New Approaches to the Book of Mormon

Brent Lee Metcalfe, editor

Chapter 10.

The Priority of Mosiah:

A Prelude to Book of Mormon Exegesis

Brent Lee Metcalfe

[T]he last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

—1 NEPHI 13:42 (Matthew 20:16)

‘”Oh, my God!’ said Joseph, clinching his hands. ‘All is lost! all is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned—it is I who tempted the wrath of God'” (L. Smith 1853, 121). Such was Joseph Smith’s anguish when he learned that the text of his recently dictated Book of Lehi, totaling some 116 pages,1 had been stolen. Book of Mormon students have only recently begun to appreciate the effect this event had on the subsequent development of the Book of Mormon.

The year 1828 was bittersweet for the Smiths. That spring Joseph had begun dictating his native American history, and Emma, his wife of one year, was expecting their first child. By mid-June the twenty-two-year-old had dictated a sizable portion of the narrative to scribe Martin Harris. Reluctantly acquiescing to Harris’s pleas that he show [p.396] the document to his skeptical wife and others, Smith obtained divine permission and loaned him the manuscript. Shortly after Harris’s departure Emma gave birth to a son who died that day, whom the grieving couple may have named Alvin, after Joseph’s deceased older brother.2 Joseph kept a constant vigil as Emma’s health fluctuated for the next two weeks. With Emma’s encouragement Joseph then left Harmony, Pennsylvania, for Manchester, New York, to retrieve the manuscript from his scribe.

Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother, described the encounter. “[Harris] entered the house,” she recalled. “Mr. Harris pressed his hands upon his temples, and cried out, in a tone of deep anguish, ‘Oh, I have lost my soul! I have lost my soul.'” Joseph responded, ‘”I should have been satisfied with the first answer I received from the Lord; for he told me that it was not safe to let the writing go out of my possession.’ He wept and groaned, and walked the floor continually.” The entire family was bereft. “[S]obs and groans, and the most bitter lamentations filled the house” (L. Smith 1853, 120-21). Fortunately, Joseph was reassured that the dictation would continue (D&C 3). The plates providentially contained two beginnings (10:38-45), and Smith would not have to replicate the missing document verbatim (vv. 10ff).

These details are familiar to students of the Book of Mormon. Less certain is the section of the Book of Mormon narrative at which Smith resumed dictation. Did he recommence where the Book of Lehi had left off—at Mosiah—then dictate 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon last—which replaced the Book of Lehi? Did he begin with Words of Mormon? Or did he start with 1 Nephi, dictating the document in the same order as in current printed editions of the Book of Mormon? Interpretation of key Book of Mormon passages depends on which view one subscribes to (cf. Welch and Rathbone 1986, 1). It also affects one’s understanding of the dictation history and sheds light on Smith’s role in the volume’s production. Consequently, resolving the order of dictation is an important prelude to any critical Book of Mormon exegesis.

Scholars have posited three principal solutions: the priority of 1 Nephi, the priority of Words of Mormon, or the priority of Mosiah.3

1. The Priority of 1 Nephi. This model theorizes that following the [p.397] loss of the Book of Lehi, Smith dictated in order the books of 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, Moroni, and finished with the Title Page. Proponents of this model include Ivan J. Barrett (1973, 86-88), Fawn M. Brodie (1971, 55, 57), Paul R. Cheesman (1973, 51-55), Richard O. Cowan (1984, 31), Francis W. Kirkham (1942, 222-25), and John J. Stewart (1966, 26-27).

The primary support for 1 Nephi priority is based on what I believe is a superficial reading of Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 10. Verses 38-45 relate that an alternate version of the stolen portion would be found on the “plates of Nephi.” Verse 46 describes how the overlapping material on the plates of Nephi relates to Mormon’s abridgment. Some writers interpret these verses as a dictation chronology directive (Stewart 1966, 26-27; Brodie 1971, 55, 57; Barrett 1973, 86-88; Cowan 1984, 31), but nothing in D&C 10 calls for such a reading. It merely clarifies how Smith will replace the beginning portion at some point.

Currently the feasibility of 1 Nephi priority is doubtful.4 To remain a viable solution, 1 Nephi prioritists must provide more convincing data and deal with mounting evidence confirming Mosian priority.

