BACKGROUND

SOURCE GROUPS

The covenant of christ text primarily spans a period of approximately one thousand years, between ca. 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Numerous prophets wrote the record, and one of the final writers, Mormon, abridged or condensed the lengthy history into a single book, which was subsequently completed by his son, Moroni. Then in approximately A.D. 420 Moroni buried the abridged record in what is now the state of New York, in the United States of America.

Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844) was shown the site of the hidden record by an angel. Joseph was given the record and the means to translate it in 1827. Joseph completed the translation and published the book three years later, in 1830. The first published work was named the Book of Mormon after that prophet, Mormon, who had compiled and abridged it.

The source text consisted of records engraved on metal referred to as “plates.” The plates detail the ancient migrations of three specific groups to the American continent:

• The people of Lehi left Jerusalem in ca. 600 B.C. and later divided into two main groups known as the Nephites and the Lamanites, each named for one of Lehi’s sons. This is the primary group that created and kept this record.
• The people of Muloch also left Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian destruction. Muloch was one of the sons of King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (see Jer. 39:1–2 RE). Internal evidence in the text suggests the group that came with Muloch (commonly called Mulochites) may have spoken Aramaic. The Mulochites joined with the Nephites and became one people (see Omni 1:8 RE).
• The people of Jared (commonly called the Jaredites) left the Tower of Babel at the time of the confounding of languages and traveled to the American continent. Their civilization ended around the time the Mulochites arrived.

SOURCE RECORDS

The covenant of christ mentions several sources that added to the final text, all of which are ancient records kept on metal plates. Though several of the sets of plates overlapped as to time period or the group keeping the record, each is unique in purpose and content. The text references the following plates, all of which contributed material to the covenant of christ:

• The Plates of Brass are a record containing the five books of Moses…and a record of the Jews from the beginning…and the prophecies of the holy prophets up to and including some of the prophecies of Jeremiah (see1 Nephi 1:10, 22 CE). These plates were taken from Jerusalem by Nephi, son of Lehi, and brought to the American continent with Lehi’s family.
  
• The Small Plates of Nephi are a record started by Nephi covering events leading up to and including his family’s travels from Jerusalem to the American continent, as well as the ministry of Nephi and his brother Jacob. Subsequent prophets and writers continued this record until the plates were full. Their purpose was to record the ministry and the things of God, rather than a secular history (see1 Nephi 2:1, 14 CE;2 Nephi 3:6 CE; Words of Mormon 1:2–3 CE). This content was included, unabridged, and used to replace the lost 116 pages of manuscript of the Book of Mormon and encompass the books of 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, and Omni.
  
• The Large Plates of Nephi are a historical record kept by Nephi, son of Lehi, and subsequently added to by other writers. This record contains more political and secular information than the Small Plates of Nephi, including the history of the kings, the wars, and the conflicts of the Nephite people (see1 Nephi 2:14 CE). These records were abridged by Mormon to create his record (seecovenant of christ Dedication).
  
• The Plates of Ether are a record of an earlier civilization called the Jaredite people who left the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of tongues and traveled to the American continent. Their record was recorded by the prophet Ether on twenty-four gold plates (seeMosiah 5:12 CE; Ether 1:1 CE). Their civilization ended with the destruction of their people, during the lifetime of Nephi, son of Lehi.
  
• The Plates of Mormon consist not only of Mormon’s abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi and the additions made by his son Moroni, but also include the Small Plates of Nephi as part of the compilation. Mormon’s abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi begins at the Words of Mormon and ends at Mormon 3:5 CE. Moroni’s completion of the record includes Mormon 4, Ether, and Moroni. The Plates of Mormon were buried by Moroni ca. A.D. 421, following the destruction of the Nephite civilization. These plates were given to Joseph Smith in 1827 by the resurrected Nephi, son of Lehi. While in the possession of Joseph Smith, the Plates of Mormon were commonly called the “Gold Plates” or “Gold Bible.” The unsealed portion of the plates was translated by the gift and power of God, and the sealed portion of the plates was left untranslated. When the work of translation was completed, Joseph reburied the plates (see 2 Nephi 11:20 RE).
  

covenant of christ is primarily the work of three authors: Nephi (son of Lehi), Mormon, and Moroni. Nephi’s small plates are included without abridgment, while the rest of the record consists of Mormon and Moroni’s abridgments of prior records written by other authors, as well as their own writings. Because the majority of the abridging work was done by Mormon, the original book bears his name. The translation of the plates was given to Joseph Smith by the gift and power of God. Though Joseph Smith was initially listed as author for copyright purposes, he claimed only to have received the translation and did not claim original authorship of any part of the book. Joseph stated the Book of Mormon (or now, covenant of christ) was the most correct of any book on earth, because it was received directly from God. All other volumes of scripture are vastly inferior due to the changes and emendations made to them by men. covenant of christ is the covenant that mankind has been condemned for neglecting, and it is a great loss when it is defined as just another volume of scripture or just another book. It contains the means for mankind to return to the presence of the Lord.