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{{Short description|First book in the Book of Mormon}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=March 2024}}
{{Books of the Book of Mormon}}
'''The First Book of Nephi: His Reign and Ministry''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|iː|f|aɪ}}), usually referred to as '''First Nephi''' or '''1 Nephi''', is the first book of the [[Book of Mormon]], the sacred text of churches within the [[Latter Day Saint Movement]], and one of four books with the name Nephi. First Nephi tells the story of his family's escape from Jerusalem prior to the [[Babylonian captivity|exile to Babylon]], struggle to survive in the wilderness{{Clarify|reason=what wilderness? How is this reference made?|date=March 2024}}, and building a ship and sailing to the "promised land", commonly interpreted by Mormons as the Americas.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} The book is composed of two intermingled genres; one a historical narrative describing the events and conversations that occurred and the other a recounting of visions, sermons, poetry, and doctrinal discourses as shared by either [[Nephi, son of Lehi|Nephi]] or [[Lehi (Book of Mormon prophet)|Lehi]] to members of the family.{{sfn|Spencer|2020|pp=17–20}}

==Structure==
First Nephi is a first-person narrative of events that the narrative itself reports were recorded on a set of objects referred to by Mormons as the [[Plates of Nephi]] by the [[prophet]] [[Nephi, son of Lehi|Nephi]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Ludlow|editor-first1=Daniel H.|title=Encyclopedia of Mormonism : The history, scripture, doctrine and procedure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|date=1992|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-02-904040-9|pages=195–200|edition=[2nd print.]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo03ludl}}</ref> The beginning part of First Nephi consists of Nephi's abridgement of his father Lehi's record{{Clarify|date=March 2024}} (1 Nephi 1–9). The next section is Nephi's own narrative of events (1 Nephi 10–22). The [[Second Book of Nephi]] is a continuation.{{sfn|Spencer|2020|pp=17–20}}

==Narrative==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Summary
!Chapters
|-
|Lehi's vision of Jerusalem's destruction; fleeing Jerusalem
|1–2
|-
|Return for the plates
|3–5
|-
|Second return for Ishmael's family
|6–7
|-
|Lehi's Vision
|8–9
|-
|Nephi's Vision of Israel's history
|10–14
|-
|Nephi's explanation of Lehi's vision to his brothers
|15
|-
|Traveling the desert and building the ship
|16–18
|-
|Nephi's explanation of the plates
|20–22
|}

===Fleeing Jerusalem===
Beginning in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of King [[Zedekiah]]'s reign, Nephi's father, Lehi, has a [[vision (religion)|vision]] and is warned of the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|imminent Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem]]. Lehi attempts to share this warning with the people of Jerusalem, but they dismiss his warning and try to kill him. Lehi and his family (wife Sariah, four sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi, and unnamed daughters<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php?title=Women_in_the_Book_of_Mormon|title=Women in the Book of Mormon – The Encyclopedia of Mormonism|last1=Bowen|first1=Donna|last2=Williams|first2=Camille|date=1992|website=eom.byu.edu|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1977/09/my-book-of-mormon-sisters|title=My Book of Mormon Sisters|last=Spencer|first=Marjorie|date=1977|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref>) leave Jerusalem and establish a camp in the wilderness.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|2016|p=33}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Hardy|2023|p=14}}</ref>

===Killing Laban and returning for Ishmael's family===
{{see also|Killing of Laban}}
Lehi sends his sons back to Jerusalem to retrieve some [[brass plates]], a record{{Clarify|reason=record of WHAT?|date=March 2024}} in the possession of [[Laban (Book of Mormon)|Laban]], a leader in Jerusalem and relative of Lehi. Nephi and his brothers make two failed attempts after which Nephi tries a third time by himself only to find Laban drunk and unconscious. Prompted by the Holy Spirit,{{Clarify|reason=This is an interesting anachronism. Is there any commentary on it? Anyway, I think it is probably "spirit of God"? Can someone clarify?|date=March 2024}} 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 (Hebrew Bible)|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,{{Clarify|reason=who is Ishmael?|date=March 2024}} some of whom later become spouses for Lehi's children.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|2016|p=33}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|p=13}}</ref>

[[File:Vision of Nephi.PNG|300px|thumb|left|The vision of Nephi]]

