Come, Follow Me 2024: January 15-21; 1 Nephi 6-10
It is well known that the first 116 pages translated from the gold plates were lost. But have we contemplated the full story? The one that began with Nephi creating two separate and perhaps duplicative records; the one that continued almost a thousand years later when Mormon included records that contained information that he had already abridged; the story that concluded almost 1,400 years after that, when Joseph translated and then lost a portion of those writings. This story did not just happen in July 1828. It is a story that spans more than 2,000 years.
God has all knowledge and all wisdom. He sees the beginning from the end. The story of the lost 116 pages has helped me to better understand the foreknowledge of God. This story has given me peace in knowing that he has prepared for all contingencies, and so when he guides us, he knows all the details. This story helps me feel confident that God is in complete control.
We should evaluate all things in their context
I have previously written about the importance of evaluating gospel doctrines by considering their context in the plan of salvation. (See “Interludes – Avoiding Myopia” and “The Plan of Salvation“). The story of the lost 116 pages allows us to place not only doctrines within the context of the plan, but to see events in a way that God might see them, spanned over a period of thousands of years.
I recently read an article titled “Content vs. Context,” that emphasized “[i]t’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”1 Thinking about the context as well as the content can help us grasp additional meaning. So as we consider the lost 116 pages, let’s look at the context, not just from Joseph Smith’s perspective in 1828, but as told by the writers of the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon breaks the fourth wall
The “fourth wall” is a theater device that “imagines a wall existing between actors and their audience. The wall is invisible to the audience, so viewers can see the performance, but opaque to the actors, blocking them from the audience. Thus, performers act as if the audience is not there.”2
Essentially, the “fourth wall” means that the story ignores the audience. And so “breaking” the fourth wall means the performers speak “directly to viewers to provide commentary, to narrate their thoughts, or to acknowledge the very artifice of their production.”3 The Book of Mormon is not simply a story. It is not simply scripture. The Book of Mormon speaks to its audience, and the book itself is its own subject. In that sense, the writers of the Book of Mormon break the fourth wall.
The clearest example of this is Moroni’s final words: “I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”4
These verses demonstrate that Moroni is speaking to us, the readers of the book, and he is speaking to us about the book itself. He is asking us to read it, to ponder it, to pray about it. The book itself, then, becomes its own subject.
What does this have to do with the lost 116 pages? The writers of the book (Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, Moroni, and others) spoke of God’s commandments to keep records, and they also made it clear that God influenced the content of their writing. Nephi and Mormon both wrote about making additional or duplicative records for a “wise purpose” that they did not understand, but which we can see in the story of the lost 116 pages.
Nephi’s small plates
The Book of Mormon begins5 in the “first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,”6 which was approximately 598 B.C.7 In beginning his record, Nephi states, “I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”8 Nephi talks about the teaching and prophesying of his father, and said he would 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.”9
So in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, Nephi talks about making a record of his life and abridging the record of his father.
Why did Nephi make two sets of plates?
In 1 Nephi 6, Nephi clarifies that there is a separate record that his father kept: “And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work.”10 He specifies that “these” plates are not intended to give a “full account” of his father, because he wants “the room that I may write of the things of God.”11
In 1 Nephi 9, we read that Nephi made two sets of plates: “And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates of Nephi.”12
So Nephi created two sets of plates: one upon which he would make a “full account of the history” of his people (which have come to be known as the large plates, and likely contained Nephi’s abridgment of the record of his father), and one set that was for “the minstry”13 (which are known as the small plates). In other words, when Nephi created these two sets of plates, one was intended as a history, and one was intended for spiritual things. Nephi said that he didn’t understand why the Lord wanted him to make two sets:
“Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.”14
It is relevant to me that Nephi was asked to make his second set of plates several years after he had been writing the first set. In 1 Nephi, we read about Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem, their travels in the wilderness, Nephi building the ship, and the family crossing the sea. We don’t know exactly how long that took, but Lehi’s death is recorded in 2 Nephi 4:12, which occurred sometime between 588 and 570 B.C. After Lehi died, Laman and Lemuel were angry with Nephi, and so Nephi and all those who would follow him separated themselves from Laman and Lemuel: “And we did take our tents and whatsoever things were possible for us, and did journey in the wilderness for the space of many days. And after we had journeyed for the space of many days we did pitch our tents.”15
There, in the land they called Nephi, Nephi was commanded to create another set of plates:
“And I, Nephi, had kept the records upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far. And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people. Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made these plates upon which I have engraven these things.
