User:BenBeckstromBYU/sandboxBrassPlates

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Brass Plates[edit]

The term brass plates refers to a sacred text in the Book of Mormon in the Latter-day Saint movement; their existence is widely disputed. First mentioned in First Nephi, the plates set the cultural pattern for Nephite recordkeeping and provide guidance for faithfulness to God. According to the Book of Mormon, they contain the Law of Moses and the writings of various early Biblical prophets. Additionally, the brass plates play a role in popular culture.

Proposed origins[edit]

Believing viewpoint[edit]

In the Book of Mormon, Lehi sends his sons back to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates after they have already begun their exodus. The mission is fulfilled with the killing of Laban episode. Upon obtaining the plates, Lehi discovers that they contain the Law and writings of many prophets, as well as his own genealogy. When the party arrives in the New World, Lehi's son Nephi uses the brass plates as a guide for his own recordkeeping.[1]

Secular theories[edit]

Fawn Brodie, in her biography of Joseph Smith entitled No Man Knows My History, asserted that Smith came up with the idea for the brass plates when a local newspaper ran a story about "'several brass plates' along with skeletons" being found in the Erie Canal.[2]

Apologetic theories[edit]

Relationship with the Old Testament[edit]

According to Noel Reynolds’ theories about Jewish scribal influence on the brass plates, the latter may be a compilation of writings originally on papyrus.[3] John L. Sorenson, on the other hand, claims that the narrative's brass plates are related to the Old Testament’s “E” source.[4] Elizabeth Fenton points out that even though LDS scholars claim the brass plates “share source materials with the Hebrew Bible” the Book of Mormon itself does not mention this.[5] Further, Sidney Sperry postulates that, according to what is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates contain more content than the Old Testament.[6] Nephi himself states that the Bible, which he calls the "record of the Jews," does not include as many prophecies as the brass plates.[7]

Proposed languages of origin[edit]

Reynolds proposes that the brass plates were written in Egyptian or at least in an Egyptian-derived language; he also suggests they may have included some Hebrew content.[8] Hardy offers the opinion that the brass plates were written in a form of Egyptian rather than in Hebrew. [9] On the other hand, Sperry suggests that the plates were written in Hebrew but with characters influenced by Egyptian.[10]

Contents[edit]

Brighamite view[edit]

In an essay about the origins of the brass plates, Noel B. Reynolds breaks down 1 Nephi 5:10-16 to determine the contents of the plates. According to his breakdown, he proposes that, in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates consist of Lehi's genealogy, an account similar to that in Genesis, a history of Israel, and teachings of prophets including Jeremiah. The brass plates additionally contain the teachings of Moses and Isaiah, as well as those of otherwise unknown prophets, such as Zenos, Zenock, Neum, and Ezias.[11] Sidney Sperry, on the other hand, admits that it is difficult to determine how Jeremiah's prophecies can be included in the brass plates, as the timelines do not match.[12] Thomas W. Brookbank notes Old Testament prophets not mentioned in the Book of Mormon as being "Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi." Brookbank acknowledges that Malachi is later mentioned when Jesus Christ visits the Nephites, but denies that the brass plates contained Malachi's record.[13]

According to the Book of Mormon, the brass plates also contain the prophecies of Joseph of Egypt, in which Joseph foretells that some of his descendants will break off from the rest of the tribe.[14] Since this prophecy is not found in the Old Testament, scholars have struggled to pinpoint the origins of its mention in the Book of Mormon.[15] Upon reading the brass plates Lehi discovers he is a descendant of Joseph;[16] specifically, he is a descendant of Manasseh, while Laban descends from Ephraim, the latter of which explains Laban's possession of the plates.[17] This linkage to Joseph emphasizes the continuation of Abrahamic promises for Lehi’s people.[18] Similarly, as Elizabeth Fenton, who is notably not a believer in the Book of Mormon, explains, it provides a link to other descendants of Abraham. The “[o]wnership of these plates is non-negotiable" because they reveal that Lehi is a descendant of Joseph, she explains.[19]

Strangite view[edit]

The Book of the Law of the Lord claims a translation of at least part of the brass plates. It outlines a theocratic constitution for a literal kingdom of priests. Notably, the Decalogue found in the Book of the Law of the Lord is expanded to include the commandment "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." James J. Strang wrote that the knowledge of this commandment would have been lost before Josephus wrote his commentaries[20]

Impact[edit]

Further information: Latter Day Saint movement and engraved metal plates and Gold Plates

In the Book of Mormon[edit]

Reading the Brass Plates Colored still from Life of Nephi by William A. Morton.

