Mormon's Miraculous Metallurgy, Manuscription, and Military Might
Book of Mormon Notes - Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Mormon 3
During a ten-year uneasy peace, Chief Captain Mormon followed the example of his predecessor Chief Captain Moroni, preparing his people to defend themselves against the onslaught of the ferocious, blood-thirsty, and merciless Lamanites. Mormon and his people prepared their lands and their arms against the time of battle.
As he and his people prepared for battle, Mormon also prepared his record. Mormon helps us to calculate his age during each of these major events in his life. Mormon was about ten years old when Ammaron gave him the great commission. He was eleven years old when his father carried him south to the land of Zarahemla. He was fifteen years old when he was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus. He was fifteen years old (in his sixteenth year) when he began to lead the Nephite armies in battle against the Lamanites. For about four more years, until he was about twenty years old, Mormon and his armies fought battles, retreated from the Lamanites, gathered in one body, and resisted King Aaron and his armies.
For approximately fourteen more years after that, until he was about thirty-four years old, Mormon lead his armies through a time of great sorrow and mourning. During this time, Mormon initially had hope that his people would repent, until he realized that their sorrowing was not unto repentance. He saw thousands of his people hewn down in open drebellion against their God, and heaped up as edung upon the face of the land.
If Mormon was about twenty years old, and then he led the Nephite armies in battle for the next fourteen years, how could he fulfill Ammaron’s commission to retrieve the plates of Nephi when he was about twenty-four years old? When Mormon was about thirty-four years old, he and his armies retreated further until they reached the land of Jashon:
And now, the city of Jashon was near the aland where Ammaron had bdeposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed. And behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the cplates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron. (Mormon 2:17)
Mormon doesn’t tell us precisely when he retrieved the records. Ammaron commissioned Mormon to go to the land Antum unto the hill Shim when he was about twenty-four years old, and Mormon informs us that he remembered Ammaron’s commission. Therefore, I wager that Mormon fulfilled Ammaron’s commission exactly, because Mormon writes that by the time he was about thirty-four years old he had already gone, “according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the plates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron.” In other words, if Mormon retrieved the plates of Nephi when he was twenty-four years old, then he worked on his complete record upon the plates of Nephi for approximately ten years.
Thus, the sequence of Mormon’s great task and project I imagine as follows:
Mormon, age 24, retrieves the large plates of Nephi from the hill Shim in secret, momentarily leaving behind the treasure trove of records
Mormon reads the large plates of Nephi and studies them thoroughly, even though Ammaron had already taught Mormon much from these plates
On the remaining empty large plates of Nephi that had already been made, Mormon inscribes the rest of the full account of Nephite history from the time when Ammaron finished his record to the time when Mormon was writing and leading his armies
With golden plates that he makes with his own hands, Mormon begins his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi
Mormon continues to write the full account of Nephite history on the large plates of Nephi as he continues to make his abridgment on the gold plates
As he finishes his full account of Nephite history during his own life, and his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi that span all of Nephite history, Mormon begins his own record, the Book of Mormon
I may have to revise or add to this sequence as I continue my study, but this seems plausible as a starting point. If my guess is correct, Mormon’s life from the age of about twenty-four to about thirty-four consisted mainly of preparing for and fighting battles against the Lamanites, fleeing from the Lamanites, and creating his complete record upon the large plates of Nephi. He may have begun his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi during this time as well. I imagine that Mormon also married during this time, and perhaps, like Joseph Smith, even before he retrieved the plates. I also imagine that Mormon’s son Moroni was born sometime during this Nephite retreat and Mormon’s work on the record upon the large plates of Nephi.
Thus, when Mormon was about thirty-four or thirty-five, he had already retrieved the plates, begun his full account of Nephite wickedness upon the plates of Nephi, and retreated with the Nephites to the land of Jashon. Perhaps this Nephite retreat to a place close to Antum and the hill Shim made it easier for Mormon to consult all of the other Nephite records whenever necessary. I suppose that Mormon had to do his work with the records mostly in secret so that neither the wicked Nephites or the wicked Lamanites could find them.
In my mind’s eye I see the thirty-five year old Mormon in the land of Jashon, a young father and the head of the Nephite armies, having recently completed a major portion of his record of Nephite wickedness upon the large plates of Nephi according to the instructions given by Ammaron. But Mormon had much more to record. He was still alive, and many of his people were still alive.
