The Book of Mormon
Title Page and Preface
THE
BOOK OF MORMON.
AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF MORMON
UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI.
Wherefore it is an abridgment of the Record of the People of Nephi; and also of the Lamanites; written to the Lamanites. which are a remnant of the House of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of Prophesy and of Revelation. Written, and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed; to come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God; an abridgment taken from the Book of Ether.
Also, which is a Record of the People of Jared, which were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to Heaven; which is to shew unto the remnant of the House of Israel how great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever; and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations. And now if there be fault, it be the mistake of men; wherefore condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ.
MORONI.
PREFACE.
To the Reader—
As many false reports have been circulated respecting the following work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil designing persons to destroy me, and also the work, I would inform you that I translated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said account, some person or persons have stolen and kept form me, notwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it again—and being commanded of the Lord that I should not translate the same over again, for Satan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord their God, by altering the words, that they did rear contrary from that which I translated and caused to be written; and if I should bring forth the same words again, or, in other words, if I should translate the same over again, they would publish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up the hearts of this generation, that they might not receive this work: but behold, the Lord said unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing: therefore thou shalt translate from the plates of Nephi, until ye come to that which ye have translated, which ye have retained; and behold ye shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words. I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil. Wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, I have, through his grace and mercy, accomplished that which he hath commanded me respecting this thing. I would also inform you that the plates of which hath been spoken, were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario county, New-York.
The Author.
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Summary:
This title page explains that the book is an abridged record primarily of the Nephites and Lamanites, who are part of the House of Israel. It’s written for the Lamanites, as well as for Jews and Gentiles, by commandment and through revelation. The record is sealed and hidden until it is brought forth by God’s power, with Moroni as the custodian. It also includes the Book of Ether, which tells the story of the Jaredites—people scattered after the Tower of Babel incident. The purpose is to show the Lord’s mighty works for Israel’s descendants, affirm that they are still in God’s covenant, and to convince all nations that Jesus Christ is the Eternal God. Moroni closes by urging readers not to blame God for any errors, so they may be spiritually clean at Christ’s judgment.
Summary:
Joseph Smith explains that false rumors and unlawful actions have surrounded the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He clarifies that he translated 116 pages, an abridgment from the Book of Lehi, by the gift and power of God, but those pages were stolen. The Lord commanded him not to retranslate them, because evil people would likely alter the stolen manuscript and then claim his new translation didn’t match, attempting to discredit the work.
Instead, God directed him to translate from the plates of Nephi, which contained overlapping history. The Lord promised that His wisdom would be greater than the devil’s deception, and the truth would prevail. Joseph testifies that, by God’s grace, he obeyed the command and completed the work. He also notes that the plates were discovered in Manchester, New York.