The Book of Mormon

Helaman 5:36

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~30 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the face of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to Heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being which they beheld.

Influences

Luke 10:23 (KJV)
And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
KJV Preface-1776
For whereas it was the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our [Sion], that upon the setting of that bright [Occidental Star], Queen [Elizabeth] of most happy memory, some thick and palpable clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk;
Acts 6:15 (KJV)
And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Revelation 9:7 (KJV)
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
John 17:1 (KJV)
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Changes

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to Hheaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whichom they beheld.

Simple English

He turned around. Through the cloud of darkness he saw the faces of Nephi and Lehi. They were shining brightly like angels’ faces. He saw that they were looking up to Heaven. They looked like they were talking or calling out to someone they could see.

Paraphrase

This man turned around and looked through the cloud of darkness. He saw Nephi and Lehi’s faces—and they were shining brilliantly, like the faces of angels. They were looking up to heaven, as if they were speaking to someone they could see.

Notes

5:28-43

"The preface to the King James Bible (prepared for the 1611 printing) uses certain words which do not appear in the Bible, such as 'clouds of darkness' and 'overshadowed.' This preface is still printed in the KJV Bibles today:

'clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk... the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists...'

Smith repeated these words over and over again in the book of Helaman:

'And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness... behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse... the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them... he saw through the cloud of darkness... the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness maybe removed from overshadowing us? And Aminadab said... You must repent.... and when you shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you... the cloud of darkness was dispersed. And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about... by a pillar of fire.' (Helaman 5:28, 31, 34, 36, 40-43).

After this repetitious section of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith never used the words 'cloud of darkness' again." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 27.