===Visions of Lehi and Nephi===
{{See also|Tree of life vision}}
Lehi has a [[Tree of life vision|vision of the tree of life]], which includes a revelation that [[Christ (title)|a Messiah]] would visit the earth within 600 years.{{Clarify|reason=Is this number given in the Book of Mormon?|date=March 2024}} In the vision, Lehi sees a tree next to a river and eats its fruit, which makes him joyful. Wishing to share the fruit with his family, he sees his wife, [[Sariah]], and two sons, Nephi and [[Sam (Book of Mormon)|Sam]], who come and eat with him. His two oldest sons, [[Laman and Lemuel]], stay near the river and do not eat the fruit. Then Lehi sees an iron rod and a "strait and narrow path" which leads to the tree.<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|8|19–20}}</ref> People try to get to the tree, but are lost in the "mist of darkness".<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|8|23}}</ref> Some get to the tree by holding on to the rod, but they are ashamed when they eat the fruit.{{Clarify|date=March 2024}} Across the river, a "great and spacious building" is full of people who are making fun of those who ate the fruit, and subsequently, the fruit-eaters become lost.<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|8|26}}</ref>{{sfn|Swift|2005|p=60}}

Nephi prays to the Lord for a similar vision and for help understanding his father's vision. Nephi then has a vision that matches the one his father had. He is told an explanation of its symbolism. Additionally, Nephi is shown past and future events, including the life of the [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]]{{Clarify|reason=how do we know?|date=March 2024}} and his appearances in both the New and the Old World.{{Clarify|reason=can this be explained? How is it determined that this was "old" and "new" world? Was that said?|date=March 2024}} He also sees, according to a Pentecostal interpretation,{{Why|date=March 2024}} "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".{{sfn|Spencer|2020|p=27}} After Nephi's vision, Laman and Lemuel argue over the meaning of Lehi's vision. Nephi chastises them for not asking the Lord for interpretation, and explains the point of disputation.{{Clarify|reason=What does this mean?|date=March 2024}} He pleads with them to pray and repent.{{sfn|Thomas|2016|pp=33–35}}

===Traveling the desert and building the ship===
After Lehi's sons marry [[Ishmael (Book of Mormon)|Ishmael]]'s daughters, Lehi discovers a [[Liahona (Book of Mormon)|"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 [[Crucible steel#Early history|steel bow]] breaks while hunting. Upon hearing the news, members of the camp complain and "murmur against the Lord" for their misfortune, including Lehi.<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|16|20}}</ref> 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 God|voice of the Lord]] chastises them, and they repent.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|2016|p=36}}; {{harvnb|Hardy|2023|p=8}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|p=111}}</ref>

After eight years of wandering, they arrive at a coast and the voice of the Lord commands Nephi to build a ship. As he begins, Laman and Lemuel mock him for attempting 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|2016|p=36}}; {{harvnb|Hardy|2023|p=8}}</ref>

[[File:First Sacrifice in the Promised Land.PNG|350px|thumb|right|Artistic depiction of the first sacrifice in the promised land]]

===Nephi's explanation of the plates===
Nephi writes about God's command that he 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]] (who is not found in the Bible) and the Biblical prophet [[Isaiah]], saying that all the ancient prophets testified of the savior, and only through him can they be [[Repentance (Christianity)|redeemed]] for their sins. He writes that God's covenants with Israel will eventually be restored, including to the descendants of his father Lehi.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|2016|pp=36–37}}; {{harvnb|Hardy|2023|p=8}}</ref>

