“I Perceive That Thou Art a Sober Child”

Brant Gardner

Mormon announces his position as the author of his own record. This is the opening colophon that parallels that of the first Nephi in 1 Nephi 1:1. Mormon is announcing both that he is the author (as opposed to the compiler/abridger/historian), and that he has created a shift in the transmission line of the text. This is not the book of Nephi in which Ammaron wrote, but the book of Mormon, in which Mormon and his descendants will write. We do not know if Mormon understood at this time that his own “dynasty” would not extend past his own son.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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