Alma 10

10:2-3

“I am Amulek; I am the sone of Gidonah who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was that same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.”

           

            I have no idea who this Aminadi guy is, but what he did seems strikingly similar to the act of prophet Daniel in Daniel 5:16. There is a footnote on that verse referring to Daniel 5:16. I do not know why that footnote is there, but I am pretty sure that it is not because Aminadi is Daniel. Although there is no indication that Daniel was referred to as Aminadi in the Bible, it is common to have the same person refered to with different names. Besides the name not being known in the Bible, there is also the fact that the Nephites left to America before Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall. The only way that Aminadi could be the same character as Daniel, were if a descendant from Daniel made his way to America long after the Nephites have left. Finally, Alma 10:3 confirms that Aminadi is a descendant of Nephi and Lehi, so he was of American descendence; the only way Aminadi could have been the same person as Daniel would be if he traveled to Babylon to interpret the writing on the wall and came back to America to tell the story. Fortunately for my patience, there is also no indication that Mormons believe Aminadi to be the same person as Daniel.

Alma 5

5:6

“… And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?”

            This is another verse that mentions a concept that seems too post-Hellenism to fit into the context of these ancient Israelites that were separated from the eastern hemisphere before the diaspora. Along with “dualism” and “afterlife”, the concept of “hell” seems odd. The Old Testament mentions Sheol, which is a place where all dead people go, good and bad. There is no concept of bad people going to a different place from good people. Gehena and Gehinnom are mentioned in Joshua 15:8 and 2 Chronicles 28:3 which were real geographical locations that were said to be cursed; they eventually became to be thought of as hell. 

Alma 4

4:17

“Now this man’s name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.”

            This is an important step in the governing of Alma. Alma divides his power so that he can do work elsewhere. Alma’s position is now covered by Alma (high-priest) and Nephihah (chief judge).

Written 12-24-14

Alma 3

3:4 + 7

“And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they ahd marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites… therefore they [the Lamanites] were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ismaelitish women.”

            After the Amlicites separate themselves from the Nephites, they set upon themselves the mark of the Lamanites to distinguish themselves from the Nephites. This is one time in which the descendants of the Laman and the descendants of Nephi begin to mix. Now there is no more only Nephites and Lamanites but there are those who cross over. There are Nephites and Nephites who cross over to become Lamanites; there are Lamanites, then afterwards there will be Lamanites who cross over to become Nephites (The Anti-Nephi-Lehi/Ammonites Alma 24:19 + 27:25-26).

3:18

“Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.”

            In what way could the action of these Amlicites be considered a behavior of “self-fulfilling prophecy”? In that their ignorance or misunderstanding of a prophecy allows them to fulfill it without knowing that in their rebellion they are playing their part in the grand scheme that they are supposedly rebelling against.

3:26

“And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.”

This verse refers to the “afterlife” which was not necessarily a concept in the Jewish tradition, but was developed or adopted through Greek influence and Hellenism. This also reminds me of the frequent references to “dualism” and “hell” in the Book of Mormon, and many other concepts that I really do not think were characteristic of pre-Hellenistic Jews.

Written 12-24-14

Alma 2

Alma 2:34

“And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon…”

This verse is among many others that have an apologetic tone that is unique to the scripture of the Book of Mormon.

Others in the book of Alma include Alma 24:19:

“And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.”

The apologetic nature of these verses consists of the impression given by the writer that they are really concerned about how the reader will understand what is being read. Therefore, there are many clarifications of statements after the statements have been made. The Book of Mormon, makes plenty use of the phrase “in other words” for example. That is, after a statement has been made, the writer again states the same thing but in another way and with other words with the intent and the hope that with these other words, the reader will understand what he is trying to say.

            Now, although I really do not think that this apologetic style of writing was characteristic of pre-enlightenment/pre-Hellenism ancient Israelites, I also do not think that this necessarily disqualifies the scripture from being sacred. It could have been that the writers of scriptures were really pre-enlightenment/pre-Hellenism ancient Israelites, and that they did not write in this apologetic style. Still, it would be completely consistent with the Mormon tradition that this apologetic style of writing came from Joseph Smith himself.