“And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine engravings which are upon these plates. And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the history of my people they must search mine other plates.”16
So after he had created and been writing upon one set of plates, the Lord commanded him to make a second set of plates. It sounds to me like on this second set of plates, he wrote similar things, but with a more spiritual focus. Nephi clearly did not understand why he was asked to do this. Why did he have to make another set, and write things that had likely been written on the first set? The prophet Mormon had essentially the same question almost a thousand years later when making his abridgment of the entirety of the history of the Nephite people.
Why did Mormon include the second set of plates?
The Book of Mormon is named after the prophet Mormon, who created an abridgment of the record of his people near the end of their civilization. We know that it was 400 A.D. by the time Mormon had given the plates to his son Moroni (see Momon 8:6), so Mormon created his abridgment a little less than one thousand years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem.
When Mormon was 10, a prophet named Ammaron told him about the records of their people, and gave him a charge to write all the things that he had seen.17 When Mormon obtained the records, he made an “abridgment.” It is this “abridgment” that Joesph Smith translated as the books Mosiah through Mormon 7. After he turned the records over to his son Moroni, it was Moroni who wrote the remainder (Mormon 8-9; Moroni 1-10), made his own abridgment of ancient records called the Book of Ether, hid the plates, then appeared to Joseph Smith as a resurrected being to tell him about the hidden records.
After Mormon had completed his abridgment, he found Nephi’s second set of plates, or the small plates. In his own words, Mormon said, “I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi. . . . 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.”18
In other words, Mormon made an “abridgment,” or a summary, of the first set of records that had been created by Nephi, which contained the history of the Nephite people. After Mormon had completed his abridgment, he found Nephi’s second set of plates, and the Lord commanded him to include them with his abridgment. We know that the books 1 Nephi through Omni are the writings contained in Nephi’s second set of plates, or the small plates.
Based on Mormon’s statements in the Words of Mormon, it is apparent that much of what is on those second set of plates, or the small plates, was contained in Mormon’s abridgment of the large plates. Nephi didn’t understand why the Lord asked him to make those plates and write on them. Almost one thousand years later, Mormon didn’t understand why the Lord told him to include the small plates with his abridgment, as it sounds like Mormon had already abridged records that contained much of the same information.
It sounds to me like both Nephi and Mormon had been commanded by the Lord to duplicate their efforts. They didn’t understand why, but they obeyed, and now with hindsight, we can understand.
What were the 116 pages, and how were they lost?
I have previously written about the beginning of the translation of the Book of Mormon, including Joseph’s visits to Cumorah, how he obtained the plates, and how he began the translation process with Martin Harris. Much of that information is relevant to see the big picture and know the story, but I won’t repeat it here, so I would encourage you to read the posts in the category called “The History of the Book of Mormon.”
What was contained on the 116 pages?
As I have mentioned, I’m no scholar, so I haven’t reviewed every piece of existing information, but it is my understanding that nobody knows what was on those 116 pages, although we do have some clues.
In the preface to the first edition of the Book of Mormon, Joseph wrote, “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.”19
From that, we know that Joseph called the lost 116 pages the “Book of Lehi,” which was part of Mormon’s abridgment. Understanding that both Nephi and Mormon viewed the small plates as something of a duplication of what they had written, I think we can infer that the lost 116 pages contained Mormon’s abridgment of Lehi’s and Nephi’s records detailing the history of the Nephite people from when they left Jerusalem until the reign of King Benjamin (which is in the Book of Mosiah).
