Another snippet from my novel
116, just for fun . . .
“Press tells me you boys are going to help him find the 116 pages. I can’t wait to read them!” No question of if, or how one pursues such a quest, or what it could cost. No stupid remarks like “Why would you want such a thing?” or “What do you think it will say?”
“I have a theory about those pages,” she continued. Preston took a sip of his water and let his wife proceed.
“Please dig in, don’t let it get cold. I think the loss of that 1828 translation may have been the best thing in the world for the Book of Mormon!”
Tibb got a spoonful down fast enough to interject the question: “Delicious, Carol! But how so?” Preston raised his eyebrows over his glass, wiped his mouth with a heavy linen napkin, and leaned forward with an inquisitive look.
“I’ve done a little writing from time to time, and the first part always has to be re-done. It’s like when you start to organize any clutter, or make a rock garden, or even compose a song.”
A woman of many talents, apparently, and boundless energy.
“Dollars to doughnuts,” suggested Carol, “the work wouldn’t have flowed so smoothly at first. There’s usually a false start. That’s what I call it before I get the hang of something. Then I have to start over again, using what I’ve just figured out. Did you know, Mr. Slyde, that after Oliver Cowdery showed up to help Joseph Smith get going on the translation that last time, they had the whole thing done in less than three months? The entire Book of Mormon, from start to finish, was written out during April, May and June of 1829.”
An exceptional woman, indeed. No, Sol had not known this. Was she quite certain?
“Oh, yes. It’s a well-known fact.”
Well-known to exceptional women, maybe. Most people don’t study history so deeply. Preston was not reacting as though he’d heard his wife’s perspective on this subject before.
“But surely, my dear, you don’t mean to say that the 116 pages were merely some rough draft that needed correcting?”
She took time to enjoy a couple spoonfuls of her afternoon concoction. Yes, it had turned out pretty well, in fact. Much better than the first time she tried to make lobster bisque!
“Nobody’s perfect, and we know Joseph had to study it out in his mind, like it says in the Doctrine and Covenants. So maybe he needed a trial run first. When the beginning manuscript was stolen, it made him start all over again, but with experience this time, on a clean slate. After that, things went fast.”
Tibb looked doubtful. “But the entire Book of Lehi was lost, and never re-translated! All we have now is an alternate version by Lehi’s son Nephi which emphasizes the spiritual aspects of that early history. If we had the more detailed secular part, it might contain proofs for the Book of Mormon - internal evidences that we could trace from the ancient Near East using modern tools and historical discoveries of recent times.”
“The world may not have been ready for those things in 1828,” offered Carol simply. “With their likely imperfections, the original 116 pages might have stood in the way of converting people. But now that the Book of Mormon is fully established with ancient records like the Dead Sea Scrolls turning up, this could be the right time for the manuscript to come forth. The Lord may have His hand in this discovery. It’s very exciting, I think.”
Apparently, they’d forgotten Sol was sitting there. The conversation left him confused and a little amazed. Or was this a performance for his benefit? Did they really imagine he took their golden tablets seriously? This ancient Lehi was evidently a real person in their minds, like Moses, or David or Solomon.
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