The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon

9Structured Edition

Study Version

Edited by Nathan Richardson

D R AF T C

O P Y

Contents

Introduction xxvii

The small plaTes of NephiThe first book of Nephi 1The second book of Nephi 67The book of Jacob 163The book of Enos 189The book of Jarom 193The book of Omni 197

mormoN’s abridgemeNTThe words of Mormon 203The book of Mosiah 207The book of Alma 293The book of Helaman 503Third Nephi 557Fourth Nephi 633The book of Mormon 639

moroNi’s addiTioNsThe book of Ether 663The book of Moroni 709

ContentsIntroduction xxvii

The small plaTes of Nephi

The first book of Nephi 1

The record of Lehi 2

Lehi’s vision 2The vaLLey of LemueL 4

The brass plaTes 6aTTempT 1: asking 7aTTempT 2: Buying 7aTTempT 3: Taking 9reTurn 11

The plates of brass

Ishmael 14The Tree of lIfe 16

Wilderness 16Tree and water 16Rod and mist 17Building 17Conclusion 18

The accounT of nephi 20

lehI’s prophecIes 20The MessiahGathering Israel

nephI’s prophecIes 22The vIsIon of The Tree 23

The Jews 23Tree: BirthRod: MinistryBuilding: Crucifixion and persecution

The seed of Lehi 26Mist: Darkness before Christ’s comingFilthy water: Dwindling in unbelief

The genTiLes 28Great and abominable churchGentiles smite the seed of LehiThe book of the Lamb: Blindness and stumblingThe hidden book

a work of Life or capTiviTy 32Two churchesFighting against the Lamb of God

cLosing 34explaInIng The vIsIon 35

Branches of israeL 35oBJecTs in The vision 36Bearing The TruTh 38

JourneyIngs In The wIlderness 39shazer 40The broken bow 40nahom 41easTward 42bounTIful 43

command To BuiLd a ship 43nephi’s BreThren compLain 44nephi confounds Them 44

Ancient Israel’s deliveranceWicked unto ripenessOutcomes

finishing The ship 48on The sea 49The promIsed land 50

mInIsTry 52The Large pLaTes of nephi 52prophecies of The god of israeL 53

nephI Teaches hIs breThren 55reading isaiah 55expLaining isaiah 62

Isaiah 62From Nephi’s vision

Other prophets 64Conclusion 65

The second book of Nephi 67

The words of Lehi 68

To nephI’s older breThren 68Prophecy of the promised land 69Call to repent 69Defense of Nephi 71

To zoram 72To Jacob 72

The ends of the law 72Opposition 73The fall of man 74Conclusion 76

To Joseph 76Joseph the seer’s prophecy 76Conclusion 80

To laman’s chIldren 80To lemuel’s chIldren 80To The sons of Ishmael 81To sam 81

JourneyIngs In The wIlderness 82nephi deparTs 86

The people of nephI 86The LamaniTes 87The smaLL pLaTes of nephi 88

The words of JacoB 89

IsaIah’s dual prophecy 89Israel’s sin 91The servant’s obedience 92Call to repent 93Two deaths 94

Afflicted by two deathsSalvation from two deaths

1. spIrITual fulfIllmenT 97Two deaThs 97

No deliverance 98Deliverance from death and hell 98Deliverance from the devil 99

caLL To repenT 100Woes 101Come unto God 102

TransiTion 1032. Temporal fulfIllmenT 103

__Captivity and return__Crucifixion and scatteringGathering to a choice land

conclusIon 105

The words of isaiah 107

isaIah passages 109Judah and Jerusalem 109

israeL’s crimes and punishmenTs 110The daughTers of Zion 113The vineyard 115woes 116isaiah’s caLL 119isaiah’s famiLy 120

King Ahaz receives a signIsaiah’s son

LighT and dark 123hand of anger sTreTched ouT 124assyria prospers 126assyria suffers 127israeL gaThered 129

burdens of The naTIons 131The Burden of BaByLon 131

The king of BabylonThe Burden of paLesTina 136

prophecy of nephI 138nephi prophesies in pLainness 138

The Jews 139The seed of lehI 142The genTIles 143

genTiLes smiTe The seed of Lehi 143churches and priesTcrafT 144BLindness and sTaggering 146The seaLed Book 147

The effects of the book

a greaT dIvIsIon 151corrupTed churches 151

The kingdom of the devilfighTing againsT The word of god 153BeLievers gaThered, wicked desTroyed 156

