=14. The Plates of the Book of Mormon= as delivered by the angel
Moroni to Joseph Smith, according to the description given by the
modern prophet, were of gold, of uniform size, each about seven inches
wide by eight inches long; in thickness a little less than ordinary
sheet tin; they were fastened together by three rings running through
the plates near one edge; together they formed a book nearly six
inches in thickness, but not all has been translated, a part being
sealed. Both sides of the plates were engraved with small and
beautiful characters, described by those who examined them as of
curious workmanship, with the appearance of ancient origin.
=15.= Three classes of plates are mentioned on the title page of the
Book of Mormon, viz:--
(1.) _The Plates of Nephi_, which, as will be shown, were of two
kinds:--(a) the larger plates; (b) the smaller plates.
(2.) _The Plates of Mormon_, containing an abridgment from the plates
of Nephi, with additions made by Mormon and his son Moroni.
(3.) _The Plates of Ether_, containing, as we have seen, the history
of the Jaredites.
To these may be added another set of plates, as being mentioned in the
Book of Mormon, viz:
(4.) _The Brass Plates of Laban_, brought by Lehi's people from
Jerusalem, and containing Jewish scriptures and genealogies, many
extracts from which appear in the Nephite records. We have now to
consider more particularly the plates of Nephi, and Mormon's
abridgment thereof.
=16. The Plates of Nephi= are so named from the fact that they were
prepared, and their record was begun, by Nephi, the son of Lehi. These
plates were of two kinds,[773] which may be distinguished as the
"larger plates" and the "smaller plates." Nephi began his labors as a
recorder by engraving on plates of gold a historical account of his
people, from the time his father left Jerusalem. This account recited
the story of their wanderings, their prosperity and their distress,
the reigns of their kings, and the wars and contentions of the people;
the record was in the nature of a secular history. These plates were
handed from one recorder to another throughout the generations of the
Nephite people; so that, at the time they were abridged by Mormon, the
record covered a period of about a thousand years, dating from 600 B.
C., the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem. Although these plates
bore the name of their maker, who was also the first of the writers,
the separate work of each recorder is known in general by his specific
name, so that the record is made up of many distinct books.
[773] I Nephi ix; xix, 1-5; II Nephi v, 30; Jacob i, 1-4; Words of
Mormon i, 3-7.
=17.= By command of the Lord, Nephi made other plates, upon which he
recorded particularly the ecclesiastical history of his people, citing
only such instances of other events as seemed necessary to the proper
sequence of the narrative. "I have received a commandment of the
Lord," says Nephi, "that I should make these plates for the special
purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my
people."[774] The object of this double line of history was unknown to
Nephi, it was enough for him that the Lord required the labor; that it
was for a wise purpose will be shown.
[774] I Nephi ix, 3.
=18. Mormon's Abridgment.=--In the course of time the records that had
accumulated as the history of the people grew fell into the hands of
Mormon;[775] and he undertook to make an abridgment of these extensive
works, upon plates made with his own hands.[776] By such a course, a
record was prepared more concise and more nearly uniform in style,
language, and treatment than could possibly be the case with the
varied writings of so many authors as had contributed to the great
history during the thousand years of its growth. Mormon recognizes and
testifies to the inspiration of God by which he was moved to undertake
the great labor.[777] In preparing this shorter history, Mormon
preserved the division of the record into books according to the
arrangement of the originals; and thus, though the language may be
that of Mormon, except in cases of quotations from the plates of
Nephi, which are indeed numerous, we find the Books of Nephi, the Book
of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc., the form of speech known as the
first person being generally preserved.
[775] Words of Mormon i, 11; Mormon i, 1-4; iv, 23.
[776] III Nephi v, 8-11.
[777] III Nephi v, 14-19.
=19.= When Mormon, in the course of his abridgment, had reached the
time of King Benjamin's reign, he was deeply impressed with the record
engraved on the smaller plates of Nephi,--the history of God's
dealings with the people during the period of about four centuries,
extending from the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem down to the
time of King Benjamin. This record, comprising so much of prophecy
concerning the mission of the Savior, was regarded by Mormon with more
than ordinary favor. Of these plates he attempted no transcript, but
included the originals with his own abridgment of the larger plates,
making of the two one book. The record as compiled by Mormon
contained, therefore, a double account of the descendants of Lehi for
the first four hundred years of their history,--the brief secular
history condensed from the larger plates, and the full text on the
smaller plates. In solemn language, and with an emphasis which
subsequent events have shown to be significant, Mormon declares the
hidden wisdom of the Divine purpose in this duplication:--"And I do
this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the
workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not
know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come;
wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will."[778]
[778] Words of Mormon i, 7.
