by science_geek on April 3rd, 2007

science_geek

Question

Help answer this question below.

In the Book of Mormon it describes how God told Nephi to slay Laban. (1 NE 4: 1-38) Does that indicate that Murder, Robbery, Identity Theft and Kidnapping are acceptable to Mormons if they believe that God told them to do it?

  • Like
  • Report

Answers. 13 helpful answers below.

  • Asker's Pick

    Selected by the asker, science_geek. (What's this?)

    Did someone say "Blood Atonement"?
    .
    OR
    .
    Did someone say "Mountian Meadows Massacre"?
    .
    OR
    Did someone say "Danites"?
    .
    Nope, someone said all three.
    .
    (my point is that LdS Theology leaves AMPLE room for all four - as Mormon History, even recent Mormon History, demonstrates. Please refer to these links)
    http://www.concernedchristians.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=42&func=view&id=78591&catid=526
    http://www.concernedchristians.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=42&func=view&id=75028&catid=530#75028
    http://www.realmormonhistory.com/blood_atonement.htm
    http://www.exmormon.org/violence
    http://www.mrm.org/topics/salvation/blood-atonement-if-it-was-never-taught-why-do-so-many-mormons-believe-it

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Weird Science on July 21st, 2007

    Weird Science

    Asker's Pick

    Selected by the asker, science_geek. (What's this?)

    it's just a story.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Glenn Blaylock on April 4th, 2007

    Glenn Blaylock

    For those of you who do accept the Bible as the word of God, then I would also point out the commandments that God gave to the Israelites as they entered Canaan. He commanded them to slay all of the inhabitants of that land and take for their own. In other words God commanded Israel to conduct a war of genocide against the Canaanites. He reiterated these instructions numerous times even up to the reign of King Saul. One of the reasons Saul was rejected of God was because he did not follow a commandment to utterly destroy the Amalekites.

    So, there are times when God does command that the wicked be slain. Fortunately, this has been a rare occurrence. I know of no such specific commandments to do such a thing since Laban nor do I anticipate Him issuing such a commandment any time soon. This is not the way He prefers to deal with us. That said, how many of you Christians would refuse to kill if you were commanded of God to do so and you knew without a doubt that the commandment had come from God?

    • Like
    • Report

    17 comments | Post one | Permalink

  • by Anonymous on April 3rd, 2007

    Anonymous

      It stands out very prominently that this question is crafted to make the story seem as outrageous as possible, and to cast Nephi and his brothers as murderous robbers.

      Science_geek's motives are fairly transparent, when you look at his other postings.  He'd like you to believe that this is a story about a gang of punks who murdered a hapless, innocent man, in order to steal his property; and who did so claiming that that's what God commanded.  He'd like you to think that Mormons, in general, are similarly prone to commit serious crimes, all in the name of God.  He'd love for you to think we're just a small step away from certain other religious extremists who hijacked several airliners some years ago and crashed them into buildings.

      I think that any reasonable person, on reading this story in its full context, will see that it is not at all what science_geek is trying to paint it to be.  You need to start, not at the fourth chapter of 1 Nephi, but the third chapter http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/3 and read through the fourth http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/4 and fifth http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/5 chapters.

      In summary; Laban was in possession of certain brass plates, containing important scriptures, and important genealogical information, which Lehi and his family needed to take with them as they left Jerusalem.  Nephi (one of Lehi's sons) was commanded to take some of his brothers and obtain these plates from Laban.  Lehi had a great deal of wealth, which he was forced to leave behind anyway; and Nephi and his brothers attempted to use this wealth to buy the plates from Laban.  Instead of selling them the plates, Laban robbed Nephi and his brothers of this wealth, and tried to murder them.  All this takes place in chapter three.

      So by the time we get into chapter four, which science_geek has cited, it's already been established that Laban is a robber and an attempted murderer.

      So yes, in Chapter four, Nephi kills Laban, and takes the brass plates.  He impersonates Laban in order to make his escape, and is followed by Laban's servant, Zoram, who, on learning the truth, chooses to follow Nephi.

      In chapter five, Nephi, his brothers, and Zoram return with the plates; and here we learn what was on these plates and why they were so important.

    • Like
    • Report

    42 comments | Post one | Permalink

  • by laie_techie on January 12th, 2008

    laie_techie

    If a Latter-day Saint (or any Christian) were 100% positive the commandment came from God, they would obey. God has various people throughout history to do something contrary to the established Gospel. Abraham was asked to kill his son as a sacrifice. The Lord also had Abraham hide the fact that Sarah was his wife, telling different leaders that she was his sister. The children of Israel were commanded to kill the people who inhabited the Promised Land. Moses made a bronze serpent (an idol?) to cure the children of Israel from snake bites. Jesus had his disciples harvest grain on the Sabbath, even though that was considered work.

    It is imperative to verify that God gave the commandment if the order goes against what you've been taught is right.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by WishUponAStar on June 11th, 2007

    WishUponAStar

    science_geek Apr, 11 2007 at 04:44 PM
    Anecdotal evidence is what historians rely on. Tell me one fact about your beliefs that is not anecdotal. The testimony of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon is anecdotal. The story of the first vision is anecdotal. So therefore by your own statements then nothing in Mormonism is valid at all. Nice.


    In response to this, my testimony IS anecdotal to you, whom has not witnessed the testimony of the Holy Spirit. That is a physical thing, indisputable evidence. The only unforgivable sin is to deny the spirit of revelation, to feel and recognize the Holy Spirits witness and touch for what it truly is, then to go against it willfully.

