Day Twenty-five

1 Nephi 4:25-30

1 Nephi 4: 25-29

25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.

26 And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me.

27 And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews, as I went forth unto my brethren, who were without the walls.

28 And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he was exceedingly frightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. And they fled from before my presence; for they supposed it was Laban, and that he had slain me and had sought to take away their lives also.

29 And it came to pass that I called after them, and they did hear me; wherefore they did cease to flee from my presence.

1 Nephi 4:30 

30 And it came to pass that when the servant of Laban beheld my brethren he began to tremble, and was about to flee from before me and return to the city of Jerusalem.

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.

President N. Eldon Tanner related the following experience:

“A young man came to me not long ago and said, ‘I made an agreement with a man that requires me to make certain payments each year. I am in arrears, and I can’t make those payments, for if I do, it is going to cause me to lose my home. What shall I do?’

“I looked at him and said, ‘Keep your agreement.’

“‘Even if it costs me my home?’

“I said, ‘I am not talking about your home. I am talking about your agreement; and I think your wife would rather have a husband who would keep his word, meet his obligations, keep his pledges or his covenants, and have to rent a home than to have a home with a husband who will not keep his covenants and his pledges.’”^{7 [In Conference Report, Oct. 1966, 99; or Improvement Era, Dec. 1966, 1137.]}

We are all familiar with the statement “Honesty is the best policy.” For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, honesty is the only policy. We must be honest with our fellowmen. We must be honest with our God. We are honest with God when we honor the covenants we make with Him.

We are a covenant-making people. We make covenants at the waters of baptism.^{8 [See Mosiah 18:8–10.]} We renew those covenants each week as we worthily partake of the sacrament. We take upon ourselves the name of Christ; we promise to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. And in return He promises us that His Spirit will always be with us. We make covenants as we enter into the temple, and in return we receive the promised blessings of eternal life—if we keep those sacred covenants.

Covenants with God are not to be taken lightly. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells us, “I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.”^{9 [D&C 98:14.]}

The account of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in the Book of Mormon is a touching example of this. Ammon and his brethren spent 14 years preaching to the Lamanite people. Thousands were brought to the knowledge of the truth, and those who were converted unto the Lord “never did fall away.”^{10 [See Alma 23:5–6.]} “For they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.”^{11 [Alma 27:27.]} They were so grateful for the mercy of God that they covenanted with Him “that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives.”^{12 [Alma 24:18.]} You will remember that they buried their weapons of war in the ground. They were so true to that covenant that even when the armies of the Lamanites came upon them, “they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord.”^{13 [Alma 24:21.]} They offered no resistance. Many were slain. These people were willing to die rather than break the covenant that they had made with the Lord.

In our dealings with both God and our fellowmen, let us be examples of honesty and integrity. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin tells us: “The rewards of integrity are immeasurable. One is the indescribable inner peace that comes from knowing we are doing what is right; another is an absence of the guilt and anxiety that accompany sin. Another reward of integrity is the confidence it can give us in approaching God. … The consummate reward of integrity is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. … Let us live true to the trust the Lord has placed in us.”^{14 [Finding Peace in Our Lives (1995), 193–94.]}

It is my prayer that we may honor the commitments and covenants that we make with God and with our fellowmen, that it can be said of each of us, “Our word is as good as our bond.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen

Sheldon F Child, "As Good As Our Bond", April 1997

Day Fifteen

1 Nephi 3:9-12

1 Nephi 3:9

 9 And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness, with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.

1 Nephi 3:10

10 And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the land of Jerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one with another.

1 Nephi 3:11

11 And we cast lots—who of us should go in unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; and Laman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house.

1 Nephi 3:12

12 And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father.

No References

1 Nephi 3:13-16

1 Nephi 3:13

13 And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee.

Now it is up to us to study the Book of Mormon and learn of its principles and apply them in our lives.

The Book of Mormon begins with a great story on the importance of families having and using the scriptures. Lehi, a prophet-father, was warned that there were people who were seeking to take away his life because of his declarations concerning their wickedness. He was instructed to take his family and flee.

“And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness” (1 Ne. 2:4).

After journeying some distance, Lehi had a dream in which the Lord said that they should not journey farther without returning to Jerusalem and obtaining the record of their fathers which was engraven on plates of brass. These plates also contained the words of the prophets and commandments of the Lord. The assignment was given to Lehi’s four sons to make the journey back to obtain the record.

Upon arriving at Jerusalem, they cast lots to decide who would go to the house of Laban and ask for the brass plates. The lot fell to Laman. He approached Laban, “and behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee” (1 Ne. 3:13). Laman escaped with his life but without the brass plates.

