I spoke previously about how the gathering (in Mosiah 2-6) of King Benjamin's people reminded me of General Conference. I grouped Benjamin's talk into two related discussions and loosely "interpreted" them into two sessions of the Benjamin farewell conference.... not to be flip but I think that's a catchy name.
I've gone through these chapters several times in preparation for this post. I've decided the best way to cover the two sessions is to list and group the verses that jumped out at me... the ones that made me think of talks at a general conference.
The first session had to do with several items:
Leadership change:
The people were given official notice of the change of leadership of their society. The outgoing leader - king/prophet - took the opportunity to speak to his people.
"...I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded unto your view" (Mosiah 2:9). Mosiah wanted them to know that he wasn't going to waste their time or mince words.
"...I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might declare unto you that I can no longer be your teacher, nor your king; 30For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God...hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you. And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered...even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land..." (Mosiah 2:29-31). Benjamin declares to the people that the time is right to change leadership of their country, a change that is blessed by God. If only the leadership changes made in our country could so be blessed! Note the subtle indication of love for his people and for his son in his admonition to them
Benjamin gives an account of his service as king; he uses his life to teach the people:
"I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man. But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people... I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service...and have not sought gold...nor any manner of riches of you; Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor...make slaves one of another, nor murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor ...commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord... And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you... ye yourselves are witnesses this day. Yet... I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day..." (Mosiah 2:10-15). Benjamin wanted to be clear that he did his best to serve his people and to lead them to be a righteous nation.
This leads up to an important truth that Benjamin taught the people:
"Behold, I say unto you that because I said that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God. And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. Behold, if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?" (Mosiah 2:16-18). This truth, taught by the aged king Benjamin, is an eternal truth that is eternal and must be learned by all who wish to be called God's children. Benjamin said these words in his old age; however, he lived these words throughout his whole life. What better way to teach than by example?
Benjamin admonishes his people to do righteously.
"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning...with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land... if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?" (Mosiah 2:21-24). King Benjamin tells the people that they need to thank God in all things and serve Him willingly. He points out that God has given them all things, including the dust they are made of:
King Benjamin enjoins his people to beware of contention and apostasy:
"But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge. And now, I say unto you that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths... I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God... therefore, the Lord has no place in him... Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord... And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment. O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression." (Mosiah 2:32-40). Mosiah, true to his promise, does not trifle with his words, telling it "like it is". With his people, at least with this generation, his words worked.
Mosiah ends this session on a more hopeful note:
"...I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God...they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41). This presents a stark contrast to those who have gone astray, sinned or apostatized and have not repented. It is interesting to me that the description of those unhappy souls who fall into the former category is much, much longer than the description of those who fit in the latter group. Simplicity is often elegant, as seen here.
These are nuggets of pure spiritual gold, with more to come; hopefully in the next "session" I can be more concise in my thoughts; however, as I said before, this is my favorite part of the Book of Mormon. Benjamin's address to his people - his General Conference - to me is one of the most uplifting and enlightening addresses I have ever heard, seen or read about. I hope this part of the Book of Mormon uplifts you as well.
Don
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Mosiah 2 - The Conference
In my last post, I talked about Mosiah chapter 1. Just to reiterate, this is my favorite part of the Book of Mormon. Good King Benjamin is getting old and has Mosiah, his son, gather their people so that he can address them publicly one last time. It is a sign of the love and respect the people have for their king that they came to the meeting in droves, even on one day's notice. Come, they did.... and Benjamin did not disappoint them in his speech.
The gathering became a great spiritual event, one that had a vast effect on the people, an effect which was evident for many years after. This "general conference" of the people of Nephi can be grouped into two logical "sessions" (if not by schedule, at least in topic). I will discuss the content of both sessions at length, but first I want to comment on some things that the curious workings of my mind fixates on. The logistics of such a conference is intriguing to me (now, just to be clear, I want to remind readers of this blog that I know that the Book of Mormon is truly of God and that it truly depicts the interactions of an ancient people with their Heavenly Father and His Son.... the book is true!!).
