Select Page

Given the size of the plates and the challenge of engraving by hand into metal, one would expect maximum conciseness. Yet, the Book of Mormon often exhibits redundancy.

For example:

“And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:4).

A more concise version would be:

“And we did sojourn in the wilderness for eight years.”

Why would an all-knowing being reveal the verse in a clumsy form through the seer stone rather than a more refined version?