Nephi Was My Friend

Lehi's Dream #1

by Kirby Jonas

Somewhere between the years 600 to 597 B.C., a pillar of fire descended from the heavens and perched on a rock, in reply to the prayer of a simple man with powerful faith—a man by the name of Lehi. By this simple method, and with the words that followed, both during this visitation and the dream that followed, the man Lehi was brought into the fold of God as a prophet, to be ranked among men like his compatriot, Jeremiah and the young man Daniel, who was taken captive into Babylon. At the same time, in Lehi’s home city of Jerusalem, a man fought with his inner demons, a man held in high esteem in Jerusalem by a powerful but evil man by the name of Laban, captain of the Jewish military contingent of Jerusalem known as “the Fifty.” Zoram was struggling with a strange feeling that his service as scribe for Laban was not a calling of which the Lord of Israel approved. But leaving this calling would put him straight into the path of an angry, violent father, and in Jewish society a man did not stand against his father.Zoram’s meeting with the youngest son of Lehi, a powerful young man named Nephi, would change his life forever. With an undying devotion, he would choose to follow young Nephi as he and his family departed from the doomed city of Jerusalem and set out on a trek through the desert that mighty men had feared for thousands of years. The story of Nephi Was My Friend is seen through the eyes of Zoram. In writing Nephi Was My Friend, Kirby Jonas followed as closely as he could the powerful, epic story given us in The Book of Mormon, a book also known as “another testimony of Jesus Christ,” which testifies to the truth of the birth, mission and death of our Savior, who came to earth for the express purpose of giving his sinless life for mankind that if they so chose they could believe in him and have eternal life. Nephi Was My Friend is but the first in a projected series of thirty to forty books known as Lehi’s Dream. Jonas’s self-professed mission in taking upon this far-reaching, somewhat heavy goal, was to present the Book of Mormon to readers in an entertaining style that gives us description, inner thoughts and feelings, and dialog, also filling in some gaps left in the progression of events with inspired passages of “what might have been” while staying as close to the recorded books in the Book of Mormon as possible. Nephi Was My Friend, following the actual stories in the Book of Mormon, reads a little like the heroic sagas of J. R. R. Tolkien, for the heroes in the Book of Mormon were just as inspiring, just as compelling as Aragorn, the Hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, or Legolas the elf, and Jonas’s prose just as readable and entertaining. We hope that the reader of Tolkien and the heroes of the Book of Mormon will be just as proud of the work Jonas has done in bringing the Book of Mormon to life.

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2014

Reviews

[Emmett J.]

I just couldn't wade through it.

[Lisa the Librarian]

What "The Work and the Glory" series did for LDS Church History this series can and should do for The Book of Mormon.

Though a work of fiction this first book in a series devoted to the deeper back story of the people we know and love (and maybe don't love so much) in The Book of Mormon. I loved the insights of the inner characters and motivations that help inspire to the actions of the people we know from the scriptures. I especially appreciated the deeper insights into the less than stalwart Laman and Lemuel.

The experiences and people Nephi encountered between his leaving Jerusalem and arriving in the Land of Bountiful that helped shape how he acted and the choices he made. Realizing this is a work of imagination I appreciated a deeper insight into what could have been and is likely for men and women living centuries ago.

Kirby Jonas is a very talented writer and breathes life into the day to day journey of a family fleeing for their lives when we only see the highlights in the official canon. I very much enjoyed this book and eagerly look forward to the future books in this series. I'm not sure of his plan but I'd love to see the entire Book of Mormon novelized by Kirby. I realize this would be a huge undertaking and commitment of time, but his level of insight and skill I believe is up to the challenge.

I considered giving this a full five stars, but I am very stingy with stars and reserve that level for very few books that are actually life changing for me, including the actual Book of Mormon.

Bottom line I really loved this first in the series and eagerly anticipate future books

**Note This is the original publication of this work, there are also listed in the kindle store three books in this series, however they are the content of this book broken down into three to make for easier eventual hardcover publication of the series.