(3.) The Plates of Ether, containing, as we have seen, the history of the Jaredites.
To these may be added another set of plates, as being mentioned in the Book of Mormon, viz:
(4.) The Brass Plates of Laban, brought by Lehi's people from Jerusalem, and containing Jewish scriptures and genealogies, many extracts from which appear in the Nephite records. We have now to consider more particularly the plates of Nephi, and Mormon's abridgment thereof.
16. The Plates of Nephi are so named from the fact that they were prepared, and their record was begun, by Nephi, the son of Lehi. These plates were of two kinds,[772] which may be distinguished as the "larger plates" and the "smaller plates." Nephi began his labors as a recorder by engraving on plates of gold a historical account of his people, from the time his father left Jerusalem. This account recited the story of their wanderings, their prosperity and their distress, the reigns of their kings, and the wars and contentions of the people; the record was in the nature of a secular history. These plates were handed from one recorder to another throughout the generations of the Nephite people; so that, at the time they were abridged by Mormon, the record covered a period of about a thousand years, dating from 600 B. C., the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem. Although these plates bore the name of their maker, who was also the first of the writers, the separate work of each recorder is known in general by his specific name, so that the record is made up of many distinct books.
17. By command of the Lord, Nephi made other plates, upon which he recorded particularly the ecclesiastical history of his people, citing only such instances of other events as seemed necessary to the proper sequence of the narrative. "I have received a commandment of the Lord," says Nephi, "that I should make these plates for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people."[773] The object of this double line of history was unknown to Nephi, it was enough for him that the Lord required the labor; that it was for a wise purpose will be shown.
18. Mormon's Abridgment.—In the course of time the records that had accumulated as the history of the people grew fell into the hands of Mormon;[774] and he undertook to make an abridgment of these extensive works, upon plates made with his own hands.[775] By such a course, a record was prepared more concise and more nearly uniform in style, language, and treatment than could possibly be the case with the varied writings of so many authors as had contributed to the great history during the thousand years of its growth. Mormon recognizes and testifies to the inspiration of God by which he was moved to undertake the great labor.[776] In preparing this shorter history, Mormon preserved the division of the record into books according to the arrangement of the originals; and thus, though the language may be that of Mormon, except in cases of quotations from the plates of Nephi, which are indeed numerous, we find the Books of Nephi, the Book of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc., the form of speech known as the first person being generally preserved.
19. When Mormon, in the course of his abridgment, had reached the time of King Benjamin's reign, he was deeply impressed with the record engraved on the smaller plates of Nephi,—the history of God's dealings with the people during the period of about four centuries, extending from the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem down to the time of King Benjamin. This record, comprising so much of prophecy concerning the mission of the Savior, was regarded by Mormon with more than ordinary favor. Of these plates he attempted no transcript, but included the originals with his own abridgment of the larger plates, making of the two one book. The record as compiled by Mormon contained, therefore, a double account of the descendants of Lehi for the first four hundred years of their history,—the brief secular history condensed from the larger plates, and the full text on the smaller plates. In solemn language, and with an emphasis which subsequent events have shown to be significant, Mormon declares the hidden wisdom of the Divine purpose in this duplication:—"And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will."[777]
20. The Lord's Purpose in the matter of preparing and of preserving the smaller plates as testified of by Mormon, and also by Nephi,[778] is rendered plain from certain circumstances in this dispensation attending the translation of the records by Joseph Smith. When the prophet had prepared a translation of the first part of the writings of Mormon, the manuscript was won from his care through the unrighteous solicitations of Martin Harris, to whom he considered himself in a degree indebted for financial assistance in the work of publication. This manuscript, in all 116 pages, was never returned to Joseph; but, through the dark schemes of evil powers, it fell into the hands of enemies, who straightway laid a wicked plan to ridicule the translator and thwart the purposes of God. This evil design was that they wait until Joseph had re-translated the missing matter, when the stolen manuscript, which in the meantime had been altered so that the words were made to express the contrary from the true record, would be set forth as a proof that the prophet was unable to translate the same passages twice alike. But the Lord's wisdom interposed to bring to naught these dark designs.
21. Having chastened the prophet by depriving him for a season of his gift to translate, as also of the custody of the sacred records, and this for his dereliction in permitting the writings to pass into unappointed hands, the Lord graciously restored His penitent servant to favor, and revealed to him the designs of his enemies;[779] at the same time showing how these evil machinations should be made to fail. Joseph was instructed, therefore, not to attempt a re-translation of that part of Mormon's abridgment, the first translation of which had been stolen; but instead, to translate the record of the same events from the plates of Nephi,—the set of smaller plates which Mormon had incorporated with his own writings. The translation so made was therefore published as the record of Nephi, and not as the writing of Mormon; and thus no second translation was made of the parts from which the stolen manuscript had been prepared.