The reader of the Book of Mormon will do well to remember that it
is a translation of a record inscribed on gold plates, which was
an abridgment made from more extensive records kept by the ancient
civilized peoples of America--chiefly by the people known in the Book
of Mormon as Nephites. The abridgment, for the most part, is made by
one Mormon, a Nephite prophet who was born 311 A.D., and slain by his
enemies in the year 400 A.D. The parts which are not his abridgment are
the first 157 pages (N. E.), which bring us to the "Words of Mormon,"
page 158; and from page 563 (N. E.) to the end of the volume--sixty
pages.
This latter part of the record was made by Moroni, the son of Mormon,
who was also the one who hid up the plates containing his father's and
his own abridgment, in the year 421 A.D.; and who, having been raised
from the dead, revealed the existence of these plates to Joseph Smith,
on the 21st of September, 1823. The first 157 pages are a verbatim
translation from what are known as the "smaller plates" of Nephi--we
will explain.
The first Nephi, who left Jerusalem with a small company of colonists
led out from that city by his father, Lehi, 600 B.C., and who
afterwards became their leader, prophet, and their first king, made
two sets of plates, on which he proposed engraving the history of
his people. On the larger of these two sets he engraved an account
of his father's life, travels, prophecies, etc., together with his
genealogy; and upon them also he recorded a full history of the wars
and contentions of his people, as also their travels, and an account
of the cities they founded and colonies they established. These larger
plates were preserved in the care of succeeding kings, or judges of
the republic when the kingdom was transformed into one; and, in a
word, upon them was written a full history of the rise and fall of the
nations which existed in America from the landing of this colony from
Jerusalem to 400 A.D., a period of nearly one thousand years.
{155} It is quite evident that as these plates were transmitted from
king to king, or from one ruling judge of the republic to another, or
given into the possession of a prophet, that they each recorded the
historical events of his own day, and gave to such account his own
name--hence Mormon found in these "larger plates" of Nephi--the Book of
Mosiah, the Book of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc.
Furthermore, it happened that there were colonies from time to time
that drifted off into distant parts of the land, and became lost for
a season to the main body of the people; and there were missionary
expeditions formed for the conversion of the Lamanites; and these
parties, whether missionary or colonial, generally kept records; and
when these colonists or missionary parties were found, or returned to
the main body of the people, their records were incorporated within the
main record, being kept by the historian--hence there was, sometimes, a
book within a book, and the current of events was interrupted to record
the history of these detached portions of the people, or some important
missionary expedition.
Mormon, when abridging these plates of Nephi, gave to each particular
division of his abridgment the name of the book from which he had taken
his account of the events recorded--hence the Books of Mosiah, Alma,
Helaman and III. and IV. Nephi in his abridgment. He also, in some
instances at least, followed the subdivisions we have alluded to, hence
we have the record of Zeniff within the Book of Mosiah (page 181, N.
E.); the account of the church founded by the first Alma (page 213);
and the account of the missionary expeditions of the sons of Mosiah to
the Lamanites within the Book of Alma (page 283).
Again we caution the reader to remember that the Book of Mormon is, for
the most part, an abridgment from the "larger plates" of Nephi; but
it is quite evident that Mormon frequently came to passages upon the
plates of Nephi which pleased him so well that he transcribed them upon
the plates containing his abridgment, _verbatim_. An example of this
will be found beginning on page 163, in the second line of the ninth
paragraph, and ending with page 169--the words of King Benjamin to his
people. The words of King Benjamin are also renewed on page 170, in the
second line of the fourth paragraph, and continue to the close of the
chapter. There are many such passages throughout Mormon's abridgment.
In addition to this, Mormon frequently introduces remarks of his own
by way of comment, warning, prophecy or admonition, and since there is
nothing in the text, either quotation {156} marks or a change of type
to indicate where these comments, or what we might call annotations,
begin or end, they are liable to confuse the reader--a difficulty
that we hope will be obviated by this caution. So much for Mormon's
abridgment. Now to consider the part of the work done by his son
Moroni. This is from page 563 to the end of the volume. He closes up
the record of his father, Mormon, and then gives us an abridgment of
the twenty-four plates of Ether which were found in North America by
the people of Limhi, in the second century B.C.; and then concludes
his work with notes on the manner of ordaining priests and teachers,
administering the sacrament of the Lord's supper, baptism, spiritual
gifts, together with a sermon and some of his father's letters. In his
abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, the peculiarity of mixing up
his comments, admonitions and prophecies with his narrative, is even
more marked than in the abridgment of Mormon, therefore the reader will
need to be doubly on his guard.
