3:1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the
Lord, to the tent of my father.
3:2 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.
3:3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy
of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.
3:4 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.
3:5 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.
3:6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord,
because thou hast not murmured.
3:7 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.
3:8 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.
3:9 And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness,
with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.
3:10 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.
3:11 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.
3:12 And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the
plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father.
3:13 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.
3:14 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.
3:15 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.
3:16 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.
3:17 For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the
wickedness of the people.
3:18 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.
3:19 And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these
records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our
fathers;
3:20 And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been
spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered
unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even
down unto this present time.
3:21 And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I
persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the
commandments of God.
3:22 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.
3:23 And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again
unto the house of Laban.
3:24 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.
3:25 And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it
was exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us
out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our
property.
3:26 And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban,
and we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the
hands of Laban.
3:27 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.
3:28 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.
3:29 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.
3:30 And after the angel had spoken unto us, he departed.
3:31 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?