==Interpretation and themes==
===Exodus===
Multiple scholars have noticed parallels between Nephi's journey in first Nephi and the Exodus story in the Bible. Nephi consciously encourages Laman and Lemuel to compare their situation to Moses's. He compares their situation to that of Moses after failing to get the plates from Laban in 1 Nephi 4:2–3. When a miracle provides them with food, Nephi writes that it was like when the Israelites were fed with manna (1 Nephi 17:28). He compares their being led by God to when the Israelites were led by a light at night (1 Nephi 17:13, 30). In one of the first examinations of the Exodus type in the Book of Mormon, George S. Tate, a professor of comparative literature at Brigham Young University, argues that Nephi uses parallels to Moses' Exodus as a rhetorical technique to encourage and unify his people. Nephi's use of the Exodus type sets up other Exodus patterns in the Book of Mormon, which is also a pattern of personal conversion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tate |first1=George S. |editor1-last=Lambert |editor1-first=Neal E. |title=Literature of Belief |date=1981 |publisher=Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University |isbn=0884944093 |chapter=The Typology of the Exodus Pattern in the Book of Mormon|url=https://rsc.byu.edu/literature-belief/typology-exodus-pattern-book-mormon}}; {{cite web |title=George S. Tate |url=https://rsc.byu.edu/author/tate-george-s |website=Religious Studies Center |access-date=9 January 2024}}; {{harvnb|Austin|2024|p=80}}</ref> S. Kent Brown, a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, states that Nephi uses the Exodus type to prove God's power, and by extension, his own prophetic power. Nephi writes that God gave power to Moses to part the Red Sea, so he could give Nephi a similar power to know "the judgements that shall come" (1 Nephi 8:12).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=S. Kent |title=From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon |date=1998 |publisher=Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University|url=https://rsc.byu.edu/jerusalem-zarahemla/exodus-pattern-book-mormon}}; {{cite web |title=Brown, S. Kent |url=https://rsc.byu.edu/author/brown-s-kent |publisher=Religious Studies Center |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref> Brant Gardner, an LDS scholar of Mesoamerican ethnohistory with previous publications in FARMS, wrote in his commentary on the Book of Mormon that Nephi likely wrote first Nephi to fit the pattern of Exodus in the Old Testament, as a way to create a foundational narrative for his people.<ref>{{harvnb|Gardner|2007|p=47}}; {{cite web | author=Gardner, Brant | title=Too Good to be True: Questionable Archaeology and the Book of Mormon | date=September 2002 | work=FAIR Papers | publisher=[[Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research]] | location=Mesa, Arizona | url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/QArch.pdf | accessdate=2009-01-14}}</ref> In his book ''The Testimony of Two Nations'' published with the University of Illinois Press, [[Michael Austin (writer)|Michael Austin]] examines 1 Nephi 17:33–35 passage. Nephi refutes the logic of the Deuteronomists and Laman and Lemuel, who believe that the Exodus story proves God loves His chosen people more than other people. Nephi says that the Exodus story proves that God "esteemeth all flesh in one" and favors those who keep his commandments.{{sfn|Austin|2024|p=80}}

===The Great and Abominable Church===
{{main|Great and abominable church}}
Nephi sees the persecution of the apostles and their followers by the "house of Israel",<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|11|35}}</ref> 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...".<ref>{{lds|1 Nephi|13|5}}</ref>

The LDS teaching of a [[Great Apostasy]] implies that the Catholic church is no longer true. Early LDS authority figures believed that the "great and abominable church" described the Catholic church.<ref name=Young>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Neil J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgDWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |title=We Gather Together: The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973898-4 |pages=87–88 |language=en}}</ref> LDS [[general authority]] [[Bruce R. McConkie]] famously identified the "great and abominable church" as the Catholic church in his book ''Mormon Doctrine'' (1958).{{sfn|Salleh and Hemming|2020|pp=24–25}} After its publication, church leaders at the time recognized McConkie’s problematic claims and pushed for discontinuation of the book. When a second edition came out, many of McConkie’s opinions of Catholicism were moderated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adams |first=Stirling |year=2012 |title=The End of Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43201315 |journal=The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |publisher=John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=60–65 |jstor=43201315 }}</ref> Official LDS publications discourage the identification of the great and abominable church with the Catholic Church, as well as with any other specific religion, denomination or organization. According to a 1988 article by [[Stephen E. Robinson]] in ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', an official magazine of LDS Church, "no single known historical church, denomination, or set of believers meets all the requirements for the great and abominable church... Rather, the role of Babylon has been played by many different agencies, ideologies, and churches in many different times."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=Stephen E. |title=Warring against the Saints of God |journal=The Ensign |date=January 1988 |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1988/01/warring-against-the-saints-of-god |language=en}}</ref>

=== Killing Laban ===
{{main|Killing of Laban}}
Many scholars have commented on the theological implications of Nephi reporting that the Holy Ghost told 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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=England |first=Eugene |date=1989 |title=Why Nephi Killed Laban: Reflections on Truth in the Book of Mormon |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |volume=22 |issue=3 |page=43|doi=10.2307/45225787 |jstor=45225787 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Swift |first=Charles |date=2019 |title="The Lord slayeth the wicked": Coming to Terms with Nephi Killing Laban |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol28/iss1/6/ |journal=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies |volume=29 |issue=1 |page=138}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Jeffrey |date=September 1976 |title=How can I explain Nephi's killing Laban to my nonmember friends? |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/09/i-have-a-question/how-can-i-explain-nephis-killing-laban-to-my-nonmember-friends?lang=eng |archive-date= |access-date=November 19, 2023 |website=The Ensign}}</ref>

