S2 E42 (Nov. 2-8) “I Speak unto You As If Ye Were Present”

This week I really wondered about Mormon and Moroni's mental health. I mean, I've been wondering about it for awhile, but this week I really started looking at the way trauma impacted Moroni's writing style. We talk about why Moroni is one of my favorite scriptural writers, why bad things happen to good people, and why gold plates aren't a weird writing material in the ancient world.

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Tested, Proved, and Polished by Henry B. Eyring

God has the power to make our way easier. He fed manna to the children of Israel in their wandering to the promised land. The Lord in His mortal ministry healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the sea. After His Resurrection, He opened “the prison to them that were bound.”3

Yet the Prophet Joseph Smith, one of the greatest of His prophets, suffered in prison and was taught the lesson we all profit from and need in our recurring tests of faith: “And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”4

You might reasonably wonder why a loving and all-powerful God allows our mortal test to be so hard. It is because He knows that we must grow in spiritual cleanliness and stature to be able to live in His presence in families forever. To make that possible, Heavenly Father gave us a Savior and the power to choose for ourselves by faith to keep His commandments and to repent and so come unto Him.

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The book about Trauma I'm currently reading and recommend: 

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How Can the Book of Mormon Survivors Give Us Hope?

In a remarkable study on those who have survived terrible atrocities, Terrence Des Pres explained that having their story told is “enormously important to people facing extinction. In the survivor's own case … it becomes a way to transcend the helplessness which withers hope and self-respect.”12 This certainly seems to be the case with the Book of Mormon prophets who, in the midst of tragic episodes of grief and suffering, diligently recorded their experiences for future generations.13

In our own day, millions suffer from having experienced or witnessed terrible things. Soldiers who experience combat often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).14 Countless individuals struggle with feelings of depression, loneliness, heartache, disappointment, disinterest, and a number of other personal sorrows, mental limitations, and emotional scars. Some of these feelings are due to severe chemical imbalances. Others may be caused by different circumstances out of an individual’s control. And sometimes those who suffer simply don’t have good answers for why they feel so unhappy.15

The Book of Mormon offers a powerful message of hope to those who for whatever reason have cause to mourn. It shows that while the suffering of its prophetic survivors was real and acute, their overwhelming sorrow was ultimately “swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38). They mourned for the pain and suffering of their people, but they also looked to the future with hope. They knew that by witnessing and recording these sad experiences, they could help future generations avoid unnecessary sorrows. Elder Dallin H. Oaks has taught that “Lord will not only consecrate our afflictions for our gain, but He will use them to bless the lives of countless others.”16

In each case, the Book of Mormon’s sad tales of human atrocities help us refocus our minds and hearts on Jesus Christ—whose infinite sacrifice gives meaning and purpose to our very existence. Not only did Christ experience His own excruciating trials, but through His divine power, He willingly witnessed and participated in our suffering in a way that is personal to each of us.17 He is the ultimate survivor-witness. He descended below all things, witnessed the worst of death and hell,18 and yet rose again with hope and “healing in His wings.”19



Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “It is only an appreciation of this divine love that will make our own lesser suffering first bearable, then understandable, and finally redemptive.”20

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Why is the Book of Mormon important to me? Because of what it tells me about Christ!

Alma 7:11–12

Book of Mormon

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.



12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

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Are There Other Ancient Records Like the Book of Mormon?


According to John A. Tvedtnes, “The concept of hiding books for future generations to discover is [also] evident in a large number of early documents from the ancient Near East, whence came the peoples of the Book of Mormon.”2

In “an early Jewish text … Moses instructed Joshua on how to preserve the books (parchments) he was leaving in his charge … and [to] deposit them in earthen jars until the day of recompense.”5 The Dead Sea Scrolls (some of which were found in earthen jars) the Nag Hammadi texts, and a host of other discovered documents confirm that many ancient records really were preserved for future generations.6
Metallic Plates, Stone Boxes, and Sealed Documents

The Ketef Hinnom inscription written on a silver scroll from Israel.

The idea that the Book of Mormon was engraved onto golden plates and buried in a stone box, along with other sacred relics, was ridiculed by some people in the 19th century.8 Yet today, according to H. Curtis Wright, “literally thousands of metal documents” have been discovered from “all over the ancient world.”8

These include a variety of documents made from gold and gold alloys, some of which are from ancient America.9 The discovery of ancient hidden relics, many of them also made from precious materials, is also significant.10

An ancient Egyptian temple text “describes how to inscribe a text on a gold or silver lamella (plate) and place it ‘in a clean box.’”11 That such boxes were actually used to preserve documents and sacred relics is now widely attested throughout the ancient world.12 For instance, in 1854, “six small inscribed plates (gold, silver, bronze, tin, and lead, with one alabaster) were found in a stone box buried beneath [Sargon II’s] palace foundation.”13 In a 1933 excavation at “Persepolis, two pairs of [inscribed] plates (one silver and one gold in each pair) were found in stone boxes placed in the foundation corners of the palace.”14 And “in 1965 a set of nineteen inscribed gold plates was found in a bronze box.”15
Mountains, Caves, and Angels

Ancient Roman Plates. Image via lib.byu.edu

Mountains often symbolize temples or holy sanctuaries.19 Likely in relation with this theme, the Book of Mormon reports that several sacred revelations—including the Book of Mormon itself—were received, recorded, or buried in association with mountains or hills.20 Historical accounts indicate that many Nephite records were preserved in a hillside cave,21 and the Book of Mormon itself emphasizes that it would be “brought out of the earth” (Mormon 8:16).22 Joseph Smith said that an angel named Moroni had responsibility for the plates and led him to their buried location on a hill near his family’s farm (Joseph Smith—History 1:21–54).

Many ancient documents were also found or reportedly hidden in mountains or caves. For instance, the The Cologne Mani Codex indicates that “an angel brought Enosh to a mountain and instructed him to write on bronze tablets and hide his record.” In Russia, “twelve small gold plates” were reportedly found “in a hill.”23 In the Masonic tradition, the prophet Enoch “inscribed his revelation on a gold plate that he concealed in a temple he constructed inside a mountain.”24 And in a number of ancient texts, buried or hidden records or relics were guarded by an angel or some sort of divine power.25

The large set of documents collectively referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves surrounding the Dead Sea. In ancient Mesoamerica, caves held deep mythological symbolism and were often considered to be sacred.26 In 2005, Holley Moyes and James Brady noted that “only in the last decade have caves been widely recognized as ritual spaces by Mesoamerican archaeologists. Since caves in Mesoamerica were used almost exclusively for ritual, they provide an unrivaled context for studying pre-Columbian religion.”27 The Book of Mormon’s emphasis on caves and sacred records coming forth out of the earth fits right in with these findings.28



The Book of Mormon is a testament to the faith and love of the Nephite prophets. The prophet Enos said he prayed that the Lord “would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites … that it might be brought forth at some future day” (Enos 1:13). In response, the Lord promised to fulfill this request in His “own due time” (v. 16). He also revealed to Enos that “Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine” (v. 18).

These verses show that the Book of Mormon exists today because ancient prophets were concerned for future generations whom they would never meet in mortality. They truly cared about us. In turn, we ought to deeply care about them. Only when we recognize and accept the Book of Mormon as an ancient record can we gain the fullest understanding and appreciation for its sacred messages and the prophets who wrote them.