Little is known about the calendar used by the Nephites, but it is clear that they did classify their history based on years, months, and days. It is perhaps plausible that like many other agricultural societies, they used the lunar calendar (Coriantumr’s stay in Zarahemla was reportedly “nine moons.”) When the government of Zarahemla switched from a monarchy to a judicial system, the years came to be numbered according to the elapsed time under “the reign of the judges.” References to dates, months and years are sporadic, but we do get one clear look into some dramatic events that occured on new year’s eve between the 25th and 26th years of the reign of the judges.

During the Christmas season, it is not uncommon to hear religious people bemoan the “over commercialization” of Christmas and implore others to remember the “true meaning.” The implication seems to be a call for more nativity scenes, less Santa; more “O Holy Night,” less “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.” Additional perspective can be gained on this issue by referring to the Book of Mormon, which records multiple references of people anticipating and remembering the birth of Christ, or the “true meaning” of Christmas:

One issue that often causes difficulty for readers of the Book of Mormon is the fact that several passages describe things that are out of context and chronology relative to its surrounding text. The prime example of this are the Words of Mormon (dated 385 A.D.), which are framed by the much older Books of Omni and Mosiah (both dated 130 B.C.). When the full picture of how the Book of Mormon was written and compiled is considered, it makes sense, but it nonetheless causes a confusing experience for a new reader.

It’s worth remembering that the Book of Mormon story is not a linear narrative; rather, it often tells multiple stories that occur simultaneously. One example of this is when Zeniff leaves Zarahemla to recolonize the Land of Nephi. His people’s story is found Mosiah chapters 9-22, and the parallel account of those who remained in Zarahemla (Mosiah, Benjamin, etc) is told in the early chapters of Mosiah. Because of their sequential displacement in the text, many readers fail to realize that King Benjamin’s Speech and the trial of Abinidi could plausibly have occurred at the same time.

When writing a story composed of multiple simultaneous accounts and parallel stories, telling one, then afterwards telling the other is inevitable. One of the goals of this website is to use the power of interactive media to present the stories in a format that makes it much easier to grasp the multi-dimensionality of the Book of Mormon narrative. Here some examples of this in practice:

As mentioned previously, there are multiple ways that this website can be explored. For those new to BookofMormonOnline.Net (which is most of you) I would like to outline in a bit more detail how a visitor might begin his or her study.

High-Level Overview

For those seeking an general understanding about the Book of Mormon narrative, but do not wish to invest any significant amount of time, the main portal is probably the place to start. By hovering the mouse over one of the twelve buttons on the page, the reader can read a brief synopsis of each of the twelve sections. It will likely take about five minutes to read, and will give the reader a good idea of how the Book of Mormon narrative is structured.

Welcome to all new visitors! BookofMormonOnline.Net is a revolutionary new exposition of the Book of Mormon with the object of presenting its full text in the most accessible form possible. Containing every single verse of the Book of Mormon, BookofMormonOnline.net breaks up the text into contextually analogous reader-friendly segments arranged in primarily chronological form.