Skip to main content
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Without the Mormon Lens: 11 - The First Return to Jerusalem

    We have now reached possibly one of the most significant stories in the Book of Mormon. The turning point of the entire book. Nephi and his brothers are going to be tasked with returning to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. 

     Keep in mind, that Lehi and his family are a retelling of the Israelites. Lehi is Moses, Nephi is Joshua, Laman, Lemuel and Sam are the composite of the rest of the Israelites.

    I believe that this story is one of the most critical to understand, as it is one of the most memorable, and controversial events in the Book of Mormon. It also serves as a major turning point in our story as it sets us up to be able to step away from the Old Testament and toward the parallels in New World.

     Lets pick up where we left off, with Nephi returning from his vision. He was just told that he will be guiding his people to the promised land. His father Lehi, will send him and his brothers into Jerusalem, to retrieve the brass plates and the genealogy of their family.

     Let's first share our biblical parallel  to set the stage.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~

     1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 

     2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. (Numbers 13:1-2)

~~~~~~~~~~

   For reference, Canaan is huge. Moses is sending out multiple groups to explore the land and to see the strength of their enemies. The plan is to eventually conquer the land of Canaan as the land of their inheritance. 

    The reenactment of this effort will be performed by Nephi and his brothers. Their account is a themetic summary of various events that we are going to see in the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. There are some instances where Joseph Smith's parallels could have been pulled from multiple events, I'll do my best to pick the most likely one. 

The Book of Mormon, pg 9

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~

     "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. 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. For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews, and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon the plates of brass. 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. (pg 9)

~~~~~~~~~~

    The mission of the Isrealites is similar, but with a few key differences. While Lehi's sons are going to retrieve the word of God and their family's genealogy from Laban, the Isrealites are seeking to identify the lay of the land and the strength of their enemies. We'll see how these two themes tie into each other a bit better as we continue reading.

    Over and over, the Israelites are describes murmuring against Moses. I shared this in by previous post, but we can see that Laman and Lemuel really are the embodiment of this murmuring people. 

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~

     2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Exodus 16:2)

   2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron... (Numbers 14:2)

    5 ...and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against [Moses]. (Numbers 17:5)

     3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses... (Numbers 17:3)

     41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron... (Numbers 16:41)

~~~~~~~~~~

    The list goes on. 

    You get the idea. Moving forward, I'll share less biblical references to the murming since it's source material has been pretty well-established .

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~

    "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 commanded of the Lord. Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured. (pg 9)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~

     7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 

     8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~

     "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." (pgs 9-10)

The Book of Mormon, pg 10

     "And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words, he was exceeding glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord. And I, Nephi, and my brethren, took our journey in the wilderness with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.

     "And it came to pass that when we had come up to the land of Jerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one with another; and we cast lots, which of us should go in unto the house of Laban. (pg 10)
~~~~~~~~~~
 
  Note that casting lots is referenced several times in the Bible. Here are a few examples, though the list is not comprehensive.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     1 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. (Nehemiah 11:1) 

     8 And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar (1 Chronicles 25:8)

  13  And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate. (1 Chronicles 26:13)

     7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. (Jonah 1:7)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "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. And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father." (pg 10)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 

     2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

     3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. (Joshua 2:1-3)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out of his presence; and he would not that he should have records. Wherefore he said unto him, behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee." (pg 10)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate... (Joshua 2:7)

     23  ...So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them... (Joshua 2:23)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which Laban had done, unto us. And we began to be exceeding sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness. (pg 10)
~~~~~~~~~~

    This appears to be yet another reference to the Isrealite complaints against Moses.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 

     6  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:  (Numbers 14:4,6)

~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~
     "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. (pg 10)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 

     8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.(Numbers 14:7-8)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
  "Wherefore let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; (pg 10)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. (Numbers 14:9)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "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: for he knowing that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people.
~~~~~~~~~~
     Smith then gives us a recap of the events that led the family out of Jerusalem in the first place. I'm not going to share any Bible verses here, is it's pretty much everything we already covered when comparing Lehi to Jeremiah what this does tell us is that the brass plates are record of the prophets to their time. In other words, the brass plates would be the teachings of every prophet from Moses to Jeremiah.

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets -- Wherefore if my father should dwell in the land after that 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. And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we might preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; 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 the present time. (pg 10)

 ~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God. 

