Lifespan

Approximately 615-545 B.C.

Ministry

Nephi was the fourth son of the prophet Lehi, a contemporary of Jeremiah in the region surrounding Jerusalem. He was a prophet, keeper of the records of his people, and the founder of the Nephite clan in the New World.

Preparation and Calling

As a young man, Nephi was well educated and diligent in learning the ways of his prophet-father, Lehi. When his father had a vision instructing him to take the family and leave Jerusalem, Nephi sought God for permission to have the same vision so he could more clearly understand his father’s instruction. It is no small matter that he was granted the vision in great detail. He honored his father, Lehi, as family patriarch and prophet all his days, and assumed the family position of prophet only after his father’s death, though he certainly had prophetic experiences throughout most of his life.

Interaction with God

Like his brother, Jacob, and Isaiah, whom he quotes extensively, Nephi was a personal witness of having seen Jesus Christ face to face as well as in vision. He was also visited by angels, and heard on several occasions the voice of the Lord speaking to him.

Social Situation

Nephi was placed in challenging circumstances most of his life. He supported his father’s command to gather the family together and flee into the wilderness, where they lived with the family of Ishmael for several years before Nephi built a boat (under the Lord’s direction), which they sailed to the New World. Because of his righteousness and natural leadership ability, he was chosen above his three older brothers to lead the family during Lehi’s declining years and following his death. This did not set well, expecially with the oldest two—Laman and Lemuel—who constantly murmured against Nephi and sought his demise. At times, they also sought his life. After reaching the promised land, Nephi lead the righteous members of the family to begin a new colony and began life together in this new world.

Key Teachings

Nephi was such a key figure in the early pages of the Book of Mormon that it is difficult to choose from among his many and significant teachings. However, he was above all dedicated to doing the Lord’s will, regardless of what was asked of him. Even when he doubted his own abilities to lead the fledgling society following the death of his parents, his faith brought him out of his struggles to lead them to righteous patterns of living. Early in his life he proclaimed, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7). This witness of faith was his hallmark throughout his life.

Living with the Prophet

Nephi was persecuted by his older brothers through most of his life for upholding the faith of his father and for believing in God and his instruction to them. One reason for their rebellion was their lack of understanding of God’s ways, which Nephi attributed in part to an unwillingness to simply ask Him in prayer for understanding. Do you ever wonder why the Lord would ask of you certain things? Seek understanding and instruction through prayer—and perhaps fasting as well—in order to become more committed to doing His will at all times and in all places.

Additional Links:

Born of Goodly Parents

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Nephi.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Approximately 153-91 B.C.

Ministry

Mosiah was a Nephite prophet and king of the combined cultures of the Nephites and Mulekites. He was also the son of the Nephite prophet-king named Benjamin, and grandson of the first Mosiah, also a king. His ministry lasted approximately 33 years, during which time he strengthened the Church against persecution and devised a system of government based on a system of judges rather than a king.

Preparation and Calling

Mosiah’s coronation as king occurred in approximately 124 B.C., three years before his father’s death. He was in his 30^th year. Presumably, his calling as prophet came with the position of king and leader of his people in both political and religious affairs.

Interaction with God

We know that Mosiah was a righteous man who walked in the ways of the Lord and served his people humbly yet powerfully. When  four of his sons began to wreak havoc about the land and in the Church, he obtained divine help and angelic visitations to straighten out his sons and bring them to repentance.

Social Situation

Mosiah ruled over two peoples living in a single land with different backgrounds. He sought diligently to increase the strength and influence of the Church while serving with political savvy and a love for the people. As king, he dealt with political unrest from within and conflict with the Lamanites outside his kingdom.

Key Teachings

Mosiah’s religion was a practical religion. Perhaps the best summary of his teaching came through the example he set, as summarized in this passage: “And [his people] did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other man; for they did not look upon him as a tyrant who was seeking for gain, . . . for he had not exacted riches of them, neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established peace in the land, and he had granted unto his people that they should be delivered from all manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea, exceedingly, beyond measure” (Mosiah 29:40).

Living with the Prophet

When feeling in bondage to negative feelings about yourself or someone else, or when your freedom seems otherwise hampered by the actions of someone you know or love,  reread this account of deliverance and remember the prophet, Mosiah, who knew it could come for his people.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Mosiah.”

Book of Mormon, the books of Mosiah and Alma.

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

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Lifespan

Approximately A.D. 350-421.

Ministry

Moroni was the final Nephite prophet to record in the plates that were later translated as the Book of Mormon. The son of the prophet-general Mormon, he himself led ten thousand troops into the last battle against the Lamanites and took over care of the sacred records of the Nephites at his father’s death.

Preparation and Calling

Moroni was grew up under the tutelage of his prophet-general father in challenging circumstances. His charge to care for the records of his people came from that father, who instructed his son to write “the sad tale of the destruction of [their] people” (Mormon 8:3). The time and circumstances of his calling as prophet are unclear.

Interaction with God

Like his father, Moroni was not a stranger to the presence of Deity. He recorded, “I have seen Jesus, and . . . he hath talked with me face to face, and . . . he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things” (Ether 12:39).

Social Situation

Moroni was an eyewitness to the annihilation of his entire people. He served under his father in defense of those people against the Lamanite onslaughts that sought their total destruction. He and his father, and a few unnamed Nephites who apparently escaped, were all who remained at the conclusion of the final battle, and Moroni spent the remainder of his days (at least 36 years) in hiding and caring for the sacred records which he had been entrusted with.

Key Teachings

In addition to his fervent witness of Jesus Christ, Moroni is known for his writings on the Lord’s supper (sacrament) and other basic principles. But most famous is his challenge in the final chapter of the book that bears his name: “And when ye shall receive these things [meaning the Book of Mormon], I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5).

Living with the Prophet

Hollywood has made a number of movies about time travel. What if you had the chance to visit with someone who knew the future? Would you not find such a visit of great worth? Moroni wrote to those who would one day read his words, “Behold, I speak unto you as if you were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Mormon 8:35). Read the words of Moroni. Study his messages. Learn and do what the Savior of the world commanded him to write so that you, centuries later, would know how to live. This is the chance of a lifetime. Take advantage of it.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Moroni.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Approximately A.D. 310-385.

Ministry

Mormon was a prophet and general for the Nephite people at the close of their civilization. More important for people today, however, may be the fact that he was also a record keeper and a major editor of the record known today as the Book of Mormon.

Preparation and Calling

Mormon was prepared as a youth for his calling as an eventual prophet-leader. He was a quick learner and of a sober disposition who was “visited of the Lord” in his fifteenth year. At age 16 he became the general of all Nephite armies, which, though a secular position, required all the inspiration of a prophet to lead and protect his people for many years. Though he also held this military position, he held firm that his primary responsibility was as prophet.

Interaction with God

Mormon was a man of unusual spiritual prowess, having been “visited of the Lord” when but in his fifteenth year. This closeness with his Father in Heaven served him well as he taught his people of the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. He understood the heavenly culture and sought to bring his people to it, but in the end they chose to place their faith in their own swords instead of the Lord. This led to their destruction, and Mormon finished his life in hiding, editing the sacred records with which he had been entrusted and preparing them for a young man named Joseph Smith to translate 14 and a half centuries later.

Social Situation

The Nephites were on their last leg. The Lamanites sought their total destruction. The Nephites themselves tended to trust themselves rather than God. Mormon was in the unique and challenging position of leading a declining people both spiritually and militarily, a feat that he accomplished with surprising success for over half a century.

Key Teachings

Nephi was privileged not only with spiritual insights but also all the learning of a significant culture. As record keeper, he had access to hundreds of years of recorded history—both secular and spiritual. This combination of insight and information provided him with a perspective enjoyed by only a few in the history of the world. It is no small moment then to read his messages, which tend to be clear and simple. He taught of the need for repentance, baptism, and discipleship to Jesus Christ. He witnessed to the combined power of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and he taught of the necessity of both in blessing the children of Israel in both the New and Old Worlds. Finally, his son Moroni preserved his father’s writings on the need for charity and the wrongness of infant baptism, which implied a total misunderstanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Living with the Prophet

Mormon was unflinching in his courage to do the Lord’s will, willing to be tutored by Him in every instance. He took the Lord at His word. As we are called to use our talents to do the seemingly impossible, when we feel overpowered and outnumbered, can we recall Mormon’s mindset that the Lord can be relied on to accomplish His purposes.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Mormon.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

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Lifespan

Approximately 600 B.C.

Ministry

Lehi was a Hebrew prophet (and likely a merchant as well) and contemporary of Jeremiah. Following a dream from God, Lehi took his family to the wilderness and eventually made his way with them to the Promised Land somewhere in the Western Hemisphere.

Preparation and Calling

We do not know of Lehi’s preparation or calling as a prophet.

Interaction with God

The prophet Lehi is referred to several times as having visions and prophecies, usually centered on the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming Messiah, and his own descendants. He was obviously close to his Father in Heaven and earned His trust, at least sufficient to be saved from Jerusalem’s destruction in order to begin a new branch of God’s chosen people in a faraway country where they could preserve God’s truth and covenants.

Social Situation

Lehi was a prophet in the Jerusalem area. He was likely also a successful merchant familiar with life and trade in the desert. But then God warned him to take his family and the family of Ishmael—perhaps in part because Ishmael’s daughters were prime candidates to marry Lehi’s sons—and flee into the wilderness. They traveled for several years, then constructed a boat and made the long voyage to the New World. Despite the rebellious attitudes and actions of two of Lehi’s sons, as long as Lehi was yet alive, he was able to keep the family together.

Key Teachings

In addition to the visions that Lehi had that usually centered on the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming Messiah, and his own descendants, he taught powerfully of the plan of salvation and of the promised blessings reserved for his righteous posterity in this new promised land.

Living with the Prophet

Imagine that your father came home one evening and told you that God wanted the family to pack up some of its stuff (leaving the majority of everything that you collectively and personally own) and move to the desert. Some of Lehi’s children went willingly, some went along but complained bitterly almost the entire time. Which would you do? Which do you do when you are asked to do something that will result in the good of someone else? Commit to serve and obey God without complaint, for He will ask only that which is good of you.

Additional Links:

Lehi’s Vision of the Savior

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Lehi.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Approximately 440-360 B.C.

Ministry

Jarom was the son of the Nephite prophet Enos. He recorded only a brief summary of Nephite history during his lifetime. Though they were outnumbered by the Lamanites, they resisted Lamanite aggression successfully due to their righteousness.

Preparation and Calling

Nothing is known of Jarom’s preparation or calling.

Interaction with God

Though Jarom does not speak of his own relationship with God, he mentions that “many among us . . . have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communtion with the Holy Spirit” (Jarom 1:4). As Jarom was entrusted to keep the records for some 60 years, it is not unlikely that he was among this group of faithful Nephites.

Social Situation

Both the Lamanite and Nephite population was growing rapidly, with the advantage numerically going to the Lamanites. The Nephites were a conservative lot who strictly kept the law of Moses and were constantly stirred up to repentance by the Nephite priests and teachers. The Lamanites, meanwhile, became bloodthirsty and warring, attempting many times to conquer the Nephites—but always in vain.

Key Teachings

Jarom did not leave a record of his teachings, explaining that “what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have they not revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me” (Jarom 1:2).

Living with the Prophet

Though Jarom wrote only a small amount on the plates, he kept them safe and cared for during approximately six decades. And sometimes we become impatient when we are asked to help a neighbor in need for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning! What can you learn from faithful Jarom about serving patiently as long as the Lord requires?

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Book of Jarom.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

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Lifespan

Approximately 570 B.C.

Ministry

Jacob was a Nephite prophet and the fifth son of the prophet Lehi. He was born after the family left Jerusalem, so he was apparently taught by his parents and strongly influenced by his older brother Nephi. Although the extended family probably grew rapidly, obviously his ministry was restricted to that small but growing population. His recorded words, however, continue to teach millions today. He also had responsibility for the small plates of Nephi, which stewardship remained in his direct family line.

Preparation and Calling

Jacob was blessed with both great tribulation and great faith as a young man. Nephi, his older brother, consecrated him to be a priest and a teacher, which role he fulfilled with prophetic diligence. His vocabulary and ability to recall teachings from disparate sources show him to be well-educated and versed in scripture.

Interaction with God

Jacob seems to have been a man of unusual faith. He declared to Sherem, an anti-Christ, “I truly had sen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time” (Jacob 7:5). Nephi wrote that Jacob had seen the premortal Jesus Christ, and indeed perhaps his greatest teachings are of the Savior and His coming mission on earth.