After the pages had been lost, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which the Lord said a few things about the content of the 116 pages: “Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work.”20
In other words, the “small plates” contained “greater views” upon the gospel than what was contained in the Book of Lehi. Of these “greater views,” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said, “So, clearly, this was not a quid pro quo in the development of the final Book of Mormon product. It was not tit for tat, this for that—you give me 116 pages of manuscript and I’ll give you 142 pages of printed text. Not so. We got back more than we lost. And it was known from the beginning that it would be so. It was for a wiser purpose. . . . I think it would be exciting if the 116 pages of manuscript turned up some day, but if they were delivered to my office tomorrow I would never trade them for the material in the small plates of Nephi.”21
The translation of the 116 pages
In February 1828, Martin Harris traveled from Palmyra to Harmony with Joseph’s older brother Hyrum Smith to assist Joseph with the translation of the record.22 The first task in which Martin helped Joseph was to take the facsimiles of the characters (either copied or rubbed from the plates) and see if he could find someone who could translate. This involved significant travel for Martin, and included Martin’s meeting with Charles Anthon, after which Martin returned to Harmony. (Again, I have several posts that detail the events during these time periods).
Martin returned to Harmony about April 12, 1828, and at that time he began writing as scribe for Joseph during the translation process.23 Susan Easton Black has written a great book about Martin Harris, and she quotes from a significant number of original sources, so I will quote from her, and suggest you read her book:
“As soon as he returned to Harmony, Martin commenced writing as Joseph translated the book of Lehi, the first book in a series of books inscribed on the gold plates. The writing and translation process took place in the east end of an upstairs room of the Joseph Smith farmhouse. According to Martin, ‘a thick curtain or blanket was suspended’ from the ceiling in the room. Once Joseph ‘concealed [himself] behind the blanket,’ he looked ‘through his spectacles, or transparent stones’ to read the inscriptions. Various secondhand accounts of the translation indicate that Joseph was translating with either the interpreters or a seer stone in his hat.”24
For clarity, the “book of Lehi” is the same as the 116 lost pages.
Lucy Harris’ opposition
Martin’s wife Lucy was not supportive of Martin’s sacrifices. Joseph’s mother, also named Lucy, writes a significant amount about her dislike of Martin’s wife. Before Joseph and Emma moved to Pennsylvania, Joseph was looking for help to translate, and he asked his mother to go to Martin Harris to ask for that help. Lucy agreed, but in her history, she writes about her reticence because of her feelings about Martin’s wife:
“With the view of commencing the work of translation and carrying it forward as speedily as circumstances would permit, Joseph came to me one afternoon and requested me to go to this Mr. Harris and inform him that he had got the plates and that he desired to see Mr. Harris concerning the matter. This, indeed, was an errand which I much disliked as Mr. Harris’ wife was a very peculiar woman, one that was naturally of a very jealous disposition; besides this, she was rather dull of hearing and when anything was said that she did not hear distinctly she suspected that it was some secret which was designedly kept from her. So I told Joseph that I would rather not go, unless I could have the privilege of speaking to her first upon the subject. To this he consented and I went according to his request.”25
After the visit between Joseph’s mother (Lucy Smith) and Martin’s wife (Lucy Harris), Lucy Harris visited the Smith home to talk to Joseph: “she began to importune [Joseph] relative to the truth of what he had said concerning the Record, declaring that if he really had any plates, she would see them, and that she was determined to help him publish them. . . . She would say, ‘Now, Joseph, are you not telling me a lie? Can you look full in my eye and say before God that you have in reality found a Record, as you pretend?’ To this Joseph replied, rather indifferently, ‘Why, yes, Mrs. Harris, I would as soon look you in the face and say so as not, if that will be any gratification to you.’ Then said she, ‘Joseph, I will tell you what I will do, if I can get a witness that you speak the truth, I will believe all you say about the matter and I shall want to do something about the translation—I mean to help you any way.'”26
Based on these conversations, it is no wonder that Martin wanted to provide his wife with proof of the work. From that point (when she spoke with Joseph), and during Martin’s work on the translation, Lucy became increasingly opposed to the work: “[A]fter Martin Harris left home for Pennsylvania, his wife went from place to place, and from house to house, telling her grievances, and declaring that Joseph Smith was practicing a deception upon the people, which was about to strip her of all that she possessed, and that she was compelled to deposit a few things away from home in order to secure them. So she carried away her furniture, linen, and bedding; also other moveable articles, until she nearly stripped the premises of everything that could conduce either to comfort or convenience, depositing them with those of her friends and acquaintances, in whom she reposed sufficient confidence to assure her of their future safety.”27
Martin was under considerable pressure, so I understand why he was so desirous to show his wife the pages.
