Despite being chastised by an angel, Laman and Lemuel continue to doubt that they can obtain the Brass Plates. I call the next few verses Nephi’s pep talk. He says “let us be faithful in keeping the commandments,”let us go up,” in other words “we can do it, let’s go!” I can picture him as a coach at halftime when his team is discouraged! Nephi has no doubt that his task can be accomplished. To bolster their lagging faith he reminds them of past times that the Lord has performed miracles. I think that’s important for all of us when we feel our faith lag. We can remind ourselves of past spiritual experiences and the small miracles that have happened in our lives. We can imagine ourselves in the locker room with the Savior getting our pep talk for these last days. I can also imagine him quoting Jacob 5:71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.

It’s too bad Laman and Lemuel didn’t want to suit up for the game.

Moroni, the compiler of the Book of Mormon, must have taken inspiration from Nephi when he encourages us in Mormon 9. He encourages to believe in Christ, doubting nothing. The Lord reminds us in D&C 6:36 to “Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.” Nephi had obtained his own testimony and once he did he didn’t look back. He was “all in.”

There is so much more in chapter 4 that I’ll write about in the coming days. We’ll talk about Nephi’s thought processes before he was able to carry out the Lord’s command to kill Nephi and the importance of carrying scriptures with them.