The Lost 116 Pages

Nephi, having faith, made another record “for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord” (1 Nephi 19:3).  Let’s take a break from the Book of Mormon and look at why the small plates were necessary.

Moroni Visits Joseph Smith (JS-History 1:29-34)

Joseph writes that in the time since he received the First Vision, he “was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been … In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections” (JS-History 1:28 - 29). 

So, on the night of September 21, 1823, he went to the Lord in fervent prayer.  While praying, a heavenly messenger appeared, identifying himself as Moroni.  Moroni told him about “book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.  He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants” (JS-History 1:34). 

The time had not yet come when Joseph would receive the plates.  Moroni visited him each year until September 22, 1827.  It was then Joseph received the plates. 

Translating and the Lost 116 Pages

(In preparing this section, I used the following articles as sources: 

·         Manuscript, Lost 116 Pages, William J. Critchlow III, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 22, 2013.

·         The Recovery of the Book of Mormon, Richard L. Bushman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 22, 2013.

·         "For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars," Susan Easton Black, and Larry C. Porter, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, April 22, 2013.)

Martin Harris was a well-known and respected member of the Palmyra community.  He heard Joseph Smith’s story and become a believer.  He offered to help Joseph any way he could.  For a time, he served a scribe for Joseph. 

Harris had a real problem.  This problem’s name was Lucy.  Lucy was Harris’s wife, and she did not accept Joseph Smith’s story.  She wanted to see the plates.  She did all she could to find the plates, causing many problems for Joseph. 

While serving as Joseph’s scribe, Harris asked if he could show his wife the 116 pages of manuscript.  Joseph inquired of the Lord, but he was told not to give Harris the manuscript.  Harris asked him a second time, but again the Lord said no.  Joseph went before the Lord a third time and this time he was given permission to let him take the 116 pages. 

There were conditions placed on Harris.  Joseph told him he could only show them to his brother, parents, his wife, and his sister-in-law.  He made Harris make a covenant with him, which Harris did. A date was set for him to return the manuscript.

Martin Harris did not return when he said he would.  Joseph would soon learn the reason.  Harris broke his covenant with Joseph and showed it to many people.  The manuscript ended up missing.  Harris had no idea what happened to it.  He confronted his wife, but she denied having done anything with the manuscript. 

Finally, Harris returned.  Joseph must have been beside himself.  When he learned the manuscript had been lost, he cried, "Oh! my God my God[,]" said Joseph as he clenched his hands together, "all is lost is lost what shall I do[?] I have sinned[;] it is me that tempted the wrath of God." (This according to Lucy Mack Smith). 

Joseph was severely chastised by the Lord. 

[A] man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.

Behold, you have been entrusted with these things, but how strict were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were made to you, if you did not transgress them.

And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.

For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God.  Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words—

Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.

D&C 3:4 - 8

The plates and Urim and Thumim were taken from Joseph for a time.  Eventually, all was returned to him, and he continued the translation.

What was in the 116 pages?  They contained Mormon’s abridgement of the Book of Lehi as well as some parts of the large plates of Nephi.

What happened to the manuscript?  We don’t know.  In another revelation to Joseph, the Lord told him:

Behold, [evil men] have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.

And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift.

 And because you have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you.

Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.

And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands.

And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written;

And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work;

For he hath put into their hearts to do this, that by lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate.

Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing.

D&C 10:6 - 14

Lucy Harris would later claim to have burned the manuscript.  That may well be true.  The manuscript has never been found.

We see the Lord’s wisdom when dealing with us.  He provided  for a mistake Joseph Smith would make nearly two-and-a-half millennia later.  And the record would contain many plain and precious truths we would not have had it not been for Joseph Smith’s mistake.

1 Nephi 19:1-5

Chapter 19

Nephi makes plates of ore and records the history of his people—The God of Israel shall come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephi tells of His sufferings and crucifixion—The Jews shall be despised and scattered until the latter days, when they shall return unto the Lord. About 588–570 B.C.

For the third (but not the last) time, Nephi explains that the record we are reading is a record because he was commanded to do so by the Lord.  Describing this record, Jacob would write:

And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.

Jacob 7:26

John Welch explains more about what would be called the small plates of Nephi.

