Parallels between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon, Part 2: The Updated List of 146 Parallels
Author: Jeffrey D. Lindsay
Date: 2026-01-01T18:02:23+00:00
Keywords: Book of Mormon;Book of Moses;Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;LDS;Mormonism
Description: Abstract: In exploring the connections between the texts of the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses, several updates to previously published parallels need to be made, including the discovery of even more apparent parallels. The total number of proposed parallels that cannot readily be explained by the language of the King James Bible now stands at 146. In this article I present the current list and the updates. Of particular importance may be the expanded findings related to Samuel the Lamanite and connections to the account of Enoch in the Book of Moses in updated Parallel 86.
Publisher: The Interpreter Foundation

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Parallels between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon, Part 2:
The Updated List of 146 Parallels

Jeffrey D. Lindsay

Abstract: In exploring the connections between the texts of the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses, several updates to previously published parallels need to be made, including the discovery of even more apparent parallels. The total number of proposed parallels that cannot readily be explained by the language of the King James Bible now stands at 146. In this article I present the current list and the updates. Of particular importance may be the expanded findings related to Samuel the Lamanite and connections to the account of Enoch in the Book of Moses in updated Parallel 86.

Numerous parallels between the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses have been identified that are consistent with Noel Reynolds’s original 1990 proposal that a version of Genesis on the brass plates may have contained some of the non-King James Version language and concepts found in the Book of Moses.1 These parallels generally exclude those that can be readily explained as mere incorporation of King James Version language. In many cases, they cannot be explained as Joseph simply borrowing Book of Mormon language and concepts to compose the Book of Moses. Some of the parallels reflect a one-way direction of influence from the Book of Moses to the Book of Mormon, as if Book of Mormon authors were often alluding to a backstory or to well-developed concepts that the Book of Moses provides. Examples of how these new-found parallels enrich our appreciation of familiar accounts will be offered below.

Given that the Book of Moses translation began well after the Book of Mormon translation was complete, these parallels may cast doubt on common assumptions about how Joseph produced the Book of Moses. Indeed, they can be viewed as evidence that both books have ancient origins, with something like the Book of Moses possibly having been on the brass plates, where it could have influenced Book of Mormon authors—especially those most familiar with the brass plates. Indeed, a recently published companion article, Part 1 of this two-part series, examines the distribution of the parallels in the Book of Mormon, arguing that the hypothesis of brass plates influence on ancient Book of Mormon authors has significant explanatory power with respect to the details of the distribution and reduces the likelihood that the distribution arises from random word choices by Joseph.2

Summary of All Proposed Parallels

It is helpful to view the proposed parallels grouped according to when they were discovered. Accordingly, I have organized them into five groups, in tables 1 through 5. In total, there are 146 proposed parallels.

Tables 1 and 2 form the original thirty-three parallels identified by Reynolds.

Table 1. Concepts not directly found together in the KJV Bible.

No.

Concept

Book of Moses

Book of Mormon

1

transgression-fall, fall-death

Moses 6:59

2 Nephi 9:6

2

order-days-years-eternity

Moses 6:67

Alma 13:7

3

Lord-from all eternity-to

Moses 7:29

Mosiah 3:5, 8:18

4

God-gave-man-agency

Moses 7:32

2 Nephi 2:16

5

Lord’s Spirit-withdraws-from-man

Moses 1:15

Alma 34:35; Helaman 4:24, 6:35, 13:8, Mosiah 2:36

6

children-whole-from foundation

Moses 6:54

Moroni 8:8, 12

7

“Only name” “whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men,” coupled with explanation on the salvation of children (revised from Reynolds’s original)

Moses 6:52

Mosiah 3:16–18

8

devil-father-of all lies

Moses 4:4

2 Nephi 2:18, 9:9; Ether 8:25

9

devil-lead-captive-his will

Moses 4:4

2 Nephi 2:27; Alma 12:11, 40:13;

10

devil-deceive-blind-lead

Moses 4:4

3 Nephi 2:2

11

lies-lead-will-deceive-eyes

Moses 4:4

1 Nephi 16:38 (cf. Alma 20:13)

Table 2. Concepts that also have KJV connections.

No.

Concept

Book of Moses

Book of Mormon

12

earth-groans; rocks-rend

Moses 7:56

1 Nephi 12:4, 19:12; 3 Nephi 10:9

13

plan of salvation

Moses 6:62

Jarom 1:2; Alma 24:14, 34:16, 42:5

14

eternal life

Moses 1:39

2 Nephi 2:27, 28, 10:23, 31:18, 20; Jacob 6:11; Enos 1:3; Mosiah 5:15, 15:23–25, 18:9, 13, 26:20, 28:7; Alma 1:4, 5:28, 7:16, 11:40, 13:29, 22:15; Helaman 5:8; 3 Nephi 9:14, 15:9; Moroni 9:25

15

unclean-dwell-presence-God

Moses 6:57

1 Nephi 10:21, 15:34; Alma 7:21

16

call on-all men-to repent

Moses 6:23

2 Nephi 2:21, 26:27; Alma 12:33; 3 Nephi 11:32; Moroni 7:31

17

nowise-inherit-kingdom of God

Moses 6:57

Mosiah 27:26; Alma 5:51, 9:12, 39:9; 3 Nephi 11:38

18

things-temporal-spiritual

Moses 6:63

1 Nephi 15:32, 22:3; 2 Nephi 9:11–12; Mosiah 2:41; Alma 7:23, 12:16, 37:43; Helaman 14:16

19

people-dwell-in righteousness

Moses 7:16

1 Nephi 22:26

20

mine Only Begotten Son

Moses 6:52 (cf. Moses 1:33)

Jacob 4:5, 11; Alma 12:33

21

works of darkness

Moses 5:55

2 Nephi 9:9, 10:15, 25:2, 26:10, 22; Alma 37:21, 23, 45:12; Helaman 6:28, 30, 8:4, 10:3; Mormon 8:27

22

secret combination(s)

Moses 5:51

2 Nephi 26:22; Alma 37:30, 31; Helaman 2:8, 3:23, 6:38; 3 Nephi 4:29, 5:6, 7:6, 9, 9:9; 4 Nephi 1:42; Mormon 8:27, Ether 8:18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 9:1, 11:15, 13:18, 14:8, 10

23

wars and bloodshed

Moses 6:15

Jacob 7:24; Omni 1:3, 24; Alma 35:15, 62:35, 39; Mosiah 29:36, Alma 45:11, Alma 60:16, Helaman 6:17, Mormon 8:8, Ether 14:21

24

shut out-from presence-God

Moses 6:49

2 Nephi 9:9

25

murder-get gain

Moses 5:31

Helaman 2:8, 7:21; Ether 8:16

26

seeking for power

Moses 6:15

Alma 46:4

27

carnal, sensual, devilish

Moses 5:13

Mosiah 16:3; Alma 41:13, 42:10

28

hearts-wax-hard

Moses 6:27

Alma 35:15

29

lifted up-imagination-his heart

Moses 8:22

Alma 1:6

30

natural man

Moses 1:14

Mosiah 3:19; Alma 26:21

31

Omner

Moses 7:9

Mosiah 27:34

32

Shum

Moses 7:5

Alma 11:5

33

and thus-it was (is)-Amen

Moses 5:59

1 Nephi 9:6, 14:30, 22:31; Alma 13:9; Helaman 12:26

Table 3 shows the sixty-four additional parallels discussed in the 2023 “Strong Like Unto Moses” paper.3 These parallels include and build on fifteen finds from the 2016 “Arise from the Dust, Part 1” paper.4

Table 3. Finds from the 2023 “Strong Like Unto Moses” paper.

No.

Concept

Book of Moses

Book of Mormon

34

The strength of Moses

Moses 1:20–21, 25

1 Nephi 4:2

35

Chains of darkness, chains of hell, chains of the devil

Moses 7:26, 57

2 Nephi 1:13, 23, 9:45, 28:19, 22; Alma 5:7, 9, 10, 12:6, 11, 17, 13:30, 26:14–15, 36:18

36

Veil of darkness

Moses 7:26, 61

Alma 19:6 (cf. Ether 4:15)

37

Song of redeeming love/ everlasting joy, contrasted with chains of darkness/hell

Moses 7:53–57

Alma 5:7, 9, 26, 26:13–15, 36:18, 22

38

The use of satanic oaths and covenants in forming secret combinations

Moses 5:29, 49–52; 6:28–29

Alma 37:27, 29; Helaman 6:21, 25, 26; 4 Nephi 1:42; Ether 8:15, 16, 20

39

The great antiquity of secret combinations and satanic covenants

Moses 5:28–31, 49; 6:15

2 Nephi 26:22; Helaman 6:27; Ether 8:9, 9:26, 10:33

40

Cain’s involvement in a secret combination to keep Abel’s murder secret

Moses 5:29

Helaman 6:27

41

The persistence of Satan’s secret combination not only with Cain, but with other followers (with mechanisms for enforcement)

Moses 5:25, 29, 51–52 (or see 25–52)

Helaman 6:27; Ether 8:20–26 (on the enforcement system, see Helaman 6:24)

42

Knowing/distinguishing brothers in secret satanic covenants/combinations

Moses 5:51

Helaman 6:22

43

Shaking, trembling of heavens, earth, Satan, and the wicked / shaking off Satan’s chains, bands, and sin

Moses 1:21, 6:47–49, 7:41, 61

2 Nephi 1:13, 23, 9:44–45, 28:18–19

44

Misery (either for Satan or his followers)