===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. The existence of Nephi's sisters is not mentioned until 2 Nephi. Nephi refers to Ishmael's daughters as Ishmael's daughters or the wives/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 as a mother or wife, not as an individual. The two scenes of female resistance{{snd}}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{{snd}}create a [[type scene]] with instructive differences between the two. 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.{{sfn|Spencer|2020|pp=100–115}}

==Significant textual variants==
The original translation of the book's 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2010-fair-conference/2010-restoring-the-original-text-of-the-book-of-mormon|title = Restoring the Original Text of the Book of Mormon}}; {{harvnb|Skousen|2004|p=42}}</ref>

Originally, Joseph Smith indicated seven chapter breaks in First Nephi:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Chapter organization in 1 Nephi
!in Joseph's manuscript
!in current LDS edition (since 1879)
|-
|Chapter I
|1 Nephi 1–5
|-
|Chapter II
|1 Nephi 6–9
|-
|Chapter III
|1 Nephi 10–14
|-
|Chapter IV
|1 Nephi 15
|-
|Chapter V
|1 Nephi 16:1–19:21
|-
|Chapter VI
|1 Nephi 19:22–21:26
|-
|Chapter VII
|1 Nephi 22
|}
Editions of the Book of Mormon from the Community of Christ still use the original chapter organization. In 1879, [[Orson Pratt]] reformatted the LDS edition to include twenty-two thematically-arranged chapters.<ref>{{harvnb|Skousen|2004|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|p=17}}</ref>

Textual variations in 1 Nephi concern the nature of [[God in Mormonism|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 clearly delineates the three separate members of the Godhead. In that verse, God the Father is referred to as "the Eternal Father."<ref>{{harvnb|Skousen|2004|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|pp=57–59}}</ref>

==See also==

* ''[[The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey]]''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite Q|Q123671090|ref= {{sfnref|Austin|2024}}}}
* {{Cite Q|Q123118187|ref={{sfnref|Gardner|2007}}}}
* {{Cite Q|Q122259222|ref={{sfnref|Hardy|2023}}}}
* {{Cite Q|Q123378840|ref={{sfnref|Salleh and Hemming|2020}}}}
* {{Cite Q|Q123273058|ref={{sfnref|Skousen|2004}}}}
* {{Cite Q|Q123273199|ref={{sfnref|Spencer|2020}}}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Swift |first1=Charles |title=Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life: Understanding the Dream as Visionary Literature |journal=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies |date=2005 |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&context=jbms |access-date=20 November 2023|page=60|doi=10.5406/jbookmormstud.14.2.0052 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite Q|Q123196681|ref={{sfnref|Thomas|2016}}}}

==Further reading==
*{{Citation
 | last1= Nyman
 | first1= Monte
 | author-link= Monte S. Nyman
 | last2= Tate
 | first2= Charles D.
 | url= https://archive.org/details/excavationsatsei00grig
 | title= The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation
 | series= Book of Mormon Symposium Series (Volume 2)
 | publisher= [[Religious Studies Center]], [[Brigham Young University]]
 | location= Provo, Utah
 | year= 1988
 | isbn= 0-8849-4647-9
 | oclc= 18177802
 | url-access= registration
 }}
*{{Citation
 | last1= Seely
 | first1= David Rolph
 | last2= Welch
 | first2= John
 | author2-link= John W. Welch
 | last3= Seely
 | first3= Jo Ann H.
 | url= http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/book/glimpses-of-lehi-s-jerusalem/
 | title= Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem
 | location= Provo, Utah
 | publisher= [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies]], Brigham Young University
 | year= 2004
 | isbn= 0934893748
 | oclc= 53434620
 | access-date= 2014-01-21
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140202170115/http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/book/glimpses-of-lehi-s-jerusalem/
 | archive-date= 2014-02-02
 | url-status= dead
 }}
*{{Citation
 |last= Eames
 |first= Rulon E.
 |contribution= Book of Mormon: First Book of Nephi
 |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/5531
 |pages= 144–146
 |editor1-last= Ludlow
 |editor1-first= Daniel H
 |editor1-link= Daniel H. Ludlow
 |title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]]
 |location= New York
 |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]]
 |year= 1992
 |isbn= 0-02-879602-0
 |oclc= 24502140
}}.

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Book of Mormon (1981)/1 Nephi|First Book of Nephi}}
*[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1 ''The First Book of Nephi'' from the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Small Plates of Nephi]]|||}}
{{s-bef|before = None}}
{{s-ttl|title=<small>[[Book of Mormon]]</small>}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Second Nephi]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Book Of Nephi}}
[[Category:Books of the Book of Mormon|Nephi1]]