Nephi wrote his small plates soon after important events such as Lehi’s death, Nephi’s separation from his rebellious brothers, and the establishment of the reign of kings (see last month's research update). Recognizing when he wrote, we can better appreciate not only Nephi's s stated reasons for writing the small plates but also subtle underlying motivations behind his inspired selection and treatment of this material.

We can assume that Nephi wrote his second account (the small plates) for many good reasons and from a particular vantage point. Although the large plates contained the prophecies of Lehi and Nephi (see 1 Nephi 19:1), that earlier record nevertheless must have been insufficient in certain respects, thus warranting the construction of an entirely new set of plates and the rewriting of the basic story. [1]

He did not expect this command from the Lord.  He would write, “I knew not at the time when I made [the large plates of Nephi] that I should be commanded of the Lord to make these plates” (1 Nephi 19:2).

Later in this record, Nephi would explain:

And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem [569 B.C.].

And I, Nephi, had kept the records upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far.

And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people.

Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made these plates upon which I have engraven these things.

And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God.  And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine engravings which are upon these plates.

And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the history of my people they must search mine other plates.

2 Nephi 5:28 - 33

The large plates contained a record of Lehi, a family genealogy, and a more detailed account of what occurred during the trip in the wilderness.  They contained a record of all that occurred before Nephi made this record. 

Nephi made these plates after being commanded by the Lord.  On these plates, he writes about “the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates” (1 Nephi 19:3).    The information of the plates was to be for the instruction of the people. 

Nephi also demonstrates his great faith and trust in the Lord.  Telling us he was commanded to make this record, he writes they are “for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord” but not known by Nephi (1 Nephi 19:3).  Jacob would share with us Nephi’s charge given to him.   

FOR behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem [544 B.C.]; wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these things are engraven.

And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi.

For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his other plates, and that I should preserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.

And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ's sake, and for the sake of our people.

Jacob 1:1 - 4

Mormon would write about his discovery of the small plates.

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.

But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.

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.

Words of Mormon 1:3 - 7

Here again is a story of faith.  Like Nephi, Mormon was commanded to append these plates to his record.  He would not abridge these records.  This is not surprising because Mormon tells us “the things which are upon these plates pleasing me” (Words of Mormon 1:4). 

Today, we know why the Lord commanded the plates be made.  I will recount the story of Martin Harris and the lost 116 pages of manuscript in the next post.

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[1] Why Nephi Wrote the Small Plates: Serving Practical Needs, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 20, 2013.

1 Nephi 18:13-25

The Lord was not pleased with the merry making.  He was even less pleased with Nephi being bound and the threats against his life.  They encountered a huge storm.  When Jonah was attempting to flee the Lord, “the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken” (Jonah 1:4).

They faced a storm for three days.  They began to fear for their lives, that their ship might sink and they would drown.  Even with the threat of their deaths, they would not release Nephi.  King Benjamin would describe this experience along with his observations to Mosiah.  “Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty”  (Mosiah 1:17).

On the fourth day, the storm strengthened and they came to the reality that their deaths were not only possible, they were very likely.  It was then that they finally released Nephi.  After Nephi₃ asked the Lord to cause a famine, Mormon would break into the record and share his thoughts with us. 

And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!

Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths!

Helaman 12:3 - 5

Had Nephi complained during this time, it would have been understandable.  But, Nephi placed his faith in the Lord and he “praise[d] him all the day long” (1 Nephi 18:16).

It appears the bullying and abuse was not limited to Nephi.  If anyone spoke for Nephi, they would find themselves facing the wrath of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael.  Lehi and Sariah face their wrath.  “On board ship, [Lehi], at age fifty-four, and Sariah are both characterized by Nephi as ‘stricken in years,’ having ‘grey hairs,’ and about to enter a ‘watery grave.’ Still Nephi indicates that this was because of grief brought upon them by their children more than because of age per se (1 Nephi 18:17-18).”[1]

Even their younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph, suffered from the abuse.  Jacob, the oldest, was probably around ten years old.  Nephi’s wife and children pleaded with them to release Nephi.  It would not be all that surprising to learn the cruelty of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael towards Lehi, Sariah, Jacob, Joseph, and Nephi’s family probably made them feel like “leaders” and powerful men.  Such is the fate of the true coward.

Only when their death was imminent did they finally repent “of the thing which they had done” (1 Nephi 18:20).

