Book of Mormon Commentary - Words of Mormon 1

by Don R. Hender

   Sometimes when we read the account of King Benjamin in the words of the Book of Mosiah and even that in the last of the Book of Omni, we get the perception from the very abridged account which the Book of Mormon gives that all the Nephite people of Zarahemla revolved around King Benjamin and the very limited land about the city of Zarahemla. This is not the case. The Kingdom of King Benjamin was much larger than one city and King Benjamin did not administer to the needs of the people single handedly. It is well that there are three brief accounts which mention King Benjamin for it is not until this third account in the Words of Mormon, that we gain a bit of the actual broader perspective.
King Benjamin was the civil leader of his people, a righteous man and one with which God communed through his angels. And King Benjamin had obtained the plates from Amaleki, the 'prophet recordkeepper' of the small plates of Nephi. The Kings had always maintained the Large Plates of Nephi. So as the Small Plates of Nephi 'ran out' being 'full, it was a natural to present them to such a righteous King as Benjamin to keep with the rest of the Nephite records. But King Benjamin did not administer the 'Church' or the Law of Moses as a type looking forward to Christ. The administration of the Church and the Temple thereof, was carried out by the Prophets and the many holy men which lived and cared for the Church and the welfare of the people.
In fact, the Book of Mormon states in the Words of Mormon state that these prophets and these holy men did speak the word of God with power and authority. And it was their efforts as well as King Benjamin's efforts, which did establish peace in the land after the 'many' false Christs and the 'many' false teachers and the 'many' dissensions of various groups of th Nephites away unto the Lamanites. This expanded history beyond the single picture of King Benjamin leading his people in victory over the Lamanites almost single handedly with the sword of Laban is a readers digest version or a 90 minute movie rendition of the 'hero' King Benjamin. This focus upon King Benjamin, though deserved, is but a fraction of the history and story of the Nephites which the condensed record practically fails to render other than to state that there were 'many' other such goings on beyond the focus of King Benjamin. There were many prophets and holy men working with the people on the side of the Lord and many events and sermons not recorded of their works. There were many false Christs and false teachers and their dealings to mislead the people astray which are not told in the Book of Mormon. And thus there were many dissensions of various Nephite groups which did dissent over to the Lamanites, having so been led astray, all of which are not given any real account of over the years of the reign of King Benjamin. All these other matters would expand one's appreciation that the scope of the Book of Mormon is much broader, with more people, lands and expanses which are easily missed and sold short in the 'limited' 'quick read' perspectives of the Book of Mormon, its people, lands and history which are necessary to and surround the 'limit' geographic theory models which many espouse, limiting the Book of Mormon to a land the size of the single state Utah in Mesoamerica or merely surrounding the vacinity of the northeastern United States. Such limited perspective suffer from grave swellings within whenever such limited perspectives are digested and they later have to cope with the many allusions in the Book of Mormon which do reveal a much broader scope as to the people and lands of the Book of Mormon. Have you ever eated a condensed soup mix half cook which then begins to swell in the stomach causing much distress becuase care was not taken to ensure the dryed condensed edibles have a change to fully reconstitute prior to being ingested. So is the careless swallowing of the limited models of the Book of Mormon which condense a thousand year history of the Nephite, Lamanite and Mulekite peoples into a mere distance of 400 miles top to bottom. That would not even have gotten the pioneers in 1847 out of the midwest. And that would have never gotten Joseph Smith to Missouri and Nauvoo from New York and Ohio. People do travel great distance in their life times in the more ancient societies, especially when confronted with such religious pursecutions as the 'Lamnaites' continued to inflict upon the Nephites over a span of nearly a thousand years and not just one life time of a Brigham Young and a Joseph Smith.

