1 Nephi 19

1 Nephi 19

“Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, ever did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.”

-          1 Nephi 19:6

“If I do err…”

            One thing about the Book of Mormon and its distinction from other sacred scripture is that it is very apologetic about itself (including its own sacredness and approach). In this verse, the prophet Nephi writes what he, himself, considers to be “sacred scripture;” just as if Paul thought his letters to be sacred as he was writing to his churches. Nephi is not just writing an account of his experiences, he is very decisively and intentionally writing scripture as we know it today.

            The Book of Mormon, in many cases, is very self-reflective in that it tries to explain and justify the prose, its purpose, its process, its perspective and everything in between. In this sense it is very different from the writings of the Bible as we know them. Because of this, it unfortunately gives me the sense that the author was only trying too hard to make this sacred scripture perfect or to make this inevitably imperfect scripture sacred; or even to make this scripture as rhetorically sound as possible for post-enlightenment perspectives and cultures.

            In this verse, Nephi excuses himself saying that if it is the case that he errs in writing this scripture that it is only because human nature is weak, imperfect, and therefore imperfection will show in his writing. He says that he doesn’t excuse himself because of other men, but he excuses himself because of his human nature; but then, why does he bring up other men in the first place?

            Before going into why Nephi brings up “other men” I first want to clarify who I think these other men are (if it isn’t clear already). The context does not mention who these men are. Still, one can infer that since Nephi is regarding the legitimacy of the sacredness of his scripture, the “other men” that he brings up to compare his sacred scripture is not just any laypeople; and the errors of “these people” that Nephi compares his errors to are not just errors in any aspect of life or hobby. No, the way laypeople commit errors as they carry out their hobbies is not a fitting comparison to uphold Nephi’s scriptures to a level of sacredness. This verse would not make any sense and there would be no reason for Nephi to use this verse as a way to legitimize the sacredness of his scripture. Because of this, I infer that by “other men” and their errors, Nephi can only mean the writers of previous scriptures and the errors they committed in their writing. This verse also proves that Nephi, and those who follow this Mormon tradition, do not believe in the inerrancy of scripture (at least those not edited by Joseph Smith); which is the reason why Nephi brings up these “other men.”

            “If I do err, ever did they err of old.” By bringing up “them of old” Nephi is firstly comparing his scripture to be of the same level of legitimate sacredness as all other scriptures and secondly denying the inerrancy of scripture. It is obvious here that Nephi felt like he had qualifications to write sacred scripture despite the inevitable flaws of human nature. I am sure that this is the same view that Joseph Smith had as he was translating from these plates. Which makes me ponder up a more critical view: …

            In summary and in caricature of the views of the Mormon Church, it is commonly said that as Joseph Smith prayed to God to lead him to the correct church and denomination, God answered him and said that none of the Christian denominations were correct… and therefore Joseph Smith began his own movement which resulted in the Mormon Church. Could it be that Joseph Smith did indeed get this realization? That as he analyzed scripture and cultures and the traditions of writing and the studies of critical biblical scholars Joseph Smith learned that scripture was not inerrant? Could it be that, thusly, he realized that none of the Christian denominations were correct in approach and ideology regarding scripture and how it came to be? And so he began a movement of his own? Realizing that the traditions of scripture writing were comparable to as if he would write a scripture himself in his own situation, he began to write his own scripture and develop his own movement; in fact, staying faithful to certain scriptural traditions. And therefore, Joseph Smith says, through the character of a Jewish prophet, “If I do err, ever did they err of old.” And indeed, as far as modern Biblical Criticism Joseph Smith does follow the tradition of the authors of scripture, and his writings are as legitimate as those in the Bible and even the extra-biblical writings.

            Indeed, as I was reading about how Nephi kept being bullied by his older brothers, often binding him with ropes, I, more than once, thought to myself if this was not actually an autobiography of a troubled Joseph Smith due to his childhood experiences; that these experiences manifested into something that people now call sacred scripture. As far as I know right now, I am not sure if Joseph Smith had any siblings. Keep reading my friends.

Written 8-22-2014

Verse 10
"And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more specially given unto those who are of the house of Israel."

Two figures who seem to prophets are referred to in this verse, Zenock and Neum. I wondered if these are referred to in other places other than the Book of Mormon. Maybe in other extra-biblical sources which the Mormon tradition would definitely not rule out being uninspired, such as the Book of Enoch and the Declaration of Independence.
While considering the Dead Sea Scrolls there is such thing as a figure who proclaims "the coming of a Messiah" 300 something years before Christ. In the "Damascus Document" he is called the "Teacher of Righteousness". But from the experience I had with the Book of Enoch, I wouldn't get too excited about this document. I would be impressed if it sounded anything like the Book of Mormon given that the scrolls were only discovered more than 100 years after Joseph Smith translated the plates.
A prophet name that is mentioned elsewhere is Zadok, who anointed Solomon in 1 Kings 1:39. Whether Zenock is actually a variation of the name Zadok could be left to opinion. Nevertheless we have no record of Zadok saying anything Zenock is mentioned to have said.