            It would not be against the Mormon tradition to say or to think that Joseph Smith translated the plates and added new words and phrases to it that may have been more characteristic of his own time and history. In fact, there is even a Joseph Smith translation of the Bible that has many commentary-like phrases and words that is considered a more perfect translation of scripture. According to Mormons, this is not a violation against the legitimacy of sacred scripture because the translation was inspired by the Holy Spirit through Joseph Smith. So that just as the original writers of the Bible are said to be inspired by God, Joseph Smith is said to be the same. So whatever he wrote and whatever additions he made to scripture and to the plates he found is authorized by God. The argument cannot be made that the Book of Mormon is not legitimate just because it doesn’t sound ancient, or because it sounds out of his time. This is because Joseph Smith was inspired separately, even to change the scripture to how he saw fit to clarify the message.

Written 12-24-14

Alma 1

Alma 1:15-16

Even after Nehor acknowledged that the ideas he was spreading “were contrary to the word of God” there were still “many who… went forth preaching false doctrines”. It is no longer Nehor who causes trouble for the Nephites, he is already dead and he even took back what he once preached. He no longer causes trouble but it is his legacy that survived after him which still caused trouble for the Nephites. This shows that his ideas no longer depend on the originator, but there comes a time in the development of a movement in which the legacy grows beyond the control of its creator. Nehor and also Korihor (Alma 30) got themselves in such predicament, in which they had begun something which grew too big for them to clean up.

            This is no longer a wonder when one considers how easy it is to screw certain things up. It is a lot easier to spill milk then it is to recover it. Creating things that grow beyond the creators power to manage is certainly not an improbable phenomenon.

Verse 26:

The Book of Mormon does a lot of reference towards a certain behavior for priests to take advantage of people’s admiration and of their position as priests to have believers sustain them financially; this they call “priestcraft.” Priestcraft is thus defined as the craft that priests use to con people for their money. Such position held by the church of Latter-Day Saints puts down all other denominations and religions who follow the traditional custom of having the offering of the people maintain the economic welfare of priests, by degrading this custom to a scam.

Regarding this matter, Paul also follows the admirable example of the Nephites by supporting himself by his own labor and by his own means while he also does the work of God (1 Thessalonians 2:5-9). Indeed, Paul does mention the custom of “charging” for the preaching of the Gospel, but he does not deem the custom as a scam but as a right, moreover as a right commanded by God (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). This custom even goes back before the tradition of the Nephites. God indeed commands the early nation of Israel that the priests of the nation should get pay for their priestly services (Leviticus 18:21).

Although the perspective of getting pay for priestly and spiritual services is backed by the traditions and the words of the Bible, this verse (Alma 1:26) does give me another perspective about this “right” that the priests are set to have. According to Alma 1:26, the priest also labors as everyone else, specifically because they do not deem themselves above everyone else. Does this mean that the only reason why a priest would get pay for their priestly work is if they consider themselves above everyone else? Is pride the only reason why priests accept pay? The answer is not necessarily an obvious “no”. This verse assures that spiritual work of a priest is not necessarily above others, indeed it is not necessarily a one-way service. The traditional perspective of the teacher dispensing knowledge into the student is being replaced by a more modern perspective of both parties doing learning. In this perspective, both the priest and the congregation both benefit and receive strengthening from the interaction. The teacher is not above the student, all individuals are only part of a community of learners.

The act of being financially independent as one preaches the gospel is definitely admirable. But should those who do not follow the example of Paul and the Latter-Day Saints be ashamed of themselves and consider themselves scammers? Definitely not. Yet, one must be careful that this right to be supported by the offering of the people should not be abused, just as any other right. It is understandable how this right may lead to insensitivity and ungratefulness of priests; it may even lead to the natural insensitivity and ungratefulness of the general humanness of the priest to being more noticeable. Thus, the general insensitivity of the humanness of the priest can be interpreted or may even manifest as a susceptibility to scam.

Finally, even though the Mormon tradition insists on the admirable custom of the priests being financially independent and although they condemn the model of “priestcraft,” they do not necessarily belittle the custom of the other religions and denominations. What they do explicitly disparage is straight-out scamming which they refer to as priestcraft. Yes, they do disparage the opportunity that priests have to scam believers but this thin line between right and abuse can be displaced by opinion or outright ignored so that it is possible to become judgmental and condemn anyone who receives pay for their priestly services.

Written 11-27-14

Mosiah 28

Verse 13:
"And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow."