    I can testify that the first vision is true, not because the missionaries told me so, but because the holy spirit of revelation did. The witness of the spirit is not anecdotal.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by whew4 on June 7th, 2009

    whew4

    First of all, Murder is defined as "shedding innocent blood". Laban was anything but innocent. 2. The plates in question did not belong to Laban. He was only the next in line to watch over them. They contained the Lords Law as well as a genealogy of a whole group of people, including Laban and Lehi and his family. And the Lord knew that Laban would send his army after Lehi and his family to try to recover the plates. So he had to be disposed of as commanded by God. As far as identity theft goes, you will notice it says..I Ne.4;20..And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury. Now Nephi did not say tried to sound like Laban, but that he command him "IN THE VOICE OF LABAN". This could only have happened if the Lord was with Nephi and gave Nephi the "voice of Laban." It is clear, you did not actually consider your question before you ask it. Had you done so you would not look like a fool now...whew4

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by edndori on April 14th, 2009

    edndori

    Life belongs to God. It is his to give or take.
    And he told Nephi the reason for doing what he commanded.
    Recall that God commanded Israel to slay entire nations according to the Bible, and it was not accounted murder.
    .
    Keep in mind also that Laban had already robbed Nephi and his brothers and attempted to have them murdered.

    • Like
    • Report

    1 comment | Post one | Permalink

  • by TenLostTribes on February 20th, 2010

    TenLostTribes

    Usually, the Lord does not command people to do things like Abraham being willing to offer his son and Nephi slaying Laban. In the case of Nephi and Laban, I think that the scriptural story is being either misunderstood or distorted by critics. We don't always know why God commands what he does--but we need to remember that what God commands is right, even if we don't know why. God will never tell us to do something wrong or evil.

    This command may sound quite odd but I think we need to point out why God asked Nephi to do this. Lehi was COMMANDED by the Lord to have his sons seek the brass plates that were owned by Laban (see 1 Nephi 3:1-5)--Lehi didn't just think that they should, he was obeying the Lord. These brass plates were a record of scriptures that had the words of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. The Lord wanted them to have the scriptures to teach their children.

    One thing that critics overlook is the fact that Lehi's sons (Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi) did in fact try some diplomatic things. First, Laman simply asked Laban for them but was falsely accused them of theft and had to run for his life (see 3:11-13). Next, they tried to buy them with treasures that Lehi had left in their home but Laban took their riches and again tried to kill them (see 3:22-26). In the Middle East and especially under the law of Moses, a false accuser would be punished for the crime that he accused someone else of. The punishment for theft was execution; under the law of Moses, Nephi would've have been perfectly justified.

    However, the Law of Moses wasn't the reason why Nephi killed Laban. Another thing often overlooked is that Nephi didn't want to kill Laban and he had never killed someone before (see 3:10). The Spirit told him that the Lord slays the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes (see 3:13-14). How could Nephi's children keep the commandments if they didn't have the law which was in the scriptures? Had he not slain Laban, the whole nation of Nephites would have "dwindled in unbelief" because they would have had no scriptures (see 3:15).

    Suppose that Nephi didn't kill Laban, what might have happened? Laban was a very dangerous man and he had tried to kill Nephi before. We can only speculate what disobedience may have caused.

    We must be very cautious about what we say that God commands and what radicals may try to justify by distorting religious doctrine. God will not command anything save it be for the welfare of his people--in this case, God wanted Nephi's children to have the scriptures.

    The main point that I think that needs to be made is that the Lord will never lead the members astray and we should trust him and keep his commandments--even if it's hard and/or we don't understand all of the "why"s.

    *Apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland answered this question, to see his answer see http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=8044fd758096b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by wade into the ocean on May 14th, 2007

    wade into the ocean

    see: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/4

    Im new to this faith but He took the the mans life because of his drunkeness & the Commandments of the Lord!

  • by Brian I on May 14th, 2007

    Brian I

    Why don't you people arrange a convention somewhere and leave the rest of us in peace. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness - I have that in common with the vast majority of the population, but I get heartily sick of all the JW bashing that takes place on this site. Let me tell you something, the only people who care are the witnesses themselves and people like you who, for whatever reason, feel the need to attack them.

  • by zee-ster on June 11th, 2007

    zee-ster

    IMO, yes. but, how is that different from any other christians?

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 3rd, 2009

    John Cox will be back April 6th 2013

    How does one determine what is or is not acceptable?
    By social standards?
    By national laws?
    By family tradition?
    By their our own inward moral compasses?
    -
    Social Standards: These constantly change due to location, time, and culture. What would popular opinion be in this situation. Was Nephi justified in killing the man who robbed him attacked him and currently had his gaurds searching for him to kill him. That would be an interesting debate.
    -
    National laws: In Ireland not long ago a judge ruled the murder of a protestant preacher justifiable homicide because he was preaching something other than Catholic doctrine.
    -
    Family tradition: Some families have a tradition of child or spousal abuse. That can't be the key.
    -
    Moral Compass: Where does that moral compass come from?
    -
    There is another way people determine what is and is not acceptable and that is by what God deems acceptable or unacceptable. If God commands someone to do something than He is saying it is acceptable.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

You're reading In the Book of Mormon it describes how God told Nephi to slay Laban. (1 NE 4: 1-38) Does that indicate that Murder, Robbery, Identity Theft and Kidnapping are acceptable to Mormons if they believe that God told them to do it?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

ANSWERBAG BUZZ

Can dogs eat red meat
Book of mormon justifiable homicide
In the book of mormon who is nephi s stepfather