Lehi knew that some of these listening to him -- particularly Laman and Lemuel -- had seen an angel and heard the voice of God, and were therefore in a position to choose "eternal death" if they continued seeking ways to kill Nephi. Those who betray God by shedding innocent blood -- after having had such great spiritual manifestations -- are not only subject to the death of the body but also suffer an eternal or second death. This is the worst of all punishments. In the case of the sons of perdition, they lose their resurrected tabernacles and are cast back into outer darkness as stripped, naked intelligences. This is an eternal death from which the Lord says there can be no return.