Moses 7:37, 41

2 Nephi 2:5, 11, 13, 18, 23, 27, 9:9, 46; Mosiah 3:25; Alma 3:26, 9:11, 26:20, 40:15, 17, 21, 41:4, 42:1, 26; Helaman 3:29, 5:12, 7:16, 12:26; Mormon 8:38

45

Misery and woe

Moses 6:48

2 Nephi 1:13; Alma 9:11; Helaman 5:12, 7:16

46

The infinite nature of God’s love and the Atonement (Enoch’s “heart swelled wide as eternity” and his “bowels yearned” in tasting the grief of human wickedness / Christ’s “bowels of mercy” and infinite atonement)

Moses 7:28–41, particularly 41

Bowels of mercy: Mosiah 15:9; Alma 7:12, 26:37, 34:15

Infinite atonement: 2 Nephi 9:7; Alma 34:10, 14 (cf. Alma 26:37)

47

Rage and Satan’s dominion over the hearts of men

Moses 6:15

1 Nephi 12:17, 13:27, 29, 14:7, 22:15, 26, 30:18; Mosiah 3:6, Alma 8:9, 10:24, 25, 12:11, 27:12; Helaman 6:21, 16:22, 23; 3 Nephi 1:22, 2:2–3, 6:15–16, 11:29; 4 Nephi 28, 31; Ether 8:15–26, 15:19; Moroni 9:3–4

48

Administering death

Moses 6:15

Alma 57:19 (cf. Alma 47:18, 55:30, 32)

49

Word returning “void,” in context of the Garden of Eden and the Fall

Moses 4:30

Alma 12:22–23, 26, 42:2–5

50

“Esteeming” scripture as a thing of “naught”

Moses 1:40–41

1 Nephi 19:6–9; 2 Nephi 33:2–3

51

“Raising up” a prophet to restore ancient scripture

Moses 1:41

2 Nephi 3:6, 7, 12, 24

52

The workmanship of God’s hands

Moses 1:4; 7:32, 36, 37, 40

Jacob 4:9

53

(Men) ordained . . . after the order (of the Son of God or of God)

Moses 8:19 (cf. 6:67–68)

2 Nephi 6:2; Alma 13:1, 2 (cf. Alma 4:20, 5:44, 6:1, 13:6–10, 14, 43:2, 49:30; Helaman 8:18)

54

Natural (man, eye, frame) vs. spiritual/spirit/spirits

Moses 1:10, 11 (cf. v. 14), 3:5, 9, 6:36

Mosiah 3:19; Alma 19:6, 26:21, 41:4 (cf. 42:9–10)

55

The roles of a seer

Moses 6:35–36; also Moses 6 and 7 generally

Mosiah 8:13–17, 28:10–16; Alma 37:22–26

56

Perished in their sins

Moses 7:1

Mosiah 15:26 (cf. Mosiah 13:28)

57

Sins/cursing answered upon the heads of parents/children

Moses 6:54, 7:37

2 Nephi 4:6; Jacob 1:19, 3:10; Mosiah 29:30–31 (cf. 1 Nephi 22:13, Alma 60:10; Mormon 8:40; Moroni 7:32)

58

The glory of God and its relationship to eternal life

Moses 1:39; Moses 6:59, 61

2 Nephi 1:25; Jacob 4:4, 11, 5:54; Alma 14:11, 22:14, 29:9, 36:28; Helaman 5:44; Moroni 9:25

59

Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth (all three)

Moses 1:22

Mosiah 16:2; Alma 40:13

60

Satan laughs and his angels rejoice

Moses 7:26

3 Nephi 9:2

61

The God/Lord who weeps/grieves for those who are lost

Moses 7:28–40

Jacob 5:7, 11, 13, 32, 46, 47, 51, 66

62

“All things” bear witness of the Creator (including things on or in and above the earth)

Moses 6:63

Alma 30:41, 44; Helaman 8:23–24

63

Power, wisdom, mercy, and justice

Moses 6:61–62

2 Nephi 2:12, 11:5; Jacob 4:10; Mosiah 5:15

64

Commanding the earth and the power of the word

Moses 7:13

1 Nephi 17:29; 2 Nephi 1:26; Jacob 4:6, 9; Words of Mormon 1:17; Alma 17:4, 17, 26:13, 31:5, 53:10

65

Spreading abominations and works (of darkness)

Moses 5:52

Helaman 6:28 (cf. Ether 8:19–22)

66

“Powers of heaven” and heavenly ascent and descent

Moses 7:27

3 Nephi 20:22, 21:23–25; 28:7–8

67

Salvation or damnation by “a firm decree”

Moses 5:15 (cf. 6:29–30)

Alma 9:24, 29:4

68

Angels bearing testimony

Moses 7:27

Moroni 7:31

69

Residue of men/the people + angels bearing testimony

Moses 7:27–28 (cf. vv. 20, 22)

Moroni 7:31–32

70

Prepared from the foundation of the world

Moses 5:57

1 Nephi 10:18; Mosiah 4:6–7, 15:19, 18:13; Alma 12:30, 18:39, 22:13, 42:26; Ether 3:14, 4:19

71

Gathered from the four quarters of the earth

Moses 7:62

1 Nephi 19:16, 22:25; 3 Nephi 5:24, 26, 16:5; Ether 13:11

72

Counsel + “ye yourselves”

Moses 6:43

Jacob 4:10

73

Fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them

Moses 7:1 (cf. 7:34)

Alma 40:14

74

Numerous upon . . . the face of the land

Moses 6:15

Jarom 1:6, Mosiah 27:6, Mormon 1:7; Ether 7:11 (cf. Jarom 1:8; Alma 16:16; Helaman 6:28, 11:32, 16:22–23)

75

Record + baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost

Moses 6:66

3 Nephi 11:35, 19:14

76

Caught up/away to an exceedingly high mountain

Moses 1:1

1 Nephi 11:1

77

Compound parallel 1: (A) the captivity of Satan, (B) the concept of “eternal life,” (C) the combination of “temporal” and “spiritual,” describing God’s creations, (D) hardness of hearts, and (E) blindness

(A): Moses 4:4, (B): Moses 1:39, (C): Moses 6:63, (D): Moses 6:15, 27,
(E): Moses 4:4, 6:27

1 Nephi 14:7

78

Compound parallel 2: (A) Devil as father of lies, (B) shut out from the presence of God, (C) secret combinations, (D) works of darkness, and (E) misery for the wicked

(A): Moses 4:4, (B): Moses 5:4, 41, 6:49,
(C): Moses 5:51,
(D): Moses 5:51, 55,
(E) Moses 7:37, 41

2 Nephi 9:9

79

Compound parallel 3: (A) Satan’s fall and his angels, (B) plan of salvation / merciful plan of God, (C) temporal vs. spiritual, and (D) clothed with glory/purity/robe of righteousness

(A): Moses 4:3–4, 7:26,
(B): Moses 6:62, (C): Moses 6:63, (D): Moses 7:3

2 Nephi 9:6–14

(A) vv. 8–9, (B) vv. 6, 13, cf. v. 28, (C) vv. 10–12, (D) v. 14

80

Compound parallel 4: (A) Satan will “rage in the hearts” of men, (B) chains of hell/destruction, and (C) Satan leading men into captivity

(A): Moses 6:15, (B): Moses 7:26, 57,
(C): Moses 4:4

2 Nephi 28:18–23

81

Compound parallel 5: (A) the workmanship of God’s hands and (B) counsel

(A)+(B): Moses 1:4, 7:32–40

Jacob 4:9–10

82

Compound parallel 6: (A) Creation of “all things” and (B) wisdom, power, justice, mercy

Moses 6:61

Mosiah 5:15 (cf. 4:9)

83

Compound parallel 7: (A) after the order (of the Son), (B) without beginning of days or end of years, (C) Only Begotten of the Father, (D) full of grace and truth, and (E) “Thus it is. Amen.”

(A)+(B): Moses 6:67,
(C)+(D): Moses 5:7 (cf. Moses 1:6, 32, 6:52, 7:11), (E): Moses 5:59

Alma 13:9

84

Compound parallel 8: (A) New Jerusalem, (B) gathered from four quarters of the earth, (C) cleansed through blood of the Lamb, and (D) fulfilled covenants

(A)+(B): Moses 7:62, (C): Moses 6:59, (D): Moses 8:2

Ether 13:10–11

85

Compound parallel 9: (A) call men to repentance, (B) fulfill covenants, (C) angels declare, and (D) bear testimony

(A): Moses 6:23, (B): Moses 8:2, (C): Moses 5:58, (D): Moses 7:27, 62

Moroni 7:31

86

Compound parallel 10: the account of Samuel the Lamanite echoes Enoch’s call and early ministry

Moses 6:26–41 (esp. vv. 26–29, 32, 37)

Helaman 13–16 (specifically Helaman 13:2–6, 8–10, 14–17, 29; 15:5, 8; 16:2)

87

Declared by angels

Moses 5:58

Mosiah 3:2–4; Alma 9:25, 13:22–25, 38:7, 39:19; Helaman 5:11, 13:7, 16:14; Moroni 7:31

88

“For mine own purpose”

Moses 1:3, 33

Jacob 5:36, 53, 55

89

Fulfilling covenants

Moses 8:2

1 Nephi 14:17, 15:18, 2 Nephi 6:12, 10:15; 3 Nephi 5:25, 10:7, 15:8, 20:12, 22, 27, 46, 21:4, 7, 29:1, 9; Mormon 5:14; Ether 13:11; Moroni 7:31

90

Peaceable things of immortal glory/Heaven

Moses 6:59

Moroni 7:3

91

For the space of many hours

Moses 1:10

1 Nephi 8:8; Helaman 14:21, 26

92

Joy through the fall of man

Moses 5:10

2 Nephi 2:22–25

93

Dwell in safety forever

Moses 7:20

2 Nephi 1:9

94

Visions on the mount + “look”

Moses 7:3–4

1 Nephi 11:1, 8, 12, 19, 24, 26, 30–32; 12:1, 11; 13:1; 14:9, 18; 18:3

95

Pierced by God’s eye

Moses 7:36

Jacob 2:15

96

Combinations with “full of grace and truth”

Moses 7:11

2 Nephi 2:6

97

The Lord preserving his people (during or from final tribulations)

Moses 7:61

1 Nephi 22:17 (also see 1 Nephi 22:16–18, Jacob 5:77)

Table 4 shows the thirty-six further finds reported in the 2024 “Further Evidence” paper.5 Note that Parallel 101 is new, replacing the previous Parallel 101 presented in the 2024 paper. This replacement was made because the previous Parallel 101 was determined to be largely the same as Parallel 41. (See table 3.) To avoid any confusion that might be introduced by renumbering Parallels 102 through 133, a newly discovered parallel replaces the previous Parallel 101.

