Mosiah 28:13-20

Before I begin this blog entry, I would like to take a moment to remember a man who meant a lot to me at a time in my life when I was facing many challenges.  Brother Dale LeCheminant, an instructor at the University of Utah Institute of Religion, recently died at age 82.  I took a couple of classes from Brother LeCheminant.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I needed a strong person I could use as an anchor to help me through the challenges I was facing at the time.  I found he was always available to talk with me.  He would listen as I asked questions and expressed concerns.  He never judged me.  He always gave me inspired answers.  What he was doing for me is helping me build the foundation I would need through the rest of my life.  By answering my questions, I began to gain a better understanding of the gospel.  He set me on a path that would lead me to an understanding of how great and wonderful the gospel is.  These paths also led to me know and realize just how marvelous a work we have in the Book of Mormon.  Without his help and guidance, I’m not sure where I’d be today.

I know the angels in heaven are rejoicing at the return of such a great man who so loved the gospel he devoted his life to sharing it and being there for people like me.  While I mourn his passing, I rejoice at the life he lived and the joy and happiness he is finding in heaven. 

Thanks again, and for all eternity, Brother LeCheminant.

¹³ And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow. ¹⁴ Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages; ¹⁵ And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people; ¹⁶ And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.

Mosiah 28:13-16 (Emphasis mine)

When Mosiah(2) translated the plates, he used what we know as the Urim and Thummim (Heb – Light and Perfection).  Mormon tells us that these were handed down from one generation to another.  We learn that Mosiah(1) had the Urim and Thummim.  “And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God” (Omni 1:20).  Benjamin received them from his father and passed them on to Mosiah(2). 

Robert Matthews writes about the Urim and Thummim.

“The term Urim and Thummim does not occur in the Book of Mormon text. Instead, this divine instrument is referred to therein as ‘interpreters’ used by prophets to receive revelation and translate languages. These interpreters are described in the Book of Mormon in much the same terminology as that used by Joseph Smith to describe the Urim and Thummim: ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow . . . for the purpose of interpreting languages’ (Mosiah 28:13—14; compare JS—H 1:35).

“Incidentally, the particular wording of the passage in Mosiah is especially interesting, pointedly referring to ‘those two stones’ as though the reader should already know about them, yet there is no previous mention in the Book of Mormon to any such ‘two stones.’ This anomaly may be the consequence of the Book of Mormon being an abridgment or perhaps of the lost 116 pages of manuscript, which may have mentioned the stones. Another possibility is that since the ‘two stones’ are specifically spoken of in Ether 3:23, 28 and King Mosiah had translated the Jaredite record, he may have referred to the stones in light of that source, even though the expression had not yet appeared within the Nephite records.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

¹⁷ Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold, it gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam. ¹⁸ Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice. ¹⁹ And this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account. ²⁰ And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

Mosiah 28:17-20 (Emphasis mine)

The record Mosiah(2) translated contained a record of the Jaredites.  Here Mormon gives us a brief description of the record.  It dates back to the building of the Tower of Babel (“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth” [Genesis 11:7-9].)  They did not have their language confounded like all the people around them did.  The Jaredites kept their language.  They were led by the Lord to the New World.  In the end, these people were destroyed.

The plates of brass, the plates, sword of Laban, etc. were traditionally passed from father-to-son.  (“[Benjamin] also gave [Mosiah(2)] charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.” [Mosiah 1:16]).  Mosiah(2)’s sons refused the kingdom.  They had left the land of Zarahemla and were preaching the gospel in the land of Nephi.  He had no one to give the plates of brass and the other records and items he had received from his father “[H]e took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him…” (verse 20).  This included a command that they should be preserved and handed down from generation-to-generation. 

Mormon promised “… this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account.”  He intended to include this account as a part of his record after he had finished his work.  He never produced this record.  He died before he had a chance to include the Jaredite record.  He left the task to his son, Moroni.

Describing this section of the book of Mosiah, Gary Sturgess wrote:

“In Mosiah's final ceremonial address to the people, the recently translated book of Ether was read to the people (Mosiah 28:11—18). It is possible that the original book of Mosiah departed from the story of King Mosiah at this point to provide a summary of the Jaredite history. The cultic importance of the original book of Ether was its inclusion of yet another discourse on kingship, one more revelation of Jesus Christ, and another testimony to the blessings of the land to those who would obey the commandments of God. But in Mormon's abridged version of the book of Mosiah we find only the promise that ‘this account shall be written hereafter’ (Mosiah 28:19).” [2]    (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Joseph Smith and the Text of the Book of Mormon, Robert J. Matthews, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 10, 2012.

