1 Nephi 1:17

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.

Nephi is very concerned about record keeping. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out he kept a personal journal as well as the official records that he kept. I believe the abridgement referred to here is the 116 pages of manuscript that Joseph Smith lost.

1 Nephi 1:16

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.

Lehi is not the only one to see visions and visions in dreams. The cross references (Ezekiel 1:1, JSH 1:24) refer to only two of the many visions seen by many people, prophets in particular.

1 Nephi 1:15

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.

Isn’t it interesting that after all the destruction Lehi saw, he still rejoiced after the vision was finished. Death truly is swallowed up in the atonement. This takes a long view at life to understand. Those who do not view life as being more than this mortal probation struggle with the ideas of death and destruction. Those who do take an eternal view of life understand that physical death is part of the plan. Spiritual death has much greater consequences than physical death. So Lehi rejoices in the Atonement and that he has been favored of the Lord to see these visions.

1 Nephi 1:14

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!

In this verse Lehi praises God. I’m especially interested in the end of the verse, the fact that the kingdom of God is open to literally anybody willing to conform his or her lives to the way Father would.

• 3 Nephi. 9:14 (13–14)

1 Nephi 1:13

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.

It’s obvious that Lehi was one of the prophets the Lord sent to warn the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The things he saw in the book he was shown were about Jerusalem’s demise. That is all a matter of record in the Old Testament and other historical records.

• 2 Chronicles 36:14
• 2 Kings 24:2

1 Nephi 1:12

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

Lehi is filled with the Spirit of the Lord. This seems to involve either or both inspiration and revelation. The cross references cited in the footnotes for this verse are interesting. First, Genesis 41:38. Here, Joseph has interpreted Pharaoh’s dream of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. This interpretation came by revelation.

The next cross-reference is where Ammon perceives the thoughts of Lamoni, the Lamanite king. This is again revealed to Ammon through being filled with the Spirit (see D&C 6:16).

The next reference is interesting, being apparently different from the others. Mosiah 27:24 is where Alma the Younger wakes up after his conversion, says he has repented, has been redeemed of the Lord, then he says he is “born of the Spirit.” He then teaches what he learned, by revelation, about being born of the Spirit and how everyone needs to do that (be spiritually reborn).

All three references have to do with revelation to one degree or another. When we are filled with the Spirit of the Lord, we are filled with the spirit of revelation. Revelation 19:10 says, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” How does this relate to the relationship just described between revelation and the Spirit of the Lord?

1 Nephi 1:11

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.

The One who gave Lehi the book is the Lord. Verses 12–14 give some idea of what kind of prophesies were in the book.