�鶹��ý

Having exercised great faith to complete a daunting task, Nephi returned to his family with the brass plates. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and a major theme of the Book of Mormon. Of all the classic stories of faith in Christ, perhaps no story in scripture illustrates acting in faith better than the story of Nephi and the brass plates. From the moment he determines to “go and do” what the Lord has commanded (1 Nephi 3:7) to when he presses forward “not knowing beforehand” what he should do (4:6), Nephi shows us what it looks like to act in faith with the trust that God will prepare a way. In this essay I examine the scriptural account of Nephi and the brass plates to identify principles that we can apply to exercise our faith in the Lord as Nephi does.

“I, Nephi, Returned from Speaking with the Lord”

“When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past,” taught President Thomas S. Monson.[1] Nephi begins the account of retrieving the brass plates by alluding to an important experience in his life that prepared him to accept the assignment: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father” (1 Nephi 3:1). Nephi is returning from a revelatory experience he had in which, as recorded in the previous chapter, “the Lord . . . did visit [him]” and “spake unto [him]” (2:16, 19). This experience laid the foundation of the faith he is about to be asked to exercise.

But how did he qualify for this faith-building spiritual experience, and what lesson can we learn from that? He prefaced the experience by explaining, “I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me” (1 Nephi 2:16; emphasis added). Nephi’s faith initially grew out of his sincere desire to know the things of God. He illustrates what the prophet Alma taught, that if you can simply “desire to believe,” then this desire can “work in you” to be the start of faith (Alma 32:27).[2] Desire opens our hearts to “believe” or “give place” for the word of God and motivates us to “exercise [that] particle of faith” unto action (v. 27), just as Nephi did. In other words, “for faith to grow, one must . . . choose to have faith,”[3] and “acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it.”[4]

Nephi’s example teaches us that faith in the Lord is not forced on us or accidentally obtained. “Faith is not by chance, but by choice.”[5] And that choice typically starts with desire.[6] If we want to have faith in the Lord as Nephi did, we must first desire it.

“Thy Brothers Murmur, Saying It Is a Hard Thing”

When Lehi tells Laman and Lemuel about the Lord’s commandment to go back to get the brass plates, they respond by murmuring, saying it is a “hard thing” their father has asked of them (1 Nephi 3:5). This becomes their typical response to the Lord’s commands, their doubt in contrast to Nephi’s faith. Not surprisingly, their doubts never lead them to faith. As Elder Dale G. Renlund taught, “Doubt is not the precursor of faith.” Sister Ruth L. Renlund added: “To have a question about the Church and its doctrines is not a problem. Choosing to be a perpetual doubter is the problem.”[7] Sadly, Laman and Lemuel choose to be perpetual doubters.

The reason doubt does not lead to faith was taught in the early Restoration. Lectures on Faith states: “Doubt and faith do not exist in the same person at the same time; so that persons whose minds are under doubts and fears cannot have unshaken confidence; and where unshaken confidence is not there faith is weak; and where faith is weak the persons will not be able to contend against all the opposition, tribulations, and afflictions which they will have to encounter . . . ; and they will grow weary in their minds, and the adversary will have power over them and destroy them.”[8] This is exactly what happened to Laman and Lemuel.

In our current day of doubt, some assume that the way to build someone’s faith is by helping the person to resolve each doubt. While it is helpful to respond to sincere concerns, it is important to remember that just talking about doubts does not lead to faith. Laman and Lemuel also shared their doubts, but it never gave them faith. Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge explained that it is a mistake to think you can bring someone to have faith “by process of elimination, by attempting to eliminate every doubt. That is always a bad idea. It will never work” because there are unlimited doubts.[9] For someone like Laman and Lemuel, who chose to be “perpetual doubters,” resolving one doubt only encourages the person to express another.[10]

The example of Laman and Lemuel shows us that just as you cannot “gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles” (Matthew 7:16), you cannot get faith from doubt. It is an eternal law that things reproduce after their own kind (Genesis 1:24). This is why perpetually expressing doubt only produces more doubt. Only when we turn our doubts into sincere questions and then turn to the Lord[11] as Nephi did can we gain the faith that Nephi had. You will not gain it by following the path of perpetual doubt shown by Laman and Lemuel.

“I will go and do . . . for I know that the Lord . . . shall prepare a way”

Unlike his brothers, Nephi responds to the call to obtain the brass plates with faith in the Lord. He does not murmur. Instead of viewing the task as merely his father’s request, he faithfully recognizes that it is the Lord who commanded it. Instead of saying it is too hard, he says the Lord will make it possible. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7).

