FOURTH NEPHI THE BOOK OF NEPHI WHO IS THE SON OF NEPHI—ONE OF THE DISCIPLES OF Jesus Christ

[Shulem]

Chapter 1:1-49

Years AD: 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, (40 & 41), 42, 49, (50 & 51), 52, 59, 71, 72, 79, 100, 110, 194, 200, 201, 210, 230, 231, 244, 250, 260, 300, 305, 320

Fourth Nephi Chronology

1. Nephi II (eldest son of Chief Judge Nephi I) becomes one of the Twelve Disciples
2. Nephi II received the plates from his father 35 years prior to meeting Jesus (3 Nephi 1:1-3)
3. Nephi II died and his son Nephi III inherited the plates
4. Nephi III died and his son Amos I inherited the plates
5. Amos I died and his son Amos II inherited the plates
6. Amos II died and his brother Ammaron inherited the plates
7. Ammaron told ten-year old boy-Mormon about the hidden plates (Mormon 1:1-5)

Fourth Nephi Timeline

1 AD Nephi II received the plates from his father Nephi I
34 AD Nephi II becomes one of the Twelve Disciples

The text provides no accounting to determine dates of birth or death for Nephi II. The book of Third Nephi (1:1-3) relates how Nephi II received the plates from his father when he was an adult prior to his father splitting town (Zarahemla) and disappearing forever never to be heard from again. The story jumps forward in Mormon’s hasty abridgment of the book of Fourth Nephi and fails to tell anything about Nephi III other than the chapter title that reads: “FOURTH NEPHI THE BOOK OF NEPHI WHO IS THE SON OF NEPHI—ONE OF THE DISCIPLES OF Jesus Christ” and the text of verse 19 saying: “And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last record, (and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died.”

It’s reasonable to conclude that when Nephi II became one of the Twelve Disciples in AD 34 he was a mature adult, moreover, given that he had in his possession the plates for 35 years and received them from his father when he was a responsible adult, it’s therefore reasonable to calculate he was upwards of 50 years of age.

Taking into consideration that there is no mention of the plates being passed from Nephi II to Nephi III, it’s likely the true author (Joseph Smith) assumed or understood that Nephi III simply inherited the plates upon the death of his father. The chronology then continues with the death of Nephi III saying:

And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last record, (and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died, and his son Amos kept it in his stead; and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi also.

And he kept it eighty and four years...

The age of Amos I when he inherited the plates upon his father’s death is unknown but we are specifically informed that Amos I possessed the plates for the rest of his life which lasted another 84 years! Remarkably, the text in the very next verse reveals the date when he died:

And it came to pass that Amos died also, (and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ) and his son Amos kept the record in his stead; and he also kept it upon the plates of Nephi; and it was also written in the book of Nephi, which is this book.

Therefore, additional fixed dates can be plotted including a fixed date in which the original disciples had passed on:

100 AD Verse 14 “an hundred years had passed away, and the disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all gone to the paradise of God”
110 AD Nephi III died
110 AD Amos I acquired the plates and maintained them in his custody for 84 years
194 AD Amos I died

Now, let’s go back and pay close attention to how the chronology unfolds and comes to life when shown to directly correlate with the fixed date calculated in Mormon’s narrative describing “the first generation from Christ” having ended in the year 110 AD:

And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.

We easily calculate exactly how Joseph Smith first produced the date (110 AD) “an hundred and ten years” to mark the closing of the “first generation” before revealing information about Amos I obtaining the plates due to his father’s passing:

• 1st order of operation: 110 = 194 - 84

• 2nd order of operation: 194 - 84 = 110

It’s important to understand that the first number (110) given in the text is contingent on subtracting other numbers (194 – 84) that follow after 110! In other words, the numbers 110, 84, 194, given in that order within the text, present a remarkable instance in which an oral dictation of the story without prior knowledge of this calculation proves to be utterly fantastic. Hence, unless Joseph Smith had preconceived these numbers for his story prior to dictating, then it’s amazing evidence that he was actually translating and dictating raw material in real time! If that were the case it would be powerful evidence to show how Smith truly translated a record just as he claimed. On the other hand, the mathematical order of operations may also show how Smith prearranged content for his story and plugged those numbers therein to make his timeline work. An anomaly and gross error that soon follows within the text is decisive evidence to support the conclusion that Smith had prearranged those numbers for dictation rather than miraculously translating them for the first time. More on that later.