Table 4. Finds from the 2024 “Further Evidence” paper.

No.

Concept

Book of Moses

Book of Mormon

98

“All things prepared,” including fruit

Moses 3:9

1 Nephi 17:5, 18:6

99

More fruit: Covenanting with a prophet regarding a future prophet among his descendants

Moses 8:2

2 Nephi 3:4–7

100

A “sore curse”

Moses 5:56, 8:4

1 Nephi 2:23; 2 Nephi 1:22, 5:21; Jacob 2:33, 3:3

101

“Secret works” (discussed in Reynolds’s “Brass Plates Version of Genesis” but not treated as a distinct parallel—this replaces a previous version of Parallel 101 that was redundant with respect to Parallel 41)

Moses 6:15

Alone: Alma 37:21, 23, 25; 3 Nephi 3:7.
With “of darkness” (cf. Parallel 21): 2 Nephi 9:9, 10:15; Helaman 8:4, 10:3.

Singular: Helaman 2:4

102

A record in the language of an ancestor

Moses 6:5–6

1 Nephi 1:2, 3:19; Mosiah 1:2

103

Secret combinations and getting gain, seeking power

Moses 5:31, 50

Helaman 2:8; 7:4, 5, 25; Ether 8:16, 22–23, 11:15–16 (see also Alma 46:4, 51:1–8, 60:17; Helaman 2:8; Ether 9:11)

104

“For the space of many generations”

Moses 7:4

2 Nephi 1:18, 25:16

105

Hell/prison “prepared” for the wicked. (This replaces the previous version of #105 that was redundant with #19.)

Moses 6:29, 7:38

1 Nephi 15:29, 34–35; 2 Nephi 9:16, 28:23; Mosiah 26:27; Helaman 3:29

106

The order of God/Son of God

Moses 6:67, 8:19

Alma 7:22, 8:4, 13:1, 6, 18, 43:2, 49:30; Helaman 8:18; Ether 12:10

107

“After the order” + preach/declare/teach the gospel + repentance

Moses 8:19–20

Alma 5:48–49, 13:18, 49:30

108

Bearing testimony

Moses 7:27, 62

2 Nephi 27:13; Alma 4:19

109

Carried away/caught up (by the Spirit of the Lord)

Moses 6:64 (cf. 1:1)

1 Nephi 11:1

110

Enoch and the Three Nephites “caught up into heaven” and able to behold the things of God

Moses 6:35–36, 7:27, 69

3 Nephi 28:13, 15, 36

111

“Angels descending out of heaven”

Moses 7:27

3 Nephi 17:24 (cf. 1 Nephi 11:7, 12:6; 3 Nephi 11:8)

112

“Drawn away” after him (Satan)

Moses 4:5–6

Mosiah 29:7, Ether 7:4, 9:11

113

“All things manifest” by the Spirit/Holy Ghost

Moses 8:24

1 Nephi 22:2; Mosiah 5:13 (cf. Mosiah 8:17; Ether 4:7)

114

“The power of the Lord was upon him”

Moses 8:18

1 Nephi 13:16–18, 14:14, 17:48, 49; Jacob 7:15, 21; Alma 14:25, 17:17, 36; Helaman 10:16 (see also Alma 18:1–2, 22–24)

115

“Seeking to take away life”

Moses 8:18 (or Moses 8:17 –18)

1 Nephi 1:20, 2:1, 4:11, 28, 7:14, 16, 17:44; 2 Nephi 1:24, 5:2, 4, 19

116

Left to oneself, weak

Moses 1:9–10

Mormon 2:26 (see also 1 Nephi 1:7, Jacob 7:21, Mosiah 4:1, 27:18; Alma 36:7, 10, 11; 3 Nephi 1:17, 17:18)

117

Crowned at the right hand of God

Moses 7:56–57

Mosiah 26:23–24; Alma 5:57–58; Alma 28:11–12

118

“Write the words” of spoken scripture

Moses 2:1

2 Nephi 29:11; Alma 45:9; 3 Nephi 24:1

119

“As many as will”

Moses 5:9

2 Nephi 25:13, 14; Jacob 6:4

120

Covenant + remnant of the seed

Moses 7:52, 53

1 Nephi 13:30–33, 38, 39 (see also 1 Nephi 15:14; 3 Nephi 21:4)

121

Remnant of the seed + the rock

Moses 7:52, 53

1 Nephi 13:36–37, 15:13–15

122

Gathering of scattered remnants with modern scripture

Moses 7:62

2 Nephi 30:3–8

123

“Remnant of the seed” + “gather in from the four quarters of the earth”

Moses 7:52, 62

3 Nephi 5:23–24, 26, 16:4, 5, 20:12–13

124

Gathered remnants and the New Jerusalem

Moses 7:51–53, 62

3 Nephi 21:4, 22–24, 26; Ether 13:6–10

125

Agents unto themselves

Moses 4:3, 6:56

2 Nephi 2:26, 10:23; Alma 12:13; Helaman 14:30

126

The rock + “blessed are they”

Moses 7:53

1 Nephi 13:36–37

127

Swallowed up in water
(related variant: “floods” that “come” and “swallow up” people)

Moses 7:43

1 Nephi 18:10, 15, 20; 2 Nephi 1:2; Alma 36:28; Helaman 8:11; Ether 2:25
(related variant: Ether 2:25)

128

The threat of withering in the divine presence + being left without strength

Moses 1:9–11

1 Nephi 16:47–48, 52

129

A servant of God “receiving strength” to defeat an opponent

Moses 1:20–21

1 Nephi 4:31, 7:16, 17, 15:6

130

A servant of God “receiving strength” after a divine encounter

Moses 1:10

Mosiah 27:22–23; Alma 36:22–23

131

Repent + “this is the plan of salvation/redemption” + Only Begotten Son

Moses 6:23, 50–52, 61–62.

Alma 12:33

132

God “conversed” with man

Moses 6:22

Alma 12:30 (see also Alma 9:21, 12:29, 19:34, and Helaman 5:39)

133

A tool of Satan (the serpent or Zeezrom), seeking to destroy with lies and deception

Moses 4:3–6

Alma 12:1–7

Table 5 includes the latest new finds detailed later in this paper.

Table 5. Most recent finds. Also see Parallels 101 and 105 in table 4.

No.

Concept

Book of Moses

Book of Mormon

134

“The Lord could not withhold”

Moses 7:51

Ether 3:25–26, 12:21

135

God showing a vision of “all things” + “even unto the end/ends of the world/earth”

Moses 7:67 (cf. Moses 1:8, 27–28, 7:21)

Ether 3:25–26 (cf. 1 Nephi 14:26; Ether 12:19–21)

136

A prophet is shown “all the inhabitants of the earth” over broad periods of time

Moses 1:8, 27–28, 7:21, 67

Ether 3:25

137

Satan + beguile Eve/first parents + destroy the world

Moses 4:6

Ether 8:25

138

Secret combinations + blood of victims cries from the ground

Moses 5:29–35

Mormon 8:27, 40; Ether 8:22 (cf. 2 Nephi 26:3, 28:10)

139

The Lord promises to justify or enact a prophet’s words, including moving mountains

Moses 6:32–34 (cf. Moses 7:13)

Helaman 10:4–10 (specifically vv. 5, 9)

140

“Secret works” or works of secret combinations described as “abominations” (cf. Parallel 65)

Moses 5:25, 51–52; 6:15, 28–29

2 Nephi 10:15; Alma 37:21–23, 25–27, 29; Ether 11:25; Mormon 8:40 (cf. Helaman 6:28)

141

A seer that sees spirits or a spirit body

Moses 6:35–36

Ether 3:16

142

God raises up a seer

Moses 6:48

2 Nephi 3:6, 7, 11

143

Adam and Eve could have had neither children nor joy before the Fall

Moses 5:10–11

2 Nephi 2:23

144

Adam fell that men/we might be

Moses 6:48

2 Nephi 2:25

145

Shaking upon pondering the misery/torment of the wicked

Moses 7:41

(but see 28–41)

Mosiah 28:3

146

The wicked wish to “lay hands” on a prophet but dare not because of fear due to the Lord’s power or protection

Moses 6:39

Helaman 5:22–26 (specifically vv. 23, 25–26), 8:4–10 (specifically vv. 4, 10); 1 Nephi 17:48, 52; Mosiah 13:2–3, 5

Updates to Existing Parallels

In the following sections I discuss additions and other changes to the parallels presented in earlier papers.