THE WORDS OF MORMON

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

             CHAPTER 1
Mormon abridges their history onto the plates of Mormon—He inserts the plates of Nephi into the abridgement—King Benjamin establishes peace in the land. [About A.D. 385]
Mormon had abridged the large plates of Nehpi history down to King Benjamin onto the plates of Mormon at this juncture—He searches the records, finds the small plates of Nephi and inserts them, adding them to his record at this point—Mormon then proceeds to bridge the gap between the small plates and his large plates abridgement, tieing them in to the where they fit with his abridged record—King Benjamin establishes peace in the land. [Some time between 335 and 380 A.D.]

1 AND now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the ^arecord which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
2 And it is ^amany hundred years after the coming of Christ ^that I deliver these records into the hands of my son^a; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire ^bdestruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may ^cprofit them.

2^a I deliver these records into he hands of my son This reference to deliving the Book of Mormon records over to Moroni would seem to be that which is also recorded in Mormon 6:6 where it states, ' ... therefore I made this record [the abridged Golden Plates record] out of the plates of Nephi [Large Plates of Nephi], and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.' That is, in comparision to the volumes of plates and records of the Nephites which Mormon hid up in the hill Cumorah, the abridged Golden Plates of the Book of Mormon are counted to be but a 'few plates'. Thus here we also see that the massive volume of the records of the Nephites do also speak of a much greated and far spread people than just a limited incasement within something the size of Utah. 1^a 3 Ne. 5:12 (9-12); Morm. 1:4 (1-4);
     Morm. 2:17-18; Morm. 8:5 (1, 4-5, 14)
2^a Morm. 6:5-6
   ^ [About A. D. 385]
   ^b 1 Ne. 12:19
   ^c D&C 3:19 (16-20)

3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an ^aabridgment from the ^bplates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin^a, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the ^crecords which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates^b, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king ^dBenjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.
4 And the things which are upon these plates ^apleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been ^bprophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass—
5 Wherefore, I chose ^athese things, to finish my ^brecord upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the ^cplates of Nephi; and I cannot write the ^dhundredth part of the things of my people^a.

3^a after I had made an abridgement from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin During the process of abridging the large plates of Nephi, that is the records of the kings, Mormon phases his engraving and led by the spirit goes and searches through the records, perhaps for the next book of kings or even just browsing the stacks of records looking for something. That the quick presumption that this is occuring while in the same year of the destruction of the Nephites, 385 A.D., may not be correct. According to a letter from Mormon to Moroni, while they were still separated and Mormon was heading the Nephites army (likely during the Jordan defense), Mormon than also stated that he had records that he would deliver unto his son (See Moroni 9:24). And that would have been about 380 A.D. That Mormon knew that he was to deliver his finished abridgement next to the hands of his son Moroni for a number of years prior to when he mades the final transfer must be considered. And that Mormon was at this point only up to the Book of Mosiah in his abridgement work, with all of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, and his own personal record still to abridge, would seem to place the actual date of these recorded events earlier than 385 A.D., the very last year of the hiding of all the records in the hill of Cumorah, the gathering of all responding remaining Nephites to gather to Cumorah, and the great preparations for that last great battle, seems to be enough without adding to Mormon's burden to complete the bulk of his abridgement within that same time frame. Thus an earlier date seems more likely for Mormon's inclusion of the small plates and this engraved passage of connection between them.
3^b I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates These plates were of course the small plates of Nephi, which at this very juncture Mormon decided to insert or include at the very time he had come to the reign of King Benjamin in his abridgement of the large plates of Nephi. Mormon had first obtained the records at age 24 in 335 A.D. At that time he first began his own unabridged record of the times of his life and what he had seen to the large plates of Nephi. At exactly what point in time Mormon was also commanded to make an abridgement of the entire set of the plates of Nephi is not known. But certainly one must consider that is was well before the final year of the great battle of Cumorah in 385 A.D.
5^a I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people This is but a figuration expression. All histories are of themself a condensed form as it would be impossible to write everything concerning the events of a people, the Nephite nation. Consider that the Golden plates are but a hundredth part of all the records contained in the hill Cumorah. And it is likely that there are even more records than that. Moromon makes this 'similiar' statment in his Book of Mormon where he once again states, ' ... I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.' (Mormon 1:5; See also Helaman 3:13-14, 3 Nephi 5:8 & Ether 15:33).
Now this 'hundredth part' is but a 'comparative figurative allusion'. Consider the pie-chart graphic which illustrates the comparison of just how much a hundredth part of something is. It is hardly a sliver in comparison to the rest of the whole of the matter. And we are to judge a people's expanses by such a small sampling as what 1% would yield? 3^a 1 Ne. 1:17 (16-17); D&C 10:44
   ^b Jarom 1:14; W of M 1:10; D&C 10:38-40
   ^c Mosiah 1:6 (2-6); Hel. 3:13-15; Morm. 4:23
   ^d Omni 1:23-25
4^a 1 Ne. 6:5 (3-6)
   ^b TG Jesus Christ, Prophecies about
5^a IE the things pleasing to him, mentioned
     in v. 4
   ^b 3 Ne. 5:17 (14-18); Morm. 1:1
   ^c 1 Ne. 9:2
   ^d Alma 13:31; 3 Ne. 5:8-11; 3 Ne. 26:6-12

