1 Nephi 3

“…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)

v. 1-6: Dreams must have been Lehi’s main source of revelation, it seems as if he has many more inspired dreams than most prophets. Why didn’t they get the plates before they left? Clearly it must be a test, for everyone involved (even the parents- see ch.5). It may even have been to impress on their minds the importance of the scriptures. It would seem that Lehi first spoke with Laman and Lemuel, who somehow agreed to go down (maybe they thought they could stay in Jerusalem if they went??) Nephi obeyed without complaint.

v. 7-8: What a fun thing this must have been for a father to hear from his son, especially after listening to two complaining ones. This is a pretty deep insight for Nephi to have come up with on his own. He didn’t have the Book of Mormon, probably didn’t even own his own copy of the scriptures!

v. 11-15: So, I’m surprised that their first plan was to just send in someone alone. I’m even more surprised that Laman did it. And then after one weak-sauce failed attempt to get the plates Laman and Lemuel are ready to just give it up and walk the whole way back to Jerusalem. And Nephi’s like, no, giving up after one try doesn’t count as keeping the commandments.

v. 16: We learn from this verse that Lehi was specifically commanded to leave his riches behind.

v. 28: This verse implies that Laman was the main source of the rebellion and murmuring. Lemuel is just following along.

v. 27-28: I guess in the cavity of a rock there’s not much room to run or protect yourself when your brothers start beating you. I wonder how bad it was, I mean, an angel did stop it after all. A rod is probably a lot more than just a stick. It would hurt. A lot. I would imagine this was pretty brutal.

v. 31: Ok, doubting God would not be my first response after seeing an angel, but I can’t really blame Laman and Lemuel on this one. I mean, I get promptings to do things all the time without knowing why or how they’ll work out.