Revised Parallel 7: “Only name” “whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men” and the salvation of children

Parallel 7 in Reynolds’s “Brass Plates Version of Genesis” was listed as “only name-given-salvation” based on Moses 6:52 and Mosiah 3:17; also it was provided with a note indicating that it was linked to Parallel 6, “children-whole-from foundation” based on Moses 6:54 and Moroni 8:8, 12. Upon review, Parallel 7 may be more significant than previously recognized and merits further discussion.

Acts 4:12 has a well-known declaration of Paul: “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” This seems quite close to the words of King Benjamin in Mosiah 3:17:

And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

However, Moses 6:52 offers a stronger parallel:

And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.

Interestingly, Moses 6:52 is even closer to Acts 4:12 than Mosiah 3:17 in that both refer to a “name given under heaven” or “under heaven given.” This may suggest that the English translation of Moses 6:52 was styled after Acts 4:12. However, “whereby we must be saved” in Acts 4:12 is replaced in both Moses 6:52 and Mosiah 3:17 with a nearly identical nine-word phrase that strongly links the two verses: “whereby salvation can/shall come unto the children of men.” This may suggest that the translation process was crafted to include this wording in both passages, bringing out what may have been an intentional emphasis on children in both texts, perhaps reflecting a concept from the brass plates.

The proposal that salvation coming “unto the children of men” is an intentional parallel in wording is especially supported by the context of both verses where the salvation of children is raised. Moses 6:52 is followed by these verses:

And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.

Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.

And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.

And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.

Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.

Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children. . . . (Moses 6:53–58)

Note the similar doctrine relating to the salvation of children that surrounds Mosiah 3:17:

And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins.

And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:16–19)

That salvation only comes through Jesus Christ is a core doctrine of the scripture, but the specific expressions used in the English translations of Mosiah 3:17 and Moses 6:52 give emphasis to the word “children” in a way that rhetorically links to a precious doctrine of the Restoration and to ancient scripture: the salvation of little children. This theme coupled with the “only name” for the salvation of “the children of men” concept suggests not just common language but also common rhetorical intent for a pair of concepts that add meaning and depth.

Update to Parallel 11: King Lamoni’s father echoes Father Laman’s complaint

In preparing a note on the impact of the translation method on the parallels, an example was cited involving King Lamoni’s father who criticized Ammon2 in words like Laman’s charge against Nephi1 in 1 Nephi 16:38, which alludes to Moses 4:4. It was then obvious that Alma 20:13 added another dimension to that parallel that should be considered. The deep irony and the implications of this parallel were discussed in part 1 of this series of papers in the section, “Did the Translation Method Preserve or Create the Parallels?” 6

Update to Parallel 62: More specific than previously noted

Parallel 62 involves connections to a concept in Moses 6:63, previously summarized as “‘All things’ bear witness of the Creator,” as reflected in Alma 30:41, 44 and Helaman 8:23–24. But the connections in those passages are stronger than previously noted. Moses 6:63 specifies that “all things” include those that are on the earth, in or beneath the earth, as well as above the earth:

And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.

Similarly, in Helaman 8:24, as Nephi3 testifies to the Nephites from his tower, he speaks of the “many evidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.”

In Alma 30:44, as Alma2 testifies to the Zoramites of basic truths in their scriptures (certainly including the brass plates), his cited evidence includes things on the earth and the motion of the planets, which are obviously things that are above the earth:

The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

As a result, the description of Parallel 62, as listed in table 3, now adds “including things on or in and above the earth.”

Update to Parallel 86: Samuel the Lamanite’s sermon echoes Enoch’s call and early ministry

Parallel 86 previously listed six elements common to Samuel the Lamanite’s sermon and the calling and early ministry of Enoch. Six more common elements have been noted. Further, a useful observation from Hugh Nibley on Samuel the Lamanite’s apparent use of a phrase from the Book of Enoch was found. The revised explanation for Parallel 86 follows below.

Samuel the Lamanite came to the wicked Nephites as an outsider both with a message from the Lord and in need of protection from the Lord to deliver that message, much like Enoch preached to a wicked people as “a strange thing in the land . . . a wild man” that had come among them (Moses 6:38) after receiving his weighty call from the Lord. As Hugh Nibley wrote of the “Enoch figure,” the mysterious preacher exhibiting “independence, intelligence, compassion and power” from God, his attributes can be seen in numerous other prophets.7

The possibility of Samuel the Lamanite being aware of ancient accounts of Enoch was raised by Nibley given that Samuel was apparently employing a passage from the Book of Enoch in his famous sermon on the walls of Zarahemla. Nibley writes:

Incidentally, the book of Enoch is quoted at least 128 times in the New Testament and very often in other places. Since the apocryphal manuscripts were discovered, we’ve recognized that Enoch is quoted all over the Bible and also frequently in the Book of Mormon. That is very interesting, since the Enoch literature has been discovered long since 1830.

A quotation from an Enoch text occurs in the thirteenth chapter of Helaman. “Ye have trusted in your riches,” Enoch tells the people. “Ye have not remembered the Lord in the day he gave you your riches.” (Cf. Helaman 13:33 [also see vv. 20–23, 31–32].) This is also Samuel the Lamanite speaking, an expert in the scriptures; he knew all about these things. He had access to the plates of brass and other records. And here Enoch speaks in a writing not discovered until 1888: “Ye have not remembered the Lord in the days he gave you your riches; ye have gone astray that your riches shall not remain, because you have done evil in everything. Cursed are you and cursed are your riches.”8

The wording given by R. H. Charles is

Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches,
And from your riches shall ye depart,
Because ye have not remembered the Most High in the days of your riches.9

Nibley’s remark resonates with other evidence that Samuel the Lamanite was deeply familiar with the Nephite scriptures, such as Matthew Bowen’s observation of a clever Hebrew wordplay in Samuel’s prophecies that draws upon Isaiah and Jeremiah.10 Another example includes Donald R. Parry’s observation that Samuel employs six known prophetic speech forms—the “Messenger Formula,” the “Proclamation Formula,” the “Oath Formula,” the “Woe Oracle,” the “Announcement Formula,” and the “Revelation Formula”11—indicating a keen familiarity with the Nephite scriptures.

Building on the possibility that Samuel the Lamanite may have been familiar with ancient material on Enoch such as something like our Book of Moses on the brass plates, some of the apparent connections in the story of Samuel the Lamanite to the calling and initial ministry of Enoch in the Book of Moses may be meaningful. Allusions to an account of Enoch may have been intended for Nephite listeners or future readers to notice. However, it is also possible that these parallels are a string of coincidences, some of which reflect some common patterns in the Lord’s work through other Enoch figures in general.

Consider the following connections between Samuel and Enoch:

Called to preach during a journey. As Samuel was about to go back to his people after being rejected by the Nephites as he “preached repentance unto the people” (Helaman 13:2), he was called by the voice of the Lord to return to the Nephites and preach (vv. 2–3), similar to what Alma2 experienced with respect to the people of Ammonihah (Alma 8:13–16). Likewise, as “Enoch journeyed in the land, among the people” (Moses 6:26), “he heard a voice from heaven” calling him to preach repentance to the people (v. 27).

The Lord would give utterance. Helaman 13 emphasizes that Samuel was told to prophesy “whatsoever things should come into his heart” from the Lord (v. 3) and did so (vv. 4–5). Likewise, the Lord told Enoch, “Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance” (Moses 6:32). He also assured him that “all thy words will I justify” (v. 34). See also Parallel 139.

The Lord’s “fierce anger” has been kindled. The Lord told Samuel, “I will visit them in my fierce anger” (Helaman 13:10). Samuel later stated that “the anger of the Lord is already kindled against you” (v. 30). When Enoch was called, the Lord first declared that “my fierce anger is kindled against” the people (Moses 6:27; cf. 7:34).

The wicked face justice and doom unless they repent. Samuel said, “the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people” (Helaman 13:5) and “heavy destruction awaiteth this people” unless they repent (v. 6). Quoting the Lord, he warned that if they persist in wickedness, “I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them” (v. 8), suggesting war with Lamanites that will lead to their destruction four generations later (vv. 9–10). In the Book of Moses, because of the wickedness and secret combinations of the people, the Lord told Enoch that “they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not” (Moses 6:29).

Preaching from high places. Famously, Samuel climbed the city wall of Zarahemla and preached from there (Helaman 13:4). Similarly, “Enoch went forth in the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places” as he testified against the people (Moses 6:37). This is given added emphasis in the next verse: “And they came forth to hear him, upon the high places” (v. 38).

Reference to the righteous heritage of the prophet. In Helaman 15:4–10, Samuel referred to his people, the converted Lamanites, and spoke of their righteousness. He said that “the more part of them are in the path of their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God, and they do observe to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments according to the law of Moses” (v. 5) and once converted, they “are firm and steadfast in the faith” (v. 8). Likewise, Enoch said, “I came out from the land of Cainan, the land of my fathers, a land of righteousness unto this day” (Moses 6:41).

Hardness of hearts. The word of the Lord to Samuel condemned “the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites,” expressing anger for this problem: “except they repent . . . I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them” (Helaman 13:8) Through Enoch, the Lord said, “I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off” (Moses 6:27).

