Book of Mormon Chronology LDS (OPEN)

lightplanet.com ^ | John P. Pratt , Rulon D. Eames

[greyfoxx39]

 

 

First Book of Nephi

Wadi Sayq, near the border between Yemen and Oman on the Gulf of Aden (1989). Areas with vegetation such as this along the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula match the description of the place where Lehi and his group built their ship (1 Nephi 17:5), but they were unknown to Westerners until after the Book of Mormon was published. Courtesy Warren Aston.

by Rulon D. Eames

Written by Nephi1, an ancient prophet who fled Jerusalem with his father, Lehi, and Lehi's family shortly after 600 B.C., this book tells of their travels under divine guidance to the Western Hemisphere. With its detailed testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ and its panoramic view of sacred history, 1 Nephi is the doctrinal and historical foundation for all of the Book of Mormon. Its stated intent is to testify that the God of Israel can save all who repent and exercise faith in him (1 Ne. 1:20; 6:4).

Composed several years after Nephi arrived in the "Promised Land," the record, of which the First Book of Nephi was a part, contained prophesying and sacred preaching "for Christ's sake, and for the sake of [his] people" (Jacob 1:4). Its fundamental message is that the God of Israel is merciful and has the power to save those who obey him (1 Ne. 1:20; 6:4; 22:30-31). Nephi supports this thesis with historical and prophetic evidence. He cites Israel's exodus from Egypt twice as evidence of God's redeeming power, and saw the same power at work in his family's exodus from a doomed Jerusalem. A seer of remarkable spiritual stature, Nephi testified that greater acts of redemption lay in the future: God himself would come to earth to ransom man from death and sin (1 Ne. 11:33; 19:10), and before the end of the world, Israel would be redeemed.

The narrative of 1 Nephi is vivid and dramatic; acts of divine intervention dominate this account. It begins in the first year of the Judean King Zedekiah (1 Ne. 1:4; cf. 2 Kgs. 24:8-18; dated by Babylonian documents at 597 B.C.). Jerusalem had just capitulated after a brief Babylonian siege, and King Jehoiachin, together with many of Judah's prominent citizens, had been deported. When Jerusalem persisted in its arrogance, a host of prophets, including Jeremiah and Lehi, warned of destruction. As people conspired to kill Lehi, he was warned by the Lord and escaped south into the desert. Twice his four sons returned to the region, once to obtain a copy of the scriptures written on plates of brass and again to convince Ishmael and his family to flee with them (chaps. 3-7). Guided by a miraculous brass compass (see Liahona), Lehi's group then completed a grueling odyssey that covered eight years in the wilderness, arriving at a verdant spot on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. There, Nephi was summoned by the Lord to a mountain where he was instructed to build a ship to carry the group to a land of promise. Through God's frequent inspiration and protection, the ship was finished and the treacherous voyage completed (chaps. 16-18).

Through all these events, Lehi and Nephi were opposed by the oldest sons in the family, laman and Lemuel, who were not only skeptical but sometimes violent in their opposition. The record vindicates Nephi in many ways. An angel once intervened to protect Nephi from his brothers; twice he escaped from them, being filled with the power of God. Several times, by his faith, he succeeded where they failed.

Records of powerful visions are interspersed throughout the narrative. Lehi received his prophetic commission in a vision as he prayed on Jerusalem's behalf: He saw a pillar of fire dwelling upon a rock and God seated upon his throne and was given a book to read that decreed judgment upon the city (chap. 1). Soon after, Nephi heard the voice of the Lord, saying that Nephi would teach and rule over his elder brothers (chap. 2); and Lehi had a dream that centered around a magnificent tree, a river, an iron rod, and a great and spacious building (chap. 8; see also Tree of Life). The family's escape from a proud and materialistic Jerusalem and their subsequent quest for salvation in the wilderness are vividly reflected in the imagery of this dream. Lehi also prophesied about the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, their eventual return to Palestine, and the coming of a Messiah who would redeem mankind from its lost and fallen state (chap. 10).

