The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 18:6

Back to chapter
~591–589 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that on the morrow, after that we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions, according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our children.

Changes

And it came to pass that on the morrow, after that we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions, according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our children.

Simple English

The next day we prepared everything. We got lots of fruit and meat from the wilderness. We got plenty of honey and food as the Lord had commanded us. We went into the ship with all our things and seeds. We brought everything we had. We all went into the ship with our wives and children.

Paraphrase

The next day, after we loaded everything—fruit, dried meat from our hunts, lots of honey, and all the provisions the Lord told us to bring—we all boarded the ship. We brought our seeds and everything else we’d gathered, and everyone got on board—wives, children, everyone according to their age.

Notes

18:6-21

"In the Book of Mormon many of the stories appear to be biblical stories retold in a new setting. In 1 Nephi we read about a great storm that the Israelites encountered on the way to America. Interestingly, the story bears a remarkable resemblance to an incident mentioned in the New Testament concerning Jesus (see Mark 4:37-39). Both stories use identical language when speaking of the storm. In 1 Nephi 18:13 we read: 'there arose a great storm...' Mark 4:37 also says: 'there arose a great storm...'

In both cases people in the boat become concerned that they are about to 'perish' and seek help from their spiritual leader. In both cases, after the leader comes forth, the storm ceases.

Almost identical wording appears in both accounts concerning the calming of the sea. 1 Nephi 18:21 states: 'the winds did cease... and there was a great calm.' In Mark 4:39 we read: 'the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.'

It seems obvious that the author of the Book of Mormon borrowed from the gospel of Mark. The close parallels certainly show a dependence on the King James account. Lehi's family, of course, would not have had access to the books of the New Testament, which were written hundreds of years after they left Jerusalem." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 13.