LeGrand L. Baker

1 Nephi 3:3 

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.

There was nothing unusual about Laban’s having family records. What was unusual was that they were written on brass plates, and that they apparently included the national history as well as the sacred writings. What is even more impressive is that they had survived the religious purge conducted during king Manasseh’s (Hezekiah’s son) long reign when he desecrated the Temple and made the worship of Baal the state religion. How effective that king’s purge of Jehovah-worship had been is indicated by the response of his grandson king Josiah to the scroll the workers found in the Temple when they were renovating it (2 Kings 23:1-3).

The fact that the plates were made of brass may tell us something of their history and importance. Some scholars have suggested that rather than brass, the plates were made of bronze, which was much more common. Bronze is an alloy of copper and about 10% tin. The tin makes the copper very hard and easy to cast into weapons or works of art.{1} However, when zinc is added to copper, it produces the golden colored brass from which Lehi said the plates of Laban were made. Sorenson has shown that the plates may have been brass.

Within the last few years, however, some ancient artifacts from the Mediterranean area have been tested by more sophisticated scientific techniques than before, and the tests reveal that actual brass, with zinc in it, was in use among the Etruscans, probably as early as Lehi’s time. That means that perhaps the brass plates of Lehi’s day are neither an anomaly of culture history nor an oddity of linguistic labeling, but of the literal metal.{2}

Apart from the unusual material from which they were made, an intriguing thing about the plates is the way Lehi described their content. He never refers to them as the plates of the tribe of Manasseh. Indeed, Joseph’s son Manasseh is not even mentioned by Lehi, and it is not until we learn Amulek’s genealogy in Alma 10:1-3 that we find that Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh. Rather, both Lehi and Nephi write that the genealogy on the plates shows that they are descended from Joseph of Egypt. Nephi tells us the brass plates contained.

14 And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob” (1 Nephi 5:14).

Lehi’s interest is focused on Joseph, and he does not mention either of Joseph’s sons. There is probably a very good reason for this. Manasseh was Joseph’s oldest son. Consequently, except for the instance of the patriarchal blessing he received from his grandfather (Genesis 48:12-22), Manasseh had every right belonging to the birthright son. One would expect, then, that the official family history and royal regalia would have been passed down through the sons of Manasseh, and represented the birthright of Manasseh’s distinguished father Joseph—and that is just how Lehi describes them. Nephi goes further, and leaves us asking some very intriguing questions. He writes,

10 And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.
11 And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents;
12 And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah” (1Nephi 5:11-12).

In another place Nephi explains what he meant by the phrase, ‘from the beginning’:

20 And also… 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 (1 Nephi 3:20).

If the brass plates were the family record of Joseph, or even a permanent copy of that family record, then it does not take a very great stretch of the imagination to guess that they might have been passed down from Joseph’s great-grandfather Abraham, and if that, perhaps from his forefathers as well. We get an idea of the broad range of time covered by the writings on the brass plates when another Nephi tells the people about the extensive prophetic testimonies of the Savior (Helaman 8:16-20). There we learn that the plates not only contained the writings of Moses and Abraham, but also of “many before the days of Abraham.”

That would make the brass plates one of the great treasures of the very ancient past—the sort of treasure one would expect to find only in the custody of a birthright prince. All that circumstantial evidence invites one to conclude that Laban, who possessed the history and genealogy of the house of Manasseh, was actually the prince of the tribe of Manasseh.

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FOOTNOTES

{1} “Weapons and Implements of War,” in The interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 5 vols., Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1990 ), 4:821.

{2} John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1985), 283.

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1 Nephi 2:19 

19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

“Faith” is one of those scriptural code words that was never intended to be a code word.

In the New Testament, “faith” is translated from the Greek word pistis,{1} which is all about making and keeping covenants. In Paul’s time, pistis was not a religious term .{2} It was used either as a diplomatic word that had to do with making a treaty, or else as an economic term that had to do with securing the validity of a contract.{3} The closest modern English equivalent in meaning is probably “contract”— a legally binding contract.

