And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel. And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have not written but a small part of the things which I saw. And I bear record, that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw, while I was carried away in the spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written, are true. And thus it is. Amen.

And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father. And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another, concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them; for he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought. And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass, because of the great wickedness of the children of men.

And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destructions of my people; for I had beheld their fall.

And it came to pass that after I had received strength, I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations. And they said, behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of [p. 38]