1. DOCTRINES AND PRINCIPLES IN THIS LESSON:
•Nephi’s purpose in keeping his record was to persuade others to remember
their Redeemer (see 1 Nephi 19).
•We should liken the scriptures to ourselves for our profit and learning (see 1
Nephi 19:23–24).
•The Lord refines His people in the furnace of affliction (see 1 Nephi 20).
•The Lord promised to restore the gospel and gather Israel in the latter days
(see 1 Nephi 21:18–25; 22:7–22).
Chapter 6
1 Nephi 20-22

2. Nephi’s purpose in keeping his record is to persuade others
To remember their Redeemer. 1 Nephi 19
Read 1 Nephi 19:1-6
In 1 Nephi 9, Nephi wrote that he had made two sets of plates. The first set, the large plates of
Nephi, contained a detailed account of his people; the second set, the small plates of
Nephi, was a sacred religious record. In 1 Nephi 19, the phrase “first plates” or “other plates”
refers to the large plates of Nephi and the phrase “these plates” refers to the small plates
1 Nephi 19:18 And I, Nephi, have
written these things unto my
people, that perhaps I might
persuade them that they would
remember the Lord their Redeemer.
What do you think it
means to remember
the Lord? How do the
scriptures help you
remember Him?
President Henry B. Eyring of the First
Presidency:
“We keep our covenant to remember Him
every time we gather our families to read
the scriptures. They testify of the Lord Jesus
Christ, for that is the message and always
has been of prophets. Even if children do
not remember the words, they will
remember the true Author, who is Jesus
Christ” (in Conference Report, April
1998, 87; or Ensign, May 1998, 67).

3. Who Were Zenock, Neum, and Zenos?
1 Nephi 19:10 And the God of our fathers, who were bled out of Egypt, out of
bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of
Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,yieldethhimself, according to
the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted
up, according to the words ofZenock, and to be crucified, according to the
words of Neum, and to be buried in asepulchre, according to the words
ofZenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should
be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the
sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.
Nephi quoted Zenock, Neum, and Zenos as prophets of Old Testament times
whose detailed prophecies of Jesus Christ were recorded on the plates of brass.
Their testimonies are not found in the Old Testament we have today. Their
writings are apparently some of the “plain and most precious” truths that were
removed by the “great and abominable church” (1 Nephi 13:26). Without the
Book of Mormon, we would know nothing about those three faithful prophets
of Old Testament times or their prophecies. http://www.ldsces.org/

4. We should liken the scriptures to ourselves
for our profit and learning. 1 Nephi 19:23-24
1 Nephi 19
23 And I did read many things unto them
which were written in the books of Moses; but
that I might more fully persuade them to
believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read
unto them that which was written by the
prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures
unto us, that it might be for our profit and
learning.
24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear
ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a
remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who
have been broken off; chear ye the words of
the prophet, which were written unto all the
house of Israel, and liken them unto
yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as
your brethren from whom ye have been
broken off; for after this manner has the
prophet written.
Why do you think it is valuable to compare
ourselves and our circumstances with
people and teachings in the scriptures?
What are some ways we can “liken the
scriptures” to ourselves?

5. Nephi imagined that the words of Isaiah were speaking directly to him and his people. This same principle is
practiced by latter-day saints all the time. We generalize D&C scriptures that were given unto certain
individuals because of their universal applicability. It would be tragic to assume that the instructions to
Joseph Smith, Sr. found in DC 4 applied only to him. Nevertheless, with Isaiah, it is sometimes harder for us
to find as much personal meaning. Nephi helps us to do this by giving us many spiritual insights into the
meanings of Isaiah's writings.
The spirit of God often speaks to us through the scriptures. If we are reading them with a clinical
detachment of heart, the way a historian reads about events long since passed, we will not hear the
message of the Spirit.
"In reading any of the standard works of the Church it is well to ascertain the literal meaning of the passage
read first, and the lesson it was intended to convey to those to whom it was first communicated. And then it
might be well to ask, What lesson does it convey to my time and age? To my nation? My community? My
family? Or to myself?" (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 206)
Brigham Young:
"Do you read the Scriptures, my brethren and sisters, as though you were writing them, a thousand, two
thousand, or five thousand years ago? Do you read them as thou you stood in the place of the men who
wrote them? If you do not feel thus, it is your privilege to do so, that you may be as familiar with the spirit
and meaning of the written word of God as you are with your daily walk and conversation, or as you are with
your workmen or with your households." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 128 as taken from Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.63)
http://gospeldoctrine.com/

6. The Lord refines His people in the furnace of affliction.
1 Nephi 19:20
Hebrew 12:6 For whom the Lord
loveth hechasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth.
What does it mean to chasten?
In what ways is chastening evidence of
the Lord’s love for us?
ACTIVITY
GROUP 1
Read 1 Nephi 20:1-8
Look for evidence that members of
the house of Israel had not been
faithful to the Lord at the time of this
revelation.
GROUP 2
Read 1 Nephi 20:9-17
Look for evidencethat the Lord still
loved them and wanted them to be
faithful to Him.