We have already said that the first 157 pages of the Book of Mormon
was not a part of Mormon's abridgment. Those pages are a _verbatim_
translation of the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and became connected
with Mormon's abridgment in this manner: Mormon had abridged the
"larger plates" of Nephi as far as the reign of King Benjamin, and
in searching through the records which had been delivered to him, he
found these "smaller plates" of Nephi. They contained a brief history
of events connected with the departure of Lehi and his colony from
Jerusalem to their landing in America, and thence down to the reign
of this King Benjamin--covering a period of about 400 years. These
plates were made by Nephi, that upon them might be engraven an account
of the ministry of the servants of God, among his people, together
with their prophecies and teachings. They contain, in other words, an
ecclesiastical history of the Nephites, while the "larger plates" of
Nephi contained a political, or secular history of the same people.
(See I. Nephi, ix chapter; also xix, 1-5.)
Mormon was particularly well pleased with the contents of these
"smaller plates" of Nephi, because upon them had been engraven so
many prophecies concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah;
and instead of condensing their history into an abridgment, he took
the plates and attached them to the abridgment of Nephi's "larger
plates." "And this I do for a wise purpose," says Mormon, "for thus
it whispereth me according to the Spirit of the Lord which is in me."
(Words of Mormon, page 159 N.E.). Nephi, also, in speaking of these
"smaller plates," says, "the Lord hath commanded the to make {157}
these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not." (I.
Nephi ix, 5.) What that wise purpose was we shall see further on.
By Mormon attaching these "smaller plates" of Nephi to his own
abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates," it will be seen there was a
double line of history of the Nephites for about 400 years, and the
wisdom of this arrangement is seen in the following: When Joseph Smith
had translated the first part of Mormon's abridgment--amounting to 116
pages of manuscript, he listened to the importunities of Martin Harris,
who was giving him some assistance in the work of translating, and who
desired to show that portion of the work to his friends. The result was
the manuscript was stolen from him; the records were taken from Joseph
by the angel, and he lost his power to translate for a season. After a
time, however, he was permitted to go on with the work, but the Lord
made it known to him that it was the design of those into whose hands
the manuscript had fallen to wait until he had translated that part
again, and then by changing the manuscript in their possession would
bring it forth and claim that he could not translate the same record
twice alike; and thus they would seek to overthrow the work of God.
But the heavenly messenger commanded Joseph Smith not to translate
again the part he had already translated, but instead thereof he
should translate the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and that account was
to take the place of Mormon's abridgment up to the latter days of the
reign of King Benjamin. (Doc. and Cov., D&C 10.) Thus it is that we
have the "words of Mormon," beginning on page 158, explaining how the
"smaller plates" of Nephi came into his possession and attached to the
plates containing the record he himself was making, and connecting
the historical narrative of the "smaller plates" of Nephi with his
own abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates." The "words of Mormon,"
interrupting as they do the history of the Nephites, have caused no
little confusion in the minds of unthoughtful readers; but after it is
understood that they are merely the link connecting the ecclesiastical
history engraven on the "smaller plates," of Nephi to Mormon's
abridgment, and they take the place of the first part of Mormon's
record, the difficulty will disappear.
One thing I cannot forbear to mention, and that is, in the part of the
Book of Mormon translated from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, we find
none of these comments or annotations mixed up with the record that
we have already spoken of {158} as being peculiar to the abridgment
made by Mormon--a circumstance, I take it, which proves the Book of
Mormon to be consistent with the account given of the original records
from which it was translated. There will be found, however, in this
translation direct from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, as also in
Mormon's abridgment, extracts from the old Jewish Scripture--especially
from the writings of Isaiah--this is accounted for by the fact that
when Lehi's colony left Jerusalem, they took with them copies of the
book of Moses and the writings of the prophets, and a record of the
Jews down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, all of which
were engraven on plates of brass (see I. Nephi v, 10-13), and the
Nephite historians transcribed passages from these sacred records into
their own writings.
There are a few suggestions about these transcribed passages which may
not be uninteresting to the reader, and which to the student will be
invaluable, as they furnish an indirect evidence to the truth of the
Book of Mormon.
The Nephites having transcribed passages from the brass plates they
carried with them from Jerusalem into their records, wherever such
passages occur in the Book of Mormon, and corresponding passages are
found in our English Bible, it will be seen by the reader that so far
we have two translations of the writings of the old Hebrew prophets;
and it will be found on comparison that the passages in the Book of
Mormon are stronger and more in keeping with the sense sought to be
expressed by the prophet than the corresponding passages and chapters
in the Bible. As a proof of this I ask the reader to compare I Nephi xx
and xxi, with Isaiah xlvii and xlix.
In some instances there are sentences, in the Book of Mormon version
of passages from Isaiah, not to be found in our English version, as
witness the following: