Editing First Nephi (section)

==Significant textual variants==
The original translation of the book's title did not include the word "first". First and Second were added to the titles of the Books of Nephi by [[Oliver Cowdery]] when preparing the book for printing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2010-fair-conference/2010-restoring-the-original-text-of-the-book-of-mormon|title = Restoring the Original Text of the Book of Mormon}}; {{harvnb|Skousen|2004|p=42}}</ref>

Originally, Joseph Smith indicated seven chapter breaks in First Nephi:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Chapter organization in 1 Nephi
!in Joseph's manuscript
!in current LDS edition (since 1879)
|-
|Chapter I
|1 Nephi 1–5
|-
|Chapter II
|1 Nephi 6–9
|-
|Chapter III
|1 Nephi 10–14
|-
|Chapter IV
|1 Nephi 15
|-
|Chapter V
|1 Nephi 16:1–19:21
|-
|Chapter VI
|1 Nephi 19:22–21:26
|-
|Chapter VII
|1 Nephi 22
|}
Editions of the Book of Mormon from the Community of Christ still use the original chapter organization. In 1879, [[Orson Pratt]] reformatted the LDS edition to include twenty-two thematically-arranged chapters.<ref>{{harvnb|Skousen|2004|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|p=17}}</ref>

Textual variations in 1 Nephi concern the nature of [[God in Mormonism|God]]. In the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 11:21 reads "behold the Lamb of God yea even the Eternal Father". Joseph Smith inserted "the Son of" in this verse and three others in 1 Nephi. According to Skousen, this was simply to clarify that these verses referred to the Son of God, since other references to Christ as the Father are left as is. Joseph Spencer, examining the same passage, writes that the reason for clarifying these passages is unclear, but notes that 1 Nephi 12:18 clearly delineates the three separate members of the Godhead. In that verse, God the Father is referred to as "the Eternal Father."<ref>{{harvnb|Skousen|2004|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Spencer|2020|pp=57–59}}</ref>