This book is by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I will in the future call the LDS Church or LDS.
This book is not endorsed by the LDS Church nor does it represent official viewpoints thereof.
Faith is when you realize something is wrong, you suspend believing in what is unnecessary, you look for your new concept, and you discover a better explanation. If you want to know that the Book of Mormon is true, try Book of Mormon Central or Evidence Central . Or you can just examine the Book of Mormon with me, verse by verse. (From an orthodox LDS perspective). You can follow along in the Book of Mormon at scriptures.lds.org .
Omni
Omni 1:1 – Temple work requires a genealogy but a history works as well.
Omni 1:2 – He was both wicked and righteous. Although someone ultimately becomes one or the other, the Lord can use the wicked for righteous purposes. You can be both. Omni fought for his people and maintained the records which was a great help.
Omni 1:3 – Peace and warfare went back and forth. I won’t try to guess what Omni or Amaron mean.
Omni 1:4 – Amaron wants to add something. There is not much room left. The early writers might have been inspired to add a lot.
Omni 1:5 – “and the more wicked part of the Nephites were destroyed.” This is what it said would happen; we still don’t know the mechanics.
Omni 1:6 – Those destroyed did not keep the commandments.
Omni 1:7 – “the Lord did visit them in great judgment;” I wish I could hear how it happened mechanically.
Omni 1:8 – I don’t know what Chemish means.
Omni 1:9 – Chemish rehearses the purpose of the plates.
Omni 1:10 – I don’t know what Abinadom means.
Omni 1:11 – Abinadom confirms what Jarom knew; that there was no further revelation.
Omni 1:12 – I don’t know what Amaleki means.
Omni 1:13 – Zarahemla was found by fleeing the Nephites. That shows a sifter of rigthteousness.
Omni 1:14 – Zarahemla had the plates of brass.
Omni 1:15 – They came out at about the same time as the Nephites from Jerusalem.
Omni 1:16 – They had a similar story to Nephi’s travels.
Omni 1:17 – “And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them.” I am confused about whether these people had brought records with them. It is important to preserve language. They denied a creator which inevitably would lead to “many wars and serious contentions.”
Omni 1:18 – In the other plates, Nephi got their genealogy.
Omni 1:19 – “And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to be their king.” They united and Mosiah was king.
Omni 1:20 – They found some other text too.
Omni 1:21 – They found the person behind the text, Coriantumr. I don’t know what his name means, but he stayed with them for about nine months.
Omni 1:22 – They came from the tower of Babel. Many bones were still there from them. (Bones last a long time)
Omni 1:23 – Benjamin was king after Mosiah.
Omni 1:24 – They had to have a serious fight; but it’s OK to have serious fights when you win.
Omni 1:25 – “And it came to pass that I began to be old; and, having no seed, and knowing king Benjamin to be a just man before the Lord, wherefore, I shall deliver up these plates unto him, exhorting all men to come unto God, the Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are good; for there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil.” Benjamin got care of the record. There was trust. Notice that he had and tried to spread “[prophesying], [revelations], [ the ministering of angels], [the gift of speaking with tongues], [the gift of interpreting languages], and [all things which are good].”
Omni 1:26 – “And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.” Perfectly aligning yourself with the Lord brings salvation. Fasting and prayer give you strength and communication respectively.
Omni 1:27 – “concerning a certain number who went up into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi;” Some of them went to the land of Nephi.
Omni 1:28 – “Wherefore, they went up into the wilderness. And their leader being a strong and mighty man, and a stiffnecked man, wherefore he caused a contention among them; and they were all slain, save fifty, in the wilderness, and they returned again to the land of Zarahemla.” When strength bares its arm, it needs the power of a flexible mind.
Omni 1:29 – But they continued their journey.
Omni 1:30 – The plates are full. Next is the editor Mormon’s commentary.