Today, each conference weekend draws hundreds of thousands of people to the Salt Lake City area. The roads leading to the Conference Center are crowded; hotels and motels are booked and often times people of the area host out-of-town visitors who are there for conference. Just try to get into a restaurant on Friday nights! I'm thinking that the gathering for Benjamin's last words may have been very much like that. Chapter 2 of Mosiah indicates that the people were so numerous that the event could not be held in the temple grounds. It seems that they had to hold it in an open area close to the city of Zarahemla. People brought their whole family to hear the words of their king/prophet. Just think about how anyone, let alone an old man such as King Benjamin, could possibly make himself heard by such a large crowd. As it turns out, Benjamin's people appreciated the problem and King Benjamin had his words written and distributed to the people who could not hear him (this may be why we have such a good record of what he said).
It seems hard to understand, then, why at one point of his speech all of the people fell to the earth: "And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them." (Mosiah 4:1). Then they all cried out, essentially in unison: "And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men." (Mosiah 4:2). The question is: How did they all fall to the earth; how did they cry out as one voice?
Knowing that the Book of Mormon is true, the possibility of inconsistency or error in the account may be ruled out, leaving other explanations for this somewhat unusual thing. It may be that King Mosiah's words were distributed ahead of his speech and those who couldn't hear him could hear the reaction to his words as they followed along. It may be that he had the written word read aloud as he spoke. It may be that after he spoke and had his words distributed, the people read them to each other as they camped (don't these things happen today, during and after every general conference talk?). Whatever actually happened, it is clear to me that the Spirit was present. The Spirit conveyed the meaning and feeling of Benjamin's speech to all of the people at the same time. As a result, I believe that the people did prostrate themselves simultaneously and that they did cry out as one because the Spirit of the Lord acted on all of them simultaneously.
As I said, the gathering could be like a general conference in which there were two sessions, or at least two different discussions. In the first session, King Benjamin talks about his reign - how he served his people - and he talked about how they should live. He also informed them that his son Mosiah would become their king.
In the second part of his talk, or the second session, if you will, he revealed to the people what an angel told him to talk about and he bore witness to the coming of the Savior. In my next blog I will cover these two sessions in more detail.
Don
The gathering became a great spiritual event, one that had a vast effect on the people, an effect which was evident for many years after. This "general conference" of the people of Nephi can be grouped into two logical "sessions" (if not by schedule, at least in topic). I will discuss the content of both sessions at length, but first I want to comment on some things that the curious workings of my mind fixates on. The logistics of such a conference is intriguing to me (now, just to be clear, I want to remind readers of this blog that I know that the Book of Mormon is truly of God and that it truly depicts the interactions of an ancient people with their Heavenly Father and His Son.... the book is true!!).
Today, each conference weekend draws hundreds of thousands of people to the Salt Lake City area. The roads leading to the Conference Center are crowded; hotels and motels are booked and often times people of the area host out-of-town visitors who are there for conference. Just try to get into a restaurant on Friday nights! I'm thinking that the gathering for Benjamin's last words may have been very much like that. Chapter 2 of Mosiah indicates that the people were so numerous that the event could not be held in the temple grounds. It seems that they had to hold it in an open area close to the city of Zarahemla. People brought their whole family to hear the words of their king/prophet. Just think about how anyone, let alone an old man such as King Benjamin, could possibly make himself heard by such a large crowd. As it turns out, Benjamin's people appreciated the problem and King Benjamin had his words written and distributed to the people who could not hear him (this may be why we have such a good record of what he said).
It seems hard to understand, then, why at one point of his speech all of the people fell to the earth: "And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them." (Mosiah 4:1). Then they all cried out, essentially in unison: "And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men." (Mosiah 4:2). The question is: How did they all fall to the earth; how did they cry out as one voice?
Knowing that the Book of Mormon is true, the possibility of inconsistency or error in the account may be ruled out, leaving other explanations for this somewhat unusual thing. It may be that King Mosiah's words were distributed ahead of his speech and those who couldn't hear him could hear the reaction to his words as they followed along. It may be that he had the written word read aloud as he spoke. It may be that after he spoke and had his words distributed, the people read them to each other as they camped (don't these things happen today, during and after every general conference talk?). Whatever actually happened, it is clear to me that the Spirit was present. The Spirit conveyed the meaning and feeling of Benjamin's speech to all of the people at the same time. As a result, I believe that the people did prostrate themselves simultaneously and that they did cry out as one because the Spirit of the Lord acted on all of them simultaneously.
As I said, the gathering could be like a general conference in which there were two sessions, or at least two different discussions. In the first session, King Benjamin talks about his reign - how he served his people - and he talked about how they should live. He also informed them that his son Mosiah would become their king.
