1 Nephi 9:4

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.

Even if the Lord had not anticipated the lost manuscript pages, keeping a more spiritual record is a good idea. That and the more historical record have two different purposes, of course, but that makes it easier and more effective for those who come later to search the records for what they want. If they want to find a spiritual matter, they come to these small plates. Researchers don’t have to sift through so much history to get to the matters of the Lord.

1 Nephi 9:3

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.

Later on, Enos is told that his fathers required of the Lord that these records be preserved. Surely his uncle, Nephi, was one of those fathers.

• Enos 1:16–18

1 Nephi 9:2

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.

There are parts of this large plates/small plates account that confuse me. Obviously this is done to counter an event that would happen over 2500 years later when Martin Harris lost the 116 manuscript pages. I was confused about the content of those pages. The Doctrine and Covenants Institute manual says the 116 pages were from the large plates of Nephi (D&C Student Manual, 1981, p. 23). They were, according to Joseph Smith, an abridgement of the plates of Lehi. So when they were lost, the Lord instructed Joseph to replace them with the unabridged plates of Nephi, which Mormon included somewhere in his abridgement. I just don’t know where they physically were.

• 1 Nephi 19:2
• Words of Mormon 1:2–11
• D&C 10:38–40

1 Nephi 9:1

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.

I wonder how many years Lehi and his family stayed in the Valley of Lemuel. It seems like it was around eight years, going by the footnotes. Anyway, there were some important events and revelations recorded during that time. We know they were in the wilderness for eight years before they reached the place they called Bountiful, from which they built and launched their ship (1Nephi 17:4), but it seems like they were in the Valley of Lemuel for a significant portion of that time.

1 Nephi Chapter 9 Overview

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.

This is kind of a transition chapter. As Talmage indicates, the translation is from an abridgement of Lehi’s ministry to an account of his (Nephi's) own (see Articles of Faith, 263–264). Nephi also tells us that he has two sets of plates going. The larger set is for the day-to-day history of the people, a political history, if you will, as it records the history of the kings. This, however, is the smaller set of plates and is reserved for the ministry of the people. From that I understand that the things written herein are of a spiritual nature. Even the historical narrative has a spiritual purpose. So that is how I will approach The Book of Mormon: with the understanding that it is a spiritual record first and foremost. I assume the historical events included are to give context to the spiritual principles being taught, or that the events themselves have some spiritual lesson.

1 Nephi 8:36–38

36 And it came to pass after my father had spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us, because of these things which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence of the Lord.

37 And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.

38 And after he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and he did cease speaking unto them.

Lehi never gave up trying to get his sons to be converted. His dying words to them were an expression of concern for their eternal welfare and for them to repent. (See 2 Nephi 1:13–29) I suppose if I had any rebellious children I would take it personally, as so many parents do. They feel like they didn’t do enough, or that they should have done something differently. Often that is the case, but there is no evidence from Lehi’s experience that he was judged for his children’s rebellion. (2 Nephi 1:15) We believe that children will not be punished for their parents’ sins, so likewise parents should not be punished for their children’s sins as long as they are doing everything they can to bring those children to Christ. In my situation, with no rebellious children, it’s easy to see that parents are not judged for their children’s sins, as long as they are doing their best to teach them correct principles. It may be more difficult to see that if my situation were different. When you teach and work and love someone, like your children, and they don’t respond, it must be very difficult to not blame yourself. But as long as parents are doing their best, there is no evidence that they need fear for their own eternal welfare, just for their children.

• 2 Nephi 1:13–29

1 Nephi 8:35

35 And Laman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit, said my father.

We are often our own worst enemies, and that is the case with Laman and Lemuel. They had the same opportunity as everyone else to partake of the fruit. In fact, their chance was better. They had someone show them the way, show them the iron rod, show them the benefits of taking the fruit, and they consciously chose to ignore or reject the opportunity. This is the nature of the agency of man. Once we are told what the choices are, we are free to choose life or death. We literally get what we want.

• 2 Nephi 5:20 (19–24)