Nephi & the Brass Plates

Nephi & the Brass Plates is the first of VeggieTales' Book of Mormon Project. It's based on 1 Nephi 1-5.

Cast of Characters

 * Phil Vischer as Bob the Tomato as Himself
 * Lisa Vischer as Junior Asparagus as Himself
 * Mike Nawrocki as Larry the Cucumber as Nephi
 * Phil Vischer as Pa Grape as Lehi
 * Sondra Morton Chaffin as Caroline as Sariah
 * Phil Vischer as Mr. (Rattan) Lunt as Laman
 * Phil Vischer as Wicker Lunt as Lemuel
 * Yuri Lowenthal as Alexander as Sam
 * Phil Vischer as Mr. Nezzer as Laban
 * Phil Vischer as Archibald Asparagus as Zoram

Story
Bob takes Junior back in time to somewhere in the Middle Eastern wilderness, where they find the family of Lehi, consisting of him, his wife Sariah, & their four sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam, & Nephi. Bob explained about how Lehi & his family used to live in Jerusalem; most of the people living in Jerusalem were wicked. God sent prophets, like Jeremiah, to tell them to repent, but they would not listen. Lehi, also a prophet, prayed that the people would repent. While he was praying, a pillar of fire appeared. He saw God surrounded by many angels who were singing & praising Him. God told & showed Lehi many things. In his vision Lehi was given a book that told what would happen in the future; he read that Jerusalem would be destroyed because the people were wicked. Lehi told the people that Jerusalem would be destroyed. He also told of the coming of Jesus. The people were angry & tried to kill Lehi, but the Lord protected him.

The Lord was pleased with Lehi & one night spoke to him in a dream; He told Lehi to take his family & leave Jerusalem. Lehi obeyed the Lord, & he & his family packed food & tents. They left their house & their gold & silver & traveled into the wilderness. After traveling for three days, Lehi’s family camped in a valley near a river.

Lehi's two oldest sons, Laman & Lemuel, think their father was foolish for leaving Jerusalem & their riches. They do not believe that Jerusalem would be destroyed. Tired of their murmuring, Lehi tries to help them think about the river & valley that he named after his two sons, wanting them to be like the said river & valley, continually flowing to God & steadfastly keeping the commandments. Nephi, one of Lehi's youngest sons, wants to understand the things Lehi had seen. He prays to know if his father had done the right thing by leaving Jerusalem. Jesus Christ visits Nephi & tells him that Lehi’s words are true. Nephi believes & does not rebel as Laman & Lemuel does; he tells his brothers what Jesus had told him. His brother Sam believes him, but Laman & Lemuel will not believe. The Lord promises Nephi that he will be blessed because of his faith & that he will become a leader over his brothers.

One day, Lehi tells Nephi that the Lord wants him & his brothers to go back to Jerusalem & get the brass plates, which were important records that told about Lehi’s forefathers & contained the words of God revealed through the prophets, from a man named Laban. Laman & Lemuel do not want to return to get the brass plates, saying it will be too hard to do because they do not have faith in the Lord. Nephi wants to obey the Lord, knowing that the Lord will help him & his brothers get the brass plates from Laban.

Laman, Lemuel, Sam, & Nephi travel back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. After casting lots, Laman goes to Laban & asks him for the plates. Accusing Laman as a robber, Laban threatens to kill him but Laman escapes. Arriving back at the camp, Laman tells his brothers what had happened. Afraid, Laman wants to give up & go back to their father in the wilderness. Nephi say they can not return without the brass plates. He tells his brothers to have more faith in the Lord & they will be able to get the brass plates. Nephi & his brothers travel to their old home in Jerusalem & gather their gold & silver to exchange for the plates. They show Laban their riches & offer to trade them for the plates. When Laban sees their gold & silver, he wants it for himself & throws them out, sending his men to kill Lehi's sons.

Nephi & his brothers manage to escape Laban's men & hid in a cave. In the cave, Laman & Lemuel berate Nephi for listening to him, & they begin to chase him & Sam with sticks. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Junior appears & tells Laman & Lemuel to stop. He says that the Lord will help them get the plates & that Nephi will become a leader over his brothers. Although Laman & Lemuel the possibility of this, Nephi tells his brothers to have faith in the Lord & not be afraid of Laban & his men, thus encouraging his brothers to go back to Jerusalem.

That night Nephi’s brothers hide outside the city wall while Nephi sneaks inside. Walking toward Laban’s house, he sees a large object lying on the ground & finds that it's Laban, who had fallen into a sugar crash after drinking too much root beer at a party. Nephi sees Laban’s sword & picks it up. As he does, the Holy Ghost tells Nephi to kill Laban, but he does not want to kill him. The Holy Ghost again tells Nephi to kill Laban so that he can get the brass plates, since Lehi’s family need the plates so they can learn the gospel. Nephi obeys the Holy Ghost & kills Laban; he then puts on Laban’s clothes & armor. Nephi goes into Laban’s house & is met by Zoram, Laban’s servant. Imitating Laban's voice, he tells Zoram to get the brass plates. Thinking that Nephi is Laban, Zoram gave him the plates & Nephi tells him to follow him.

Outside the walls of Jerusalem, Laman, Lemuel, & Sam see Nephi coming & are scared, they thinking he is Laban & that he killed Nephi. They start to run away but stop when Nephi calls to them. Realizing that Nephi is not Laban, Zoram tries to run, but Nephi catches Zoram & promises not to harm him if he will go with Nephi into the wilderness. Zoram agrees, & so Nephi & his brothers took him & the brass plates & return to Lehi & Sariah.

In the wilderness, Sariah complains to Lehi, calling him a visionary man for dragging them out of the land of their inheritance, that their sons are no more, & that they're going to perish in the wilderness. Admitting that he is a visionary, Lehi assures Sariah that the Lord has promised him a land of promise & that He will deliver his sons out of the hands of Laban. At that moment, their sons return & they give the brass plates to Lehi. He & Sariah are happy their sons are safe, & they all rejoice & thank God. Lehi reads the brass plates; they tell about Adam & Eve & the Creation of the world, as well as the the words of many prophets. Lehi & Nephi are happy because they had obeyed the Lord & had been able to get the brass plates. Lehi’s family pack the brass plates to take with them on their journey so they can teach their children the commandments recorded on the plates.

Scripture

 * "The Lord gives no commandments unto the children of men, yet He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which He commands them." (1 Nephi 3:7)