The first thing Nephi did was to take the Liahona.  It immediately began to work.  Nephi refers to the Liahona as “the compass” (see 1 Nephi 18:21).  This has been a point of contention among critics of the Church.  According to these “experts,” it was impossible for Lehi’s party to have had a “compass.”  Daniel C. Peterson replies:

Of course, it isn't entirely clear that the Liahona was a compass at all, in the usual understanding of the term. For it worked according to the faith, diligence, and obedience of those to whom it was given (1 Nephi 16:28-9; Mosiah 1:16; Alma 37:40); it ceased to function when they were unrighteous (1 Nephi 18:12-3; Alma 37:41-2); and it resumed functioning when they repented (1 Nephi 18:21). I am grateful that my Boy Scout compass didn't behave that way. (Otherwise, our troop would certainly have perished miserably in the wilderness.)[2]

Nephi prayed and everything calmed down.  Things apparently went well from that time forward.

“[A]fter we had sailed for the space of many days, we did arrive at the promised land [around 589 B.C.]” (1 Nephi 18:22).   We don’t know how long the trip took.  There has been speculation that it took as much as two years to arrive in the promised land.

They settled and began to plant the seeds they brought.  The crops thrived and they were blessed with a good supply of food.  They also found cows, oxen, horses, goats, wild goats, and wild animals.  Things were looking good in their new home.

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[1] The Composition of Lehi's Family, John L. Sorenson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 18, 2013.

[2] Yet More Abuse of B. H. Roberts (footnote 17)), Daniel C. Peterson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 18, 2013.

1 Nephi 18:1-12

Chapter 18

The ship is finished—The births of Jacob and Joseph are mentioned—The company embarks for the promised land—The sons of Ishmael and their wives join in revelry and rebellion—Nephi is bound, and the ship is driven back by a terrible tempest—Nephi is freed, and by his prayer the storm ceases—They arrive in the promised land. About 591–589 B.C.

Nephi’s brethren got their act together and began to help with to build the ship. 

He was guided by the Lord in what he did.  “[T]he Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship … I … did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men … I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me” (1 Nephi 18:1-2). 

Nephi often prayed to the Lord and was shown great things.  The Lord told Jeremiah, “MOREOVER the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:1 - 3). 

The time came the boat was finished.  “[I]t was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (1 Nephi 18:4).  His brethren remained humble before the Lord.

One day, the Lord told Lehi it was time to leave.  They took all their provisions (meat, fruit, and honey), the seeds, and whatever else they needed.  They entered the ship, by age, with their wives and children.  Then Nephi tells us that two sons were born to Lehi, Jacob and Joseph.

The ship departed and was “drive forth before the wind towards the promised land” (1 Nephi 5:8).

His brethren’s humility didn’t last long.  They, along with their wives, “began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness” (1 Nephi 18:9).  John Tvedtnes explain what Nephi meant.

It was because of their "rudeness" that Laman and Lemuel were unfit to succeed their father as head of the family. Though "rude" has come to mean "impolite" in twentieth-century English, at the time Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon it meant "wild" or "savage." Lehi made a point of mentioning the effect of the rudeness of Laman and Lemuel on Jacob (2 Nephi 2:1), as did Nephi, who referred to the "afflictions" caused by his elder brothers (1 Nephi 18:9, 19).[1]

Fearing the Lord’s response, Nephi began to “speak to them with much soberness” (1 Nephi 18:10).  This was the last thing the happy little group wanted to hear.  They became angry and brought up that constant objection, whining they won’t let Nephi rule over them.  That he had no such desire didn’t matter.

There is another element in the founding story along with the complaints and the violence, namely deprivation. That theme is most evident on the ship. Laman and Lemuel, the sons of Ishmael, and their wives made themselves merry—dancing, singing, and speaking with much rudeness. Nephi, ever fearing the Lord would be displeased, spoke to them soberly, and they grew angry. Immediately his brothers came forth with the classic complaint: "We will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us," and bound him with cords (1 Nephi 18:9-10). In this case it seems that the denial of pleasure and the objections to Nephi's rule are closely linked. The attempt to stop the merrymaking aroused the thought of his unfounded claims to govern. The connection is most clear on the ship…[2]

They took Nephi and tied him up and “treated [him] with much harshness” (1 Nephi 18:11).  After this happened, the Liahona ceased to work.  Alma₂ would remind his son, Helaman,

And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works.  They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

Alma 37:40 – 41

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[1] Notes and Communications: "My First-Born in the Wilderness," John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 15, 2013.

