Evidence #239 | September 20, 2021
Sequential Consistency
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Scripture Central
Abstract
The Book of Mormon collectively features hundreds of references to time. These references are sequentially consistent, even when separated by large amounts of text.Sequentially Significant Chronology
The Book of Mormon contains multiple calendar systems1 which collectively feature at least 278 sequentially significant references to time. This chronological data is remarkably consistent for all calendars, even when related time references are separated by large amounts of text.
Generally Consistent Correlations
In many instances, more than one year passes between time references. For example, Mormon 4:16 reports that a military conflict took place in “the three hundred and seventy and fifth year.” Then, in the next chapter, Mormon noted that “three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away” (Mormon 5:5). Although these dates are separated by approximately 5 years, they are generally consistent in the sense that the second reference is chronologically later than the first reference.
It would seem to have been an error, for example, if Mormon mentioned the 375th year in Mormon 4:16 and then, after recording intervening events, reported that a lesser number of years, say 370 years, had passed away in Mormon 5:5. Chronological errors of this nature don’t appear to be present in the text.2 The only time the reported chronology backtracks is in the case of clearly established flashbacks,3 in which case it would be erroneous if the time did not back up with the shift in narrative.4
Precisely Consistent Correlations
While the hundreds of sequentially significant references to time in the text all seem to be technically consistent, some of them correlate more precisely than others. As defined in this evidence summary, a precisely consistent correlation occurs whenever a currently reported year immediately follows the previously mentioned year, or when the current year is the same as the previous year.5 For instance, Alma 63:1–10 features seven dates, each of which is sequentially consistent and correlates precisely with the immediately preceding date:
| Chronology | Verse | Text |
36th year (start) | Alma 63:1 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Shiblon took possession of those sacred things … |
36th year (ended) | Alma 63:3 | And it came to pass that Moroni died also. And thus ended the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges. |
| 37th year | Alma 63:4 | And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, there was a large company of men … departed out of the land of Zarahemla … |
37th year (ended) | Alma 63:6 | … and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year. |
| 38th year | Alma 63:7 | And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. |
38th year (ended) | Alma 63:9 | And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and eighth year. |
| 39th year | Alma 63:10 | And it came to pass in the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, Shiblon died also, and Corianton had gone forth to the land northward in a ship, … |
Textually Distant Correlations
According to those who witnessed the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith didn’t make use of any notes or reference materials when he dictated the text to his scribes.6 In addition, the extant portions of the original manuscript show no signs of any substantive content revisions.7 This means that if Joseph had simply fabricated the Book of Mormon, he would have needed to rely solely on his memory to keep track of its many details, including its chronological data. It also means there would have been little to no room for error. The text he dictated to his scribes was essentially a final draft.
With this in mind, it is notable that many of the Book of Mormon’s corresponding time references are separated by substantial amounts of text. In a few cases, multiple chapters (involving thousands of words) separate precisely related dates. For instance, before narrating a lengthy flashback involving the missionary experiences of the sons of Mosiah, Mormon reported: “thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi” (Alma 16:21). Then, twelve chapters later (comprising nearly 16,000 words), Mormon concluded the flashback and marked the end of the very next year: “thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi” (Alma 28:7).
Another case of exceptional textual distance between time markers can be found before and after the coming of Christ. Before reporting Christ’s arrival at the temple in Bounitful, Mormon gave a preview of what would follow, noting that “in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared” (3 Nephi 10:18). After spending 21 chapters (again, comprising nearly 16,000 words) giving the details of Christ’s ministry, Mormon then picked back up where he had left off, reporting in 4 Nephi 1:1 that “the thirty and fourth year passed away.”
While most year markers are not so textually distant, many of them are still separated by a significant amount of text. There are 109 instances of a year marker being 150 words or more from a previous marker. In 85 of these 109 instances, the current marker correlates precisely with the previous one. In addition, there are 66 instances of a year marker being 400 words or more from the previous marker. In 56 of these 66 instances, the current maker correlates precisely with the previous one. These calculations are derived from a chart provided in the Appendix.