Martin’s covenant to protect the pages
During their work of translation, Martin had asked to take the pages to show his wife. He must have believed, based on what they had translated, that if he just showed the pages to his wife, that she would believe, or at the very least would be more supportive. He had asked twice, and twice Joseph had said no.
“Their work [Joseph’s and Martin’s] comprised a total of 116 foolscap pages, or the English translation of one book from a series of ancient books inscribed on the gold plates. The 116 pages probably represented five complete ‘gatherings’ of pages. If so, a benchmark had been reached, perhaps a momentary stopping point, and in Martin’s way of thinking, the right time to ask Joseph again. With unabashed boldness, Martin asked the third time for permission to take the manuscript to Palmyra. . . . Martin then mused, ‘I found out . . . that the Lord could get out of patience as well as a human, but this time, Joseph was told that at his own peril he was [to] let Martin take them.’ The response to Martin’s third plea was thus positive—but conditional. Joseph explained to him that only a limited number of family members were to view the manuscript, namely ‘his brother, Preserved Harris, his own wife [Lucy Harris], his father [Nathan Harris] and his mother [Rhoda Lapham Harris], and a Mrs. Cobb [widow Polly (Mary) Harris], a sister to his wife.’
“Joseph then stipulated that it was imperative that he bind himself in a solemn covenant that he would not vary from this agreement. Martin agreed to the specified conditions. He entered into a written covenant with Joseph ‘in a most solemn manner that he would not do otherwise than had been directed . . . [and] required of him.’ He then ‘took the writings, and went his way’ on June 14, 1828, about two months after the translation process had begun. Martin carried with him 116 pages of dictation for the desired enlightenment of selected family members.”28
In Harmony, Joseph and Emma lost their first child
“The day following Martin’s departure, Emma Smith gave birth to her first child, ‘a son, which, however, remained with her but a short time before it was snatched from her arms by the hand of death.’ The slate headstone in what was then the Isaac Hale burying ground (now part of the McKune Cemetery) read simply, ‘In Memory of an Infant Son of Joseph and Emma Smith June 15th 1828.’ The boy was later named Alvin after Joseph’s brother.”29
These photos are from my family’s church history trip in July 2018. They show the headstone for Joseph and Emma’s infant son, located in Harmony. The picture with my children (on the left) shows a newer headstone, which was built around the original headstone (on the right).
Under these circumstances, with a deceased child and Emma suffering physically and emotionally from that loss, Joseph also had to deal with his worry about Martin and the 116 pages. As we read about Joseph’s extreme reaction to the loss of the pages, I can’t help but wonder if his grief for his lost child might have contributed to his reaction.
In Palmyra, Martin showed the pages to others
Despite Martin’s promise to show them only to certain people, he showed them to many others.
“Martin had the manuscript in his possession for some three weeks or until about July 7, 1828. Soon after his arrival in Palmyra, he fulfilled a portion of the covenant made with Joseph by showing the manuscript to his wife and the named family members. Upon seeing the manuscript, Lucy was placated to a degree, just as Martin had hoped. Her immediate plans and purposes seemed to have been met. In fact, she was so pleased with the manuscript that she let Martin lock the foolscap papers in her bureau, which gave Lucy ease of access to the manuscript. As to the reactions of Martin’s extended family—parents, his brother Preserved, and Lucy’s sister Polly Cobb—to the manuscript, nothing appears to have been written on the subject.