The words of nephi 158

The docTrIne of chrIsT 158The hoLy ghosT 160

conclusIon 161

The book of Jacob 163InTroducTIon 163

The Nephite kings

preachIng In The Temple 165The words of Jacob 166

pride and riches 167chasTiTy 168The LamaniTes 169

Jacob’s prophecy 171prophecy and pLainness 172

The olIve Trees 173firsT visiT 173

ObservationsPlansActions

second visiT 174ObservationsPlansActions

Third visiT 175ObservationsPlansActions

fourTh visiT 177ObservationsPlansActions

concLusion 181

prophecy of gaTherIng 182Call to repent

addendum 184sherem 184cLosing 186

The book of Enos 189enos prays 189enos preaches 191cLosing 191

The book of Jarom 193nephiTes and LamaniTes 193cLosing 194

The book of Omni 197omnI 197amaron 198chemIsh 198abInadom 198amalekI 199

mosiah1 deparTs To ZarahemLa 199BenJamin and The LamaniTes 200Zeniff’s coLony 201

The words of Mormon 203records 203king BenJamin 204

The book of Mosiah 207

ZarahemLa 208

kIng BenJamIn 208BenJamin’s sons 208

conferrIng The kIngdom 209procLamaTion To gaTher 209The words of BenJamin 211

Obeying the king 211Obeying the evil spirit 214The angel’s message 215

The people: Remission of sinsRetaining a remission of sins 218

The people: Willing to covenantThe name of Christ 221

consecraTing The new king 222

kIng mosIah 223The losT colony 223

ammon meeTs Limhi 224covenanT aT The TempLe 225The JarediTe record 227

The record of Zeniff 230

kIng ZenIff 230kIng laman I 231kIng laman II 232

kIng noah 235noah’s wickedness 235The LamaniTes aTTack 237

abInadI’s mInIsTry 237arresT 238The words of aBinadi aT his TriaL 240

Publishing peace__ 240The law of Moses 241Prophecies of the Messiah 244

1. God himself shall come down2. He shall bring to pass the resurrection

The judgment 249Closing 251

deaTh 251alma’s mInIsTry 253

aLma BapTiZes 253The church of chrisT 254deparTure 255

bondage 256

kIng LImhI 259LamaniTe daughTers Taken 259reBeLLion and defeaT 262

ammon_ 263The JarediTe record 264desires for BapTism 264deLiverance 265

accounT of aLma 267

helam 267bondage 268

amuLon Teaches The LamaniTes 270amuLon persecuTes aLma’s peopLe 271

delIverance 272

The new nephiTe naTion 273

unITIng The people 273mosiah reads records 273aLma₁ esTaBLishes The church of god 274

resolvIng dIvIsIons 275aLma₁ BLoTs ouT sinners’ names 275mosiah forBids persecuTion 277aLma₁ and mosiah’s sons 278mosiah’s sons preach To The LamaniTes 281

changIng The governmenT 282records and inTerpreTers 282mosiah discusses kings 283

Risks of appointing a king 284Righteous kingsWicked kings

Judges 285Closing 286

appoinTing Judges 287closIng 287

The book of Alma 293

The record of aLma 294

conTenTIons 294nehor’s aposTasy 294

priesTcrafT and persecuTion 296The church sTands fasT 296

amlIcI’s rebellIon 297amLici Takes up arms 298

Joined by LamanitesThe mark of The curse 301LamaniTe invasion 302

effecTs on The church 303affLicTion and BapTisms 303riches and pride 304aLma deLivers up The JudgemenT seaT 305

The words of alma 306zarahemla 306

The words of aLma 306Your fathers’ deliverance 306The judgment 307Conditions of repentance_ 308Testifying__authority__knowledge 310The Spirit of prophecy 310Wolves and sheep 311Closing 312

ouTcomes 312gIdeon 313

The words of aLma 313Joy over the righteousThe Redeemer comethWalking blamelessClosing

ouTcomes 316melek 317ammonIhah 317

iniTiaL reJecTion 317The words of aLma and amuLek 319

Alma: Repent 319Nephite accountabilityRepent

Amulek: Second witness 323The lawyers’ questioningAnswering Zeezrom’s questionsResurrection and judgment

Alma: Prepare 329Second deathEntering God's rest through the second commandmentsRepent now_