The Translation Process
To help put this data into perspective, readers should be aware that according to the witnesses of the translation, Joseph Smith would slowly read a line of text to his scribe (probably around 20 to 30 words at a time), giving the scribe time to write it down, after which the scribe would repeat it to him to verify its accuracy.8 Thus, the translation process would have been much more time-consuming than simply reading the text silently to oneself, as many readers encounter it today.
Based on his analysis of the translation timeline, as well as informal experiments aimed to replicate the Book of Mormon’s translation process, John W. Welch has proposed that, on average, Joseph Smith was likely dictating about 10–20 words per minute.9 At this rate, 150 words would have taken around 8 to 15 minutes to translate, and 400 words of text would have taken between 20 to 40 minutes to translate.
This means that in 84 instances, Joseph dictated a date that was precisely consistent with the previously given date, even though, on average, 7 or more minutes had likely elapsed during the dictation process. And in 55 instances, this same feat occurred, except that 20 or more minutes had likely passed. In some cases of exceptional textual distance, or when the translation was disrupted for other reasons, many hours or even days had surely passed between the dictation of precisely consistent dates.10
Diverse Textual Complexity
Finally, it should be remembered that chronology isn’t the only data-rich feature of the text. The scores of sequentially consistent dates in the Book of Mormon are woven in among numerous other details, including complex narratives, hundreds of named people and places, accounts of travel and migration, flashbacks, sermons, battles, fulfilled prophecies, editorial promises, and intertextual relationships.11 Despite such complexity, Emma Smith once remarked that when Joseph “stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation.”12
Conclusion
The essentially flawless—and in many cases precise—sequential consistency of the Book of Mormon’s chronological data provides a good example of its impressive complexity. This type of consistency would be difficult for most authors to achieve under normal circumstances, with access to notes and outlines and the ability to review previously written or dictated text. How Joseph Smith produced it—in essentially one take, without such aids, and with significant amounts of text (and therefore time spent in dictation) between time references—is a perplexing question for any theory that rejects the Book of Mormon’s miraculous origins.
In contrast, the text’s precise chronological data seem much more consistent with its own claimed origins. If the Book of Mormon really was primarily derived from various dated source texts, then it makes sense that Mormon would have repeatedly referenced those dates when making his abridgment. Instead of having to make the dates up as he went along and keep them all in his memory during a laborious and frequently-interrupted dictation process, Mormon would presumably have had the ability to simply transcribe those dates—for the most part already in sequential order—from underlying historical records, with minimal effort on his part to keep track of them all.
In summary, the Book of Mormon’s multiple and sometimes overlapping calendar systems, with their scores of sequentially consistent time references, place a significant burden on alterative theories about the text’s origins, while strengthening its claim of being a miraculously translated abridgment of authentic historical documents.
John L. Sorenson, Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Setting (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2013), 434–442.
David Rolph Seely, “Chronology, Book of Mormon,” in Book of Mormon Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2003), 196–204.
John P. Pratt, “Book of Mormon Chronology,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992), 1:169–171.
See AppendixSee Appendix
Chart Explanation:
The following chart provides a comprehensive list of sequentially significant time references in the Book of Mormon presented in the order that they show up in the text. The abbreviations in the “Calendar” column on the left correspond to the following time-keeping systems:
- LD: Lehi’s Departure from Jerusalem
- ZR: Zeniff’s Reign
- RJ: Reign of the Judges
- SCB: Sign of Christ’s Birth
- EH: Ether in Hiding
The “Chronology” column gives time references derived from the text, often with an additional descriptor in parentheses. In some cases, months and even days are given in addition to the year. The “Verse” column helps readers identify the passage in the Book of Mormon, and the “Text” column gives the text itself, typically in abbreviated form.
