Nephi discovers America (1 Nephi 18-22)

Episode 6: Nephi discovers America

1 Nephi 18-22

18 ¹ The Lord showed me how to work timbers of curious workmanship. ² I didn't make the ship like humans do. I made it God's way. ⁷ Meanwhile, two sons were born to my father in the wilderness, Jacob and Joseph.

⁷ When the ship was finished, we boarded it, along with all of our provisions, and set off for the promised land. ⁹ After many days at sea, my brothers and the sons of Ishmael and their wives began to dance, sing, and speak with exceeding rudeness. ¹⁰ I was worried that the Lord would drown us, so I spoke to them about it. But they were angry with me and said, “We won’t let our younger brother rule over us.” ¹¹ And Laman and Lemuel tied me with cords.

¹² Then the compass that the Lord made for us stopped working, and a great storm came up. ¹³ The storm raged for three days, during which time we couldn’t steer the ship. ^14-15 On the fourth day, just when we were about to go down, my brothers repented and untied me.

²¹ After they released me, the compass started to work again. Then I prayed, and the storm went away. ²² I steered the ship toward the promised land. ²³ After sailing for many days, we arrived at the promised land, which we called the promised land.

²⁴ We went forth onto the land and planted our seeds, which grew exceedingly. ²⁵ There were beasts in the forests of every kind: cows, oxen, asses, goats, and horses, along with every kind of ore: including gold, silver, and copper.

The plates of ore (and the other plates)

19 ^1-3 The Lord commanded me to make plates of ore to record the more plain and precious parts of the history of my people, our travels in the wilderness, as well as my prophecies and those of my father.

⁴ I made a more detailed account in some other plates. ⁶ I’m only writing in these plates the things that I think are sacred, although there may be a few mistakes, just like there are in the older scriptures.

The prophecies of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos

⁸ The angel said Jesus will come 600 years after my father left Jerusalem. ¹⁰ According to Zenock, Neum, and Zenos, there will be three days of darkness after he is crucified as a sign to those who live on islands. ¹⁴ And the Jews will be hated by everyone since they crucified the God of Israel.

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah

²³ Now I'm going to read from the book of Isaiah.

Stealing Isaiah: No peace for the wicked

20 ²² There is no peace for the wicked.

More Isaiah: Nursing fathers, drunk with blood

21 ²² Kings will be your nursing fathers.

Someday Catholics will get drunk on their own blood

²⁶ I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine.

22 ¹ After I read these chapters from Isaiah, my brothers asked me to explain them. Here’s what I told them: ¹³ The great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, will be drunken with her own blood. ¹⁴ Everyone who fights against Zion will be destroyed, and the great and abominable church will be destroyed. ^15-17 Proud people and the enemies of the righteous will be burned. ¹⁸ All these things will happen soon. ²⁰ A prophet will come. Whoever refuses to listen to him will be cut off. ²³ All churches who belong to the devil will be destroyed.

³⁰ I’m going to stop talking now. ³¹ And thus it is. Amen.

A few more words about this episode

The Lord showed me how to work timbers of curious workmanship. (18:1)
The Lord showed me how to work timbers of curious workmanship. (18:2): The ship took less than two verses to build, but by all accounts it turned out exceedingly fine.
After many days at sea (18:9): Nephi idn't keep much of a log. Everything happens "after a space of many days."
Laman and Lemuel tied me up with cords. (18:11): See 1 Nephi 7:16 where they tie Nephi with cords the first time.
We planted our seeds, which grew exceedingly. (18:24): After arriving in the New World, Nephi and company planted all of the seeds that they brought from "the land of Jerusalem" and "they did grow exceedingly." Yet there is no evidence that Near Eastern crops ever grew in the New World in pre-Columbian times.
There were beasts in the forests of every kind: cows, oxen, asses, goats, and horses (18:25): Nephi found cows, horses, oxen, and asses when he arrived in the New World in 590 BCE. (None of these domesticated animals existed in North America before the Europeans brought them more than 2000 years later.)
The Lord commanded me to make plates of ore. (19:1): It's hard to keep track of all the plates in the Book of Mormon.; Remember the the plates of Lehi? The ones that Lehi forgot when he left Jerusalem, so he had to send his sons back get them? Lehi's plates were so important to God that he sent an angel to force Nephi to decapitate an unconscious man so he could steal his plates.; Then came the plates of Nephi: two separate sets of plates, both confusingly named by Nephi "the plates of Nephi." One for "the more part of the ministry" and the other "for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions."; And now, God tells Nephi to make another set. I guess you just can't have too many plates.
There may be a few mistakes. (19:6): Nephi says that whatever he wrote on the plates was sacred. But he admits that he might make some mistakes, just like they (the guys who wrote the Bible) did. Not that he's making any excuses, of course.
Zenock, Neum, and Zenos (10): Zenock, Neum, and Zenos were Old Testament prophets whose writings were removed by that great and abominable church founded by the devil. (You know, the Catholics.); Anyway, Zenock, Neum, and Zenos knew all about Jesus. He'd be crucified, buried in a sepulchre, and after his death, there'd be three days of darkness.; Three days of darkness? Yeah, that's what Zenos prophesied. The entire earth would be completely dark for three days after Jesus's death (See 3 Nephi 8:20-22 and Helaman 14:27 for the exciting details), as a sign to Lehi's descendants in "the isles of the sea" (the Lamanites in America and Polynesia).; Of course that's not what the Bible says. Matthew, Mark, and Luke say it was dark for three hours just before Jesus died. (It's one of the few things those three guys agree on.) But that's because the evil Catholics changed the plain and precious parts of the Bible.
The Jews will be hated by everyone since they crucified the God of Israel. (19:14): Then Zenos explains how all kinds of bad stuff would happen to the the people of Jerusalem (the Jews) because they crucified their God. They'll be hated by all nations, wander in the flesh, etc.
Now I'm going to read from the book of Isaiah. (19:23): Nephi says he's going to swipe a couple of chapters from the book of Isaiah as a bit of filler for his plates of brass.
After I read these chapters from Isaiah, my brothers asked me to explain them. (22:1): In the last chapter, Nephi threw in some more Isaiah, ending with this verse (Isaiah 49:26):; And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine. 1 Nephi 21:26; Now he explains who the "they" are.; And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood. 1 Nephi 22:13; Catholics! Someday they'll all get drunk on their own blood.
Everyone who fights against Zion will be destroyed, and the great and abominable church will be destroyed. (22:14): And whoever fights against Zion (the Mormons) will be destroyed along with the blood-drunk Catholics.
A prophet will come. Whoever refuses to listen to him will be cut off. (22:20): Then God will raise up a great prophet, as great as Moses (Joseph Smith). Those that listen to the prophet and believe that "the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true" (the Mormons) will survive and everyone else (that belong to other churches -- the kingdom of the devil) will be destroyed.
All churches who belong to the devil will be destroyed. (22:23): All churches that belong to the devil (all non-LDS churches) will be destroyed.