[2] The Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 15, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:48-55

After hearing Nephi’s words, his brethren were downright angry with him.  They had had enough.  They were so angry, they were going to throw him in the ocean.  “Laman and Lemuel attempted to kill Nephi by throwing him into the sea (see 1 Nephi 17:48). This seems to imply cliffs overlooking the ocean, since Nephi's life would not have been threatened by being thrown into the ocean from a beach.”[1]

As they tried to grab Nephi, he warned them, “In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him” (1 Nephi 17:48).   When Moses saw God, he beheld his power.  “[M]ine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him” (Moses 1:11). 

When Abinadi was filled with the Spirit of God, he warned King Noah, “Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time” (Mosiah 13:3). 

In the new world, Lehi would remind Laman and Lemuel:

And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you.  Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you; but behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, according to that which is in God, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.

And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must obey.  But behold, it was not he, but it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth to utterance that he could not shut it.

2 Nephi 1:26 - 27

He commanded them so stop complaining and get to work building the ship.  He told them, “God had commanded me that I should build a ship … If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them.  If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done … , if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship” (1 Nephi 17:49-51).  Paul, writing to the Philippians, told them, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Nephi expounds on the effect his words had on his brethren.  “I … said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded [IE ashamed, overawed] and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days.  Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them” (1 Nephi 17:52). 

The Lord wasn’t with them.  A few days later, Nephi was commanded to “[s]tretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock [IE cause to shake or tremble; see vv. 54–55] them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God” (1 Nephi 17:53).  This he did.

His brethren responded that they knew the Lord as with him, and what he has done he did through the power of the Lord.  They fell down and began to worship  Nephi.  This was similar to Paul and Baranabas’s experience in Greece.

And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:

The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet.  And he leaped and walked.

And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter [GR Zeus] ; and Paul, Mercurius [GR Hermes], because he was the chief speaker.

Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things?  We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Acts 14:8 - 15

Nephi immediately stopped his brothers from worshipping him, saying, “I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee” (1 Nephi 17:55).

We get a tremendous insight into Laman and Lemuel.  Richard Bushman writes:

[A] frequent result of the brothers' assaults on Nephi was a rebuke from the Lord. Once an angel appeared to chastise them, and on another occasion they heard the voice of the Lord. They gave way in the face of these rebukes, but on one occasion they did more than relent. When Nephi was about to construct a ship and the brothers in anger tried to throw him into the sea, Nephi was given the power to shock them physically with a touch. This show of power so overwhelmed Laman and Lemuel that they swung to the opposite extreme. Nephi says they "fell down before me, and were about to worship me," and he had to reassure them he was still only their brother (1 Nephi 17:53-55). This reaction, combined with the brothers' repeated violent assaults on Nephi, suggests that force was their characteristic reaction to crisis, the only language they understood in such situations. It seemed to be a matter of smite or be smitten.[2]

Robert Rees describes the situation.

For a brief period, Nephi has such great power that his brothers realize he could kill them merely by touching them. The Lord then commands Nephi to stretch forth his hand and shock them. Laman and Lemuel then use the word know honestly for the first time: "We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us" (1 Nephi 17:55).

What Nephi is doing, of course, is confronting his brothers with truth that no Israelite could deny: the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, their rebellion against God, and their eventual arrival in the promised land. He then uses this great defining moment in Israelite history to parallel the Nephites' sojourn in the Arabian desert and their voyage to their own promised land. By employing the words know/knew 22 times in this short passage, Nephi dramatically demonstrates the difference between the ways that he and his brothers operate in the world (they are dishonest or, at best, manipulative, while he always acts with integrity) and also helps the reader see that this small episode is in reality a microcosm of the entire Book of Mormon narrative.  (Emphasis in original)[3]

Virginia Pearce describes their behavior.

