The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 13:34

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~600–592 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after that I have visited the remnant of the House of Israel, and this remnant of which I speak, is the seed of thy father; wherefore, after that I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles; and after that the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the Gospel of the Lamb which hath been kept back, by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb; wherefore, I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, saith the Lamb, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them in mine own power, much of my Gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb;

Influences

Revelation 17:5 (KJV)
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
2 Timothy 2:8 (KJV)
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

Changes

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after that I have visited the remnant of the Hhouse of Israel, —and this remnant of whichom I speak, is the seed of thy father; —wherefore, after that I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles;, and after that the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the Ggospel of the Lamb which hathve been kept back, by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb; wherefore, —I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, saith the Lamb, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my Ggospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb;.

Simple English

Then the angel of the Lord spoke to me and said: 'The Lamb of God says: After I have visited the remnant of the House of Israel, and this remnant I speak of is your father’s descendants, so after I have visited them in judgment, and hurt them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles stumble very much because of the most clear and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb that have been kept back by that terrible church, which is the mother of prostitutes, says the Lamb - I will be merciful to the Gentiles in that day, says the Lamb. I will bring to them by my own power much of my gospel, which will be clear and precious, says the Lamb.'

Paraphrase

The angel continued: 'The Lamb says: 'After I judge the remnant of Israel—your father’s descendants—after the Gentiles strike them down, after the Gentiles stumble terribly because that corrupt church of prostitutes hid the clearest truths of my gospel, then I will show the Gentiles mercy.'

Notes

13:1-42

Both Joseph Smith’s father and Nephi’s father are described as having multiple dreams. In her book, Lucy Mack Smith recounts several of her husband’s visions, which were likely shared often within the family. One of these dreams is dated sixteen years before Joseph Smith obtained the plates:

"In 1811, we moved... to the town of Lebanon, New Hampshire. Soon after arriving here, my husband received another very singular vision, which I will relate..."

Readers have noted similarities between this account and the dream of Lehi in the Book of Mormon.

The following outlines parallels between Joseph Smith Sr.’s dream, as recorded in Lucy Smith's Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations, and Lehi’s dream in 1 Nephi 8, along with Nephi’s expanded description of the same vision in 1 Nephi 11-14.

  1. Both Joseph Smith's father and Lehi state they were traveling (1 Nephi 8:8; Smith, p. 58).
  2. Both mention a field (1 Nephi 8:4,9; Smith, p. 58).
  3. Both dreams compare the field to a world (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
  4. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi have a guide (1 Nephi 8:5-6; Smith, p. 58).
  5. Both mention a broad road or roads (1 Nephi 12:17; Smith, p. 58).
  6. Both mention a narrow path (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
  7. Both mention a stream of water (1 Nephi 8:13; Smith, p. 58).
  8. Both mention something extending along the bank of the stream (1 Nephi 8:19; Smith, p. 58).
  9. Both mention a tree (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
  10. Both mention the beauty of the tree (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
  11. Both trees bore fruit (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
  12. Both compared the whiteness of the fruit to snow (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
  13. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi ate of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
  14. Both found the fruit to be delicious (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
  15. Both wanted their families to partake of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, p. 58).
  16. Both families came and partook of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:16; Smith, p. 58).
  17. After eating the fruit both experienced great joy (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, pp. 58-59).
  18. Both mention a spacious building (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
  19. Both indicate the building reached high into the air (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
  20. Both buildings were filled with people (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
  21. In both buildings the people were finely dressed (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
  22. In both cases the people in the building pointed the finger of scorn at those partaking of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
  23. Both state they ignored the people in the building (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
  24. Both state the meaning of the fruit is the pure love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22; Smith, p. 59).
  25. Both state two members of the family are not present (1 Nephi 8:17; Smith, p. 59).
  26. Both mention the fall of the building (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59)
  27. Both imply that pride was connected with the building or its inhabitants (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59).

For a full treatment of this subject, including a side-by-side comparison of the above references, see Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, pp. 161–163.