Mormon shares his source with us. He possess a records from
the time when Lehi left Jerusalem to the present time (around 400 A.D.). This
is the time when Mormon is abridging Nephite history. “For behold, this is
written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will
believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers,
and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them”
(Mormon 7:9).
“And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it
because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater
things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all
things known unto you” (Mormon 8:12).
In addition to the records to which Mormon had access, he
also makes a record about the things he has seen. He testifies this record is
true. The problem with the record is their language prevents them from writing.
The Book of Mormon text reports at
several points the difficulty the scribes had in making their statements clear
… We may suppose that a similar difficulty was equally felt by all the writers.
So when Mormon examined the older writings, he would have faced some problems
with those “imperfections.” These obscurities were more than just a matter of
the “awkwardness of our hands” that Moroni noted at Ether 12:24. That
phrase might refer merely to the technical problem of making
proper marks on the unforgiving metal. But he went on to describe the problem
beyond that, saying, “we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the
placing of our words” (Ether 12:25). Moroni implies that the writing system of
the Jaredites, which he considered superior to that of the Nephites, accounted
for the greater clarity of that earlier record (as suggested by Ether
12:23–24). Thus it appears that the script system the Nephite writers were
using contributed to the lack of clarity.
Since Mormon continued with the
same writing system with which Nephi began the record, his writing would have
suffered the same disadvantages. He said, “there are many things which,
according to our language, we are not able to write” at all (3 Nephi
5:18). “Our language” in this sense obviously refers to their writing system,
not to their spoken tongue.
Moroni further tells us that these
linguistic difficulties would not have occurred had they used Hebrew script, an
alphabetic system, to keep their record; in that case there would have been “no
imperfection” (Mormon 9:33).[1]
“And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written;
for after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign
of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the records
which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which
contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of
this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.
“And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me,
because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that
many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as
have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as
many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass—
“Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon
them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I
cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people (Words of Mormon
1:3-5).”
“And now, behold, we
have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which
are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us,
according to our manner of speech. And if our plates had been sufficiently
large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us
also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection
in our record” (Mormon 9:32-33).
“And thou hast made us that we could write but little,
because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty
in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things
which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to
read them. Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we
cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble
because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at
our words” (Ether 12:24-25).
Mormon declares his ancestry. He is a “pure descendant of
Lehi” (3 Nephi 5:20). He also traces his descent through Nephi (Mormon 1:5). “[T]he
fact that Mormon uses the phrase pure descendant of Lehi to describe himself in
3 Nephi 5:20 would seem to indicate that Lehi’s lineage was a rare one in
Mormon’s day.”[2]
Mormon reminds us of God’s covenant with Lehi, “insomuch as
the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered
them according to his word” (3 Nephi 5:22).
This has been a common thread throughout the Book of Mormon.
“And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper
in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut
off from my presence” (2 Nephi 1:20).
“And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not
prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto
our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper
in the land” (Jarom 1:9).
“For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led them out of
the land of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them from falling into the hands
of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should not be
verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not
keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land” (Omni 1:6).
“And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search
them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep
the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises
which the Lord made unto our fathers” (Mosiah 1:7).
“Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto
Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper
in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my
commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now I would
that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the
commandments of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now
we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the
Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their
transgressions in the land” (Alma 9:13-14).
“O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the
commandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper
in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his
presence” (Alma 37:13).
[2] A
Few Thoughts from a Believing DNA Scientist, John M. Butler, Journal of
Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003): 36.
No comments:
Post a Comment