“He Showed Unto the Brother of Jared All the Inhabitants of the Earth Which Had Been”

Alan C. Miner

Monte Nyman notes that both Moroni and Nephi commented on the contents of the sealed part of the plates; they both gave similar testimonies that supplement each other. Nephi, quoting Isaiah, said that the sealed portion contained "a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof" (2 Nephi 27:7; see v. 10). Moroni described the sealed portion more specifically, saying it contained the vision shown unto the brother of Jared of "all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be . . . unto the ends of the earth" (Ether 3:25). Thus the sealed portion will establish once and for all that God does know all things from the beginning and has revealed them periodically to his prophets so that the people will not give credit to idols or men for his great works on the earth (see 1 Nephi 19:23; 20:3-7; Isaiah 48:3-7). [Monte S. Nyman, "Other Ancient American Records Yet to Come Forth," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 10, num. 1, 2001, pp. 57,58]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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