From the Life of Heber C Kimball we can read of a very moving story concerning the
Book Of Mormon.
"It was an eventful night of September 22nd, 1827. Says Heber C Kimball: "I had retired
to bed, when John P. Greene, who was living within a hundred steps of my house, came and
waked me up, calling upon me to come out and behold the scenery in the heavens, I woke up and
called my wife and sister fanny Young (Brigham Youngs sister),who was living with us, and we
went out-of-doors.
"It was one of the most beautiful starlight nights, so clear that we could see too pick up a
pin. We looked to the eastern horizon, and beheld a white smoke arise toward the heavens; as it
ascended it formed itself into a belt, and made a noise like the sound of a mighty wind, and
continued southwest, forming a regular bow dipping in the western horizon. After the bow had
formed, it began to widen out and grow clear and transparent, of a bluish cast; it grew wide enough
to contain twelve men abreast.
"In this bow an army moved, commencing from the east and marching to the west; they
continued marching until they reached the western horizon. They moved in platoons, and walked
so close that the rear ranks trod in the steps of their file leaders, until the whole bow was literally
crowded with soldiers. We could distinctly see the muskets, bayonets and knapsacks of men, who
wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; and
also saw their of officers with their swords and equipage, and the clashing and jingling of their
implements of war, and could discover the forms and features of the men. The most profound
order existed throughout the entire army; when the foremost man stepped, every man stepped at
the same time; I could hear the steps. When the front rank reached the western horizon a battle
ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of arms and the rush.
"No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men. as plainly as ever I
saw armies of men in the flesh; it seemed as though every hair of my head was alive. This scenery
we gazed upon for hours, until it began to disappear.
"After I became acquainted with Mormonism, I learned that this took place the same
evening that Joseph Smith received the records of the Book of Mormon from the angel Moroni,
who had held those records in his possession.
Also present that night were John Young, Senior, John P Greene's wife Rhoda.
Hebers wife, "being frightened at what she saw, said 'Father Young, what does all this
mean?'
"'Why, it's one of the signs of the coming of the son of Man,' he replied, in a lively
manner.
"The next night similar scenery was beheld in the west by the neighbors, representing
armies of men who were engaged in battle."
On the same night in America the Angel Moroni delivered the plates to Joseph Smith. At
this time he gave him this charge: that he would be responsible for them; that if they should
through neglect get into evil hands that he would be cut off and that if he would use all his
endeavors to preserve them they should be protected.
Joseph soon found out the reason why he had received such strict charges to keep them
safe. For no sooner was it known that Joseph received plates, than the most strenuous exertions
were used to get them. In Josephs' words "Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to
for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were
on the alert continually to get them from me if possible."
This continued until they were delivered back to the Angel Moroni,on the second day of
May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
Joseph Smith had been shot at, tarred and feathered, beaten, spit upon, driven from his
home, basically disowned by his Father-In -Law, called all manner of despicable names, and yet
despite all this persecution Joseph continued to translate the Book of Mormon.
In light of the persecution, how do you suppose that Joseph was able to gain the courage to
continue to translate? Was it because as he translated from the plates his testimony would grow
each and every day? He could see each day the benefits to mankind of having the Book of
Mormon available. Joseph was slowly beginning to see why the powers of the evil were out to
foil the purposes of heaven, the armies of Satan knew the power that the Book of Mormon would
have in the lives of those that would later read from its pages.
Before Joseph actually started the translation he spent many hours studying the engraved
characters using the Urim and Thummim. As he studied the plates he learned of what a great gift
he had in his possession. In his possession was 2 sets of plates; the small plates of Nephi and the
plates of Mormon, from which he translated. These two sets of plates in Josephs" hands came
from earlier abridgements of 5 sets of plates. Those plates in chronological order are the plates of
Either, the brass plates of Laban, the large plates of Nephi, the small plates of Nephi and the plates
of Mormon. As Joseph studied the 2 sets of plates in his possession he discovered the names of
the authors of the 5 sets of plates from which they came, they are as follows:
First; the plates of Ether, which in our current Book of Mormon refers to 24 plates
of Either; but it most likely is 24 sets of plates that cover nearly 2000 years. All that we have of
these plates is the abridgement that was done by Moroni. These plates primarily contain the story
of the people that we know of as the Jaridites. About 31 pages long. As far as we know Joseph
Smith never had the plates of Ether in his possession.
The second set of plates are referenced as the Plates of Brass of Laban.
The plates of brass as you recall were written in Egyptian. Nehi was able to read them as
he had been taught to read Egyptian by his father. These plates primarily deal with the descendants
of that Joseph who was sold into Egypt. Therefore in a sense the plates of brass might be
considered as part of stick of Joseph, as well as the stick of Ephriam mentioned in the Old
Testament in Ezekiel 37. These plates were obtain by Nephi and his brothers from Laban, as
commanded by their father. These plates contain the 5 books of Moses, and many other books
found in our present day Old Testament including Isaiah.
