Day 1: Book of Mormon, First Nephi
And it came to pass…and it came to pass…and it came to pass…and it came to pass…
I’ll go ahead and be glib about the history of the Book of Mormon, though I mean no disrespect. An angel appeared to Joseph Smith and told him about brass plates buried at Hill Cumorah near his house. These plates contained a record of the peoples across the Americas — a record that contained the fullness of the Gospel. Fast forward a few years, the plates are translated and the Book of Mormon is published. Want more history? You can read the Wikipedia or the first few pages of the Book of Mormon (or watch the South Park episode).
But this is how the Book of Mormon begins. There’s a brief introduction as to what it is, followed by eyewitness testimony from eleven witnesses, and then Joseph Smith’s own words about how the Book of Mormon was revealed to him. There’s some debate as to how he translated them. Official church paintings show him separated by a sheet at a table from one of his scribes, using seer stones (Urim and Thummim), or looking into a top hat. All of these are portrayed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Again, I’m not here to prove or disprove, just saying that there’s a lot to take in when you approach this body of scripture.
The most interesting segment at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, for me, is the brief explanation of the various “plates” that were translated, abridged, compiled, etc. You see, much of the Book of Mormon is an abridgment of other brass or gold plates. There’s four separate sets of plates represented in this book that span a variety of topics. The Plates of Nephi deal with spiritual matters and secular history — there’s two sets, the small plates and large plates. The Plates of Mormon are an abridgment of the “large plates” of Nephi with commentary. The Plates of Ether present a history of the Jaredites. I have no idea who they are, but I reckon I’ll learn. It’s also an abridgment. And then there’s The Plates of Brass which contained the Torah, the prophets, and the history and genealogy of a man named Lehi.
Not all of this information is included in the Book of Mormon. I’m a little confused, but if memory serves me right, there’s a piece of LDS history that explains this. Again, I’m reading the text as is and not digging into the nuance of history…yet. Imagine you knew nothing about the LDS religion and this book was dropped off on your doorstep — I imagine you’d have the same question: “What’s the deal with the missing plates?”
Our story begins with a man named Nephi, whose father, Lehi, is a prophet in Israel. Fast forward and Lehi’s family is wandering in the wilderness. His sons married Ishmaelites and Nephi is commanded to build a boat. This story has all the makings of a great exodus. His brothers try to tie him up and keep him quiet or prevent him from accomplishing his tasks several times, but he always escapes. Before we know it, they’ve set sail in search of the promised land…which they reach! Guess what! It’s America! (To be clear, the Book of Mormon is yet to name America. It just says promised land.) Oh, and the entire time, a magical brass ball named Liahona guides them to the promised land.
There’s a few things I want to take note of. First, I liked the story. Not gonna lie. I was heavily invested in the story of Lehi, Nephi, his brothers and family, and their journey to the promised land. Second, I knew about the countless mentions of “And it came to pass…” in the Book of Mormon and was bracing for a boring slog. It turns out I got used to it pretty quick and didn’t notice. Third, there is a lot of talk about a messiah, redeemer, and Satan. This last bit stand out having read the Hebrew Scriptures. It seems very uncharacteristic of scripture written by Jews. There’s also several mentions of churches, the Book of Revelation, the life of Jesus, and so on. All of these mentions occur, per the Book of Mormons own timeline, around 600 B.C.E. It was really noticeable as something distinct. Again, neither good nor bad, it just is. (Though internally I’m screaming “Supersessionism!”)
But what else can I say other than: I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes. I’ve read my fair share of ex-Mormon testimonial, watched YouTube videos, and done my own investigating. There’s a significant chance I’m not impartial. However, my goal is to seek understanding based on the sacred stories of a religious community. And it came to pass…
Things I Noticed in the Text
- 1 Nephi 3:18, Flee! Here’s the clear command from God to Lehi and his family to flee before Jerusalem is destroyed. It’s interesting to me that it is merely one family in a time when tribes and kingdoms were the central focus of Hebrew discourse, but I’m getting Abraham and Noah vibes here.
- 1 Nephi 10-12, Jesus? The life and story of Jesus of Nazareth is recapped here, though he isn’t named specifically. It stood out as a story because it was being told by Jews over 600 years before Jesus was born. So, one would wonder, was Lehi an apocalyptic Jew?
- 1 Nephi 13:6,7, Why Yes He Is. I think it’s safe to say Lehi and his family were apocalyptic. They receive a vision of two churches (churches?!): One that is led by the messiah and the other led by the devil. Reading this, I was getting some mid-1800s anti-Catholicism from this description of the devil’s church, but that’s just me.
- 1 Nephi 16:10 LIAHONA! Oh I love the Liahona. As I mentioned (and as you can see above), it’s a brass ball that points the way. It’s almost like a divine compass. It won’t work if people are being unrighteous, so be careful! And…it also receives messages from God. Now, if you know me, you know I’m all about this little brass ball. I want one.
- 1 Nephi 18:24 America. Well, kinda. I know it’s America, but the text doesn’t say that. The promised land is reached and the story continues…
This post is part of a larger series where I read the entirety of Latter-day Saint scripture in 15 days. Take a look at the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.