Outcomes 336The righteous killedThe prophets imprisoned

sIdom 339ouTcomes 341

ammonihah desTroyed 341esTaBLishmenT of The church 342

The sons of mosIah 344JourneyIngs of mosIah’s sons 345ammon’s Journeys 346

preserving The king’s fLocks 346The servanTs reporT 348ammon Teaches Lamoni 349

Doctrines 351conversions in ishmaeL 352Journey To middoni 356

Lamoni’s father 356Freeing Ammon’s brethren 358

aaron’s Journeys 359JerusaLem 359ani-anTi 360middoni 360furTher Journeys 360nephi 361

Ammon returns to Ishmael 361Doctrines 362Conversions 363The king’s proclamation 364

ciTy To ciTy 366The anTI-nephI-lehIes 367

counciL of defense 368King Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s words 368

Taking up our swordsBurying our swords

Covenant with God 370

conversions Through war 370Taking vengeace 371

righTeous LamaniTes 372inheriTing Jershon 377LamaniTes aTTack Jershon 379

summary 380

The ZoramITes 384korIhor 384

ammon in Jershon 385giddonah in gideon 385aLma in ZarahemLa 387ouTcomes 389

The zoramITes 389Zoramite prayersAlma’s prayer

The poor ZoramiTes 393Alma: Faith and perfect knowledge 393

__How to worshipWorship anywhereWorship the Son

Amulek: The infinite atonement 399ReviewThe great and last sacrificeWorks of repentanceSubject to the devilConclusion: Patience

ouTcomes 403

The commandmenTs of alma 405To helaman 405

aLma’s conversion 405inheriTing sacred Things 408

The records 408The interpreters 410The Liahona 412

To shIblon 413To corIanTon 414

corianTon’s crimes 414The firsT resurrecTion_ 415

Declaring glad tidingsAll will rise

Between death and resurrectionDefinition of resurrectionTiming of the resurrection

resToraTion 418The faLL 420

Justice and the fallMercy and the atonement

concLusion 422preachIng The word 423

war beTween nephITes and LamanITes 424aTTackIng Jershon 425aTTackIng manTI 426

moroni prepares 426The BaTTLe 427

The record of heLaman 433

aLma’s finaL words 433ProphecyBlessingsDeparture

amalIckIah’s rebellIon 436dIssenTIng from The nephITes 436

amaLickiah gaThers Lower Judges 437moroni gaThers chrisTians 437amaLickiahiTes fLee 439

JoInIng The lamanITes 441BeTraying LehonTi 441BeTraying The king 443inciTing The LamaniTes 444moroni prepares The nephiTes 445

fIrsT InvasIon 447ammonihah 447noah 448

reacTIons 450forTificaTions 450

dIssensIons 453morIanTon 453kIng-men 455

aLTering The Law 455refusing To Take up arms 456

war By The easT sea 458amalIckIah Takes many cITIes 458ammoron maInTaIns The cITIes 460

regaining muLek 461prisoners LaBor 464

cITIes by The wesT sea Taken 464peopLe of ammon 465

exchangIng prIsoners 467regaining gid 469prisoners LaBor 471

war by The wesT sea 473JoInIng The army of anTIpus 474regaInIng anTIparah 476

sTripLings in BaTTLe 476afTermaTh 478

regaInIng cumenI 479prisoner reBeLLion 480

regaInIng manTI 482difficuLT circumsTances 482sTraTagem 483

closIng 485

vIcTory 488requesTIng aId from zarahemla 489

moroni wriTes To pahoran 489Fears and suspicionsPlans

pahoran answers moroni 493Recent eventsPlansClosing

regaInIng every cITy 495regaining ZarahemLa 495regaining nephihah 496regaining Lehi, oTher ciTies, and moroni 498

peace 499Outcomes

The record of shIblon 500hagoTh 500records 501

The book of Helaman 503

wars and dissensions 504

orIgIn of The gadIanTons 504appoinTing a chief Judge 504moronihah repeLs LamaniTes 505gadianTons fLee heLaman 507

prIde and weakness 509inheriTing The Land norThward 509peace and prosperiTy 511

nephI reIgns 512LamaniTes capTure haLf The Land 513reasons 514

nephI and lehI preach 515To nephiTes Beginning in BounTifuL 516To LamaniTes in ZarahemLa 517To LamaniTes in nephi 517

lamanITe converTs 519preaching in The Land norThward 520

rIpenIng for desTrucTIon 521universaL prosperiTy 521

gadIanTon’s band 522secreT comBinaTions 523gadianTons in The governmenT 524

prophecies 526

nephI₂’s prophecy 526nephI₂ prays 526nephI₂ preaches 527

coming woes 527Audience response 529

propheTs who TesTified 530The chief Judge’s deaTh 531

nephI₂’s TrIal 532nephI₂’s revelaTIon 534

The work of desTrucTIon 537wars, famine, and repenTance 537gadianTons in The wiLderness 539