“Initially, Martin kept the covenant he had made and was most circumspect in showing the manuscript only to the prescribed family members. This process changed, however, during a period of absence from his wife. Martin had taken Lucy to visit her relatives, some ten to fifteen miles from Palmyra. Martin’s stay with Lucy’s relatives was brief, for he had pressing business matters and a jury duty obligation in town. As he made preparations to return to Palmyra, his wife, wishing to extend her visit, declined to accompany him. Martin journeyed home by himself. Once at home, a very particular friend of his made him a visit, to whom he related all that he knew concerning the Record. The man’s curiosity was much excited, and, as might be expected, he earnestly desired to see the manuscript. Martin was so anxious to gratify his friend, that, although it was contrary to his obligation, he went to the drawer to get the manuscript, but the key was gone. He sought for it some time, but could not find it. Resolved, however, to carry his purpose into execution, he picked the lock. In so doing, Martin marred Lucy’s bureau. He made no effort to repair the damage. Not wanting to be inconvenienced again when showing the manuscript, he placed it in his own set of drawers for safekeeping. Having broken his covenant by showing the manuscript to one not named or approved by the Lord, it seemed easier the second time to do the same. In fact, as the days passed and Lucy delayed her return, Martin showed the manuscript to any ‘prudent’ person who called or as Joseph Smith wrote, ‘Notwithstanding . . . the great restrictions which he had been laid under, and the solemnity of the covenant which he had made with me, he did show them to others.’ Neighbors and friends who saw the manuscript in the Harris home cautioned Martin about being defrauded. When Lucy returned home, she had more to say than any neighbor or friend. When she saw ‘the marred state of her bureau, her irascible temper was excited to the utmost pitch, and an intolerable storm ensued, which descended with the greatest violence’ upon Martin.”30
Joseph returns to Palmyra and learns of the loss
Susan Easton Black, who wrote the book I’ve been quoting, described the scene in which Joseph learned that the pages had been lost:
“In Harmony, Joseph anxiously attended his wife, Emma, whose life had been despaired of following the birth and loss of their baby. When his wife recovered, Joseph turned his concerns to Martin, who ‘had been absent nearly three weeks, and Joseph had received no intelligence whatever from him, which was altogether aside of the arrangement when they separated.’ Though much fatigued by his watchful care of Emma, Joseph determined to journey to his family home in Manchester, call for Martin, and recover the manuscript. After a harrowing trip by stagecoach and an exhausting twenty-mile walk through the night, assisted by a compassionate stranger from the stage, Joseph arrived at his father’s frame home.
“Mother Smith reported that as soon as Joseph came into the house, he requested that Martin be summoned at once. Anticipating his quick response, at 8 a.m. victuals were set on the table. The Smiths ‘waited till nine, and he came not—till ten, and he was not there—till eleven, still he did not make his appearance.’ It was not until ‘half-past twelve’ that Martin was seen ‘walking with a slow and measured tread towards the house, his eyes fixed thoughtfully upon the ground.’ When he reached the gate in the yard, ‘he stopped, instead of passing through, and got upon the fence, and sat there some time with his hat drawn over his eyes.’
“When he entered the house, he sat down at the table next to those who were already seated. ‘He took up his knife and fork as if he were going to use them, but immediately dropped them.’ Seeing this, Hyrum Smith asked, ‘Martin, why do you not eat; are you sick?’ Martin pressed ‘his hands upon his temples’ and cried with ‘a tone of deep anguish, ‘Oh, I have lost my soul! I have lost my soul!’’ Joseph, who was seated at the table, jumped to his feet and asked, ‘Martin, have you lost that manuscript? Have you broken your oath, and brought down condemnation upon my head, as well as your own?’
“‘Yes, it is gone,’ replied Martin, ‘and I know not where.’
“’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. I should have been satisfied with the first answer which 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.