7. Nephi read many things to his family from the writings of the prophet Isaiah.
Why did Nephi want his family (and
us) to know the words of Isaiah?
1 Nephi 19
22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my
brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read
many things to them, which were engraven upon the
plates of brass, that they might know concerning the
doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.
23 And I did read many things unto them which were
written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully
persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did
read unto them that which was written by the prophet
Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be
for our profit and learning.
24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the
words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house
of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; chear ye the
words of the prophet, which were written unto all the
house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye
may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye
have been broken off; for after this manner has the
prophet written.

8. 1 Nephi 20:10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee
in the furnace of affliction.
Chapters 20 and 21 of 1 Nephi are messages from the prophet Isaiah. One of the verses reads:
What are some possible meanings of the phrase “furnace of affliction”?
How can the furnace of affliction help us be faithful to the Lord?
Doctrine and Covenants 105
5 And Zion cannot be built up
unless it is by the principles of the
law of the celestial kingdom;
otherwise I cannot receive her
unto myself.
6 And my people must needs be
chastened until they learn
obedience, if it must needs be, by
the things which they suffer.
Orson F. Whitney
"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted.
It ministers to our education, to the development of such
qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we
suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it
patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands
our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more
worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through
sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the
education that we come here to acquire and which will make
us more like our Father and Mother in heaven." (Dawn
Anderson, Dlora Dalton, and Susette Green, eds., Every Good
Thing: Talks from the 1997 BYU Women's Conference [Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 22.)

9. Neal A. Maxwell:
"The Lord has said, 'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.' (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10.)
He knows, being omniscient, how we will cope with affliction beforehand. But we do not know this.
We need, therefore, the refining that God gives to us, though we do not seek or crave such
tribulation.
"Is not our struggling amid suffering and chastening in a way like the efforts of the baby chicken still
in the egg? It must painfully and patiently make its own way out of the shell. To help the chick by
breaking the egg for it could be to kill it. Unless it struggles itself to break outside its initial
constraints, it may not have the strength to survive thereafter.
"Afflictions can soften us and sweeten us, and can be a chastening influence. (Alma 62:41.) We
often think of chastening as something being done to punish us, such as by a mortal tutor who is
angry and peevish with us. Divine chastening, however, is a form of learning as it is administered at
the hands of a loving Father. (Helaman 12:3.)
"Elder James E. Faust of the Council of the Twelve has said, 'In the pain, the agony, and the heroic
endeavors of life, we pass through the refiner's fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in
our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong.' (Ensign, May
1979, p. 53.) Elder Faust continued, 'This change comes about through a refining process which
often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the
Master.'" (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 38-
39.) http://gospeldoctrine.com/

10. 1 Nephi 21
14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but
he will show that he hath not.
15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of
her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they that made thee waste shall go
forth of thee.
Another quote from Isaiah reads:
What does it mean to you to be graven on the
palms of the Savior’s hands?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
“Christ will not forget the children he has
redeemed or the covenant he has made with them
for salvation in Zion. The painful reminders of that
watch care and covenant are the marks of the
Roman nails graven upon the palms of his hands”
(Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic
Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 84).

11. Why do you think people sometimes
feel that the Lord has forgotten
them? How might you use this
passage to help someone who feels
alone or frightened?
HOW DO YOU REMEMBER
THE SAVIOR? ? ?
What experiences
have helped you
know that the Lord
has not forgotten
you?

12. The Lord promised to restore the gospel and gather Israel
in the latter days. 1 Nephi 21:18-25; 22:7-22
1 Nephi 22
1 And now it came to pass that after
I, Nephi, had read these things which were
engraven upon the plates of brass, my
brethren came unto me and said unto me:
Whatmeaneththese things which ye have
read? Behold, are they to be understood
according to things which are spiritual, which
shall come to pass according to the spirit and
not the flesh?
2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they
were manifest unto the prophet by the voice
of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things
made known unto the prophets, which shall
come upon the children of men according to
the flesh.
What is Nephi describing in these verses?

13. What reason does Nephi give in 1 Nephi 22:5 for Israel being scattered?
1 Nephi 22:5 And since they have been led away, these things have been
prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter
be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against
him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all
nations and shall be hated of all men.
1 Nephi 22
7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after
all the house of Israel have been scattered and
confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a
mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even
upon the face of this land; and by them shall our
seed be scattered.
8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God
will proceed to do a marvelous work among the
Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our
seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being
nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in
their arms and upon their shoulders.
What is the “mighty nation”
referred to in 1 Nephi 22:7?
What is the “marvelous work”
referred to in verse 8?

14. President Gordon B. Hinckley:
“How thankful I am for the wonders of the restored gospel of Jesus
Christ. It is indeed a marvelous work and a wonder, which has been
brought to pass by the power of the Almighty in behalf of His sons and
daughters. We of this season in His work can serve in a work of salvation
in behalf of the whole human family, including all the generations of the
sons and daughters of God who have lived upon the earth in past
centuries. The work is true” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
[1997], 242).
1 Nephi 22
9 And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and
not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of
Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the
Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that
all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless
he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations.
In what ways will this “marvelous work” bless
“all the kindreds of the earth”?
In verse 10, what does Nephi say the Lord
will do?
An arm is a symbol of power. The
metaphor that God will make “bare his
arm” means that God will show his
power to the entire world.