Book of Mormon Title Page

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Summary

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Story and message. The Title Page consists of a short introduction that makes several key points about the Book of Mormon:

• Audience. The Book of Mormon is written to the Lamanites, Jews, and Gentiles, or to all people.
• Transmission. The Book of Mormon is hid up unto the Lord by Moroni. It will later come forth by the gift and power of God through the Gentiles.
• Content. The Book of Mormon is a history of the Nephites and Lamanites, and also of the Jaredites.
• Purpose. The Book of Mormon is written for two purposes: (1) showing to the remnant of Israel that according to the covenant of scattering and gathering they are not cast off forever; and (2) showing to all people that Jesus is the Christ.
• Authority. The Book of Mormon is written by way of commandment from God and by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
• Disclaimer of inerrancy and warning. Moroni states that any faults in the Book of Mormon are of human origin and do not reflect upon God. He also warns that those who condemn the things of God will not be found spotless at the last day.

Text of Title Page. To see the content of the Book of Mormon Title Page, click here.

Discussion

This section is for detailed discussion such as the meaning of a symbol, how a doctrinal point is developed throughout a passage, or insights that can be further developed in the future. Contributions may range from polished paragraphs down to a single bullet point. The focus, however, should always be on understanding the scriptural text consistent with LDS doctrine. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Authorship of Title Page

Some scholars have suggested that perhaps Mormon wrote the first paragraph of the Title Page and Moroni the second paragraph. This conclusion is suggested by the awkward or disruptive phrasing that occurs with the introduction of the Jaredites halfway through the text. The idea is that Mormon may have written the first part of the Title Page and that Moroni, after adding the book of Ether, then went back and added the fact that the Book of Mormon now also included the history of the Jaredites. (Title Page). This idea is discussed in some of the resources listed at the bottom of this page (better to put those links here). Note that while the paragraph break conveniently marks this point in the text, it was not part of the original dictation by Joseph Smith (Printer's Manuscript (no paragraph break); 1830 edition (paragraph break in a different location)), though it was moved to its current location during Joseph Smith's lifetime (1837 edition).

Audience

Audience identified on Title Page. The Title Page states that the Book of Mormon is written to the Jew and the Gentile. The Title Page also states that it is being hid up by Moroni to be revealed at a later time to a different culture. (Title Page). The Title Page thus tells us that it is addressed to Jews and Gentiles of a later time and different culture than Moroni's, and not to the people of his own day.

Audience identified elsewhere in Book of Mormon. We also learn elsewhere in the Book of Mormon that much of the book is written specifically to the Jews and Gentiles of the Latter Days. Almost all of the Book of Mormon (98.8%) was written by Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and Moroni (see this discussion of their individual voices). Each of these four authors indicated who they expected their audience to be:

• Nephi (20.4%) clearly stated that he was writing the small plates to at least his own people in future generations.

• Nephi understood very early in the process of writing the small plates that they were for the benefit of his own people in future generations. This understanding is implicit in giving instruction to his descendants about what to include or not include in their additions to his writing on the small plates. (1 Ne 6:6).
• Midway through the writing the small plates, Nephi stated explicitly that the small plates were to be "kept for the instruction of my people." (1 Ne 19:3).
• Near the end of the record, Nephi said "I write unto my people, unto all those that shall hereafter receive these things which I write … wherefore, hearken, O my people" (2 Ne 25:3) and disclosed that he had received a promise from the Lord that what he wrote on the small plates would be preserved for his seed "from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand." (2 Ne 25:21).

In addition, at least by the end of the record (and we have no idea how much sooner), Nephi apparently understood that his audience included his descendants living in latter day conditions and even the latter day Gentiles. Although Nephi never said that his words on the small plates would be included word for word in the record of his people that would go forth to the latter day Gentiles (the Book of Mormon), Nephi did say the following:

• Nephi closed his writing by addressing not only "my beloved brethren" the Nephites, but also "all ye ends of the earth." (2 Ne 33:10, 13).
• Nephi identified specific conditions and doctrines that should be avoided despite their prevalence in the latter days when the Book of Mormon would come forth. (2 Ne 26:14 and Second Nephi 25-30 generally).
• Nephi stated that his words on the small plates would be used to judge not only his brethren the Nephites, but that all "the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them according to the words which are written." (2 Ne 25:21-22).