According to the footnotes, these two stones are the Thummim and Urim mentioned in Exodus 28:30.
The two stones that were created at the time of Moses for the high priest of the Israelites to use in divination. The big question is, how did Nephi and his family get a hold of these stones, or how did King Mosiah get a hold of these stones, or even how did they end up in the Americas?

Written before 11-26-14

Verse 20:
" And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem."

King Benjamin passed the plates down to King Mosiah (Mosiah 1:16) when Mosiah began to reign in his stead.
The Nephites do not fail to preserve their records, here in Mosiah 28:20, Mosiah hands the records down to Alma. After this Alma will hand them down to Helaman (Alma 37:1-2), who will hand them down to his younger brother Shiblon (Alma 63:1), who will not hand them down to his younger brother Corianton but instead pass them down to Helaman's son Helaman (Alma 63:10-13).

Written 11-26-14 

Mosiah 24

Mosiah 24:14-15

“And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”

God does not lighten their burdens, God gives them strength and cheer to bear them. Happiness does not depend on the state in life that one is in, but on how they handle their life and the perspective from which they see it. A rich man can be very sad, and a poor man can be the happiest. When we pray for patience we may get a burden, but we should also get the strength to bear it. Sometimes even if something does not bother us we pretend or try to make it bother us because we want recognition, because we want a reason to rebel, because we insist on our tragedy. The Nephites could have succumbed to these reasons, but they were able to follow along with the cheer that God gave them.

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 8

Mosiah 8:7-8

“And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my people. I caused that forty and three of my people should take a journey into the wilderness, that thereby they might find the land of Zarahemla, that we might appeal unto our brethren to deliver us out of bondage. And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days, yet they were diligent, and found not the land of Zarahemla but returned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel.”

This verse resonates with what Amaleki said about the group of people that left with his brother in Omni 1:30, “and I have not since known concerning them.” In the Mosiah verse we get the other side of the story, the reason they were not heard of again was because they could not make themselves heard. Even when they needed help and wanted to go back home they were stuck in their desertion. Only an initiative by the Nephites living in Zarahemla would bring them back, only if they felt like looking for them. King Limhi and his people were at the mercy of the Nephites in Zarahemla.

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 8:5

“And it came to pass that he cause that the plates which contained the record of his people from the time they left the land of Zarahemla, should be brought before Ammon, that he might read them.”

Fortunately for the readers, the group that left Zarahemla in Omni 1:30 kept record of their history which is now being given to Ammon for him to read. This verse mentions the plates in which the record of Zeniff’s group was kept. We get to read these plates since, as far as I know, Mormon added the record written in it to the book of Mosiah, comprising the chapters 9-22.

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 8:9-11

“And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold… Therefore I said unto thee: Canst thou translate?”

There are new plates to add to the collection. These plates will apparently be taken to king Mosiah to be translated.

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 8:15

“And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.”

It is nice to know. What is the basis for this, the fact that they can see the future?

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 7

Mosiah 7:15

“For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are taxed with a tax which is grievous to be borne. And now, behold, our brethren will deliver us out of our bondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites, and we will be their slaves; for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.”

I would not think that the people of Limhi would end up being slaves of the people of king Mosiah. I would think they would treat themselves like brothers or equals. But this verse just shows how much worse off they were in the presence of the Lamanites that they would prefer to be as slaves under the rule of Mosiah.

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 4

Mosiah 4:27

“… for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength…”

Humanity is stupid. As creatures we are nowhere close to understanding or being part or in harmony with the divine. Thank God that reaching our goal does not depend on how fit we are, but only on whether we are striving appropriately. Our best thoughts are completely evil, but what counts is when we try our best to be good. Does this seem like pretending?

“… And again, it is expedient that he might win the prize…”

            This is not pretending, although are acts of goodness may as well be pretension. But when we have a genuine desire to be good we only do “good” the best we know how, even if it is only as good as pretending to do “good”. If a baby is crying on the hot asphalt in the middle of the street, and the best we can do is drop a cracker beside him and pretend to ourselves that we help him out, though our acts are still evil and pathetic, they are enough for God.

