Book of Mormon Feast
Library Tour of 1 Nephi 6
1 And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work.
2 For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph.
3 And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father, for they cannot be written upon these plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God.
4 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.
The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision. The 40th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry symposium
This book is comprised of twenty scholarly papers addressing the amazing complexity and symbolism of the dream/vision, and its applications in an ancient middle eastern culture, to the whole of Nephite civilization, and to Book of Mormon readers today. I highly recommend reading these papers to gain a more profound understanding of these chapters so important to understanding all of The Book of Mormon.
Chapter 2 – The Double Nature of God’s Saving Work: The Plan of Salvation and Salvation History, by Heather Hardy. The author examines these two types of salvation – personal and community through the several sermons on the small plates. Quite a fascinating study.
5 Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world.
6 Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.
The Book of Mormon Miracle: 25 Reasons to Believe, by Randal A. Wright.
Chapter 15 – Original Phrases Used More Than Once
Dr. Wright presents a sampling of phrases that are only used by one or two writers, that are not found anywhere else in the Book of Mormon or in the Bible.
Nephi used the phrase, “of worth unto the children of men” in describing what should be written on the plates. Much later, in 2 Nephi 25:8 he again used the exact same phrase in describing the scriptural writings. He is the only writer to use this phrase.
“These original phrases . . . have significance to the prophets who said them and to their listeners and readers. Some phrases were of warning, others of hope. Many directly related to the love and mercy of God and the gift of the Atonement. Others alluded to the plan of salvation and the nature of God. Words of counsel were encapsulated in simple phrases. The great diversity of content in these phrases in impressive.
“The Book of Mormon contains thousands of original phrases that were only used by one person. However, there are multiple cases where one author used the same phrase more than one time while others were only used two times in the entire book but by different writers. In this case, it would appear that one writer had read the writings of another writer and were inspired to use the exact same phrase.”