In the second part of his talk, or the second session, if you will, he revealed to the people what an angel told him to talk about and he bore witness to the coming of the Savior. In my next blog I will cover these two sessions in more detail.
Don
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Mosiah 1: Gather for a Meeting
I've been slacking... 12 days since my last post. I have been reading, though, so it's just getting it down "on paper", so to speak.
This is my favorite part of the Book of Mormon. Mormon has resumed his abridgment and tells about good King Benjamin. Chapter one of the book of Mosiah has always been one that I have read in order to get to the good stuff to follow. I've really thought about the content of chapter one though, and this is what came to mind.
As we start the book of Mosiah, we are told that it is about 130 B.C. We read about Benjamin's family, or rather about his sons. They are: Mosiah (presumably named for Benjamin's father), Helorum and Helaman. Speculation warning: Helaman, the son of Alma the younger (in the book of Alma) may have been named for Helaman, Benjamin's son. It seems to be common practice in Book of Mormon society to name your child after a beloved family member. Since Alma's father came from the land of Lehi-Nephi, the family name of Helaman may not have originated from his side of the family. But what about his wife's side? Is it possible that Alma the younger married one of King Mosiah's daughters and they named Helaman after a favorite uncle or grand uncle? Alma did hang out with King Mosiah's family, after all. Like I said, speculation.
Back to King Benjamin and his sons. Benjamin teaches his sons about some very important facts and truths - important enough for Mormon to include them in his abridgment. Mosiah, Helorum and Helaman were taught to be "men of understanding". What does that mean? I think that it means they were educated in the knowledge of their time and of their society. They were taught the things that had been handed down from father to son since Lehi's time - things such has reading and writing in both Hebrew and in Egyptian (how else could Mormon abridge the records of the kings of almost 1,000 years onto a compact volume?). They were taught the sciences of their day, practical knowledge, philosophy, social arts and skills, tradecrafts and probably war and weapon skills as well. Most importantly though, they were taught how to apply their knowldge to spiritual understanding. They were taught to understand how God has ordered His creations. They were taught to understand the spiritual nature of human knowledge. They became men of understanding about the world, from a spiritual perspective. Question: Are we men/women of understanding, in the way these brothers were? Can we become such? How do we go about becoming men/women of understanding? Re-read this chapter for more clues.
Benjamin taught his sons about spirituality. They learned from the scriptures, both those in the Brass Plates and those that the earlier Nephites had written. Benjamin taught them about prophecy and showed them the prophecies that had been made about them. From their father, these sons learned to search the scriptures.
Benjamin also emphasized to his sons the need for God in their lives. They were made aware of God's hand in preserving their people, and how God would continue to protect and prosper them if they kept His commandments. Benjamin had first-hand examples of God's protective hand, and he used them in teaching his sons.
Several years later - the Book of Mormon time-line shows it to be about 124 B.C. - Benjamin calls for Mosiah and tells him to gather his people to hear their King speak. He tells Mosiah that he will be declaring him their new king and that he as going to give the people a name. Benjamin told Mosiah that he was ready to pass on the kingdom to him, as he was feeling that his years were getting short. Benjamin charged Mosiah with several things:
-- To keep the records faithfully.
-- To keep and preserve the Brass plates, the Liahona, and the sword of Laban.
-- To teach his people to choose righteousness and recognize their need for the Lord.
-- To reign righteously and justly.
Benjamin reiterated to Mosiah the importance of the Lord in their lives and society and the need to live accordingly.
King Benjamin wanted the people to hear from his own mouth that Mosiah would be their new king. This is an excellent indicator of what a good King Benjamin was. He recognized the need to pass on the kingdom, instead of waiting until the last gasp of his life. Moreover, he wanted to proclaim the new king from his own mouth; he wanted no disputations to arise. He wanted a peaceful transition to his heir that would not cause any problems for his people. Not only did he recognize that the time was right, he understood the best way to announce the change. In the history of the world, the peaceful transfer of power is relatively rare; not many societies did it, and most did not do it with any regularity. It takes a great ruler to know not only who to pass the reins on to, but when to pass them on so that the transition will be peaceable.
It is interesting that Benjamin had Mosiah himself spread the word about the gathering. Benjamin probably felt that Mosiah should be the one that people received the initial word from. Mosiah was probably already well known, and people would respond favorably to his announcement.
At any rate, the people were asked to meet with their old king and hear some of his last words. In a sense, it was the assembly of a "general conference" for their day. This chapter sets the stage for the marvelous discourse by a righteous and benevolent king which appears in the next few chapters.
