The first of a three volume Commentary on the Book of Mormon, from First Nephi through Words of Mormon. In The Book of Mormon, "we are not laying down ground rules for taste, or saying that it is good because some people like it, or bad because others do not. What we are saying is that whatever one may think of it, is one of the great realities of our time, and that what makes it so is that millions of people believe it. Its literary or artistic qualities do not enter into the discussion. It was written to be believed. It's one and only merit is truth. Without that merit, it is all that non-believers say it is. With it, it is all that believers say it is". (Hugh Nibley, "Of All Things", p. 93). With this historical perspective, an abiding testimony in the divinity of the work, and an anticipation of enlightenment throughout the journey, let us commit and re-commit ourselves to a lifetime study of this keystone text.