Written 9-23-14

Mosiah 4:2

“And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth…”

They were able to see themselves in a new light. They saw themselves in the light of such a great manifestation that they saw their worthlessness. This is an essential revelation that all must have. People tend to have a degree of pride that is part of their everyday lives. This degree of pride makes one think that their life matters, that they have a duty and a responsibility to make something out of their existence. This degree of pride makes one think that they must succeed and excel beyond what they are, that they must make themselves suffer through great efforts to make certain things happen; and yet, the collective struggles of all of humanity do not even measure up to a whimper in the universe. In the light of God we may as well not exist.

Mosiah 4:5

“For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state –”

Mosiah 4:11

“I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility,”

This realization frees you from all responsibility, from all desire and pressure to change something in the world. It makes one’s pain, conflicts, struggles, meaningless. One can finally rest from the cares of the world and admit that they could never make anything “meaningful” no matter how much they try. It is all in God’s hands, there is nothing on your shoulders. God carries all burdens, you are free to roam or to stay, you are free to run or to struggle, but you are never obligated to do either.

Mosiah 4:11

“And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of an angel.”

Written 9-24-14

Mosiah 3

Mosiah 3:13

“And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.”

For King Benjamin, the proclamation of Christ began with the earliest prophets, and the only way to salvation was ever only by way of Christ’s death. And this fact was known throughout time only to those who were to believe. Just as two-thousand years later we speak about the one who was crucified, two-thousand years before Christ they spoke of the one who will be crucified. And they would be baptized in his name, and they would be atoned for their sins in his blood “as though he had already come among them.”

This is a nice thought, as it is a nice example of how to exercise faith. For God to bless you, you must have faith in the blessing as if he had already blessed you.

But this seems to challenge the other idea that before the new testament that began with Christ’s death, there was an old one. That under the old testament salvation worked a little differently. Some denominations of Christianity believe that baptism was not required under the old testament for salvation, because of this the thief on the cross was able to be saved as Jesus said; things worked differently back then. But King Benjamin is saying that things always worked as they do now under the new testament. The plan of salvation and the format of its way to be understood was always the same.

Written 9-23-14

Mosiah 2

Mosiah 2:9

In this verse, as well as in other verses and parts of the book of Mormon, there are many indications of a belief that there is a distinction between the mind and the body, in other words there is a belief in duality, the dual nature of a human being.

           

            The following is a list of the verses in which this idea of duality are present:

Mosiah 2:9 – “Open your ears that you may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.”

            In this verse, each property of the human being has a different function in the listening process. The ears hear, the heart understands, and the mind receives revelation.

Mosiah 2:11 – “But I am as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind”

Mosiah 2:26 – “for I am also of dust… and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.”

            Verse 26 not only implies that the essence of the human being is separate from its body (this mortal frame), but also refers to the earth as a “mother”.

Mosiah 2:28 – “I am about to go down to my grave… and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above…”

            This verse finishes the description of the duality which begins in verse 26. Verse 26 describes the body as a mortal frame, and verse 28 describes the inhabitant of the mortal frame as the self as an immortal spirit that never ceases to exist regardless of the circumstance of the mortal frame.

Mosiah 2:41 – “They are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual”

            As there are strong indications of duality in the book of Mormon, the words more commonly used to describe this duality are “temporal vs. spiritual”; this pair of words is also frequent in first or second Nephi.

Mosiah 4:26 – “I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor… both spiritually and temporally…”

            This is one more of the many indications of a tradition of duality expressed with the word-pair “temporal vs. spiritual”.

Written 9-23-14

 
Mosiah 2:24

“And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?”

“And ye are still indebted to him.”

Do we have a right as human beings to demand something from God? Does the clay say to the potter, “You are doing it wrong”? Everything is God’s and we have no say in what he creates. As human beings, creatures, creation, we are part of the world not the owners of it. If we do what God commands it does not mean that we deserve or have right to a reward; we are just part of the world, part of the phenomena that is under his command. Yet, God has mercy towards us by “paying” us back for our efforts, by rewarding our work. God’s mercy is in that the laws of reality are somewhat consistent enough to recognize a pattern and work along that pattern for our good; or God’s mercy is in that as creatures we see workable patterns that seem consistent and are able to track these patterns and use them for our good.

            We can never pay God back because everything is his. Life is not fair. Thank God life is not fair, because every day we live a life better than we deserve. Our comfort is a result of reality’s mercy; we know this because even in our earth we can see how much worse our lives could have been if we were just born, even as human beings, in another part of the world. Life is not fair, and as followers of Christ we hope it never is.