Inspired by Lehi's spiritual experiences and wanting to know the meaning of his father's dream, Nephi sought and received the same vision, together with its interpretation. This revelation puts the experiences of Lehi and his posterity into the context of God's redemptive plan and provides much of the historical and doctrinal framework for subsequent Book of Mormon prophecy: (1) Nephi saw the birth, ministry, and atoning sacrifice of the Son of God, and the rejection of his apostles by Israel; (2) he witnessed the division of Lehi's family, followed by the rise, decline, and destruction of his own posterity by the descendants of his brothers, and saw that the Lamb of God would visit various branches of Israel, including Nephi's posterity; (3) he saw a great and abominable church among the Gentiles, as well as a dispensation of the gospel to the Gentiles and their crucial role in gathering Israel and a remnant of Nephi's seed; and (4) he was shown the final victory of God over the powers of evil at the end of the world (chaps. 11-14).

Citing other corroborating prophecies, 1 Nephi 19-22 reinforces those four themes, the mainstays of the Nephite outlook on world history. Nephi first gives a detailed testimony of the atoning sacrifice of the God of Israel, his rejection, and the scattering of God's covenant people, quoting Zenos, Zenock, and Neum (chap. 19); he then quoted isaiah to show that God will defer his anger and will eventually gather his people through the assistance of gentile kings and queens (chaps. 20-21); and, finally, he exhorts all to obey God's commandments and be saved, for in the last days the wicked shall burn and the Holy One of Israel shall reign (chap. 22).

 

Possible route of Lehi in the Old World, from Jerusalem to the ocean, c. 600-587 B.C.

Bibliography

Axelgard, Frederick W. "1 and 2 Nephi: An Inspiring Whole." BYU Studies 26 (Fall 1986):53-65.

Nibley, Hugh. Lehi in the Desert. In CWHN 5.

Nyman, Monte S., and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds. The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation. Provo, Utah, 1988.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, Book of Mormon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book of Mormon Chronology

by John P. Pratt

The Book of Mormon contains a chronology that is internally consistent over the thousand-year Nephite history, with precise Nephite dates for several events, including the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. However, its chronology has not been unequivocally tied to other calendars because of uncertainties in biblical dates and lack of details about the Nephite calendars. Even less information exists about Jaredite chronology (Sorenson, 1969).

INTERNAL NEPHITE CHRONOLOGY. Nephites kept careful track of time from at least three reference points:

1. Years were counted from the time Lehi left Jerusalem (Enos 1:25; Mosiah 6:4); not only was this an important date of origin, but also an angel had said that the Savior would come "in 600 years" from that time (1 Ne. 19:8).

2. Time was also measured from the commencement of the reign of the judges (c. 91 B.C.; cf. 3 Ne. 1:1), which marked a major political reform ending five centuries of Nephite kingship (Jacob 1:9-11; Alma 1:1), during which the years of each king's reign were probably counted according to typical ancient practices (1 Ne. 1:4; Mosiah 29:46).

3. The Nephites later reckoned time from the sign of the birth of Christ (3 Ne. 2:8).

The Book of Mormon links all three systems in several passages that are apparently consistent. Table 1 lists several events using the Nephite systems.

Most of the Nephite record pertains to three historical periods: the time of Lehi and his sons (c. 600-500 B.C.), the events preceding and following the coming of Christ (c. 150 B.C.-A.D. 34), and the destruction of the Nephites (c. A.D. 300-420). Thus, the relatively large book of Alma covers only thirty-nine years, while the much smaller books of Omni and 4 Nephi each cover more than two hundred years.

LDS editions of the Book of Mormon show dates in Nephite years, deduced from the text, at the bottom of the pages. The exact nature of the Nephite year, however, is not described. The Nephite year began with the "first day" of the "first month" (Alma 51:37-52:1; 56:1), and it probably had twelve months because the eleventh month was at "the latter end" of the year (Alma 48:2, 21; 49:1), but the lengths of the months and of the year itself are not mentioned.

