After declaring freedom from captivity, the next phrase begins with a conjunction, “and,” which attaches the sentence that follows to the previous conditions. This conjunctive “and” should be distinguished from those that are part of the textual markers “and it came to pass,” and “and now/then.” (See Behind the Text: Chapter 5, “The Organization of the Plates.”) Understanding that there was no punctuation in the original manuscript, we can easily see this “and” as a link to the previous conditions. This close connection reinforces the possible interpretation of freedom as spiritual—freedom from “that great pit.”