Continuing in the series of “lists of ten,” this post identifies ten miracles recorded in the Book of Mormon. Again, this is not to say that there are only ten miracles on record, but rather is an arbitrary sampling of some that I, for whatever reason, found to be important or intriguing.

The criteria for selecting was a matter I put a little thought into; the Book of Mormon, being a religious text, deals with a great amount of spiritual content, and accounts for many individuals’ encounters with God. While these things could be considered miracles in their own rights, the miracles I mention here of a more public nature—manifestations of God’s power that are apparent to all present, and while the witnesses may very well have been righteous, they are not necessarily rewards for obedience, but are universal displays of God’s power. Events like the death of Sherem or the muting of Korihor, however, while being acts of God, do not qualify in this miracle criteria because they would best be classified as cursings.

We often hear of the great journey of the Lehites through the wilderness before they set sail on the ocean. But seldom do we explore the travels of the Jaredites with the same level of depth. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the Lehites departed from a very well known place (Jerusalem) and during a period of time that can be examined with a plenitude of historical and cultural context, and the Jaredites did not.

The Jaredite saga begins at the Tower of Babel, a place of ambiguous historicity, in an era so far in the past that there are extremely limited external clues that might give us bearings regarding their precise whereabouts, or their place in the time’s historical schema. A few interesting points can be gleaned from the account of the Jaredite travels when we focus on the mentioning of barges.

Before the information age, text and writings were intrinsically attached to the medium upon which they were written or printed. Now, text takes on a much more intangible and ethereal nature, and allows such features as instant transferability, searchability, database indexibility, and duplicability.

This website serves as evidence of the realm of possibilities that come with digital text, in this case, the text of the Book of Mormon. But these possibilities were not always so. The Book of Mormon as we know it was once nothing more than ink on a manuscript, then ink on printed pages. With the ease of copying and pasting that we now enjoy, it is easy to forget the original nature of our scriptural texts.

With that in mind, it is with great pleasure that I present to you five online facsimiles of historical editions of the Book of Mormon, brought to you on the latest technology in online documents, iPaper.

• 1828 Printer’s Manuscript
• 1830 Palmyra Edition
• 1837 Kirtland Edition
• 1840 Nauvoo Edition
• 1920 Salt Lake City Edition
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Our Sunday School readings in 2 Nephi chapters 3-5 continue with the words, of Lehi, go forward with the response and writings of Nephi, and give us the last glimpse of a narrative story that we will have until the book of Jacob. Here is an overview of what we are dealing with:

• The Words of Lehi to Joseph
  • Joseph in Egypt
    • Joseph prophesy of a seer
• Nephi’s Psalm
• Nephite-Lamanite Schism
  • Nephite escape to the Land of Nephi
  • Military industry and defense preparation
  • Temple construction

The use of the word “church” in the Book of Mormon is a bit anachronistic. The word does not appear in the Old Testament, but (in most cases) its use in the Book of Mormon is either in the context of a prophecy, or in reference to a proto-Christian religious organization. Neither need be linked to an Old Testament concept. In one case, however (1 Nephi 4:26), Nephi uses the word to refer to a presumably religious body of which Laban might have been an “elder.” For purposes of my Plain English project, I render that usage of “church” as “congregation,” the most relevant KJV term I could identify.

Our study of the Book of Mormon now shifts away from the narrative of the Lehites’ travels and moves toward and exploration of the doctrine and teachings that were presented early on in their colonization of the New World. 2 Nephi chapters 1 and 2 contain the beginnings of Lehi’s final words and blessings. Lehi directs his words to several people or groups of people:

• To Laman and Lemuel:
  • Prophesies and teachings (2 Nephi 1:1–32)
• To Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and the Sons of Ishmael:
  • Concern and warning (2 Nephi 1:30–32)
• To Zoram:
  • Counsel and admonition (2 Nephi 1:30–32)
• To Jacob:
  • Teachings about Christ, salvation, and law (2 Nephi 2:1–13)
• To All His Sons:
  • Teachings about the purpose of life (2 Nephi 2:14–30)

While he tailored his messages to suit everyone’s circumstances, the overarching themes of agency, choice, and the necessity of freedom in God’s plan of salvation come through in all of his words.