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Nephi 6:11 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. 1 Nephi 6:2 2 For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph. 1 Nephi 6:3 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. Narrative analysis:
Nephi has just finished the major narrative story of his life, and has shifted from condensing material from the
Book of Lehi into writing his own story. At this point in the narration, Nephi clarifies his intention for the
remainder of his work. He indicates that he is no longer interested in the story of his father (at least in that
it will not be written on the current set of plates) and that he does not feel it important to reproduce the genealogy
which is available on the brass plates.Nephi never intended to make a complete copy of Lehi's record (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.") but at this point he is even more clear that very large portions of a possible record are being left out. Chapter 6 provides an introduction to Nephi's future readers which explains these "deletions" from Nephi's record. Historical information: At this point in the text we receive the first indication that the small plates are a somewhat limited medium. Nephi declares that he is intentionally leaving out important information which could be found elsewhere specifically because he desire(s) the room. The plates had to be a difficult medium to write on. The production of the plates would have been fairly difficult, not to mention the requirement of finding the metal to forge into plates. While the plates do not physically run out of room until our text covers Omni, Nephi is already aware of the limitations at the earliest parts of his story. 1
Nephi 6:44 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 Nephi 6:5 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. Nephi knows that records
serve multiple purposes. The first is the preservation of "language", perhaps in the meaning of culture
and knowledge of God. Another is the historical function of recording the works of the leaders of men. Yet another
is a record for the purpose of convincing those who follow of the goodness of God. Nephi clearly dedicates the
small plates to this last task.It is interesting, in light of Nephi's declaration that he did not want to repeat the record of Lehi, nor the genealogies of the brass plates, that he did include large sections of Isaiah in his narrative. Like the genealogies of Joseph, Isaiah was material available on the brass plates (we assume from the fact that they were copied into Nephi's record, and the brass plates were the most logical source). Clearly Nephi felt that those copied sections of Isaiah more completely furthered his goal of teaching things pleasing to God than did the genealogies. 1
Nephi 6:66 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. Narrative analysis:
Nephi's descendants carried out this task remarkably well. The comparison of the small plate material (1 Nephi
to Omni) with that which remains of the large plates (Mosiah through 4 Nephi) shows remarkable difference in the
content. The large plates contain a tremendous amount of accounting for wars and contentions, and virtually none
of that is contained in the small plates. The truly historical information contained in the small plates is limited
to 1 Nephi, where it provides the framework for the more important spiritual story, and in Omni, where the historical
data provides the context for the relinquishing of the plates from the lineal descendants of Nephi. In between
the things of the spirit prevail. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
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