We see that very often people comply or are obedient because they're afraid not to, and that's certainly the lowest level of obedience, but sometimes in our own families we resort to that. Then other times, Laman and Lemuel are persuaded. Nephi exhorts them. He is a convincing person, and they are persuaded on their own. They humble themselves, they are persuaded, but then they go back. There is even one place in this story where it says they know of a surety (1 Nephi 17:55), which is the same thing that Sariah says (1 Nephi 5:8), but they don't hold on to it like Sariah does. The moment Sariah says she knows of a surety, she never goes back. She seems to have what Nephi has, which is tenacity, and Lehi, Sam, Jacob, and Joseph have it as well. It is just some kind of core that moves them forward once they make that decision. Laman and Lemuel just don't believe. In the face of experience after experience after experience, they are motivated by fear.[4]

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[1] The Arabian Bountiful Discovered? Evidence for Nephi's Bountiful, Warren P. Aston, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 13, 2013.

[2][2] The Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 13, 2013.

[3] Irony in the Book of Mormon, Robert A. Rees, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 13, 2013.

[4] Virginia Pearce, as quoted in Lehi's Family, S. Kent Brown, and Peter Johnson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 13, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:37-47

Continuing his discussion of the children of Israel, he tells his brethren that the Lord raises a righteous nation and the Lord destroys wicked nations.  He will lead the righteous to lands before the wicked are destroyed.  He curses the land for their sake. 

Heaven is His throne and Earth is His footstool.  “[H]e loveth those who will have him to be their God” (1 Nephi 17:38).  The Lord will covenant with those that love Him.  He will remember these covenants.  This, Nephi explains, is why “he did bring them out of the land of Egypt” (1 Nephi 17:40).  Jennifer Clark Lane explains:

The Book of Mormon explains that "the Lord's people" are not arbitrarily chosen to be saved while others are chosen to be damned. Instead, it stresses that "the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one," but "he that is righteous is favored of God" (1 Nephi 17:35). This emphasis on righteousness clarifies the adoption of Israel. Because they were righteous and willing to enter into covenants with the Lord, they became "the people of the Lord" (see Exodus 6:7).[1]

As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, they whined, complained, and criticized Moses.  Because of their iniquity:

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea [HEB Reed Sea], to compass [OR go around] the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the LORD sent fiery [OR poisonous] serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.  And Moses prayed for the people.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Numbers 21:4 - 9

The lifting up of the serpent represented the death of Christ.  Christ said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:” (John 3:14).  Nephi would later write: “And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err.  And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them” (2 Nephi 25:20). 

Moses required them to do a simple thing.  There were those who refused to look (because it was so easy), and they paid the ultimate price for their unwillingness to follow the commands of the Lord. 

So, after all the things the Lord had done for them, the Jews are now a wicked people, ripe for destruction.  For all I know, Nephi tells them, they are about to be destroyed as I speak. 

Nephi returns to their experiences.  Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem.  The Jews sought to kill him.  You, he reminds his brethren, have also sought to kill him.  This makes them murderers in their heart, just like the Jews.

Nephi makes it personal.  I wonder if his frustration over their continued wickedness hadn’t been building up, and the time was right to be blunt in his words. 

They are quick to sin but slow to remember God.  (Abinadi would reminded Noah and his priests, “it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God” (Mosiah 13:29).) 

You have seen an angel; he spoke directly to you.  From time-to-time, he spoke to you in a still small voice.  But, because of your wickedness, you would no longer recognize his words.  Paul’s words to the Ephesians could have been addressed to Laman and Lemuel. 

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness [GR hardness] of their heart:

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Ephesians 4:17 - 19

Lindon Robinson explains:

[T]here was a selfish craving for things among the wicked. Loving things instead of God and his children produced a spiritual condition described as hardheartedness, the opposite of a tender heart that cares. For example, Nephi chastised his brothers because their hearts were hard (1 Nephi 17:19), so much so that they were past feeling the words of God that lead one to caring (1 Nephi 17:45).  Hardheartedness is not only a lack of caring, but also an antipathy that produces unrighteous satisfaction when others suffer.[2] 

You know the power of God; you have experienced the power of God.  “O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts” (1 Nephi 17:46).  Nephi tells them “my soul is rent with anguish because of you” (1 Nephi 17:47).  If you don’t get your act together, Nephi tells them, you will be cast off forever. 

This powerful experience, being filled with the Spirit of God, took almost all Nephi’s strength.