Hardened and blind. Samuel called the Nephites “ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people” and asked “how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?” (Helaman 13:29). After telling his people that “their hearts have waxed hard,” Enoch said that “their eyes cannot see afar off” (Moses 6:27).

“Abominations” among the people are condemned. Samuel called out “the wickedness and abominations which are in [Zarahemla]” (Helaman 13:14), “the wickedness and abominations which are in [Gideon]” (v. 15), and “the wickedness and abominations which are in [all the Nephite cities in the land round about]” (v. 16). Speaking of the Nephite people in general, he also condemned “their wickedness and their abominations” (v. 17). Enoch spoke of abominations as well, linking them to secret combinations: “and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder” (Moses 6:28). The works of Satanic secret combinations are denounced elsewhere as “abominations” in the Book of Moses (e.g., Moses 5:52) and in the Book of Mormon (Mormon 8:40)—see Parallel 140 for more details.

The earth to quake and mountains to be moved. This is related to Parallel 139 which deals with the Lord’s promises to justify a prophet’s words, including moving mountains, (see Helaman 10:4–10). Samuel prophesied that at the death of Christ, “the earth shall shake and tremble” (Helaman 14:21) and that “there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great” (v. 23). This was later fulfilled (3 Nephi 8:5–14). Similarly, the Lord told Enoch that “the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course” (Moses 6:34). Rivers changing course, incidentally, is the natural result of valleys being turned into mountains, which may be part of the proposed connection with Samuel’s prophecy. The fulfillment of the Lord’s statement is recorded in Moses 7:13, which reports that through Enoch’s faith, “the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command” (Moses 7:13). Both the trembling of the earth and the moving of mountains connects Enoch and Samuel.

The people are angry and reject the prophet. While some believed Samuel and repented, the others are angry and sought to harm him, even to the point of casting stones and arrows at him (Helaman 16:2). Of Enoch, we read that “all men were offended because of him” (Moses 6:37).

Protected from violence. Samuel was miraculously protected from the stones and arrows of his many enemies: “the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows” (Helaman 16:2). Enoch was also protected from the wrath of the offended: “when they heard him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God” (Moses 6:39). The promise that “no man shall pierce thee” (Moses 6:32) was fulfilled. (See also the related Parallel 138.)

This multifaceted conceptual parallel between Enoch and Samuel the Lamanite might be consistent with Samuel’s awareness of the Enoch account in a proposed brass-plates version of Genesis. The textual clues are not as obvious as they might have been if a translator had been actively working to draw our attention to the two stories. For example, the translator could have said that the Nephites could not pierce Samuel with their arrows as he stood on the high places around the city, or that the Nephites were offended by Samuel to better highlight the connections.

A further connection to the Book of Moses, but not involving Enoch, may be found in Samuel’s statement in Helaman 14:10:

And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.

This may allude to the description of Satan in Moses 4:

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; . . . And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. (Moses 4:3, 6)

Perhaps with irony, Samuel might have been insinuating that the Nephites were like Satan in seeking to destroy him but were casting him out as if he were Satan.

If any of the seemingly large number of connections involving Samuel the Lamanite are not random coincidences, they may reflect actual allusions to the brass plates made by Samuel. After his words were conveyed by Mormon or Helaman3 or both into Reformed Egyptian, those words may not have been obviously connected to the Book of Moses in the eyes of whatever agent or agents assisted with the translation into English, leaving us with relatively more conceptual rather than linguistic cues to recognize. It may be reasonable to accept some intentional allusions to the brass plates were not given clear linguistic markers in the final translation; however, others may have been made easier to recognize with common English phrasing. Of course, one must also entertain the possibility that Joseph’s own language may have been at play, giving some linguistic connections that were not really intended by Book of Mormon writers.

Replacement of Parallel 101: “Secret Works” (a previously unlisted find from Reynolds)

Formerly, Parallel 101 was “Cain’s followers and the persistence of his secret combination,” but this was recently noted to be largely redundant with Parallel 41. Parallel 101 is now replaced by Noel Reynolds’s prior discovery in his original work that was not given the separate listing it merits. This parallel is “secret works,” found in Moses 6:15, a verse that is featured in 10 other parallels (Parallels 23, 26, 39, 47, 56, 82, 77, 80, 101, 140):

And the children of men were numerous upon all the face of the land. And in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed; and a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power.

Reynolds discussed secret works with respect to Parallel 21, works of darkness, based on Moses 5:55.12 Secret works is part of secret works of darkness, found four times in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 9:9, 10:15; Helaman 8:4 and 10:3). However, secret works occurs alone (without of darkness) in Alma 37:21, 23, 25; and 3 Nephi 3:7, and as the singular secret work in Helaman 2:4. Further, the Book of Moses connection in Moses 6:15 is distinct from the connection for works of darkness in Moses 5:55. Thus, a separate listing appears warranted.

Neither secret works nor secret work occurs in the KJV Bible.

New Parallel 105: Hell/prison “prepared” for the wicked (replacing the former 105)

The former Parallel 105 was redundant with one of the early finds of Noel Reynolds, Parallel 19. That has been replaced with a significant new find by Scripture Central based on hell or (spirit) prison being “prepared” by the Lord.13 The unnamed authors do more than establish an interesting connection between books dictated by Joseph Smith; they also show that the concept involved has connections to the ancient Book of Enoch, adding to the intrigue of this parallel.

The parallel involves a Book of Moses concept in two related verses in the Lord’s discourse with Enoch:

Wherefore, they have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not. (Moses 6:29).

But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them. (Moses 7:38)

This concept is found in multiple Book of Mormon verses: 1 Nephi 15:29, 34–35 (“awful hell” + “prepared” for the wicked); 2 Nephi 9:16 (“the devil and his angels . . . shall go away into everlasting fire; prepared for them”), 28:23; Mosiah 26:26; and Helaman 3:29.

Other concepts near Moses 7:38 are found in several Book of Mormon verses that speak of hell being “prepared” by the Lord. The preceding verse, Moses 7:37, speaks of “misery” being the doom of Satan’s followers (see Parallel 44), while Helaman 3:29 describes hell as “that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked.” The “fire of mine indignation” of Moses 7:34 is related to the “everlasting fire” and “fire and brimstone” of 2 Nephi 9:16 (cf. Parallel 73), and that verse’s mention of “the devil and his angels” is related to Satan’s angels in Moses 7:26 (cf. Parallel 60). Similar language occurs in Mosiah 26:27. Right after Moses 7:39, we read of the “torment” of the wicked (Moses 7:40, cf. Parallel 145), a concept also found in 2 Nephi 28:23, which speaks of “the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.”

The Book of Mormon’s use of other terms near Moses 7:39 increases the sense that the broader context of Moses 7:39 may have influenced Book of Mormon authors when they alluded to that passage.

Four parallels Involving the Voyage of the Jaredites (Ether 2 and 3)

Students of the Book of Mormon have long noted that the Jaredites’ voyage across the ocean to the New World in eight barges, as described in the book of Ether, has parallels to Noah’s ark and the story of the Flood.14 Indeed, Moroni2 overtly pointed to the connection when writing that the Jaredite vessels “were tight like unto the ark of Noah” (Ether 6:7). However, there are other signals in the text that connect the story of the voyage of the Jaredites to information likely on the brass plates. This includes allusions related to the Flood, including the Book of Moses account of Enoch’s vision of the coming Flood and his sweeping vision of the future. These new finds include a new variant to Parallel 127 and three apparently stronger new parallels to the similarly grand vision of Moses in Moses 1.

This forms a cluster of parallels linking the brother of Jared’s experience in preparing for the Jaredites’ journey to Noah’s ark and Enoch’s vision. This cluster may strengthen the case for deliberate allusions connecting the brother of Jared with the contents of a proposed brass-plates version of Genesis.

New Variant of Parallel 127

Previously introduced Parallel 127 involves humans “swallowed up” by water, an apparent parallel between Moses 7:43 and several Book of Mormon passages where water literally swallowed up or threatened to swallow up humans. A closely related variant of this may deserve attention. Moses 7:43 has the more specific concept of “the floods [that] came and swallowed them up,” which has close affinity to language in Ether 2:25. Here the Lord warned the brother of Jared of the difficult condition of their upcoming ocean voyage:

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

Swallowed up occurs several times in the KJV Bible, but the only connections to a flood are metaphorical. The closest comes from the Psalms:

Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. (Psalm 69:15)

Another metaphorical instance is found in Revelation 12:16, where it is a flood that is being swallowed:

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. (Revelation 12:16)

Psalm 69:15 weakens the parallel but, perhaps, not enough to suggest the KJV Bible as a likely source for the language of Ether 2:25. Both the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses discuss a literal flood that will “come” threatening to “swallow up” multiple people (the Jaredite voyagers in Ether 2 or the wicked in Moses 7). The language in Ether 2:25 is directly related to that of Ether 7:43 both in concepts and specific wording. Thus, there is a possible case that Ether 2:25 is alluding to another flood-related passage in the Book of Moses.

Parallels 134–136: The brother of Jared and a vision of Enoch

In Parallel 134, the specific phrase, “the Lord could not withhold,” is found in both Moses 7:51 and Ether 3:25–26, with a context related to great floods. Parallels 135 and 136 come on the heels of Parallel 134 when the Lord further showed both Enoch and the brother of Jared “all things, even unto the end/ends of the world/earth” (Moses 7:67, Ether 3:25–26; cf. Ether 12:19–21).