Don
This is my favorite part of the Book of Mormon. Mormon has resumed his abridgment and tells about good King Benjamin. Chapter one of the book of Mosiah has always been one that I have read in order to get to the good stuff to follow. I've really thought about the content of chapter one though, and this is what came to mind.
As we start the book of Mosiah, we are told that it is about 130 B.C. We read about Benjamin's family, or rather about his sons. They are: Mosiah (presumably named for Benjamin's father), Helorum and Helaman. Speculation warning: Helaman, the son of Alma the younger (in the book of Alma) may have been named for Helaman, Benjamin's son. It seems to be common practice in Book of Mormon society to name your child after a beloved family member. Since Alma's father came from the land of Lehi-Nephi, the family name of Helaman may not have originated from his side of the family. But what about his wife's side? Is it possible that Alma the younger married one of King Mosiah's daughters and they named Helaman after a favorite uncle or grand uncle? Alma did hang out with King Mosiah's family, after all. Like I said, speculation.
Back to King Benjamin and his sons. Benjamin teaches his sons about some very important facts and truths - important enough for Mormon to include them in his abridgment. Mosiah, Helorum and Helaman were taught to be "men of understanding". What does that mean? I think that it means they were educated in the knowledge of their time and of their society. They were taught the things that had been handed down from father to son since Lehi's time - things such has reading and writing in both Hebrew and in Egyptian (how else could Mormon abridge the records of the kings of almost 1,000 years onto a compact volume?). They were taught the sciences of their day, practical knowledge, philosophy, social arts and skills, tradecrafts and probably war and weapon skills as well. Most importantly though, they were taught how to apply their knowldge to spiritual understanding. They were taught to understand how God has ordered His creations. They were taught to understand the spiritual nature of human knowledge. They became men of understanding about the world, from a spiritual perspective. Question: Are we men/women of understanding, in the way these brothers were? Can we become such? How do we go about becoming men/women of understanding? Re-read this chapter for more clues.
Benjamin taught his sons about spirituality. They learned from the scriptures, both those in the Brass Plates and those that the earlier Nephites had written. Benjamin taught them about prophecy and showed them the prophecies that had been made about them. From their father, these sons learned to search the scriptures.
Benjamin also emphasized to his sons the need for God in their lives. They were made aware of God's hand in preserving their people, and how God would continue to protect and prosper them if they kept His commandments. Benjamin had first-hand examples of God's protective hand, and he used them in teaching his sons.
Several years later - the Book of Mormon time-line shows it to be about 124 B.C. - Benjamin calls for Mosiah and tells him to gather his people to hear their King speak. He tells Mosiah that he will be declaring him their new king and that he as going to give the people a name. Benjamin told Mosiah that he was ready to pass on the kingdom to him, as he was feeling that his years were getting short. Benjamin charged Mosiah with several things:
-- To keep the records faithfully.
-- To keep and preserve the Brass plates, the Liahona, and the sword of Laban.
-- To teach his people to choose righteousness and recognize their need for the Lord.
-- To reign righteously and justly.
Benjamin reiterated to Mosiah the importance of the Lord in their lives and society and the need to live accordingly.
King Benjamin wanted the people to hear from his own mouth that Mosiah would be their new king. This is an excellent indicator of what a good King Benjamin was. He recognized the need to pass on the kingdom, instead of waiting until the last gasp of his life. Moreover, he wanted to proclaim the new king from his own mouth; he wanted no disputations to arise. He wanted a peaceful transition to his heir that would not cause any problems for his people. Not only did he recognize that the time was right, he understood the best way to announce the change. In the history of the world, the peaceful transfer of power is relatively rare; not many societies did it, and most did not do it with any regularity. It takes a great ruler to know not only who to pass the reins on to, but when to pass them on so that the transition will be peaceable.
It is interesting that Benjamin had Mosiah himself spread the word about the gathering. Benjamin probably felt that Mosiah should be the one that people received the initial word from. Mosiah was probably already well known, and people would respond favorably to his announcement.
At any rate, the people were asked to meet with their old king and hear some of his last words. In a sense, it was the assembly of a "general conference" for their day. This chapter sets the stage for the marvelous discourse by a righteous and benevolent king which appears in the next few chapters.
Don
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Words of Mormon
This will be a short entry in this blog, as the book itself - Words of Mormon - is only 18 verses long, or about a page and a half of writing. (I'm writing this longhand while on the bus home; thank goodness people won't see my handwriting.)