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[1] The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, Jennifer Clark Lane, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 9, 2013

[2] Economic Insights from the Book of Mormon, Lindon J. Robison, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 9, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:31-36

After the children of Israel came upon the promised land, they saw others lived there.  The Lord made “them mighty unto the driving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction” (1 Nephi 17:32).  The Lord commanded the children of Israel, “Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite” (Exodus 34:11).  “Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures [HEB stone figures], and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places [OR hill shrines]: And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it” (Numbers 33:52 - 53). 

Nephi then teaches important truths, truths we often miss when reading the Book of Mormon.  Why, he asks, were the people driven out of the promised land?  Were they righteous?  No.  And this is the key to an essential gospel principle. “Forget that pious cant about Chosen People, Nephi tells his brothers. If the Canaanites had been righteous they would have been as ‘choice’ to God as the Hebrews (1 Nephi 17:34).”[1]

Hugh Nibley continues:

[T]he Israelites are not to get the idea that because the Lord has turned out other people to give them the land, it is because of their righteousness, or that victory in the field has come to them as a reward of virtue: "Speak not thou in thine heart saying: For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me to possess the land: but rather for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out" (Deuteronomy 9:4). This is exactly the lesson of Nephi to his brothers as they pass through those same lands. Whether or not these people were more or less wicked than Israel is for the Lord alone to decide. But here he tells them that it was not because they are righteous, but because the others were wicked; he had a score to settle with them and would have smitten them whether Israel had been anywhere around or not (1 Nephi 17:33-38).[2]

Had the peoples residing in the promised land been righteous, they would have been “as ‘choice’ to God as the Hebrews.”  What is important to the Lord is not the people, it is the righteousness of the people.

Another principle is that ”the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one” (1 Nephi 17:35).  After receiving his vision commanding him to preach the gospel to the gentiles, Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). Paul, writing to the Romans, wrote, “For there is no respect [GR partiality] of persons with God” (Romans 2:11).  The Lord has said, “For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion” (D&C 1:35) and “for your salvation I give unto you a commandment, for I have heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons” (D&C 38:16).  The righteous are favored of God.  “The text explains that the redemption of Israel was made possible because the patriarchs loved the Lord and chose to accept his covenants.”[3]

Sidney Sperry observes:

Here is courageously expressed the principle that, everything else being equal, all mankind stands in the same relation to God. There is no favoritism. The only thing that can change that relationship is sin and unrighteousness; God definitely favors the righteous.[4] 

 

Because they had rejected the word of God, they were living in iniquity.  The Lord cursed the land and blessed the children of Israel.  Their iniquity led to their destruction and removal from the land; the children of Israel, through the power of God, obtained it.  “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalms 55:22); “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). 

Hugh Nibley sums up this principle.

It is convenient to imagine all the righteous in one camp and the wicked in another, and this has been the usual and comfortable interpretation of the Book of Mormon—it is the good guys versus the bad guys. But this is exactly what the Book of Mormon tells us to avoid. God plays no favorites. Nephi rebukes his brothers for believing that because they are Jews they are righteous; God does not judge by party, he tells them; a good man is good and a bad one is bad, according to his own behavior: "Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God" (1 Nephi 17:35). Family and race and nationality account for nothing; "God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people" (Alma 26:37).[5]

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[1] The Way of the Wicked, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2013.

[2] How to Get Rich, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2013.

[3] The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, Jennifer Clark Lane, , Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2013.

[4] Some Universals in the Book of Mormon, Sidney B. Sperry. Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2013.

[5] Last Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:23-30

After his brethren had let Nephi know how foolish he was, Nephi takes them back to the Exodus, reminding them of the many things the Lord had done in the past, likening their situation to the Exodus.

Why he asks, were the children of Israel led from bondage in Egypt?  It was because they listed and accepted the words of the Lord.  David would later write, “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it” (Psalms 80:8).  Would they have been led out of bondage had the Lord not commanded Moses to lead them?  Nephi would later write:

And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err.  And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.

2 Nephi 25:20

He told them they knew the children of Israel were slaves, that they were given hard and demanding tasks.  Being released from bondage was a good thing for them.

Moses was commanded by the Lord to lead them out of bondage.  Through Moses words, the Red Sea was divided and the children of Israel were able to flee the Egyptian army.  “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:21).

Later in Nephite history, these events would be referred to by others.  When the people of Limhi were about to gain their freedom from the Lamanites, Limhi would tell them:

Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.