Thus, if I’m not mistaken, Mormon continued to write his full account of all the wickedness and abominations of his people upon the large plates of Nephi while he also began his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi upon the golden plates. The story is so intricate, complex, and internally consistent. It is simply impossible that a young and relatively uneducated farm-boy in his early twenties concocted this story in a matter of a few short months. It took the almost sixty year old genius Dostoyevsky about two years to write The Brothers Karamazov, but Joseph Smith translated the entire Book of Mormon in about sixty to ninety days.
Upon what kind of metal were the large plates of Nephi written? Remember that Nephi made his abridgment of the record of his father upon plates that he made with his own hands (1 Nephi 1:17), and he also made the large plates (1 Nephi 9:2) and the small plates (1 Nephi 9:3) with his own hands. Nephi was an able metallurgist and scribe. Mormon also made his record, the abridgment of the large plates of Nephi, with his own hands (3 Nephi 5:11). But he made this record upon plates of gold. Why did he do this? Noel Reynolds has written extensively on the topic of ancient writing upon metal, the brass plates, and so forth. My initial hunch is that Mormon wrote upon plates of gold in part to distinguish his abridgment from the rest of the metal plates, and in part because the Jaredite record was also written upon golden plates. It seems to me that the gold is also symbolic of the great worth of the record, golden words upon golden plates, more precious and valuable than gold or anything else.
As Mormon worked on his golden abridgment of the large plates of Nephi (and perhaps other writing), he often made interesting commentary that gives us more clues about Nephite record keeping:
And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a ahundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years;
But behold there are arecords which do contain ball the proceedings of this people; and a cshorter but true account was given by Nephi.
Therefore I have made my arecord of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the bplates of Nephi.
And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with mine own hands.
And behold, I am called aMormon, being called after the bland of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression.
Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been acalled of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.
And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God, that the prayers of those who have gone hence, who were the holy ones, should be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a arecord of these things which have been done—
Yea, a asmall record of that which hath taken place from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, even down until the present time.
Therefore I do make my record from the accounts which have been given by those who were before me, until the commencement of my day;
And then I do make a arecord of the things which I have seen with mine own eyes.
And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record; nevertheless there are many things which, according to our alanguage, we are not able to bwrite. (3 Nephi 5:8-18)
Why had it become expedient for Mormon to make the abridgment of the large plates of Nephi? Ammaron’s commission was for Mormon to record his own book upon the plates of Nephi, a record of the things that transpired during his own lifetime, and of the things that he observed with his own eyes. But Mormon was inspired to do more than that. If I understand correctly, Mormon followed Ammaron’s commission to retrieve the large plates of Nephi and to write a full record of Nephite history from the time where Ammaron’s record finishes, but then Mormon, by the inspiration of the Lord, began to make an abridgment of the full Nephite record, followed by a record of the things that he saw with his own eyes. Why?
One obvious reason is that there were so many records, and the large plates of Nephi were so large, that it would have taken Joseph Smith a very long time to translate the large plates of Nephi. Furthermore, if Joseph Smith had translated the entire large plates of Nephi, the book would be so large that relatively few people could read it all. Just as the Lord inspired Nephi to create his small plates after abridging the record of his father and inscribing his large plates, the Lord inspired Mormon to abridge the large plates of Nephi (plates to which he had already added his his portion of Nephite history) upon plates of gold, before adding his own record (and the small plates of Nephi) and handing over everything, including the Jaredite plates and the translation thereof (and the keys to the secret vault of Nephite records) to his son Moroni. I’ll probably have to revise this summary as I go along and learn more, but this serves as a good starting point. I’m open to corrections, suggestions, and insights.
Another reason why the Lord inspired Mormon’s work of abridgment is the same reason that Nephi was inspired to include only the most plain and precious things in his small plates, and to commission his brother Jacob to do the same:
For behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a acommandment concerning the bsmall plates, upon which these things are engraven.
And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should awrite upon bthese 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 aother plates, and that I should bpreserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.
And if there were preaching which was asacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the bheads 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)
I imagine that as he studied and gathered a variety of plates, Mormon selected the most precious and valuable preaching and revelations, and touched upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of Moroni and future generations.