Written 9-23-14

Mosiah 2:38

“Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like and unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.”

King Benjamin describes the “dynamics of sin.” This is one way to describe sin to explain why a sinful person “goes to hell.” It is not as simple as to say that God just does not like the person because of what he does and decides to have them burn forever, but this verse describes “hell” as the torment within one’s own self, as the manifestation of guilt, that is the result of their own decisions. God does not condemn them, their own actions condemn them, in fact they condemn themselves! I’d like to recall the concept in 1 Nephi 14:3. In infinite manifestation (when “divine justice do[es] awaken his immortal soul) the fruit of destruction will destroy itself, and hate will hate itself. Like this is all of sin. It is not that God does not like sin, it is that sin does not like God though God is everywhere such that there is no way to escape him. Sin does not like to be, sin does not like itself. This makes it a necessity for him who lives under the guidance of sin to ultimately be in conflict.

            To be an enemy of God means to be against one’s own self. Because to be without harmony of the truth means to be twisted into something incompatible with what there is.

Written 9-23-14

Mosiah 1

Mosiah 1:16

“And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.”

This verse mentions objects that are important to the Mormon tradition that began with Nephi and his family. These objects include the plates of brass, the plates of Nephi, the sword of Laban, and the ball of Liahona. That is two sets of plates, a rod-shaped object, and a spherical-shaped object. These objects resonate significantly with the contents of the Ark of the Covenant: Two sets of plates of the covenant (the broken ones and the newer ones), the Rod of Aaron, and the jar of Manna (Hebrews 9:4). Items inside the Ark were: the tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 25:16)  Aaron's budding staff (Numbers 17:10), and a jar of Manna from heaven (Exodus 16:32). Just as the ark’s contents are important to the Jewish tradition, the Mormon tradition emphasizes the same feature with Nephi’s objects.

Written 9-23-14

The plates continue to be passed down:
Mosiah hands the records down to Alma (Mosiah 28:20). After this Alma will hand them down to Helaman (Alma 37:1-2), who will hand them down to his younger brother Shiblon (Alma 63:1), who will not hand them down to his younger brother Corianton but instead pass them down to Helaman's son Helaman (Alma 63:10-13).

Written 11-26-14

The Words of Mormon

The Words of Mormon 1

 

The book of the Words of Mormon is a bit confusing when first encountered, since it works as an intercession in between writings by a later editor and writer in between these ancient writings. Mormon inserts his intercession into this ancient sequence. Mormon writes from a future in which the Nephites are almost completely wiped out, so that it seems like a sort of apocalyptic extinction for these ancient Jewish Americans. In his intercession, Mormon writes about how King Benjamin was successful in taking the land of Nephi back from the Lamanites (The Words of Mormon 1:14).

 

Written 9-9-14

Omni

There is a lot of time in between the Nephites’ settling in America and the visitation by Jesus, and there is a lot of history to keep track of in between. What better way to keep the reader anchored to the story than by fast-forwarding trans-generational events into one book? The book of Omni does this.

So far in the story,

Nephi passed the plates on to his brother Jacob (Jacob 1:1-2),

Jacob passed them to his son Enos (Jacob 7:27),

Enos passed them to his son Jarom (Jarom 1:1),

Jarom passed them to his son Omni (Jarom 1:15-Omni 1:1),

Omni will pass them to his son Amaron (Omni 1:3-4),

Amaron will pass them to his brother Chemish (Omni 1:8-9),

Chemish will pass them on to his son Abinadom Omni 1:10,

Abinadom will pass them to his son Amaleki (Omni 1:12),

Amaleki will leave them in the hands of King Benjamin (Omni 1:25),

and from King Benjamin they will somehow end up in the hands of Mormon (The Words of Mormon 1:3). 

Each one of these writers contributes a short account of what happened during their time. In this way, the reader is not lost as to what happened in between certain important events, but is reported to (even if it is just everyday events) so that they are familiar with the back story of everything.
Written 9-9-14
The next mention of the plates being passed down can be found in Mosiah 28:20. The list goes as follows:
King Benjamin passes them down to his son Mosiah (Mosiah 1:16)
Mosiah passes them on to Alma "son of Alma" (Mosiah 28:20)
Alma passes them on to his son Helaman (Alma 37:1-2)
Helaman passes them on to his younger brother Shiblon (Alma 63:1)
Shiblon skips his younger brother Corianton and passes them to Helaman "son of Helaman" (Alma 63:10-13)
Written 11-26-14  
I could not find a text that says that Helaman "son of Helaman" passes the records down to his son Nephi. The closest clue I found of this was that Helaman filled in the judgment seat and became chief judge (Helaman 2:2) and then his son Nephi took over the judgment seat when Helaman died (Helaman 3:37)
Then Nephi "son of Helaman" passes them on to his son Nephi (3 Nephi 1:2-3)
Nephi "son of Nephi" passes them on to his son Amos (4 Nephi 1:19)
Amos passes them on to his son Amos (4 Nephi 1:21)
Amos passes them on to his brother Ammaron (4 Nephi 1:47)
Ammaron hides them in hill Shim(4: Nephi 1:48-49)
Remaining hidden, Ammaron tells Mormon "son of Mormon" their location (Book of Mormon 1:2-5)
Mormon keeps access to the hidden plates (Book of Mormon 2:18)
Mormon retrieves the plates from their hiding in the hill Shim (Book of Mormon 4:23)
Mormon passes them on to his son Moroni and hides others in hill Cumorah (Book of Mormon 6:6/Words of Mormon 1:1-2) 
Moroni plays around with the records and plans to hide them once he is done playing with them (Book of Mormon 8:1+4) (Moroni 10:2)
Moroni hides the "interpreting stones" (Urim and Thummim) with the records (Ether 4:5) because "Reformed Egyptian" will be a dead language with no related languages (Book of Mormon 9:32-34)
Moroni hides them for Joseph Smith to find (Book of Mormon 8:14)
Written 4-5-15

                In the book of Omni:

Omni is someone who faught for the Nephites but was not too much of a saint (Omni 1:2).

Amaron gives an account of how the Nephites began to fall into transgression and thus most of the Nephites were destroyed (this possibility was alluded to in Enos 1:13 and Jarom 1:10).

Chemish only writes that Amaron had written his contribution only the same day in which he got the plates from Amaron. It could be that he is insinuating that Amaron procrastinated in his contribution and therefore did not write much. This is all that Chemish writes so I am not sure that Chemish was told to write anything, but only wished to clarify why Amaron wrote so little (Omni 1:9).

Abinadom only says that there were wars and stuff. He says that he had no visions or anything but just read stuff that his predecessors had written and he thought it was cool (Omni 1:10-11).

Finally, Amaleki contributes the largest account in the book of Omni:

In Amaleki’s account, a certain Nephite named Mosiah is told by God to lead the people out of the land of Nephi into the wilderness. In the wilderness they find and join the people of Zarahemla. Who are another set of Jews that traveled from Jerusalem a few years after the Lehi (the Nephites and the Lamanites) left with his family (This responds to the loneliness verse I wrote about in Jacob 7:26). Interestingly, the people of Zarahemla have a stone that traces their descendants all the way back to an event that sounds like the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:9. Amaleki continues to write how the Lamanites invaded the land of Nephi, how Mosiah’s kingship got taken over by Benjamin, and how Benjamin protected the Nephites and the people of Zarahemla from the Lamanites. There were people who tried to take back the Land of Nephi but only failed.

Written 9-9-14

Omni 1:30

“And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. And I am about to lie down in my grave; and these plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking.”

            This verse talks about a group of people who went out of Zarahemla and left the Nephites to return to the land of Nephi and take back their land. This is one of the many times in which the book of Mormon begins a story split. After the intercession with the Words of Mormon the book of Mosiah continues to tell the story of the Nephites who stayed in Zarahemla and how eventually they went to search for the people that were mentioned in Omni 1:30 that have not been seen since (Mosiah 7:1). After the homebound Nephites are found, Mosiah goes back to the event in Omni 1:30 (Omni 1:27 to be more exact) to recount the story from the homebound Nephites’ point of view. The book of Mosiah does this multiple times; in fact it happens other times in the book of Mormon. One can even say that the book of Mormon begins with already-split groups of people, each with their own separate stories that eventually come together in Omni 1:14-15.

Here is a list of the split stories:

Lehi’s posse (1 Nephi-Omni :15) &

People of Zarahemla (Omni 1:15-22) – Reencounter in Omni 1:15.

Split begins in Omni 1:12 – Wandering Nephites (Omni 1:12 – Mosiah 8:21 + Mosiah 25-29) &

Home-settled Lamanites – Reencounter (only partial reencounters with Homebound Nephites).

Split begins in Omni 1:27 – Wandering Nephites (Omni 1:27 – Mosiah 8:21) &

Homebound Nephites (Mosiah 9-22) – Reencounter in Mosiah 7:7 + Mosiah 21:23.

Split begins in Mosiah 18:1 – Homebound Nephites (Mosiah 9-22) &

Alma’s wanderers (Mosiah 23-24) – Reencounter with the Homebound Nephites at Zarahemla in Mosiah 24:25.

Split begins in Mosiah 19:21 – Homebound Nephites (Mosiah 19:21) &

Noah’s priests (Mosiah 23:31-33) – Reencounter with Lamanite Army at Amulon (Mosiah 23:31).

Split begins in Mosiah 22:15 – Lamanites &

Lamanite Army (Mosiah 23:25-38) – Reencounter (Mosiah 23:38).

(Written 9-22-14)

Split begins Mosiah 28:8-9 – Reunited Nephites (Mosiah 25 – Alma 17:1) &

Mosiah's sons "Alma's buddies" (Alma 17:6 - 27:15) – 
Split in between Mosiah's sons begins Alma 17:13-17 + Alma 21:1 - Ammon "eldest son" (Alma 17:19 - 20:30) & Aaron (Alma 21:1-15) & Muloki and Ammah - Reencounter Aaron with Muloki and Ammah (Alma 21:11) & Reencounter Ammon with Aaron, Muloki, and Ammah (Alma 21:14) Split again between Mosiah's sons begins Alma 21:16 Ammon (Alma 21:18-23) & Aaron and his brothers (Alma 22 - 24:5) - Reencounter Ammon with his brothers (Alma 24:5) 
Reencounter Reunited Nephites (with Alma) with Mosiah's sons (Alma 17:1 + 27:16)

Split begins in Alma 51:22; 52:11 – Moroni (52:11 – 55 + 59-61) & Pahoran and Zaramhela (Alma 61) – Report in Alma 61:1/62:1; Reencounter with Pahoran in Gideon (Alma 62:6), then with Zarahemla (Alma 62:7)

Split begins in Alma 52:11-18 – Moroni (Alma 52:19 – 55) &  Helaman and the west (Alma 56:2 – 58) – Report in Alma 56:1; Reencounter (Alma 62:14-18)

Split begins in Alma 63:7-8 – Northbound ships from Zarahemla & Nephite territory – Reencounter (none)

 (Written 11-26-14)

Split begins in 3 Nephi 1:3 - Nephi son of Helaman leaves everyone - Reencounter (none)
Split begins in Book of Mormon 6:15 - Nephites escape southward leaving Mormon and his army to die at the hands of the Lamanites - Reencounter Lamanites go to the land southward and kill the escaped Nephites as well (Book of Mormon 8:2)

(Written 4-5-15)

 

 The sequence:

Split – The people of Zarahemla leave Jerusalem and go to America and find the land of Zarahemla and help Coriantumr. (Omni 1:15-22)

Split (1 Nephi 16 – 18) – Lehi’s posse leave Jerusalem and go to America and settle in the Land of Lehi-Nephi (1 Nephi – Omni 1:12)

1)      Lehi’s posse includes: Lehi, his wife Sariah, his children (Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi), Zoram (Laban’s servant), and Ishmael’s household.

a)      Lehi has two more children in America, Jacob and Joseph.

2)      Jacob begets Enos, Enos begets Jarom, Jarom begets Omni, Omni begets Amaron and Chemish, Chemish begets Abinadom, Abinadom begets Amaleki.

a)      Amaleki lives in the reign of Mosiah

Split Omni 1:12 – Lehi’s people split at Omni 1:12; the Nephites (under the reign of Mosiah) leave the land of Lehi-Nephi, leaving the Lamanites behind.

Join Omni 1:15 – The Nephites (Under the reign of Mosiah) join the people of Zarahemla.

1)      Mosiah reigns over the Nephites and over the people of Zarahemla.

