1 Nephi 6:5–6

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.

Nephi has a clear understanding of his calling. He knows that his calling is from God, not man. That being the case, he knows that he needs to be concerned with pleasing God. He needs to record the things that God wants recorded. He leaves the commandment to his seed as well to decide what to put in the record and what to leave out.

• Galatians 1:10

1 Nephi 6:3–4

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.

I get the feeling that Nephi wants to move forward rather than retell his father's spiritual experiences and prophecies. He is very focused as to the purpose of the plates and does not want to be distracted. His whole purose in keeping this record is conversion. He is doing this to bring people to Christ.

1 Nephi 6:1–2

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.

As important as genealogy is, Nephi is a realist and decides that it would be a waste of space, time, and effort to re-write his genealogy. It would, afterall, be the same as his father's genealogy, and that was already set forth in Lehi's record.

1 Nephi 6 Overview

Nephi writes of the things of God—His purpose is to persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham and be saved. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

This is a very short, but important chapter. In it, Nephi sets forth the criteria for what is and is not included in his record. He also gives commandment to his seed after him that they use the same criteria as they continue the record. This gives us a basis to consider any story or event as a spiritual experience, so that is the point of view I will take in my journal.