LEHI AND HIS SONS
NEPHI AND HIS PEOPLE BUILD A TEMPLE.
After Nephi and his people had separated themselves from Laman and his followers, the Lord placed a curse upon the Lamanites. He caused a skin of blackness to come upon them. Before this they were a white and beautiful people; but that they might not be attractive to the Nephites, the Lord caused them to appear loathsome and offensive. This was in order to keep them from associating together in any way.
The Lord instructed the Nephites to not mix with the Lamanites, and told them if they did they too would become cursed like them. The only way for the Lamanites to free themselves from their curse was to repent of their sins. After this curse came upon the Lamanites they became idle, mischievous and filthy; and they gained their living by hunting wild animals and eating their flesh.
Nephi had a great deal to do among his people. Besides teaching them the commandments of the Lord he had to instruct them about many other things. He had to teach them how to build houses, how to work wood, and iron, and copper, and brass, and steel, and gold, and silver, in order to make useful articles out of these materials. He also taught them how to obtain metals from the ore, which was found in great abundance in the mountains. He was very desirous that the people should become industrious and learn to labor with their hands.
Nephi's younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph, and his own children and those of Sam and Zoram were born after their fathers left Jerusalem. They did not know much about building or other kind of work, for they never had seen a city nor even a house. During their travels in the wilderness they lived in tents. Some of these children might have remembered seeing their parents building the ship in which they crossed the ocean, but they were very young at that time.
THE NEPHITES BUILDING A TEMPLE.
After teaching the people how to work at these different occupations Nephi built a temple in which the people might meet to worship the Lord and receive instructions. He had the temple made like the one in Jerusalem, which was built by King Solomon, only it was not built of so many precious things. Nephi had seen the temple in Jerusalem and knew how it was built, and he made one like it as near as he could. The work on it was very fine.
Nephi was so well beloved by his people that they desired to make him their king. He did not wish them to have a king but was willing to act as a leader and do all he could for them.
He needed some one to help him as a teacher of the people and he appointed and set apart his two younger brothers Jacob and Joseph as priests, that they might instruct the people. These two men were faithful in their duties and they gave the people very good instruction. The Lord blessed them in their labors and showed them in visions many glorious things, just as he had shown their brother Nephi.