from Zarahemla Research Foundation
8.5 x 11" 76 pages
Nephi, son of Lehi, is the author of the First and Second Books of Nephi. They are the first two books from a set of metal plates called the plates of Nephi. To distinguish from Nephi’s larger set of plates also called the plates of Nephi, we call these plates the “small” plates of Nephi. Nephi was commanded to make these plates “... that the ministry, and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them should be written upon these plates” (l N 5:223). The remaining books from the small plates of Nephi are Jacob, Enos, Jarom and Omni.
The other plates, which we call the “large” plates of Nephi, were used to record the civil history of the people. Joseph Smith’s divinely-inspired translation of the first part of the large plates, commonly referred to as the 116 lost pages, was lost in 1828 by Martin Harris, one of twelve witnesses who were shown the Book of Mormon plates by an angel of God.
The First Book of Nephi describes one of the great adventures of all time-the calling of Lehi as a prophet, his rejection by the Jews and the journey of his family from Jerusalem to the New World. Even with all this action the contents of the book are mostly spiritual in nature and include the prophecies of Lehi, visions of Lehi and Nephi and the teachings of Nephi.
Many of Nephi’s teachings are from the plates of brass, the original Jewish record brought with them from Jerusalem which contains writings of such prophets as Isaiah, Moses, and Jeremiah. Nephi bears a strong affirmation of the gospel of redemption through the Redeemer of Israel.
The vision of Nephi (1N 3:38-236) gives us the only currently known prophetic history of the period from the end of the Bible to this century. The writings of Nephi in this book are rich in Hebraisms and Hebrew poetry. Although Egyptian characters were used to record the words, the structure and style of the language is Hebrew. Evidence for the Hebrew nature of the book abounds on every page.
The other plates, which we call the “large” plates of Nephi, were used to record the civil history of the people. Joseph Smith’s divinely-inspired translation of the first part of the large plates, commonly referred to as the 116 lost pages, was lost in 1828 by Martin Harris, one of twelve witnesses who were shown the Book of Mormon plates by an angel of God.
The First Book of Nephi describes one of the great adventures of all time-the calling of Lehi as a prophet, his rejection by the Jews and the journey of his family from Jerusalem to the New World. Even with all this action the contents of the book are mostly spiritual in nature and include the prophecies of Lehi, visions of Lehi and Nephi and the teachings of Nephi.
Many of Nephi’s teachings are from the plates of brass, the original Jewish record brought with them from Jerusalem which contains writings of such prophets as Isaiah, Moses, and Jeremiah. Nephi bears a strong affirmation of the gospel of redemption through the Redeemer of Israel.
The vision of Nephi (1N 3:38-236) gives us the only currently known prophetic history of the period from the end of the Bible to this century. The writings of Nephi in this book are rich in Hebraisms and Hebrew poetry. Although Egyptian characters were used to record the words, the structure and style of the language is Hebrew. Evidence for the Hebrew nature of the book abounds on every page.
