Most of us have had situations where we agonize over why God would allow something to happen a certain way. Usually the feeling is most acute when something hurtful or traumatic has taken place (a life-changing condition or circumstance, or the loss of a loved one). These are not trivial matters, but go to the heart of questions about existence, about divine justice, and ultimately about love.
We learn in this chapter that not even those whom we see as “closest to God,” such as a prophet like Nephi, knows exactly how God’s plan works. But this chapter is part of a story that played out 2,400 years after Nephi wrote it to give us the benefit of hindsight about the fruits of trusting in God’s plan and His ultimate knowledge. This type of faith is one of the hardest to achieve in life, but it is so worth the effort to acquire bit by bit. The Apostle Paul, in his famous message to the Corinthians about faith, hope and charity, described it by saying, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” (1 Cor. 13:12).
In my own life, I often get a strong feeling that I should do something, but find it challenging to follow through on because the outcome seems so uncertain. That glass Paul talked about seems to me to be very dark indeed. But I have learned over time to trust those gut feelings and take the next step, largely because the best things in my life have happened that way, and I wouldn’t have grown otherwise.
OK, now to this 2,400-year story. A little after 600 B.C., Nephi is sharing with us, the reader, that he has been instructed by the Lord to create two different sets of record-keeping plates. We discussed this three chapters ago (1 Nephi 6) as well. One set Nephi calls “these plates” because it is from them that we eventually get this chapter (and the rest of this first part of the Book of Mormon that runs until the section known as The Words of Mormon). “These plates,” also known as the small plates of Nephi, hold those things that are most important for understanding how the Lord directly dealt with Lehi’s family and descendants and established a spiritual ministry involving priests and a church. The “other plates,” also known as the large plates of Nephi, contain much more of a comprehensive history and genealogy of the people.
Why do we have the account from the small plates, not the large ones? Well, that’s the point of the story. Nephi doesn’t fully understand why he found himself writing down a lot of the same things on both sets of plates, but he contents himself with the thought that the Lord knows why, and that’s all that matters.
In the months after Joseph Smith acquired the gold plates from the angel Moroni in 1827, Joseph translated an abridged version of Lehi’s and Nephi’s account from the large plates. The work was time-consuming, and Joseph and his new wife would have had great difficulty devoting their time to it without the financial and moral support of others. One of these helpers, an older and more well-to-do man named Martin Harris, wanted to be able to show his wife the evidence of Joseph’s work so she would have more confidence in her husband’s efforts to help Joseph. The Lord warned Joseph (in answer to Joseph’s prayers) not to share the 116-page translated transcript with Martin, but eventually told Joseph (after Joseph kept asking) that He wouldn’t stop him. It didn’t take long for Joseph to find out the reason for the Lord’s warning. Martin or his wife shared the transcript with other people, and it became lost or was stolen.
Joseph was devastated, and lost the privilege of translating for some months. Eventually the Lord allowed him to resume, but under the condition that—when it came time to cover the events of Lehi’s and Nephi’s lives—he had to switch from the abridged version of the large plates to the small plates (which, through the efforts of Nephi and those who followed him, contained many of the same key events and teachings contained in the account from the large plates). The idea was that if Joseph tried to replicate his translation from the abridged version of the large plates, those who had taken the 116 pages would be able to alter them and thus publicly challenge the authenticity of Joseph’s work. But if Joseph started translating from an entirely new source, that danger was gone.
It’s interesting to think about what went through Joseph’s mind as he translated the words of this chapter from the small plates. Did he recognize that the purpose Nephi had wondered about was being fulfilled in that very moment through his own actions?
You can read the chapter here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/9?lang=eng.
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