1a [6:1a]
And now I, Nephi, do not set forth the lineage of my fathers upon these plates, nor will I do so hereafter;
1b [6:1b]
their genealogy is already preserved in the record kept by my father; I will not repeat it in this writing.
2 [6:2]
It is enough for me to say that we are of the house of Yosefa.
3a [6:3a]
Nor do I seek to record every deed or recount all the words of my father, as the platesa upon which I write are few, and space is precious.
3b [6:3b]
I desire that this room be consecrated to the words and workings of Ha’Elohim.
4 [6:4]
The fullness of my intent, the kavanaha of my soul, is to invite all who read to turn their facesb toward the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, to live, and to be gathered, and to be savedc.
5a [6:5a]
Because of this, I will not write the things that delight the world, or the vanities that pass like breath;
5b [6:5b]
but I will write the things that bring joy to the Heavens, and light to those who seek to walk apart from the world.
6a [6:6a]
And I give the following instruction to my seed: Do not fill these plates with empty or fleeting words,
6b [6:6b]
preserve upon them only that which holds weight: truth that endures, wisdom that binds, and words that draw the children of humanity back toward the Presence.
7a [7:1a]
¶ And now I would have you know this: that after my father Lehi had finished prophesying concerning his seed, יהוה YHVH spoke to him again and said: It is not fitting that you should walk into the wilderness alone with your family.
7b [7:1b]
Your sons must marry, so that their seeda may be raised up unto Me in the land of promise.
8 [7:2]
¶ And יהוה YHVH asked that I, Nephi, and my brothers return once more to Yerushalayim, to bring Ishmaela and his household downb into the wilderness.
9 [7:3]
¶ So we went again, back through dust and stone, back toward the city we had fled, and came to the house of Ishmael.
10 [7:4]
And we found favor in his sight, and we spoke to him the Word of יהוה YHVH.
11 [7:5]
¶ And יהוה YHVH softened his heart, and the hearts of all his household, and so they journeyed with us into the wilderness to the tent of my father.
12a [7:6a]
Yet along the way, rebellion rose like a dry wind. Laman and Lemuel, together with two of Ishmael’s daughters, and two of his sons and their families, turned against us—
12b [7:6b]
against me, Nephi, and Sam, and against Ishmael, and his wife Na‘ema, and his other three daughters.
13 [7:7]
¶ Their hearts longed to return to Yerushalayim,
14a [7:8a]
and I was grieved because of the hardness within them; so I spoke plainly to my elder brothers and said: You are my elder brothers!
14b [7:8b]
Why then are your hearts so stiff and your minds so veileda, that your younger brother must teach you and set the example?
15 [7:9]
Why have you not listened to the voice of יהוה YHVH?
16 [7:10]
How have you forgotten you have seen a malak of יהוה YHVH?
17 [7:11]
How have you forgotten the mighty works He has done for us, how He delivered us from Laban and placed the sacred recorda in our hands?
18a [7:12a]
Have you forgotten that יהוה YHVH is able to do all things according to His will, if the children of Adam will but trust יהוה YHVH?
18b [7:12b]
Let us be faithful, I said.
19 [7:13a]
If we are faithful, we will inherit the land of promise! And you will yet know that the Word of יהוה YHVH concerning the destructiona of Yerushalayim will surely come to pass.
20 [7:13b]
For everything YHVH Ametha says about the destruction of Yerushalayim will be fulfilled.
21 [7:14a]
The Ruach of יהוה YHVH is nearly withdrawn from that city.
22 [7:14b]
They have rejected the prophets, and they have casta Jeremiah into prison.
23 [7:14c]
They sought my father’s life and drove him from the land.
24 [7:15a]
¶ If you return there, you will perisha with them.
25 [7:15b]
Now, if it is your choice to go back up to that land, remember what I have said: that if you go, you will also die; I spoke these words because the Ruach constraineda me.
26 [7:16a]
¶ But when my brothers heard this, they burned with anger.
27a [7:16b]
They seized me in the heat of their anger,
27b [7:16c]
and they bound me with cords, wanting to leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wildaa beasts.