Until the coming of Christ, the Nephites observed the Law of Moses (2 Ne. 25:24; Alma 25:15), which generally used lunar months (new moon to new moon). The Savior was crucified on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month of the Jewish calendar (John 19:14; Lev. 23:5), but on the fourth day of the first Nephite month (3 Ne. 8:5). This may imply that Nephite months at that time were not lunar and that their civil calendar may have differed from their religious calendar.

John L. Sorenson (1990) has observed that during the reign of the judges warfare was mostly limited to four consecutive Nephite months. These months can be approximately correlated with our calendar because even today warfare in Mesoamerica (the probable area of Book of Mormon geography for most of Nephite history) is conducted mostly during the dry season after the fall harvest. This correlation implies that the Nephite year at that time began in December (see Book of Mormon, History of Warfare in). This would mean that because the crucifixion of Christ (presumably in early April) occurred in the first Nephite month, the Nephites probably shifted their calendar to begin the first month in April at the same time they began reckoning time from the birth of Christ. This conclusion is consistent with the Nephite record that Christ was born some time after the end of the Nephite year (3 Ne. 1:1-9).

EXTERNAL CHRONOLOGY. Evidence supports two possible lengths for Nephite years: 365 days and 360 days. Each can be correlated to external history. The internal chronology is consistent, so that if the exact nature of the Nephite calendar were known, only one reference point in external history would be needed to fix the entire Nephite chronology. However, at least two such dates would be required to determine the length of the Nephite year. Three principal events are common to both Nephite and Old World sources: (1) the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah; (2) the birth of Christ; and (3) the death of Christ. Because there are varying degrees of uncertainty about these three reference points, alternative correlation methods have been proposed, each using two of these dates.

First, Orson Pratt proposed that the Nephites used a 365-day year, as had the Egyptians previously and as did the Mesoamericans afterward (Millennial Star 28 [Dec. 22, 1866]:810). It has been noted (Lefgren) that such a year agrees, to the very day, with one choice for the birth and death dates of Christ—namely, Thursday, April 6, 1 B.C., and Friday, April 1, A.D. 33, respectively (Gregorian calendar). Both of these dates are supported by other arguments (J. Pratt, 1985 and 1990). This theory assumes that the third system of Nephite reckoning began on the very day of the birth of Christ, which is not explicitly stated in the Book of Mormon but is consistent with Sorenson's conclusions above.

Second, most historians believe that the first year of King Zedekiah began in 598-96 B.C. Lehi left Jerusalem shortly afterward (1 Ne. 1:4; 2:4). The date of the birth of Christ is not known directly from historical sources, but it is believed that King Herod died in 5-4 B.C., implying that Christ was born shortly before (Matt. 2:1). Using these two events as reference points, Huber has proposed a 360-day Nephite year because 600 such years fit the interval from Lehi to Christ (3 Ne. 1:1); such a system has historical precedent, and apparently underlies certain prophecies in which the word "time" may equal 360 days (e.g., Rev. 12:6, 14).

(See Basic Beliefs home page; Scriptural Writings home page; The Book of Mormon home page)

Bibliography

Brown, S. Kent; C. Wilfred Griggs; and H. Kimball Hansen. "Review of April Sixth by John C. Lefgren." BYU Studies 22 (Summer 1982):375-83. See rebuttal and response in BYU Studies 23 (Spring 1983):252-55.

Huber, Jay H. "Lehi's 600 Year Prophecy and the Birth of Christ." F.A.R.M.S. Paper. Provo, Utah, 1982.

Lefgren, John C. April Sixth. Salt Lake City, 1980.

Pratt, John P. "The Restoration of Priesthood Keys on Easter 1836. Part 1: Dating the First Easter." Ensign 15 (June 1985):59-68.

Pratt, John P. "Yet Another Eclipse for Herod." The Planetarian 19 (Dec. 1990):8-14.

Sorenson, John L. "The Years of the Jaredites." F.A.R.M.S. Paper. Provo, Utah, 1969.

Sorenson, John L. "Seasonality of Warfare in the Book of Mormon and in Mesoamerica." In Warfare in the Book of Mormon, ed. S. Ricks and W. Hamblin, pp. 445-77. Salt Lake City, 1990.