Nephi was personally acquainted with the plates of brass and saw our present old
testament in vision he said: many plain and precious truths had been taken from the records that
now appear as our present day bible. Also the words of many others prophets are contained on the
plates of brass which including the prophets Zenos, Zenock, and Ezias. Joseph Smith did not
translate directly from the plates of brass and we have no evidence that he ever had them. The only
records from the Plates of Brass are those that are quoted directly by those prophets in the Book
Of Mormon that had them in their possession.
The third set of Plates are the Large plates of Nephi. These plates were started just after
Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. They are both a religious and a secular history of Lehi and his
descendants. They contain a series of books that were named after the authors who wrote on these
plates originally. These plates cover the people that are descendants of Lehi and his group (
Ishmeal and Labans' servant who also went with them) from the time 600 years before the time of
Christ to 400 years after the time of Christ. These plates were abridged by Mormon around 400
AD. We have a few parts from the Large Plates of Nephi through Mormons abridgement.
However the unabridged Large plates of Nephi contain many things not contained in our present
day Book of Mormon. Including "a full account of the history of Nephis' people" "the genealogy
of Lehi" and "the more part of the Teachings of the resurrected Christ to the Nephite nation".
Again we have no indication the Joseph Smith ever had the large plates of Nephi in his possession
or that he ever translated from them.
The fourth set of plates and the first set that Joseph Smith had in his possession and
from which he translated was the small plates of Nephi. These plates were started about 570 before
Christ and primarily contain the religious history of the Lehite colony for the 470 years of its
existence. some of the religious teaching of the brass plates were copied onto these plates. The
translation of these plates comprise the first 143 pages of the current book of mormon. Included
in this translation are the books 1st Nephi, 2nd Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom and Omni. They are
written in the first person account in other words these plates have not been abridged by any
person at any time. The prophet Joseph Smith had the Small plates of Nephi in his possession and
translated directly from them.
The 5th set of plates and the second set that Joseph had in his possession were the
plates of Mormon. Essentially these plates are an abridgement by Mormon of that initially
recorded on the large plates of Nephi. Together with some first person accounts by Mormon in the
Words of Mormon, some first person accounts of Moroni and Moroni's abridgement of the plates
of Ether. A portion of the plates of Mormon were sealed and have not been translated. We are not
certain what they contain but Moroni was the writer and therefore may have been the major
engraver of the plates of Mormon. The books that were contained in this set of plates are as
follows the Words of Mormon, Mormons abridgment of the Large plates of Nephi which includes
Mosiah, Alma, Heleman, 3rd Nephi 4th Nephi and the 1st 7 chapters of the small Book of
Mormon. Out of 530 pages in the Book of Mormon, 340 pages came from the Mormon himself
as he abridged them from the large plates of Nephi. Also from the plates of Mormon we have the
abridgements and writings of Moroni which contain chapters 8 and 9 in the small Book of
Mormon, Moroni's abridgement of the book of Ether, and Book of Moroni.
There were many other plates but these are the only four plates that deal either directly or
indirectly with the Book of Mormon and the latter 2 plates the only ones from which Joseph Smith
translated and make up the present day Book of Mormon.
The are only 11 engravers for the entire present day Book of Mormon. There are 9
engravers for the small plates of Nephi and they are as follows:
Nephi writing the 1 st and 2nd Books of Nephi;
Jacob Book of Jacob;
Enos the son of Jacob writing the book of Enos;
Jarom the Book of Jarom;
Omni the 1st 3 verses of Book of Omni;
Amoron verses 4- 8 of Book of Omni;
Chemish vs. 9 of the Book of Omni;
Abinadim son of Chemish who writes verses 10- 11 in the Book of Omni;
and finally Abinadi son of Abinadum verses 12-30 of Book of Omni.
The rest of the engraving of the book of mormon was part of the father and son
combination of Mormon and his son Moroni. Mormon engraves Words of Mormon, Mosiah,
Alma, Helaman, 3rd Nephi, 4th Nephi 1 st 7 chapters of the smaller Book of Mormon with-in the
greater Book of Mormon. Mormon abridged his own extensive record of the Book of Mormon
which is the smaller Book of Mormon. 2nd engraver was Moroni 8 and 9th chapters of smaller
Book of Mormon, Book of Either which is an abridgement of the plates of Ether, and also the
Book of Moroni.
Except then, for the relatively brief contributions of Enos, Jarom, Omni, Chemish,
Abinidum and Amalichi which comprise only about 7 pages. The rest was engraved by one of
only four prophets namely Nephi, Jacob, Mormon and Moroni.
It is interesting to note the experiences of these four prophets and the remarkable things that
they all shared in common. Their shared experiences include:
1) Each was a personal witness of Jesus Christ. Nephi and his brother Jacob saw the
premortal Christ and were visited by and talked with him. Mormon and his son Moroni who lived
after Christs death; saw the resurrected Christ and were visited by and talked with him.
2) Each was personal tutored by Christ as to what they should write. Indeed Jesus Christ is
the author.