It thus appears, at least by late Second Nephi, that one of the audiences Nephi had in mind when he wrote was a latter day audience not limited to descendants of the Nephites.

• Jacob (3.4%) clearly understood that he was writing to his brethren and his children (Jacob 1:1-6; 4:2-3; 7:27). Jacob likely knew much of what Nephi knew about the future, audience, and purpose of the small plates since Jacob was the brother of Nephi, was the successor prophet to Nephi, was the custodian of the small plates on which Nephi had written everything just discussed above, was himself the worthy recipient of many revelations, and was someone who had the spirit of prophecy. (Jacob 1:1-6). But there is no explicit statement that Jacob had a latter day audience in mind when he wrote the book of Jacob.

• Mormon (65.1%) clearly understood that he was not writing to his own generation, but for a later generation including both Jews and Gentiles in the latter days:

• "And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall come unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled ... Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying ..." (3 Ne 29:1; 30:1).

• An indirect indication that Mormon's wrote for a letter-day audience is found in his decision to emphasize time periods and facets of Nephite history that find parallels in the latter days. For more on this idea, see this discussion of a Bipolar World in Nephi's use of Isaiah, Mormon's use of Nephite history, and in the latter days.

• Moroni (9.9%) wrote to all people in the latter days.

• Moroni clearly understood that he was writing to the latter days. "Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things [the Book of Mormon] shall come forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. And I know that ye do ..." (Morm 8:34-36; also see Morm 8:14-16; 9:30; Ether 4:6, 13; 8:23).

• Moroni closes the Book of Mormon by addressing first "my brethren the Lamanites" (Moro 10:1) and then "all the ends of the earth." (Moro 10:24).

Content

For a discussion of the inclusion of the Jaredite record in the Book of Mormon, see the discussion of Ether.

Purpose

Purpose as stated on Title Page. One useful framework for thinking about the purposes of the Book of Mormon is the difference between the micro and the macro, or the difference between individual concerns about personal salvation and the broad sweep of national histories. This distinction is epitomized by the two trees that Lehi and others repeatedly discuss in the Book of Mormon: the tree of life that symbolizes individual salvation (1 Ne 8:10-12; Alma 32:40-43) and the olive tree that symbolizes the scattering and gathering of Israel (1 Ne 10:12; Jacob 5:3).

Another useful framework for thinking about the purposes of the Book of Mormon is the Abrahamic Covenant (discussion at Abr 2:8-11).

The Title Page identifies two purposes for writing the Book of Mormon: (1) "to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever;" and (2) "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." This can be understood as teaching a micro level lesson on individual salvation through Christ to obtain the Abrahamic promise of individual exaltation, and a macro level lesson on the covenant of scattering and gathering under the Abrahamic promise of a land of inheritance.

The Title Page gives great weight to the Book of Mormon's function of tying children and fathers to each other within a framework of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Book of Mormon 'is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.' (Title Page). This idea finds support in the quotation of Malachi 4:5-6 in 3 Ne 25:5-6 prominently quoted by Christ himself near the climax to the Book of Mormon (outline of Third Nephi here).

Purpose as stated elsewhere in Book of Mormon. It is useful to compare the purposes of the Book of Mormon as stated on the Title Page with the purposes for writing given in the text by Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and Moroni (who between them wrote 98.8% of the Book of Mormon). This does not include every time that one of these authors told us why he included a particular passage, but is limited to statements of each author's overall purposes in writing:

• Nephi. Nephi makes three explicit statements of his purpose in writing the small plates, all aimed at bringing people to believe and trust in Christ. He also makes a fourth statement that can be seen as stating that he has two purposes, teaching about individual salvation through Christ, and also about the national salvation of Israel through the covenant of scattering and gathering.

• The first comes at the end of the opening chapter or prologue: "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1 Ne 1:20).

• The second comes at the first mention of Nephi making the small plates: "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved." (1 Ne 6:4).