Finally, when a significant amount of text separates a time reference from the immediately preceding reference, the verse containing the preceding reference is given in the farthest right column, followed by either one or two asterisks that are either black or green in color. The color of the asterisks signals that the correlation is either precise or general, and the number of asterisks (either one or two) designates the textual distance involved, as follows:
- Generally consistent correlation separated by at least 150 words: *
- Generally consistent correlation separated by at least 400 words: **
- Precisely consistent correlation separated by at least 150 words: *
- Precisely consistent correlation separated by at least 400 words: **
A “generally consistent correlation” is when a current year marker is two or more years after the previously given time reference. A “precisely consistent correlation” is when a current year marker provides the very next year (or in many cases a later part of the same year) in relation to the immediately preceding year marker.
These markers of textual distance are valuable in that they demonstrate how often Joseph Smith would have needed to produce a sequentially consistent date after a significant amount of intervening text, which correlates to elapsed time during the translation process. The more text (and therefore dictation time) that separates references, and the more precisely consistent the references, the more remarkable their consistency.
Calendar | Time References | Verse | Text | Significant Textual Distance |
LD | 30 years (passed) | 2 Nephi 5:28 | And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem. |
|
LD | 40 years (passed) | 2 Nephi 5:34 | And it sufficeth me to say that forty years had passed away, and we had already had wars and contentions … | 2 Nephi 5:28* |
LD | 55 years (passed) | Jacob 1:1 | For behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; | 2 Nephi 5:34** |
LD | 179 years (passed) | Enos 1:25 | And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and seventy and nine years had passed away from the time that our father Lehi left Jerusalem. | Jacob 1:1* |
LD | 200 years (passed) | Jarom 1:5 | And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. | Enos 1:25* |
LD | 238 years (passed) | Jarom 1:13 | And it came to pass that two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed away—after the manner of wars, and contentions, and dissensions, for the space of much of the time. | Jarom 1:5* |
LD | 276 years (passed) | Omni 1:3 | And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had passed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty and two years had passed away, … | Jarom 1:13* |
LD | 320 years (passed) | Omni 1:5 | Behold, it came to pass that three hundred and twenty years had passed away, and the more wicked part of the Nephites were destroyed. |
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LD | 476 years (passed) | Mosiah 6:4 | And he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole, about four hundred and seventy-six years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem. | Omni 1:5** |
ZR | 12 years (space of) | Mosiah 9:11 | Therefore it came to pass, that after we had dwelt in the land for the space of twelve years that king Laman began to grow uneasy, … |
|
ZR | 13th year | Mosiah 9:14 | For, in the thirteenth year of my reign in the land of Nephi, … a numerous host of Lamanites came upon them and began to slay them, … |
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ZR | 22 years (space of) | Mosiah 10:3 | And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers for many years, yea, for the space of twenty and two years. | Mosiah 9:14* |
ZR | 22 years (space of) | Mosiah 10:5 | … and thus we did prosper in the land—thus we did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two years. |
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LD | 509 years (from) | Mosiah 29:46 | … making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem. | Mosiah 6:4**13 |
RJ | 1st year | Alma 1:1 | Now it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi … |
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RJ | 1st year | Alma 1:2 | And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment-seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged, … |
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RJ | 2nd year | Alma 1:23 | Now this was in the second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the church; | Alma 1:2** |
RJ | 5th year | Alma 1:33 | … therefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 1:23** |
RJ | 5th year (start) | Alma 2:1 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; |
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RJ | 5th year (ended) | Alma 3:25 | Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the fifth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 2:1** |
RJ | 5th year (ended) | Alma 3:27 | And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges. |
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RJ | 6th year | Alma 4:1 | Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the land of Zarahemla; |
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RJ | 7th year | Alma 4:5(a) | And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. … | Alma 4:1* |
RJ | 7th year (ended) | Alma 45(b) | … And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. |