These parallels involve a sacred event in which the Lord either did not or could not withhold a blessing from a prophet due to the prophet’s faith. The Lord then goes on to show a vision of “all things.” In the Book of Moses, the prophet is the seer Enoch, who sees the forthcoming Flood and asks the Lord to not repeat that catastrophe. After we are told how great Enoch’s faith was in Moses 7:13 and hear him refer to his redemption through faith in v. 47, we encounter the Lord’s reaction to a request from Enoch:

And it came to pass that Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying: I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods. And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah. (Moses 7:50–51)

Compare this to the experience of the brother of Jared when he encountered the Lord after he sought divine help for his people’s journey across the great waters. At this point, the Lord had just used the terms flood and floods to describe what the Jaredites will face on their journey (Ether 2:20, 24, 25) as he warns of the great dangers they face. In response, the brother of Jared came to the Lord with a request for assistance to face the floods:

O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires. (Ether 3:2)

This is the beginning of his faithful prayer to the Lord that resulted in his receiving glowing stones to provide light for the journey and in his receiving the gift of seership (including two special stones from the Lord that were called “interpreters.”) After receiving these interpreters, the brother of Jared was given a remarkable vision:

And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth. For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things. (Ether 3:25–26)

Similar language occurs later in Ether 12:21 as Moroni2 recapped the brother of Jared’s experience:

And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil.

Parallel 134 (with a shared specific phrase in the context of floods to be faced) strengthens the connections between Noah’s ark and the voyage of the Jaredites. “The Lord could not withhold” is not found in the KJV Bible, though related uses of withhold occur in the Psalms: “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD” (Psalm 40:11) and “. . . the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). A longer specific phrase with a related context makes it clear that an allusion is being made. In this case, while the Jaredite voyage in barges is clearly being likened to Noah’s ark and the Flood, there is a further allusion to the great seer Enoch who foresaw the Flood and from whom “the Lord could not withhold” when he made a request related to the Flood.

In Parallel 135, God showed a prophet a vision of “all things” plus “even unto the end/ends of the world/earth.” This links to Moses 7:67, where “the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world.” This is close to Ether 3:25–26, as quoted and discussed above in Parallel 134, here abbreviated: “he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be . . . , even unto the ends of the earth” and “he could show unto him all things . . . for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.”

Other Book of Mormon verses involving showing a prophet all things (only a part of this parallel) include

- 1 Nephi 14:26: “And also others [besides the Apostle John] who have been, to them hath he shown all things . . .”

- Ether 12:21: “And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil.”

God’s showing a prophet “all things,” seems like something that might occur in the Bible, but there is not a direct match. However, John 5:20 is relatively close: “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth.” The term all things has been limited to showing the Son what the Father does and so is not the same as showing a mortal prophet a vision of all things. However, it is close enough to worry that a parallel based only on God’s showing all things to a prophet is too similar to John 5:20.

Some other KJV passages with similar language include:

- John 16:15: “All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” [Here “it” is not the “all things” that began the passage.]

- Acts 20:35: “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” [This does not refer to a divine vision.]

The combination of God’s showing “all things” to a prophet with “even unto the end/ends of the world/earth” seems needed to strengthen the proposed parallel.

The KJV Bible does have multiple occurrences of end/ends of the world/earth but not in association with a vision of all things or with a sweeping vision by a prophet.

Moses 1:8 may also be considered:

And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered. (Moses 1:8)

While “children of men” rather than Ether 3:25’s “inhabitants” is used, Moses 1:8 also has ties to the “end of the world/earth” with its “the world and the ends thereof.” Moses 1:8 can be treated as part of this parallel though the language in Moses 7 more precisely echoes Ether 3.

Parallel 136, showing a prophet “all the inhabitants of the earth” over broad periods of time, also involves Ether 3:25, where the Lord “showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be.” Similar language occurs in the description of Enoch’s vision in Moses 7:21, “And it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth.” This vision did not just involve people living in Enoch’s day but spanned many centuries. He saw Zion’s being taken up into heaven “in process of time” (v. 21), and he then saw “generation upon generation” (v. 24), the future Flood (vv. 34, 42, 43), “all the families of the earth” descended from Noah (v. 45), and the ministry of Christ and his atoning sacrifice (vv. 47, 55). After this, he saw the future wickedness of the earth (v. 48) and prayed that the seed of Noah might not be destroyed again by “the floods” (vv. 49–50). He also saw the last days and the Second Coming of the Lord (vv. 65–66).

While Ether 3:25 and Moses 7 both involve a vision of “all the inhabitants of the earth” over broad periods of time, the parallel may seem weak because the phrase “all the inhabitants of the earth” occurs four times in the KJV Bible (Psalm 33:14; Jeremiah 25:29, 30; Daniel 4:35). However, these passages do not involve showing all the inhabitants of the earth to a prophet over broad periods of time in an expansive vision but offer prophecies or statements involving all mankind.

In addition to Moses 7, related language is found in the great vision of Moses in the opening verses of the Book of Moses, especially Moses 1:8:

And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered. (Moses 1:8)

And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God. And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore. (vv. 27–28; cf. v. 29)

But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you . . . And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof . . . (vv. 35–36)

The two wordings used to express a broad temporal scope in the phrase “all the children of men which are, and which were created” of Moses 1:8 are similar to Ether 3:25’s “all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be.” Enoch, Moses, and the brother of Jared are all linked with similar language and concepts in Parallel 136.

It may be reasonable for the Jaredite record to have allusions to their ancient records about Noah and Enoch, but they would not have a record of the visions of the future Moses. Perhaps either Mosiah2 (as Nephite translator/redactor) or Moroni2 (as Nephite redactor) may have preserved or strengthened existing allusions in Ether’s record based on their knowledge of the brass plates, while also choosing wording to allude to the vision of Moses as well. Or perhaps some of these allusions were introduced or strengthened in the process of creating the English translation, occurring either in translations given to Joseph Smith (for both the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses) or by Joseph Smith in making choices for the wording.

In these allusions, the book of Ether in general appears to be alluding to a backstory found in the Book of Moses, a text that would not be produced until well after the Book of Mormon translation was finished. The use of similar specific phrases in the English translation with subtle intertextuality may imply some level of tight control in the translations of both the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses.

In the three parallels involving Ether 3 that are considered here, it seems that our English book of Ether makes multiple subtle allusions to the later-translated Book of Moses. While Ether 3 points to some related concepts and language from the vision of Moses, the more related context of Enoch’s vision of the future Flood and vision of all things unto the ends of the earth has language that is even more precisely echoed in the Book of Mormon. It is hard to escape the conclusion that the carefully crafted allusions are intentional, doing more than vaguely indicating a relationship to Noah’s story.

The use of multiple parallels in Moroni’s relating of the vision of the brother of Jared may suggest intentional allusions to the Book of Moses or to a related text on the brass plates.

Parallel 137: Satan/the Devil, beguiling Eve/first parents, destroying the world

Previous Parallel 133 included several concepts from Moses 4:3–6, including Satan’s desire to destroy the world in Moses 4:6. But there is another combination including Moses 4:6 that serves as a distinct parallel. This is the combination of the terms Satan and the verb beguile with respect to Eve (or our “first parents”) plus the concept of destroying the world:

And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. (Moses 4:6)

This language may have influenced Ether 8:25, which refers to a great secret combination in the last days that will imperil the freedom of many lands:

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up [a secret combination in the last days] seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning. (Ether 8:25)

This is just one of many variants on the Book of Moses’s information on the work of Satan. It is possible, though not certain, that the Book of Moses passage influenced that language of Moroni’s dire prophecy in Ether 8.

The serpent (not explicitly Satan) beguiles Eve in Genesis 3:13, and this is mentioned again in 2 Corinthians 11:3, but neither destruction nor destroying are mentioned.

As in many other parallels, this is a case where a Book of Moses account is closely related to KJV Genesis material but with added details. To find those details mentioned or alluded to in the earlier-produced (i.e., earlier-translated) Book of Mormon may suggest that the Book of Mormon was referring to an early brass-plates version of Genesis with details that were not preserved in the Bible.

Parallel 138: Secret combinations, blood of victims crying from the ground

Yet another potential parallel involving secret combinations involves the concept of the blood of victims crying from the ground. Genesis 4:10 reports that the Lord told Cain that “the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” The Book of Moses, especially Moses 5, supplies vital missing information about the role of Cain’s secret combination that was involved in this murder. Cain made an oath with Satan, who instructed Cain to “swear thy brethren by their heads” in a secret combination that he might kill Abel without Adam’s knowing of it (vv. 29–30). Cain then became “Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain” (v. 31). Then he murdered his brother (v. 32). Then the Lord, following Genesis 4:10, said, “The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground” (v. 35). Thus, innocent Abel was slain by Cain as the result of a secret and Satanic combination, and then that innocent blood cried from the ground unto the Lord.

With that background, consider these Book of Mormon passages:

And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness. . . . Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? (Mormon 8:27, 40)

And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. . . . Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up. (Ether 8:22, 24)

The Book of Mormon seems to follow Moses 5 in describing the blood of victims of secret combinations as crying to the Lord.

Parallel 139: The Lord promises to justify a prophet’s words, including moving mountains

After the Lord calls the inexperienced and fearful Enoch to be a prophet and preach to a violent people that hates him (Moses 6:32), the Lord assures him with a promise:

Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. (Moses 6:34).

The fulfillment of this promise is given in Moses 7:13:

And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him.