Split Omni 1:27/Mosiah 9:1 – Zeniff is sent to go back to the land of Lehi-Nephi

Join Omni 1:28/Mosiah 9:2 – Zeniff comes back after a skirmish

Split Omni 1:29-30/Mosiah 9:3-4 – Zeniff and his people attempt to return to the land of Lehi-Nephi again

Join Mosiah 9:6 – Zeniff joins in the proximity of the Lamanites.

1)      In the Land of Zarahemla: King Mosiah is replaced by King Benjamin. (Omni 1:12 – Omni 1:17)

2)      Meanwhile in the Land of Lehi-Nephi: Zeniff becomes king. Zeniff is replaced by King Noah. (Mosiah 9-11)

Split Mosiah 18:1 – Alma leaves land of Lehi-Nephi during the reign of King Noah and arrives at Helam (Mosiah 23)

Split Mosiah 19:21 – Noah’s priest leave the Land of Lehi-Nephi under the leadership of Amulon and arrive at Amulon. (Mosiah 23:31-32)

1)      King Benjamin dies at this time and is replaced by King Mosiah (Mosiah 1-6:4)

2)      Meanwhile Noah dies at this time and is replaced by Limhi (Mosiah 11:1)

Split Mosiah 7:6 – King Mosiah (son of Benjamin) sends Ammon and his brothers (Amaleki, Helem, and Hem) out of Zarahemla to find the land of Nephi.

Join Mosiah 7:7 – Ammon and his group find the land of Nephi and join with King Limhi

Split Mosiah 22:11 – Ammon and King Limhi leave the land of Nephi

Split Mosiah 22: 15-16 – Lamanite Army leave land of Nephi and gets lost in the wilderness as they pursue Limhi and Ammon

Join Mosiah 22:13 – Ammon leads King Limhi back to Zarahemla and is adopted under the rule of Mosiah.

Join Mosiah 23:31-33 – Lamanite Army finds Noah’s priests and join Amulon, king of the priests.

Join Mosiah 23:35 – Lamanite Army and Noah’s priests find Alma in the land of Helam.

Join Mosiah 23:36-37 – Alma leads the Lamanite Army and Noah’s priests back to the Land of Nephi.

1)      Alma stays in Helam under the rule of Amulon.

Split Mosiah 24:20 – Alma and his people escape the Lamanites and king Amulon.

Join Mosiah 24:24-25 Alma and his people reach Zarahemla and join King Mosiah and King Limhi.

1)      King Mosiah rules over all, Alma becomes the high priest of all.

(Written 9-22-14)

Split  Mosiah 28:8-9 – Mosiah's sons "Alma's buddies" leave to preach the gospel to the Lamanites

Split Alma 17:13-17/Alma 21:1 - The Mosiah brothers (Ammon, Aaron, Muloki, and Ammah) decide its best to "separate and conquer"
Join Alma 21:11 - Aaron finds Muloki and Ammah at Ani-Anti
Join Alma 21:14 - Ammon gets his brothers out of Prison with the help of King Limoni
Split Alma 21:16 - Once Ammon's brothers are out of prison they again go their separate ways
Join Alma 24:5 - Ammon joins his brothers at Midian as the Lamanites decide to make war with them and the converted Lamanites (Anti-Nephi-Lehies/Ammonites)
Join Alma 17:1/Alma 27:16 - Mosiah's sons "Ammon and his brothers" being chased by the Lamanites finally go back home and find Alma

Split Alma 51:22; 52:11/61:3 – Moroni leaves the city of Zarahemla and goes to defend the western Nephite territory.

Split Alma 52:11-18/56:2 – Moroni leaves Helaman in the western Nephite territory to help Lehi and Teancum in the eastern Nephite territory.

Report Alma 56:1 – Helaman sends a letter to Moroni to report the events in the western territory

Report Alma 61:1 – Pahoran sends a letter to Moroni to report the events in Zarahemla

Join Alma 62:6-7 – Moroni finds Pahoran and then march together to Zarahemla

Join Alma 62:14 - 18 – Moroni reaches the western Nephite territory and defends it

Split Alma 63:7-8 – Northbound ships leave Zarahemla

  Written 11-26-14

 

Split 3 Nephi 1:3 - Nephi son of Helaman leaves everyone

Split Book of Mormon 6:15 - Nephites escape southward  
Join Book of Mormon 8:2 - Escaped Nephites are killed by Lamanites

(Written 4-5-15)