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RJ | 8th year | Alma 4:6 | And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, … |
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RJ | 8th year | Alma 4:9 | And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; | Alma 4:6* |
RJ | 8th year (ended) | Alma 4:10 | And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; |
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RJ | 9th year (start) | Alma 4:11 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church … |
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RJ | 9th year (start) | Alma 4:20 | And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah … | Alma 4:11** |
RJ | 9th year (ended) | Alma 8:2 | And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 4:20** |
RJ | 10th year (start) | Alma 8:3 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, |
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RJ | 10th year, 7th month, 4th day | Alma 10:6 | … therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 8:3** |
RJ | 10th year, 10th month, 12th day | Alma 14:23 | And it came to pass after they had thus suffered for many days, (and it was on the twelfth day, in the tenth month, in the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) … | Alma 10:6** |
RJ | 10th year (ended) | Alma 15:19 | And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 14:23** |
RJ | 11th year, 2nd month, 5th day | Alma 16:1 | And it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land. |
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RJ | 11th year | Alma 16:9 | And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, | Alma 16:1* |
RJ | 14th year | Alma 16:12 | And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites until the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 16:9* |
RJ | 14th year (ended) | Alma 16:21 | … thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 16:12** |
RJ | 15th year (ended) | Alma 28:7 | And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; | Alma 16:21** |
RJ | 15th year (ended) | Alma 28:9 | And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the Nephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites; and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended. |
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RJ | 1st–15th years (review) | Alma 28:10 | And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed. |
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RJ | 16th year | Alma 30:2 | … (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) there began to be continual peace throughout all the land. | Alma 28:10** |
RJ | 16th year | Alma 30:4 | And thus the people did have no disturbance in all the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. |
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RJ | 17th year (start) | Alma 30:5 | And it came to pass that in the commencement of the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace. |
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RJ | 17th year (latter end) | Alma 30:6 | But it came to pass in the latter end of the seventeenth year, there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he was Anti-Christ |
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RJ | 17th year (ended) | Alma 35:12 | And thus ended the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 30:6** |
RJ | 18th year | Alma 35:13 | … and thus commenced a war betwixt the Lamanites and the Nephites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges; and an account shall be given of their wars hereafter. |
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RJ | 18th year | Alma 43:3 | And now I return to an account of the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 35:13** |
RJ | 18th year (start) | Alma 43:4 | For behold, it came to pass that the Zoramites became Lamanites; therefore, in the commencement of the eighteenth year the people of the Nephites saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; |
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RJ | 18th year (ended) | Alma 44:24 | And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephi. | Alma 43:4** |
RJ | 19th year | Alma 45:2 | And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: … |
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RJ | 19th year (start) | Alma 45:20 | And now it came to pass in the commencement of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the word unto them. | Alma 46:37** |
RJ | 19th year (near end) | Alma 46:37 | And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did maintain peace in the land until nearly the end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 45:20** |
RJ | 19th year (latter end) | Alma 48:2 | And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges, … | Alma 46:37** |
RJ | 19th year (latter end) | Alma 48:21 | But, as I have said, in the latter end of the nineteenth year … | Alma 48:2** |
RJ | 19th year, 11th month, 10th day | Alma 49:1 | And now it came to pass in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year, on the tenth day of the month, the armies of the Lamanites were seen approaching towards the land of Ammonihah. | Alma 48:21* |
RJ | 19th year (ended) | Alma 49:29 | And thus ended the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 49:1** |
RJ | 20th year (start) | Alma 50:1 | … for he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of the twentieth year of the reign of the judges, that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities, … |