Nephi demonstrates that faith in Jesus Christ is a principle of action (“I will go and do”) and power (“the Lord . . . shall prepare a way”).[12] Elder David A. Bednar has explained, “True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous action.”[13] “You have to act first, and then the power comes. We act in accordance with His teachings, then we are blessed with His power.”[14] This is exactly what Nephi does. He acts with faith in the Lord’s command to obtain the brass plates; then the Lord blesses him with the power to accomplish it.

There is an important relationship between these components of faith. As Nephi illustrates, faith is a principle of belief, action, and power. Because of his previous spiritual assurances, Nephi believed in the Lord, which inspired him to act by obeying the Lord’s command, which will result in the Lord’s power and blessings. But it does not end there. This relationship is not just linear, but cyclical. The resultant power and blessings are evidence of the Lord’s reality, which will give Nephi greater assurances to believe, which will produce greater acts of faith and greater evidences of the Lord’s power and blessings. This pattern repeats itself to form a faith cycle that is “like a coil, and as it spirals upward it expands and widens. These three elements of faith—assurance, action, and evidence—are not separate and discrete; rather, they are interrelated and continuous and cycle upward.”[15] By following this simple pattern, we all can grow in faith as Nephi did.

“As the Lord Liveth . . . We Will Not Go Down”

Acting in faith is a test. This is partly because things do not often work out how or when we expect, and the story of the brass plates illustrates this. Their first attempt, to simply ask Laban for the plates, did not work, and Nephi’s brothers wanted to give up. But part of the test of faith is to keep trying. Those who quit after small efforts will never see the blessings they would have received if they had persisted, “for ye receive no witness until after the trial [or test] of your faith” (Ether 12:6).

In contrast to his brothers’ desire to quit, Nephi vowed,[16] “As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us” (1 Nephi 3:15). Commenting on this episode, Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “Thus Nephi made God his partner. If he failed to get the plates, it meant God had failed. And because God does not fail, it was incumbent upon Nephi to get the plates or lay down his life in the attempt.”[17] Nephi was determined to continue to act in faith even though the first attempt was unsuccessful, because he believed the Lord would eventually prepare a way.

In the second attempt, Nephi proposed a plan to gather all the gold and silver that their father had left behind and use it to try to purchase the brass plates from Laban.[18] This plan seemed promising, but when Laban saw their wealth, he seized it for himself and sent his servants to kill them. Nephi’s plan had failed, or so it seemed. Elder David A. Bednar offered a different view that teaches us an additional lesson about faith. He taught, “Nephi had to go three times to get the brass plates. Was something wrong with him the first time? I do not think so. Was something wrong with him the second time? I do not think so. I believe the first two episodes were necessary for Nephi to go the third time, submissive and willing to do whatever the Lord instructed him to do in order to get the brass plates. He was not wrong the first two times; he was being tutored on how to do it right the third time.”[19] Nephi would never have been prepared to do what he ultimately did if he did not know for sure that there was no other way. His so-called failures were a crucial preparation because they exhausted every other alternative.

As this story teaches us, failure is sometimes part of the test of faith. It lets us prove that we will keep trying to do what the Lord has asked even if we do not first succeed. When things do not immediately work out and when answers or blessings do not instantly come, the temptation is to give up, but the test of faith is to endure in faith, until the blessings come. Failure also allows us to prove that we can learn from our mistakes and prepare to succeed in the future. When we fail, we have a choice. Like Nephi, we can choose to put our faith in the Lord and keep trying, trusting that he is guiding us and teaching us and that it will all work out in the end.

“How Is It Possible That the Lord Will Deliver Laban?”

When this second attempt failed to secure them the plates, Laman and Lemuel became angry and spoke “many hard words [against] their younger brothers” and “smote [them] with a rod” (1 Nephi 3:28–29). To rescue them, the Lord dramatically sent an angel who promised that if they would “go up to Jerusalem again,” “the Lord would deliver Laban into [their] hands” (1 Nephi 3:29).

It is easy to assume that seeing an angel would give a person faith in the Lord, but that is what makes this part of the story so interesting. Laman and Lemuel responded with more doubt than ever, questioning “how is it possible that the Lord” could deliver someone as powerful as Laban into their hands (1 Nephi 3:31). Laman and Lemuel prove that “faith cometh not by signs” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:9). Rather, faith is a choice, and they never choose it.[20]

If faith does not come from seeing signs and speaking with angels, how does it come? Nephi’s actions offer two answers to this question as he responded to his brothers’ doubts. First, he encouraged them to “go up again unto Jerusalem” and to “be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord” (1 Nephi 4:1). Nephi recognized that “for faith to grow, one must . . . act in faith.”[21] Like a muscle, faith grows when it is exercised, so he invited his brothers to exercise their faith. He knew that if they obeyed the Lord’s command to get the plates, then the Lord would bless them with his power and it would strengthen their faith in him. One lesson this teaches us is that faith comes from faithfulness. To be full of faith, we must be faithful. As we keep the commandments of the Lord, our faith in him will grow.

