First Book of Nephi

Books of the Book of Mormon
Small Plates of Nephi
First Nephi Second Nephi Book of Jacob Book of Enos Book of Jarom Book of Omni
Contribution of Mormon
Words of Mormon Mormon's abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi Book of Mosiah Book of Alma Book of Helaman Third Nephi Fourth Nephi Book of Mormon
Additions by Moroni
Parts of the Book of Mormon Book of Ether Book of Moroni
Latter Day Saints Portal
v t e

The First Book of Nephi: His Reign and Ministry (/ˈniːfaɪ/), usually referred to as First Nephi or 1 Nephi, is the first book of the Book of Mormon and one of four books with the name Nephi. The Book of Mormon is sacred writ for churches within the Latter Day Saint Movement, of which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is a part. In First Nephi, Nephi tells the story of his family's challenges and the miracles they witness as they escape from Jerusalem, struggle to survive in the wilderness, build a ship and sail to the promised land, commonly interpreted as the Americas. The book is composed of two intermingled genres; one a historical narrative describing the events and conversations that occurred and the other a recording of visions, sermons, poetry, and doctrinal discourses as shared by either Nephi or Lehi to members of the family.

Structure

The original translation of the title did not include the word "first". First and Second were added to the titles of the Books of Nephi by Oliver Cowdery when preparing the book for printing.^[1] It is, according to the book itself, a first-person narrative by a prophet named Nephi, of events that began around 600 BC and recorded on the small plates of Nephi approximately 30 years later.^[2]

The first part of First Nephi consists of Nephi's abridgement of his father Lehi's record (1 Nephi 1-9). The second part is Nephi's own narrative of events (1 Nephi 10-22).

Originally, Joseph Smith indicated seven chapter breaks in First Nephi:

Editions of the Book of Mormon from the Community of Christ still use this original chapter organization. In 1879, Orson Pratt reformatted the LDS edition to include twenty-two thematically-arranged chapters.^[3] The Second Book of Nephi is a continuation of this narrative and immediately follows this book.

Narrative

Fleeing Jerusalem

Beginning in Jerusalem at the time of King Zedekiah, Nephi starts his narration. His father, Lehi, has a vision and is warned of the imminent Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Lehi attempts to share this warning with the people of Jerusalem, but they reject him and try to kill him. Lehi and his family (wife Sariah, four sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi, and unnamed daughters^[4][5]) leave Jerusalem and establish a camp in the wilderness. Lehi sends his sons back to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates, a record which was kept by Laban, a powerful leader in Jerusalem and relative of Lehi. Nephi and his brothers return and become frustrated after two failed attempts. Nephi returns alone, finding Laban drunk and unconscious. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Nephi kills Laban with his own sword and dresses in Laban's clothes. Impersonating Laban, Nephi commands Laban's servant, Zoram, to bring the brass plates outside the city to his brothers. Zoram discovers Nephi's subterfuge and tries to flee, but Nephi persuades him to travel with his family, and they all return with the plates. The brass plates indicate that Lehi is a descendant of Joseph, the son of Jacob. The plates also contain the five books of Moses, the writings of Isaiah and other prophets. Lehi's sons return to Jerusalem once more to retrieve the family of Ishmael, some of whom later become spouses for Lehi's children.^[6] (1 Nephi 1-7)

Visions of Lehi and Nephi

Lehi has a vision of the tree of life, which included a revelation that a Messiah would visit the earth within 600 years. Nephi prays to the Lord for a similar vision and for help understanding his father's vision. In his vision, Nephi sees the vision his father had described of the tree of life, and is also given an explanation about its symbolism. Nephi is shown many past and future events, including the life of the Son of God and his appearances in the new and old worlds. He also sees the history of his descendants, "the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, the troubles faced by latter-day Christianity, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the final gathering of Israel."^[7] After Nephi's vision, Laman and Lemuel argue over the meaning of Lehi's vision. Nephi chastises them for not asking the Lord for the interpretation, and explains the point they were disputing. He pleads with them to pray and repent.^[8] (1 Nephi 8-15)

Traveling the desert and building the ship

After Lehi's sons marry Ishmael's daughters, Lehi discovers a "ball of curious workmanship" (a compass) at his tent door which they call a Liahona. Follow the Liahona's direction, they journey in the wilderness. As they travel, Nephi's steel bow breaks while hunting. Upon hearing the news, the entire camp complains and "murmur against the Lord" for their misfortune, including Lehi.^[9] Lehi repents and gives Nephi the Lord's direction for fertile hunting ground. Ishmael dies on their journey. His daughters, in mourning, respond by complaining. Laman and Lemuel conspire to kill Lehi and Nephi, but the voice of the Lord chastises them, and they repent.^[10]

After eight years of wandering, they arrive at a coast. The voice of the Lord commands Nephi to build a ship and Nephi starts building the boat. Laman and Lemuel mock him for trying an impossible task. Nephi recounts the Israelite's exodus and colonization of Canaan to Laman and Lemuel, and touches them with a divine shock as a sign of God's power. They complete the ship, and depart on the ocean. Laman and Lemuel continue to persecute Nephi. Many days later, they arrive in the promised land, where they settle.^[11] (1 Nephi 16-18)

Nephi's explanation of the plates

Nephi writes about God commanded him to chronicle the events of his people, their genealogy, and the gospel. In dialogue with his brothers, he quotes prophecies of Christ and quotes Isaiah 48-49. He interprets his quotations from Zenos and Isaiah; He says all the ancient prophets testified of the savior, and only through him can they be redeemed for their sins. He writes that God's covenants with Israel will eventually be restored, including with the descendants of his father Lehi.^[12] (1 Nephi 20-22)

Interpretation

Themes

According to Grant Hardy, the book of First Nephi deals with themes of obedience, deliverance, and exodus. There are parallels between Nephi's narrative and the Biblical Exodus in the way the people move to a new location while led by God. The family dynamics in First Nephi are similar to that of Joseph in the Bible.^[13] Nephi's vision provides a notable inversion of God's covenant with Abraham. Rather than his descendants being preserved, as Abraham's were, God promises that Nephi's descendants will be destroyed. Salleh and Hemming see this as a challenge to Nephi to realize that his record and the gospel are for all humans, not just his bloodline. This is a theme that comes up again later in the Book of Mormon.^[14]

The Great and Abominable Church

Nephi sees the persecution of the apostles and their followers by the "house of Israel",^[15] then later sees a "great church" that is, according to the description of the angel, "...most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron...".^[16]

LDS general authority Bruce R. McConkie famously identified the "great and abominable church" as the Catholic church.^[17] Writing for Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Stephen E. Robinson argues for the idea that the "great and abominable church" is historical in 1 Nephi 13 and typological in 1 Nephi 14. For Robinson, because of the phrase "most abominable above all other churches," the references in 1 Nephi 13 must apply to a specific church, but concludes that no known church thus far fulfills all the requirements described in Nephi's vision.^[18] Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming, in their commentary The Book of Mormon for the Least of These advocate for a reading that identifies the "abominable church" as an archetype, a force that "worships wealth" and "oppresses the saints of God." Salleh and Hemming identify these forces in slavery, colonialism, war, human trafficking, sweatshops, and mass incarceration.^[17]

Killing Laban

Many scholars have commented on the theological implications of Nephi reporting that the Holy Ghost tells him to slay Laban. Latter-day Saint critic Eugene England analyzed Laban as a scapegoat figure common in ancient times, but saw this as a flawed argument.^[19] For BYU religion professor Charles Swift, Nephi acted out of necessity; but acknowledges that there were many other ways God could have provided the brass plates to Nephi. Jeffrey R. Holland and Swift argue that Nephi had to slay Laban in order to obey God, and that is the most important thing.^[20][21]

Journey in the wilderness

Book of Mormon scholars have been unable to determine the family’s exact traveling route; each scholar prefers a specific route. Former LDS Institute teacher Dave LeFevre admits that, while the families stayed in the Valley of Lemuel for some time after intermarrying, it is unclear for how long they did so.^[22] In her interpretation of the journey, Jana Riess explains that some scholars think it is possible that the actual journey took about a year, being slowed down to eight years by the family's afflictions. Still, she concedes that the text offers no proof to support such a claim.^[23]

Women

In First Nephi, the only named woman in the narrative is Nephi's mother, Sariah. Ishmael's wife and daughters are not given names. Nephi's sisters are not even mentioned until 2 Nephi. Nephi refers to Ishmael's daughters as Ishmael's daughters, and the wives or women of him and his brothers, showing that their social relation to other men is what gives them importance for Nephi. Similarly, Sariah is always referred to has a mother or wife, not as an individual. The two scenes of female resistance--Sariah worrying that her sons have not returned because they have died and Ishmael's daughters wishing to return to Jerusalem after their father's death--create a type scene where the differences between the two are instructive. For Spencer, the latter story illustrates how treatment of women has changed after the "Nephite-Lamanite" divide. In Sariah's story, she reconciles with Lehi after she sees that the Lord protected her sons. In contrast, no one attempts to comfort the daughters of Ishmael and instead, Laman and Lemuel conspire with the sons of Ishmael to kill Lehi and Nephi, silencing the women and using their discontent for their own designs.^[24]

Significant textual variants

Textual variations in 1 Nephi concern the nature of God. In the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 11:21 reads "behold the Lamb of God yea even the Eternal Father". Joseph Smith inserted "the Son of" in this verse and three others in 1 Nephi. According to Skousen, this was simply to clarify that these verses referred to the Son of God, since other references to Christ as the Father are left as is. Joseph Spencer, examining the same passage, writes that the reason for clarifying these passages is unclear, but notes that 1 Nephi 12:18 delineates the three separate members of the Godhead clear. In that verse, God the Father is referred to as "the Eternal Father."^[25]

See also

• The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey

Notes

Sources

• Grant Hardy, ed. (2023). The Annotated Book of Mormon. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-008220-8. Wikidata Q122259222.
• Fatimah Salleh; Margaret Olsen Hemming (2020). The Book of Mormon for the Least of These Vol. 1. Vol. 1. By Common Consent Press. ISBN 978-1-948218-23-8. Wikidata Q123378840.
• Riess, Jana (2005). The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated and Explained. USA: SkyLight Illuminations. ISBN 1-59473-076-8.
• Royal Skousen (2004), Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. Volume 1 1 Nephi 1 - 2 Nephi 10, vol. 1, Wikidata Q123273058
• Joseph M. Spencer (2020). 1st Nephi. Brief Theological Introductions. Maxwell Institute. ISBN 978-0-8425-0007-4. Wikidata Q123273199.
• John Christopher Thomas (2016). A Pentecostal Reads the Book of Mormon: A Literary and Theological Introduction. CPT Press. ISBN 978-1-935931-55-3. Wikidata Q123196681.

Further reading

• Nyman, Monte; Tate, Charles D. (1988), The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation, Book of Mormon Symposium Series (Volume 2), Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, ISBN 0-8849-4647-9, OCLC 18177802
• Seely, David Rolph; Welch, John; Seely, Jo Ann H. (2004), Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, ISBN 0934893748, OCLC 53434620, archived from the original on 2014-02-02, retrieved 2014-01-21
• Eames, Rulon E. (1992), "Book of Mormon: First Book of Nephi", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 144–146, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

First Book of Nephi

• The First Book of Nephi from the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints