19 And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.
20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.
21 And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins.
22 And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.
23 And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban.
24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.
25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.
26 And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me.
27 And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews, as I went forth unto my brethren, who were without the walls.
28 And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he was exceedingly frightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. And they fled from before my presence; for they supposed it was Laban, and that he had slain me and had sought to take away their lives also.
[verses 19–28] After beheading Laban, Nephi took his identity in order to more freely move about and get into Laban’s treasury. Presumably this was also inspired by the Spirit. He obviously did a great job of imitating Laban, because he fooled Laban’s servant. Granted, it was night, but the servant (Zoram) either wasn’t too bright, not very observant, or more probably, influenced by the power of the Lord. You would assume that a servant would know his master, especially a servant who was entrusted with the keys to the treasury. Nephi was able to impersonate Laban well enough that Zoram was convinced. As much as Zoram talked to Nephi about things happening in Jerusalem, Nephi must have understood Jerusalem politics and personalities pretty well. His deception was good enough that he also scared his brothers, who had been waiting for him outside the city walls. Of course, they were pretty nervous about the whole thing anyway, and probably took off before they got a good look at Nephi.
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