Joseph’s Reviews > The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ > Status Update

"For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for [H]e said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not."

Okay, I guess that answered that question. I'm not convinced it's a sensible answer, though.

"And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness..."

Why? What was stopping you from cooking it? You can still make a fire in the wilderness.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife."

This doesn't work in first-person. Like, tell us your wife's name, Nephi.

Well, these Messianic prophecies are rather blatant, aren't they? If only they had made it into the Bible instead of being buried in New York, I might still be a Christian.

(I kid, but seriously: why WOULD God give the most explicit prophecies about Jesus and then have them hidden away until 1,800 years too late?)

You could probably fit more on these plates if you stopped reminding us that you're not writing everything on these plates.

Seriously, Chapter 9 can just be summarized "No, I can't rewrite the missing 116 pages BUT THERE'S AN EXPLANATION SEE?!"

Why does Lehi need the plates to tell him that he's a descendant of Joseph? Does he not know which tribe he's from? And since this was when the tribes were still a thing, shouldn't Nephi mention whether the record says they're from Ephraim or Manasseh?

"Brethren of the church."

What church? This is pre-Babylonian exile. I'm not even sure if synagogues were a thing yet, let alone churches.

"...the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world. And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him."

Why? It's not even him claiming to be the Messiah, like with Jesus. Why does "the world will be redeemed" make them angry?

"And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him."

That's an odd way to phrase it, given that Nehi is a Jew living in a nation where pretty much everybody is Jewish. And because the word "Jew" didn't come into use until after the exile.

The generous interpretation is that the supposed Golden Plates read "Judahites," but that's still a weird phrasing, and at least shows that Smith wasn't translating well.

This whole "Hi, I'm Nehi" narrative really doesn't seem in line with Biblical style.