The Book of Nephi, Chapter 1
1. I, Nephi, was born to righteous parents and, because of this, have been taught some of all my father's knowledge. I have had many afflictions in my life, but have remained in the Lord's favour and have a great knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God, and, so, I am writing an account of the events in my life.
2. I am writing this record in my father's language, that of the knowledge of the Jews and the parlance of the Egyptians.
3. I know that what I am writing is true; I am writing it with my own hands, from my own knowledge.
4. In the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah (my father had lived all his life in Jerusalem), many prophets arrived and prophesied that if its people did not repent, the great city of Jerusalem would be destroyed.
5. Because of this, my father, Lehi, while on his way, prayed to the Lord with all his heart for his people.
6. While he prayed to the Lord, a pillar of fire appeared before him on a rock, and he saw and heard many things which caused him to shake and tremble severely.
7. He returned to his home in Jerusalem and laid upon his bed because he was overcome by the Spirit and by the things that he had seen.
8. Under the influence of the Spirit, he was carried into a vision, and saw the heavens open before him; he thought he saw God sitting on his throne, surrounded by countless angels who sung for and praised their God.
9. He saw One, whose brightness was greater than the sun at mid-day, descending from heaven.
10. There were also twelve others who followed him; their brightness exceeding that of the stars in the sky.
11. They descended and walked about the earth; the first came and stood before my father, gave him a book, and commanded him to read it.
12. He read and was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
13. He read, saying, "Woe, woe, unto you, Jerusalem, because I have seen your abominations!" and he read many other things concerning Jerusalem - that it would be destroyed, that of its denizens, many would die in battle and many would be taken as slaves into Babylon.
14. After my father had read and seen many great and marvellous things, he exclaimed many things to the Lord; such as, "Great and marvellous are your works, O Lord God Almighty! Your throne is high in the heavens and your power, goodness, and mercy extend over all of earth's inhabitants and, because you are merciful, you will not abandon those who come unto you!"
15. And so, in this manner, my father praised God; his soul rejoiced and his heart was full because of what he had seen, that which the Lord had shown to him.
16. I, Nephi, am not writing a full account of the things my father wrote because he has already written much of what he has seen in his visions and dreams, and has also written many of the things of which he has prophesied and spoken to his children.
17. But I am writing an account of the events in my life, and an abridgment of that from my father's, upon plates I have made with my own hands. First, I will write the abridged record of my father, and, then, the record of my own life.
18. I would like you to know that the Lord has shown so many marvellous things to my father, Lehi, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. He went out among the people and began to prophesy and to declare to them the things he had both seen and heard.
19. The Jews mocked him because of the things of which he testified, because he truly testified of their wickedness and abominations; he testified of the things he had seen and heard and read from the book, demonstrating clearly the coming of a Messiah and the redemption of the world.
20. When the Jews heard these things, they grew angry with him as they had with the prophets of old, whom they had thrown out, stoned, and killed; and they also sought to take his life. I, Nephi, will show you that the tender mercies of the Lord are with those he has chosen, because of their faith, and it gives them strength, so they may have the power to make themselves free.
Summary: Nephi introduces himself and his father, Lehi, noting that he is going to write about his life. He speaks of the wickedness of the people in Jerusalem and of his father's efforts to get them to repent. His father has a vision in which it is revealed to him that the righteous of Jerusalem will be spared. Lehi makes an effort of calling the people to repentance, but is only mocked and ridiculed; they seek to take away his life. Nephi tells the reader that first he will write an abridgment of his father's life, then will write of his own.
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