In Chapter 3, Lehi tells Nephi that he has had a prophetic dream in which the Lord commanded him to send his four sons back to Jerusalem to obtain a set of brass plates held by a man named Laban.

[3] At Nephi's suggestion, they go to their father's house and gather gold, silver, and other valuable items and offer them to Laban in exchange for the plates.

An angel appears and tells the other brothers that God has chosen Nephi to rule over them and commands that they return immediately to Jerusalem, where the Lord will deliver Laban into their hands.

In Understanding the Book of Mormon, Grant Hardy acknowledges that Nephi's actions, "without a considerable amount of explanation, would look a lot like murder and robbery.

England goes on to say that "Nephi, recounting the killing of Laban many years after it happened, quotes the Spirit using exactly the same words as the Jewish priest Caiaphas used in an ends-justifies-means argument to condemn Christ."

We must, England concludes, read Nephi's justifications for killing Laban as typical, but flawed, ancient arguments about the need to scapegoat victims in order to protect society.

Literary critic J. Aaron Sanders argues that the "Nephi archetype" in the Mormon mythos led directly to the development of the doctrine of blood atonement.

"[11] In Under the Banner of Heaven, John Krakauer cites this passage from the Book of Mormon as an important influence on the Lafferty brothers when they murdered their niece and sister in law.

"[8] Nephi had compelling reasons to shade events in his favor by overemphasizing God's role in the decision to kill Laban and underemphasizing his own.

Furthermore, Hardy argues, when Nephi returns to his parents after killing Laban and appropriating the plates, his narrative remains suspiciously silent about Lehi's opinion of the events, concluding that "it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that something is being suppressed here.

"[8] Eugene England further suggests, on evidence that he finds in the later portions of the narrative, "that throughout his life Nephi continued to be deeply troubled by something that may have been--or included--the killing of Laban.

"[10] The most common defense of Nephi's killing of Laban comes from the angel's words to Lehi's sons that it is better for one man to die than for a nation to perish in unbelief.

'"[citation needed] Other Latter-day Saint scholars have urged caution with the implied premise of the utilitarian argument that God had no other options available for getting the plates to Nephi.

"Even if we acknowledge the importance of the pates to future generations," suggests Charles Swift, "we must be careful not to ignore the unlimited alternative ways to acquire the plates without Nephi having to kill Laban.

LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, writing in 1976 when he was the Church Education Commissioner, argued that Laban "has not been guiltless in his dealings with Lehi’s family."

"[15] Clyde J. Williams gives a similar list of offenses as states that "As Nephi looked upon this man who had sought their lives, the Spirit constrained him to slay Laban.

"In the end," Welch concludes, "Laban was killed for one and only one reason, namely because the Spirit of the Lord commanded it and constrained Nephi to slay him.

These representations range from the allegorical or metaphorical (for instance, the murder of Gaballufix in Orson Scott Card's The Memory of Earth), to those expanding or exploring the story as written by Nephi.

For instance, in a 2023 issue of Irreantum focused on fiction and poetry exploring stories from scripture,[18] the killing of Laban was merely referenced to suggest the extremes of Nephi's experience ("To follow spirit, // Through alley or wilderness.

"[19]); was used as an opportunity to explore questions of agency, obedience, priesthood, and the divine feminine by presenting a second angel with a separate message;[20] seen from the perspective of Nephi's mother;[21] and an apologetic set of circumstances that make Laban a more willing victim.

"What if it was designed to push Nephi to the limits of the paradox of obedience and integrity to teach him and all readers of the Book of Mormon something very troubling but still very true about the universe and the natural requirements of establishing a saving relationship with God?

"[10] In a 1989 address at Brigham Young University, Jeffrey Holland argued similarly that "if Nephi cannot yield to this terribly painful command, if he cannot bring himself to obey, then it is entirely probable that he can never succeed or survive the tasks that lie just ahead.

"[9] Some commentators see a better biblical parallel in the story of Moses killing an Egyptian overseer who was beating a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:11-12).