A Focus on the Written Word

I’m impressed by the focus on books, records, reading and writing in the opening chapter of the Book of Mormon. Ten out of the twenty verses refer to one of these things related to the written word (v1-3, 11-14, 16-17, 19). It starts in the first verse when Nephi wrote, “I make a record of my proceedings in my days.” He immediately bore witness that the book he was writing was true: “Yea, I make a record in the language of my father…. And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand” (v2-3). After establishing his commitment to this record he was writing, he told us of a vision of his father in which Lehi saw the Lord and was given a book: “The first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read” (v11). That book was so powerful that “as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord” (v12). What he learned in that book caused him to rejoice in the Lord: “And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!” (v14) Nephi described how his father made his own record which he couldn’t write all for us in his account: “He hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account” (v16). But Nephi did give us “an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands” (v17). That’s the second time he wrote that he had made his record with his own hands, suggesting I believe that he physically made from ore the plates upon which he was writing. He wanted us to understand the sacrifices and efforts he was making in order to bring us this book which we now have.

               In the final reference to books and records in this chapter Nephi wrote the following: “[Lehi] testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world” (v19). Ultimately that is the main reason for all of this writing and reading and record-keeping: to manifest the coming of the Messiah and testify of His redemption for the world. Nephi continued to emphasize this purpose throughout the two books that we have from him in the Book of Mormon. He wrote this about what he wanted on his record: “I desire the room that I may write of the things of God. For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved” (1 Nephi 6:3-4). His main intent was to persuade others to come unto the God of Abraham who is indeed the Messiah. While he couldn’t write all of the teachings of his father, what he abridged was about the coming of the Messiah: “[Lehi] also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world.” After summarizing the teachings about the Savior and John the Baptist from his father, Nephi wrote, “And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and speak unto my brethren, and also many more things which I do not write in this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for me in mine other book” (1 Nephi 10:15). In other words, Nephi focused primarily on his father’s witness of the Messiah. Later he explained why he was writing many of the words of Isaiah: “And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him…. Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ…. And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish” (2 Nephi 11:2-6). He recorded for us the words of Isaiah in order to testify that Christ would come. Nephi also summarized why he was writing towards the end of his life in this famous declaration: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do…. And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:23, 26). All the effort to write and preserve the record was in order to testify of Christ and help us be reconciled to God through Him. That is the great purpose of all holy writ, and his focus should inspire us to be more focused on studying the sacred written word that we have from Nephi and so many others.