Seventeen chapters into the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Jr. introduces a story strikingly reminiscent of Noah.

Nephi ascends a mountain, where God commands him to build a ship (1 Nephi 17:8). When Nephi claims he lacks moulton oar and bellowses (original spellings) to forge tools (v. 9), the narrative abruptly detours. Instead of addressing the shipbuilding challenge, Nephi explains why they couldn’t make fires—God supposedly made their raw food taste sweet and served as their light in the wilderness (vs. 12-13). This unexplained, nightly miracle seems like an afterthought, as if Joseph realized mid-story, Oh, I should explain why we never brought bellowses!

Additionally, Joseph never clarifies how the group stayed warm, despite winter nights in Saudi Arabia dropping to 45°F.

1 Nephi 17:8-13 – The Handwritten Book of Mormon (West Valley City, UT: Dan Wees, September 2017 – 4th printing), 50-51.