The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 8:23

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~600–592 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceeding great mist of darkness, insomuch that they which had commenced in the path, did lose their way, that they wandered off, and were lost.

Influences

2 Peter 2:17 (KJV)
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

Changes

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they whicho had commenced in the path, did lose their way, that they wandered off, and were lost.

Simple English

Then a dark mist came up. It was a very thick, dark mist. The people who had started on the path got lost in it. They wandered off and were lost.

Paraphrase

'Then a thick darkness fell—so dense that people lost their way, wandered off, and disappeared.'

Notes

8:1-38

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.