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.