16 Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; therefore let us go down to the land of our father’s
inheritance, for behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches. And all this he hath done because of the
commandments of the Lord.
17 For he knew that Jerusalem must be
destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people.
18 For behold, they have
rejected the words of the prophets. Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after he hath been
commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish. Wherefore, it must needs be that he flee out of the land.
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19 And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these
records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers;
20 And also that we may
preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy
prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time.
QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION
Why Preserve the Plates?
To “preserve…the[ir] language” (1 Nephi 3:20)
To “preserve…the words…of all the holy prophets” [to have the scripture] (1 Nephi 3:20)
To keep a nation from dwindling in unbelief (see 1 Nephi 4:13)
To perhaps save the plates from being destroyed along with the rest of Jerusalem