Redaction: “Nevertheless” is mildly confusing since, as a transition, it usually indicates some negation or modification of the preceding text in what will follow; yet that does not occur here. There is no negation of Nephi’s previously announced purpose (keeping sacred things for his people) and his currently announced purpose (he writes only things he considered to be sacred).
Perhaps “nevertheless” forms a transition for the narrative and should be attached to “I proceed according to that which I have spoken” (v. 5). Nephi’s narrative to this point has largely focused on his own spiritual development. Possibly, his humility required that he explain this apparent self-indulgence by differentiating between spiritual events in which he was involved, not his own greatness. The next sentence is, in fact, a declaration of Nephi’s essential humanness and fallibility. While Nephi wants to make it clear that, even though the record contains sacred material, a man, subject to human error, is its creator.
Text: Why does Nephi insist on the possibility of human error in his history? Because of his powerful spiritual experiences, it is unlikely that he made any errors in describing these episodes, so what errors might it contain? First, it is incomplete because Nephi’s spiritual concerns overrode his historical concerns. Second, Nephi must be aware that language is inadequate to capture the transcendent, ineffable experiences he had. Even if he was not aware that it would have to pass through the further challenge of translation into another language, he must have yearned for more powerful language.
Scripture: Nephi’s declaration of his humanness and fallibility should remind all of us that even the prophets begin like us. In fact, such humility only intensifies the spiritual power of his message. That should give us some confidence as we progress toward more knowledge.