“Nephi and the Brass Plates,” Book of Mormon Stories (2023)
Nephi and the Brass Plates
Learning to follow the Spirit
Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi went back to Jerusalem at night. Nephi went to Laban’s house while his brothers hid outside the city.
Nephi let the Spirit guide him. He did not know what he should do, but he knew the Lord would help him get the brass plates.
When Nephi was near Laban’s house, he found Laban on the ground. Laban was drunk. Nephi saw Laban’s sword and picked it up.
As Nephi looked at the sword, the Spirit told him to kill Laban. But Nephi did not want to kill him. The Spirit told Nephi that it was better for Laban to die than for Nephi’s family to not have the scriptures. They needed God’s commandments that were written on the brass plates.
Nephi knew that Laban had tried to kill him. Laban had also stolen their property and would not obey the commandments of God.
The Spirit told Nephi again to kill Laban. Nephi knew the Lord had prepared a way for him to get the brass plates. He chose to obey the Spirit. Nephi killed Laban and dressed in Laban’s clothes.
Nephi then went to Laban’s treasury and met Laban’s servant Zoram. Nephi acted and spoke like Laban.
Nephi told Zoram he needed the brass plates. Then Nephi told Zoram to come with him. Zoram thought Nephi was Laban, so he did what Nephi wanted.
When Nephi and Zoram came out of the city, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam thought Nephi was Laban. They were afraid and started to run away.
Nephi called to his brothers. When they knew it was Nephi, they stopped running. But then Zoram became afraid and tried to go back into Jerusalem.
Nephi stopped Zoram. He told Zoram that the Lord had commanded them to get the plates. He invited Zoram to go with them to the promised land. Zoram knew that he could be a free man, not a servant, and promised to go with Nephi and his family.
They traveled back to Lehi and Sariah. Lehi and Sariah were very happy to see their sons. Sariah had thought her sons had died. Because the Lord had kept her sons safe, she now trusted that their family had been commanded to leave Jerusalem. Lehi and Sariah’s family offered sacrifices to thank the Lord.
Lehi read the brass plates. He saw that the plates had the teachings of the prophets. He also learned that one of his ancestors was Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by his brothers long ago. Lehi knew the brass plates were very important. He knew the Lord wanted his family to have the commandments.