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Book of Mormon Commentary
3 Nephi Chapter 1
THE BELIEVERS WILL DIE UNLESS THE SIGN IS GIVEN, VER. 1-27
3 Ne 1:2 And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving charge unto
his son Nephi, who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been
kept, and all those things which had been kept sacred, from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem;
The familiar use of the name Nephi makes identification somewhat difficult. In addition to its use
for a whole nation, it also was used as a title for their kings Ob. 1:10, 11), in honor of the son of
Lehi. It would seem unlikely that only the four who obtained enough prominence to have a place
in Book of Mormon history would be given the name “Nephi" by their mothers. But perhaps it is
fortunate that no more than the son of Lehi; the son of Helaman; Helaman's grandson Nephi,
author of III Nephi; and his son Nephi, author of IV Nephi, are in the record.
Concerning this famous name we find:
Its roots are Egyptian; its meaning, good, excellent, benevolent. From very ancient times the Egyptians believed that
all who died had to have their acts upon earth scrutinized by a council of inquisitors, before they could be proclaimed
fit to enter the eternal abodes of bliss and stand in the presence of the god Osiris, the chief lord of the land of the
departed. One of the names given to this god, expressive of his attributes, was Nephi or Dnephi (the D being silent, as
Dniester, Dnieper, etc.), or the good, and the chief city dedicated to him was called N-ph, translated into Hebrew as
Noph, in which form it appears in Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Its modern English name is Memphis. In the Coptic,
the language of the modern Egyptians, the word has the form of Menfi or Mnefi. Plutarch, the ancient historian, says
that Dnephi was a benevolent person, and an epithet for Osiris, and was also applicable to Memphis, the sepulchre of
that god. The word Neph frequently appears in Egyptian proper names before the Christian era, as Amoneph,
Amuneph, Me-Nephta. From these facts we conclude that Nephi was a common name in the Egyptian tongue; and, as
far as the founder of the Nephite nation was concerned, most applicable to his character, which was preeminently
good and benevolent.
Not only did Helaman's son Nephi leave Zarahemla, but "whither he went, no man knoweth" (3).
He may have had some premonition that he should never return, for he had given the "plates of
brass and all the records" into the charge of his son Nephi before taking his departure" (46).
3 Ne 1:5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled,
which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.
Already "greater signs and greater miracles" were being "wrought among the people" (4). This
was bothering the consciences of Satan's servants. Whenever God moves among the faithful in
significant ways, Satan starts a countermovement. Samuel had prophesied, "Five years more
cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem" the world (H. 5:55). When some
began to declare that the time was past, they mocked the believers with, "Therefore, your joy and
your faith. ..hath been vain" (6). This report made the believers "very sorrowful" (7).
3 Ne 1:9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who
believed in those traditions should be put to death, except the sign should come to pass which had been
given by Samuel the prophet.