The Chronology Of It The 'Words of Mormon' were written upon the lands of Cumorah before the great battle which was to be fought there. There Mormon gave unto Moroni the group of plates, small by comparison to all the plates and records of the Nephites, which made up his contributions to the Book of Mormon, namely his own abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi, the Small Plates of Nephi, and Mormon's own writings, the six or seven chapters in the smaller book of Mormon and these 'Words of Mormon' which tied the Small Plates of Nephi into his abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi. Moroni first finished his writing in the small book of his father thinking that would end the record. And only later did Moroni return to the Hill Cumorah and extract the 24 gold plates of Ether to be included as 'sealed' along with his own abridgment of them as the book of Ether. To these Moroni added his own small book of 10 chapters and the title page of the record.

6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.
7 And I do this for a ^awise ^bpurpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me^a. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord ^cknoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he ^dworketh in me to do according to his ^ewill^a.
8 And my ^aprayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a ^ddelightsome people.

7^a according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me ... he worketh in me to do according to his will This is 'the order' of the 'fulness of the everlasting gospel' in the fulfilling of the path to God. It comes by way of continuous revelations, that which keeps the cannon of the Lord open to men at all times in all dispensations of time. This is the true order of God, which is that order by which the Lord reveals to men line upon line, precept upon precept to do according to the mind and will of the Lord in all things. And it is by this means, the workings of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, by which men do walk the straight and narrow parth which leads back into the presence of God. 7^a 1 Ne. 9:5; 1 Ne. 19:3; Enos 1:16-18;
     Alma 37:2; D&C 3:19 (9-20);
     D&C 10:34 (1-19, 30-47)
   ^b D&C 10:40 (20-46)
   ^c TG God, Foreknowledge of;
     TG God, Intelligence of;
     TG God, Omniscience of
   ^d 2 Ne. 27:23
   ^e TG God, Will of;
8^a 2 Ne. 33:3; Enos 1:11-12; Moro. 9:22
   ^b 2 Ne. 30:6

Mormon Continues His Abridgement

9 And now **I, Mormon, ^*proceed to finish out my record^a, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and the ^aunderstanding which God has given me.
10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had ^adelivered up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the ^bother plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the ^ckings, from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin.
11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into ^amy hands. And I, Mormon, pray to God that they may be preserved from this time henceforth. And I know that they will be preserved; for there are great things written upon them, out of which ^bmy people and their brethren shall be ^cjudged at the great and last day, according to the word of God which is written.

