1 Nephi 4:5

5  And it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves without the walls.  And after they had hid themselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban.

             Then this fifth verse is interesting too. In an old Saints Herald where Emma Smith was

being   interviewed after the death of the Prophet, she said when they got to this passage

(Joseph Smith was translating with the seer stones), he looked up with surprise and said,

"Emma, did Jerusalem have walls?" He didn't even know the city had walls. He didn't

know anything  about what he was writing here. Yes, Jerusalem had walls.

-Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 1, p.159

            It was very late at night, and this was not the strictly legitimate way of going about

things; but Nephi had been encouraged by an angel, and he was resolved to get the plates

by fair means or foul. He had reached the end of his resources, and his situation was

completely desperate.

-Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.6, Part.4, Ch.9, p.112 - p.113

1 Nephi 4:4

4  Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem.

     “nevertheless”

            -they did it anyway, so why didn’t they just do it with the right attitude?  In fact, Laman and Lemuel did everything that Nephi did (left Jerusalem, went back for the brass plates and Ishmael, built a ship, sailed to the promised land, etc.) they all shared the difficulties of the same trials but they got so very little out of it.  What a shame for them, it is almost funny because even with all their opposition they did not get it any easier. All went through the same trials, they could easily have endured it in such a fashion so as to have been “better for it” as easily as being condemned for the way they handled it.  Isn’t a mission the same thing?  The most diligent and the worst slacker both spend two years.  Complaining and being disobedient don’t make it any shorter –in fact it seems all the longer when we fight against it. Isn’t life the same thing?  All go through it!  We can pursue the path of happiness by living the way that permits us to travel that road or we can choose some other way in pursuing “the object and design of our existence.”

     "did follow me up..."

            -there is great persuasive power in the simple example of doing!  Most people who are, for some reason, stuck in indecision or opposition will fall in behind one person who acts with confidence and surety.  This works both ways:  in the pursuance of evil and good.  Most of us want someone else to take the dangerous step of initiating an action.  It takes courage and commitment that very few possess to not only know that is right but to engage, to do, what is right.

            -Nephi took the lead and created a situation where others had to make a choice.  There must be leaders who have such conviction of character!  Our leaders need to take the first steps and live up to their calling… they will then find that others of lesser courage will follow.  This is especially true when a voice of opposition has been sounded.  Although it makes the situation all the more tenuous, a person who knows the truth must pursue that truth whichever way the winds of opposition blow and regardless of if they are simply “prevailing” or “gale force” winds.

1 Nephi 4:3

3  Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an ^aangel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye ^bdoubt?  Let us go up; the Lord is able to ^cdeliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

            -They saw an angel and they can doubt? "Wherefore can ye doubt?" Why weren't they

             completely overwhelmed by the angel? Why didn't that convince them for the rest of

            their lives? This is an interesting phenomenon. Brigham Young said, "Pray that you will not

see an angel, because everyone who has seen an angel has apostatized from the

Church." Nearly all of them did. "Wherefore can ye doubt?" When the angel is gone,

you are still there. That's the   point. You are still yourself; you haven't changed your

character. You may see ten angels, but that doesn't make any difference. Do these things

leave a permanent imprint? A person goes back to his normal life, and in this life the

earth has a very strong hold on us. Nothing is more   powerful than gravitation—the

weakest form in the universe.

-Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 1, p.158

      “wherefore can ye doubt?”

            -but they still doubted.  Yes, they knew that they had seen an angel and we will assume they knew the truth of Moses and the exodus.  There must, therefore, be more to having faith than knowing of these things. To Nephi this knowledge strengthened him, but to Laman and Lemuel this knowledge did little to help.  They were missing something else, but what?  Their hearts were not set on doing the Lord’s work, they were not obedient but were rebellious in their desires/hearts therefore these wonderful things (experience and knowledge) turned to their destruction as equally as it turned to Nephi’s exaltation (his deliverance in this specific trial is but one case example of his progressing/movement towards exaltation).

       *Exaltation is a process made up of many incremental steps/experiences.

       “the Lord is able to deliver us even as our fathers…”

            -there is great strength, power and confidence to be drawn from the experiences of others, particularly those whose lives and tests are recorded in the scriptures.  When they are able to determine key actions, beliefs or other means they employed to find deliverance and success.  We are bound to follow their footsteps just as we use a map to help us get through unfamiliar ground.

1 Nephi 4:2

2  Therefore let us go up; let us be ^astrong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red ^bSea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.

-What are the more subtle lessons that Nephi is trying to teach (or understand) in drawing

 upon the experience of Moses and the Children of Israel?  The necessity to ACT.

     “therefore let us go…”

            -the “therefore” here refers to God being mightier than the whole earth and therefore able to prosper them in their efforts and to deliver them from death.  In other words, Nephi’s strength rests in his knowledge of God/in his testimony. Joseph Smith said that “it is the first principle of religion to know the character of God.”  It also appears to be of primary importance for each individual’s testimony to know for a certainty the character of God.  The lack of his singular knowledge is what makes Laman and Lemuel so weak and impotent in spiritual strength.  He who knows the character of God has a great key to the power and strength of God, but he who lacks this testimony must certainly live in fear and weakness.

     “let us be strong like Moses…”

            -the “strength” here, as alluded to above,  is not earthly and physical, but dwarfs anything man can aspire to by his own power.  This strength is quiet and meek,  it is not evident in the physique but can divide seas, move mountains, lay waste to armies, restore life and command the elements.  That is strength.