    10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.(Joshua 3:9-10)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "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." (pg 11)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. (Joshua 3:14)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "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. And after that we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban." (pg 11)

~~~~~~~~~

     This seems like a good place to stop. My next post I will be covering the 2nd return to Jerusalem, where Nephi and his brothers attempt to buy the records from Laban.



- Next Post -

12 - Attempt to Buy the Brass Plates

Nephi and his brothers offer gold and silver and precious things in exchange for the plates

Events are similar to interactions with the people of Ai as well as more murmurings from the Israelites


Check Your Understanding:

Test what you picked up from this post.

1. Why does Lehi send his sons back to Jerusalem?




2. The post argues that this episode primarily mirrors which biblical narrative?




3. Casting lots in this story emphasizes:




4. Laman’s failed attempt to obtain the plates reinforces:




5. Nephi’s statement “I will go and do” parallels which repeated biblical instruction to Joshua?




6. According to the post, the brass plates are significant because they:




New here? Consider starting at the first post.




Category:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mormon Blood and the Esther Cohen-Tizer-Epstein Letter

With the recent release of nearly 3.5 million pages of the Epstein files, there have been several connections made regarding Jeffery Epstein paying tuition for several students at BYU. The most notable of which is presented in what is known as the Esther Cohen-Tizer-Epstien Letter.    Some are questioning the authenticity of the letter, but some clues seem to point us to a woman named   Esther Cohen .  Lets look at a few connections. Note that these connections are not an attempt at making any accusations and are simply connections made through publicly available information. I will be updating this page as I find more information. EFTA00129111  Reference to the Seven Bowls School of Nutrition From Esther's website: alchemyofnourishment.com (Update March 04, 2026: The site seems to have been taken down) She began studying nutrition as a teenager: Which also seems to align with her site. Alchemy of Nourishment Along with the claim of residing in Colorado Alc...
3 comments
Read

Candon Dahle to Marry After Child Abuse Conviction

Former BYU baseball player Candon Dahle is expected to marry this week, less than a year after receiving a plea deal that allowed him to avoid sex offender registration despite admitting guilt to two felony counts involving the abuse of a child. News of the wedding has reignited criticism online, where many argue Dahle's return to ordinary life has come far too quickly in light of the allegations against him.  The topic was recently discussed on Instagram by  @justinthenickofcrime View this post on Instagram A post shared by Justin (@justinthenickofcrime) Dahle first made headlines in February 2025 when he was charged in Fremont County, Idaho, with felony lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16. According to the probable cause affidavit summarized by East Idaho News , prosecutors alleged Dahle sexually abused an 11-year-old girl and covered her mouth during one of the assaults. Authorities also filed a separate juvenile case in neighboring Bing...
1 comment
Read

The "Mormon" Trademark is About to Expire

 The request for Mormon Stories to rebrand has spread quickly through Mormon spaces. Followers learned that om November 14th 2025, the LDS Church had reached out with claims that the podcast was infringing on the “Mormon” trademark. The demand leaned on the legal idea that the Church owns the word.  The request was shared on social media by @mormstories, but those posts seem to have been removed. Fortunately, copies of the email were  shared on reddit. But there is a significant detail sitting behind this entire dispute. The Church will have to renew the "Mormon" trademark in the 2026 to 2027 window.  Source: USPTO database When that time comes, they must prove that they still use the word “Mormon” in active commerce. USPTO rules are clear on this point. A trademark only survives if the owner can show that it is still printed on actual goods or services that are still being sold or distributed. The official guidelines spell it out at uspto.gov under “ Keeping your r...
3 comments
Read

Visualization of the LDS Canon

Around the 1230s, Hugh of Saint-Cher and a team of Dominican scholars produced the first Bible concordance, working through the Latin Vulgate and recording where its words appeared. Because modern verse numbers did not yet exist, the compilers divided chapters into smaller lettered sections so readers could locate an occurrence. Printing made the method far more useful. John Marbeck published the first complete concordance to the English Bible in 1550 . Alexander Cruden's Complete Concordance followed in 1737 and became one of the best-known English Bible reference works. The basic structure remained familiar for centuries: choose a word, then receive a list of passages where it occurs. Latter-day Saints soon adopted the same approach for their own scriptures. In 1900, George Reynolds published A Complete Concordance to the Book of Mormon in Salt Lake City. The 852-page volume was the product of roughly twenty years of work and classified the words of the Book of Mormon so reade...
Post a Comment
Read

Mormonism's Complicated History With Caffeine

Ask whether Latter-day Saints can drink caffeine and the current answer is yes. The Church’s own historical summary says caffeine has been “left to the judgment of individual Saints” and is not prohibited as a condition for receiving a temple recommend. [3] That answer is clearer today than it was for much of the twentieth century. Church leaders and publications repeatedly discussed caffeine as a drug, a poison, a potentially habit-forming substance, and at times as the apparent reason coffee and tea were objectionable. Some leaders extended that reasoning directly to cola drinks. In 1965, the First Presidency even told a bishop that decaffeinated coffee did not violate the Word of Wisdom and should not disqualify an otherwise worthy member from a temple recommend.[5] The result was a long period in which formal policy, medical explanation, and everyday Mormon culture did not always point in exactly the same direction. That history helps explain why older and younger Latter-day Saints...
Post a Comment
Read

Mormonism and the Satanic Ritual Abuse Scare of the 1980s

       All right. So, for this post today, I’m going to be talking about a pretty sensitive subject. And that’s going to be satanic ritual abuse and potential ties to leadership of the Mormon church.      It should go without saying that this is going to be a little bit more of a sensitive subject. I’ll say up front that I have no intention of diving into specific examples—detailed descriptions of what satanic ritual abuse looks like—outside of broad definitions. My goal is just to give an idea of what makes ritual abuse a little bit different than regular abuse (for lack of a better word). Consider this your heads up that this is going to be a sensitive subject.      I typically wouldn’t really give this type of subject very much attention. I certainly never planned on making a post about it. But I did have an interesting conversation the other day with an LDS content creator that I message with sometimes. I was a little surprised whe...
Post a Comment
Read

Everything You Need to Know About the Salt Lake Temple

  The Salt Lake Temple will open to the public from April 5 through October 1, 2027, before it is rededicated and again restricted to Latter-day Saints with temple recommends. [2] Reservations opened on September 1, 2026, and one million tour spaces were claimed in less than 24 hours. [1] The Church describes the event as only the second public open house in the temple’s 134-year history. [2] The building visitors will enter is both old and substantially new. [12] [13] Construction began in 1853 and ended with the temple’s dedication in April 1893, but the interior has been altered repeatedly since then. [3] [20] The current renovation adds about 100,000 square feet of underground space, two baptistries instead of one, five instruction rooms, and 22 sealing rooms instead of 13. [12] The temple now rests on 98 base isolators about 20 feet below the structure, part of a seismic system designed to allow substantial horizontal movement during a major earthquake. [14] [24] The chan...
Post a Comment
Read

Mormon Stories Fires Back: The Core Defenses Against the LDS Lawsuit

In April 2026, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its intellectual property arm, Intellectual Reserve, filed a federal lawsuit against the Open Stories Foundation and John Dehlin. The complaint alleges trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and consumer confusion arising from the use of the name Mormon Stories, its branding, and its use of Church-related images.      The Church portrays the case as a straightforward effort to protect its trademarks and prevent confusion among people seeking information about the faith. Mormon Stories sees the case very differently. In its response and counterclaim , the organization argues that the Church is attempting to claim ownership over a word that belongs to an entire religious movement while using intellectual property law against one of its most visible critics. Here are the major arguments at the center of the dispute.
1 comment
Read

The Church is Changing the Sunday Schedule... Again

On September 6, 2026, Latter-day Saints will arrive at church to find the second hour rearranged. Sacrament meeting will remain no longer than 60 minutes. Adults and youth will then attend 25 minutes of Sunday School every week, followed by 25 minutes of Relief Society, elders quorum, Young Women, or Aaronic Priesthood quorum instruction. Primary will meet for 55 minutes. The alternating schedule introduced with two-hour church in 2019 will be gone.¹ The First Presidency's March announcement put the change plainly: In the new schedule, sacrament meeting will continue to be no longer than 60 minutes. After a 5‑minute transition, youth and adults will attend a 25‑minute Sunday School class each week. Following another 5‑minute transition, they will attend a 25‑minute priesthood quorum, Relief Society, or Young Women meeting. Primary will continue to meet weekly and will now last 55 minutes.¹ The schedule is a modest administrative revision. The institution capable of making it, thoug...
Post a Comment
Read

How the Book of Mormon Has Changed Since 1830

     Discussion of changes to the Book of Mormon often settles into two opposing claims: either the book has remained essentially unchanged since 1830, or later editors rewrote it beyond recognition. The reality is that both positions carry a bit of truth. Although the main narrative remains recognizable, the book has changed in several distinct ways. Its wording and grammar were revised in the early editions.⁶ , ⁷ The chapter and verse system was reorganized in 1879, while chapter summaries were added in 1920.¹⁹ Those summaries and other study aids were revised again in 2013 and 2025.²⁰ , ²¹ Following these changes in chronological order makes their differences easier to see. The history begins with dictation in 1829 and continues through the original and printer’s manuscripts, the 1830 printing, Joseph Smith’s revisions, and the later editorial committees that produced the modern edition. Tracing that sequence also makes it possible to distinguish changes to the script...
Post a Comment
Read