Latter-day Saint Seminar Volume 4, Number 43 November 24, 2000 ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ________________________________________________________________________ GD43 - Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9 Article 1 - Comments by S. Kurt Neumiller kurtn@cybcon.com Article 2 - Structure by D. Lynn Johnson dlj5@voyager.net ________________________________________________________________________ Comments, by S. Kurt Neumiller ________________________________________________________________________ General Comments on Mormon Large and Small Plates We are informed in 2:18 that Mormon is making two sets of records, one more detailed as well as the present record we have. Thus, Mormon continues the tradition of the large and small plates started by Nephi. It seems odd that Mormon would write a more detailed record as he knows full well the Nephites are doomed to extinction. So, who is he writing the more detailed record for? He may simply be doing it out of duty with respect to the concept of 3 Ne. 27:23- 26. Or, he may be writing the more detailed record first, and then this condensed account by editorializing the larger record afterwards as 2:18 and 6:6 suggest. Perhaps Mormon's larger account and all the records of the Nephites are still preserved somewhere, yet to be revealed to man. Along this line is the Brigham Young Quote concerning something Oliver Cowdery apparently said: When Joseph got the Plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the Hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver Cowdery says that when Joseph and he went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says that he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light, but it was as light as day. They laid the Plates on a table. It was a large table that stood in the middle of 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 many wagon loads. They were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there, the Sword of Laban hung upon the wall, but when they went again, it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the Gold Plates. It was unsheathed, and on it was written these words, "This Sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 19, p. 38) As appealing as the imagery may be, this statement is not reliable. There is no firsthand account on the matter by Cowdery, Young doesn't indicate when or under what circumstances Cowdery related this to him, and it contradicts what Smith said of the return of the plates to Moroni, cf. JS-H 1:60. It also doesn't correspond with Smith's retrieving the original plates from the cemented stone box (cf. JS-H 1:51-52), as why would there be a separate cemented stone box if there were a full library nearby? The attributed statement also states the two of them went back twice, once the sword was sheathed and the second time the sword was unsheathed. No explanation is given for the second visit, assuming the first was to replace the BofM plates. The lack of reliability of this particular quote does not impeach the possibility of there being something like it elsewhere. It is possible there is another larger library of records, the original Cumorah (cf. 6:6) or perhaps the original hill Shim (cf. 1:4), somewhere else which still contains all of the Nephite records. And, perhaps someday, these will be revealed to their fullest extent, cp. 2 Ne. 30:16-18. Textual Quality Mormon's account alternates between spiritual and secular events treating the history in a linear fashion. For example, in ch. 1 Mormon recounts Ammaron's commissioning Mormon to take over the plates (v. 1-5), discusses the expansion of the population and subsequent wars (v. 6-12), then comments on the spiritual condition of the population (v. 13-19). This pattern continues through ch. 7 with Mormon's farewell to the Lehite remnant. This pattern is a simple one and requires relatively little time to compose. We are informed why Mormon took such a simple approach in 6:6. When he saw the imminent destruction of the Nephites he wrote his final portion of the record (ch. 1-5) while the armies were gathering to Cumorah for the final battle and then apparently appended his closing comments and farewell after the battle at Cumorah (v. 6-7). During this time Mormon would have been under considerable stress preparing for the final conflict (cf. 6:1-6) and then fleeing for his life from Lamanites (cf. 8:2-3). He certainly wouldn't have had the luxury of writing text under ideal spiritual or creative circumstances. When we compare and contrast this text to that of the original Nephi we see that Nephi's is longer, structurally complex, and contains numerous quotes of other authors. Mormon's present text is quite the opposite. This comparison is instructive in that we can discern how circumstances influence how Scriptural texts are written. Mormon was clearly a capable and inspired author, but under the great stress of the events of his later life the text is not the caliber of his earlier writings. This is not to suggest the text is not Scripture or uninspired, only that it is not what it might have been had Mormon had more time and better circumstances. Another plainer example would be that of the book of Omni. A series of authors weigh in only out of a sense of duty, with one of them confessing he was a sinner and the rest simply passing it off. The priestly line of Nephi and Jacob had clearly fallen apart so the small plates languish and are largely forgotten. Both of these examples indicate that Scripture composition is a complex matter. It is much more than God dictating words to people. It is often influenced by the people, or the lack thereof, God is dealing with at the time and the circumstances those people are in. Comments on Mormon 1 v1-5 Mormon has completed the task of condensing and editorializing the historical records that preceded him, so he now addresses the events that have occurred during his own lifetime (v. 1). When Mormon was about ten years old Ammaron hid up the plates and observing Mormon's character speaks to him concerning the plates (v. 2). Ammaron tells him concerning all of the records of the Nephites (v. 3), but tells him only to keep up the large plates of Nephi (v. 