The response of the king is to rejoice and express thanksgiving for the divine solution at hand for interpreting the mysterious gold plates containing the record made by the hand of Ether, the last of the Jaredite prophets, which will be abridged in due time by Moroni (see Ether 1:2). Then the king utters an impressive poetic expression concerning the contrast between the wonders of the Lord and the blindness and hard-heartedness of men who eschew wisdom and wander without aim as a wild flock.
THE RECORD OF ZENIFF
An account of his people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time that they were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites. [Note: This preamble was included in the original edition of the Book of Mormon published in 1830.]