Day 3: Pages 7-9

So this is a pretty disturbing section. We don't really like the idea of the Lord commanding anyone to kill. It sort of goes against that whole "thou shalt not kill" thing!

We know that Nephi was not too thrilled about this either. The scripture says he was "constrained" by the Spirit. That doesn't mean that Nephi was forced, but he was told in a forceful way why this was necessary:

"It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (Verse 13)

That should ring a bell as that phrase can just as easily be applied to the Lord Himself. It is better that one man (son of God) should suffer so that all of God's children can have a chance at redemption.

Nephi hears this phrase and then reasons it out in his own mind. He then makes the decision to follow the Spirit. It is important that we remember that he didn't initially want to kill Laban, but that it was ultimately his decision, the Lord would not force him to do this.

P.S. These pages also include some of the things we have mentioned before. We get our first reference to deliverance since the thesis in the first chapter. We also get the second stating of the Book of Mormon Promise. Did you catch it?