The Book of Mormon

Ether 4:1

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~AD 401–421

1830 Edition

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 Benjamin keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should shew himself unto his people.

Influences

John 19:31 (KJV)
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Changes

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 BenjamMosinah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should sheow himself unto his people.

Simple English

The Lord told the brother of Jared to come down from the mountain. He told him to write the things he had seen. But the Lord said these writings should not go to people until after he was lifted up on the cross. This is why King Benjamin kept them hidden. They could not go to the world until after Christ showed himself to his people.

Paraphrase

The Lord told the brother of Jared to come down from the mountain and write down everything he had seen. But these writings were to remain sealed—no one could read them until after Christ was lifted up on the cross. That’s why King Benjamin kept them hidden until after Christ appeared to his people.

Notes

4:1

The 1830 edition of Mosiah 21:28 originally read, “…from the mouth of Ammon that king Benjamin had a gift….” However, according to Mosiah 6:4–5, King Benjamin had already died by that point in the narrative, creating a chronological problem. This issue appears to have been recognized early, because in the 1837 edition—and in every edition since—the passage was revised to read, “…from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift….”

A similar change occurs in Book of Ether 4:1. In the 1830 edition the text referred to “king Benjamin,” but in the 1849 edition it was changed to “king Mosiah.”