Friedrich’s ten volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament has more than 40 pages discussing pistis and related Greek words. In his primary definition of pistis, Friedrich wrote:

Stress is often laid on the fact that this is a higher endowment than wealth. … Concretely pistis means the “guarantee” which creates the possibility of trust, that which may be relied on, or the assurance of reliability, “assurance’. … pistis is the “oath of fidelity,” “the pledge of faithfulness,” “security.” This leads on the one side to the sense of “certainty,” “trustworthiness,” on the other to that of “means of proof,” “proof.” In particular pistis denotes the reliability of persons, “faithfulness.” It belongs especially to friendship.{4}

Much of the remainder of Friedrich’s definition shows the chronology of the evolution of the word’s meaning. He begins by giving the classic definition of pistis as the intent of the contract and the evidence upon which trust is based. Then he shows how that meaning has changed over the years. Early Christians shifted the focus of pistis to a religious term, and in time reduced it to mean simply believing without any further reference to either the covenant, its object, or its evidence. Consequently, in today’s common usage the meaning of “faith” often slides along a continuum that ranges from wishing hard to just anticipating without any substantiating covenant to support the anticipation.

Because our most common meaning for “faith” tends to be entirely different from the way the authors of the New Testament used pistis, when we read “faith” in the scriptures we may superimpose our own meaning onto the scriptural text and miss the author’s intent altogether. Paul defined pistis with succinct precision when he wrote:

11 Now pistis [our Bible translation reads “faith”] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

The closest English equivalent to pistis is “contract.” Just as with a legal contract, there are five parts of Paul’s definition of pistis. Three are stated. Two are implied because they are obviously so necessary that they are simply presupposed.

1. (presupposed by Paul) There must be a covenant or contract that defines the agreement and the methodology by which it will be accomplished.
2. There must be a mutually understood “substance,” that is the object, objective, purpose, assurance, or intent of the covenant.
3. There must be binding “evidence” (a handshake, signature, or appropriate other token or tokens{5} ) that validates the agreement and guarantees the fulfillment of the covenant.
4. The next is a functional “hope.” That is, taking the covenant at full value and acting or living as though the terms of the covenant were already fulfilled.
5. (implied by Paul) Finally, the conclusion or fulfillment of the terms of the covenant.

Pistis (faith)always indicates such a covenant and the covenantal process—whether formal and explicit, or informal and implicit— because a covenant is the foundation of pistis. Were it not for the covenant, “faith” would only be acting on prior experience, or just wishing. But with the covenant “faith” is power.{6}

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FOOTNOTES

{1} For a discussion of “faith” as pistis see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, First edition, p. 1007-24; Second edition, p. 696-721.

{2} New Testament writers often avoided using in-vogue religious terms when teaching the new gospel. LDS missionaries do the same. For example, in the South, missionaries avoid using the phrase “born again.” That is a powerful and very important scriptural concept, but it is a phrase Mormons cannot use when doing missionary work in the Southern States because the Baptists and others have already defined it their way. If Mormon missionaries used that phrase when speaking to those people, “born again” would be understood according to the hearer’s prior learning, and unless the missionary laboriously redefined it, his words would be understood according to their usage, so when Mormons discuss being “born again” we speak of becoming a son or daughter of God.

{3} “The words [beginning with] pist– did not become religious terms in classical Greek. . . . Nor did pistis become a religious term. At most one can only say that the possibility of its so doing is intimated by the fact that it can refer to reliance on a god.” (Gerhard Friedrich, ed., trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1964-1976), article about pistis, 6:179.

{4} Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 6:177. In the text pistis is written in Greek letters. In this quote pistis is written in italics. In the second to last sentence emphasis is added.

{5} Nibley completes the story:

These five things you have asked me about (the Lord tells the apostles after his resurrection, in the Kephalaia) appear very small and unimportant to the world, but they are really a very great and holy thing. I will teach you the mysteries now. These tokens (semeia) go back to the ordinances of the first man, Adam himself. He brought them with him when he came out of the garden of Eden, and having completed his struggle upon the earth, he mounted up by these very same signs and was received again into the Aeons of Light. The person who receives these becomes a Son. He both gives and receives the signs and the tokens of the God of truth, while demonstrating the same to the Church–all in hopes that some day these things may become a reality. So the apostles realized that these things are but forms and types, yet you can’t do without them. You cannot do without analogues. For us they may only be symbols, but they must be done here, the Lord says. They may be but symbols here, but they are indispensable steps to the attainment of real power. “In fact,” say the Pistis Sophia, “without the mysteries one loses one’s power. Without the ordinances, one has no way of controlling matter, for such control begins with the control of one’s self. The ordinances provide the very means and the discipline by which light operates on material things. “You don’t understand this now,” it continues, “but your level, or taxis, in the next world will depend on the ordinances you receive in this world. Whoever receives the highest here will understand the whys and the wherefores of the great plan.” “You can’t understand it now, but you will. Your faith is being tested here. It is through the ordinances that one makes this progress in knowledge, so that those who receive all available ordinances and teachings here shall pass by all the intermediate topoi and shall not have to give the answers and signs, nor stand certain tests hereafter.” (Hugh Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 310-311)