2. The Priority of Words of Mormon. This sequence allows for three possibilities in the dictation chronology. It envisions Smith proceeding with Words of Mormon, Mosiah, perhaps 1 Nephi-Omni (the small plates of Nephi), Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, possibly 1 Nephi-Omni, 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, Moroni, the Title Page, and 1 Nephi-Omni, if not previously dictated. That three variations for 1 Nephi-Omni are possible is apparent in its chief proponent’s uncertainty toward the dating of D&C 10 (Reynolds 1884, 361) and his observation that following dictation of Words of Mormon and Mosiah that “there is no evidence at the command of the writer by which he can tell whether they at once went to work on the plates of Nephi [1 Ne.-Omni] or left them to a later date” (365). Turn-of-the-century Book of Mormon scholar George Reynolds noted that “[i]t is held by some” that Smith resumed the dictation “at that part known to us as ‘The Words of Mormon'” (364). Reynolds did not say to whom the “some” referred, but was clearly sympathetic to this chronology (365).5

[p.398] In Reynolds’s opinion D&C 10:41 implies that Smith retained a segment of the Book of Lehi beginning with a discussion of King Benjamin. Reynolds deduced that since Words of Mormon mentioned Benjamin’s rule (1:10ff), Smith must have resumed dictation with “the reign of king Benjamin” (D&C 10:41) in Words of Mormon and Mosiah (1884, 365). Three observations undermine this argument. First, the initial account of Benjamin’s inauguration comes prior to Words of Mormon in Omni 1:23-25 (cf. W of M 1:3). Second, the key phrase in D&C 10:41—”down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or”—is absent in Smith’s 1830 Book of Mormon Preface and is undoubtedly a later addition (see the Appendix, Example 2). Third, Words of Mormon is the completion of Mormon’s writings and an addendum to 1 Nephi-Omni (W of M 1:1-9). Still Reynolds is correct when he claims that Words of Mormon also serves as “a kind of preface to the abridgment made by Mormon” (1884, 364).6

3. The Priority of Mosiah. Scholars maintaining Mosian priority, the most widely held solution, ordinarily theorize that Smith resumed with Mosiah followed by Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, Moroni, Title Page, 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, and finally Words of Mormon. Advocates for this theory include Hyrum L. Andrus (1966, 124; 1968, 89-90), Edward H. Ashment (in this compilation), Richard L. Bushman (1984, 99, 223n67), Church Educational System curriculum writers (CES 1989, 59), Edwin J. Firmage (1992), Arthur Glen Foster, Jr. (1983, i, 48-53, 83, 205, 244-45, 252-55), the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS 1987, 1:xi), Kenneth W. Godfrey (1988, 11-12), Dean C. Jessee (1970, 277-78), Stan Larson (1974, 16-20; 1977, 87-88), Dale L. Morgan (Walker 1986, 309-10), Max J. Parkin (1979, 69-70, 76, 84), Jerald and Sandra [p.399] Tanner (1989; 1990, 32-37), John A. Tvedtnes (1991, 202; 1992, 223),7 Dan Vogel (1988, 124n37), Wesley P. Walters (1990, 90, 93-94), John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone (1986, 1, 17, 21-22, 26-28, 33-39; 1992a, 212; 1992b, 2-4, 8; see also Welch 1988, 46-47; 1990, 130-31, 134), and Robert John Woodford (1974, 203-204).

A Revision of Mosian Priority

Mosian priority offers the best solution to the dictation question but in several instances for reasons other than those traditionally advanced. My essay thus augments and refines previous Mosian priority studies, while hopefully offering fresh insights into Book of Mormon authorship and historicity.

Before discussing my reasons for Mosian priority, I will consider three arguments for this position which I believe are historically unreliable.8 Some proponents of Mosian priority have pointed to Book of Mormon scribe Oliver Cowdery’s 14 June 1829 letter to Joseph Smith’s brother Hyrum as evidence. Supposedly the letter reflects Moroni 8 theology that baptism should be administered only to those of accountable age (Welch and Rathbone 1986, 36 [cf. 26]) and thus implies that Moroni—the last book—was transcribed prior to the end of dictation in early July. Direction of literary dependence is always difficult to establish, but in this case Cowdery clearly depends on a June 1829 revelation published in the 1833 Book of Commandments (BoC) XV:46(//D&C 18:42), not Moroni 8.9 Some scholars also believe that Book of Mormon passages [p.400] mentioning three special witnesses support Mosian priority. Tradition holds that “[al]most immediately” following Smith’s dictation of either Ether 5:2-4 or 2 Nephi 27:12-13, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris asked to be witnesses (Smith et al. 1978, 1:52[-53]). The various manuscript drafts and initial publication of Smith’s history10 leave a blank spot in the narrative where the later History of the Church (Smith et al. 1978, 1:52) includes reference to both passages. Whichever the passage, according to this account the verses would have been dictated toward the end of the project in June 1829 and served as the impetus for calling Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris.