This power to move mountains was attributed to the great power of the word and the language which God gave him. Similar power over the elements through the power of the word was promised to Nephi2 in Helaman 10:4–10 when the Lord blessed him for his unwearying service and faithfulness. He blessed him to be “mighty in word and in deed, . . . yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will” (v. 5). Three examples are given showing how the Lord will fulfill Nephi2’s word:

And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done. And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done. And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass. (Helaman 10:8–10)

While flattening a mountain is not as broad a power as moving one, it is closely related and an example of how the Lord will justify or fulfill the prophet’s word.

Parallel 140: Secret combinations as abominations

Abomination is often used in the Book of Mormon to describe the works of secret combinations. See Moses 5:25, 51–52; 6:15, 28–29.

Nephi1 repeatedly uses the word abominable to describe a great and wicked church that kills the Saints, and he repeatedly explains that the devil is the founder of it:

And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it. (1 Nephi 13:6)

. . . that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell . . . (1 Nephi 14:3)

. . . that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. (1 Nephi 14:9)

. . . the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil . . . (1 Nephi 14:17)

After these declarations about the devil being the founder of the “great and abominable church,” Nephi1 later spoke of “secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness” (2 Nephi 26:22). The latter-day impact of the “great and abominable church” which, like secret combinations, has Satan as its founder and is a murderous organization, far exceeds that of any actual modern-day church but seems more like a political entity with international power and the ability to wage war, for Nephi1 sees it, “the great mother of abominations . . . gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God” (1 Nephi 14:13). The wrath of God poured out upon it then results in “wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth” (v. 15). It has global military teeth.

Also in 1 Nephi 13, we read that the great and abominable church “slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity” (v. 5) and “for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity” (v. 9), again indicative of great political power. Nephi1 also directly links abominations to secret combinations or to works of darkness:

Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations. (2 Nephi 10:15)

For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the manner of the Jews; for their works were works of darkness, and their doings were doings of abominations. (2 Nephi 25:2)

Overall, when Nephi1 speaks against the “great and abominable church” (e.g., 1 Nephi 13 and 14), it seems likely that he is not speaking against any recognizable religious denomination of our day but against the abomination of corrupt secret combinations that gain the political power (and perhaps religious influence as well) to do the evil works Nephi1 opposes. His “great and abominable church” may closely overlap with “this secret combination which shall be among you” (Ether 8:24) that Moroni2 warned of, urging the Gentiles of our day to understand that “whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries” (v. 25).

This connection between abomination or abominable and secret combinations is further strengthened by Alma2 in Alma 37, a chapter that discusses the brass plates. He speaks of the secret combinations recorded on the plates of Ether which discuss the Jaredites’ “mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed . . . ; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations” (v. 21). He goes on to write about “secret murders and abominations” (v. 22), of “secret works, . . . works of darkness, and . . . wickedness and abominations” (v. 23), of “secrets and abominations” (v. 25), “secret abominations” (vv. 26–27), and finally makes a clear connection between abominations and the oaths and murders of secret combinations:

Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their oaths and their covenants from this people, and only their wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teach them to abhor such wickedness and abominations and murders; and ye shall also teach them that these people were destroyed on account of their wickedness and abominations and their murders. (v. 29)

Moroni2 later identifies secret combinations as the cause of the destruction of the Jaredites in Ether 8:21, consistent with Alma 37:29. A few verses earlier, Moroni2 described the secret combination formed by Akish: “which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God” (Ether 8:18).

The Book of Mormon also uses abomination or abominable and wicked in contexts that don’t clearly invoke the extreme wickedness of secret combinations. For example, in Jacob 2, Jacob chastises the Nephites for their immorality, calling that “wickedness and abominations” (vv. 10 and 31). In 1 Nephi 1, Lehi1 preached to the Jews in Jerusalem and “testified of their wickedness and their abominations” (v. 19), which sounds fairly general. The response of his audience, though, suggests that murderous secret combinations were afoot: “they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away” (v. 20).

Christ’s words to the Nephites also illustrate the use of wickedness and abominations to indicate or include secret combinations. In the closing words of 3 Nephi, when the Lord spoke to modern Gentiles, calling us to come unto him, it is not just a message of cheer and comfort. He first commands us to repent of the sinister things the Book of Mormon so often warns against:

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel. (3 Nephi 30:2)

Secret abominations and murders as well as language suggestive of secret combinations seem to at least be a recognized subset of wickedness and abominations.

Other connections are found in Helaman 6:24, which describes how Gadianton’s secret combination enforced the oath of secrecy for anyone in their band who “should reveal unto the world of their wickedness and their abominations.” Verse 28 then refers to “the works of darkness and abomination” of that group. In Ether 11:25, Moroni2 pointed out the adverse religious influence of secret societies, noting that the Jaredites “did reject all the words of the prophets, because of their secret society and wicked abominations.”

The association of abomination with secret combinations is a theme found in the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon in ways that are consistent with the hypothesis of influence on the Book of Mormon from a brass-plates version of Genesis akin to the Book of Moses.

Parallel 141: A seer that sees spirits or a spirit body (a conceptual parallel)

Enoch became a seer after the Lord had him anoint his eyes with clay and then wash them (Moses 6:35), after which “he beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye” (v. 36). This is echoed in Ether 3, when the brother of Jared had an encounter with the Lord on Mount Shelem in which he was given the privilege of seeing the spirit body of the Lord. Interestingly, this is also the scene where the Lord gave the brother of Jared two seer stones or “interpreters,” which were directly related to the role of a seer, as explained elsewhere in the Book of Mormon:

Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer. (Mosiah 8:13)

And now he [Mosiah2] translated them [the plates of Ether] by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow. (Mosiah 28:13)

The relevant passage in Ether 3 begins when the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord:

And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear. (Ether 3:6)

The brother of Jared was astonished and fell to the earth, not knowing that the Lord “had flesh and blood” (v. 8). The divine experience progressed and the Lord, in response to the brother of Jared’s faith, showed Himself:

And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.

And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.

Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites. (Ether 3:13–17)

Thus, a seer, the brother of Jared, had “the veil . . . taken from off the eyes” (v. 6), analogous to Enoch’s washing the clay from his eyes (Moses 6:35). The brother of Jared was then able to behold the spirit body of the Lord, analogous to Enoch being able to see “things which were not visible to the natural eye,” including “the spirits that God had created” (v. 36).

This conceptual parallel here is not accompanied with specific phrases shared between the two texts, but it may reflect patterns in the Lord’s operations rather than deliberate allusions to Enoch’s story made by Book of Mormon writers. Nevertheless, it is a meaningful parallel that may be worth consideration.

Related KJV passages could include Saul’s request that the witch of Endor bring up the deceased prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 28:7–14). The witch apparently saw Samuel, but it is doubtful that she saw him or any other spirit. Of course, there are numerous events where prophets see angels or other divine manifestations but not explicitly spirits or spirit bodies. Among such divine encounters, Moses’s experience on Mount Sinai where “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a mean speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11) and where Moses and many elders of Israel “saw the God of Israel; and there were under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone” (Exodus 24:10) stand out. Such hints of an anthropomorphic God in the Bible do not explicitly tell us about the ability to see a spirit body. Further, Moses is not said to be a seer.

Parallel 142: God raises up a seer

Enoch became a seer after the Lord had him anoint his eyes with clay and then wash them, enabling him to see spirits and things not visible to the natural eye (Moses 6:35–36). Moses 6:36 then states that “from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people.” Likewise, 2 Nephi 3 has this concept three times:

For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.

Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers. (2 Nephi 3:6–7)

But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins—and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them. (2 Nephi 3:11)

Instances of the Lord’s “raising up” somebody or something occur multiple times in the KJV (e.g., “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee,” Deuteronomy 18:15) but not with respect to a seer. The concept of raising up a seer is akin to raising up a prophet, so it is not a strikingly unusual concept but, nevertheless, one that seems linguistically distinct and worthy of consideration.

Parallel 143: Neither children nor joy before the fall

After Adam and Eve fall and learn of their redemption through Christ, they rejoice and acknowledge the great blessings that have come to them:

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. (Moses 5:10–11)

This enlightened understanding of the Fall as a path leading to joy, including the joy of children, is also found in Lehi1’s famous discourse in 2 Nephi 2:

And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:22–25)

That last and very famous verse by itself is proposed below as another parallel.

Parallel 144: Adam fell that we might be

One of the best-known passages in the Book of Mormon, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25), has a connection to the Book of Moses:

And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. (Moses 6:48)

If Lehi1 was adapting Enoch’s statement for his oration on the plan of salvation, it would be fitting to change the “misery and woe” of mortality in Enoch’s statement to a focus on the joy that Adam discovered through our redemption, as mentioned in Moses 5:10.

It is possible that Lehi1’s words were in part adapted from a brass-plates text related to the Book of Moses.

Parallel 145: Shaking/quaking over torment of the wicked

When the penitent sons of Mosiah2 considered the pains of the wicked, they did quake in empathy for them:

for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble. (Mosiah 28:3.)

Quake and tremble are also used to describe Lehi1’s reaction to a vision he saw in the opening verses of the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 1:6), which likely involved the abominations of Jerusalem and the destruction and captivity of the wicked that he saw in vision shortly after that (v. 13). The same phrase is applied to the wicked’s reaction when they are faced with their doom (1 Nephi 22:23; Mosiah 27:31).

