Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture: A Thematic Analysis of 1 Nephi 13–14

This essay is a thematic analysis of 1 Nephi 13–14. After surveying the contents of the three visions within this section, this essay brings out the implications of this material in order to consider the embedded theological interests and literary history of 1 Nephi specifically and the Book of Mormon more generally. The key topics that emerge center around the identity of the great and abominable church (and how that might shed light on the historical location of the source material cited within 1 Nephi), the nature of the “book” that proceeds from the mouth of “the Jew” (and the identity of that Jew), and the way earlier apocalyptic revelations are reused within 1 Nephi (and perhaps the Book of Mormon as a whole).