Second, Nephi tried to inspire his brothers to “be strong like unto Moses” by telling them the story of the parting of the Red Sea, comparing it to their own situation and assuring his brothers that “the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 4:2–3). Nephi understood what the Apostle Paul would later teach, that “faith cometh by hearing . . . the word of the Lord” (Romans 10:17). As we hear the word of the Lord, the Spirit confirms it and our faith in the Lord begins to grow. This is why they are called “faith-promoting stories,” because hearing the accounts of the scriptures can promote faith in us. Nephi hoped that if he shared the inspiring story of Moses, the Spirit would touch his brothers’ hearts and it would be the spark to ignite the fire of their faith. Then, as they acted on that faith to get the plates, it would fan the flame, and their fire of faith would burn bright.

This powerfully illustrates what the Bible Dictionary teaches, that “faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith. Miracles do not produce faith, but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness, although miracles often confirm one’s faith.”[22] Nephi gained his faith in the Lord the same way he tried to help his brothers gain it, by hearing the word of the Lord and obeying it. Seeing an angel only confirmed his preexisting faith, but it could not produce faith in the unbelieving hearts of his older brothers.

“Not Knowing Beforehand”

Sadly, despite Nephi’s efforts, his brothers “did still continue to murmur” (1 Nephi 4:4) and Nephi had to go on alone. His description of how he moved forward in faith is powerful and instructive. He recorded, “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless, I went forth” (vv. 6–7). Because revelation often comes “line upon line” (2 Nephi 28:30), acting in faith often requires us to step into the unknown, as Nephi did, not knowing what will come next or how things will work out.

Expounding on this principle, Elder David A. Bednar taught, “Sometimes receiving inspiration is like a foggy day. . . . You can see just enough to take a few steps ahead into the cloudiness. I don’t know about other people, but it occurs that way for me all the time. There’s enough to just take a few steps, and then the light continues to help me see just far enough ahead that I can continue to press forward.”[23] Having to trust the Lord enough to take a few steps into the unknown is a test of faith that many of us will experience in our lives. [24] When we do, we must remember the counsel of Moroni: “Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). As with Nephi, it is only after we take this leap of faith that the Lord prepares a way.

“I Did Obey”

As Nephi moved forward in faith, he discovered a drunken Laban on the ground. It was while Nephi admired the workmanship of Laban’s sword that the Lord gave him an unanticipated command. The record states, “And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban” (1 Nephi 4:10). Nephi had never shed the blood of man, and he shrunk at the thought. This would be Nephi’s Abrahamic test of faith.

When the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac, it was the most challenging thing the Lord would ever ask him to do. It went against his understanding and required a higher level of faith than he had ever been asked to demonstrate before. When he showed his willingness to do it, he proved that he would do anything the Lord asked him to do. This was also the case with Nephi’s killing of Laban.

What is the purpose of such a test of faith? Just as exercising faith causes it to grow, exercising faith to this degree strengthens faith to a higher level or magnitude. As explained in the Lectures on Faith, “Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.”[25] The greater the test of faith, the greater faith it produces, until we gain the faith necessary for eternal life and salvation.

This appears to be one reason why Nephi recorded this story. An account of the prophet-author killing a man is an unusual way to start a book of scripture, but the Book of Mormon is a book about faith in the Lord. And it was here that Nephi secured his faith through his most difficult test, proving to the Lord and himself that he really would go and do whatever the Lord commanded, trusting that whatever God commands is right.[26] “Therefore,” Nephi records, “I did obey the voice of the Spirit,” and he killed Laban (1 Nephi 4:18).

In the end, God did provide a way to secure the plates, just as Nephi believed he would. That way was to kill Laban, the hardest thing Nephi would ever be asked to do. We can learn a great lesson from this. It is true that the Lord will prepare a way, but that way is not always the way we expect. Often the way he provides is hard and highly demanding of our faith.

“It Is Better That One Man Should Perish”

Although Nephi was arguably justified under Jewish law in the killing of Laban,[27] the Lord’s reasoning teaches us another lesson about faith. The Lord explained that “it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13). The brass plates “contained the invaluable record of the prophecies and covenants”[28] that were necessary for Lehi’s family to spiritually survive.

As previously mentioned, faith in the Lord comes from hearing the word of the Lord and obeying it. Without scripture to preserve God’s word, the people would forget the Lord and stop obeying him. This would lead to unbelief and ultimately spiritual death.[29] The Book of Mormon itself shows what this looks like by the examples of the Lamanites and Mulekites, who without scripture fell into ignorance and unbelief (see Mosiah 1:3–5). The Lord explained to Nephi that it was better that Laban die physically than that the Nephite nation die spiritually without the word of God found in the brass plates. This is a powerful statement about the value of scripture.