• The third comes late in Second Nephi: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do ... And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Ne 25: 23, 26).

• A fourth statement should also be considered due to its position in the literary structure of Second Nephi. Nephi spends __% of Second Nephi (chapters 6-30) either quoting or explaining Isaiah. At the chiastic center or climax of Second Nephi, he pauses to explain why. First, because Isaiah is a personal witness of Jesus Christ. (2 Ne 11:2-4). Second, because Isaiah talks about two subjects: (1) individual salvation through Christ; and (2) the covenant of scattering and gathering of the House of Israel. "'Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him. And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death. And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish." (2 Ne 11:4-6). Here Nephi emphasizes not only individual salvation through Christ, but also the eventual national salvation of the House of Israel, thus paralleling the same two purposes identified on the Title Page.

• Jacob states that his only purpose in writing was to testify of Christ, but in practice he also discussed at length the covenant of scattering and gathering. Jacob stated only one purpose for his writing: to testify of Christ (Jacob 4.4). But Jacob spends much of his record relating Zenos's allegory of the olive tree which is an allegory of the scattering and gathering of Israel (Jacob 5-6), and he also relates Nephi's commandment to include on the small plates prophecies (Jacob 1:1-4) immediately before stating that prophecies had been received concerning the future history of his people: 'For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what things should happen unto them' (Jacob 1:5-6).

• Mormon.

• Mormon states that the Book of Mormon will go forth to the remnant of the House of Jacob so"that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant; And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles." (Morm 5:14-15). Here Mormon states that his two purposes are: (1) to persuade people to believe in Christ and his gospel; and (2) to effect (rather than explain) the covenant of scattering and gathering.

• The last chapter written by Mormon tells the remnant of this people: "Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel. Know ye that ye must ... repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God ... Lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant ..." (Morm 7:2-3, 5, 8-10). Here Mormon expresses three purposes: (1) an awareness of the Abrahamic Covenant; (2) individual salvation through faith on Jesus Christ; and (3) mutual support of the Bible and Book of Mormon. Though not a perfect match, this is again very close to the two purposes stated on the Title Page.

• Moroni. Moroni wrote a short conclusion to the record of his father Mormon in Mormon 8-9. He began this short conclusion confirming, without specifying, his father's purpose in writing the book. (Morm 8:5). He concluded by saying that he and his father had written the book in order to rid their garments of the blood of their brethren, and that their wish with regard to their brethren was to bring them to a knowledge of Christ. (Morm 9:35-36).

When adding the books of Ether and Moroni, he did not restate his purpose in writing there, but he did write at least the portion of the Title Page beginning with the reference to the Jaredites in which he did state the two purposes of the Book of Mormon.

Purpose as stated in title: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Related to this idea that one of the main purposes of the Book of Mormon is to bring people unto Christ, it is worth noting that the four people who wrote most of the book were each a personal witness of Christ. This gives additional meaning to the title of the Book of Mormon, which since ____ has been 'The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ.'

• Nephi (20.4%) expressly states that he is a personal witness of Jesus Christ. "And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, ... for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him ..." (2 Ne. 11:2). Nephi also relates the occasion on which he saw in vision Christ's mortal ministry, including Christ's birth and atonement (1 Ne. 11:13-33).

• Jacob (3.4%), as we are told by Nephi, is also a personal witness of Jesus Christ. "And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, ... for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word." (2 Ne. 11:2-3). Lehi, while giving what appears to be a last blessing to his son Jacob, also suggests that Jacob had seen Christ at least in vision: "For thou [Jacob] hast beheld that in the fulness of time he [Christ] cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh." (2 Ne. 2:3-4).

• Mormon (65.1%).

• Moroni (9.9%) expressly states that he is also a personal witness of Christ. "And then [at the judgment seat of Christ] shall ye know that I [Moroni] have seen Jesus." (Ether 12:39).

Disclaimer of inerrancy

Disclaimer of inerrancy on Title Page. The Book of Mormon disclaims inerrancy for itself right from the very beginning when it states on the Title Page: 'And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men.' (Title Page).

