Narrative Map
This page traces the grand story of the Book of Mormon through its major stations. The goal is not to summarize the text but to draw a map that helps you understand where you are in the narrative as you read.
1. The Departure from Jerusalem
Characters: Lehi, Sariah, Nephi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Ishmael
Lehi is a prophet in Jerusalem around 600 BCE. He receives a revelation that the city will be destroyed. He takes his family into the wilderness. After a grueling journey, God commands him to send his sons back to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates (a religious record held by Laban). Nephi succeeds in the mission.
The families marry Ishmael’s daughters. They build a ship by divine command and cross the ocean to the “land of promise.”
Concepts that appear: revelation, obedience, the record, the promised land, murmuring versus faith
2. The Journey to the New Land
Characters: Nephi, Laman, Lemuel
During the journey through the wilderness and across the ocean, a pattern repeats: revelation to Nephi, murmuring from Laman and Lemuel, divine intervention (broken bow, storm), temporary repentance, and return to murmuring. This pattern establishes the division that will define the rest of the narrative.
Concepts that appear: trial, blessing, disobedience, repentance
3. The Division Between Peoples
Characters: Nephi, Laman, Lemuel
After arriving in the new land and the death of Lehi, the people divide:
- The Nephites: followers of Nephi, generally portrayed as a believing, obedient, and civilized group
- The Lamanites: followers of Laman and Lemuel, generally portrayed as a rebellious group from whom blessings are withdrawn
This division is the fundamental engine of everything that follows — wars, conflicts, and prophecies.
Concepts that appear: covenant, curse, separation, the chosen people
4. Prophets and Kings
Characters: Jacob, Enos, King Benjamin, Mosiah, Alma, the sons of Alma, Ammon
Across generations, prophets, kings, and judges alternate among the Nephites. Key moments:
- Jacob (Nephi’s brother) preaches to the people, warning against pride and sexual immorality
- Enos prays all day and receives a promise concerning the preservation of records
- King Benjamin delivers a farewell address from a tower, proclaiming a covenant with the people
- Mosiah ends hereditary monarchy and establishes the system of judges
- Alma the Younger is transformed from a persecutor of the church into a great prophet after an angel appears
- Ammon goes on a mission to the Lamanites
Concepts that appear: prophecy, priesthood, covenant, conversion, missionary work
5. Wars and Collapses
Characters: Captain Moroni, Helaman, Nephi son of Helaman, Samuel the Lamanite
The cycle of wars, prosperity, and collapse reaches its peak:
- Captain Moroni leads defensive wars and raises the “title of liberty”
- Helaman leads an army of young men (the stripling warriors)
- Samuel the Lamanite prophesies from the city wall about Christ’s birth and death
- Signs are fulfilled at Christ’s birth (a night without darkness) and at his crucifixion (earthquakes and three days of darkness)
Concepts that appear: war and righteousness, signs, prophecy, destruction, deliverance
6. Christ’s Appearance in the Narrative
Characters: the risen Christ, Nephi son of Nephi, the twelve disciples
After the destruction that follows the crucifixion, the risen Christ appears to the people in Bountiful. This is the theological center of the entire book:
- He invites them to touch the nail marks
- He delivers a discourse similar to the Sermon on the Mount
- He blesses the children one by one
- He teaches about baptism and the Holy Ghost
- He prays with them and weeps
- He chooses twelve disciples
- He promises to return
Concepts that appear: incarnation, redemption, baptism, the Holy Ghost, the new covenant
7. The End of the Record and Moroni’s Role
Characters: Mormon, Moroni
After Christ, the people live in peace and unity for generations. Then division, pride, and war return. In the end:
- Mormon abridges the records and leads the armies, then is killed in the final battle
- Moroni (his son) completes the record and hides it. He adds the Book of Ether (the Jaredite record) and his own book. He seals with a promise to the reader: pray and ask God whether the book is true
Concepts that appear: the record, the end, the promise, personal testing, sealing