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RJ | 20th year (ended) | Alma 50:16 | And thus ended the twentieth year. | Alma 50:1** |
RJ | 21st year (start) | Alma 50:17 | And in these prosperous circumstances were the people of Nephi in the commencement of the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. |
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RJ | 21st year | Alma 50:23 | … even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 50:17* |
RJ | 22nd year (ended) | Alma 50:24(a) | And it came to pass that the twenty and second year of the reign of the judges also ended in peace; … |
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RJ | 23rd year (ended) | Alma 50:24(b) | … yea, and also the twenty and third year [ended] |
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RJ | 24th year (start) | Alma 50:25 | And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges, there would also have been peace among the people of Nephi … |
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RJ | 24th year (ended) | Alma 50:35 | … And thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 50:25** |
RJ | 24th year (in the end) | Alma 50:40 | Now behold, his name was Pahoran. And Pahoran did fill the seat of his father, and did commence his reign in the end of the twenty and fourth year, over the people of Nephi. | Alma 50:35* |
RJ | 25th year (start) | Alma 51:1 | And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, they having established peace between the people of Lehi and the people of Morianton concerning their lands, and having commenced the twenty and fifth year in peace; |
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RJ | 25th year | Alma 51:12 | 12 Yea, even Amalickiah did himself come down, at the head of the Lamanites. And it was in the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges; and it was at the same time that they had begun to settle the affairs of their contentions concerning the chief judge, Pahoran. | Alma 51:1** |
RJ | 25th year (ended) | Alma 51:37 | And thus endeth the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus endeth the days of Amalickiah. | Alma 51:12** |
RJ | 26th year, 1st month, 1st morning | Alma 52:1 | And now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, behold, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found Amalickiah was dead in his own tent; |
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RJ | 26th year (in the end) | Alma 52:14 | And thus were the Nephites in those dangerous circumstances in the ending of the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 52:1** |
RJ | 27th year | Alma 52:15 | But behold, it came to pass in the twenty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, that Teancum … |
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RJ | 27th year (latter end) | Alma 52:18 | And it came to pass that Moroni did arrive with his army at the land of Bountiful, in the latter end of the twenty and seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 52:15* |
RJ | 28th year (start) | Alma 52:19 | And in the commencement of the twenty and eighth year, Moroni and Teancum and many of the chief captains held a council of war— |
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RJ | 28th year (ended) | Alma 53:23 | And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 52:19** |
RJ | 29th year (start) | Alma 54:1 | And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year of the judges, that Ammoron sent unto Moroni desiring that he would exchange prisoners. |
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RJ | 29th year (ended) | Alma 55:35 | And thus ended the twenty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 54:1** |
RJ | 30th year, 1st month, 2nd day | Alma 56:1 | And now it came to pass in the commencement of the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges, on the second day in the first month, Moroni received an epistle from Helaman, … |
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FLASHBACK STARTS | ||||
RJ | 26th year | Alma 56:7 | But in the twenty and sixth year, when they saw our afflictions and our tribulations for them … |
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RJ | 26th year | Alma 56:914 | … For behold, in the twenty and sixth year, I, Helaman, did march at the head of these two thousand young men … |
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RJ | 26th year (ended) | Alma 56:20(a) | They were commanded by Ammoron to maintain those cities which they had taken. And thus ended the twenty and sixth year. … | Alma 56:9** |
RJ | 27th year (start) | Alma 56:20(b) | … And in the commencement of the twenty and seventh year we had prepared our city and ourselves for defence. |
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RJ | [27th year], 2nd month | Alma 56:27 | And now it came to pass in the second month of this year, there was brought unto us many provisions from the fathers of those my two thousand sons. |
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RJ | [27th year], 7th month, 3rd day | Alma 56:42 | But it came to pass that they did not pursue us far before they halted; and it was in the morning of the third day of the seventh month. | Alma 56:27** |
RJ | 28th year (ended) | Alma 57:5 | And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the judges. | Alma 56:20(b)** |
