At the close of the
record, which his father, Mormon, gave to him, and that he so diligently kept
and guarded, Moroni wrote: “Therefore I will write and hide up the records in
the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not” (Mormon 8:4).
At this point, around
401 A.D. (Mormon 8:6), Moroni writes that it doesn’t matter where he buries the
plates “in the ground,” it doesn’t matter where he would die, it doesn’t matter
how he dies, and it doesn’t matter what happens to him in life from this point
on—the Lamanites were at war one with another; and the whole face of this land
was one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knew when the war
would end (Mormon 8:8). All the Nephites had been hunted down and destroyed
(Mormon 8:7) and none existed on the face of the land (Mormon 8:9).
What mattered to Moroni was what was written
on the plates (Mormon 8:12, 14) and that it be preserved by the Lord and
brought forth for future generations (Mormon 8:16) as the Lord promised, that
the future Lamanites, Gentiles and House of Israel would all know of the
truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and present a witness of the
Savior—which is a Second Witness to us today in addition to the Bible.
All of this was given
with a warning by Moroni (Mormon 8:12, 17), and that “the eternal purposes of
the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled” (Mormon
8:22).
What was important to
Moroni he wrote (Mormon 9), and what is important, and the backbone of this
blog and the nearly 2000 posts over a full six year period is not where the
Land of Promise was located, where the hill Cumorah was located, or where the
Nephite Nation lived and the Jaredite kingdom before that—what has always been
important in the writing of this blog and the backbone of its existence, is to
verify and support the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon exactly as it
was originally written, abridged by Nephi, Mormon and Moroni, and translated by
Joseph Smith through the workings of the Spirit.
The errors of theorists
in their erroneous interpretations of this sacred record that Joseph Smith
called “the most correct book,” meaning what was written in its pages, not how
it was written, which Moroni pointed out would contain errors, both in the
writing part because of the difficulty of transcribing Hebrew thought and
meanings into a foreign language called Reformed Egyptian (Mormon 9:32), would
ultimate cause some errors made by the writers (Mormon 9:31, 33). And that is
why the Lord had it translated by the means he prepared (Joseph Smith and the
Spirit) for the purpose of bringing forth unto us in our day a correct work as
viewed by the Lord (Mormon 9:30).
The first three
witnesses, Oliver Cowdery (died at the age of 44), David Whitmer (died at the
age of 83) and Martin Harris (died at the age of 92)—the first two, Oliver and
David were 23 years old, and Martin was 45, when they were shown the plates in June
1829—all testified of seeing the Plates. Their "Testimony of Three
Witnesses" summarizes the supernatural event that followed, when an angel
appeared and showed them the plates and engravings and they heard the Lord
declare that the Book of Mormon was "translated
by the gift and power of God."
Left to Right: Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, David Whitmer
The three witnesses
also said they heard "the voice of the Lord" telling them that the
translation of the plates was correct, and commanding them to testify of what
they saw and heard.” David Whitmer later stated that
the angel showed them "the breast plates, the Ball or Directors, the Sword
of Laban, and other plates” (Van Horn, 1881; Kelley & Blakeslee, 1882; see
also Joseph Smith, 1835, p 171).
David Witmer also
stated in an interview with the Kansas
City Journal: “Joseph, Oliver Cowdery and myself were together, and the
angel showed [the plates] to us. [We were] sitting on a log when we were
overshadowed by a light more glorious than that of the sun. In the midst of
this light, but a few feet from us, appeared a table upon which were many
golden plates, also the sword of Laban and the directors. I saw them as plain
as I see you now, and distinctly heard the voice of the Lord declaiming that
the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and
power of God” (June 1, 1881, in Lyndon Cook, ed., David Whitmer Interviews:
A Restoration Witness, Orem, UT, Grandin Book, 1991, p63).
Cowdery, Whitmer, and
Harris signed a joint statement that has been included in each of the more than
120 million copies of the Book of Mormon printed since then, which reads in
part: “And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down
from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw
the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of
God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that
these things are true” (“The Testimony of Three Witnesses,” Book of Mormon).
Each of the three was
a respected and independent member of non-Mormon society, active in his
community. Their lives, fully documented, clearly demonstrate their honesty and
intelligence. David Whitmer repeatedly reacted against charges of possible
"delusion." To one skeptic, he responded: "Of course we were in
the spirit when we had the view…but we were in the body also, and everything
was as natural to us, as it is at any time" (Anderson, p. 87). Perhaps their
later alienation makes them even more credible as witnesses, for no collusion
could have withstood their years of separation from the Church and from each
other.
