Day Twenty-Two

1 Nephi 4: 9-12

1 Nephi 4:9

 9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

1 Nephi 4:10

10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

1 Nephi 4:11

 11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath deliveredhim into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.

1 Nephi 4:12

12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;

Motive makes the difference

Surely reason or motive is all important in determining guilt or innocence for our acts.

Nephi went to Jerusalem determined to obtain the records of his people. The Lord commanded it. As he proceeded on the errand he recognized the risk. Laban had threatened his life and the lives of his brothers. He found Laban drunk and received the clear command from the Lord to slay Laban, and he obeyed (1 Ne. 4:10-18).

Consider now Cain. He was jealous of Abel, a righteous man, whose offering was acceptable to the Lord God. Cain in his jealousy and in his greed listened to Satan; and urged by him, he slew Abel in order to obtain his brother's flocks (Gen. 4:8).

In the one case, one was entirely righteous in his motive. In the other, the motive was entirely evil. Motive is the main difference in these two acts in which men were slain.

The Lord through Peter says that every man should "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (1 Pet. 3:15).

If reason or motive is so important and the Lord requires it of all of us, then every man should examine his motives lest they be found wanting at the last day.

Elder Hartman rector, Jr. "The Motives for Right" October 1968