1 Nephi Chapter 4 - May 4, 2017

[pam]

Discuss

[BeccaKirstyn]

I have always found this chapter to be interesting, especially considering where it is placed. I've often thought of what it is like to be a new investigator reading the Book of Mormon, and only 4 chapters in this main guy is being asked to murder someone. What an odd thing to read at first, I can only imagine. But what significance it plays as well. I feel like as investigators (and even ourselves too when we reread the Book of Mormon to regain our testimonies), this very pivotal moment for Nephi of "follow me and my word" also parallels into our life. While we aren't being asked to murder someone in order to gain a very important set of plates that account important history, we are asked to consider this book and all that entails, despite the controversy that sometimes surrounds it or the doubt that may creep in from Satan. I can't always explain this how I want, but I just have always found this very "controversial" move by Nephi, commanded by the Lord, to be interestingly placed just 4 chapters in. 

I also like aspects of verse 3: "...Now behold ye know that this is true...wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us..." Taken out of its literal context and into our lives, how easily we doubt the Lord's ability to deliver us out of trials or situations when we have spoken of our testimony of His strength and power. We are so much more like Laman and Lemuel who murmur and doubt when things get hard, when we should strive to follow the advice from Nephi. We know His power and will is true, so wherefore can we doubt? 

And of course, verse 31 will always give you a good laugh. 

Edited May 4, 2017 by BeccaKirstyn

[Sunday21]

I find it interesting the manner in which God deals with Nephi. Nephi has shown his worth to God by praying and supporting his father. Despite this, God continues to try Nephi. In addition. Many of these trials are severe. Being asked to kill someone, even a quite nasty person? That is a severe trial. Being a well behaved Latter Day Saint does not mean that you will escape trials, even severe trials.

[pam]

There is much in this chapter that we could discuss.  But in doing some additional reading of other sources there were a couple of things that stood out to me.

One was the significance of the oaths that Nephi made to Zoram and Zoram made to Nephi and his brothers.  So why was this significant?

 

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One scholar explained the power of oath making in ancient times:

“What astonishes the western reader is the miraculous effect of Nephi’s oath on Zoram, who upon hearing a few conventional words promptly becomes tractable, while as for the brothers, as soon as Zoram ‘made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth … our fears did cease concerning him.’ (1 Ne. 4:35, 37.)

“The reaction of both parties make sense when one realizes that the oath is the one thing that is most sacred and inviolable among the desert people and their descendants: ‘Hardly will an Arab break his oath, even if his life be in jeopardy,’ for ‘there is nothing stronger, and nothing more sacred than the oath among the nomads,’ and even the city Arabs, if it be exacted under special conditions. ‘The taking of an oath is a holy thing with the Bedouins,’ says one authority. ‘Wo to him who swears falsely; his social standing will be damaged and his reputation ruined. No one will receive his testimony, and he must also pay a money fine.’

“But not every oath will do. To be most binding and solemn an oath should be by the life of something, even if it be but a blade of grass. The only oath more awful than that ‘by my life’ or (less commonly) ‘by the life of my head’ is the wa hayat Allah ‘by the life of God,’ or ‘as the Lord Liveth,’ the exact Arabic equivalent of the ancient Hebrew hai Elohim. Today it is glibly employed by the city riff raff, but anciently it was an awful thing, as it still is among the desert people. ‘I confirmed my answer in the Bedouin wise,’ says [Charles M.] Doughty. ‘By his life … he said, … “Well, swear by the life of Ullah” (God)! … I answered and thus even the nomads use, in a greater occasion, but they say by the life of thee in a little matter.’ Among both Arabs and Jews, says [Samuel] Rosenblatt, ‘an oath without God’s name is no oath,’ while ‘both in Jewish and Mohammedan societies oaths by “the life of God” are frequent.’

“So we see that the only way that Nephi could possibly have pacified the struggling Zoram in an instant was to utter the one oath that no man would dream of breaking, the most solemn of all oaths to the Semite: ‘As the Lord liveth, and as I live!’ (1 Ne. 4:32.)” (Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 2nd ed. [1964], 104–5).

 

 

In verse 4 it says:  we came without the walls of Jerusalem.    This greatly disturbed Joseph Smith when he was translating.  His wife Emma had this to say about it:

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And one time, while he was translating, he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, "Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?"

When I answered, "Yes," he replied, "Oh!  I was afraid I had been deceived."

He had such a limited knowledge of history at that time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls. (Hyrum and Helen Andrus, Personal Glimpses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, [American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2009] pp. 28-29)

 

 

 

 

 

[person0]

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5 . . .I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban.
6 And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.
7 Nevertheless I went forth. . .

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.

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10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that 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.

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?

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11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.

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:

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12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;
13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

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:

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14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.
15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.
16 And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass.
17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

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:

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18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

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.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, person0 said:

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.

I find this passage to be a lesson on perseverance.  How many times are we given an assignment that we think is impossible?  We try and fail.  We feel perfectly justified in thinking,"See!?!  I told you it wouldn't work." And giving up.  But I don't know how many of us have been threatened with death (twice) and still persevered.

The Lord gives us difficult tasks to show us that we can eventually make it with His help.  But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy.  We have to pull every rabbit out of our hats until we're left with nothing.  Only then will the Lord bless us with His help and guidance to perform the task by giving us something only He can provide to get the job done.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Guest