“Rather Than Spend Their Days in Idleness”

Brant Gardner

Redaction: Mormon concludes this part of the story with his own summary and moral. He is reasonably accurate in summarizing the speech of Lamoni’s brother, but his conclusion continues to betray his usual anti-Lamanite prejudices. Lamoni’s brother never says anything about abandoning idleness; and indeed, it is unlikely that the over-king of a large polity had much leisure. Nevertheless, Mormon’s conclusion repeats this long-standing caricature of Lamanites held by Nephites.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 4

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