Recently, I was reading in the Book of Mormon where Nephi and his brothers return for the brass plates. For anyone unfamiliar with this story, Nephi and his immediate family recently fled from Jerusalem. Then Nephi’s father, Lehi, sends Nephi and his brothers (Laman, Lemuel, and Sam) back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. The brass plates contain the genealogy of the people. They also provide important scriptural accounts for Lehi’s family. The main parts of the story take place in 1 Nephi 3-4.
What I Generally Saw in the Brass Plates Story
In the past, I always thought this was a story about obedience, the scriptures, and the importance of genealogy. They needed to be obedient. Nephi and Sam went all in when it came to obedience. Laman and Lemuel went along with the plan until it didn’t go the way they’d hoped. Then they rebelled. While obedience, the scriptures, and the importance of genealogy are important elements of this story, two important lessons stood out this time when I read this account.
We Get Multiple Chances to Do Right
Heavenly Father doesn’t want to punish any of His children. He doesn’t wait eagerly for us to be disobedient so that He can swoop in and punish us right away. Instead, He gives up multiple chances to do what’s right.
In the case of the brass plates, Nephi kills Laban to get the plates. Prior to that, Laban had at least two opportunities to give up the plates peacefully. First, Laman asked Laban for the records, but Laban threw Laman out, refusing to give him the records. Then Nephi and his brothers attempt to trade their worldly wealth for the brass plates. This time, Laban throws them out, takes their riches, and tries to have them killed off. At the very least, he could have turned down their offer and let them go in peace.
Based on what we know about Laban, I highly doubt these two incidents were the only times he was violent, mean, and unwilling to do what was right. Even though Heavenly Father knew Laban’s heart, He gave Laban the opportunity to make a righteous decision. Laban chose not to do that.
Sometimes God Eases Us Into the Task He Needs Us to Do
When I was applying for grad school in early 2010, I felt strongly about applying to a specific university in the Western United States. While it’s not super close to where my family lives, it was about a 10-11-hour drive from where they live, and it was an even faster flight away. I felt comfortable with the idea, or at least as comfortable as someone can feel when the person is considering moving to a place where they don’t know a single person. Unfortunately, I was rejected by that school,
I ended up applying to a school basically on the opposite side of the country from where my family was living. I was accepted and spent two years going to school in Michigan. Heavenly Father knew that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough with the idea of being that far from my family had I not been eased into the idea.
I’ve had similar incidents where I’ve felt strongly about doing a specific thing. That thing has not worked out well. Then I’ve felt inspired to pursue another path, often one that’s even farther outside of my comfort zone.
God Did That With Nephi and the Brass Plates
Like us, Nephi had been taught from a young age that killing someone was wrong. Had Heavenly Father told him right away to kill Laban to get the brass plates, I think Nephi would have been a little more reluctant to be obedient. At the least, I think Nephi would have asked if there was another way to accomplish the task. Because they had tried asking nicely (or at least asking) as well as bribing/offering a trade, Nephi saw that this was not going to end peacefully. He understood that the only way that they were going to get the plates was if Laban was gone. Nephi also understood how essential the brass plates were for his family.
I’ve realized that it can be very confusing or frustrating in life when you feel like you need to do a specific thing, when you even feel inspired to take a specific action. Then that action doesn’t turn out well or doesn’t seem to lead to any real results. At those times, trust that Heavenly Father is easing you into the task. The action we actually need to take to move our lives forward might be something we were unable or unwilling to do in the beginning. By showing obedience in the earlier tasks, we are showing our willingness to obey in the bigger, more important tasks.
