3 And I know that the record which I make is atrue; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.
This is a very personal, non-academic statement. Notice the words “I know”, “I make”, “mine own hand”, “my knowledge”. Reflect back to verse 1 for the source and the type of knowledge Nephi has (goodness and mysteries of God).
In no uncertain terms he (Nephi) states that he knows his record to be true. Why did he need to tell us that? Anyone writing seriously would assume that his readers would expect him to be writing what he knew to be true. Maybe the importance of “true” harks back to the source of the truth. Not his natural senses; his touch, sight, smell etc., but rather the real source of truth, the Spirit of God. In fact, Nephi states this later in his conclusion to the vision he received after he desired to see what his Father had seen. In 1 Ne 14:30, he states that the things he saw in vision, shown him by the Spirit, and written by him are true.
1 comment:
Certainly Laman and Lemuel doubted. It would have been easy for Nephi to see how others may wonder if he really believed what he was writing.
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