28 [7:17a]
¶ Then I cried out to יהוה YHVH and said: O יהוה YHVH, according to my faith in You, deliver me from the handsa of my brothers.
29 [7:17b]
Give me strength to break these bonds!
30a [7:18a]
¶ And when I had finished praying, the cords fell from my hands and feet.
30b [7:18b]
And I stood free before them and spoke again.
31 [7:19a]
Then they rose up once again in anger.
32a [7:19b]
But one of Ishmael’s daughters, and her mother, and one of his sons pleadeda with them, and their hearts softened.
32b [7:19c]
And they ceased seeking my life.
33 [7:20]
¶ And they were filled with sorrow; they even bowed down before me and asked forgiveness for what they had done.
34 [7:21a]
¶ I forgave them freely and urged them to pray to יהוה YHVH their Elohim for forgiveness.
35 [7:21b]
And they did so.
36 [7:21c]
After they had prayed to יהוה YHVH for forgivenessa, we continued our journey together and came again to the tent of my father.
37 [7:22a]
¶ And when all the house of Ishmael arrived safely,
38 [7:22b]
they gave thanks to יהוה YHVH, their Elohim,
39 [7:22c]
And they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to יהוה YHVH, our Elohim.
40 [8:1]
¶ We gathered every kind of seeda, grains of the field, fruits of the tree, holding in our hands the promise of life yet unborn, seeds awaiting their season in the land prepared by Ha’Elohim.
41 [8:2]
And while my father lingered in the wilderness, he spoke to us and said: I have dreamed a dreama, or rather, I have been shown a visionb from Heaven.
42 [8:3]
Because of what I saw, my heart rejoices before יהוה YHVH for Nephi and Sam, I have seen that they, and many of their descendants, will be preserved and drawn into salvationa.
43 [8:4]
But for Laman and Lemuel my soul trembled greatly; in my vision, he said, I beheld a deserta, dark, vast, and desolate, a place where the light was hidden.
44 [8:5]
¶ Then I saw a mana clothed in whiteb, wrapped in purity like linen of the sanctuary, that man came stood before me.
45 [8:6]
And spoke without force, saying only: Follow me.
46 [8:7]
And as I followed, I found myself wandering through a wastea of shadows, a land of confusion and forgetting.
47a [8:8a]
And for many hours I traveled in darkness, until my strength failed, and my soul cried out.
47b [8:8b]
Then I prayed to יהוה YHVH, appealing not to merit, but to mercy, to the abundance of His Cheseda, His endless lovingkindnessa.
48 [8:9]
¶ And after I prayed, the darkness brokea open, and before me spread a vast and open fieldb.
49a [8:10a]
And there in the midst of that field stood a treea, ancient, radiant, alive.
49b [8:10b]
Its fruit shone with desire, and I could see that the fruit could make the soul rejoice!
50a [8:11a]
¶ I drew near and ate of the fruit,
50b [8:11b]
its sweetness surpassed every taste I had ever known.
51 [8:11c]
And it was pure beyond pureness, clean beyond cleanliness, and clear beyond clarity; like refined lighta, untouched by shadow.
52 [8:12a]
And as I ate, my soul overflowed with joy: joy beyond speech, a joy that yearned to be shared.
53 [8:12b]
And I longed for my family to taste it also, knowing this fruit was above all fruits, the delight of life itself.
54a [8:13a]
And as I looked about for my family, I saw a river.
54b [8:13b]
The water of this river was flowinga nearby, moving gently beside the tree.
55 [8:14a]
I followed the river to its source.
56 [8:14b]
There I saw your mother, Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi, standing uncertain, not knowing which way to turn.
57 [8:15]
¶ And I called to you with a loud voice: Come to me! Come and partake of the fruit, there is nothing more precious than this!
58 [8:16]
¶ And you came, and together we ate, and the joy became ours also.
59 [8:17a]
Then my heart turned again toward Laman and Lemuel, I wanted them to come and partake too.
60 [8:17b]
And I searched for them by the river’s heada.
61 [8:18]
¶ Then I saw them, but they would not come, they would not eata of the fruit.
62 [8:19]
Between the river and the tree, I saw a rod of irona, unbroken, unyielding, sure, stretching along the bank and leading directly to the tree.