The point of all this
is that the Lord himself verified the accuracy and correctness of the
scriptural record of the Book of Mormon—it is not wrong, the directions Mormon
used are not wrong, the statement Jacob made about being on an island is not
wrong, nor are any of the descriptions, such as the Land Northward and the Land
Southward being in an area where the mountains rose to a height which is great,
which should eliminate all of the eastern United States, especially the
Heartland and Great Lakes area, which has no mountains, let alone high ones. We
could go on about this, but the point is the work is correct as is, the Lord
has said so, and we need to stop trying to change it or its meanings.
Having said all that,
it should also be pointed out that the book was never meant to be a perfect
writing of the English Language, anymore than the fact that the translations
into 82 foreign languages (plus partial translates into 25 others) are perfect
in those languages, since translation, rather than being a word-for-word
understanding is a meaning-for-meaning understanding, and in that sense, the
Book of Mormon as a scriptural record (not a history book) is without blemish
and perfect in its meanings, bringing us the Word of God as He wanted us to
receive it, and accept it, based on both our testimony of its correctness and our
faith in His work that brought it about.
And we have the
Lord’s testimony that it is!
It was never meant to
be a literary masterpiece in which it would pass every understanding of
spelling and grammar since that has changed before, during, and after the book
was published as we have pointed out in the previous series and for several
years here.
What it was meant to
be is exactly what it is, a spiritual work that will bring us closer to God,
His Son, and the gospel in its fullness, from the reason we are here to the
atonement and its purpose, and to where we will ultimately end up. This fate
befell the Nephites—in some generations they were near perfect, as humans can
be; but in others they were as evil as the
Children of Men have ever been, and
as Mormon put it, had lost their grace (Mormon 2:15).
The reason for
supporting the scriptural record in this blog is to correct those errors in
print that have crept into the thinking and beliefs pertaining to descriptions
and meanings of individuals who have felt they knew more to its translation
than those who wrote, abridged and translated the work. Based simply on the
clear and precise writing of Mormon and others, in theorists’ changing of the
meaning of words and phrases, from Sorenson’s altering the north-south-east-west
meanings which Mormon provided for our greater understanding, to the
description of how Nephi’s ship sailed “driven forth before the wind,” meaning
with currents and winds, to Jacob’s description of the Land of Promise being an
island, to Mormon’s small and narrow neck of land and to his narrow pass and
passage through it.
This blog has
attempted the best it could to show that the words Mormon used and the words
Joseph Smith used in translation, aptly describe the events, geography, layout,
and events of the Book of Mormon sufficient for us to arrive at a clear and
precise location—one that matches every single descriptive comment stated of
such in the overall work.
To make less of, or
change, alter, ridicule or present a different meaning, is both unconscionable
and unscholarly, more especially for those professors and students in the
fields at BYU as well as all others. Mormon was clear and precise in his
language, Joseph Smith was clear and precise in his language. While some parts
need further study and the spirit’s aid in coming to the correct conclusion and
understanding, that understanding and conclusions will not contradict what was
written and translated as so many Theorists do, whether aware of it or not.
There is one location
where the Book of Mormon took place, and additional areas in the Western
Hemisphere where Nephites and Lamanites settled after leaving the Land of
Promise on Hagoth’s ships, and we find in the Western Hemisphere the original
settlement of an advanced culture, which the Jaredites (from Babylon) and
Lehites (from Jerusalem) would have built—and nowhere in Asia and the Middle
East where they came from would have been building with sticks and wood that
deteriorated over the centuries anymore than the sites built during Jaredite
times in Babylon and during Lehi and Nephi’s time in Jerusalem have
deteriorated and are unknown.
However, as Moroni
said, it mattereth not. The important thing that matters is the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. To know and understand God’s word and its meaning and purpose in our
life gives us added testimony of a loving Father and his Son and the atonement
that brought about the Law of Repentance and the knowledge of who we are, from
whence we came, and where we are going.
To know where these
events we read about on over 500 pages is as worthwhile and helpful as it is to
know where the Holy Land was and is located when reading the bible. Not
essential, but helpful.
And that information
is available in the scriptural record if we simply read the record the way it
was written and translated and not try to insert our own personal bias and
prejudices into the work, but follow the events as they unfold with the Spirit
and our own understanding of the words, and not try to force them to mean
something they do not say.
As Moroni so
eloquently said, “Be wise in the days of your probation” (Mormon 9:28).
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Del, I continue to read and appreciate this blog. I still wish you copied it also to facebook. At any rate, this is what I say about scripture: The "revelations" given to prophets from God are surely inerrant and infallible. But what prophets write is a "record" of the revelation and of other events, and is not revelation itself. And though this record is given as moved upon by the Holy Ghost, it still is "the works of men", and as such is subject to the imperfections that exist even in the best of men. The Bible or any true scripture is thus never "infallible and inerrant". Why? 1. God wants us to realize we always need more revelation (until we are in His presence); and 2. As men reject the scriptural records brought forth by men in their weaknesses they are under less condemnation.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Thank you.
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