CHAPTER 1
Nephi begins the record of his people—Lehi sees in vision a pillar of fire and reads from a book of prophecy—He praises God, foretells the coming of the Messiah, and prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem—He is persecuted by the Jews. About 600 B.C.
1 I, NEPHI, having been
born of
goodly parents, therefore I was
taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many
afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a
record of my proceedings in my days.
2 Yea, I make a record in the
language of my father, which consists of the learning of the
Jews and the language of the
Egyptians.
3 And I know that the record which I make is
true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.
4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the
first year of the reign of
Zedekiah, king of
Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at
Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many
prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must
repent, or the great city
Jerusalem must be destroyed.
5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his
heart, in behalf of his people.
6 And it came to pass as he
prayed unto the Lord, there came a
pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did
quake and
tremble exceedingly.
7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being
overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.
8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a
vision, even that he saw the
heavens open, and he thought he
saw God sitting upon his
throne, surrounded with numberless
concourses of
angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.
9 And it came to pass that he saw
One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his
luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
10 And he also saw
twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the
firmament.
11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and
stood before my father, and gave unto him a
book, and bade him that he should read.
12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the
Spirit of the Lord.
13 And he read, saying:
Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine
abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the
inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be
carried away captive into
Babylon.
14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works,
O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy
power, and
goodness, and mercy are over all the
inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who
come unto thee that they shall perish!
15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his
soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.
16 And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in
visions and in
dreams; and he also hath written many things which he
prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.
17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an
abridgment of the record of my
father, upon
plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have
abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.
18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many
marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the
destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to
declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.
19 And it came to pass that the Jews did
mock him because of the things which he
testified of them; for he truly testified of their
wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a
Messiah, and also the
redemption of the world.
20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the
prophets of old, whom they had
cast out, and
stoned, and
slain; and they also
sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the
tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of
deliverance.
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