1 Nephi 18:23- 19:2
1 Nephi 18:23 And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.
We have no idea just how far from the land of promise that the rebellion took place, but they still have quite a way to go. But they did arrive and start their settlement. They call the country where they landed the Promise Land. I wonder if there were people there who might have seen their arrival and wonder who they were? There is obviously a question as to where they landed but it seem that it must have been in Central American and good chance that it was the western shore of Guatemala.
1 Nephi 18:24 And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance.
They must have landed in the spring or early summer as they immediately begin to plant the seeds they brought with them. With the tropical conditions of Central American, the crops grow fast and they must of had a large harvest. So they, I suppose, have peace among the group for a few months at least while they grew the food they need to live on. I’m sure that their experiences in the desert and in the land Bountiful prepared them to become farmers. After all they were city dwellers before they embarked on this enterprise.
1 Nephi 18:25 And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper.
As they scouted the landscape, they found all sort of game and lots of them. They also found animals they could use in their settlement such as ox to pull wagons, horses to ride, and goats to give milk.
Since Nephi was probably the metallurgist of the group, he went looking for ore that he could make farm tools and such. In addition to iron he found gold, silver and copper ores. With these ores, he could make plates to keep the record of his people. I’m sure the older boys had other ideas in mind for the gold and silver.
It is rather ironic that the family had been learve their gold and silver back in Jerusalem, but now they could have all they wanted. Getting Gold back in Jerusalem required that they work or trade for it. But here, all one had to do was to gather it up. Laman and Lemuel were now better off then they were in Jerusalem. They had all the land and gold they could ever want.
1 Nephi 19:1 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of my father, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them.
Nephi receives a commandment to make plates of ore to record the events of the group. On the plates he makes, he records their journey in the desert and the voyage across the great ocean. He also records the prophecies of his father Lehi that he made after being visited by the Lord and receiving the commandment to leave Jerusalem. He will also, naturally, include his own prophecies and history.
1 Nephi 19:2 And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates.
The record that we are reading from now is different from the ones he originally made in the first place. These plates are completely new from those Nephi made in the beginning. Those first set of plates contain the record of Lehi’s doings along with his genealogy. They also contain Nephi’s experiences, both religious and secular before the plates we are reading from now.
