1 Nephi 9:1-6

[HoosierGuy]

1 Nephi 9:1-6

THE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI
HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY
CHAPTER 9

Nephi makes two sets of records—Each is called the plates of Nephi—The larger plates contain a secular history; the smaller ones deal primarily with sacred things. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates.

2 And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates of Nephi.

3 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people.

4 Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people.

5 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.

6 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

Plates of Nephi
Nephi 1 made two sets of metal plates-the plates which have come to be known as the large plates of Nephi (Jacob 3:13) and the small plates of Nephi (Jacob 1:1)-on which he kept two records of his people. It is not clear whether the designations "large" and "small" had to do with the actual size of the plates or with their length. Both of these records are termed the plates of Nephi (1 Ne. 9:2; D&C 10:38-42), and both records were kept by Nephi's successors. Nephi first made the large plates and recorded on them the record of his father Lehi 1 and continued with a more full account of Nephite secular history. Because Nephi wrote on the large plates first he spoke of them as the "first plates" (1 Ne. 19:2). Later Nephi fashioned the small plates for the specific purpose of recording the ministry of his people (1 Ne. 9:2-6; 19:1-6; 2 Ne. 5:28-33; Jacob 1:2-4). Many generations later, by the time of Amaleki 1, the small plates were full (Omni 1:30). Amaleki "deliver[ed] up" the small plates to King Benjamin (Omni 1:25), who thereafter recorded both spiritual and secular matters as one account on the large plates (W of M 1:10). The merged record was continued on the large plates throughout Nephite history until Mormon received them (W of M 1:11).

Large plates
The large plates were to contain a "full account of the history" of the Nephites, including "an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of [the] people" (1 Ne. 9:2-6). The large plates were passed from king to king from Nephi until Mosiah 2 , who entrusted them to the prophet Alma 2 (Mosiah 28:20). From that time they were kept by the prophets up to and including Mormon (Morm. 2:17-18). The large plates consisted of the books of Lehi, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, and Mormon. Mormon wrote a history of his people in his day on the large plates and then, "according to the will of God," abridged the whole of the large plates from the time of Lehi to his own (3 Ne. 5:8-19; 600 b.c.-a.d. 385). The plates of Mormon, made by Mormon, contained his complete abridgment of the large plates of Nephi. Unfortunately, the portion of the translation of Mormon's abridgment of the large plates that covered the period from Lehi to the time of King Benjamin (about 470 years) was lost by Martin Harris. As a result, the Book of Mormon today does not contain Mormon's abridgment of the large plates for that time period. Fortunately, as the Lord foresaw (W of M 1:7), Nephi's record on the small plates helps to fill that gap.
When Nephi began the record on the large plates after his arrival in the promised land, he did not know that he would later be instructed to make a second set of plates that would be reserved specifically for spiritual matters (1 Ne. 19:1-7). Thus he began his record on the large plates merging both spiritual and secular histories, including his father Lehi's record, an account of his family's "journeyings in the wilderness," his father's prophecies, and his own prophecies (1 Ne. 19:1).

Small plates
Nephi was commanded by the Lord to begin a second record of his people thirty years after they left Jerusalem (2 Ne. 5:28-33; ca. 570 b.c.). This record, the small plates of Nephi, was to contain "the more sacred things" in Nephite history (1 Ne. 19:5), including the "ministry of my people" (1 Ne. 9:3) and accounts of preaching, revelation, and prophesying (Jacob 1:2-4). Nephi stated his purpose for the small plates: "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" (1 Ne. 6:4). He also gave a command-ment to future record keepers: "Where-fore, 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" (1 Ne. 6:6). Authors of the small plates were Nephi, Jacob 2 , Enos, Jarom, Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinadom, and Amaleki (ca. 570-130 b.c.) , but only Nephi and his brother Jacob wrote at any length. As the small plates were passed down, so was Nephi's commandment concerning them (e.g., Jacob 1:1-4; 7:27), thus their contents reflect careful attention to their sacred purposes. Amaleki appropriately concluded the small plates when he admonished, "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption" (Omni 1:26).

The small plates consist of the books of 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, and Omni. Following the book of Omni, Mormon added a short explanation (Words of Mormon), that "the workings of the Spirit of the Lord" prompted him to include the small plates with the plates of Mormon (W of M 1:3-7; D&C 10:38-46). It was after the loss of the 116 pages of translation of Mormon's abridgment of the book of Lehi that the Lord told Joseph Smith to translate the small plates of Nephi. Thus the Book of Mormon contains the whole of the unabridged small plates-no part of them was lost.
Largey, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, p. 645-647