Among the most recognized and admired of the Lord’s prophet-servants, Nephi exemplifies faith, obedience, steadfastness, visionary leadership, and unflagging valor in cultivating and upholding the testimony of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and Savior. As a younger contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, peer of Daniel, and older contemporary of Ezekiel, Nephi is a firsthand observer of the cultural unrest and spiritual decline in the Holy Land on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem around 587 b.c. at the hands of the invading Babylonians. Shortly before this upheaval, Lehi follows the command of the Lord and, having warned the recalcitrant people of the city with the voice of prophecy, takes his family and departs into the wilderness about 600 b.c.
The journey through the wilderness of what is now Saudi Arabia and then onward via ocean transit to the promised land of America is a chronicle of sacrifice and learning—sacrifice of worldly affluence in the pursuit of godly obedience, and learning anchored in the resolve to overcome tribulation and achieve happiness by following the counsel of God. The young Nephi rises in stature and wisdom through every step of this journey to become a leader with multiple missions: colonizer, nation-builder, historian, articulator and preserver of the word of God, teacher, spiritual leader, temple-builder, prophet, and family man.