1 Nephi: Headnote, Part V
“Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings.”
I think this passage speaks a lot to the character of Nephi. Grant Hardy points out that Nephi, while not merely “a biased, self-aggrandizing character,” nonetheless “offers a didactic, one-side narrative that severely truncates events and flattens characters” (Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon
, 44). I think this comes through quite clearly, in this passage.
The events here summarized begin in 1 Nephi 3, when Lehi instructs his sons—on behalf of the Lord—to “go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 3:4). While Nephi is certainly portrayed as the more obedient party, he never mentions “taking” his brethren with him; they simply “took [their] journey in the wilderness, with [their] tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem” (1 Nephi 3:9). (Incidentally, the fact that that had to return to the land of Jerusalem says even more about their starting point—see “Headnote, Part II”—but I digress.) What seems apparent to me that Nephi is here subtly shaping our view of his older brothers even before we meet them, that we might already know the kind of people he obviously thinks they are.
All this notwithstanding, the next sentence shows his compassion for his older brothers. Lehi’s party suffered quite a bit in the wilderness, but Nephi’s headnote is very much chronological. As such, it stands to reason that the “sufferings” here referenced are those that take place before he and his brothers “take the daughters of Ishmael to wife.” Since this happens in chapter 7, we must work backwards from there: chapter 6 is a (very) brief commentary, wholly peripheral to the plot; chapter 5 is an account of Lehi and Sariah’s reaction to their sons’ return and involves no suffering at all. Thus, this passage must refer to the “sufferings” accompanying their “return… to the land of Jerusalem.”
Who “suffered” during their return? Certainly Nephi did, as we can see throughout much of these chapters. But Nephi does not limit the suffering to himself. It is never the account of his sufferings, but rather the account of theirs. Surely Laman suffered when the lot first fell upon him, and again when his solo trip turned out—shall we say—less than successful. The brothers presumably all suffered—Nephi included—when they went through all the trouble of traveling down to “the land our [their] inheritance,” getting together all their gold and silver, and having Laban steal all of it anyway. Nephi’s brothers were just as chased through the desert as he was, and Nephi was the only one among them that wasn’t scared out of his wits when “Laman” came upon them, in the middle of the night. These guys all had it rough, and despite Nephi’s consistent portrayal of his “hardhearted” brethren, I doubt he ever lost sight of that fact.
Likening the scriptures unto myself:
Wesley, from The Princess Bride, states that “Life is pain. … Anyone who says differently is selling something.” There’s a certain validity to that. Suffering comes to all of us, so if you haven’t suffered, you haven’t really lived. But sometimes we suffer specifically because we’re trying to do what’s right, and neither Satan nor the world in general likes that very much. What “sufferings” have come into my life because I have sought “the record of the Jews,” much less that of the Nephites? Nephi and his brothers all knew it was “a hard thing which [was] required of them” (1 Nephi 3:5), yet even the ostensibly wicked Laman and Lemuel up and did it. How much have I done, to have the scriptures in my life? How much would I do?
, 44). I think this comes through quite clearly, in this passage.The events here summarized begin in 1 Nephi 3, when Lehi instructs his sons—on behalf of the Lord—to “go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 3:4). While Nephi is certainly portrayed as the more obedient party, he never mentions “taking” his brethren with him; they simply “took [their] journey in the wilderness, with [their] tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem” (1 Nephi 3:9). (Incidentally, the fact that that had to return to the land of Jerusalem says even more about their starting point—see “Headnote, Part II”—but I digress.) What seems apparent to me that Nephi is here subtly shaping our view of his older brothers even before we meet them, that we might already know the kind of people he obviously thinks they are.
All this notwithstanding, the next sentence shows his compassion for his older brothers. Lehi’s party suffered quite a bit in the wilderness, but Nephi’s headnote is very much chronological. As such, it stands to reason that the “sufferings” here referenced are those that take place before he and his brothers “take the daughters of Ishmael to wife.” Since this happens in chapter 7, we must work backwards from there: chapter 6 is a (very) brief commentary, wholly peripheral to the plot; chapter 5 is an account of Lehi and Sariah’s reaction to their sons’ return and involves no suffering at all. Thus, this passage must refer to the “sufferings” accompanying their “return… to the land of Jerusalem.”
Who “suffered” during their return? Certainly Nephi did, as we can see throughout much of these chapters. But Nephi does not limit the suffering to himself. It is never the account of his sufferings, but rather the account of theirs. Surely Laman suffered when the lot first fell upon him, and again when his solo trip turned out—shall we say—less than successful. The brothers presumably all suffered—Nephi included—when they went through all the trouble of traveling down to “the land our [their] inheritance,” getting together all their gold and silver, and having Laban steal all of it anyway. Nephi’s brothers were just as chased through the desert as he was, and Nephi was the only one among them that wasn’t scared out of his wits when “Laman” came upon them, in the middle of the night. These guys all had it rough, and despite Nephi’s consistent portrayal of his “hardhearted” brethren, I doubt he ever lost sight of that fact.
Likening the scriptures unto myself:
Wesley, from The Princess Bride, states that “Life is pain. … Anyone who says differently is selling something.” There’s a certain validity to that. Suffering comes to all of us, so if you haven’t suffered, you haven’t really lived. But sometimes we suffer specifically because we’re trying to do what’s right, and neither Satan nor the world in general likes that very much. What “sufferings” have come into my life because I have sought “the record of the Jews,” much less that of the Nephites? Nephi and his brothers all knew it was “a hard thing which [was] required of them” (1 Nephi 3:5), yet even the ostensibly wicked Laman and Lemuel up and did it. How much have I done, to have the scriptures in my life? How much would I do?
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