See in connection with these paragraphs the excellent treatise on the “Seven Claims of the Book of Mormon” by Dr. John A. Widtsoe and Dr. Franklin S. Harris, Jr., pp. 67-85. The meaning of “steel” and “brass” is discussed briefly in “An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon,” pp. 74-76. It is safe to accept the statements of the Book of Mormon on debatable questions, and then wait for the final verdict of scientific investigation.
In the meantime it is a source of satisfaction, and faith promoting to contemplate the fact that the descendants of Lehi, both Nephites and Lamanites, for a long time contributed largely to the activities that lifted the ancient Americans to a very high level in culture and civilization. The record of their past is a promise of a glorious future.
Nephi Did Build a Temple. It was patterned after the Temple of Solomon. So did Onias, the Jew, in Egypt. (Antiq. of the Jews, by Josephus, p. 461, boston, 1849) Only, these temples were, of necessity, smaller and less costly.
Temple building in accordance with the divine pattern is the greatest of all civilizing agencies. It is the art of arts. Not only architecture, but all other arts—sculpture, painting, music, poetry, etc., are its humble servants. Wherever the Lord has a temple, he has a palace, a dwelling, of his own. And where he dwells, there is a portion of heaven, where glorious hosts are in attendance, carrying out his least bidding and praising him continually with songs of everlasting joy.