Social Situation

Jacob was born in the wilderness to an aging prophet-father and righteous mother. As he matured, the rift between those who believed in God’s direction for the family and those who did not grew. In the promised land, the two groups grew apart spiritually and physically, even to the point of warring with each other. As the Lord blessed the righteous Nephites, they began to prosper. Jacob, a spiritually and emotionally sensitive man, was tasked with being a priest and a teacher to the Nephite tribe. Many of his teachings center on warning his people of pride, materialism, and unchastity, knowing that the spiritual downfall that these sins could cause was far greater than the afflictions, even death, that the Lamanites would cause.

Key Teachings

Though Jacob taught several doctrines clearly and powerfully, his witness of the coming Messiah to the Jews is remarkable. He was visited by the premortal Jesus and recorded that the purpose of this writing on the plates was for future peoples to “know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming” (Jacob 4:4). His teachings regarding the scattering and gathering of Israel are also worth noting (see Jacob 5).

Living with the Prophet

Jacob was not blessed to live a life of ease. He was born in the wilderness, crossed a mighty ocean by ship, and helped his family carve out an existence in a new and foreign country. He had no fine schools to attend. Yet he must have been diligent in his personal studies, for he learned in those humble circumstances to read and write and was familiar with all the writings of the sacred records carried by the family. Perhaps because of this, he developed strong feelings for the power of written records. He was associated with previous generations primarily through the written word, and he tried to leave a legacy for his future generations by recording his testimony on the plates. Consider your own circumstances. Do you strive to not only get through life but also to improve your education? What kind of legacy can you provide to others by recording your testimony and experiences?

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Jacob.”

Book of Mormon, the books of Mosiah and Alma.

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Approximately 100-57 B.C.

Ministry

Helaman was a son of Alma, the son of Alma, and served the Nephites as a prophet and military commander. His military career is best known for his service at the head of 2060 sons of Ammonite converts to the Church, known as the sons of Helaman or Helaman’s stripling soldiers. He also served as the chief priest of the Church.

Preparation and Calling

When Helaman was a young man, he stayed behind while his father and brothers served a mission to the Zoramites. During this time, he managed many of his father’s domestic and ecclesiastical affairs, including keeping the sacred records.

Interaction with God

We have no record of visions or personal conversations with Deity or even angelic visitations. However, Helaman was a man of great faith and devotion to a God whom he committed his entire life to.

Social Situation

Helaman strove to maintain the Church at a time when the Nephites were being engaged in a lengthy war by the Lamanites. He administered the affairs of the Church, and when it became more important to defend his people militarily, he went to war at the head of a band of 2060 untried young men. Following the war, he returned home and lived out the rest of his life convincing the wicked of the need to repent and otherwise leading the Church once again.

Key Teachings

“Helaman . . . went forth, and did declare the word of God with much power unto the convincing of many people of their wickedness, which did cause them to repent of their sins and to be baptized unto the Lord their God” (Alma 62:45).

Living with the Prophet

When Helaman was a young man, a group of Lamanites named the Ammonites repented of their wicked ways and joined the Church. They made an oath to never take a human life again for any reason. Later, however, when war with the Lamanites broke out, they were tempted to break their oath rather than allow the Nephites to lay down their lives in their defense. Helaman and some others convinced them to keep their oath. Instead, Helaman led a number of their young men who had not made that covenant into war. Miraculously, not one of them was killed despite their many battles, which they contributed to their mothers having trained them in faith. Helaman exemplified showing faith in times of extreme difficulty. Consider how you might display your faith in God by taking on a challenging task. Discuss your thoughts with a spiritual leader or family member, and share with them your commitment. Then do it.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Helaman.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Approximately 515-420 B.C.

Ministry

Enos was a son of Jacob and grandson of Lehi. He was a record keeper and a prophet for the Nephite population. Keep reading →

Lifespan

Approximately 2200 B.C. (the time of the Tower of Babel).

Ministry

The brother of Jared was the first prophet of the Jaredites. His name is not given in the Book of Mormon, although its translator, Joseph Smith, declared his name to be Mahonri Moriancumer. Keep reading →