1 NephiChapter1

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

I, Nephi, was born to good parents, and my father taught me much of what he had learned. I've been through many hard times in my life, but the Lord has favored me through it all, and I've come to know a lot about God's goodness and mysteries. So I'm writing a record of my life.

Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.

I'm writing it in the language of my father, which mixes the learning of the Jews with the language of the Egyptians.

And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.

And I know this record is true. I'm writing it with my own hand, from my own knowledge.

For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.

It starts in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. My father, Lehi, had lived in Jerusalem his whole life, and that year, many prophets came, warning the people that they must repent or the great city of Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.

As my father went about, he prayed to the Lord with all his heart for his people.

And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.

And while he was praying, a pillar of fire appeared and rested on a rock in front of him. He saw and heard so much that he shook and trembled.

And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

Then he went back to his house in Jerusalem and collapsed on his bed, overwhelmed by the Spirit and by everything he had seen.

And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

Still overwhelmed by the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision. He saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting on his throne, surrounded by countless angels singing and praising their God.

And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

He saw One coming down out of the middle of heaven, shining brighter than the sun at noon.

And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

Twelve others followed him, and they shone brighter than the stars in the sky.

And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.

They came down and went out across the earth. The first one came and stood in front of my father, handed him a book, and told him to read it.

And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

And as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.

He read, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem, for I have seen your abominations!" And my father read many things about Jerusalem: that it would be destroyed, its people with it; that many would die by the sword, and many would be carried off captive to Babylon.

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! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth, and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!

And when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he cried out to the Lord: "Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God Almighty! Your throne is high in the heavens, and your power and goodness and mercy are over all the people of the earth; and because you are merciful, you will not let those who come to you perish!"

And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

That was how my father praised his God; his soul rejoiced and his whole heart was full because of what the Lord had shown him.

And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for 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.

Now, I'm not going to include everything my father wrote. He wrote about many things he saw in visions and dreams, and many things he prophesied and taught his children, and I won't give a full account of all that.

But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.

Instead, I'll tell the story of my own days. What I'm making here is a shortened version of my father's record, on plates I've made with my own hands. Once I've finished summarizing his record, I'll tell my own story.

Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

So here is what I want you to know: after the Lord had shown my father, Lehi, so many marvelous things about the destruction of Jerusalem, he went out among the people and began to prophesy, telling them what he had seen and heard.

And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he 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 the Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

But the Jews mocked him for it, because he spoke plainly about their wickedness and the terrible things they were doing. And he testified that what he had seen and heard, and what he had read in the book, pointed plainly to the coming of a Messiah, and to the redemption of the world.

And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

When the Jews heard this, they were angry with him, just as people had been with the prophets of old, whom they had driven out, stoned, and killed. And now they wanted his life too. But I, Nephi, am going to show you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those he has chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty, with power to deliver them.