3) Each were visited by angels and or translated beings & were instructed by these beings.
Nephi and Jacob were visited by the spirit of the Lord as we read in 1 Ne. 11:11
"for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a
man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto
me as a man speaketh with another."
Mormon and Moroni were taught by translated beings including the three Nephi disciples.
3 Nephi 28:26
26 But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me.
and Moroni says in: Mormon 8:11.
11 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.
4) All bore strong testimonies of Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is the Christ and the
divine son of God.
5) All engravers warn that we will be accountable for what has been written. an example is
found in 2 Nephi 33:14
14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of
the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the
mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these
words shall condemn you at the last day.
In Addition: Moroni has forewarned us that he and all the other writers and prophets who
recorded the word will be there at the final judgment.
And in my opinion perhaps the most significant share experience of these four prophets are
6) Each saw our days and challenges and they wrote for us not the people of their time.
The records of these prophets were not even published during their lifetime. The best example is
when Moroni writes in chapter 8 of Mormon. Remember that Mormon writes the first 7 Chapters
then Moroni finishes Mormon. In Chapter 8 Mormon starts to prove to us that he has seen our day
starting in verse 23 then in verse 35 he says:
Mormon chapter 8:35
"35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold,
Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing."
Mormon only wrote one hundredth part he said of what was available to him. In a rough
calculation that would equal approximately 57000 pages that would be available today (alot to read
each year).
When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the Hill
Cummorah when translation was completed, which he did. Oliver says "that when Joseph and
Oliver went there they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says
he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun, or artificial light; but it was just
as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this
table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room
more plates than probably, many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and around the
walls."
Mormon took from all the volumes that he had and sifted through them and gave to us
what he thought was the very most important. If you want a thrill go home today and re-read the
last 50 pages that Moroni wrote then ask what did Moroni see in our day that prompted him to
write this down?
And finally:
7) All of these prophets were faithful to the lord as they abridged the records. They knew
more than the Lord allowed them to record.
as is illustrated in 3 Nephi 26:16,18
16 ...yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the
things which they did utter were forbidden that there should not any man write
them.
18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not
lawful to be written.
Because, a portion of the Book of Mormon is still sealed there is still much for us to learn.
But as the Lord has suggested to use time and time again that we learn line upon line, precept
upon precept, and that is why it is important that we read the scriptures each day.
Mormon who was the major abridger of the Book of Mormon, explains as he ends his
writing in the 7th chapter Mormon. Here Mormon tells us why he wrote what he wrote. In verses
8 and 9 of that chapter these are his words.
8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold
upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but
also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record
shall come from the Gentiles unto you.
9 For behold, this is written (the Book of Mormon) for the intent
that ye may believe that; (the Bible) and if ye b believe that; (the Bible)
ye will believe this (the Book of Mormon) also; and if ye believe this
(the Book of Mormon) ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the
marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.
Not only did Mormon expound on the fact that we should read the scriptures, but so did
his son, Moroni. Moroni also encourages us to read the scriptures.In Moroni 10:2-5 we find some
of the most often quoted verses in the Book of Mormon.
Moroni 10:2-5
2 And I seal up these records (the Book Of Mormon), after l have
spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things. (the
Book of Mormon) if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye
would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from
the creation of Adam even down unto the time (The Book of Mormon does
not start until @ 600 BC already a few thousand years of history of
dealings with the Lord that are not recorded in the Book of Mormon.
so obviously Moroni is talking here about the bible.) that ye shall
receive these things, and ponder it (all the events that have taken place) in
your hearts.
3 things he is asking us to do 1 Read the Book of Mormon, 2) Read the account of the
creation of the earth from Adam and all things that have transpired since that time by the hand of
God 3)Ponder it, the way god deals with men the same yesterday today and forever. ponder that in
your heart (This is essentially verse 3)
Then in verse 4 Moroni says:
4 And when ye shall receive these things (Accept them, believe them
to be true, this is how the Lord Answers prayers we must make the
decision first then ask if it is correct), I would exhort you that ye would ask
God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things (everything that
Moroni has said we need to read not only the Book of Mormon but
the Bible too) are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real
intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you. (the Book
of Mormon but how do we get our testimony of the truth of the
Book of Mormon through our belief in the Bible they stand as one,
they testify of each other.) by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
And in modern days, latter-day prophets have instructed us that "we can get closer to the
lord by reading the Book of Mormon than by reading any other book"
A modern day blessing is given to those that read the Book of Mormon from President
Benson "Now, in the authority of the sacred priesthood in me vested, I invoke my blessing upon
the latter-day Saints and upon good people everywhere.
I bless you with increased discernment to judge between Christ and anti-Christ. I bless you
with increased power to do good and to resist evil. I bless you with increased understanding of the
Book of Mormon. I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its
pages and abide its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the church a blessing
hitherto unknown- and we will plead to the Lord that He will begin to lift the condemnation --the
scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness."