The story of Laban and his sword in the Book of Mormon has long fascinated me. For many, it’s a problematic story, because Nephi cuts off Laban’s head with his own sword, as commanded by the Spirit and, well, that sort of thing is more likely to be a sign of mental illness in our days and times. So, I get that.

But I think we’ve long misinterpreted this passage and today I’d like to perhaps recast this tale and hopefully help us to all understand it in a new light.

First off, it’s probably worth emphasising a couple of things. One, although told in narrative story form, Nephi isn’t writing in order to tell us a story. He is teaching us about how to come to Christ. He is most explicit about this effort in 2 Nephi, but it’s the same message in 1 Nephi – just expressed differently.