LDS: Jesus always God?

[theidler]

Parker,
You asked me a few days ago concerning the writing style of the Book of Mormon - I think this fellow named “Tanstaafl” whose review is on Amazon.com summarizes nicely what I think about the writing style found throughout the entire book. I took the liberty of omitting two paragraphs which were more sarcastic swipes than anything.

"1. And it came to pass that I, TANSTAAFL, having been born of Mormon parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; which included the Book of Mormon, and having seen many afflictions and cognitive dissonance in the course of my days because of the fact that I was raised in the Mormon religion and having read the Book of Mormon nigh unto twenty times, nevertheless, yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mischievousness of Loki, therefore I make a book review of the Book of Mormon.

1. Yea, I make a record of my review in the language of English, and not Reformed Egyptian - the language of the Book of Mormon, because everyone knoweth that no one speaks Reformed Egyptian anyway. Behold, I make an abridgment of the review upon computer which I have made with mine own hands; (the review, not the computer) wherefore, after I have abridged the review then will I make an account of mine own review and if thou findest this sentence difficult for your understandings to comprehend then thou wilt not enjoy reading the Book of Mormon, for I make the record of my review in the idiom of the book of Mormon author. Yea, verily, it came to pass that exceedingly more confusing than Yoda-speak it is.
2. And it came to pass that thus were written the first two paragraphs of my review. And I know that the review which I write true; and I make it with mine own computer; and I make it according to my knowledge. And thus passeth away even the third paragraph also.
3. And it came to pass that my review having been limited to 1000 words by the amazon.com web-site, I realized that my choice of writing style, that being the style inflicted upon the reader by Joseph Smith Jr., Author and Proprietor of the Book of Mormon, was not a good choice for one limited to a small number of words, or for that matter an odd choice for the inhabitants of the ancient Americas who supposedly had to inscribe the lengthy and frequently rambling and meaningless prose on gold plates where space was at a premium.
4. And it came to pass that this part of the review, yea even the middlest part, I shall shew unto you the parts of the review that review the book of which I revieweth. And it came to pass that I chose not to detail in this review the thousands of revisions which the Mormons made to the book after Joseph Smith wrote it, which was supposedly perfectly “translated” by a gift from god, or the many anachronisms which the author included, yea not even the horses that the ancient Americans supposedly had despite the fact that the horse arrived with Columbus nor the steel weapons. Nor even shall I comment upon 54 chapters dealing with wars that bear no resemblance to the actual wars that took place in the ancient Americas, yea and I especially shall not comment upon the accounts of wars with nonsensical accounts of million man armies fighting to the last man and their bones and steel weapons disappearing from the face of the earth. Yea, and it followeth that I also chose not to comment on the many plagiarisms and yea, even plagiarisms of mistranslations, which were included in the book. Yea, verily I chose not to comment on the writing or the story of the book, which Mark Twain called “chloroform in print,” especially since I find that remark exceedingly disparaging to chloroform. For it came to pass in the commencement of my preparation for the writing of the review, I realized that a review of the book which pointed out its flaws would be so long, yea, so long as to be longer than the book itself. Yea, and thus passeth away even the middlest part of the review, the exceedingly longest paragraph, even though it merely toucheth upon the thousands of give-aways as to the fraudulent nature of the book. For yea, this review cannot contain even a millionth part of what was so exceedingly poorly written in the Book of Mormon.

…

1. Thus, I make an end to my abridgement of my review, yea, and now I bid unto all, adieu. I soon go to rest in the paradise of mine abode, until my spirit and body shall again recover from the taxing effort of writing in such an exceedingly nauseating style. Amen."

 

[KathleenGee]

I just don’t have the energy to deal with all the ommissions, convictions, practices of Mormonism…have to keep it simple…

I prayed last night for them before going asleep and try to make conversion to the truth for the Mormon people my greater work for them…too exasperating…

And I don’t mean to get off on another tangent…but this is the crux of the problem why Christian Americans who know their faith and human experience are having personal issues trusting public Mormon political leaders who want to represent us corrupt Christians.