“At length he told Martin to go back and search again. ‘No,’ said Martin, ‘it is all in vain; for I have ripped open beds and pillows, and I know it is not there.’ ‘Then must I,’ said Joseph, ‘return to my wife with such a tale as this? I dare not do it, lest it should kill her at once. And how shall I appear before the Lord? Of what rebuke am I not worthy from the angel of the Most High?’
“A shaken and grieving Joseph departed for his Harmony home the next morning to face the consequences of such a disastrous loss. Lucy Smith, a firsthand observer, recalled that Martin Harris suffered both temporally and spiritually for the violation of his sacred trust. A visible rebuke for his transgression was witnessed the very day he confessed to Joseph the loss of the manuscript. Mother Smith believed it was not a mere coincidence that a ‘dense fog spread itself over his fields, and blighted his wheat while in the blow, so that he lost about two-thirds of his crop, whilst those fields which lay only on the opposite side of the road, received no injury whatever.’ Lucy said, ‘I well remember that day of darkness, both within and without. To us, at least, the heavens seemed clothed with blackness, and the earth shrouded with gloom.’ Martin lost more than a manuscript in Palmyra—he lost the trust and confidence of Joseph Smith. Although he had the talent to scribe and the inclination, the privilege to write as Joseph dictated was now denied him. Left alone with his thoughts, Martin felt ashamed, despondent, and longing for his former association with the Prophet Joseph Smith. More importantly, he longed to regain the grace of God.”31
The consequences of the loss
In her book, Lucy Smith (Joseph’s mother), wrote about a conversation in which Joseph told her what had happened after the pages were lost:
“On leaving you,” said Joseph, “I returned immediately home. Soon after my arrival, I commenced humbling myself in mighty prayer before the Lord, and, as I was pouring out my soul in supplication to God, that if possible I might obtain mercy at his hands and be forgiven of all that I had done contrary to his will, an angel stood before me, and answered me, saying, that I had sinned in delivering the manuscript into the hands of a wicked man, and, as I had ventured to become responsible for his faithfulness, I would of necessity have to suffer the consequences of his indiscretion, and I must now give up the Urim and Thummim into his (the angel’s) hands. “This I did as I was directed, and as I handed them to him, he remarked, ‘If you are very humble and penitent, it may be you will receive them again; if so, it will be on the twenty-second of next September.”32
“After the angel left me,” said he, “I continued my supplications to God, without cessation, and on the twenty-second of September, I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the Urim and Thummim, with which I have again commenced translating, and Emma writes for me, but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and I trust his promise will be verified. The angel seemed pleased with me when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim, and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility.”33
What can we learn from the story of the lost 116 pages?
There are many principles that are learned from this experience. Significantly, we have two sections in the Doctrine and Covenants (3 and 10) that were received by Joseph because of the loss of those pages. But beyond that, Joseph learned a great lesson, and if we evaluate the experience through the lense of a 2,000-year story, we can learn more about the nature of God.
Joseph learned to obey
Joseph Smith was a young man (24 when this occurred), inexperienced, uneducated, lacking resources, and dependent on the kindness and generosity of others. Martin was much older, experienced, wealthy, educated, intelligent, and influential in the community. It seems to me that Joseph was somewhat intimidated by Martin, and likely worried that if he did not allow Martin to take the plates, Martin might not continue to support him or help him.
But Joseph needed to learn a significant lesson: he was the Lord’s prophet, and he had to follow the counsels of the Lord. Joseph said simply: “I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.”34 I believe that as a result of this experience, Joseph gained a greater determination to seek and do the will of the Lord. I believe that he was much more resistant to the influences of the world after this experience, and I believe it ultimately made him a better prophet.
