Witnesses

The Law of Moses required two or three witnesses to convict someone of a crime. Also, commercial transactions and signing of documents of importance was done in the presence of witnesses. As a general rule, a single witness was not competent to attest or testify. (See e.g. Deuteronomy 19:15 and Isaiah 8:2). This was probably also the case for the Nephites, who followed the Law of Moses until the coming of Christ.

For instance, in Alma 9, Alma is charging an entire city with wickedness and prophesy of destruction. The people respond

2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?...
6 And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things? 

When Amulek enters the scene, the people react differently

And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them. (Alma 10:12)

The ancient Israelite law of witnesses is evidently at play. Apparently, this does not only apply to legal matters but also spiritual matters. One of the reasons Nephi quotes Isaiah, is to call on him as an additional witness to prove that his testimony of the Savior is true.

2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.

3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words. (2 Nephi 11)

To Nephi, God proves his words by calling multiple witnesses. In this case, three eye-witnesses (Isaiah, Nephi and Jacob) who all saw the Redeemer. According to John, we also have three witnesses in heaven.

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)

The Greek word translated into "bear record" in the KJV means to witness, testify or give evidence. Similar expressions are found in the Book of Mormon, like in 3 Nephi 11:32

I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me

There is another interesting example of the word of God being proven by the law of witnesses. Consider Ether 5:3-4

3 And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true.

4 And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.

These verses talk about the three witnesses. Verse 4 is a long, convoluted sentence. It starts off by restating the law of witnesses and refers specifically to "these things" which is contextualized by the preceding verses and refers to the Book of Mormon. After sorting this a bit:

• In this work (the coming forth of the Book of Mormon), the power and word of God will be shown forth
• There will be three witnesses to testify of "these things" (the Book of Mormon)
• The Father, Son and Holy Ghost all bear record of the word of God (as found in the Book of Mormon)
• "All this" (above) shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day

When demonstrating God's power in bringing forth his words in the form of the Book of Mormon in these latter days, there are two sets of witnesses: One on earth (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris) and one in heaven (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost). See this post for more context. This should tell us something about both the truthfulness and the importance of the Book of Mormon.

Internal consistency in Ether 4-5

In my post yesterday, I noted that Moroni is quoting Christ in Ether 4:6-19. Afterwards he states

And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory (Ether 5:1)

The bold part indicates that Moroni has been writing what the Lord commanded him some time before he wrote it, since he was depending on remembering correctly.

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

In verse 6, Moroni starts writing "the words which were commanded" him that he refers to. It seems that Moroni received certain instructions concerning the record of the vision of the brother of Jared. It also seems that he received the words he quoted in chapter 4 along with those instructions. Since he has already recorded the vision of Jared and sealed it up at this point, these commandments were given in the past and Moroni had to recall them and write "according to [his] memory".

Another subtle example of internal consistency. In Ether 4:3

1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.

2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.

"them" in the bold part is referring to the record of the vision of the brother of Jared. It can either mean the 24 plates that were found by the people of Limhi and later brought to Mosiah or it can refer to Mosiah's translation of them. Even though verse 1 says that Mosiah kept them, there is no reason to believe that he buried them in the earth. But the "again" indicates that they have been hidden in the earth at some point before. The answer is found in Mormon 6:6

knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.

The "few plates" that he gave to Moroni were the plates of Mormon. The Jaredite plates and Mosiah's translation were most likely among the plates that Mormon hid in the hill Cumorah. So they have indeed been hidden in the earth. Trying to trace the events here, we have the following timeline:

• Not long before the final battle between the Nephites and Lamanites at around 385 AD, Mormon hides all the records in the hill Cumorah except for the plates of Mormon that he gives to Moroni
• At 400 AD, some years after his father's death, Moroni finishes his father's record on the plates of Mormon (Mormon 8-9)
• Some time later, Moroni digs up the plates and obtains at least the Jaredite history. He first engraves the vision of the brother of Jared on the plates of Mormon and seals them up (as we have noted, this has already been done when he abridges the Jaredite history in Ether 4)
• Then he abridges the Jaredite history on plates of Mormon in the unsealed part before presumably hiding them in the earth again.
• Some time later, at more than 420 AD, he realizes he has time to write some more even though he didn't intend to (Moroni 1:4), before also finally hiding the plates of Mormon

The history of the various records is not straight forward and is not always told in detail in clear terms, but we get small hints and they typically turn out to be in agreement.

Moroni's authority in Ether 4-5

Something interesting I learned from a close reading of Ether 4-5. In Ether 4:6, Moroni writes:

For the Lord said unto me...

It seems that the rest of chapter 4 is Moroni quoting what the Lord told him. The chapter ends with

And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.

Then chapter 5 begins with shifting back to Moroni speaking

And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory

Moroni then goes on to speak directly to Joseph Smith, which is interesting in and of itself. But I noticed the following verses

Ether 4:10

and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.

and Ether 5:6

And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day.

In the first example, it is the Lord speaking. In the second example, it is Moroni speaking. Moroni makes a very similar statement to that of the Lord. Just as we will know for ourselves "at the last day" that it was the Lord speaking these words, so we will know for ourselves at the last day that Moroni had authority to convey those words to us. Moroni borrows language from the Lord to claim that authority. He says we will stand before God together with him on that day. In Moroni 10:27 he elaborates somewhat on this

for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?

So the Lord is declaring his words (compare with "it is I that speaketh" in Ether 4:10) and Moroni has received the authority to write them down. This is typical for the role of a prophet and fits nicely into the "Office of the Ministry of Angels" pattern that Lord Wilmore identified, even though Moroni is not receiving the words from an angel in this case but rather the Lord himself. To recap:

Angels are sent.

They call men to repentance.

They "fulfill" and "do the work of the covenants" of the Father.

• This is accomplished by declaring "the word of Christ" ...
• ...unto "chosen vessels of the Lord."

The chosen vessels bear testimony of Him.

By so doing, God "prepareth a way" for the residue of men to have faith in Christ...

...so that the power of the Holy Ghost can have place in their hearts.

Compare with Ether 4

10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.

11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.

13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.

18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.

19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.  

1 And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me

Another interesting aspect of this: Moroni makes his bold statement in Ether 5:6 right after he has addressed Joseph Smith directly in writing and told him about three witnesses. We know what happened about 1400 years later: Moroni appeared as an angel to Joseph Smith to show him where the plates were but he also appeared to the three witnesses. Claiming "authority for these things" may indicate that Moroni at this point in his life knew something about what was coming.

These two chapters also give a couple of interesting examples of internal consistency. I will save those for tomorrow's post.

Internal Consistency throughout the Book of Ether

The Book of Ether offers perhaps the most complex example of internal consistency imaginable. In chapter 1, we encounter a list of the lineage of Jared, starting with the final member in that line (Ether) and extending back to Jared himself. 30 names are mentioned.

What follows in the next 15 chapters is a detailed account of the history of the Jaredite nation, complete with war, intrigue, murder, a description of their secret combinations, and finally their utter destruction.  This account is interrupted 5 times (three short and two long interruptions) by Moroni.

In addition, during the accounts of various kings and usurpers, approximately 30 additional names are mentioned as either place names or other actors in the narrative.  I call these "mingling names". I am not counting the 12 names associated with the narrative of the first king, nor am I including the 28 names that appear as part of the narrative of the last in the lineage.


Here's a fun set of challenges:

1. See if you can read Ether 1 and then recite back the names in order.  If you succeed, you have a better memory than I do.  
2. Now try it backwards, which is how we encounter them in the text.  
3. If all of that is too easy for you, add in 30 other unusual names in between each member of the list.  
4. Still not challenged? Make sure several of the additional names you include reference parts of the Nephite history.

Name (Reference)	“Mingling” names*	#	Interjections from Moroni
Jared (1:33-6)	“Brother of Jared” Nimrod Moriancumer Shelem Moroni Mosiah Israel John Gilgah Mahah Orihah Pagag	12	(2:9-12); (3:17-20); (3:25-6:1):
Orihah (6:14, 27, 30; 7:1-2)		0
Kib (7:3)	Corihor Nehor Moron Jared Shule	5
Shule (7:7-27; 8:1)	Ephraim Nehor Kib Noah Moron Cohor Nimrod Omer	8
Omer (8:1; 9:1-14)	Jared Heth Esrom Coriantumr “daughter of Jared” Akish Kimnor Cain Shim Ablom Nimrah Emer	12	(8:19-9:1)
Emer (9:14-21)		0
Coriantum (9:21-24)		0
Com (9:25)		0
Heth (9:25-10:1)	Zarahemla	1
Shez (10:1-4)	Shez (his son)	1
Riplakish (10:4-8)		0
Morianton** (10:9-13)		0
Kim (10:13-14)		0
Levi (10:14-16)		0
Corom (10:16-17)		0
Kish (10:17-18)		0
Lib (10:18-29)		0
Hearthom (10:29-30)		0
Heth (10:31)		0
Aaron** (10:31)		0
Amnigaddah (10:31)		0
Coriantum (10:31)		0
Com (10:31-34; 11:1-3)	Amgid	1
Shiblon/m*** (11:4-9)	“Brother of Shiblom”	1
Seth (11:9)		0
Ahah (11:10)		0
Ethem (11:11-14)		0
Moron (11:14-18)	“Descendant of the brother of Jared”	1
Coriantor (11:18-23)		0
Ether** (11:23; 12-15)	Coriantumr Moroni Moses Alma Amulek Nephi Lehi Ammon three disciples “brother of Jared” Zerin Israel Joseph Abraham Cohor Corihor Shared Gilgal Heshlon Akish Moron Lib Agosh Shiz Shurr Comnor Ogath Ramah	28	(12:6-13:13)

* (Names in italics are mentioned within an interjection)

** Chapter 1 states this person was a descendant of the previous name.

** Notice that Ether 1 mentions “Shiblon” and Ether 11 mentions “Shiblom”.

A few notes worth mentioning:

1. The "Shiblon/Shiblom" inconsistency needs to be explained. In the divine model, this seems very clearly to be an error that crept in through handwriting and recopying by someone who was unfamiliar with the earlier reference in Ether 1. In other words, Oliver perhaps didn't reference Ether 1 as he was copying Ether 11. In a naturalistic explanation, you could argue the same thing, I suppose, but it seems like the kind of thing you would notice if you had carefully planned out and/or memorized the text in advance.
2. I do not believe that it is reasonable to conclude that Joseph Smith spontaneously dictated a text as complex as this without either divine power (as he claimed) or careful notes. There is no evidence that he referenced notes during the miraculously rapid dictation of the text. The interjections by Moroni are very different in tone and content than the rest of the narrative account. This is complicated writing. 
3. It seems that Moroni was completing a task that had been started by his father, and could not restrain himself from interjecting doctrine and prophecies. 
4. Unlike most of the rest of the Book of Mormon, the Jaredite account in the Book of Ether has very few references to Jesus Christ. In fact, aside from the interjections by Moroni and the vision of the brother of Jared, there are no references to Jesus Christ in these 15 chapters.