And now it was Laman’s turn to become angry, not only with Nephi but also with Lehi (3:28). Lemuel was in league with Laman, and they began to beat Nephi and Sam with a "rod," asserting authority over him. But an angel, with higher authority, rebuked them and importantly announced "that the Lord hath chosen [Nephi] to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities" (3:29), developing yet another incident in the story line of Nephi’s ascendance as the legitimate ruler over his brothers. The angel also assured all four of them that "ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands" (3:29). And what do the four of them do? They go to Jerusalem. They go up to the walls, and maybe Laman and Lemuel said, "The angel just said go to Jerusalem; he didn’t say go into Jerusalem." But to be a good commandment keeper you need to keep the spirit and not just the letter of the law. Still, in this case, if all four went in as a gang, they were all more likely to get caught. So Nephi volunteered to go alone.
Reading about Nephi’s experience with the angel invites us to think again of our own "reference experiences"—spiritual experiences that we have had that we can go back to throughout our lives. President Henry B. Eyring has spoken about the value of keeping a record of those times when we have been touched by the Spirit and have received personal revelation and help from the Lord—our "tender mercies." It is important to anchor ourselves to a time when we knew. This is a pattern that Nephi shows us—remembering those times when he knew. When the angel of the Lord delivered the message that He would deliver Laban into their hands, Nephi believed and knew that this would happen. In contrast, Laman and Lemuel questioned the words of the angel, "How is it possible for the Lord to deliver Laban? He is a mighty man." Nor had they latched onto the scriptural reality of the Lord’s deliverance of Moses.
But why would Nephi record this troubling experience, of his brothers beating him with a rod and the message delivered by an angel? Nephi, himself, had already been told that he would become a ruler and a teacher of his older brothers. But now the angel stated this message in the hearing of Laman and Lemuel and Sam. Nephi then records in detail in 1 Nephi two instances that demonstrate that Nephi deserved to be leader. First, Nephi succeeded in getting the Brass Plates when his older brothers failed and said it could not be done. Second, Nephi’s success in building a ship when his brothers, again, said it could not be done. Nephi did not record these stories for political purposes, because he was never running for election as king. Instead, he wrote these stories to reinforce the solidarity of the people who followed him, showing that they could trust that Nephi had indeed heard the word of the Lord, heard the Spirit, seen the visions, and was the righteous leader, chosen of the Lord.