RJ | 29th year (start) | Alma 57:6 | And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year, we received a supply of provisions, … |
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RJ | [29th year] (space of many months) | Alma 58:7 | And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish for the want of food. |
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RJ | 29th year (latter end) | Alma 58:38 | Behold, this is the twenty and ninth year, in the latter end, and we are in the possession of our lands; | Alma 57:6** |
FLASHBACK ENDS | ||||
RJ | 30th year | Alma 59:1 | Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, ... | Alma 56:1** |
RJ | 30th year (ended) | Alma 62:11 | And thus ended the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; | Alma 59:1** |
RJ | 31st year (start) | Alma 62:12 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, … |
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RJ | 31st year (ended) | Alma 62:39 | And thus ended the thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; | Alma 62:12** |
RJ | 35th year | Alma 62:52 | … And Helaman died, in the thirty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 62:39** |
RJ | 36th year (start) | Alma 63:1 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Shiblon took possession of those sacred things … |
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RJ | 36th year (ended) | Alma 63:3 | And it came to pass that Moroni died also. And thus ended the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges. |
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RJ | 37th year | Alma 63:4 | And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, there was a large company of men … departed out of the land of Zarahemla … |
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RJ | 37th year (ended) | Alma 63:6 | … and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year. |
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RJ | 38th year | Alma 63:7 | And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. |
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RJ | 38th year (ended) | Alma 63:9 | And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and eighth year. |
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RJ | 39th year | Alma 63:10 | And it came to pass in the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, Shiblon died also, and Corianton had gone forth to the land northward in a ship, … |
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RJ | 39th year (ended) | Alma 63:16 | And thus ended the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Alma 63:10* |
RJ | 40th year (start) | Helaman 1:1 | … in the commencement of the fortieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there began to be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites. |
|
RJ | 40th year (ended) | Helaman 1:13 | … And all this was done in the fortieth year of the reign of the judges; and it had an end. | Helaman 1:1** |
RJ | 41st year | Helaman 1:14 | And it came to pass in the forty and first year of the reign of the judges, that the Lamanites had gathered together an innumerable army of men … |
|
RJ | 41st year (ended) | Helaman 1:34 | And thus ended the forty and first year of the reign of the judges. | Helaman 1:14** |
RJ | 42nd | Helaman 2:1 | And it came to pass in the forty and second year of the reign of the judges … behold there was no one to fill the judgment-seat; |
|
RJ | 42nd year (ended) | Helaman 2:12 | And more of this Gadianton shall be spoken hereafter. And thus ended the forty and second year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 2:1** |
RJ | 43rd year | Helaman 3:1(a) | And now it came to pass in the forty and third year of the reign of the judges, there was no contention among the people of Nephi save it were a little pride which was in the church, which did cause some little dissensions among the people, … |
|
RJ | 43rd year (in the end) | Helaman 3:1(b) | … which affairs were settled in the ending of the forty and third year. |
|
RJ | 44th year | Helaman 3:2(a) | And there was no contention among the people in the forty and fourth year; … |
|
RJ | 45th year | Helaman 3:2(b) | … neither was there much contention in the forty and fifth year. |
|
RJ | 46th year (ended) | Helaman 3:18 | The forty and sixth year of the reign of the judges ended; | Helaman 3:2** |
RJ | 47th year | Helaman 3:19(b) | And it came to pass that there was still great contention in the land, yea, even in the forty and seventh year, … |
|
RJ | 48th year | Helaman 3:19(a) | … and also in the forty and eighth year. |
|
RJ | 48th year (latter end) | Helaman 3:22 | And it came to pass that the wars and contentions began to cease, in a small degree, among the people of the Nephites, in the latter end of the forty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. |
|
RJ | 49th year | Helaman 3:23 | And it came to pass in the forty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace established in the land, … |
|
RJ | 49th year (remainder) | Helaman 3:32(a) | And it came to pass that there was peace and exceedingly great joy in the remainder of the forty and ninth year; … | Helaman 3:23* |
RJ | 50th year | Helaman 3:32(b) | … yea, and also there was continual peace and great joy in the fiftieth year of the reign of the judges. |
|
RJ | 51st year | Helaman 3:33 | And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, … |
