Book of Mormon Manuscript Excerpt, circa June 1829 [1 Nephi 2:2b–3:18a]

<Nephi goeth up to jerusalem to bring the <Records> of the jews>

Insertion in unidentified handwriting—likely Christian Whitmer. This line was added to describe the content of the page and was not part of the original dictation. (See Skousen, Original Manuscript, 25.)  

 

[rebe]l again[s]t me also & if it so be that they rebell against me they sha [ll b]e a Scourge unto thy seed to stir them up in the ways of remember nce & it came to pass that I Nephi returned from speaking with the Lord  to the tent of my father & it came to pass that he spake unto me saying  behold I have dreamed a dream in the which the Lord hath commanded m  me that thou & thy Brethren shall return to Jerusalem for behold Laban ha th the reckord of the Jews & also a genealogy of my forefathers & they are  engraven upon plates of Brass wherefore the Lord hath commanded

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

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me that  thou & thy Brethers should go unto the house of Laban & seek the reckords & bring  them down <hither> into the wilderness & now behold thy Brethers murmur sayi ng it is a hard thing which I have required of them but behold I have  not required <it> of them but it is a commandment of the Lord therefore go  my Son & thou shalt be favoured of the Lord because thou hast not murm ured

Oliver Cowdery handwriting ends; unidentified—likely John Whitmer—begins.  

 

and it came to pass that I nephi said unto my  father I will go and do the things which the Lord hath  commanded for I know that the Lord giveth no  commandments unto the children of men Save he  shall prepare a way for them that they may accom plish the thing which he commandeth them and  it came to pass that when my father had heard  these words he was exceding glad for he knew that  I had been blessed of the Lord and I Nephi & my Bre thren took our Journey in the wilderness whith our  tents to go up to the Land of Jerusalem and it came  to pass that when we had gone up to the land of  Jerusalem I & my Brethren did consult one with  another I & we cast lots which of us should go in [unto]  the house <of> Laban & it came to pass that the lot <[fel]l> upon  Laman & Laman went in unto the house of Laban  & he talked with him as he sat in his house &  he desired of Laban the Records which were engrave[n]  upon the plates of brass which contained the geneal ogy of my father that <&> behold it came to pass that Laba[n]  was angry and thr[u]st him out from his presence [and]  he would not that he should have the records wher[e] fore he said unto him behold thou art a robber and I  will slay thee but laman fled out of his presence  and told the things which laban had done unto us  & we began to be exceeding sorrowful & my brethren  where were about to return unto my father in the wilde rness but behold I said unto them that as the Lord  liveth & as we live we will not go down unto our  father in the wilderness until we have acconplished  the thing which the Lord hath commanded us  wherefore let us be faithful in keeping the comma[n] dments of the Lord therefore let us go down to the  Land of our fathers inheritence for behold he left go[ld]  & silver & all manner of riches & all this he hath don[e]  because of the commandment <of the Lord>

Insertion in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery.  

 

for he knowing that  Jerusalem must be destroyed because of the wic kedness of the people for behold they have rejected the  words of the prophets wherefore if my father should dwe[ll]  in the land after that he hath been commanded to  flee out of the land behold he would also perish [p. [4]]