Three hundred and fifty years after the coming of Christ, Mormon was about forty years old. His son Moroni may have been a boy or a young man, perhaps the same age as Mormon was when he received his commission from Ammaron, or when he was visited of the Lord and began to lead the Nephite armies. I imagine that Mormon’s son Moroni was also sober and quick to observe, and that his father taught him and trained him concerning military affairs, the Nephite records and scribal skills, and the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ten more years passed away, and thus Mormon was probably about fifty years old, and perhaps his son Moroni was in his early or late twenties. The Lord temporarily lifted His restriction on preaching, and He commanded Mormon to cry repentance:
And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be aspared. (Mormon 3:2)
Even after decades of horrible wickedness, our merciful Lord extended the possibility for repentance and forgiveness to the Nephites, but to no avail:
And I did cry unto this people, but it was ain vain; and they did bnot realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God. (Mormon 3:3)
Mormon was the ultimate Cassandra, endowed with the gift of prophecy, but fated never to be believed (except by Moroni, and by us if we choose).
The king of the Lamanites sent an epistle to Mormon to warn him that he and his people were preparing to come to battle against the Nephites again. (I always appreciate it when my enemies give me a fair warning before trying to harm me). Mormon heeded the king’s warning by gathering his people in the land of Desolation by the strategic pass that led to all the Nephite lands in the north. In that place, the fifty-one year old Mormon and his soldiers (among whom was probably found his son Moroni) withstood the Lamanite attack. The next year, the fifty-two year old Mormon and his armies beat the Lamanites again, slaughtering many of them.
Despite this great victory, Mormon was sorrowful because of the pride of his people. He was sorrowful because they began to aboast in their own strength, to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, and to aswear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they bwould go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land. When Mormon saw their wickedness and abominations, he refused to lead them anymore.
Why does Mormon tell us all these things in his own record? Was it merely therapeutic, something to help him endure his afflictions? There may be many reasons, one of which is that Mormon was fulfilling Ammaron’s commission to write, and the Lord’s commission to abridge. Whatever we read in Mormon’s book is an abridgment of a larger record that he already made or was still in the process of making. It is also a record that Mormon was preparing to hand down to his son Moroni. My guess is that Moroni was already helping Mormon all along with the process of searching through plates, studying, abridging, writing, and so forth. I suppose, though I cannot prove, that by the time that Mormon conferred the plates and sacred items upon his son Moroni, Moroni was already thoroughly versed in all of Nephite history, the prophesies and revelations, his father’s abridgment, his father’s record, and even the Jaredite record.
As his people began to boast because of their victories over the Lamanites, and after he refused to lead them, Mormon, like his great predecessor Nephi, gives us a greater glimpse into his own heart and the personal revelations of the Lord to him:
Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the alove of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was bwithout faith, because of the chardness of their hearts.
And athrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and they have repented not of their sins.
And when they had sworn by all that had been aforbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:
aVengeance is mine, and I will brepay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth. (Mormon 3:12-15)
One miraculous thing to consider is how the Lord preserved the life of Mormon amid so many battles. He was like George Washington, Simon Bolivar, and Winston Churchill - who rode out ahead of their troops, dodging bullets as if they were invincible - all rolled up one. Wrote Washington:
By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho' death was levelling my companions on every side.
Simon Bolivar famously escaped an assassination attempt and survived many other battles.
Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.
The Lord preserved Mormon’s life for a great purpose. I can also see the influence of great Nephi on Mormon’s character, writing, and manner of expression. Like Nephi of old, Mormon was filled with charity, the pure love of Christ, and he poured out his soul in prayer for his people. Mormon gives us a great example by loving people who were incapable of reciprocating that love. In his second epistle to his son Moroni, Mormon wrote:
Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with asharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they bharden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased cstriving with them.
For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they athirst after blood and revenge continually.
And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor adiligently; for if we should cease to blabor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. (Moroni 9:4-6)
Thus Mormon stood as “an idle witness” as the Lord commanded him, and he turned his attention toward future generations, addressing his latter-day audience, including us, directly:
Therefore I write aunto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance;
Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel, who shall be ajudged according to your works by the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem.
And I write also unto the remnant of this people, who shall also be judged by the atwelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the ajudgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human bfamily of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
And also that ye may abelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall bhave among you; and also that the cJews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other dwitness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the every Christ and the very God.
And I would that I could persuade aall ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. (Mormon 3:17-22)