The term torment in relation to the condition of the wicked is found in the KJV New Testament (Matthew 8:29 and Luke 16:28) but not the Old Testament. Both the concept of torment of the wicked and the concept of quaking or shaking because of their pain is found in Moses 7 as Enoch was startled to see God weep over the wicked and asked how it was possible that God should weep (Moses 7:28–31). God then gave a detailed explanation recalling his creation of man and of his granting them their agency, only to see them reject him, be “without affection,” and “hate their own blood” (vv. 32–33), resulting in his “fierce anger” (v. 34) for such great wickedness that exceeds the wickedness encountered among any of his creations (vv. 35–36). The result of such sin is a terrible doom that will cause them to suffer in torment in hell until the day that they repent (a possibility made possible by the suffering of Christ for their sins):

But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?

But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them.

And that which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;

Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook. (Moses 7:37–41)

This grief is not just the Lord’s and not just shared with Enoch but “the heavens . . . and all the workmanship of [God’s] hands” (v. 40) weep over the torment of the wicked and presumably shake as well since all eternity shook (v. 41), showing the intense empathy and yearning of the heavens for those who suffer for their sins. It is a yearning and quaking that was shared by the sons of Mosiah2, expressed in language that seems to allude to Enoch’s divine experience in understanding our merciful God who weeps for us and knows our pain.

Parallel 146: The wicked do not “lay hands” on a prophet due to fear of the Lord’s power or protection

When Enoch preached to a wicked people, they were offended and likely would have attacked him. But Moses 6:39 explains that fear of Enoch’s godly power or status held them in abeyance:

And it came to pass when they heard him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God.

When Lehi4 and Nephi2, sons of Helaman3, preached to Lamanites, they were cast into prison where they suffered for a prolonged time. However, a miraculous experience resulted in the sparing of their lives and the conversion of large numbers of Lamanites. When a group of Lamanites with at least one Nephite dissenter came to slay them, fear prevented harm being done:

And after they had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them.

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.

And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.

For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were struck dumb with amazement.

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us. (Helaman 5:22–26)

In another example, after Nephi2 prayed upon his tower and gained the attention of a crowd including corrupt judges, fear prevented them from laying their hands upon him:

And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them. . . .

And it came to past that those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear, that they did not lay their hands on him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had gained favor in the eyes of some, insomuch that the remainder of them did fear. (Helaman 8:4, 10)

This fear was implicitly related to the power of God, for he had obtained support from some of the people based on evidence of his prophetic calling and ministry.

Nephi1 experiences similar divine protection when his angry brothers were about to kill him at Bountiful:

And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words, they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them. (1 Nephi 17:48, 52)

Abinadi experiences a similar scene when threatened by the wicked priests of King Noah:

And now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests: Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad.

And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but he withstood them, and said unto them:

Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.

Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord. (Mosiah 13:1–3, 5)

It may be that Enoch’s story was alluded to in some of these other miraculous cases of preservation.

There is a relatively closely related passage in Matthew:

And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. (Matthew 21:45–46).

This is not presented, however, as a miraculous fear of a prophet’s power or divine protection but of his popularity.

A related event is told in Luke 20:19:

And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

Parallel 146 still has enough to retain it as a possible parallel, though related language does occur in the KJV.

Conclusion

The new and updated parallels presented here were part of the data used in examination of the distribution of parallels in a recently published companion article,15 Part 1 of this series. That article also examined the issue of translator intent in preserving or highlighting potential parallels. Findings were consistent with a generally “tight” translation of the Book of Mormon, with translator intent or cooperation spanning both the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses, with the result that parallels could be detected largely on the basis of common language.

The details of the distribution, the multiple parallels pointing to a one-way direction of influence from the Book of Moses or something like it to the Book of Mormon, the explanatory power (including enhanced meaning offered by considering the Book of Moses as a source of influence), and the general absence of similar phenomena involving the Book of Abraham suggest that there may be something besides obsessive parallelomania behind the findings of this study. Indeed, there may be something highly unexpected and unique about the Book of Moses and its relationship to the Book of Mormon. Though some of the parallels are admittedly weak and could be due to chance or other textual influences, the cumulative effect of the evidence both reinforces the surprising findings first reported by Reynolds in 1990 and suggests that a noteworthy phenomenon may be found in the data presented here. An argument can be made that the relationship is best explained by both the Book of Mormon’s and the Book of Moses’s roots in ancient texts that were translated with apparent translator intent (recognizing that multiple translators may have been involved) to make allusions and connections readily discoverable for modern readers.

[Author’s Note: I would like to thank Noel Reynolds, Kent P. Jackson, Allen Wyatt, Matthew Bowen, David Calabro, Rebecca Lambert, Godfrey Ellis, Robert F. Smith, Royal Skousen, Stanford Carmack, Ryan Dahle, and Kendra Lindsay.]

Jeffrey D. Lindsay has been providing online materials defending the Church for more than twenty years, primarily at JeffLindsay.com. His Mormanity blog on Church topics began in 2004 and was recently converted to ArisefromtheDust.com. He is currently on the Board of Directors for The Interpreter Foundation. Jeff has a PhD in chemical engineering from BYU and is a US patent agent. Jeff has been a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers since 2014. Every year since 2015 he has been named as one of the world’s leading intellectual property strategists on the IAM 300 Strategy List by IAM Media Group in the UK. He is currently president of Planet Lindsay, LLC, assisting a variety of clients with intellectual property and innovation. From 2011 to 2019 he was the head of Intellectual Property for Asia Pulp and Paper in Shanghai, China, one of the world’s largest forest product companies. Formerly, he was associate professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute) at Georgia Tech, then went into R&D at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, eventually becoming corporate patent strategist and senior research fellow. Jeff served a mission in the German-speaking Switzerland Zurich Mission. He and his wife Kendra are the parents of four boys and have fifteen grandchildren. They are both serving as ministering specialists for African immigrants in their community and are learning Swahili. Jeff also serves as a board member for Hope and Help Together, a community organization in Appleton, Wisconsin, which works to assist refugees and immigrants in the Fox Cities region.

1 . Noel B. Reynolds, “The Brass Plates Version of Genesis,” in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990, ed. John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies [FARMS]; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 2:136–73. This was republished as Noel B. Reynolds, “The Brass Plates Version of Genesis,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 34 (2020): 63–96, interpreterfoundation
.org/journal/the-brass-plates-version-of-genesis/.

For the recent work that has discovered many more parallels beyond the thirty-three found by Reynolds, see Jeff Lindsay and Noel B. Reynolds, “‘Strong Like unto Moses’: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 44 (2021): 1–92, interpreterfoundation.org/journal/strong-like-unto-moses-the
-case-for-ancient-roots-in-the-book-of-moses-based-on-book-of-mormon
-usage-of-related-content-apparently-from-the-brass-plates/; and Jeff Lindsay, “Further Evidence from the Book of Mormon for a Book of Moses-Like Text on the Brass Plates,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 61 (2024): 415–94, interpreterfoundation.org/journal/further
-evidence-from-the-book-of-mormon-for-a-book-of-moses-like-text-on-the
-brass-plates/. The count in the latter publication was 133. Also see the earlier work, Jeff Lindsay, “‘Arise from the Dust’: Insights from Dust-Related Themes in the Book of Mormon (Part 1: Tracks from the Book of Moses),” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 22 (2016): 179–232, interpreterfoundation
.org/journal/arise-from-the-dust-insights-from-dust-related-themes-in-the
-book-of-mormon-part-1-tracks-from-the-book-of-moses/.

2 . Jeff Lindsay, “Parallels Between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon, Part 1: Details of Their Distribution and Relationships to the JST,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 67 (2026): 275–320, inter
preterfoundation.org/journal/parallels-between-the-book-of-moses-and-the-book-of-mormon-part-1-details-of-their-distribution-and-relationships
-to-the-jst/.

3 . Lindsay and Reynolds, “Strong Like unto Moses.”

4 . Lindsay, “‘Arise from the Dust’ (Part 1).”

5 . Lindsay, “Further Evidence.”

6 . Lindsay, “Parallels, Part 1.”

7 . Hugh Nibley, Enoch the Prophet (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1986), 19–23.

8 . Nibley, Enoch the Prophet, 8.

9 . Book of Enoch, 94:8, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2, Pseudepigrapha, ed. R. H. Charles (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1913), 266, archive.org/details/Charles_The-Apocrypha-of-the-Old
-Testament-vol-2_1913/page/266/mode/2up.

10 . Matthew Bowen, “Smooth Words and Slippery Things: Samuel the Lamanite’s Prophetic Use of Hebrew ḥlq,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, forthcoming (2025).

11 . Donald W. Parry, “‘Thus Saith the Lord’: Prophetic Language in Samuel’s Speech,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 181–83, scholars
archive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=jbms.

12 . Reynolds, “The Brass Plates Version of Genesis,” 78.

13 . Scripture Central Staff, “Book of Moses Evidence: Hell Was ‘Prepared,’” Evidence 510, 3 September 2025, scripturecentral.org/evidence/hell-was
-prepared.

14 . Hugh Nibley, “Strange Ships and Shining Stones,” in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1988), 340–58, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=28&article=1011&
context=mi&type=additional; Thomas R. Valletta, “Jared and His Brother,” in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi Through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1995), 303–22, rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-fourth
-nephi-through-moroni-zion-destruction/jared-his-brother; and “Book of Mormon Evidence: Flood Stories,” Scripture Central, 15 December 2020, scripture
central.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-flood-stories.

15 . Lindsay, “Parallels, Part 1.”