1 Nephi 6:1-6: Part II

Brant Gardner

When Nephi ended with his father examining the plates of brass, he spoke of Lehi’s genealogy and how it linked to Joseph. That lineage is important to Nephi, and as Nephi begins his next planned chapter, it occurs to him that some future reader might expect him to include that genealogy. He departs from his intended beginning to the next chapter, and discusses his writing process. He has moved out of his historical time and into his present time.

Nephi declares that he will not give the genealogy, as the essential point of the genealogy is to link the family to Joseph. This will be important as a support for Nephi’s kingship. However, Nephi realizes that he should emphasize his greater purpose. While he will craft a document that shows how he fulfills the prophecy that he would be a ruler and a teacher over his brethren, his main objective is to persuade men to come to Jehovah.

The insertion ends where Orson Pratt created a chapter break, at the end of verse 6, where Nephi speaks of the command he will give to those of his descendants who will write on the plates.

The repetitive resumption picks up in verse 1 of our chapter 7, where he repeats that Lehi had made an end of prophesying about his seed—the very thing which was the conclusion of the previous chapter. With our verse 1 of chapter 7, he is back on track. We should remember that there was no chapter break at this point.

Book of Mormon Minute

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