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Nephi 9:11 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates. Redactive analysis:
The separation of these nine verses into a separate chapter highlights the anomaly of their content. We have just
finished Nephi's relation of his father's dream, and we are about to begin Nephi's experience with the same vision.
Those two events are inextricably linked, and the presence of this mundane text in between the two spiritual discussions
is odd indeed.In the original version of the text, which separated chapters but not verses, this information is tacked on to the end of the Lehi vision, and the Nephi vision begins the next chapter. The placement of the verses there confirms that these serve as some soft of transition, but what kind? I have indicated before that Nephi uses the Book of Lehi as a springboard for this version, but that he vacillates between a more historical recounting of the Book of Lehi, and a very personal account of the way those events affected him. I believe that in these verses the explanation of the composition of the plates serves as a marker indicating Nephi's clear intention of continuing on a much more personal level, and his leaving off of pretensions of copying the Book of Lehi material. The transition comes between a quintessential experience of a patriarch (a vision with a message for the family, as well as for posterity) and Nephi's personal experience with the same vision. From this time on in the Book of Mormon, Lehi begins to fade even further into the background, and the book clearly becomes Nephi's. With these verses I suggest that Nephi understood on some level the transition he was making, and justified it by indicating the nature of the small plates. 1
Nephi 9:22 And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates of Nephi. The catalog of sacred
texts for the Nephites at the time of this writing consists of the brass plates, the large plates of Nephi, and
the small plates of Lehi. It is unclear whether or not Lehi himself wrote down any of his experiences. Had he done
so, they would likely have been on paper since the family was traveling, and more plates would have added significantly
to the weight problem. Nevertheless, nothing is mentioned of texts writing by Lehi, and the best assumption we
can make is that Nephi served as the chronicler for his family's history.In this verse Nephi clarifies that what we are reading is a different "thing" from the material on the large plates. There is another set of plates upon which he has written "a full account of the history of my people" which were called the plates of Nephi. He pronounces this as though this were an official title, even though we understand that the book Joseph Smith translated from those plates was the Book of Lehi. The name would therefore be attached to the plates, not the content of the plates, and would likely signify the importance of the plates to the political/social history of the people. This is consonant with an official "dynastic" record of a political kingdom. Nephi, as the head of the political aspect of his people, would have been the one to sanctify the plates by his possession of them and the rulership. Interestingly enough, the second set of plates is "also called the plates of Nephi." The usage in this phrase may not have the naming emphasis of the first clause, and may be related much more to being named for their author (which, of course, would contrast to the plates of Nephi where the Book of Lehi was the primary content). 1
Nephi 9:33 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people. Nephi begins to make
the distinction between the content value of the official Plates of Nephi (known to us as the large plates of Nephi)
and the unofficial plates (small "p") of Nephi (known to us as the small plates of Nephi). The secondary
set (from which we are reading) is specifically commanded to be written to contain the account of the "ministry
of my people."1
Nephi 9:44 Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people. The content of the
large plates is that of the reigns and doings of the rulers. With these two verses, we can surmise a great deal
about the content and transmission path of the two sets of plates. The large plates were the official record of
the political kingdom. As such, they were the property of the throne (in whatever state it existed in Nephite politics,
whether king of chief judge). The large plates record the doings of the kingdom, and would logically be passed
from ruler to ruler.The small plates of Nephi had a more narrow function, which was to describe the ministry of the Lord to the people of Nephi. In that context they would be free to leave out major political intrigue, and to concentrate on spiritual matters. We know the transmission path of the small plates of Nephi because we have them, and they were transmitted father to son, and at times brother to brother. This transmission path follows direct kin lines. Where the kingship and the descendants of Nephi were one and the same, the transmission path of the large and small plates would have been the same. However, it is unclear whether or not many of Nephi's descendants ever sat on the political throne. It would appear that the two sets of plates separated early, with Nephi defining a separate purpose, and the separate provenance supplying even further differences as time went on. 1
Nephi 9:55 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. It is widely assumed
that the purpose of the Lord was to preserve the Book of Mormon's essential information in the face of the loss
of the 116 manuscript pages. While that is clearly a historical reality, it may also be that the purpose contained
the importance of the text itself. The small plates of Nephi provide a deeply religious look at life, and some
fascinating hints as changing social structure as the small plates wind their way to the end. The only way that
these plates could have only been as a stopgap "repair" of the loss of the manuscript pages
would have been for them to have been sealed, and then unsealed for this purpose. If they were readily available
in the plates we perhaps should have had them anyway, and their value would remain. The doctrines of these plates
are sufficiently intrinsically valuable that we might have had them even had we retained the Book of Lehi manuscript.1
Nephi 9:66 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen. Nephi expresses his
trust in the purposes of the Lord, even though those purposes may not be immediately apparent. Nephi is now finished
with his brief description of the textual sources, has explained why the small plates are unique, and perhaps has
justified them as his own personal account. His quixotic transition complete, he returns to the important narrative
of the story surrounding his father's vision of the Tree of Life. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
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