Nephi made the worst choice he could have made when he killed Laban
Let’s talk about Kobayashi Maru simulation from Star Trek. A cadet in put into a situation and plays the part of the captain. They recieve a distress call from a civilian ship, called the Kobayashi Maru, because it hit a mine in the Neutral Zone with the Klingon Empire. The ship is losing power, the integrity of it’s hull is failing, life support is about to go offline, and sensor readings aren’t working. The cadet-captain has one of two choices:
- Attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru’s crew and passengers, which involves violating the Neutral Zone and thereby possibly provoking Klingons into battle
- Abandon the Kobayashi Maru, preventing war with the Klingons but leaving the crew and passengers of the freighter to probable death.
If they attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru, Klingon ships quickly come and destroy the civilian and Starfleet ship. If they decide to abandon, they risk the crew leading a mutiny – plus Starfleet ultimately doesn’t look kindly to this level of heartlessness.
The objective of the test is not for the cadet to outfight or outplan the opponent but rather to force the cadet into a no-win situation and simply observe how they react. The only person to “win” was Kirk. He won because he recognized that it was unfair and a no-win scenario, so he rigged it.
I believe that there are examples of a Kobayashi Maru-type tests within scriptures. Most notably, Eve, Abraham, and Nephi.
2nd Nephi 2:23 tells us that Adam and Eve couldn’t have children while they were in the garden but they were also commanded to have kids. The only way to make that happen was to leave the garden by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In hindsight, at least in the LDS tradition, Eve figures out that it was a no-win scenario.
Abraham knew that killing is wrong. Abraham knew you are to obey God. Abraham knew that God promised him that he would have a ton of desendants through Issaac. Abraham was thrown a curveball: God told Abraham to sacrifice Issaac. Many people point to Abrahamas willingness to obey God as a good thing. While it wasn’t technically a wrong answer, it definitely wasn’t the right answer.
All throughout the first couple chapters of 1st Nephi Nephi says that his parents raised him well, God makes a way to make the right things happen, you should follow the commandments, and that those who trust in God prosper. When Nephi finds Laban passed out, God puts him in a Kobayashi Maru-type situation. ephi knew that killing was wrong, but God told him to kill him because Laban was put here for a reason. We were repeatedly told that you are to follow the commandments and everything will turn out ok. What does Nephi do? He breaks the 6th commandment which he knew was the wrong thing to do. Nephi no only failed to see that it was a no-win scenario, but he also chose the most heartless option he could have chosen. Things kinda sucked for Nephi the rest of his life – wandered in the desert for years, was tied up on a ship, and his brothers made him flee in the night. Conceivably, Nephi wasn’t really prospering.
All Throughout scripture you see people who aren’t to be admired. These people aren’t supposed to serve as examples to strive towards, they are cautionary tales to be avoided. I believe that Nephi has traditionally been thought of as the former, but should be seen as the latter.