samuel’s prophecy 543repenT 543

The angel’s messageSamuel’s words

signs 547Sign of his comingSign of his deathAccountability

reponses To samueL 552responses To signs 552

Third Nephi 557sign of coming 557

greaT and TerriBLe _desTrucTion 560

gadIanTon robbers 560wickedness 561

gadIanTon war 561giddianhi inTimidaTes 562Lachoneus prepares 564giddianhi aTTacks 566Zemnarihah Besieges and reTreaTs 567

LehITes perIsh 572prosperiTy and inequaLiTy 572propheTs and chief Judge murdered 573TriBaL divisions 574nephi’s minisTry 576

wIcked desTroyed 577desTrucTion and darkness 577

voice 579Destruction for the wickedRedemption for the more righteousI will gather you

Jesus chrisT’s minisTry 584

The fIrsT day 584The Lord appears 584

sayIngs of Jesus 586The docTrine of chrisT 586sermon aT The TempLe 587

Promises 587The law 589

Murder and angerAdultery and lustDivorceOathsEye for eyeLoving your enemies

Hypocrites 592Two masters

To the disciples 593To the multitude 594

The way to lifeConclusion

Law of moses 595The gaThering of israeL, parT 1 596

The Father’s commandment 596Prophecy of the latter day 597

Micah sees the gentiles troddenIsaiah sees Israel gathered

acTs of Jesus 599heaLings and BLessings 600sacramenT 601

To the disciplesTo the multitudeTo the disciples

deparTure 604

The second day 605receiving The hoLy ghosT 605

acTs of Jesus 606prayer 606sacramenT 608

sayIngs of Jesus 608The gaThering of israeL, parT 2 608

The Father’s commandment 608Prophecy of the latter day 609

Micah sees the gentiles troddenChrist fulfills the Abrahamic covenantIsaiah sees Israel gathered

The sign of gathering 612The gentiles’ choice 614

Micah sees the gentiles trodden and cut offIsaiah sees the gentiles assist in gathering Israel

Closing 618The fuLfiLLmenT of samueL’s prophecy 618maLachi’s words 619expounding aLL scripTure 622

The ThIrd day 623

The dIscIples’ mInIsTry 625The name of The church 625

The gospel of ChristJudged from books___

The Three discipLes 628receive The Lord’s sayings 631

Fourth Nephi 633The chIldren of chrIsT 633

firsT generaTion of discipLes 634dIvIsIons 635

greaT division 636records 637

The book of Mormon 639

wriTings of mormon 640

war in ZarahemLa 641wickedness 641

reTreaT To The land norThward 642driven ouT 642roBBery and sorrow in Joshua 642records in Jashon 643vicTory in shem 644

TreaTy In The land norThward 645mormon refuses command in desoLaTion 645fLeeing and regaining desoLaTion 647fLeeing and regaining desoLaTion and Teancum 648

swepT off 648mormon resumes command in Jordan 649desTrucTion aT cumorah 651

words for The remnanT 653

wriTings of moroni 655

hisToricaL summary 655receiving This record 656__The LasT days 657

__admonITIons 658To BeLievers in chrisT 658To unBeLievers 659To deniers of gifTs and miracLes 660

conclusIon 662

The book of Ether 663geneaLogy 663

The broTher of Jared 665The greaT Tower 665TraveLs 666

morIancumer’s vIsIon 668BuiLding Barges 668The Lord Touches The sTones 669The Lord shows aLL Things 671

Journey 675ocean crossing 676promised Land 676

kIngs 678rIghTeous kIngs 678

orihah 678kiB 678shuLe 679

Divided countryProphets

omer 680Jared rebels and returnsAkish and Jared’s daughterOmer preserved and restored

emer 685corianTum 685

curse of famIne and serpenTs 686com 686heTh 686sheZ 687ripLakish 687morianTon 688kim 688Levi 688corom 689kish 689LiB 689

capTIvITy and prophecIes 690hearThom 690heTh 690aaron 690amnigaddah 690corianTum 690com 690shiBLom 691seTh 691ahah 691eThem 692moron 692corianTor 692