One thing that strikes me about this first attempt is that the brothers did not seem to have a good plan. This teaches us an important lesson that we can apply to our study of the scriptures. Let us show our commitment to reading the Book of Mormon by approaching our study with a specific plan.

L. Tom Perry, "Blessings from Reading the Book of Mormon", October 2005

1 Nephi 3:14

14 But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which Laban had done, unto us. And we began to be exceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness.

No References

1 Nephi 3:15

15 But behold I said unto them that: 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.

I was raised on a small farm in northern Utah. We were blessed to have enough land, not enough to make a living, but enough to make work for a young boy. My parents were good, hardworking, industrious people. In order to make ends meet, my father took outside employment. Each morning before he left for work, he would make a list of chores he wanted me to accomplish before he came home that evening.

I remember on one occasion one of the items on the list was to take a small broken part from our hay rake to the blacksmith shop to have it repaired. I was uncomfortable about going. My father hadn’t left any money, and I wondered what I should do. I put off going as long as I could. When all my other chores were finished, I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer. Father expected the broken part to be repaired when he came home, and it was my responsibility to see that it was done.

I can still remember walking the mile or so to the blacksmith shop. I even remember how uncomfortable I was as I watched him weld the part. As he finished, I nervously told him that I had no money, but that my father would pay him later. I’m sure he sensed my anxiety. He patted me on the shoulder and said, “Son, don’t worry, your father’s word is as good as his bond.” I remember running all the way home, relieved that the part had been repaired and grateful that my father was known as a man whose word was as good as his bond.

As a boy I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but I knew it was good and something to be desired. It was years later that I recognized that a person whose word is as good as his bond is a person of honesty and integrity, a person to be trusted. In today’s world, there are some who think nothing of breaking their word, their promises, their covenants with man and with God. What a blessing it is to deal with those whom we can trust.

A powerful example of this can be found in the Book of Mormon. You will remember the assignment given to Nephi and his brothers by their father, Lehi, to go to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass from Laban. After an unsuccessful attempt, the brothers desired to return to their father in the wilderness. Nephi recognized that they had a task to perform, an assignment to fulfill. He stated, “We will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.”1 [1 Ne. 3:15.] 

Sheldon F Child, "As Good as Our Bond", April 1997

1 Nephi 3:16

 16 Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; therefore let us go down to the land of our father’s inheritance, for behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches. And all this he hath done because of the commandments of the Lord.

Young men, oh I hope the magnificent counsel of President Hinckley continues to ring in your ears: “You cannot indulge in any unbecoming behavior without injury to the beauty of the fabric of your lives. Immoral acts of any kind will introduce an ugly thread. Dishonesty of any kind will create a blemish. Foul and profane language will rob the pattern of its beauty” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, p. 73).

Young men who hold the priesthood of Aaron, may I offer an “I will” for your serious consideration? It is I will become very well acquainted with the noble prophet Nephi through studying, pondering, and feasting upon the first two books of the Book of Mormon. My young friends, I promise that when you come to really know Nephi, you will be so impressed with his determination, courage, and desire to be obedient to the “things the Lord commands” that you will have a strong desire to incorporate his attributes into your own lives. Then when you are tempted by the adversary, as you may be nearly every day, to deviate from the counsel of the prophets, the wishes of your parents, or what “the Lord commands,” you can immediately have the words of stalwart Nephi automatically come to your mind: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Ne. 3:7). And when someone with whom you associate suggests you participate in something that is not as “the Lord commands,” you can think of the courageous plea Nephi made to his elder brothers: “Let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord” (1 Ne. 3:16).

I am aware of a group of courageous young men who followed the example of Nephi. After winning a baseball state championship for their age group, their team, made up mostly of Aaronic Priesthood holders, was invited to represent their state in a tournament to be held in a distant location. Upon arriving at the tournament site, they learned that some of the games were scheduled to be played on the Sabbath day. Each of these young men had to make a difficult personal decision: would he support the team, including several nonmember team members; or if scheduled on Sunday, would he follow what “the Lord commands” in keeping the Sabbath day holy? Their honoring the Sabbath day could mean the team would forfeit their chances of winning the tournament. One by one they quietly approached the coaches, and following the example of Nephi they independently chose to decline participation on the Sabbath day. As it turned out, when Sunday arrived the team’s record, coupled with adverse weather conditions, interrupted the schedule. I have had occasion to closely follow these young men over the years. They have continued to pattern their lives after the sterling example of Nephi. They have gone on missions, and they continue to strive to do and say what the Lord has commanded.

H. David Burton, "I Will Go", October 1995