We see the foreknowledge of God
Throughout the scriptures, we are taught about the power and knowledge of God. We see teachings such as, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,”35 or “[He] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation,”36 or “the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men,”37 or “Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes.”38
Intellectually, we know what those verses mean, but as mortals, it can be difficult to really comprehend what it means that God knows the beginning from the end. But in the loss of the 116 pages, we see an example of that. We see God, almost 600 years before the birth of Christ, knowing of an event that would occur in July 1828, and preparing for that eventuality. We see the great Creator providing a way for Joseph Smith to learn a valuable lesson without causing a significant loss of knowledge by providing the small plates.
In fact, based on Elder Holland’s comment, it seems that what we have in the small plates (1 Nephi through Omni) is perhaps of greater importance than what was in the Book of Lehi. So not only did God prepare for the loss of the 116 pages, what he provided was of greater significance.
The stories of the restoration, in context, can enhance our faith
I have chosen to call my website “Discover Faith in Christ.” It can take work and patience to discover our faith. We can do that as we put the stories of the restoration in context. Rather than just look at the loss of the 116 pages as an event that occurred in July 1828, we can place this story in context with the writings of the Book of Mormon. In so doing, we see God, our great Creator, preparing for this more than 2,000 years before it happened.
He knows us, he understands us, and he has prepared a way for his work to move forward. In the story of the fall, we read that Satan “knew not the mind of God.”39 The adversary will try to oppose the work of God, but he simply cannot do it. God has and always will prepare “a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.”40 As Joseph said, “What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.”41
In the story of the loss of the 116 pages, we see the perfect example of God knowing all things, and preparing a way for his work to move forward. This example can help us have faith that God’s purposes cannot be frustrated.
References
- Sean Cort, “Content vs. Context,” Psychology Today Website, December 7, 2009, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-perspective/200912/content-vs-context. ↩︎
- Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “fourth wall.” Encyclopedia Britannica, November 13, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/art/fourth-wall. ↩︎
- Britannica, “fourth wall.” ↩︎
- Moroni 10:3-5. ↩︎
- The story of the Jaredites, as told in the Book of Ether, occurs much earlier than the story of the Nephites. But the story of the Book of Mormon is told from the perspective of the Nephites, and the Book of Ether is included by Moroni after the Nephite civilization had already been destroyed. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 1:4. ↩︎
- Bible Chronology, Chronology of the Old Testament, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bible-chron/old-testament?lang=eng&id=p265#p265. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 1:1. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 1:17. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 6:1. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 6:3. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 9:2. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 9:3. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 9:5-6. ↩︎
- 2 Nephi 5:7. ↩︎
- 2 Nephi 5:29-33. ↩︎
- Mormon 1:1-4. ↩︎
- Words of Mormon 1:3, 7. ↩︎
- Preface to Book of Mormon, circa August 1829, Page iii, p. iii, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed January 15, 2024, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/preface-to-book-of-mormon-circa-august-1829/1. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 10:44-45. ↩︎
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Standard Unto My People,” [address to CES religious educators, Aug. 9, 1994], 7-9, as quoted in Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual, “Lesson 12: Doctrine and Covenants 10,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history-seminary-teacher-manual-2014/section-0/lesson-12?lang=eng&id=figure1_p3#figure1_p3. ↩︎
- Susan Easton Black; Larry C. Porter, “Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies, Kindle Edition, p. 117. ↩︎
- Black, p. 145. ↩︎
- Black, p. 145. ↩︎
- Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,” Zion’s Camp Books, Kindle Edition, Chapter 23. ↩︎
- Smith, Chapter 23. ↩︎
- Smith, Chapter 23. ↩︎
- Black, 146-148. ↩︎
- Black, 146-148. ↩︎
- Black, 149-150. ↩︎
- Black, 150-152. ↩︎
- Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by his Mother,” Chapter 26. ↩︎
- Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by his Mother,” Chapter 26. ↩︎
- Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, “Chapter 13: Obedience: ‘When the Lord Commands, Do It,'” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2011, 160, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-13?lang=eng&id=p9#p9. ↩︎
- Jeremiah 1:5. ↩︎
- Acts 17:26. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 9:6. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 38:1-2. ↩︎
- Moses 4:6. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 9:6. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 121:33. ↩︎