Now, to continue with the chronology, we learn that upon the death of Amos I the plates then fell into the hands of his son Amos II in 194 AD:

And it came to pass that Amos died also, (and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ) and his son Amos kept the record in his stead; and he also kept it upon the plates of Nephi; and it was also written in the book of Nephi, which is this book.

194 AD Amos II received the plates
200 AD Verse 22 “And it came to pass that two hundred years had passed away; and the second generation had all passed away save it were a few.”
210 AD Apostasy
230 AD Apostasy continues
244 AD Apostasy continues
250 AD Apostasy continues
260 AD Apostasy continues
300 AD Apostasy continues
305 AD Amos II died. Verse 47: “And it came to pass that after three hundred and five years had passed away, (and the people did still remain in wickedness) Amos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead.”

Note how there is a serious discrepancy in the record with Amos II having passed in the year 305 AD! This means that when Amos II received the records as an adult he then maintained them for a whopping 111 years!

Houston, we have a problem!

How could Amos as an adult take custody of the plates and live another 111 years? How can that be?

305 AD Ammaron the brother of Amos II received the plates
320 AD Verse 48 “And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ.”

Thus, we are informed that Ammaron who was a brother of long lived Amos II took custody of the plates for 15 years prior to hiding them and informing young Mormon about where they were hidden. We are led to reckon that Ammaron must have also lived an exceptionally long life as did his brother, contrary to the natural scientific life span of a human being. Recall how the date “110” is employed in the timeline. That number is reminiscent of the age of death for two famous persons in the Bible, Joseph of Egypt and Joshua! All of this points to the idea that Smith was fine with certain persons in the Book of Mormon living exceptionally long lives because they did so in the Bible. It was part of his undercover scheme in making the Book of Mormon look biblical!

Gotcha, Joe!

The story abridged by Mormon Joseph Smith is not true. It’s pure fiction with secret biblical borrowings. The chronological anomaly shown above exposes the Book of Mormon as a fraud.

I so testify,

Shulem


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Dear Reader:

Another prime example of Joseph Smith making a fatal error in his chronology is found earlier in the Book of Mormon with regard to Enos as Joseph Smith was attempting to secretly biblicalize the narrative using Old Testament examples to prop up his own work in a sneaky way to make it look familiar and genuine. This information is readily available here in the Celestial Forum for your easy reference:

click here Enos
click here Enos and continue on to more posts...

[Marcus]

Glad to see you back, Shulem! Looking forward to reading this and your linked posts at the end.

[Father Francis]

But all the apologists say the Book of Mormon couldn't have been written so quickly yet be so consistent! Also, have you heard about all the horse bones they found? Let's talk about that!

And it came to pass, that verily, verily I say unto you that Yea! it came to pass...

[Shulem]

But all the apologists say the Book of Mormon couldn't have been written so quickly yet be so consistent!

I would love to be able to look at the Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon and determine what breaks or pauses may have occurred during dictation. Again, I cite four verses and break them down in the following phrases in order to expose the numbers given for the order of operation in which they work to formulate the equation:

And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings;

yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away;

and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.

And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last record,

(and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died,

and his son Amos kept it in his stead; and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi also.

And he kept it eighty and four years,

and there was still peace in the land,

save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church

and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land.

And it came to pass that Amos died also,

(and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ)

and his son Amos kept the record in his stead;

and he also kept it upon the plates of Nephi;

and it was also written in the book of Nephi, which is this book.

Here we see above within the phrases are three numbers that date the timeline but the first number is the solution to the ones below! This is utterly astounding considering that Smith is telling an original story with his face in a hat! Keep in mind he supposedly had no knowledge of this story prior to dictating and yet he tells the story with the numbers of the equation in the order given and that is amazing. There are only three possible answers to how he pulled that off.

1. Extreme intelligence while combining literature with mathematics
2. Cribbed notes were previously determined to formulate a chronology
3. Miraculously translated an authentic record by the power of God

Which of the above do you believe?

[Father Francis]

But all the apologists say the Book of Mormon couldn't have been written so quickly yet be so consistent!

I would love to be able to look at the Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon and determine what breaks or pauses may have occurred during dictation. Again, I cite four verses and break them down in the following phrases in order to expose the numbers given for the order of operation in which they work to formulate the equation:

And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings;

yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away;

and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.

And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last record,

(and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died,

and his son Amos kept it in his stead; and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi also.

And he kept it eighty and four years,

and there was still peace in the land,

save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church

and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land.