 

[ParkerD]

theidler,

I’ve never been uncomfortable with the many various writing styles in the Book of Mormon. My children haven’t, either, as we’ve read it together as a family over the years.

I have noticed that reading it has given them and me a greater appreciation for other cultures in the world than our own, and a sense of the expressiveness and emotiveness in other languages than our own.

Have a good day.

 

[theidler]

theidler,

I’ve never been uncomfortable with the many various writing styles in the Book of Mormon. My children haven’t, either, as we’ve read it together as a family over the years.

I have noticed that reading it has given them and me a greater appreciation for other cultures in the world than our own, and a sense of the expressiveness and emotiveness in other languages than our own.

Have a good day.

That’s just it though, there aren’t many various writing styles int he Book of Mormon. Almost half the book’s verses begin with “and it came to pass”, or simply “and”. It’s all very similar, except for the parts that are word for word lifts from the Bible.

 

[ParkerD]

That’s just it though, there aren’t many various writing styles int he Book of Mormon. Almost half the book’s verses begin with “and it came to pass”, or simply “and”. It’s all very similar, except for the parts that are word for word lifts from the Bible.

theidler,

There are many writing styles in the Book of Mormon. A person finds them as they read it, if they look at the writing styles as they read.

“And” is a conjunction that ties from a prior event or thought, to the next event or thought.

“it came to pass” is the English translation of a word that in Hebrew is rendered thus:

1 Egeneto
1 Ἐγένετο
1 it came to pass

 

[theidler]

theidler,

There are many writing styles in the Book of Mormon. A person finds them as they read it, if they look at the writing styles as they read.

“And” is a conjunction that ties from a prior event or thought, to the next event or thought.

“it came to pass” is the English translation of a word that in Hebrew is rendered thus:

1 Egeneto
1 Ἐγένετο
1 it came to pass

Verily, then I, theidler, must be blind, for behold, I cannot see any difference in the styles.
Let’s see how some of these books begin then:
“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.” (1 Nephi 1:1)

“For behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these things are engraven.” (Jacob 1:1)

“Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—” (Enos 1:1)

“Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our genealogy may be kept.” (Jarom 1:1)

“Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon athese plates, to preserve our genealogy—” (Omni 1:1)

“And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.” (Words of Mormon 1:1)

“And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.” (Ether 1:1)

Do you see what I mean Parker, why I would think that the writing style is so very similar throughout the Book of Mormon??? It’s written in this same style that I showed you above throughout the entire book. Can you quote specific passages that show a huge difference in writing style for me, because I am starting to think I’m missing something here.

 

[zaffiroborant]

Yea, verily, it came to pass that exceedingly more confusing than Yoda-speak it is.

"

 

[PaulDupre]

“it came to pass” is the English translation of a word that in Hebrew is rendered thus:

1 Egeneto
1 Ἐγένετο
1 it came to pass

That would have been a valid point had the BoM been written in Hebrew. But it was allegedly written in Reformed Egyptian, a language that never existed.

Why Hebrew people would choose to write their holy book in the language of their long-ago and despised pagan enslavers is another question entirely…

I know, it says that the plates were difficult to make and the Hebrew language took up too much space, so they used the more compact Reformed Egyptian. However, it is obvious from the overly-wordy and often rambling narrative that they weren’t all that concerned with saving space on the plates.

Paul (formerly LDS, now happily Catholic)

 

[Telstar]

That would have been a valid point had the BoM been written in Hebrew. But it was allegedly written in Reformed Egyptian, a language that never existed.

Why Hebrew people would choose to write their holy book in the language of their long-ago and despised pagan enslavers is another question entirely…

I know, it says that the plates were difficult to make and the Hebrew language took up too much space, so they used the more compact Reformed Egyptian. However, it is obvious from the overly-wordy and often rambling narrative that they weren’t all that concerned with saving space on the plates.

Paul (formerly LDS, now happily Catholic)

Yea, verily, it came to pass.

