~600–592 BC

1 Nephi 6

After obtaining the brass plates, the family examines them and discovers they descend from Joseph. Nephi explains his purpose in keeping this record. He will not include detailed genealogy, choosing instead to focus on spiritual matters. His intent is to persuade people to come to God rather than please the world.

Why I Write What I Write

I, Nephi, won’t be listing my family tree here. In fact, I won’t put it anywhere on these plates I’m writing. My father already recorded all that in his book, so there’s no need for me to repeat it. It’s enough to say we’re descendants of Joseph. I’m not going to write out every detail of my father’s life—there isn’t room on these plates anyway. I need the space to write about God.

My whole purpose is this: I want to convince people to come to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and find salvation. So I won’t write things just to impress the world. I’ll only write what pleases God and helps those who seek something beyond this world. I’ll tell my children the same thing: Don’t fill these plates with things that don’t matter. Write only what will help people.

Influences

  • 6:4 — Matthew 22:32
    I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
  • 6:5 — John 17:14 (KJV)
    I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.