1 Nephi 1

I, Nephi, was born to good parents. I was taught about all the things my father knew. I have faced many troubles during my life, but the Lord has always done good things for me. Yes, I have known well how good God is and also about his mysteries. From this viewpoint, I am writing the story of my life. I write in my father's language which is based on Egyptian but consists of Jewish learning. My story is true. I am writing it by my own hand from my own knowledge.

My story begins in the kingdom of Judah and in the city Jerusalem, where my father Lehi had lived his whole life. The time was the first year of King Zedekiah's reign. That year, many prophets began telling the people to change their evil ways, or else Jerusalem would be destroyed. Because of this, one day while Lehi was out walking, he stopped to pray to God. He prayed with all his heart for his people. Then while he was praying, a pillar of fire came on a rock in front of him and stayed there. Lehi saw and heard many things that made him very afraid.

Afterward, he returned to his own house at Jerusalem. He threw himself on his bed, overcome by the Spirit and what he had seen.

First Nephi: My Reign and Service

My name is Nephi, and this is the true story of my father Lehi, my mother Sariah, and their sons (from oldest to youngest): Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and me. Lehi was a prophet of God who lived in the land of Jerusalem. He told the people to stop being evil, so they wanted to kill him. God warned him to leave Jerusalem. He and his family traveled three days into the wilderness; then I returned to Jerusalem with my brothers to get a book with the history of the Jews. It wasn't easy for us. We also met with Ishmael and his family, who left Jerusalem with us. My brothers and I each married one of Ishmael's daughters. Then we all left further into the wilderness with our families. This story tells some of the hard times that we had and also where we went until we reached the ocean at a place we called Bountiful. God told me to build a boat to cross the ocean. Laman and Lemuel didn't want to help, and they got angry at me. I convinced them, and we built a boat together. Then we all crossed the ocean to the land that God had promised us.