4). As Mormon is a descendant of the original Nephi, he doesn't forget the things Ammaron tells him (v. 5). v1-3 Ammaron's comments in v. 3 concerning the sacred nature of the record and hiding it for the Lord's sake, as well as his being inspired in 4 Ne. 1:48, indicate he was a God-fearing man. We may therefore safely assume Ammaron's decision to select Mormon was inspired. There is no indication in the text that Ammaron and Mormon were related. Ammaron being a descendant of the priestly line of Alma and Mormon being a descendant of what would have been the kingly line of Nephi (cf. 8:13) had the system of judges not been instituted, suggests they were not closely related. v5 "being a descendant of Nephi", we are informed Mormon is a direct descendant of Nephi (8:13) as well as a pure Lehite (cf. 3 Ne. 5:20), suggesting there was no mixing with Mulekites in his lineage. Aside from the record being scripture, it was also family history for him. Being of the lineage of Nephi he easily remembered Ammoron's command to get the plates of Nephi and add to them. v6-12 When he is eleven, Mormon and his father go to Zarahemla (v. 6), where the city had grown to spread over all the land (v. 7). War breaks out between the Lamanites and Nephites (v. 8-9) in the borders of Zarahemla (v. 10). The Nephites have gathered a considerable force and over the course of a series of battles they beat the Lamanites back. After heavy casualties (v. 11) the Lamanites give up their assault on the Nephites. They have peace for a few years (v. 12). v6 Mormon is taken by his father to the land of Zarahemla, which is where war breaks out (cf. v. 10) and we are informed the Nephites had deliberately gathered 30000 men to that location for the war (cf. v. 11). It is reasonable to assume Mormon's father was part of this gathering for war. This and Mormon's early start in a military career (cf. 2:1- 2) suggest his father was involved in such things, and probably educated Mormon along those lines. Having a father as a prominent military leader would explain why he was subsequently chosen at such a young age to lead the armies. We might also speculate that Mormon's father died in the conflict mentioned in v. 11 as after this there is no further mention of him and Mormon is chosen as a military leader. v13-19 Despite the lack of conflict with the Lamanites, the wickedness among the Nephites results in internal problems. The three beloved disciples are no longer present (v. 13) and spiritual gifts and blessings effectively cease because of sin (v. 14). Despite his relative youth, Mormon knows the love and word of the Lord so he tries to preach repentance to the people. But, his mouth is shut and he is forbidden from doing so (v. 16) because of their deliberate rebellion. The result is they are cursed (v. 17). The Nephites are cursed with a resurgence of the Gadianton Robbers, who steal everything they can get their hands on (v. 18), and also many evil practices which exploit the power of the devil. All of this occurs just as the prophets had predicted (v. 19, cp. Mos. 12:8, Mos. 18:16-18, Hela. 12:18, Hela. 13:18). v15 "tasted", Mormon uses imagery probably derived from either Alma's seed of faith (cf. Alma 32:42) or Lehi's tree of life (cf. 1 Ne. 8:11-12), or both. v16 "my mouth was shut", given the general context of v. 16-17 I would assume it is the Lord who forbids Mormon from preaching as opposed to anyone else. In v. 16 the Lord takes away the beloved disciples and then in v. 17 the Lord curses them because of their wickedness. These verses present the Lord as the active agent, so I would conclude He is the one who forbid's Mormon's preaching as well. v19 "sorceries", in the KJV English this term generally refers to alchemy, necromancy and magical arts. As the term appears in conjunction with "witchcrafts, and magics" we can assume Mormon is referring more specifically to alchemy (as does John in Revelation), which in modern terms would be referring to hallucinatory drug use. ________________________________________________________________________ Structure, by D. Lynn Johnson ________________________________________________________________________ This is the only chapter in this lesson that I have reformatted. It tells a sad tale, but also is reassuring to the faithful. I’ll limit my comments here to two of the inverted systems. The full reformatted text can be found on the LDSS Archive website, http://www.cybcon.com/~kurtn/exegesis.html Moro 9:1-7 Inverted A I write somewhat of that which is grievous. // I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. B I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer. // That we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness. C1 And now, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent. // And now my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness. C2 I am laboring with them continually. // Let us labor diligently. D They tremble and anger against me. // So exceedingly do they anger. E I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them. Moro 9:22-26 Inverted A My son, I recommend thee unto God. // My son, be faithful in Christ...but may Christ lift thee up. B And I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved. // I trust that I may see thee soon. C I pray unto God that he will spare thy life. // If thou art spared. D To witness. // Write somewhat a few things. E The return of his people unto him. // Except they repent and return unto him. F Or their utter destruction. // I know that they must perish. ________________________________________________________________________ Next Assignment: Mormon 7-9 ________________________________________________________________________ A note to readers: LDS Seminar Digest [LDSS-D] is a summary of posts made to LDS Seminar, an open forum for discussion on upcoming Gospel Doctrine lessons. LDS Seminar [LDSS] posts are open to exegesis, textual analysis, historical issues, and life applications. Submissions to LDSS will not be edited for content, but not all submissions will be automatically included in LDSS-D. LDSS-D is a one way list, subscribers cannot post to LDSS-D. If you wish to post you must join LDSS. 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