eTher 694prophecies 694casT ouT 699

rebels 700shared 700giLead 701LiB 701shiZ 702

Swept off in wrath 702Offering the kingdom 703Final battle at Ogath 704

eTher’s wITness 706

The book of Moroni 709church pracTIces 710

giving The hoLy ghosT 710ordaining 710adminisTering The fLesh and BLood 711BapTiZing 711church meeTings 712

sayIngs of mormon 713faITh, hope, and charITy 713

Ye may judge 713The way to judge 714

FaithHopeCharity

bapTIzIng lITTle chIldren 717Alive in Christ 718

__Little children____They without law__

Closing 720war counsel 720

Laboring with the hardenedSufferings and depravityMoroni’s task

exhorTaTIon 723To The LamaniTes 723

The gifts of GodTo The ends of The earTh 725

xxvii

Helaman 4:15–5:3

Introduction

The Book of Mormon is a book of scripture containing the writings of prophets of God Just as the Bible is a record of God’s interactions with ancient peoples in the Old World, the Book of Mormon is a record of God’s interactions with ancient peoples in the New World It contains many vital doctrines and revealed principles that are important for God’s children in today’s world

[more explanations]

As with other books of scripture, people who read the Book of Mor-mon sincerely and prayerfully will come to know of its truth and applica-bility to their lives It is an important testimony of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, his gracious plan to grant us eternal life, and the saving role of his Church and his prophets in the latter days

xxviii

Helaman 4:15–5:3

Using the Structured Edition

The purpose of the Structured Edition of the scriptures is to portray the inherent textual organization of the various books in the standard works of the Church Through various typographical features, the intent has been to visually reinforce and highlight the original authors’ outline and structure Hopefully this enables readers, especially new-comers, to quickly orient themselves and more readily glean insights and spiritual principles when reading the scriptures

The scriptural text itself has not been altered; it is identical to the standard authorized text published by the Church Changes have only been made through adjusting the layout or the non-scriptural text such as head-ings or verse numbers Several features have been used to illustrate the scriptures’ organization, which are explained below (for a brief summary, see Figure 1: Features of the Structured Edition)

Conventional chapters and verses

The original authors of the scriptures did not use chapter or verse numbers; they were added later—in many cases, centuries later They can be very useful in locating specific passages, so they have been included here The text itself is set in paragraphs, ignoring verse breaks, but the verse numbers are superscripted inline with the rest of the text (e g , 16) The chapter numbers have been placed in the margins The running footers at the bottom of the page contain references to quickly locate passages or see what verses are found on each page

Footnotes

Footnotes were generally limited to instances where the writer seems to expect the reader to know or recall something mentioned elsewhere in the text Examples include prophecies or promises and their fulfillments; commandments and cases where they are obeyed or disobeyed; the source of a quote, reference, or allusion; previous events which the writer explictly refers to; etc For a key to the abbreviations used throughout the footnotes, see Figure 2: Abbreviations and Textual Conventions

xxix

Helaman 4:15–5:3

Poetry

Various scripture editions use differing (and in some ways admit-tedly subjective) criteria for when a passage should be considered poetry, and thus set in poetic lines In the Structured Edition, generally speaking, passages were set as poetry when there was clear, extended parallelism or rhetorical structure, and when doing so contributed to, and did not detract from, making the larger literary structure evident (e g , the chiastic ele-ment of D&C 76:89–98)

Heading divisions

Multiple levels of headings have been added to help readers keep track of the context of each passage The various heading levels illustrate major and minor divisions in the structure of a book, which can be seen perhaps most clearly in the table of contents The highest levels of headings are also referenced at the top of each page, much like the title of a chapter in a novel In the Doctrine and Covenants, each section or declaration has been given a title based on its content

Colored dialogue

Whenever a person speaks or quotes someone else, the scriptural text is colored This can help readers know at a glance whether a spoken pas-sage will last for two sentences or two pages It also helps, when looking up a specific verse, to remind the reader of the context—who is speaking, and to whom In cases where multiple speakers are interacting (such as one prophet quoting another, or the Lord conversing with several people), multiple colors are used Apart from cases where exceptions are necessary in order to portray a complex spoken exchange, the colors are generally used in the following ways:

• Divinebeings (God the Father, Jesus Christ, or angels) are indicated with blue text Adivinebeingquotinganotherdivingbeing is indi-cated with purple text (e g , Jesus Christ quoting the Father)

• Prophets (or other kinds of representatives or servants of God) are indicated with green text Aprophetquotinganotherprophet is indi-cated with purple text (e g , Peter quoting Moses)

• Miscellaneousspeakers are indicated with red text Amiscellaneousspeaker quoting another miscellaneous speaker is indicated with purple text (e g , __)

xxx

Helaman 4:15–5:3

Figure 1: Features of the Structured Edition

Doctrine and Covenants 45:10–17

The doctrine and covenants 9 Part 2: Ohio

way before me 10Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning

Prophecies of the day of the Lord11Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my

wisdom—the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his brethren, 12Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myselfa—a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come—a day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations; 13And confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth; 14But obtained a promise that they should find it and see it in their flesh 15Wherefore, hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old

Signs of his coming16And I will show it plainly as I showed it unto my disciples

as I stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them,b saying: As ye have asked of me concerning the signs of my coming, in the day when I shall come in my glory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfil the promises that I have made unto your fathers, 17For as ye have looked upon the long absence of your spirits from your bodies to be a bondage, I will show unto you how the day of redemption shall

JS–M 1:1–48Matt. 24:1–44

a12 Gen __; Moses __ The Moses passages had been received as part of the Joseph Smith Translation ___ months earlier

b16 Matt 24–25 (Mark __; Luke __) The Savior’s words in D&C 45:18–46 parallel the text of Matt 24:1–33 (and JS–M 1:__), with changes in wording and order

c17 This question is addressed at verse 46

Parallel passages are indicated by colored bars, so you can see when a lengthy passage is repeated else-where in the scriptures

Running headers repeat the title of the current segment of the book, orienting you in the same way the headers of a novel repeat the chapter titles

Limited footnotes highlight connections such as prophecies and their fulfillments or sources of quotes

Multiple levels of headings portray the book’s intrinsic struc-ture

Colored dialogue shows when some-one is speaking, how long the speech lasts, and whether the speaker is the Lord, a prophet, etc

Timelines portray how much time elapsed between rev-elations

84

Timeline: Sections 41–56

February–June 1831

383940

1831 1832

4142a 46

42b4344

45

4748

4950

51

5253545556

5758

59606162

6364

65666768

6970

7172

xxxi

Helaman 4:15–5:3

Doctrine and Covenants 98:46–99:8

The redemption of Zion

and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hun-dred-fold; 46And upon his children, and upon his children’s children of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation

47But if the children shall repent, or the children’s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed, or their fathers’ fathers, then thine indignation shall be turned away; 48And ven-geance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them Amen

John Murdock29 August 1832 9 Hiram, Ohio

1Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Murdock—thou art called to go into the eastern countries from house to house, from village to village, and from city to city, to pro-claim mine everlasting gospela unto the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of persecution and wickedness 2And who receiveth you receiveth me; and you shall have power to declare my word in the demonstration of my Holy Spirit 3And who receiveth you as a little child, receiveth my kingdom; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain mercy 4And whoso rejecteth you shall be rejected of my Father and his house; and you shall cleanse your feet in the secret places by the way for a testimony against them b 5And behold, and lo, I come quickly to judgment, to convince all of their ungodly deeds which they have committed against me, as it is written of me in the volume of the book c

6And now, verily I say unto you, that it is not expedient that you should go until your children are provided for, and sent up kindly unto the bishop of Zion d 7And after a few years, if thou desirest of me, thou mayest go up also unto the goodly land, to possess thine inheritance; 8Otherwise thou shalt continue proclaiming my gospel until thou be taken Amen

99

a1 Previously commanded to serve a mission a year earlier at D&C 52:8–10 b4 Commanded at D&C ___ c5 Written at ___??? d6 __ was called to be the bishop of Zion __ earlier at D&C __

D&C 84

D&C 83

D&C 100

205

Paragraph breaks occur at natural points, grouping related ideas

Verse numbers are placed in super-script in-line with the text, so they can still be used to locate a passage but they don’t interrupt the flow of reading

Modern chapter and verse ranges are included in the foot-ers to allow quick reference and continuity with other editions

Digressions from the main narrative are set in shaded boxes, such as topical interludes or chronological inser-tions

Chronology markers allow you to read the scriptures in chrono-logical order rather than sequential order

Section numbers are enlarged and accom-panied by a unique section title, as well as the date and place of reception

xxxii

Helaman 4:15–5:3

This scheme is only generally applicable, though, and there are plenty of exceptions (e g , when two miscellaneous people are speaking to each other) The main purpose of using different colors is to show when the speaker changes; the color key above should never be taken as a doctrinal interpretation

Shaded boxes

Occasionally the writer of a scriptural book will pause their message in order to explain an idea or recount an earlier event These digressions have been placed in shaded boxes to help readers see how long they last and, once the digression comes to an end, quickly review what was hap-pening before the digression began

Topicaldigressions(explanations) are red These are often used to help make sense of long, complex sentences that temporarily deviate from the original thought (e g , D&C 84:5–32)

Chronologicaldigressions(flashbacks or flashforwards) are yellow These boxes are used to show when a section or passage comes out of chronologi-cal order (e g , D&C 1; 102:30–32)

Nested digressions of the same type (e g , a flashback within a flashback) are white (e g , D&C 68:16–21)

Chronology markers

When the section numbers were assigned to the individual revela-tions printed in the Doctrine and Covenants, because of incomplete his-torical records and other reasons, some of the sections were numbered out of their chronological order Likewise, several sections overlap in both time and content with the historical narrative found in Joseph Smith—His-tory If readers desire to read the standard works in chronological order, they can follow the chronology markers which are placed to the right of the text whenever an alternate sequence is possible There are three kinds of markers:

To. Indicating a “jumping off point” to follow the narrative into another passage For example, at the end of chronological digres-sions such as D&C 99 (leading to section 84)

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From. Indicating a “landing point” that comes from some other pas-sage For example, at the beginning of chronological digressions such as D&C 99 (coming from section 83) Interlude. Indicating a point of both departure and return, for momentarily leaving the current narrative in order to follow a “detour” and then come back For example, at the end of D&C 83 (leading to section 99, which then returns to the same point from which it left)

A chronology marker’s insertion point is at the beginning or ending of the paragraph it is attached to

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the chronology markers are used in conjunction with Joseph Smith—History and the Articles of Faith to allow people to read the three books together in chronological order The proper sequence is summarized in the diagram found in Appendix 2: Chronologi-cal Reading Map

Parallel passage bars

Sometimes two separate passages have strong similarities, in some cases being nearly identical When two passages are long enough and have sufficient similarities to each other, they are considered “parallel passages,” and a vertical bar is placed at the far right of the text with references to the other passage (e g , D&C 45:16–46) These parallel passage bars are also used for lengthy quotations (e g , 2 Ne 12–24) Different colors are used for the bars mainly to distinguish one from the other In the footnotes, references to a set of parallel passages are separated by a slash (e g , Matt 4:1–11 / Luke 4:1–13)

Timelines

Near the beginning of each major division (like “chapters” in a novel) is a timeline depicting when the various revelations were received Most of the section numbers are grey, but the red section numbers are those sec-tions found in that timeline’s “chapter,” or time period Sections whose exact day is uncertain are italicized, and those whose exact month is uncertain are light red Blue section numbers are those sections which were received in that same time frame, but whose numbering places them in other parts of the volume (sections 1, 74, 99, the second half of 107, 133, 134, and 137) These “highly unchronological” section numbers are also colored blue in the table of contents

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Figure 2: Abbreviations and textual conventionsOldTestamentGen GenesisEx ExodusLev LeviticusNum NumbersDeut DeuteronomyJosh JoshuaJudg JudgesRuth Ruth1 Sam 1 Samuel2 Sam 2 Samuel1 Kgs 1 Kings2 Kgs 2 Kings1 Chr 1 Chronicles2 Chr 2 ChroniclesEzra EzraNeh NehemiahEsth EstherJob JobPs PsalmsProv ProverbsEccl EcclesiastesSong Song of SolomonIsa IsaiahJer JeremiahLam LamentationsEzek EzekielDan DanielHosea HoseaJoel JoelAmos AmosObad ObadiahJonah JonahMicah MicahNahum NahumHab HabakkukZeph ZephaniahHag HaggaiZech ZechariahMal Malachi

NewTestamentMatt MatthewMark MarkLuke LukeJohn JohnActs Acts of the

ApostlesRom Romans1 Cor 1 Corinthians2 Cor 2 CorinthiansGal GalatiansEph EphesiansPhilip PhilippiansCol Colossians1 Thes 1 Thessalonians2 Thes 2 Thessalonians1 Tim 1 Timothy2 Tim 2 TimothyTitus TitusPhilem PhilemonHeb HebrewsJames James1 Pet 1 Peter2 Pet 2 Peter1 Jn 1 John2 Jn 2 John3 Jn 3 JohnJude JudeRev Revelation

e g for examplei e in other words;

that isc f compare

BookofMormon1 Ne 1 Nephi2 Ne 2 NephiJacob JacobEnos EnosJarom JaromOmni OmniWofM Words of