And it came to pass that Amos died also,

(and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ)

and his son Amos kept the record in his stead;

and he also kept it upon the plates of Nephi;

and it was also written in the book of Nephi, which is this book.

Here we see above within the phrases are three numbers that date the timeline but the first number is the solution to the ones below! This is utterly astounding considering that Smith is telling an original story with his face in a hat! Keep in mind he supposedly had no knowledge of this story prior to dictating and yet he tells the story with the numbers of the equation in the order given and that is amazing. There are only three possible answers to how he pulled that off.

1. Extreme intelligence while combining literature with mathematics
2. Cribbed notes were previously determined to formulate a chronology
3. Miraculously translated an authentic record by the power of God

Which of the above do you believe?

Anything but number 3. I think it was a grift. It's pretty obvious. He went around claiming to find buried gold with a rock in a hat and eventually claimed to translate buried gold scriptures with a rock and a hat... Frankly, it's sad that his grift lives on. I say this as a former believer.

[Shulem]

Anything but number 3. I think it was a grift. It's pretty obvious. He went around claiming to find buried gold with a rock in a hat and eventually claimed to translate buried gold scriptures with a rock and a hat... Frankly, it's sad that his grift lives on. I say this as a former believer.

The simple equation highlighted in this thread (110 = 194 - 84) provides a great opportunity for apologists who believe the Book of Mormon is a genuine historical record that was divinely translated to tout Smith’s amazing performance, thanks to my tenacious ability to dissect and uncover things most people would never see.

But beware because the trap is set and apologists who enter therein will find themselves ensnared in Shulem’s web.
Buyer beware!

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Brant Gardner, what do you think of them apples?

Radio Free Mormon, are you there?

Backyard Professor, can you count to 194?

[Shulem]

Please permit me to switch gears for a moment and explore another aspect of Fourth Nephi and the Book of Mormon in how it relates to Joseph Smith and his family. Those who are familiar with some of my other threads know how I believe Smith likened himself to characters in the Book of Mormon in making it a personal fantasy in which he pretended to play imaginary roles within fictional tales and also likened some characters to those in the Bible. Smith loved the stories he invented in the Book of Mormon as he pretended to experience them in his fantasies through the juggling of scripture!

Everyone is familiar with the persons of Alma the elder and Alma the younger who may also be referred as Alma I and Alma II, respectively. Some notable Book of Mormon characters of father and son also include:

Helaman I (Nephite prophet)
Helaman II (Nephite judge)

Nephi I (Nephite judge)
Nephi II (One of the Twelve)

Mormon I (Father)
Mormon II (Military commander)

Now, let’s take the examples above and classify their names a little differently and see if something sticks out or seems familiar:

Alma Sr.
Alma Jr.

Helaman Sr.
Helaman Jr.

Nephi Sr.
Nephi Jr.

Mormon Sr.
Mormon Jr.

In other words:

Joseph Smith Sr.
Joseph Smith Jr.



Remember the adage of Nephi:

And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.

[BeNotDeceived]

There is no reason to try and dissect any of this when you learn Smith created the B of M by looking at a rock in a hat, the same rock he used to swindle and scam people out of their money, claiming he could see buried treasure in the bowels of the earth. That method is a magician's trick and something people into the occult were doing. The 'church' actually admitted in one of their essays 8 years ago that Smith created the B of M with the stone in a hat method with no gold plates present, yet, is still sending missionaries out into the world to teach the old narrative and known false story of how it happened. How do these guys in Salt Lake sleep at night sticking another $100/mo. onto the backs of these young missionaries to go out and falsely teach the 'restoration' story as it sits on ungodly amounts of money to the tune of hundreds of billions??? There aren't words for something like that.

[Moksha]

Wasn't the average life span back in those times something like 35 years?

[Shulem]

There is no reason to try and dissect any of this

But I want to understand how the process works and exactly what Joseph Smith did to accomplish it. For me, it’s a matter of wanting to know what happened and hammer more nails into a coffin that has long since been buried.

Wasn't the average life span back in those times something like 35 years?

Extraordinary long life spans we read about in mythical times of the Old Testament carry over into Smith’s Book of Mormon post Christian era thanks to Smith’s ignorant willingness to take the Bible literally. It’s inconceivable to think that people living in America during 300 AD lived that long. This is a real problem for apologists who don’t necessarily take biblical dates and ages literally. It appears the Book of Mormon has its own problems and contradictions that apologists are not going to be able to reconcile or justify with any sense of credibility.