Today's Favorite Verse: The Words of Mormon 1:3, 5, 7

Today's Favorite Verse: The Words of Mormon 1:3, 5, 7 

And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this King Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I 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 may of the words of Nephi.

Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.

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."

In the middle of reading the story of the Nephites and Lamanites all of a sudden we come to the Words of Mormon. This is where the ending of the whole book is revealed. Mormon was the second to last Nephite prophet that lived hundred of years after the resurrected Christ appeared to them in America. Mormon has now abridged the records of the Nephites. That is where the Book of Mormon gets it name, because Mormon was the one to compile the whole book together for our day. 

Mormon is seeing the final destruction of his people. He now leaves the gold plates in the charge of his son Moroni. Moroni then witnesses the entire destruction of the people, and becomes the soul remaining Nephite. He finishes the last part of the Book of Mormon and buries it in the Hill Cumorah about 421 AD. In 1823, three years after Joseph Smith's experience in the sacred grove, Moroni appears as an angel to him. He shows Joseph where the gold plates are buried in vision, then later meets him there. Joseph is told to return each year to this same spot to receive instruction from Moroni, in preparation of him receiving the plates. After four years Joseph finally receives charge of the plates and begins the translation of the ancient Nephite record.

Even with all that preparation Joseph had some lessons to learn. There is an unfortunate experience of the loss (theft) of the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon transcript. Joseph loses the ability to translate the records with Moroni taking the gold plates back for several months. When the plates are returned to Joseph he is told to not translate again those first 116 pages. For evil men had plans to change what was already written to disprove the work. The small plates of Nephi cover what was lost. Now we understand the wise purpose of Mormon adding the small plates of Nephi into the records he has abridged.

I love seeing how the Lord knows the end from the beginning. How he told Nephi to even make those small separate plates in the beginning. Then he tells Mormon to include them with the abridgment, even though it repeats what he already wrote. How many hundreds of years later the actions of two separate men living hundreds of years apart insure my ability to have these precious revelations. I am so eternally grateful for all of them, and the parts they played.

I cannot help but ponder on how even my tiny life here on earth may have an effect on some unknown person's life in the future. Will a kind word that lifts another have a ripple effect for the generations? I may not ever see the end from the beginning, but I know when the spirit impresses on me the will of the Lord, I must do it. 

Day 245 Tami Fitzgerald Harris