9^a I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record Why is the record of the Nephites called 'The Book of Mormon'? Well here it is plainly stated, that it is Mormon's record which he took from the plates of Nephi. From the large plates of Nephi, Mormon did make his abridged record which included his own short personal abridged Book of Mormon found between the Book of 4 Nephi and the Book of Ether. Further it was Mormon who did take the whole of the small plates of Nephi and include them with the abridged plates of the record he engravened. Thus Mormon took his account from both of the two sets of the plates of Nephi. He even took his own small personal book from the larger Book of Mormon, the record of his own day, which he had included with the large plates of Nephi.    9^a TG Understanding
10^a Omni 1:25, 30
     ^b 1 Ne. 9:4; Omni 1:11, 18; W of M 1:3;
       Mosiah 28:11
     ^c Jarom 1:14
11^a 3 Ne. 5:12 (8-12); Morm. 1:4 (1-5)
     ^b Hel. 15:3-4
     ^c 2 Ne. 25:18; 2 Ne. 29:11;
       2 Ne. 33:14 (11, 14-15); 3 Ne. 27:25 (23-27);
       Ether 5:4

12 And now, concerning this king Benjamin—he had somewhat of contentions among his own people.
13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the ^aland of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the ^bsword of Laban.
14 And in the ^astrength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had driven them out of all the lands of their ^binheritance.

13^a Omni 1:12
     ^b 1 Ne. 4:9; 2 Ne. 5:14; Jacob 1:10;
       Mosiah 1:16; D&C 17:1
14^a TG Strength
     ^b Jarom 1:7

15 And it came to pass that after there had been false ^aChrists, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes;
16 And after there had been ^afalse prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many dissensions away ^bunto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the holy ^cprophets who were among his people—

15^a TG False Christs
16^a TG False Prophets
     ^b Jacob 1:14 (13-14)
     ^c Enos 1:22

17 For behold, king Benjamin was a ^aholy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with ^bpower and with authority; and they did use much ^csharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people—

17^a Ex. 22:31; Alma 13:26; D&C 49:8;
       D&C 107:29
     ^b Alma 17:3 (2-3); TG God, Power of
     ^c Enos 1:23; Moro. 9:4; D&C 121:43 (41-43)

18 Wherefore, with the help of these, king ^aBenjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the ^bfaculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.