[2] The Book of Mosiah: Thoughts about Its Structure, Purposes, Themes, and Authorship, Gary L. Sturgess, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 10, 2012.

Mosiah 28:5-12

⁵ And it came to pass that they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi. ⁶ And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word. ⁷ And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.  ⁸ And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do according to their request. ⁹ And they took their journey into the wilderness to go up to preach the word among the Lamanites; and I shall give an account of their proceedings hereafter.

Mosiah 28:5-9 (Emphasis mine)

Preaching to the Lamanites was something that was very important to the sons of Mosiah.  They faced the possibilities of being cut off eternally from the presence of the Lord.  They realized the Lamanites were in danger of this happening and they could not watch, allowing it to happen, while they did nothing. 

We are told the “did plead with the father many days” for his approval.  I imagine Mosiah(2) was not pleased with his sons’ request.  He knew that they would be placing their lives of the line; they would be in constant danger the whole time.  He did what any father would have at this time; he inquired of the Lord.  In answer to his prayer, he was told to “[l]et them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites” (verse 7).  With this promise, Mosiah gave them his approval.

We will later see that the Lord fulfilled his promise.  When Ammon the king’s servants were watering the sheep, and the band of thugs attempted to steal the sheep, Mormon tells us that “they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands …” (Alma 17:35; emphasis mine).  Later, when a brother of one these thugs (his brother had been slain by Ammon) saw him on the ground, he saw a chance to exact his revenge.  As he raised his sword to kill Ammon, he was struck dead (Alma 19:22).  Mormon wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the fact that the Lord’s promise was fulfilled, so he pauses his narrative to tell us that “[n]ow we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord” (Alma 19:23).

We see another of Mormon’s editorial tools in verse 9.  He’s told us that the sons of Mosiah are going to the land of Nephi to preach the gospel.  He is going to let us know about their journey, but it doesn’t fit his purposes to share it with us at this point in the record.  Instead, he promises us that he will eventually give us his “account of their proceedings hereafter” (verse 9).  We will read about their miraculous mission in Alma 17-26.

¹⁰ Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who would accept of the kingdom. ¹¹ Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi; ¹²  And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people who had been destroyed.

Mosiah 28:10-12 (Emphasis mine)

Mosiah(2) has a problem.  He offered the kingdom to his sons, but they would not accept.  What should he do?  At this point, Mosiah decides to translate the plates found by the people of Limhi. 

7 And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my people, I caused that forty and three of my people should take a journey into the wilderness, that thereby they might find the land of Zarahemla, that we might appeal unto our brethren to deliver us out of bondage.

8 And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days, yet they were diligent, and found not the land of Zarahemla but returned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel.

9 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.

10 And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.

Mosiah 8:7-10 (Emphasis mine)

He eventually translated the record.  Paul Rytting explains Mosiah(2)’s situation:

“Challenges soon arose for Mosiah. Limhi's people arrived in Zarahemla and had to be assimilated into Nephite society. They brought with them the twenty-four plates of Ether, which Mosiah, being a seer, translated (Mosiah 28:10—19). This Jaredite record revealed an ominous lesson, for wickedness, oppression, and violence had led to the extinction of a people. In contrast, Mosiah promoted righteousness, equality, and harmony in his kingdom. When another group led by Alma(1) arrived in Zarahemla, Mosiah authorized Alma to organize churches and gave him control over them, including the power to admit members to, or expel members from, that covenant community. The creation of this subgroup comprised of seven churches in Nephite society (Mosiah 25:23) allowed Alma's followers to live as they wished, but it also appears to have sowed seeds of civic tension.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

Valentin Arts discusses the translation process. 

“… [W]e read that Mosiah the younger ‘translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi’ (Mosiah 28:11). Because there is no hint in this statement that Mosiah translated only a part of the 24 plates, we may assume that they were translated in their entirety. We also read that after Mosiah had finished translating it, this record ‘gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam’ (Mosiah 28:17). This passage refers only to Jaredite history, not to the sealed vision. If the sealed record was included, the Lord would not have allowed it to be unsealed in the days of Mosiah. It seems that Mosiah was allowed to translate all that was written on the 24 plates.” [2]    (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Mosiah(2), Paul Rytting, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 9, 2012.

[2] A Third Jaredite Record: The Sealed Portion of the Gold Plates, Valentin Arts, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 9, 2012.