1 Nephi 3:29

29 And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.

Here is evidence that heavenly manifestations only strengthen our testimonies if we allow them to. There are those who are seeking a sign, such as a visit from and angel. Then they will believe, they say. Educated people often have a difficult time with religion because they have no faith in things they can’t see, and they have no physical evidence to convince them of a God. They don’t recognize that everything testifies of God. “Show me a sign,” they say, “then I will believe.” Time and again the scriptures show that the faith needs to be there first, or the sign has little or no effect. Signs don’t convert; they can only strengthen. (Of course there are always exceptions, such as Alma and Saul, but the rule is that faith must precede the miracle) Other examples might be Moses and Pharaoh, Abinadi and King Noah, several of the leading brethren of the Restoration who fell away. Well, the angel tells Laman and Lemuel straight out that Nephi has been chosen as a ruler over them. He also tells them the reason is because of their iniquities. I wonder if Laman could have gotten his birthright of leadership back if he had repented and turned his life around. This is something we’ll never know.

1 Nephi 3:28

28 And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.

How short sited of Laman and Lemuel. If they had been converted, they would not have been angry, but they still blamed Nephi and Lehi for their hard lives. How much easier life must have been for them before Lehi had his vision. Easier until Jerusalem got destroyed anyway. If they had been converted and realized where the commandment to retrieve the plates came from, the Lord, and not Lehi or Nephi, they would have endured this hardship much better. Instead, they took out their frustration on Nephi and Sam. It all goes back to 1 Nephi 3:5; it was the Lord’s commandment.

1 Nephi 3:26–27

26 And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the hands of Laban.

27 And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock.

This gives a picture of how corrupt Laban must have been. According to Hugh Nibley (An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Course of Study for Mechizedek Priesthood Quorums of the LDS, 1957), it was common for people to petition someone in Laban’s position for favors, etc. It was also common for them to try to buy or bribe their way into getting what they wanted from the official. This is what Nephi and his brothers were trying to do to get the brass plates. Laban, in his greed, decided to steal the property and not give up the plates. The sons of Lehi ran for their lives because Laban also tried to take that from them as well.

1 Nephi 3:25

25 And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property.

The irony here is that Laban became what he had previously accused Laman of being: a robber. (vs. 13)

1 Nephi 3:22–24

22 And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things.

23 And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban.

24 And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our silver, and all our precious things.

The riches that Lehi left behind were shown again to be of less value than following the commandment of the Lord. In the first place, Lehi left all these things behind when he obeyed the commandment to take his family into the wilderness. Now, under the direction of Nephi, all this wealth would be used in an attempt to buy the brass plates. This is burning their bridge behind them. If any of Lehi’s family decide to go back after this, they would go back to no money; a completely different lifestyle than what they had before. Again, to Laman’s credit, he went along with the plan, even though as the oldest son he stood to lose the most. I wonder if prior to this he thought he might go back home if things didn’t work out. This one episode used pretty much his whole inheritance, except whatever real estate the family owned. And he did it for something he didn’t really completely believe in. Had he been converted, the sacrifice Laman made would have been to his credit. But instead, he just let it eat on him until finally he totally rebelled and let the hard feelings consume him in the new land.

1 Nephi 3:21

21 And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the commandments of God.

This is the Lord’s way of getting people to obey. He will persuade and encourage, but He will not force people to be faithful. Nephi’s efforts to get cooperation from his brothers were consistent with the direction we receive in D&C 121:41—43. He doesn’t pull rank on them; he’s the youngest brother. In verse 15 he put his foot down and told them they needed to finish the job, but even that couldn’t be considered forcing them to obey.

• D&C 121: 41—43

1 Nephi 3:20

20 And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time.

Here is the second main reason why retrieving the Brass Plates was so critical. They contained the “words of all the holy prophets . . . since the world began . . .” The scriptures contain the word of God as spoken by his prophets. D&C 1:37—38 says that we should search the commandments because the words of the prophets are the words of God. Amos 3:7 tells us that before God does anything pertaining to us He first “revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” So not only are the words of God given through prophets, before He does anything to or with his people, He first tells or warns his prophets. That’s why it was so important that Lehi take the scriptures. The purity of the Gospel had to be preserved in writing rather than relying on memory from generation to generation. It’s just so important to be able to go back to the original intent of the author rather than rely on personal memory interpretation, which is what would happen if we didn’t have written scriptures.

• Amos 3:7
• D&C 1:37—38