A later handwritten notation dating from the 1850s in the manuscript history (Book A-1) refers specifically to 2 Nephi 27 (Jessee 1989, 295; Welch and Rathbone 1986, 34), placing dictation of this chapter in June, favoring Mosian priority (see Godfrey 1988, 12; Larson 1977, 88; Welch and Rathbone 1986, 27-28, 33-34). Defending this position Hyrum L. Andrus (1968, 90) has observed that if 2 Nephi 27:12-13 were dictated earlier—for instance, in April 1829—appearance of three witnesses in Ether 5:2-4 two months later would not have been a fresh idea, but, assuming Mosian priority, 2 Nephi would have been dictated only a few weeks after Ether.

Other factors indicate the History of the Church account, an after-the-fact creation, is not historically reliable. The idea of three witnesses in either 2 Nephi or Ether was not novel. In March 1829 Smith had already been instructed that three witnesses would be appointed (D&C 5:11-15), and Martin Harris, one of the revelation’s addressees, knew of its content before June 1829. It is improbable that either Book of Mormon reference would have provoked the interest in the selection of the three witnesses described in the History of the Church.

When and where Smith dictated the narrative mentioning Jerusalem’s “walls,” which has also been used to support Mosian priority, is more difficult to answer definitively. In 1875 David Whitmer, interviewed for The Chicago Times, said: “So illiterate was Joseph at that time [during the dictation] … that he didn’t even know that Jerusalem was a walled city” (7 Aug. 1875). Whitmer reiterated his story a decade later that “[i]n translating the characters Smith, who was illiterate and but little versed in Biblical lore … did not even know that Jerusalem was a walled city” (The Chicago Tribune, 17 Dec. 1885; reprinted in The Saints’ Herald 33 [2 Jan. 1886]: 13). Again in November 1886, Whitmer related “that Smith was [so] ignorant of the Bible that when translating he first came to where Jerusalem was spoken of as a ‘Walled City’ he [p.401] stopped until they got a Bible & showed him where the fact was recorded—Smith not believing it was a walled city” (in Kimball 1974, 486).11 If Whitmer personally witnessed the event this would place dictation of 1 Nephi 4:4-5—”they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem … [and they hid] without the walls”—after Smith’s relocation to the Whitmer’s Fayette, New York, farm in June 1829, a date suitable for a Mosian priority sequence (Godfrey 1988, 12; Larson 1977, 88).

Emma Smith’s reminiscence of what appears to be the same episode complicates this interpretation. Edmond C. Briggs recounted in 1884 how Emma told him in the winter of 1856 of “Joseph’s limited education while he was translating the Book of Mormon, and she acted as scribe at the time … [O]ne time while translating, where it speaks of the walls of Jerusalem, he stopped and said ‘Emma, did Jerusalem have walls surrounding it.’ When [Emma] informed him it had, he replied, ‘O, I thought I was deceived'” (Briggs 1884, 396; cf. Briggs 1916, 454). If Emma were transcribing her husband’s dictation when he discovered Jerusalem’s walls, the incident would have occurred prior to June 1829.

Whitmer remarked in an interview that Emma came to the Whitmer farm in June 1829 and inscribed a portion of the dictation, at first glance corroborating Mosian priority (Deseret Evening News, 25 Mar. 1884, in Porter 1971, 238). But the transcription of 1 Nephi 4:4-5 in O seems to be in John Whitmer’s handwriting, not Emma’s (Jessee 1970, 273). Joseph Knight related that when Smith “Began to translate [the Book of Lehi] he … had no one to write for him But his wife” (Jessee 1976, 35). However, Knight’s reliability ebbs when he next has Cowdery arriving a year too early, prior to completion of the 116 pages (ibid.), though he subsequently specifies the date was “the spring of 1829” (Jessee 1976, 36). Clearly there are enough uncertainties in the story to conclude that Smith’s reference to a fortified Jerusalem cannot presently aid in resolving the dictation order.

Historical Evidence

As we have already seen, those who maintain that Smith resumed work on the Book of Mormon at 1 Nephi have constructed a chronology from the revelation describing how he was to replace the missing manuscript (D&C 10:38-46). However, the introduction to this revelation provides a more promising framework for a dictation chronology. After being chastised by God for lending the Book of Lehi to a “wicked [p.402] man” (v. 1), Smith is told to use the “gift” the Lord has returned to him to “continue unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun” (vv. 2-3, emphasis added). This implies that he should continue in the order he was already following, from Mosiah on, with the replacement text dictated last (vv. 38-45).

Most scholars date this revelation to May 1829 (the date given in BoC IX), though some have suggested the summer of 1828. LDS educator Max H. Parkin theorizes that the phrase “as you have begun” (D&C 10:3) points to a May 1829 setting since it “appears to say that the Prophet and his scribe had returned to translating and had progressed before receiving Section 10” (1979, 76), not yet knowing how the lost text would be replaced.

That Smith began with Mosiah also seems confirmed by reports of his and Oliver Cowdery’s 15 May 1829 baptisms. The stimulus for baptizing each other, according to Smith, was information “found mentioned in the translation of the plates” (Smith et al. 1978, 1:39).12 Cowdery corroborates Smith’s story, noting that they performed the baptisms “[a]fter writing the account given of the Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent” (Messenger and Advocate 1 [Oct. 1834]: 15). Cowdery writes that he and Smith were inspired by “the directions given to the Nephites, from the mouth of the Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up his church” (ibid.). This means the narrative of Christ’s visitation in 3 Nephi was dictated before 15 May 1829.

If Smith began at 1 Nephi, he would have dictated an average of 13 printed pages per day (based on the 1830 edition) between 7 April and 15 May to have arrived at the end of 3 Nephi. This would have left only slightly more than 1.5 pages a day to be dictated to complete 4 Nephi through Moroni by 1 July. Smith’s dramatically decreased output is difficult to account for in this scenario.

The Mosian model more reasonably accounts for an average number of pages transcribed per day.13 From 7 April to 15, May Smith’s dictation of Mosiah–3 Nephi would have averaged 9.25 [p.403] published pages per day. From 16 May to 1 July, he dictated almost 5 pages per day for 4 Nephi–Moroni and 1 Nephi–Words of Mormon. If most of Mosiah had been transcribed prior to Cowdery’s arrival, the numbers would be closer still.

Evidence concerning Smith’s dictation of the Title Page also points to the priority of Mosiah. Before he completed dictation, Smith secured copyright for the Book of Mormon. Authors applying for copyright in New York state were requested to include the title of their work. Bearing the date 11 June 1829, the Book of Mormon copyright application includes the entire Title Page, which Smith said “is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates” (Smith et al. 1978, 1:71; emphasis added). According to Smith, the Title Page was at the end of the record not the beginning, yet both Mormon and non-Mormon sources indicate the dictation was still underway after its transcription. Smith’s History of the Church states that the dictation was only “drawing to a close,” not finished, when he secured the copyright (ibid.). A local journalist printed the Title Page on 26 June 1829 adding that the remainder “will be published as soon as the translation is completed” (Wayne Sentinel, 26 June 1829; emphasis added). Although he may have produced it out of sequence, Smith more likely dictated the Title Page after he reached the end of the book proper (probably Ether) but prior to dictating the replacement text and possibly Moroni. This would have occurred in late May 1829, making the Title Page readily accessible by 11 June.

No less significant is that while the Title Page details the content of Mormon’s abridgment and of Ether, it omits allusion to the Book of Moroni or to the alternate beginning from the small plates. Such an omission suggests that the Title Page may have been dictated before Smith fully conceived the solution of substituting the unabridged 1 Nephi–Omni narrative (including Words of Mormon) for the missing Book of Lehi.14

Holographic Evidence

When Dean C. Jessee suggested that portions of O for 1 Nephi are in John Whitmer’s handwriting, Mosian prioritists embraced his observation as additional support (Jessee 1970, 273, 276-78; see [p.404] Bushman 1984, 223n67; CES 1989, 58; Firmage 1992; Parkin 1979, 70; Tanner and Tanner 1990, 34). Smith’s official history notes that in early June 1829, he and Oliver Cowdery relocated to the Peter C. Whitmer farm and that John Whitmer “assisted us very much in writing during the remainder of the work” (Smith et al. 1978, 1:49). If Whitmer’s handwriting is on O for 1 Nephi, it confirms that this part of the Book of Mormon was not dictated until the final stage of the project, sometime in June 1829. However, such a conclusion should be made cautiously, since Jessee admits his identification of Whitmer’s handwriting is tentative.15

More persuasive holographic evidence that Smith resumed dictating at Mosiah can be deduced from a revelation Smith issued in March, the month before Cowdery began serving as scribe (now D&C 5). Before Cowdery arrived, Smith’s wife, Emma, and his younger brother Samuel had been transcribing (Faulring 1989, 3; Jessee 1984, 8). The March revelation instructed Smith to dictate a “few more pages” and then stop “for a season” (D&C 5:30; note esp. the emphasis “a few more pages”).16 This implies that Emma and Samuel or others transcribed some pages before and after the date of this revelation. We would expect then to find multiple leaves containing their handwriting before Cowdery’s handwriting first appears in the manuscript.

The first leaf of O (pp. 1 and 2) is missing, but the second (pp. 3 and 4 covering 1 Ne. 2:2-2:23 recto and 2:23-3:18 verso) is principally in Cowdery’s hand (Jessee 1970, 273, 276-78; cf. Bushman 1984, 223n67).17 If Smith had recommenced dictation at 1 Nephi, Emma and Samuel would have transcribed at most one leaf prior to Cowdery. Writing so little cannot account for their work as described in D&C 5, which assumes multiple pages before Cowdery’s involvement. The presence of Cowdery’s handwriting on the second leaf of O militates against 1 Nephi priority in favor of Mosian priority.

Textual Evidence

Textual criticism is another avenue for exploring the priority [p.405] question. Regrettably at every crucial juncture in the text that would bear on the dictation sequence, the relevant portions of O are not extant—including the final verses of Ether, the first leaf of 1 Nephi, and the full text of Words of Mormon, Mosiah, and Moroni. Still, textual anomalies in P may offer a clue as to the dictation sequence for O.

Of specific interest are inconsistencies in the numbering of chapter headings for Mosiah in P. The Book of Mosiah initially lacked a title in P, beginning simply with “Chapter II” (see Illustration 1). Sometime prior to completion of this chapter and start of the next, the heading was emended in pen to “<the Book of Mosiah> Chapter <I> II.” The change was made before transcription of the next chapter, since it bears the title “Chapter II.” From this chapter through “Chapter VII,” the numbers are consecutive. But when the next chapter was transcribed, the scribe wrote “Chapter IX” instead of “Chapter VIII.” From this point to the end of Mosiah, the chapters consistently remain one number ahead. Prior to publication these chapter divisions were emended in pencil. Roman numeral “IX” was replaced with the Arabic “8.” To correct the next chapter the scribe began to cross out the “X” but instead inserted “I” to make the Roman numeral nine.18 The “I” in “XI” was first deleted in ink then pencil to form chapter ten. “Chapter XII” became chapter eleven by striking out the last “I.” “Chapter 13” was overlooked with no emendation. Finally, an Arabic numeral “3” superscription corrected the off-sequence “14” (see Illustration 1).19

Illustration 1a Illustration 1b

These inconsistencies provide a clue to the missing Mosiah portion of O and the original dictation sequence. In my view chapter one of the present Book of Mosiah was the terminus of the Book of Lehi.20 When Smith loaned the Book of Lehi to Harris, he retained a portion which at a minimum included “Chapter II” (Bushman 1984, 223n67; Welch and Rathbone 1986, 22; cf. D&C 10:41). In support of this, I point to the fact that the portion of O being transcribed into P evidently omitted a title. The scribe corrected the anomaly by appending “<the Book of Mosiah>”—notably minus a synopsis—and revising the designation to “Chapter <I> II.” This renumbering was carefully followed until [p.408] chapter eight. Then the numbers are again off through chapter twelve. This recurring pattern of misnumbering chapters is understandable if the scribe forgot about the change and simply began transferring the chapter numbers from O into P. Then a different scribe, oblivious to the numerical discrepancy, picked up the transcription part way through chapter twelve and continued copying from O the divisions for the final two chapters as “13” and “14.”

When Smith resumed dictation in Mosiah he followed the same order he had previously observed, perhaps hoping that chapter one and the rest of the Book of Lehi would be recovered. Had he recommenced at 1 Nephi, with the likelihood of recovering the lost 116 pages increasingly remote, he would have undoubtedly corrected the numerical anomaly when he reached Mosiah in a way similar to the scribe in P. In other words the anomalous shift in numerical divisions in P is most easily understandable if Smith resumed production of O in Mosiah.

Stylistic Evidence

Unique evidence for the priority of Mosiah comes from analysis of style, specifically from attention to lexical distributions in the Book of Mormon. Computer-assisted word counts—not to be confused with statistical “wordprints”—can illustrate fluctuations in an author’s style. In his commentary on the plates of Jacob, Mosian prioritist Arthur Glen Foster, Jr., has provided one example of how such evidence can be used (1983, 83; cf. Tanner and Tanner 1990, 36). He investigated the frequency of the potentially interchangeable terms “whosoever” and “whoso.” In the following tables the frequency of the terms are presented, assuming first the priority of 1 Nephi and second the priority of Mosiah (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1.

The Priority of 1 Nephi The Priority of Mosiah

“whosoever” “whoso” “whosoever” “whoso” 1 Ne. 0 5 Mosiah 20 0 2 Ne. 0 3 Alma 34 0 Jacob 0 1 Hel. 9 1 Mosiah 20 0 Ne. 15 17 Alma 34 0 Morm. 1 3 Hel. 9 1 Ether 0 11 3 Ne. 15 17 Moro. 0 2 Morm. 1 3 Ne. 0 5 Ether 0 11 2 Ne. 0 3 Moro. 0 2 Jacob 0 1

[p.409] If the books are ordered as they appear in the Book of Mormon, no meaningful distribution of the two words is evident. A clear trend emerges, however, when one reorders the books to begin with Mosiah. On the basis of this pattern, Foster concluded that Smith favored “whosoever” in the early stage of dictation and then substituted “whoso” mid-way through the project in Helaman, 3 Nephi, and Mormon.21

Frequency and use of the terms “therefore” and “wherefore” in the Book of Mormon provide another useful example of this pattern. Not only does the pattern of usage of these terms confirm Mosian priority, it aids in dating the chronology of Book of Mormon dictation and understanding Smith’s dictation procedure.

A computer-generated word count displays 668 usages of “therefore” (1,236 in the KJV) and 420 of “wherefore” in the 1830 Book of Mormon (347 in the KJV; Hilton and Jenkins n.d.a, 67, 73). No clear linear pattern of development for “therefore”/”wherefore” emerges when the words are ordered according to a 1 Nephi chronology. Instead, what emerges is an enveloping pattern (see Table 1). Here sizeable blocks of narrative dominated by “wherefore” envelop a central portion favoring “therefore.”

To illustrate the difference between this enveloping pattern and a linear one, Table 1 also includes these terms as they occur in the [p.410] revelations Smith issued during the period he was working on the Book of Mormon. His usage of the terms in these revelations demonstrates a linear pattern.

Table 1:1

Nephi Priority

“Therefore” “Wherefore” D&C “Therefore” “Wherefore” 1 Ne. 13 98 Sec. 3 2 0 2 Ne. 28 138 Sec. 4 2 0 Jacob 1 52 Sec. 5 0 0 Enos 0 6 Sec. 6 8 0 Jarom 0 3 Sec. 7 1 0 Omni 0 6 Sec. 8 4 0 W of M 0 4 Sec. 9 2 0 Mosiah 123 1 Sec. 10 11 0 Alma 286 3 Sec. 11 4 0 Hel. 63 0 Sec. 12 4 0 3 Ne. 98 3 Sec. 14 3 1 4 Ne. 5 0 Sec. 15 0 0 Morm. 22 0 Sec. 16 0 0 Ether 24 63 Sec. 17 0 1 Moro. 0 38 Sec. 18 0 12 Title Page 0 2 Sec. 19 1 7

Table 2:

Mosian Priority

“Therefore” “Wherefore” D&C “Therefore” “Wherefore” Mosiah 123 1 Sec. 3 2 0 Alma 286 3 Sec. 4 2 0 Hel. 63 0 Sec. 5 0 0 3 Ne. 98 3 Sec. 6 8 0 4Ne. 5 0 Sec. 7 1 0 Morm. 22 0 Sec. 8 4 0 Ether 24 63 Sec. 9 2 0 Title Page 0 2 Sec. 10 11 0 Moro. 0 38 Sec. 11 4 0 1 Ne. 13 98 Sec. 12 4 0 2 Ne. 28 138 Sec. 14 3 1 Jacob 1 52 Sec. 15 0 0 Enos 0 6 Sec. 16 0 0 Jarom 0 3 Sec. 17 0 1 Omni 0 6 Sec. 18 0 12 W of M 0 4 Sec. 19 1 7

[p.411] When the books comprising the Book of Mormon are arranged beginning with Mosiah, the lexical enveloping vanishes and a linear pattern emerges. This parallels the word usage in the D&C for the same period (see Table 2). The patterning of “therefore” and “wherefore” in the revelations allows us to link Book of Mormon lexical patterns to a dated chronology. The parallel between the revelations and the Mosian priority sequence leads to the conclusion that Smith returned to his dictation at Mosiah.

Because of potential complications resulting from literary dependence and textual variants, refining the parallels between the revelations and books in the Book of Mormon permits us to date the stages of dictation more precisely. Occurrences of “therefore” and “wherefore” in Book of Mormon passages deriving from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) elucidate the interplay between narrative created by Smith and narrative dependent on external sources (see the Appendix). For instance, Smith tends to retain, delete, but not alter the term “therefore” or “wherefore” in a biblical source he is copying, even if the term is not the one routinely employed by him at that stage of the dictation. But Smith tends to favor the term dominant in his vocabulary (“therefore” or “wherefore”) when embellishing a biblical source, even when the term is not the one routinely used in the source. This phenomenon occurs in the Book of Mormon, D&C, and the Joseph Smith Revision of the Bible (JSR). When Smith is indebted to an external source for occurrences of “therefore” and “wherefore,” such as KJV quotations or D&C sections dependent on earlier revelations, I have removed them from Table 3. The Mosian priority chronology can be further refined by both deleting and adding occurrences of “therefore” and “wherefore” according to O where extant or to P, as well as to the earliest extant versions of the revelations.22 With these refinements, we can plausibly date the various [p.412] segments of the Book of Mormon dictation (see Table 3).

Revelations written prior to June 1829 use “therefore” exclusively 29 times. From Mosiah through Ether and the Title Page “therefore” occurs 612 times and “wherefore” 69 times—63 of these in Ether. The Jaredite story, dictated in late May 1829, forms the transitional point. Ether contains more occurrences of “therefore” than all the books dictated after it by a ratio of 25 to 19, and more usages of “wherefore” than Mosiah to Mormon by a ratio of 63 to 4. Viewing each chapter sequentially the shift in Ether from “therefore” to “wherefore” is striking. Ether 1-5 has “therefore” 15 times and “wherefore” 8 times. “Therefore” is used 8 times in Ether 6-10, “wherefore” increasing to 23 times. In the final third, Ether 11-15, “therefore” diminishes to 2 occurrences while “wherefore” appears 32 times. In the revelations after May 1829 “wherefore” appears exclusively 23 times. In the replacement text including Moroni, the three witnesses’ testimony, and the 1830 Book of Mormon Preface, “wherefore” is used 350 times and “therefore” only 19 times (see Table 3).

Smith’s gradual transition from “therefore” to “wherefore” suggests an additional insight into the dictation process. This evidence leaves no doubt that Smith assimilated portions of the KJV into the Book of Mormon (see the Appendix, Examples 3 and 4).23 Weighing the Book of Mormon’s indebtedness to the KJV indicates that Smith probably did not substantially depend on other nineteenth-century literary sources. If Smith copied from other literature one might anticipate detectable interruptions in the “therefore”/”wherefore” pattern, similar to those caused by the KJV. But this does not occur. Aside from selections borrowed from the KJV the development is relatively [p.413] consistent throughout the Book of Mormon. With this concession I am not implying that Smith was not indebted to broader cultural sources such as anti-Masonic rhetoric, autobiographical reflections, revival terminology, Amerindian etiologies, or other contemporary themes. As some of the essays in this anthology and elsewhere have posited, antebellum antecedents likely inspired similar ideas in the Book of Mormon (see Charles, Thomas, and Vogel in this compilation). When assimilating these nineteenth-century views into the Nephite narrative, Smith at most would have paraphrased them peppered with his own noncontextual words.

Table 3:

Mosian Priority (revised)