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1 Nephi 1:3

"And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge."

Pretty short verse, right? I sometimes get caught up in individual verses and don't really realize that it probably wasn't laid out like that in the beginning. Actually, I am almost positive the original Book of Mormon didn't have chapters, verses, and such.
Okay, I checked and surely enough, the verses and chapters were added later. Something that is really interesting that we won't be able to compare each time, are paragraph breaks. Verse 3 is the end of the first paragraph in the Book of Mormon as it was originally laid out. Pretty cool eh? So everything through verse 3 is kind of a single idea, a set-up if you will. Lets water it down into what Nephi actually does with the verses. Verse one Nephi introduces himself, why he is qualified (the mandate from God), and a declaration of purpose. Verse 2 confuses me a little bit because he throws in the language and learning of. I feel like this is a necessary bit of context and honestly may have had a little more relevance in the day. It is probably important that he is giving this account through the lens of the Jews. Then in Verse 3 he bears testimony of its truthfulness.

**The only footnote in the verse is on the word true and it is actually really cool to read through those verses. You have a collection of powerful individuals bearing testimony that the book is true.**

So if we look at the format that Nephi is following here in the setup of this amazing book, he begins with his self-introduction, some secular understanding, then his spiritual bring it home. I could be very wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if we find this pattern elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. It is a remarkably effective outline for almost any spiritual conversation. The introduction of the person, a little bit about who you are, why you are where you are, and what you are doing. Then a little bit of housekeeping as far as what you need to know in order to understand me and where all of this is coming from. Finally you get right to the spiritual stuff. There is something really neat about the fact that Nephi sets this up in such an organized way. I am sure this isn't the last time we will see evidence of the Book of Mormon being very planned out.

On a final note, let's not forget the importance of opening the Book of Mormon with a very direct and simple statement of its truth. The Book of Mormon consistently has examples of simple testimony. I don't think we should forget or bypass that on any level. This book speaks for itself and if we want to complement the power of this book, it should be a simple and direct statement of its truth. Add your testimony to the testimony of the amazing individuals in this book and keep it strong and simple.

**Also pay attention to the overall format of the Book of Mormon. I think it follows a good example of introduction/setup, some contextual housekeeping, and ending with a solid testimony of the Book's truth.**

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