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Table 1. Selected Events in Nephite History
Nephite Years
Lehi	Judges	Christ	Event	Reference
1		(-600)	Lehi departs from Jerusalem	1 Ne. 10:4; 19:8
9		(-592)	Lehi's group arrives in Bountiful	1 Ne. 17:4-5
56		(-545)	Jacob receives plates from Nephi	Jacob 1:1
200		(-401)	Law of Moses strictly observed	Jarom 1:5
477		(-124)	King Benjamin's Speech	Mosiah 6:3-4
510	1	(-91)	Alma1, Mosiah die; Alma2 first judge	Mosiah 29:44-46
	9	(-83)	Nephihah becomes judge	Alma 4:20-8:2
	15	(-77)	The return of the sons of Mosiah	Alma 17:1-6
	17	(-75)	Korihor refuted; Alma's Mission to Zoramites	Alma 30:6-35:12
	18	(-74)	War because of Zoramites; Moroni leads army	Alma 35:13; 43:3 4, 17
	37	(-55)	Nephites begin migrating northward	Alma 63:4-6
	42	(-50)	Helaman2 becomes judge; Gadianton	Hel. 2:1-5
	53	(-39)	Helaman2 dies, Nephi2 chief judge	Hel. 3:37
	58	(-34)	Zarahemla captured	Hel. 4:5
	67	(-25)	Most Nephites join Gadianton	Hel. 6:16, 21
	73	(-19)	Nephi invokes a famine	Hel. 11:2-5
	75	(-17)	Gadianton robbers expelled	Hel. 11:6-17
	77	(-15)	Most Nephites reconverted	Hel. 11:21
	80	(-12)	Robbers return	Hel. 11:24-29
	86	(-6)	Samuel the Lamanite prophecies	Hel. 13:1-16:9
601	92	(1)	Sign of the birth of Christ	3 Ne. 1:1,4,19
609	100	9	Begin to reckon time from Christ	3 Ne. 2:5-8
		13	Severe war with robbers begins	3 Ne. 2:11-13
		19	Major Nephite victory	3 Ne. 4:5, 11-15
		26	Nephites proser	3 Ne. 6:1-4
		30	Nephite society disintegrates	3 Ne. 6:14-7:13
		34	Destruction; Christ appears	3 Ne. 8:2-28:12
		36	All converted; property held in common	4 Ne. 1:2-3
		201	Private ownership reinstituted	4 Ne. 1:24-25
		231	Tribalization reemerges	4 Ne. 1:35-38
		245	The wicked outnumber righteous	4 Ne. 1:40
		300	Nephites as wicked as Lamanites	4 Ne. 1:45
		326	Mormon leads army	Morm. 2:2
		350	Treaty with Lamanites and Robbers	Morm. 2:28
		362	Mormon refuses to lead Nephites	Morm. 3:8-11
		385	Nephites destroyed; Mormon dies	Morm. 6:5-8:3
		421	Moroni seals up the record	Moro. 10:1-2
Note: Years in parentheses are calculated, with the year -600 beginning just over 600 Nephite years before the birth of Christ.

 

 

 

 

[greyfoxx39]

Since we are being treated to the posting of the Book of Mormon, book, chapter and verse in closed threads, I am furnishing a thread in which to discuss the content of this First book of Nephi. The information posted is directly from an LDS site.

Light Planet

Open threads are a town square. Antagonism though not encouraged, should be expected

Posters may argue for or against beliefs of any kind. They may tear down other’s beliefs. They may ridicule.

On all threads, but particularly “open” threads, posters must never “make it personal.” Reading minds and attributing motives are forms of “making it personal.” Making a thread “about” another Freeper is “making it personal.”

When in doubt, review your use of the pronoun “you” before hitting “enter.”

Like the Smoky Backroom, the conversation may be offensive to some.

Thin-skinned posters will be booted from “open” threads because in the town square, they are the disrupters.

[greyfoxx39]

Ping

[greyfoxx39]

Dead link in the article, here are the links to the two articles posted.