18^a** Omni 1:25; Mosiah 29:13
     ^b 1 Ne. 15:25

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THE WORDS OF MORMON
Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 1 Mormon abridges their history onto the plates of Mormon—He inserts the plates of Nephi into the abridgement—King Benjamin establishes peace in the land. [About A.D. 385]	Mormon had abridged the large plates of Nehpi history down to King Benjamin onto the plates of Mormon at this juncture—He searches the records, finds the small plates of Nephi and inserts them, adding them to his record at this point—Mormon then proceeds to bridge the gap between the small plates and his large plates abridgement, tieing them in to the where they fit with his abridged record—King Benjamin establishes peace in the land. [Some time between 335 and 380 A.D.]
1 AND now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the ^arecord which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites. 2 And it is ^amany hundred years after the coming of Christ ^that I deliver these records into the hands of my son^a*; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire ^bdestruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may ^cprofit them.	2^a I deliver these records into he hands of my son This reference to deliving the Book of Mormon records over to Moroni would seem to be that which is also recorded in Mormon 6:6 where it states, ' ... therefore I made this record [the abridged Golden Plates record] out of the plates of Nephi [Large Plates of Nephi], and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.' That is, in comparision to the volumes of plates and records of the Nephites which Mormon hid up in the hill Cumorah, the abridged Golden Plates of the Book of Mormon are counted to be but a 'few plates'. Thus here we also see that the massive volume of the records of the Nephites do also speak of a much greated and far spread people than just a limited incasement within something the size of Utah.	1^a 3 Ne. 5:12 (9-12); Morm. 1:4 (1-4); Morm. 2:17-18; Morm. 8:5 (1, 4-5, 14) 2^a Morm. 6:5-6 ^* [About A. D. 385] ^b 1 Ne. 12:19 ^c D&C 3:19 (16-20)
3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an ^aabridgment from the ^bplates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin^a, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the ^crecords which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates^b, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king ^dBenjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi. 4 And the things which are upon these plates ^apleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been ^bprophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass— 5 Wherefore, I chose ^athese things, to finish my ^brecord upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the ^cplates of Nephi; and I cannot write the ^dhundredth part of the things of my people^a.	3^a after I had made an abridgement from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin During the process of abridging the large plates of Nephi, that is the records of the kings, Mormon phases his engraving and led by the spirit goes and searches through the records, perhaps for the next book of kings or even just browsing the stacks of records looking for something. That the quick presumption that this is occuring while in the same year of the destruction of the Nephites, 385 A.D., may not be correct. According to a letter from Mormon to Moroni, while they were still separated and Mormon was heading the Nephites army (likely during the Jordan defense), Mormon than also stated that he had records that he would deliver unto his son (See Moroni 9:24). And that would have been about 380 A.D. That Mormon knew that he was to deliver his finished abridgement next to the hands of his son Moroni for a number of years prior to when he mades the final transfer must be considered. And that Mormon was at this point only up to the Book of Mosiah in his abridgement work, with all of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, and his own personal record still to abridge, would seem to place the actual date of these recorded events earlier than 385 A.D., the very last year of the hiding of all the records in the hill of Cumorah, the gathering of all responding remaining Nephites to gather to Cumorah, and the great preparations for that last great battle, seems to be enough without adding to Mormon's burden to complete the bulk of his abridgement within that same time frame. Thus an earlier date seems more likely for Mormon's inclusion of the small plates and this engraved passage of connection between them. 3^b I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates These plates were of course the small plates of Nephi, which at this very juncture Mormon decided to insert or include at the very time he had come to the reign of King Benjamin in his abridgement of the large plates of Nephi. Mormon had first obtained the records at age 24 in 335 A.D. At that time he first began his own unabridged record of the times of his life and what he had seen to the large plates of Nephi. At exactly what point in time Mormon was also commanded to make an abridgement of the entire set of the plates of Nephi is not known. But certainly one must consider that is was well before the final year of the great battle of Cumorah in 385 A.D. 5^a I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people This is but a figuration expression. All histories are of themself a condensed form as it would be impossible to write everything concerning the events of a people, the Nephite nation. Consider that the Golden plates are but a hundredth part of all the records contained in the hill Cumorah. And it is likely that there are even more records than that. Moromon makes this 'similiar' statment in his Book of Mormon where he once again states, ' ... I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.' (Mormon 1:5; See also Helaman 3:13-14, 3 Nephi 5:8 & Ether 15:33). Now this 'hundredth part' is but a 'comparative figurative allusion'. Consider the pie-chart graphic which illustrates the comparison of just how much a hundredth part of something is. It is hardly a sliver in comparison to the rest of the whole of the matter. And we are to judge a people's expanses by such a small sampling as what 1% would yield?	