CHAPTER 1
The Nephites keep the law of Moses, look forward to the coming of Christ, and prosper in the land—Many prophets labor to keep them in the way of truth. Between 420 and 361 B.C.
1
Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our
agenealogy may be kept.
2 And as
athese plates are
bsmall, and as these things are
cwritten for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the
dLamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.
3 Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the
astiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet
bswept them off from the face of the land.
4 And there are many among us who have many
arevelations, for they are not all
bstiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have
ccommunion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.
5 And now, behold, *two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to
akeep the law of Moses and the
bsabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they
cprofaned not; neither did they
dblaspheme. And the
elaws of the land were exceedingly strict.
6 And they were scattered upon
amuch of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were exceedingly more
bnumerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved
cmurder and would drink the
dblood of beasts.
7 And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our
akings and our
bleaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of
cour lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance.
8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in
agold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine
bworkmanship of wood, in buildings, and in
cmachinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and
dweapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.
9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us.
But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: aInasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall bprosper in the land. 10 And it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be
adestroyed from off the face of the land.
11 Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the
ateachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to
bdiligence; teaching the
claw of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to
dlook forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come
eas though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them.
12 And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being
adestroyed upon the face of the land; for they did
bprick their hearts with the word,
ccontinually stirring them up unto repentance.
13 And it came to pass that *two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed away—after the manner of wars, and
acontentions, and dissensions, for the space of
bmuch of the time.
14 And I, Jarom, do not write more, for the plates are
asmall. But behold, my brethren, ye can go to the
bother plates of Nephi; for behold, upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the writings of the
ckings, or those which they caused to be written.
15 And I deliver these plates into the hands of my son Omni, that they may be kept according to the
acommandments of my fathers.
* verse 5 (399 B.C.); Verse 13 (361 B.C.).
Jarom is Lehi's great grandson which helps me to understand the timing of his writing. Even though his writing is only 15 verses he teaches many important things. Here is a summary of his teachings from the Book of Mormon Student Manual. Even at this early period, the Nephites who kept the record understood that it would be for the benefit of the Lamanites (see Jarom 1:2).
Apostasy was rampant among the Nephites (see v. 3).
There was a strong group of believers who “had communion with the Holy Spirit” and kept the commandments (see vv. 4–5).
The Nephite laws were exceedingly strict (see v. 5).
The Lamanites were more numerous than the Nephites and had degenerated into a primitive state of existence (see v. 6).
The Nephites were led by righteous men and thus prevailed in battle (see v. 7).
The Nephites had expanded beyond a simple agricultural form of society (see v. 8).
Only constant preaching kept the Nephites from being destroyed by the Lamanites. Jarom recorded that their prophets “did prick their hearts with the word” (v. 12). It was this principle that later motivated Alma to resign his position as chief judge in order to preach the gospel (see Alma 4:19, 31:5).
Another thing that jumped out to me was Jarom's comment about the sabbath day in verse 5. It is just one of those reminders that the laws of God never change and that the people in Jarom's time were expected to keep the sabbath day then just as we are now. And even then it was a command that some people chose not to follow.
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