1 Nephi 4:35-38
1 Nephi 4
35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth.
The power of keeping an oath was manifested by Nephi, who held Zoram, the frightened servant of Laban, to keep him from fleeing. Dr. Hugh Nibley has written:
“Nephi, a powerful fellow, held the terrified Zoram in a vise-like grip long enough to swear a solemn oath in his ear, ‘as the Lord liveth, and as I live’ (1 Ne. 4:32), that he would not harm him if he would listen. Zoram immediately relaxed, and Nephi swore another oath to him that he would be a free man if he would join the party. …
“… As soon as Zoram ‘made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth … our fears did cease concerning him.’ (1 Ne. 4:35, 37).” (An Approach to theBook of Mormon, 2nd ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976, pp. 103–4.)
Being true to oneself at times requires extraordinary strength and courage. For instance, in the early days of the Church it was very unpopular, even dangerous, to upholdJoseph Smith as a prophet of God. Lyman Wight was one of those imprisoned by the leaders of a mob in 1839.
General Wilson advised Brother Wight, “We do not wish to hurt you nor kill you,” and then following an oath said, “but we have one thing against you, and that is, you are too friendly to Joe Smith, … Wight, you know all about his character.”
Brother Wight said, “I do, sir.”
“Will you swear all you know concerning him?” said Wilson.
Brother Wight then told Wilson he “believed … Joseph Smith to be the most philanthropic man he ever saw, and possessed of the most pure … principles—a friend to mankind, a maker of peace.”
Wilson then observed, “Wight, I fear your life is in danger, for there is no end to the prejudice against Joe Smith.”
“Kill and be damned, sir,” was Brother Wight’s answer.
Returning later that night, Wilson told Lyman Wight: “I regret to tell you your die is cast; your doom is fixed; you are sentenced to be shot tomorrow morning on the public square in Far West, at eight o’clock.”
Brother Wight answered, “Shoot, and be damned.”
The decree of execution of the prisoners was revoked the next morning. (See History of the Church, 3:446–47.)
Dealing justly with oneself lays a foundation for dealing justly with others. During World War II, I came home on leave early one September. It was time to put peaches in bottles to preserve them for winter. My beloved mother-in-law called an old friend, George B. Andrus, of Holladay in this valley. The conversation on the telephone was brief: “George, do you have any peaches for sale?” mother asked.
Patriarch Andrus answered, “I have a few, but they are not very good.”
I volunteered to drive Mother Wright to pick up the peaches. When we arrived she said, “George, where are your peaches?”
Brother Andrus opened his garage door, and I saw bushel baskets filled with large golden fruit with red kisses from sun ripening. Each basket was filled so full that when I lifted them into the trunk of the car some of the luscious peaches on top of the piled basket rolled off and bruised. Brother Andrus immediately replaced them with other perfect fruit.
On the way home I said to Mother Wright, “What did he mean when he said his fruit was not very good?”
She answered, “If you knew George Andrus, you would know that any fruit he would put on the market would be good and that he would give more than full value.”
I wondered what the fruit would have been like if George had said it was good. Brother Andrus’s self-imposed expectations led him to go beyond what we expected of him in his dealings with us.
Natural, inherent integrity is manifested almost every hour of every day of our lives. Those who unjustly profit at the expense of others may gain a fortune, but they forfeit something more important, which is their own integrity. Taking advantage of others is a counterfeit form of true success and honor.
1 Nephi 4
36 Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for this cause, that the Jews might not know concerning our flight into the wilderness, lest they should pursue us and destroy us.
1 Nephi 4
37 And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him.
But we must not overlook the powerful example of Laban’s servant, Zoram. Nephi commanded Zoram to follow him as he left the treasury, and it was only when he called to his brothers that Zoram realized that it was Nephi and not Laban whom he had followed. The scriptures tell us that Zoram “began to tremble, and was about to flee,”4 [1 Ne. 4:30.] when Nephi seized him and told him he need not fear, that he should be a free man if he would go down into the wilderness with them.5 [See 1 Ne. 4:33.] Zoram promised that he would; he gave his word. And Nephi said that “when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him.”6 [1 Ne. 4:37.] He was a man to be trusted; his oath was binding; his word was as good as his bond.
Honesty and integrity are not old-fashioned principles. They are just as viable in today’s world. We have been taught in the Church that:
When we say we will do something, we do it.
When we make a commitment, we honor it.
When we are given a calling, we fulfill it.
When we borrow something, we return it.
When we have a financial obligation, we pay it.
When we enter into an agreement, we keep it.
1 Nephi 4
38 And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass and the servant of Laban, and departed into the wilderness, and journeyed unto the tent of our father.
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