One more thought on the short books....

I know, I know..... I've had a lot to say about these books for as short as they are.  One more entry on the little books, their authors (and their frame of minds) and about time frames, and some other comments too, then I'll move on.

I've always marveled that so much time passed with so few entries in the small plates of Nephi, particularly in Enos, Jarom and Omni.  Consider this:

  Book             Time Frame                        Chapters           Verses      Author                    
1st Nephi:       600 B.C. to  ~570 B.C.         22                    629       Nephi
2nd Nephi:    ~570 B.C. to ~545 B.C.          33                   779        Nephi (Isaiah, Jacob)
Jacob:           ~544 B.C. to  ~500 B.C???      7                    203        Jacob
Enos:             ~500 B.C. to  420 B.C.            1                     27         Enos
Jarom:           420 B.C.  to   361 B.C.             1                    15         Jarom
Omni:            361 B.C.  to   317 B.C.             1                      3         Omni
                     317 B.C.  to   279 B.C.                                     5         Amaron
                     279 B.C.                                                           1         Chemish
                     279 B.C. to   ~200 B.C.                                   2         Abinadom
                    ~200 B.C. to  ~160 B.C.                                 18         Amaleki

(Note that after Chemish and Abinadom mention the date they wrote in the plates, the next date that is mentioned is 130 B.C. where King Benjamin announces that his son Mosiah will be king.  The dates I provide above for Abinadom and Amaleki are my guestimates... see my previous posting).

As time passes, each author writes less and less in the plates.  Between 1st and 2nd Nephi, author Nephi wrote a total of 55 chapters of religious content; a whopping 1,408 verses, including several chapters quoting from the Brass Plates of Laban.  Mind you, it wasn't just writing, it was actually etching characters onto gold while translating his words from Hebrew to Egyptian

As a contrast, Jacob wrote 7 chapters - 203 verses - of religious history, revelation and spiritual events, or 12-14% of what Nephi inscribed.  The rest of the authors combined wrote less that half of what Jacob wrote.

Not only does the volume decline as the plates are passed on, but the number of spiritual insights decline as well.  Jacob caught the spirit of the purpose of the plates from Nephi and recorded admonitions, experiences and a thought-provoking allegory from the Brass Plates.  Enos provides a very spiritual recounting of his conversion but doesn't provide any other happenings from his life.  Jarom indicates that the Nephites keep the law of Moses and there are many prophets but doesn't provide any accounts.  Then Omni takes the plates and writes briefly that he has been a wicked man and that he has passed the plates on as he was directed.  Amaron, his son, tells us of the passage of time and the destruction that went on around him and speaks of the great judgements of the Lord.  (on a side-note, his words lead me to believe that he was more righteous than his father. I believe that Amaron was more righteous because of the influence of a good mother).  Abinadom writes briefly and leaves us to wonder about his life; he writes "...I know of no revelation save that which has been written, neither prophecy; wherefore, that which is sufficient is written..." (Omni 11).  Amaleki, Abinadom's son, then writes more extensively and tells us about the merging of Nephites and Mulekites and about the goodness of King Mosiah andn King Benjamin.  I believe Amaleki had spiritual guidance which drove him to be more vociferous with the story of his time on earth.

What do I make of this?  My first thought was that, as time went by, the trustees of the small plates of Nephi were getting more and more lax with the commitment made to their fathers.  Perhaps this may be so.  Given the difficulty in writing upon the gold plates, I can't say that I would have been any different.  But then I had my point of view turned around.  Maybe it wasn't that they were more and more slothful; maybe it was that Nephi was extremely driven to record the things that he did.  He certainly had the same difficulty writing upon the plates that everyone else did, but he wrote what he did anyway...  He was moved greatly by the spirit to make the tremendous effort he did, and his nature was to give everything to the Lord, including the difficult task of recording all that he did.  To tell the truth, I think that perhaps both of these possible explanations may have been true.

What can we learn from these things?  We need to be earnest in keeping our commitments to the Lord and to our families; we have been trusted with keeping the Gospel upon the earth.  Time passing does not give us any excuse for not being committed and for not being enthusiastic promoters and defenders of God's Kingdom on earth.  No matter how tempting it is to be lax at times, it is upon us to receive revelation, build and bear testimonies,  provide spiritual opportunities for ourselves, our families, and others and to lift others who need our help.  It is also our responsibility to record -write about - all of these things for our benefit and for the benefit of our posterity.

We are the Nephis, Jacobs, Enos's, and the rest of these writers, of our day.  We must keep the Lord in our hearts and lives and make Him available to the world.  We must leave a legacy and a record for those after us.

Don