First Book of Nephi

Book of Mormon Chronology

[Sherman Logan]

So Nephi built his boat on the south coast of Arabia and then sailed it to America?

The journey was even more epic than I thought. With no Suez Canal, he’d either have to cross the entire Indian and Pacific Oceans, or sail all the way around India.

Given his resources, this makes him the greatest sailor of all time.

[Sherman Logan]

Make that sail all the way around Africa.

Sorry.

[Paved Paradise]

Quoted from the same Light Planet website that you reference:

So it can be said that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, in the sense of both being spiritually begotten by the Father, but it is a misrepresentation to say so without giving the contextual background. Whatever similarities in background exist between Jesus and Satan pale compared to the differences. Jesus is the Beloved and Chosen, who is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh.

http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/qa/brother_satan.htm

That's ALL I need to know!

[Tennessee Nana]

Make that sail all the way around Africa.
_________________________________________

Was that Nephi Magallen, or his cousin, Nephi Drake ????

[Tennessee Nana]

With no Suez Canal, he’d either have to cross the entire Indian and Pacific Oceans, or sail all the way around India.
______________________________________________

Marco Polo followed the trail that Nephi blazed with his machete...

[Tennessee Nana]

Pacific Oceans
______________________________________

Abel Tasman was not the first white man to see Australia and New Zealand and other areas of the South Pacific...

He used Nephi’s well drafted charts...

[Fiji Hill]

A brisk trade between Egypt and India had developed by the time of Christ, facilitated by monsoons. Ships would depart from Egypt’s Red Sea port of Berenice and catch the west monsoon for India, then catch the one blowing from the east for the return trip.

[antiRepublicrat]

Areas with vegetation such as this along the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula match the description of the place where Lehi and his group built their ship (1 Nephi 17:5), but they were unknown to Westerners until after the Book of Mormon was published. Courtesy Warren Aston.

This statement didn't sound right, since I knew Arabia had been at mapped since at least the 1600s. A few minutes of looking found Carsten Niebuhr, a German cartographer and explorer on a Danish expedition who stayed extensively in Yemen (Southern coast of the Arabian peninsula) in the 1700s. Given how he survived by going native (as opposed to the rest of the expedition who died), he surely saw such places. His book of detailed maps and accounts of the trip was published in the West about 50 years before the Book of Mormon. Further explorations were made, and books published, before the Book of Mormon.

[ejonesie22]

You “haters” are all the same with your miss quotes, half truths and out right misrepresentation and lies about accepted and proven LDS facts...

Everyone knows Nephi bought the used DC8 space ships from Xenu (at a discount rate I might add) and flew to the new world with his people....

[Kenny Bunk]

Areas with vegetation such as this along the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula match the description of the place where Lehi and his group built their ship (1 Nephi 17:5), but they were unknown to Westerners until after the Book of Mormon was published.

This was Arabia Felix along trade routes well known to the Romans, the Greeks, and the Phoenicians as a source of many exotic trade goods, most notably, incense and gold.

Was the Book of Mormon originally published in very early times?

[Tennessee Nana]

The bom claims that Jesus visited Central America right after He rose from the dead...

and preached to people who were called “Christians” 600 years before jesus was born...

Do you believe that ???

[Sherman Logan]

I’ve never studied the BOM thing, but was vaguely aware of the premise.

I always just assumed they did the Med and Gibraltar route.

If God sent them to south Arabia to build a ship for a voyage to America, he’s a remarkably lousy navigator.

[Sherman Logan]

True enough. Not much help getting to America, though.

It’s a LONG way from India to America. Crossing the Atlantic is a much easier proposition. Simple, if one understands the winds and currents and doesn’t hit bad weather.

[Tennessee Nana]

but they were unknown to Westerners until after the Book of Mormon was published.
____________________________________________

And yet the “westerners” during the Crusades somehow managed...

[Alex Murphy]

...and preached to people who were called “Christians” 600 years before jesus was born...

IIRC we were told recently that if believers were called "Christians" and not "Saints" that the apostacy has already occured!

[Tennessee Nana]

LOL