63 [8:20a]
Beside it ran a straight and narrow path, Derekh Ha’Yashara, leading from the fountain through the field of the world to the Tree of Life.
64 [8:20b]
This path also followed by the head of the fountain to a great field, as large as the whole earth!
65 [8:21]
There I saw multitudes, numberless souls, pressing forward, seeking the path that led to the tree.
66 [8:22]
¶ Some began the journey leading to the Tree of Life,
67 [8:23]
but a great mist of darknessa arose, thick, choking, blinding, and many lost their way and wandered into nothingness and were lost!
68 [8:24a]
¶ Others came forward and grasped the rod of irona with both hands.
69 [8:24b]
Through the darkness they pressed on, clinging, enduring, refusing to let go, until they reached the Tree of Life and tasted its fruit.
70 [8:25]
Yet after eating, some looked around in shame.
71 [8:26a]
Across the river stood a great and spacious buildinga,
72 [8:26b]
suspended in the air, it was rootless, weightless, a palace of illusion.
73 [8:27a]
It was filled with people, young and old, men and women.
74 [8:27b]
They were dressed in a form of splendora,
75 [8:27c]
yet they were mocking and pointing at those who partook of the fruit.
76 [8:28]
Some were ashamed by the scorn, these fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
77 [8:29]
¶ These are not all the words of my father.
78 [8:30]
But to be brief, he saw more multitudes grasp the rod of iron, and these people pressed forward without wavering, until they reached the tree, fell down, and ate.
79 [8:31]
He also saw others feeling their way toward the great and spacious building.
80 [8:32a]
¶ Many were drowned in the depths of the fountain.
81 [8:32b]
Many vanished, wandering off into strangea paths,
82 [8:33a]
while a great multitude entered that empty palace.
83 [8:33b]
Those within pointed in scorn at those of us who partook of the fruit, but we did not heed them.
84 [8:34]
My father told us that all who heeded them fell away.
85 [8:35]
And Laman and Lemuel, my father said, did not partake of the fruit.
86 [8:36a]
¶ After my father finished telling us of his vision, his heart was heavya with fear for them,
87 [8:36b]
he was afraid they would be cut off from the Presence of יהוה YHVH.
88 [8:37a]
He pleaded with them as a tender father pleads with his children, urging them to listen, hoping the Holy One would yet show them mercy.
89 [8:37b]
He preacheda to them.
90 [8:38a]
¶ And after he preached to them, he prophesieda to them; he exhorted them to keep the mitzvoth of יהוה YHVH.
91 [8:38b]
And then he fell silenta.
92 [9:1]
All these things my father saw and heard and spoke while dwelling in a tent in the Valley of Lemuela, and many more besides, too weighty, too numerous, to be engraved upon these plates.
93 [9:2a]
Now I speak concerning these plates, that you may understand their purpose, these are not the plates upon which I write the full history of my people.
94 [9:2b]
The record of our generations, our lineage, our journeys, our rise and our fall, are all engraved upon another set which I have named after myself: the Plates of Nephi.
95 [9:2c]
Both are called by my name.
96 [9:3]
¶ Yet they do not share the same in calling, יהוה YHVH instructed me to fashion these plates for a sacred and set-apart purposea: that upon them should be engraved the ministry of my people, their dealings with Ha’Elohim, their visions, covenants, prophecies, and prayers.
97 [9:4a]
Upon the other plates are written the reigns of kings, the clash of armies, the striving of factions, and the wounds of contention.
98 [9:4b]
These plates are given chiefly to the things of the Ruach; the other plates to the affairs of the throne and the sworda.
99 [9:5]
Why has יהוה YHVH asked for this division? For a wise purposea that rests within Him, a purpose hidden from my knowing.
100 [9:6a]
Yet יהוה YHVH knows all things from the beginning, standing before the beginninga and beyond the endb alike, from the First Light to the Last Wordc, nothing escapes His sight.
101a [9:6b]
יהוה YHVH prepares a way to fulfill every work among the children of Adam,
101b [9:6c]
all power is in the hand of יהוה YHVH to bring His word to completion.
102 [9:6d]
And so it isa: Amen.