3^a 1 Ne. 1:17 (16-17); D&C 10:44 ^b Jarom 1:14; W of M 1:10; D&C 10:38-40 ^c Mosiah 1:6 (2-6); Hel. 3:13-15; Morm. 4:23 ^d Omni 1:23-25 4^a 1 Ne. 6:5 (3-6) ^b TG Jesus Christ, Prophecies about 5^a IE the things pleasing to him, mentioned in v. 4 ^b 3 Ne. 5:17 (14-18); Morm. 1:1 ^c 1 Ne. 9:2 ^d Alma 13:31; 3 Ne. 5:8-11; 3 Ne. 26:6-12 The Chronology Of It The 'Words of Mormon' were written upon the lands of Cumorah before the great battle which was to be fought there. There Mormon gave unto Moroni the group of plates, small by comparison to all the plates and records of the Nephites, which made up his contributions to the Book of Mormon, namely his own abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi, the Small Plates of Nephi, and Mormon's own writings, the six or seven chapters in the smaller book of Mormon and these 'Words of Mormon' which tied the Small Plates of Nephi into his abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi. Moroni first finished his writing in the small book of his father thinking that would end the record. And only later did Moroni return to the Hill Cumorah and extract the 24 gold plates of Ether to be included as 'sealed' along with his own abridgment of them as the book of Ether. To these Moroni added his own small book of 10 chapters and the title page of the record.
6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren. 7 And I do this for a ^awise ^bpurpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me^a. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord ^cknoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he ^dworketh in me to do according to his ^ewill^a. 8 And my ^aprayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a ^ddelightsome people.	7^a according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me ... he worketh in me to do according to his will This is 'the order' of the 'fulness of the everlasting gospel' in the fulfilling of the path to God. It comes by way of continuous revelations, that which keeps the cannon of the Lord open to men at all times in all dispensations of time. This is the true order of God, which is that order by which the Lord reveals to men line upon line, precept upon precept to do according to the mind and will of the Lord in all things. And it is by this means, the workings of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, by which men do walk the straight and narrow parth which leads back into the presence of God.	7^a 1 Ne. 9:5; 1 Ne. 19:3; Enos 1:16-18; Alma 37:2; D&C 3:19 (9-20); D&C 10:34 (1-19, 30-47) ^b D&C 10:40 (20-46) ^c TG God, Foreknowledge of; TG God, Intelligence of; TG God, Omniscience of ^d 2 Ne. 27:23 ^e TG God, Will of; 8^a 2 Ne. 33:3; Enos 1:11-12; Moro. 9:22 ^b 2 Ne. 30:6
Mormon Continues His Abridgement
9 And now *I, Mormon, ^proceed to finish out my record^a**, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and the ^aunderstanding which God has given me. 10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had ^adelivered up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the ^bother plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the ^ckings, from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin. 11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into ^amy hands. And I, Mormon, pray to God that they may be preserved from this time henceforth. And I know that they will be preserved; for there are great things written upon them, out of which ^bmy people and their brethren shall be ^cjudged at the great and last day, according to the word of God which is written.	9^a I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record Why is the record of the Nephites called 'The Book of Mormon'? Well here it is plainly stated, that it is Mormon's record which he took from the plates of Nephi. From the large plates of Nephi, Mormon did make his abridged record which included his own short personal abridged Book of Mormon found between the Book of 4 Nephi and the Book of Ether. Further it was Mormon who did take the whole of the small plates of Nephi and include them with the abridged plates of the record he engravened. Thus Mormon took his account from both of the two sets of the plates of Nephi. He even took his own small personal book from the larger Book of Mormon, the record of his own day, which he had included with the large plates of Nephi.	9^a TG Understanding 10^a Omni 1:25, 30 ^b 1 Ne. 9:4; Omni 1:11, 18; W of M 1:3; Mosiah 28:11 ^c Jarom 1:14 11^a 3 Ne. 5:12 (8-12); Morm. 1:4 (1-5) ^b Hel. 15:3-4 ^c 2 Ne. 25:18; 2 Ne. 29:11; 2 Ne. 33:14 (11, 14-15); 3 Ne. 27:25 (23-27); Ether 5:4
12 And now, concerning this king Benjamin—he had somewhat of contentions among his own people. 13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the ^aland of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the ^bsword of Laban. 14 And in the ^astrength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had driven them out of all the lands of their ^binheritance.		13^a Omni 1:12 ^b 1 Ne. 4:9; 2 Ne. 5:14; Jacob 1:10; Mosiah 1:16; D&C 17:1 14^a TG Strength ^b Jarom 1:7
15 And it came to pass that after there had been false ^aChrists, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes; 16 And after there had been ^afalse prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many dissensions away ^bunto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the holy ^cprophets who were among his people—		15^a TG False Christs 16^a TG False Prophets ^b Jacob 1:14 (13-14) ^c Enos 1:22
17 For behold, king Benjamin was a ^aholy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with ^bpower and with authority; and they did use much ^csharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people—		17^a Ex. 22:31; Alma 13:26; D&C 49:8; D&C 107:29 ^b Alma 17:3 (2-3); TG God, Power of ^c Enos 1:23; Moro. 9:4; D&C 121:43 (41-43)
18 Wherefore, with the help of these, king ^aBenjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the ^bfaculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.		18^a Omni 1:25; Mosiah 29:13 ^b 1 Ne. 15:25