Mosiah 7:19

When speaking to the corrupt judges (Gadianton Robbers) tried to incite the people against Nephi₃, he would tell them:

Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?

Helaman 8:11

The Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea.

He reminded them that the Lord provided manna (“What is it?”) while they wandered in the wilderness. 

When they needed water, Moses struck a rock and water came out of the rock.  “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also” (Numbers 20:11).  The Lord also led them in the wilderness, both day and night.  “But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed [OR equipped for battle] out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 13:18).

The Lord did all things that were necessary for the children of Israel.  Yet, even after all the Lord had done, they “reviled against Moses and against the true and living God” (1 Nephi 17:30). 

Some examples of the scriptures.

They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 32:8

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me?  and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

 Numbers 14:11 - 12

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

Ezekiel 20:13 - 16

Hugh Nibley observes:

Now [Nephi] compares the Nephites to the children of Israel in the wilderness at the time of Moses. Every phase of Israel's wandering in the wilderness is compared in 1 Nephi to that of his own people, including their rebellion, "and notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, . . . they hardened their hearts, . . . and reviled against Moses," says Nephi (1 Nephi 17:30).[1]

Hugh Nibley compares Laman and Lemuel with the children of Israel.

[The children of Israel] took exactly the same position as Laman and Lemuel. And what about their vaunted common sense and righteousness? Forget that pious cant about Chosen People, Nephi tells his brothers. If the Canaanites had been righteous they would have been as "choice" to God as the Hebrews (1 Nephi 17:34).[2]

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[1] Rediscovery of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 3, 2013.

[2] The Way of the Wicked, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 3, 2013.

1 Nephi 17:17-22

Having made tools, Nephi is ready to build the ship.  The murmuring returns.  “Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship” (1 Nephi 17:17).  When Nephi asked for help, the made it clear they wanted nothing to do with this project.  (Their laziness streak continues unabated.) 

Nephi was saddened because of the hardness of their hearts.  When his brethren saw Nephi’s sorrow, they rejoiced!  “We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work” (1 Nephi 17:19).  Oh, the arrogance of those who “know.”

Why were Nephi’s brethren so opposed to making a ship?  I propose a number of possibilities. 

First, they weren’t shipbuilders.  Hugh Nibley asks why they should know anything about shipbuilding.  “Shipbuilding was the jealously guarded monopoly of the coast people.”[1]

Next, Laman, Lemuel, and their little group were lazy.  “The grumbling brothers who refused to help Nephi build a ship out of pure laziness (1 Nephi 17:18).”^[2]

Finally, why would they want to leave Bountiful?  We know that, after leaving Nahom, they “did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:1).  Now they have plenty.  They are not suffering as they had in their earlier journey.

It’s not surprising they mocked and ridiculed Nephi.  And it continued.

They accused Lehi of having been “led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart” (1 Nephi 17:20).  “[I]t seems likely that when Laman and Lemuel described their father as a ‘visionary man,’ they were not simply suggesting that he was an old fool. They were accusing him of being a false prophet who was leading their family astray.”[3]

They whined about what their wives and children had suffered.  If would have been better for their wives to had died before they left Jerusalem that to experience the suffering they had.  (I’d like to hear the wives side of that claim!)

Had they stayed in Jerusalem, instead of suffering the wilderness, they would have enjoyed their wealth; their possessions.  They could have a great life and been happy instead of having suffered.

See, they grumbled, we know (oh, the arrogance!) they people in Jerusalem are a good and righteous people.  They obey the commandments and judgments of the Lord. They follow the Law of Moses.   Because Lehi had judged them unfairly, they had been led away from Jerusalem.  And, their idiot brother is just as bad as their father is.  Daniel Peterson wrote, “They're quite complacent, quite satisfied with the way they have been behaving. And they don't like it when a prophet comes along and tells them, ‘Actually you're sinners and the Lord has rejected you.’ So, it is a natural human response ‘Oh no we're not!’” (Daniel Peterson).[4]

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[1] Dealings with Egypt, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 1, 2013.

[2] The Nature of Book of Mormon Society, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 1, 2013.

[3] Scripture Update: Lehi as a Visionary Man, Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 1, 2013.

[4] As quoted in Jerusalem at the Time of Lehi, S. Kent Brown, and Peter Johnson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 1, 2013.