 

[theidler]

I’m still curious about the exceedingly racist statements made throughout the LDS church’s history - that just seems embarassing.

There’s a ton of quotations on it here:
lds-mormon.com/racism.shtml

 

[PaulDupre]

Yea, verily, it came to pass.

Yea, it did exceeding come to pass.

 

[PaulDupre]

I’m still curious about the exceedingly racist statements made throughout the LDS church’s history - that just seems embarassing.

There’s a ton of quotations on it here:
lds-mormon.com/racism.shtml

That was one of the first things that really tipped me off that Mormonsim was strictly a product of the 19th century. I have always been a history buff. When I was younger it was all American Revolution and WWII. But as I got into my late 20’s I began to learn about ancient cultures and history.

One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb: The ancients had no concept of race. There is no mention of skin color or race as something ancient people used to classify people into groups. Really, never.

To the ancients, the things that separated people were economic status, nationalism, free or bond status and (to a lesser or greater degree depending on the culture) religion. You never read about someone not being accepted because of skin color. Never.

The concept of race is quite a modern invention, fueled largely by the Atlantic slave trade beginning in the 16th century.

The fact that Mormonism, in its scriptures and its extra-scriptural prophetic teachings, is so saturated with racism (especially against blacks) showed me that those “scriptures” and those “prophets” were strictly products of the 19th century and the mindset that was prevalent at that time.

Paul (formerly LDS, now happiily Catholic)

 

[ParkerD]

…
Do you see what I mean Parker, why I would think that the writing style is so very similar throughout the Book of Mormon??? It’s written in this same style that I showed you above throughout the entire book. Can you quote specific passages that show a huge difference in writing style for me, because I am starting to think I’m missing something here.

theidler,

All the passages you quoted from are narrative passages. One who is evaluating the “style” and evidence of style differences would look at the styles of speakers as they speak, rather than at a narration. The chapters I had suggested you look at in the earlier conversation about this, were about men who were speaking from their heart or were writing in an “emotion voice” from their heart, not giving a narration about history.

Here are some examples of differences in speaking styles:

Nephi’s “psalm to the Lord” (2 Nephi 4):

20 My God hath been my support;
he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness;
and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love,
even unto the consuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine enemies,
unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day,
and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say:
O Lord, I will praise thee forever;
yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?
Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies?
Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me,
because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!
O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me,
that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!

Lehi’s counsel to his son Jacob: (2 Nephi 2)

6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.

10 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;
wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him.
Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed,
which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement—

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.

If we compare the above two passages, then in the first one we find more emotive language and the use of adjectives such as “great deep”, “low valley”, “plain road”, and the descriptive elements such as in “encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” (This is poetic imagery, for one who is familiar with what the term “imagery” means in English literature.)

 

[theidler]

Good grief…I give up Parker. heavy, exasperated sigh
http://plus4chan.org/b/mspa/src/130635050014.jpg

 

[TexanKnight]

theidler,

All the passages you quoted from are narrative passages. One who is evaluating the “style” and evidence of style differences would look at the styles of speakers as they speak, rather than at a narration. The chapters I had suggested you look at in the earlier conversation about this, were about men who were speaking from their heart or were writing in an “emotion voice” from their heart, not giving a narration about history.

Here are some examples of differences in speaking styles:

Nephi’s “psalm to the Lord” (2 Nephi 4):

20 My God hath been my support;
he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness;
and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love,
even unto the consuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine enemies,
unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day,
and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say:
O Lord, I will praise thee forever;
yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?
Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies?
Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me,
because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!
O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me,
that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!

Lehi’s counsel to his son Jacob: (2 Nephi 2)

6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.

10 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;
wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him.
Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed,
which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement—

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.

If we compare the above two passages, then in the first one we find more emotive language and the use of adjectives such as “great deep”, “low valley”, “plain road”, and the descriptive elements such as in “encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” (This is poetic imagery, for one who is familiar with what the term “imagery” means in English literature.)

So? One was a song. One was not. I write songs. When I write a song, it is rarely with the language as I speak. Nice try, Parker.