MormonMosiah MosiahAlma AlmaHel Helaman3 Ne 3 Nephi4 Ne 4 NephiMorm MormonEther EtherMoro Moroni

DoctrineandCovenantsD&C Doctrine and

CovenantsOD Official

Declaration

PearlofGreatPriceMoses MosesAbr AbrahamJS–M Joseph Smith—

MatthewJS–H Joseph Smith—

HistoryAofF The Articles of

Faith

JST Joseph Smith Translation

Some references contain an apostrophe; the apostrophe indicates that the preceding number is the last verse in its chapter, or the last chapter in its book For example, the refer-ence Ps. 23:4–6’ means “Psalm 23, from verse 4 to the end of the psalm ” Likewise, you can tell from the reference Mark 11–16’ that the book of Mark has a total of 16 chapters

References separated by a slash are parallel passages (e g , Matt 4:1–11 / Luke 4:1–13)

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Conclusion

When applying all these features, in some cases there were two or more possible ways of interpreting the text For example, some passages do not lend themselves easily to being subdivided by headings; in some cases it is unclear when a speaker has stopped talking or a topical digressions has ended; some shorter passages could be considered parallels but have not been marked as such, and the minimum length requirement is admittedly a bit subjective All of these features were applied in an attempt to discern and portray the original author’s intent in a way that is clear to readers, but errors are surely present Ultimately, such features cannot replace a detailed study of the scriptural text itself

As stated, the goal of this edition is to let the authors’s textual orga-nization speak for itself (or, to draw attention to that organization through typographical features), while avoiding interpreting the text as much as pos-sible Of course, as soon as an editor begins drawing boundaries between passages and naming them, a degree of interpretation begins, however small However, since the chapter and verse breaks of traditional editions also implicitly involve some interpretation as well, the features of this edi-tion do not introduce interpretation where none existed before Rather, they offer an alternative framework to the one that already existed Both frameworks are best used when treated as a window to the text itself, which is more important than the formatting surrounding it In other words, just as readers sometimes need to ignore traditional chapter and verse breaks in order to gain an insight about the text, they may occasionally need to do the same with the features of the Structured Edition

Someone else combing through the text to put in their own para-graph breaks and headings might choose different divisions and different phrasing Such discrepancies are not problems, but rather fascinating start-ing points from which to launch a vibrant discussion about the scriptures My hope is that this exercise of organizing the scriptural text be used as a conversation-starter about the Lord’s words, to get people “speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut 11:19)

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The book of MormonAn 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, who are a rem-nant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy 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 interpre-tation thereof—

Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the 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, who 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 show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what 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 are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, con-demn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judg-ment-seat of Christ

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Helaman 4:15–5:3

1 NephiThe first book of NephiHis reign and ministryAn account of Lehi and his wife Sariah and his four sons, being called, (begin-ning at the eldest) Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life. He taketh three days’ journey into the wilderness with his family. Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings. They take the daughters of Ishmael to wife. They take their families and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflic-tions in the wilderness. The course of their travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi’s brethren rebel against him. He confoundeth them, and build-eth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters into the promised land, and so forth. This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record.

I

The small plaTes of Nephi

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Helaman 4:15–5:3

The record of lehi

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflic-tions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the good-ness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days 2Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which con-sists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians 3And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge

Lehi’s vision4For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the

reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jeru-salem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jeru-salem must be destroyed 5Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people 6And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard

Section1:17After I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life

19:1I did engraven the record of my father

1

Account2 Kgs. 25:___

More informationProphets who were preaching at about this time include:• Jeremiah• Urijah (Jer. 26:20–23)• Habbakuk?• Nahum?

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Helaman 4:15–5:3

much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly

7And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen 8And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God 9And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day 10And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament 11And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read

12And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord 13And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon

14And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as:

Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!

Thy throne is high in the heavens,

and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth;

and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!

15And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God;

for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled,

because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him

Fulfilled2 Kgs. _:_

Similar phrasingRev. 15:31I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues;     3saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints

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Helaman 4:15–5:3

16And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account 17But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life

StructureRecord of my father 1 Ne. 1–9Account of my life 1 Ne. 10–22

18Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard 19And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world 20And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance 1For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him:

Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done;

and because thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee,

behold, they seek to take away thy life 2And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the  wilderness

The valley of Lemuel3And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord,

wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him 4And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness