The Second and Third Chapters of 1 Nephi have more parallels with Joseph Smith's personal story, and feature material which could be derivative of the Royal Arch Degree in Freemasonry.
CHAPTER 2
FOR behold, it came to pass that the LORD spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him: Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee, behold, they seek to take away thy life.
Again, the experience of Lehi parallels with Joseph's personal claims that he was persecuted because of his own visions. We don't really have much historical record of this claim early in Church history. Joseph's own persecutions seemed to have been related to his money-digging practices. Perhaps, however, Joseph Sr. had been persecuted because of his own visions, and Joseph Jr. is seeing himself as the faithful son, following in his father's footsteps.
2 And it came to pass that the LORD commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness.
3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the LORD, wherefore he did as the LORD commanded him.
4 And it came to pass that he departedi into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.
5 And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.
6 And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water.
7 And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the LORD, and gave thanks unto the LORD our God.
Much has been written about Anti-Masonic sentiments in the Book of Mormon. But it is important to recognize that Joseph Smith, Sr., was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on May 7, 1818 in Ontario Lodge No. 23 of Canandaigua, New York. Hyrum Smith, was also a Mason, and was documented on the rolls of Mount Moriah Lodge No. 112, Palmyra New York. Masonic literature would likely have been available in the Smith home.
The Royal Arch Degree begins with a summarized story of King Zedekiah, the siege of Jerusalem, and the Babylonian Captivity, followed by a narrative where three exiled Israelites return from Babylon to Jerusalem. There are various versions of this narrative, but components often include: traveling along the banks of the River Euphrates, discussion of the path of the river, the sea it empties into, and the valley it runs through, a discussion of which route to take, and coming across a series of stone altars which were built by the ancestors of the captives. This portion of 1 Nephi almost reads like the counterpart and precursor to that journey. The altar in verse 7, perhaps intended to be one of those discovered in the Royal Arch Degree.
8 And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman, and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in the borders near the mouth thereof.
9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!
10 And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the LORD!
11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.
12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.
13 Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.
14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.
15 And my father dwelt in a tent.
16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the LORD; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the LORD had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words.
18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the LORD for them.
19 And it came to pass that the LORD spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.
20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the LORD.
22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.
Joseph's personal identification is again shown to have centered on Nephi. He sees himself as taking after his father, and being the leader of his brethren.
23 For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.
24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.
CHAPTER 3
AND it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the LORD, to the tent of my father.
2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the LORD hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.
3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.
4 Wherefore, the LORD hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness.
5 And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the LORD.
6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the LORD, because thou hast not murmured.
7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the LORD hath commanded, for I know that the LORD giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the LORD.
9 And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness, with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.
10 And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the land of Jerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one with another.
11 And we cast lots—who of us should go in unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; and Laman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house.
12 And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father.
13 And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee.
Nephi's brothers try to convince Laban to part with the brass plates containing the writings of Moses and of the prophets up to the reign of Zedekiah. Laban identifies them as robbers, and threatens to slay them.
Why are Lehi's children trying to steal these brass plates, since it has already been established in Chapter 1 that angels can show a book to a prophet and allow it to be read without it needing to be physically possessed?
14 But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which Laban had done, unto us. And we began to be exceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness.
15 But behold I said unto them that: As the LORD liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the LORD hath commanded us.
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.
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.
21 And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the commandments of God.
22 And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things.
23 And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban.
24 And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our silver, and all our precious things.
25 And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property.
26 And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the hands of Laban.
As Nephi's brothers fled from Laban, they left behind their property (apparently, their gold, silver, and precious things, refer back to verse 16.) This is all a bit confusing, and it is interesting that they brought these things with them at all. Is the implication that the LORD had commanded them to bring these things, knowing that they would be lost?
27 And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock.
28 And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.
29 And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the LORD came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the LORD hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the LORD will deliver Laban into your hands.
30 And after the angel had spoken unto us, he departed.
The angel of the LORD appearing, and encouraging Nephi and Sam that they will be able to overcome Laban and his servants, is somewhat reminiscent of the angel of the LORD appearing to Moses and encouraging him that he will be able to overcome Pharaoh and his armies in order to free the Children of Israel in the Exodus story. This appearance of the angel of the LORD from out of the burning bush is also depicted in the Royal Arch Degree, as a precursor to the story of the Babylonian captivity. Nephi and Sam are here comparable to Moses and Aaron, but owing to the other parallels, may also be compared to Joseph Jr. and Hyrum Smith.
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