In the Book of Mormon narrative, the brass plates are important for Lehi’s people because they provide a connection to their past and future. Apologist Hugh Nibley states that the plates preserve “the cultural heritage of the past for generations to come.”[21] Reverend Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming conclude the same, explaining that such preservation of identity and culture benefits future generations within the narrative.[22] In a devotional-style essay, Robert L. Millet claims that the brass plates' inclusion of "the Pentateuch and Law of Moses . . . [ties] the Nephites to their Old World kinsmen in both practice and belief.”[18]

Others have pointed out the brass plates' spiritual significance in the Book of Mormon. Author Steven Olsen points out that the plates contain the commandments and covenant of God.[23] Possession of the plates also provides a means for Lehi's descendants to keep the Law of Moses, according to R. John Williams and Grant Hardy.[24] Both Alma the younger and King Benjamin, who are key figures in the Book of Mormon, remind their people that the brass plates have given them knowledge of the things of God.[18]

Latter-Day Saint movement[edit]

Many denominations of the Latter Day Saint Movement have used the concept of metal plates established in the brass plates as a source of authority. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43200348?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ac4eabbcdc433e2cf078861f02a5a3dc2

Popular culture[edit]

A common reading of some plot elements of Mistborn has led some readers to draw connections to the brass plates, although Brandon Sanderson refers to this as at best an "unintentional" parallel.[25]

Cecilia Konchar Farr notes that in Herman Melville’s The Confidence Man there is a businessman who wears a brass plate. This brass plate is reminiscent of both the gold and brass plates that Joseph Smith relied on for his translation. According to Farr, the business man is selling his philosophies, which are reflective of LDS teachings. In this view, Melville is using his fiction to label Mormonism as fraudulent.[26]

Interpretation[edit]

Elizabeth Fenton notes that the description of the Book of Mormon's plates (including the brass plates) as approximating the not-yet-invented three-ring binder is appropriate considering the text's relationship with linear time.[27]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Thomas, John Christopher (2016). A Pentecostal Reads The Book of Mormon: A Literary and Theological Introduction. Cleveland, Tennesse: CPT Press. pp. 36–37.
  2. ^ Brodie, Fawn (1945). No Man Knows My History. New York, New York: Alfred A Knopf, INc. p. 35. ISBN 0-394-46967-4.
  3. ^ Reynolds 2021, pp. 14–15, 43–44.
  4. ^ Sorenson 1977, pp. 33–36.
  5. ^ Fenton 2013, p. 347.
  6. ^ Sperry 1995, p. 191.
  7. ^ Gorton, H. Clay (1994). The Legacy of the Brass Plates of Laban: A Comparison of Biblical & Book of Mormon Isaiah Texts. Bountiful, Utah, USA: Horizon Publishers & Distributors, Incorporated. p. 17. ISBN 0-88290-511-2.
  8. ^ Reynolds 2021, pp. 22–27.
  9. ^ Hardy 2010, pp. 60. 68.
  10. ^ Sperry, Sidney (1947). Our Book of Mormon (3rd ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Stevens & Wallis, Inc. pp. 31–32.
  11. ^ Reynolds 2021, p. 28; Millet 1989; Sorenson 1977, p. 33; Brookbank, p. 9
  12. ^ Sperry 1995, p. 187.
  13. ^ Brookbank, pp. 9–10.
  14. ^ Brookbank, p. 21.
  15. ^ Reynolds 2021, pp. 9–13, 15–21, 27–28.
  16. ^ Hardy 2010, pp. 42–43.
  17. ^ Sperry 1995, p. 190.
  18. ^ a b c Millet 1989.
  19. ^ Fenton 2013, p. 346.
  20. ^ Beshears, Kyle R. (2021, September 25). "Wingfield Scott Watson and His Struggle to Preserve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Strangite) after the Death of Its Founder" (dissertation). Boyce Digital Repository. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6603.
  21. ^ Nibley, Hugh (1988). Welch, John W. (ed.). An Approach to the Book of Mormon (3rd ed.). USA: Deseret Book in association with Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-87579-138-7.
  22. ^ Salleh, Fatimah; Hemming, Margaret Olsen (2020). The Book of Mormon For the Least of These Volume 1: 1 Nephi – Words of Mormon. Common Consent Press. p. 17. ISBN 9781948218238.
  23. ^ Olsen, Steven L. (2009). "The Death of Laban: A Literary Interpretation". Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989-2011. 21 (1). University of Illinois Press: 190, 193 – via Scholarly Publishing Collective.
  24. ^ Williams 2019, p. 57; Hardy 2010, p. 17
  25. ^ Frederick, Nicholas J. "Could Brandon Sanderson Have Saved the Nephites?". Irreantum.
  26. ^ Farr, Cecilia Konchar (December 1, 1989). "The Philosopher with the Brass Plate: Melville's Quarrel with Mormonism in 'The Confidence-Man'". American Transcendental Quarterly. 3 (4). Kingston, Rhode Island, USA: 355–358 – via ProQuest.
  27. ^ Fenton, Elizabeth. "The Book of Mormon and Book History". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.

Works cited[edit]

Category:Harold B. Lee Library-related Book of Mormon articles Category:Latter Day Saint terms Category:Book of Mormon artifacts

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