Be Blessed

 

[ParkerD]

theidler,

Here are more examples:

Jacob’s speaking style, very emotive and sensitive and somewhat dramatic:

2 Nephi 9
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell;
wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead,
and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies,
and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other;
and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

13 O how great the plan of our God!
For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again,
and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness;
and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

---

Jacob 2:
6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts.

7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God;

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.

10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your wickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God.

One can use the search tool to look at all the uses in the Book of Mormon of this last above phrase, the “glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God”.

That phrase appears only once in the Book of Mormon, and not at all in the Bible.

How about just “piercing eye”? Those words together are used only that one time, and not at all in the Bible.

The same “one time”, only in the Book of Mormon, result is found if one looks at the expression “daggers placed to pierce their souls”.

Again, the same “one time” result (and not at all in the Bible) is found if one looks at the expression “wound their delicate minds.”

 

[ParkerD]

theidler,

Here is one more example, using the words delivered in a speech by King Benjamin to his people but quoting an angel who had visited him with this message (so the words are the words of the angel, quoted by King Benjamin):

Mosiah 3:
5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

18 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.

19 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.

20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

When I get time later tonight, I’ll explore verse 19 above as to comparisons in literary usage, with the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

 

[TexanKnight]

theidler,

Here are more examples:

Jacob’s speaking style, very emotive and sensitive and somewhat dramatic:

2 Nephi 9
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell;
wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead,
and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies,
and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other;
and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

13 O how great the plan of our God!
For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again,
and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness;
and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

---

Jacob 2:
6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts.

7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God;

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.

10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your wickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God.

One can use the search tool to look at all the uses in the Book of Mormon of this last above phrase, the “glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God”.

That phrase appears only once in the Book of Mormon, and not at all in the Bible.

How about just “piercing eye”? Those words together are used only that one time, and not at all in the Bible.

The same “one time”, only in the Book of Mormon, result is found if one looks at the expression “daggers placed to pierce their souls”.

Again, the same “one time” result (and not at all in the Bible) is found if one looks at the expression “wound their delicate minds.”

Again, nice try. When one writes, as I do, one will use different tones in different circumstances. You have not proven anything other than when Joseph and his crew wrote this book (using several sources) they used typical theories of writing.

 

[Miriam1947]

theidler,

All the passages you quoted from are narrative passages. One who is evaluating the “style” and evidence of style differences would look at the styles of speakers as they speak, rather than at a narration. The chapters I had suggested you look at in the earlier conversation about this, were about men who were speaking from their heart or were writing in an “emotion voice” from their heart, not giving a narration about history.

Here are some examples of differences in speaking styles:

Nephi’s “psalm to the Lord” (2 Nephi 4):

20 My God hath been my support;
he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness;
and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love,
even unto the consuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine enemies,
unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day,
and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say:
O Lord, I will praise thee forever;
yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?
Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies?
Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me,
because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!
O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me,
that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!

Well this sounds a lot like a really bad re-write of the 23rd psalm.

Lehi’s counsel to his son Jacob: (2 Nephi 2)

6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.

10 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;
wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him.
Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed,
which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement—

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.

And I am sure that this one is plagiarism as well.

If we compare the above two passages, then in the first one we find more emotive language and the use of adjectives such as “great deep”, “low valley”, “plain road”, and the descriptive elements such as in “encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” (This is poetic imagery, for one who is familiar with what the term “imagery” means in English literature.)

 

[theidler]

theidler,

All the passages you quoted from are narrative passages. One who is evaluating the “style” and evidence of style differences would look at the styles of speakers as they speak, rather than at a narration. The chapters I had suggested you look at in the earlier conversation about this, were about men who were speaking from their heart or were writing in an “emotion voice” from their heart, not giving a narration about history.

Interesting - “On closer inspection, however, the Book of Mormon turns to be entirely narrative. The whole book takes the form of a story told by narrators, who may insert previously written records or documents into their account to make particular points…”
-Meridian Magazine, source here