21 And now, I will
speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the
mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret
works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this
people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all
their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea,
and that ye preserve these interpreters.
22 For behold, the
Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders
and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should
be destroyed from off the face of the earth.
23 And the Lord said:
I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in
darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I
may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works,
their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations. (Alma 37:21-23)
Alma tells Helaman about the twenty-four plates (which
Joseph Smith would translate as the book of Ether) he will receive. These are the
plates were found by the group Limhi sent to find a way to Zarahemla.
“And for a testimony that the things that they had said are
true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and
they are of pure gold” (Mosiah 8:9).
“And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those
ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of
this north country.
“And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates
which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether” (Ether
1:1-2).
“And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth.
And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been
fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not
written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them” (Ether
15:33).
It appears Alma was familiar with the contents on the plates.
He tells Helaman they contain “mysteries and works of darkness.”
These are described in the book of Ether.
“And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house
of Jared all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye
will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?
“And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the
God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their
heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should
lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto
them, the same should lose his life.
“And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish.
And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old
who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a
murderer from the beginning.
“And they were kept up by the power of the devil to
administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such
as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and
to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.
“And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart
to search up these things of old; and Jared put it into the heart of Akish; wherefore,
Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair
promises to do whatsoever thing he desired.
“And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination,
even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all,
in the sight of God” (Ether 8:13-18).
Alma wants “all their murders, and robbings, and their
plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations” made known to the
people; however, we will read in verse 27, Helaman was told to keep “all their
oaths, and their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations;
yea, and all their signs and their wonders … from this people, that they know
them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be
destroyed.”
“We first learn from the instructions of Alma2 to
his son Helaman of an additional constraint placed on the Jaredite records so
that the wicked covenants and secret plans of the Jaredites would not be made
public knowledge (Alma 37:21–32) … [John] Welch offers the perceptive suggestion
that this restriction did not originate with Alma2 but most likely
dated back to Mosiah2. For Mosiah2 to conceal this wicked
material, it would have made the greatest sense not to translate it in the
first place, thus making it necessary to use the interpreters to gain access to
this forbidden material.”[1]
Helaman was told he must preserve “these interpreters,” which
was the Urim and Thumim.[2]
“And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim
and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before
the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his
heart before the Lord continually” (Exodus 28:30).
“And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the
breastplate the Urim and the Thummim” (Leviticus 8:8).
The Lord saw the dark works of the Jaredites, their secret
murders and abominations. The Lord sent messengers to warn them they must
repent or they would be destroyed.
Alma tell Helaman the Lord “prepare unto my servant Gazelem,
a stone which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover
unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their
brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their
wickedness and abominations” (Alma 37:230.
These would be used to translate the plates.
Who or what was “Gazelem”? There are two possible
explanations.
“The Book of
Mormon prophets associated the Nephite interpreters (two stones consecrated to
God for revelatory purposes) or their function with the concept of light. For
example, we read about ‘Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness
unto light’ and ‘bring to light’ all the secret abominations of the people who
possessed the land (Alma 37:23, 25). Moroni used similar language in describing
how the Nephite record would be brought forth in the latter days (Mormon
8:15–16).”[3]
“Joseph Smith, whose code name was Gazelem in earlier
editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, prophesied that he would ‘stand and
shine like the sun in the firmament.’ The word Gazelem in Alma 37 could stand
for either Joseph or the stone—later called ‘the interpreters.’ As a
synecdoche, the interpreters or Urim and Thummim could stand for the Book of
Mormon itself, shining ‘forth in darkness unto light.’ As referring to a seer
stone, the Gazelem paradoxically required darkness in order to work. David
Whitmer reported, ‘Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put
his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light;
and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine.’”[4]
[1] More
Than Meets the Eye: How Nephite Prophets Managed the Jaredite Legacy, Frederick
W. Axelgard, Journal of Book of Mormon
Studies 26 (2017): 144.
[2] “A Hebrew term that means ‘Lights and Perfections.’
An instrument prepared of God to assist man in obtaining revelation from the
Lord and in translating languages” (Urim and Thummim, Bible Dictionary).
[3] Teraphim
and the Urim and Thummim, Maxwell Institute website.
[4] Light:
A Masterful Symbol, Richard Dilworth Rust, Journal of the Book of Mormon
and Other Restoration Scripture 20/1 (2011): 60.
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