Disclaimers of inerrancy elsewhere in Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon authors never present themselves as doing more than the best they can. Other places where the authors expressly acknowledge the possibility of error include:

• Nephi

• Nephi acknowledged his human imperfection as a writer: "I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even 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 Ne 19:6).

• In the very next verse Nephi, a writer who carefully organizes and plans out his writing, and who is now halfway through writing his second and much smaller set of plates, nevertheless corrects himself with a verbal eraser: "For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words — they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels." (1 Ne 19:7).

• At the close of his record Nephi again acknowledged his weakness. (2 Ne. 33:11).

• Jacob states at the end of his record that: "I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge." (Jacob 7:26).

• Mormon

• Moroni

• "And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. ... And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things." (Morm 8:12, 17).

• "And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory. (Ether 5:1).

• "Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian ... And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew ... and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record." (Morm 9:31-33).

• "And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing ... And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared ... when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words ... And only a few [things] have I written, because of my weakness in writing." (Ether 12:23-25, 40).

• Also see

• In 3 Ne 8:1-2, we are told that although "a just man" kept the record, the dating of Jesus' visit to the land is qualified with the phrase "if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time."

• Nephi, in the course of excusing his own human limitations, says "And now, if I do err, even did they err of old." (1 Ne 19:6).

Human error in transmission of the text. Regarding inerrancy in the Bible, Joseph Smith said "I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers." The same principle appears to apply to the Book of Mormon. "As soon as they [the words of the Book of Mormon text dictated by Joseph Smith] were pronounced they entered the human realm of ordinary, historical causation ... Minor errors inadvertently crept into the text of the Book of Mormon at every stage of its transmission ... [and] careful comparisons reveal that Oliver [Cowdery] made about three textual mistakes per page in his own copying from the original manuscript to the printer's manuscript (a normal error rate in manuscript production)." While few of these errors have any doctrinal significance, they reflect the difficulty that fallible humans encounter in trying to produce a perfect, error-free document hundreds of pages in length. In this connection it may be significant that Joseph Smith did not call the Book of Mormon a perfect book, but rather "told the brethren that the book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the key stone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

Claim of authority and warning to heed

Authority and warning as stated on Title Page. Despite human frailty in writing the Book of Mormon, the message is nevertheless directed to us on the authority of God himself. The Title Page states that the Book of Mormon is "Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation ... wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." (Title Page).

Authority and warning as stated elsewhere in Book of Mormon. On several occasions the Book of Mormon authors expressly state their authority to speak in the name of God. On many other occasions they imply God's approval of their words by noting his involvement in bringing the Book of Mormon to light.

• Nephi. Nephi stated several times that we wrote the small plates by way of commandment from God: (1 Ne. 9:3, 5; 19:2-3; 2 Ne. 5:30-32). The strongest statement comes at the very end of his writing, where Nephi says: "hearken unto these words ... and if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye — for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things." (2 Ne 33:10-11).

Nephi twice stated that a particular portion of his writing was specifically commanded: (1 Ne. 10:22; 2 Ne. 28:1). On two other occasions Nephi stated that he was forbidden to write something, reinforcing the idea of divine involvement in his writing. (1 Ne. 14:25-28; 2 Ne 32:7).

• Jacob.

• Mormon.

• Moroni.

• "It is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ." (Ether 12:22).

• "And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory." (Ether 5:1).

• "Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you ... Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things." (Ether 8:23, 26).

• "Ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man ... And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true." (Moro 10:27-29).

• Moroni is also once forbidden to write any more, as Nephi was, again demonstrating God's involvement in what Moroni wrote. (Ether 13:13)

Authority and warning as stated in other scriptures.

By His own mouth He has borne witness (1) that it is true (D&C 17:6), (2) that it contains the truth and His words (D&C 19:26), (3) that it was translated by power from on high (D&C 20:8), (4) that it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (D&C 20:9, D&C 42:12), (5) that it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels (D&C 20:10), (6) that it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true (D&C 20:11), and (7) that those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life (D&C 20:14).

