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.
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.
Here is where Nephi has to show a lot of faith. The Spirit is commanding a reluctant but determined Nephi to kill a defenseless man, which, under normal circumstances, would have been murder. Even though it is the Lord commanding him to do this, Nephi still struggles with justifying this thing that is against everything he has been taught. He remembers his past experiences with Laban. He’s reminding himself that Laban is not just a bad guy, he’s done personal harm by stealing Lehi’s property, and by trying to kill Nephi and his brothers. Even at that, the Spirit has to remind Nephi that the Lord sometimes works this way. He sometimes kills the wicked so that his righteous purposes can be accomplished. This is consistent with D&C 3:1–4 that tells us that God’s work is not frustrated, but man’s. Still, it’s interesting that the Lord had Nephi kill Laban instead of just doing it himself. I think this was one of the very defining moments in Nephi’s life, similar to Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac. Just how committed are you, Nephi, to obeying the Lord?
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