smite Nephi and are reproved by an angel. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father.


2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a adream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.

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3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

Contents of Brass Plates
The brass plates obtained from Laban contained…a record of the Jews from the beginning down to Zedekiah, and the prophecies of the prophets from the beginning down to Jeremiah. (1 Nephi 3:3-20, 5:11-13.) This would explain how the biblical stories were known by the American Indian groups even before the arrival of the Catholic fathers and their Bibles after the time of Columbus. Historians have concluded the American Indians knew of the story of the creation, the flood, etc., before the time of Columbus, although they have not been able to explain how the Indians came into possession of this knowledge.
Daniel H. Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, pp. 98-99 Edited November 14, 2008 by HoosierGuy

[Islander]

One of the most interesting documents fromteh early Spanish conquest is the "Title of the Lords of Totonicapan." Originally in Quiche language, it describes the authors as descendants of travelers from the East, from where the sun rises and arriving from across the sea. It provides a very interesting version of the creation and deity.

[rameumptom]

Some Biblical Scholars suggest that the Torah (books of Moses) and some of the other early books, as we now have them, were developed by several factions of Israelites over the years. The two earliest would have been J (Jehovah/Yahweh) and E (Elohim) followers.

J was developed shortly after King Solomon's reign in the city of Jerusalem. E was begun shortly thereafter in the Norther Kingdom of Israel. When the Northern Kingdom was carried off by Assyria, some escaped to Jerusalem, bringing the record with them. Eventually, these records were combined, which is why we have two creation accounts (Gen 1 and 2), and two accounts of the Flood mixed in together.

J was partial to Aaron and his descendants. E was partial to the priests of Moses' lineage. While King David had two high priests to assist him, one from each group, Solomon cast out the priest of Moses into exile. Each writing supported their view of how the Israelite religion should be, supporting the priests of their faction.

Some LDS scholars have suggested that the Brass Plates may have been the original E source. The ancient prophets from the Brass Plates all had ties with the northern Kingdom (Isaiah, Neum/Nahom, etc). Moses is looked upon as a strong priesthood leader, while Aaron is not mentioned. There are other strong evidences pointing to this.

This helps explain why a descendant of Joseph (Laban) would have a set of scripture that the elders of Jerusalem would wish to review - even in the middle of the night! Laban's ancestors brought the record down from the north kingdom, where Ephraim and Manasseh were leading tribes.

Such a genealogy as contained in Laban's Brass Plates would have been extremely important in proving to the Jews the priesthood right that the children of Joseph had, and that they were descendants of those priesthood holders.