Book of Mormon Stories chapter 3

1 Nephi Chapter 3.

1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father.

Do you say a prayer before talking to your Mom and Dad?

2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.

How does it make you feel when Mom and Dad tell you to do one thing, and then tell you to do something almost the complete opposite? Would it help if we told you that we had a dream about it? Remember this when we read Chapter 7.

3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.

Is Family History important to us? To you?

4 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness.
5 And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.

When you receive a collective assignment, which are you more likely to do? "Go clean the basement!"
What are some other "hard things" we require of you? Why do you think we ask you to do hard things? Why does God?

6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.

How is murmuring different from good questioning?

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Think back through your life; even just today! What have you "gone and done" because you were told? Is obedience a habit? Do you feel rewarded for it?

8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord.

Do you know how very glad we are because of you?

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

Camping!

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.

Do you kids ever put your heads and plan your next big thing? You are stronger together than you will ever be alone; rely on each other. Be a team, a mighty force to reckon with.

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.

Should we use this method of assigning chores from now on?

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.

How do you think this made Nephi feel, in terms of his surety that there would be a prepared way to accomplish his task?

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.

When talking to your siblings, especially when you want them to do something, do you use "I/you" language ("I am so mad at you, you can't do anything right!") or "we" language ("We can do this better, we can make it work.")?

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.

Would you be willing to trade everything to obey?

18 For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets. Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after he hath been commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish. Wherefore, it must needs be that he flee out of the land.

Do you know our family's stories? Our personal experiences of prayer, faith, sacrifice, and obedience, such that you can discuss them among yourselves? Tell them to your own children someday? Ask us! We love to tell our story.

22 And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things.
23 And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban.
24 And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our silver, and all our precious things.

27 And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock.

What's the most intense adventure you can remember having with your family?

28 And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.

Why were the older brothers so angry? When things go wrong, do you blame other people? Have you ever lashed out physically and then realize you were totally wrong? Is it ever justified to be violent because you are angry?

29 And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.

Do you think you could serve a younger sibling? It is important to read this section in the context of what we know happens later; note Nephi's tenderness in describing his brothers' bad behavior. Even though he knows how the story ends, does he sound hopeful that they will change, learn, repent?

31 And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?

Do you ever doubt the Lord?

Any other thoughts from you, readers? First Nephi chapter 3 is an oft-quoted section of Latter-day Saint scripture; what does it mean to you?