=20. The Lord's Purpose= in the matter of preparing and of preserving
the smaller plates as testified of by Mormon, and also by Nephi,[779]
is rendered plain from certain circumstances in this dispensation
attending the translation of the records by Joseph Smith. When the
prophet had prepared a translation of the first part of the writings
of Mormon, the manuscript was won from his care through the
unrighteous solicitations of Martin Harris, to whom he considered
himself in a degree indebted for financial assistance in the work of
publication. This manuscript, in all 116 pages, was never returned to
Joseph; but, through the dark schemes of evil powers, it fell into the
hands of enemies, who straightway laid a wicked plan to ridicule the
translator and thwart the purposes of God. This evil design was that
they wait until Joseph had re-translated the missing matter, when the
stolen manuscript, which in the meantime had been altered so that the
words were made to express the contrary from the true record, would be
set forth as a proof that the prophet was unable to translate the same
passages twice alike. But the Lord's wisdom interposed to bring to
naught these dark designs.
[779] I Nephi ix, 5.
=21.= Having chastened the prophet by depriving him for a season of
his gift to translate, as also of the custody of the sacred records,
and this for his dereliction in permitting the writings to pass into
unappointed hands, the Lord graciously restored His penitent servant
to favor, and revealed to him the designs of his enemies;[780] at the
same time showing how these evil machinations should be made to fail.
Joseph was instructed, therefore, not to attempt a re-translation of
that part of Mormon's abridgment, the first translation of which had
been stolen; but instead, to translate the record of the same events
from the plates of Nephi,--the set of smaller plates which Mormon had
incorporated with his own writings. The translation so made was
therefore published as the record of Nephi, and not as the writing of
Mormon; and thus no second translation was made of the parts from
which the stolen manuscript had been prepared.
[780] Doctrine and Covenants, x.
=22. The Translation of the Book of Mormon= was effected through the
power of God manifested in the bestowal of the gift of revelation. The
book professes not to be dependent upon the wisdom or learning of man;
its translator was not versed in linguistics; his qualifications were
of a different and of a far more efficient order. With the plates,
Joseph Smith received from the angel other sacred treasures, including
a breastplate, to which were attached the Urim and Thummim,[781]
called by the Nephites _Interpreters_; and by the use of these he was
enabled to render the ancient records in our modern tongue. The
details of the work of translation have not been authentically
recorded beyond the statement that the translator examined the
engraved characters by means of the sacred instruments, and then
dictated to the scribe the English sentences.
[781] Doc. and Cov. x. 1; xvii, 1; cxxx, 8, 9; Mos. viii, 13-19;
Ether iii, 23-28.
=23.= Joseph began his work with the plates by patiently copying a
number of characters, adding to some of the pages thus prepared the
translations. The prophet's first assistant in the labor, Martin
Harris, obtained permission to take away some of these transcripts,
with the purpose of submitting them to the examination of men learned
in ancient languages. He placed some of the sheets before Professor
Charles Anthon, of Columbia College, who, after careful examination,
certified that the characters were in general of the ancient Egyptian
order, and that the accompanying translations appeared to be correct.
Hearing how this ancient record came into Joseph's hands, Professor
Anthon requested Mr. Harris to bring the original book for
examination, stating that he would undertake the translation of the
entire work; then, learning that a part of the book was sealed, he
remarked, "I cannot read a sealed book"; and thus unwittingly did this
man fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the coming forth of the
volume:--"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a
book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying,
read this, I pray thee, and he saith, I cannot, for it is
sealed."[782] Another linguist, a Dr. Mitchell, of New York, having
examined the characters, gave concerning them a testimony in all
important respects corresponding to that of Prof. Anthon.
[782] Isaiah xxix, 11.
=24. Arrangement of the Book of Mormon.=--The Book of Mormon comprises
fifteen separate parts, commonly called books, distinguished by the
names of their principal authors. Of these, the first six books, viz.,
I and II Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, and Omni, are literal translations
from corresponding portions of the smaller plates of Nephi. The body
of the volume, from the Book of Mosiah to Mormon, chapter vii,
inclusive, is the translation of Mormon's abridgment of the larger
plates of Nephi. Between the books of Omni and Mosiah "The Words of
Mormon" occur, connecting the record of Nephi, as engraved on the
smaller plates, with Mormon's abridgment of the larger plates for the
periods following. The Words of Mormon may be regarded as a brief
explanation of the preceding portions of the work, and a preface of
the parts then to follow. The last part of the Book of Mormon, from
the beginning of Mormon viii to the end of the volume, is in the
language of Moroni, the son of Mormon, who first proceeds to finish
the record of his father, and then adds an abridgment of a set of
plates which contained an account of the Jaredites; this appears as
the Book of Ether.[783]
[783] See page 266.
=25.= At the time of Moroni's writing he stood alone,--the sole
surviving representative of his people. The last of the terrible wars
between Nephites and Lamanites had resulted in the annihilation of the
former as a people; and Moroni supposed that his abridgment of the
Book of Ether would be his last literary work; but, finding himself
miraculously preserved at the conclusion of that undertaking, he added
the parts known to us as the Book of Moroni, containing accounts of
the ceremonies of ordination, baptism, administration of the
sacrament, etc., and a record of certain utterances and writings of
his father Mormon.