What was the “wise purpose” for including the small plates of Nephi?

Thomas R. Valletta

“With historical hindsight, we know that Mormon included writings from both sets of Nephi’s plates because some of the record would be lost by Martin Harris fifteen hundred years later. … The ‘wise purpose’ of the Lord was partly to cover the loss of the 116 manuscript pages of the record of Lehi, but even more, His wise purpose was to provide us with a record that throws ‘greater views upon my gospel’ (D&C 10:45), including powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ from Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah” (Ogden and Skinner, Book of Mormon, 1:301).

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