President Ezra Taft Benson's testimony of the Book of Mormon in the October 1986 General Conference "The Book of Mormon: Keystone of Our Religion."

These statements appear to support the position that a statement may contain error, and yet also be the authoritative word of God. Or in other words, that God will acknowledge statements made in his name if sufficiently true, even if not perfect in every detail of expression.

Unanswered questions

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Prompts for life application

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Prompts for further study

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

• Whose records did Mormon abridge when putting together the Book of Mormon? How should we interpret the phrase, "it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites"? Does the "record of the people of Nephi" refer to something that was produced by the Nephites, something that was about the Nephites, or both? Why is the word "record" used, rather than "records"? Was there just one record which contained the history of both the Nephites and the Lamanites?

• To whom is the Book of Mormon written? The opening sentence says that the Book of Mormon is written to the Lamanites, the Jews and the Gentiles. The Lamanites are described as "a remnant of the house of Israel." This seems to suggest that there are other remnants of the house of Israel. If there are other remnants, are they included amongst the Jews and Gentiles? If not, why are they not mentioned in the list of whom the Book of Mormon is written to?

• Who are the Jews? What is meant by the term "Jew" when referred to in the Book of Mormon?

• Who are the Gentiles? Does the prophecy that the Book of Mormon "would come forth in due time by way of the Gentile" only have reference to the book's translator? Does the word "way" modify the verb "come forth" or the noun "Gentile"?

• What is a "remnant"? Is the word "remnant" used only in the sense that the Book of Mormon will go to the Lamanites who are the remainder of Israel in the Americas? How accurate is it to say the Lamanite remnant in 1830 represented only a "small part" of Israel that once flourished on the American continent?

• Convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. Why are only the Jews and Gentiles listed in this phrase, and not the Lamanites? Is the phrase "Jew and Gentile" a shorthand for referring to the inhabitants of the entire world, as in D&C 57:4? Are the Lamanites included in the Jews and only singled out in the first paragraph for emphasis? Or could it be that the Lamanites are excluded here because the the account of the Jaredites, who might be considered Gentiles themselves, is particularly relevant to the Gentiles? If this is the case, why are the Jews also mentioned? Could it be that only the Lamanites, as a remnant of Israel, are still considered in good standing in the covenant and therefore do not need to be convinced that Jesus is the Christ (that is, the remnants of Israel have already been convinced that Jesus is the Christ by his appearance to them, but the Jews—who rejected Christ—and the Gentiles still need to be convinced)?

• Is the section beginning "which is to show unto the remnant..." until "...manifesting himself unto all nations" referring to the purpose of the entire Book of Mormon, or just the book of Ether? The "which" is what intrigues me, it seems to directly refer to the explanation of the book of Ether, not the entire record of the plates. Also, along the same vein, "if there are faults"; is Moroni still referring to the book of Ether, and by extension perhaps just his writings, or again to the entire record he had before him?

• Did Moroni write the entire title page of the Book of Mormon? If so, why not include the information about the abridgement of the Jaredite record along with the synopsis of the rest of the volume?

Resources

This section is for listing links and print resources, including those that are also cited elsewhere on this page. A short comment about the particular strengths of a resource can be helpful. Click the link above and to the right to edit or add content to this heading. →

Previous editions.

• The original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon Title Page.

Other resources.

• LDS Institute Book of Mormon Student Manual (PDF version): Chapter 1/56: Title Page. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2009.

• Honey, David B. "Historiography of the Title Page." JBMS 3:1.

• Ludlow, Daniel H. "The Title Page." FNDF (ISBN 0884946479), p 19-33.

• Oman, Nate. "A Brief Commentary on the Title Page of the Book of Mormon" (a post at Times & Seasons).

• Ricks, Eldin. "Book of Mormon Title Page." Encyclopedia of Mormonism (ISBN 002904040X), ??.

• Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

• Sperry, Sidney B. "Moroni the Lonely: The Story of the Writing of the Title Page to the Book of Mormon." JBMS 4:1, ??.

• Williams, Clyde J. "More Light on Who Wrote the Title Page." JBMS 10:2, ??.

Notes

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.

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