Nephi’s Brothers Try to Kill Him
I, Nephi, prayed a lot to the Lord my God. My brothers were very angry. But their anger got worse. They wanted to kill me. They complained about me. They said: 'Our younger brother thinks he can rule over us. He has caused us a lot of trouble. Let’s kill him. Then he won’t bother us anymore with his words. We don’t want him to be our ruler. We are the older brothers. We should rule over these people.'
I won’t write down all the things they said against me. But they did want to kill me.
Nephi and His People Leave
The Lord warned me to leave them. He told me to go into the wilderness. I should take everyone who wanted to go with me. So I took my family. Zoram and his family came. Sam, my older brother, and his family came. Jacob and Joseph, my younger brothers, came. My sisters came too. Everyone who wanted to go with me came. All these people believed God’s warnings. So they listened to my words.
We took our tents and everything we could carry. We traveled in the wilderness for many days. After we traveled for many days, we set up our tents.
My people wanted to name the place Nephi. So we called it Nephi. Everyone with me decided to call themselves the people of Nephi.
The People of Nephi Do Well
We followed all of the Lord’s rules and laws. We obeyed the law of Moses in everything. The Lord was with us. We did very well. We planted seeds and got lots of food. We started to raise flocks and herds and all kinds of animals.
I had also brought the brass plates with me. I also brought the compass that the Lord made for my father. We did very well. We had more and more people in the land.
I took the sword of Laban. I made many more swords just like it. I knew the people now called Lamanites might attack us. I knew they hated me and my children and my people. I taught my people to build buildings. I taught them to work with wood, iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, and silver. We had lots of these things.
I built a temple. I built it like Solomon’s temple. But I didn’t use as many fancy things. We didn’t have them in our land. So it couldn’t be built exactly like Solomon’s temple. But it was built in the same way. The work was very good. I got my people to work hard with their hands.
Nephi Becomes a Ruler
They wanted me to be their king. But I didn’t want them to have a king. Still, I did what I could for them.
The Lord’s words came true. He said I would be my brothers’ ruler and teacher. So I was their ruler and teacher. I followed the Lord’s commands. This was true until they tried to kill me.
The Curse on the Lamanites
So the Lord’s word came true. He said: 'If they won’t listen to you, they will be cut off from me.' And they were cut off from him.
He caused a curse to come on them. It was a bad curse because of their sins. They had made their hearts hard against him. Their hearts were like stone. They were white and very beautiful. But the Lord God made their skin become black. This was so they wouldn’t attract my people. This is what the Lord God says: 'I will make them ugly to your people. Unless they stop sinning.' Anyone who marries them will be cursed. Their children will be cursed with the same curse. The Lord said it, and it happened.
Because of their curse, they became lazy. They were full of trouble and tricks. They hunted wild animals in the wilderness. The Lord God said to me: 'They will be a problem for your children. They will remind your children to think about me. If your children don’t remember me and listen to my words, the Lamanites will hurt them badly. They might even destroy them.'
Living in Peace
I made Jacob and Joseph priests and teachers over my people.
We lived in a happy way.
Thirty years had passed since we left Jerusalem.
I had kept the records on my plates. I wrote about my people up to this point.
The Lord Tells Nephi to Make New Plates
The Lord God said to me: 'Make other plates. Write on them many good things that will help your people.' So I obeyed the Lord’s commands. I went and made these plates. I wrote these things on them.
I wrote what makes God happy. If my people like the things of God, they will like what I wrote on these plates. If my people want to know more details about our history, they should read my other plates.
Forty years had passed. We had already had wars and fights with our brothers.
Influences
- 5:7 — Romans 15:4 (KJV)For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
- 5:8 — Galatians 2:10 (KJV)Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
- 5:8 — 2 Maccabees 1:36 (KJV)And Neemias called this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a cleansing: but many men call it Nephi.
- 5:9 — Acts 19:13 (KJV)Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
- 5:14 — Galatians 2:2 (KJV)And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
- 5:17 — 1 Corinthians 4:12 (KJV)And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
- 5:18 — Acts 18:14 (KJV)And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
- 5:20 — John 12:38 (KJV)That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
- 5:25 — 2 Peter 1:13 (KJV)Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
- 5:25 — Luke 22:19 (KJV)And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
- 5:32 — 1 Corinthians 2:11 (KJV)For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.