{6} For a discussion of faith as pistis see “Meaning of ‘Faith’ — Pistis” Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 1007-25; second edition, 697-710.
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1 Nephi 2:20-22 

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

“Prosper in the land” is one of those key phrases in the Book of Mormon that was frequently employed by its authors to convey an obvious message, but also a sacred, unspoken one. The obvious meaning is something akin to a rich harvest. The encoded meaning of the phrase is clarified here where it is first used. The opposite of prospering has nothing to do with a poor crop harvest. Rather, the opposite of “prosper” is to “be cut off from the presence of the Lord,” so to “prosper” is to be brought into the presence of the Lord. “Land” also has two meanings, one is the land of promise (America) to which the Nephites would come. The encoded meaning is the same as “earth” in the promise that “the meek shall inherit the earth.” That is clarified in D&C 88:17-20, which says that to inherit the earth means to “be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father.”

The importance of the Lord’s promise to Nephi is emphasized by its frequent use by other prophets who employed the phrase the same way.{1} One of the most interesting uses of that phrase is in Zeniff’s short autobiography.

And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of grain and all manner of fruit of every kind. And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and cloth of every kind, that we might clothe our nakedness; and thus we did prosper in the land–thus we did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two years (Mosiah 10:4-5).

Perhaps the earliest use of “prosper” to mean being in the presence of the Lord is found in Elohim’s blessing to the king, in Psalm 45.{2} There the word “prosperously” includes the promise of the earthly and eternal successes of the king’s reign. It was probably no coincidence that the Lord chose to use the word “prosper” when he spoke the blessing that promised Nephi’s eternal kingship.

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FOOTNOTES
{1} Other examples are 2 Nephi 1:9, 1:20, 4:4; Enos 10; Jarom 9-10; Omni 6; Alma 9:13; 36:1; 37:13; 48:25; 50:20; 3 Nephi 5:22; 4 Nephi 18;and Ether 2:7-10.

{2} For a discussion of the king’s premortal blessing and the meaning of “prosper” see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, First edition, p. 259-90; Second edition, p. 188-206.

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1 Nephi 4:3 

3. Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

Sometimes doubting has nothing to do with what we know. Rather it has to do with what we fear. And that, in turn, has a great deal to do with our integrity. When we know what the Lord has instructed us, but also know that it puts us in a fearful situation, we have two options: 1) to act upon our fears, notwithstanding what we know or 2) to act upon our knowledge, notwithstanding what we fear.

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1 Nephi 3:17-18 

17 For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people.
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.

This knowledge is representative of the source of Nephi’s freedom and his strength. Because he knew Jerusalem would be destroyed, he could not be enticed by its beauty, power, or riches. Because he knew that the wickedness of the people would be the cause of the city’s destruction, and his father had been warned to avoid that fate, Nephi could not be enticed by those people’s approbation or intimidated by their criticism, hatred, or threats. This knowledge made him free to follow God’s instructions and confident in God’s help.

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1 Nephi 3:29 

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.

After the brothers “went down to the land of our inheritance,” which probably suggests their country estate, they and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things” (1 Nephi 3:22). They took these to Laban in hopes he would trade them for the brass plates. Again he called them thieves and robbers, and this time he sought to execute them on the spot. Laman was the oldest son and those precious things should have belonged to him.

Now they had been told by an angel that Laman and Lemuel had not only abdicated their birthright blessings because of their iniquities, but they had also lost in favor of the younger brother whom they despised. It is true that the Lord will give us every opportunity we need to succeed, but it is also true that he will not force us to accept the blessings he offers us.

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