“I Made This Record out of the Plates of Nephi”

Bryan Richards

Mormon’s abridgement of Mosiah through Mormon was all written very late in his life. He first abridged the record of Lehi, then found and added the small plates of Nephi to the record, then proceeded to finish his abridgment of the large plates (WofM 1:1-9). Prior to beginning the abridgement of Mosiah, he said, I Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites…Wherefore, I chose these things (the small plates of Nephi), to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record (Mosiah – Mormon) I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people…And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi (WofM 1:1,5,9, italics added). At the time of this writing, Moroni has witnessed almost all the destruction of his people but has not even started abridging Mosiah – Mormon. By his own admission, he must have been abridging the record not too long before the final battle. No wonder that the phrase ‘I cannot write but a hundreth part of the things of my people’ is repeated so many times in the abridgment (WofM 1:5, Hel 3:14, 3 Nephi 5:8; 26:6). Mormon was working on a tight schedule. However, the completeness and congruity of the record demonstrates even more impressively, how inspired his work was.

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