“Now I Know of a Surety”

Nephi’s mother, Sariah, illustrates the power of the story of Nephi and the brass plates. She was deeply worried about the safety of her sons, but when they returned and she heard what the Lord had done for them, it strengthened her faith in the Lord. She declared, “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them” (1 Nephi 5:8). Her words echo what Nephi said when he first accepted the assignment, that he knew the Lord would “prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (3:7). Now she knew that too, “of a surety.”[30] Just as Nephi’s experience confirmed his mother’s faith in the Lord, it can do the same for us today.

Conclusion

Because faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel, it is fitting that the first major story of the Book of Mormon teaches us so much about faith. It shows that faith begins with desire, not with doubt; that it is a principle of action and of power; and that it comes from hearing and obeying the word of God, not from seeing signs. It reveals that the test of faith is often to step into the unknown, not knowing how it will work out, and to keep trying even when it does not go as expected. Perhaps no story from the Book of Mormon teaches us more about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ than the story of Nephi and the brass plates.

Notes

[1] Thomas S. Monson, “Are We Prepared?,” Ensign, September 2014, 4–6.

[2] See Dallin H. Oaks, “Desire,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 43.

[3] Dale G. Renlund and Ruth L. Renlund, “Doubt Not, but Be Believing,” Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Annual Training Broadcast, June 12, 2018 (not paginated).

[4] Henry B. Eyring, “Mountains to Climb,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 24.

[5] Neil L. Andersen, “Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice,” Ensign or Liahona, November 2015, 65.

[6] See Oaks, “Desire.”

[7] Renlund and Renlund, “Doubt Not, but Be Believing.”

[8] Lectures on Faith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), 71.

[9] Lawrence E. Corbridge, “Stand Forever,” Brigham Young University devotional, January 22, 2019, speeches.byu.edu (not paginated).

[10] Renlund and Renlund, “Doubt Not, but Be Believing.” See Joseph Fielding McConkie, “Finding Answers,” BYU devotional, December 12, 2006, speeches.byu.edu (not paginated).

[11] Elder John A. Widtsoe taught, “Doubt, unless transmuted into inquiry [from the correct sources], has no value or worth.” As paraphrased by Elder Dale G. Renlund in “Doubt Not, but Be Believing.”

[12] See Lectures on Faith (1985), 3.

[13] David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 95.

[14] David A. Bednar, in “A Conversation on Meekness” (Leadership Enrichment Series, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, September 15, 2020), n.p.

[15] David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning by Faith,” Ensign, September 2007, 63.

[16] See John A. Tvedtnes, “Oaths in the Book of Mormon,” in The Most Correct Book: Insights from a Book of Mormon Scholar (Salt Lake City: Cornerstone, 1999), 222–27.

[17] Bruce R. McConkie, “The Doctrine of the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 1982, 33.

[18] This confirms the value of scripture. It is “worth to the Church the riches of the whole Earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 70, section heading).

[19] Bednar, “Conversation on Meekness,” n.p. See David A. Bednar, “A Conversation on Leadership” (Leadership Enrichment Series, February 24, 2010), 17.

[20] Alma also saw an angel, but the reason his experience led to faith appears to be his choice to act in faith by crying out to the Lord for mercy (see Alma 36:17–18). Laman and Lemuel never chose to act in faith and repent.

[21] Renlund and Renlund, “Doubt Not, but Be Believing.”

[22] Bible Dictionary, “Faith.”

[23] David A. Bednar, “Patterns of Light,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/inspiration/patterns-of-light.

[24] For example, see Boyd K. Packer, “Move Forward in Faith,” Ensign, August 2013, 54. See also Boyd K. Packer, “Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, January 1983, 51–56.

[25] Lectures on Faith, 69.

[26] Jeffrey R. Holland, “How Can I Explain Nephi’s Killing Laban to My Nonmember Friends?,” Ensign, September 1976.

[27] See Exodus 21:12–13; 22:2. For detailed discussion, see Val Larsen, “Killing Laban: The Birth of Sovereignty in the Nephite Constitutional Order,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16, no. 1 (2007): 26–41, 84–85; and John W. Welch, “Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 119–41.

[28] Noel B. Reynolds, “The Brass Plates in Context: A Book of Mormon Backstory,” Faculty Publications, 5378 (2021): 4, .

[29] See Robert L. Millet, “The Influence of the Brass Plates on the Teachings of Nephi,” in Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1989), 207–25.

[30] See Camille Fronk, “Desert Epiphany: Sariah and the Women in 1 Nephi,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 4–15, 81.