·         A vivid delineation between the two powers is aptly illustrated by Nephi’s example.  A physically weak people who had been slaves parted the sea and broke away from the yoke of their bondage while the most powerful army of the time was decimated by the waters of the sea that delivered Moses.  That is the strength Nephi wanted his brothers to develop; the same kind we need to develop.

It might be appropriate to guess as to Nephi’s spiritual strength from his reasoning and persuasion to get his brothers to be more faithful.  Nephi calls upon lessons of past prophets to engender faith and courage in his brothers.  He, himself, must have been familiar with these events and learned lessons of faith, of righteousness and of how God deals with men. From these he drew strength, comfort and knowledge that all was OK and would work for his good. We would profit to do the same.

1 Nephi 4:1

PLAN 3
-First and foremost in this attempt is the ingredient of (like the previous two attempts) faithful obedience:  “Let us go… let us be faithful in keeping the commandments…”

1  AND it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be ^afaithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not ^bmightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?

            -The emphasis has moved from "I will go and do,(3:7)" to we will not leave until "we

have     accomplished, (3:15)" to the Lord is "mightier than Laban and his fifty" and "the

Lord is able     to deliver us," (1 Nephi 4:1-3).

-Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Recurrence in Book of Mormon Narratives, p.45

        “let us”

            -by this time I think I would have been fed up and frustrated with the stubbornness of my brothers and given up trying to pull them along.  But Nephi continues to invite them and really work at bringing them to be obedient to the Lord’s commandment. We should be as patient in our work with the “Laman and Lemuels” of the kingdom.  The Lord is with us in any case.

I think one of the lessons God is trying to impress upon us in the scriptures, since He shows us by experience after experience, is that He is more powerful than vast numbers of trained mean and that when we align ourselves to His purposes we can not fail.  Besides being our support, He wants us to recognize that it is His hand that delivers his children and not their own strength.  Notice the similarities in all the situations:

                        -unarmed children of Israel versus Pharaoh’s army

                        -grossly outnumbered Gideon versus the Midianites

                        -young Nephi versus Laban and his “fifty”

                        -Joshua destroying Jericho with trumpets and shouting

                        -Elisha:  they that be with us are more than they that be with them

                        -Fierce weather intervening against militias and mobs sword to destroy Zion’s

  camp.

1 Nephi 3:31

31  And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to ^amurmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands?  Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?

      "Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying:  How is it possible that the Lord will ..."

            -this more than anything manifests the truly sad condition of Laman and Lemuel.  I don’t even know how to explain the how and whys of this situation.  It would be unbearable to live with the fear and uncertainty that accompanies a lack of faith.

            -What is making them doubt?

                        -lack of faith                           -attitude

                        -denying God's power            -fear of man

      “how is it possible…”

            -what motivates this question?:

              -sever lack of faith.

              -denial of or complete ignorance to the power of God.

              -fixed mal-attitude.

              -no eternal perspective.

Although we perceive this question as evidence of a character beyond our belief, how is it that we fail to pay our tithing because “how is it possible” for us to meet our financial obligation?  How is it possible that the Lord will bless us?  How is it that we resist any commandment because we don’t see “how it is possible” that we can endure the sacrifice of it?

            -the situation for Laman and for us is, in an eternal perspective, quite ironic because the true question is really: How is it possible that the Lord will not deliver and bless us?  It is impossible.  He will always deliver us because He rules the circumstances of this world, this existence and this reality by the power of His word.

       "he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"

            -Did Nephi have to go against fifty when the Lord directed him?  He didn't even have to go

            against the full strength of one.  Laban, himself, was out.

      “he can slay fifty, why not us?”

            -why not us?  Because a man engaged in God’s work/errand is able to do more than 50.  His power enables the righteous man or woman to overcome what would otherwise be impossible situations.

            -when Nephi is led back into Jerusalem and faces Laban, does he face fifty armed and trained soldiers?  Does he even have to defeat 5 able men in an armed confrontation?  No, neither.  The Lord accomplishes his work in his own way (and a way that evens the field for us).  Nephi did not even have to face Laban personally in all his strength.  Laban’s weakness was part of his own undoing.

Summary of Plans 1 & 2

            There seems to be one obvious and perplexing question that comes out of the experience so far:  Why did two attempts meet with failure when they had been striving only to fulfill the command of the Lord?  Perhaps there are many reasons;  one possibility is that they were tested to see if they would be persistently obedient in doing God’s will.  There are many other reasons.  Plan 3 , or the 3^rd attempt into Jerusalem, illustrates some differences from the previous two.  Since Plan C succeeded it is probably safe to assume that those steps taken --that are unique to this last attempt-- facilitated its success.

1 Nephi 3:30

30  And after the ^aangel had spoken unto us, he departed.

            -At times we ascribe more confidence and goodness to ourselves than we truly merit. We say “they have seen an angel, how hard can it be?  They must know of the incredible power on their side.”  I draw your attention to the fact that the angel departed.  Once more they were left alone to accomplish the work.  It still had to be done.  The same was true for the early saints.  Take the prophet Joseph for example: After the first vision of the Father and the Son was closed he still had to face the ridicule, endure the tarring and beatings, survive months freezing in jail, watch the Saints be driven and murdered and then walk into the prison where he knew he would die.  It is a law of this life that the work is done after the heavens are closed.