Moroni states, in Ether 1:2, that he is taking his account of the Jaredites “from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi.” However, according to Daniel Ludlow, it is not made absolutely clear in the Book of Mormon whether Moroni made his abridgment of the record of Ether from Mosiah’s earlier translation (see Mosiah 28:1-20) or whether Moroni took his account directly from the plates of Ether--in which case he would have needed to translate the record as well as abridge it. [Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 178]
Sidney B. Sperry states that from Ether 1:2 one naturally assumes that Moroni made his abridgment directly from the plates themselves. If he did so, we are driven to the conclusion that it was necessary for him to find his way into the hill Cumorah, where his father had hidden them. Inasmuch as the language of the plates was that of the Jaredite people, it would have been incumbent upon Moroni to translate them by means of the holy “interpreters” or Urim and Thummim before he could abridge them. This would have been a tremendous task, because Moroni says that he had not written “the hundredth part” of the record (Ether 15:33), and as it is we have fifteen chapters or about thirty-one and one-half printed pages in our current edition. It seems much more reasonable--for the writer at least--to believe that Moroni abridged the translation of the Book of Ether which had been made many hundreds of years before by king Mosiah2 (Mosiah 28:1-20). This translation would also have been available to Moroni in the hill. [Sidney B. Sperry, The Book of Mormon Testifies, pp. 346-347]
Ether 1:2 I [Moroni] take my account from the twenty and four plates … which is called the Book of Ether (Nephite Record Keepers) [[Illustration] Nephite Record Keepers. Adapted from [Church Educational System, Book of Mormon Student Manual: Religion 121 and 122, 1989, p. 155]
“Twenty and Four”
According to John Welch, the number twenty-four, being a multiple of twelve, was associated with heavenly government, especially priestly judgment and temple service… Particular mention is made of the number of the gold plates of Ether, probably because their number was twenty-four (see Mosiah 8:9; Alma 37:21; Ether 1:2). These plates were seen as a record of the “judgment of God” upon those people (Alma 37:30), and their contents were brought “to light” by the use of two seer stones (Mosiah 28:13-16; Alma 37:21-25). [John W. Welch, “Number 24,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, pp. 272-273]
The great prophet Moroni writes the following:
And the Lord would not suffer that they [the Jaredites] should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people. And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them… . For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God--that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done. Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. (Ether 2:8-12)
Alma the younger confirms the judgments of God upon the Jaredites to his son Helaman:
For behold, the Lord saw that his people [the Jaredites] began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the earth. And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover … their secret works and their abomination; and except they repent I will destroy them from off the face of the earth; … And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they have been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has been fulfilled; … (Alma 37:22-26)
[See the commentary on Ether 2:8-18]
“The Twenty and Four Plates”
The Book of Mormon student might wonder, What was the true length of “the twenty and four plates” (Ether 1:2)? Were they 24 individual plates or 24 sets of plates? Did Moroni have access to other Jaredite records? In trying to arrive at an answer to these questions we might consider the following:
1. In Ether 15:33 Moroni writes, "And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them. (emphasis added)
a. If Moroni only recorded the “one hundredth part” of the history recorded on the 24 plates (Ether 15:33), and if the phrase “one hundredth part” is meant to denote the thirty one and one-half printed pages of our current edition, then the total text on 24 individual plates of Ether would be equivalent to somewhere near 3,150 pages of our current written text. This does not seem feasible, so perhaps in making the comment about the “one hundredth part,” Moroni had more records at his disposal than 24 individual plates.
b. Moroni says that Ether “finished his record,” but that he hid “them.” Perhaps there were 24 parts to his record and perhaps these parts were not all bound together into one unit.
2. In Ether 13:13 Moroni says, “I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether …” Thus, Moroni apparently had before him a complete record of those prophecies.
3. Ether 3:21-28 refers to the vision of the brother of Jared. This vision was included--although sealed--with the plates given to Joseph Smith. Moroni notes that he wrote his account of the vision of the brother of Jared on the plates containing Mormon’s abridgment, but that he was commanded by the Lord to “seal up” this account: "Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them [the very things which the brother of Jared saw]; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up … (Ether 4:4-5). Joseph Smith was commanded not to translate this sealed portion. If this sealed portion comprised two-thirds of the plates delivered to Joseph, then the written text produced by the sealed portion alone could possibly total over a thousand printed pages (double the length of our present Book of Mormon). Such volume of text seems too great to be extracted from just 24 plates. Is there an explanation?
First of all, it is not absolutely clear what portion of the plates containing Mormon’s abridgment was sealed. Joseph Smith simply said: “The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed” (History of the Church, Vol 4., p. 537). George Q. Cannon said that “about one-third” was sealed (Young Peoples’ History of Joseph Smith, p. 25), whereas Orson Pratt maintained that the sealed portion comprised “about two-thirds” of the plates (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p. 347). Neither of the last two brethren indicate where they obtained their information. Nevertheless, even if the estimate of “one-third” were correct, it would require a translation output of over 250 printed pages. Perhaps Moroni had access to a complete set (or all) of the Jaredite records.
4. In Ether 1:3 Moroni makes a reference to “the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time.” According to John Welch, this record had apparently been “brought across the great deep” from Mesopotamia by Jared and his people (Ether 8:9). It contained a creation account down to the time of “the great tower” (Ether 1:3) and also set forth the “secret plans” of evil men aimed at obtaining kingdoms and glory (8:9). None of this early scriptural information, however, is found in our book of Ether, for it was supposed by Moroni that it would be had among the Jews (Ether 1:3). If this was part of the 24 plates, then the printed record might be at least equivalent to that which is found in the Bible. That record spans from the first chapter of Genesis to the eleventh chapter, or roughly 15 pages. [John W. Welch, “Preliminary Comments on the Sources behind the Book of Ether,” F.A.R.M.S., 1986, p. 5]
Ether 1:2 The twenty and four plates ([Illustration] A representation of the set of plates which Moroni gave to Joseph Smith. The metal bands represent the portion which was sealed. [Cover, The Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 1991]
Ether 1:2 I [Moroni] take mine account from the twenty and four plates ([Illustration] Chart: Sources Behind the Book of Ether. [John W. Welch and Morgan A. Ashton, “Charting the Book of Mormon,” Packet 1, F.A.R.M.S.]
Ether 1:2 And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates (Illustration): Chart: “Sources behind the Book of Ether.” Source: John W. Welch, “Sources behind the Book of Ether” (FARMS, 1986). [John W. & J. Gregory Welch, Charting the Book of Mormon: Visual Aids for Personal Study and Teaching, F.A.R.M.S., chart #15]