Words of Mormon was written primarily, in my estimation, to explain the books we have just completed: 1 Nephi through Omni. Mormon says that he had just finished abridging the record from Nephi's days to King Benjamin... He tells is that he "...searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi." (Words of Mormon, v.3). Mormon plainly saw the worth of the records he had found: "And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ...Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record..." (Words of Mormon, v.4, 5).
It's interesting that Mormon inserted the complete small plates of Nephi into the record he was working on, instead of abridging them. I think that shows what value he placed on the content... He didn't want to leave any of it out. Certainly by this time he was good at distilling what was written down; he had abridged the King's records from over 400 years of recordings. He could easily have abridged these plates too, but he was moved not to.
There was another reason Mormon inserted the small plates of Nephi into his abridged record... one that the didn't know. "And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will" (Words of Mormon, v.7). Mormon didn't know why, but certainly God knew. God also knew why when he inspired Nephi to begin this record: "...I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates ... for the instruction of my people...and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord." (1 Ne. 19:3).
As it turns out, the manuscript that Joseph Smith allowed Martin Harris to take was lost. I believe that the lost manuscript was Mormon's abridgment of the Nephite history from Lehi and Nephi down to King Benjamin. How convenient it was to have a backup to use in the lost manuscript's place. Except it wasn't just a coincidence, happenstance or convenience; it was because a knowing, all-seeing God had provided for the calamity. God knows what can and will happen. He inspired Nephi to start the record on the small plates and to commit his descendants to carry it on. He inspired Mormon to make his search, finding Nephi's small plates. God knew they were there and He knew they would be needed. (On a side note, I'm sure that Mormon had no idea they were there in all the records he was abridging. Probably within a generation or two after Amelaki gave them to King Benjamin, the small plates became just a part of the entire records library and perhaps even forgotten).
Last thought: Mormon mentions that "I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi" (Words of Mormon, v.5). I wonder... did he write the book Words of Mormon on the last space available on the small plates of Nephi?
This small book, like the rest of the Book of Mormon, assures me that God knows His children. That He loves them. That He watches over them and provides for their sustenance, both temporal and spiritual. The Book of Mormon has always convinced me that this is true.
Don
Words of Mormon was written primarily, in my estimation, to explain the books we have just completed: 1 Nephi through Omni. Mormon says that he had just finished abridging the record from Nephi's days to King Benjamin... He tells is that he "...searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi." (Words of Mormon, v.3). Mormon plainly saw the worth of the records he had found: "And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ...Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record..." (Words of Mormon, v.4, 5).
It's interesting that Mormon inserted the complete small plates of Nephi into the record he was working on, instead of abridging them. I think that shows what value he placed on the content... He didn't want to leave any of it out. Certainly by this time he was good at distilling what was written down; he had abridged the King's records from over 400 years of recordings. He could easily have abridged these plates too, but he was moved not to.
There was another reason Mormon inserted the small plates of Nephi into his abridged record... one that the didn't know. "And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will" (Words of Mormon, v.7). Mormon didn't know why, but certainly God knew. God also knew why when he inspired Nephi to begin this record: "...I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates ... for the instruction of my people...and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord." (1 Ne. 19:3).
As it turns out, the manuscript that Joseph Smith allowed Martin Harris to take was lost. I believe that the lost manuscript was Mormon's abridgment of the Nephite history from Lehi and Nephi down to King Benjamin. How convenient it was to have a backup to use in the lost manuscript's place. Except it wasn't just a coincidence, happenstance or convenience; it was because a knowing, all-seeing God had provided for the calamity. God knows what can and will happen. He inspired Nephi to start the record on the small plates and to commit his descendants to carry it on. He inspired Mormon to make his search, finding Nephi's small plates. God knew they were there and He knew they would be needed. (On a side note, I'm sure that Mormon had no idea they were there in all the records he was abridging. Probably within a generation or two after Amelaki gave them to King Benjamin, the small plates became just a part of the entire records library and perhaps even forgotten).
Last thought: Mormon mentions that "I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi" (Words of Mormon, v.5). I wonder... did he write the book Words of Mormon on the last space available on the small plates of Nephi?
This small book, like the rest of the Book of Mormon, assures me that God knows His children. That He loves them. That He watches over them and provides for their sustenance, both temporal and spiritual. The Book of Mormon has always convinced me that this is true.
Don
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