|
RJ | 52nd year | Helaman 3:36 | And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace also, … |
|
RJ | 53rd year | Helaman 3:37 | And it came to pass in the fifty and third year of the reign of the judges, Helaman died, and his eldest son Nephi began to reign in his stead. |
|
RJ | 54th year | Helaman 4:1 | And it came to pass in the fifty and fourth year there were many dissensions in the church … |
|
RJ | 56th year | Helaman 4:4 | But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of the reign of the judges, there were dissenters who went up from the Nephites unto the Lamanites; … |
|
RJ | 57th year | Helaman 4:5(a) | And in the fifty and seventh year they did come down against the Nephites to battle, and they did commence the work of death; … |
|
RJ | 58th year | Helaman 4:5(b) | … yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of the judges they succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; |
|
RJ | 58th year | Helaman 4:8 | … And all this was done in the fifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges. |
|
RJ | 60th year | Helaman 4:9 | And it came to pass in the sixtieth year of the reign of the judges, Moronihah did succeed with his armies in obtaining many parts of the land; |
|
RJ | 61st year | Helaman 4:10 | And it came to pass in the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges they succeeded in regaining even the half of all their possessions. |
|
RJ | 61st year (ended) | Helaman 4:17 | And thus ended the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges. | Helaman 4:10* |
RJ | 62nd year | Helaman 4:18 | And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges, that Moronihah could obtain no more possessions over the Lamanites. |
|
RJ | 62nd year (ended) | Helaman 6:1 | And it came to pass that when the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges had ended, all these things had happened... | Helaman 4:18** |
RJ | 63rd year (ended) | Helaman 6:6 | … And thus ended the sixty and third year. | Helaman 6:1* |
RJ | 64th year (passed) | Helaman 6:13 | And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace. | Helaman 6:13* |
RJ | 65th year | Helaman 6:14(a) | And in the sixty and fifth year they did also have great joy and peace, yea, much preaching and many prophecies concerning that which was to come. … |
|
RJ | 65th year (passed) | Helaman 6:14(b) | … And thus passed away the sixty and fifth year. |
|
RJ | 66th year | Helaman 6:15(a) | And it came to pass that in the sixty and sixth year of the reign of the judges, behold, Cezoram was murdered by an unknown hand … |
|
RJ | 66th year (ended) | Helaman 6:15(b) | … And thus ended the sixty and sixth year. |
|
RJ | 67th year (start) | Helaman 6:16 | And in the commencement of the sixty and seventh year the people began to grow exceedingly wicked again. |
|
RJ | 67th year | Helaman 6:32 | And it came to pass that all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years, insomuch that a more part of it had come unto them in the sixty and seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 6:16** |
RJ | 68th year | Helaman 6:33 | And they did grow in their iniquities in the sixty and eighth year also, to the great sorrow and lamentation of the righteous. |
|
RJ | 68th year (ended) | Helaman 6:41 | And it came to pass that thus ended the sixty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 6:33* |
RJ | 69th year | Helaman 7:1 | Behold, now it came to pass in the sixty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of the Nephites, that Nephi, the son of Helaman, returned to the land of Zarahemla from the land northward. |
|
RJ | 71st year (ended) | Helaman 10:19 | And thus ended the seventy and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 7:1** |
RJ | 72nd year | Helaman 11:1 | And now it came to pass in the seventy and second year of the reign of the judges that the contentions did increase, … |
|
RJ | 73rd year | Helaman 11:2 | … And this war did last all that year; and in the seventy and third year it did also last. |
|
RJ | 74th year | Helaman 11:5 | … And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, ... |
|
RJ | 75th year | Helaman 11:6 | And this work of destruction did also continue in the seventy and fifth year. |
|
RJ | 76th year | Helaman 11:17 | And it came to pass that in the seventy and sixth year the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, … | Helaman 11:6** |
RJ | 76th year (ended) | Helaman 11:21(a) | And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in peace. … | Helaman 11:17* |
RJ | 77th year (start) | Helaman 11:21(b) | … And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; … |
|
RJ | 77th year (ended) | Helaman 11:21(c) | … and thus ended the seventy and seventh year. |
|
RJ | 78th year | Helaman 11:22 | And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it were a few contentions … |
|
RJ | 79th year | Helaman 11:23 | And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. |
|
RJ | 80th year | Helaman 11:24 | And it came to pass that in the eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were a certain number of the dissenters … |
|
RJ | 80th year | Helaman 11:29 | … And thus ended the eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 11:24* |
RJ | 81st year | Helaman 11:30 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the eighty and first year they did go forth again against this band of robbers, … |
|
RJ | [81st year] (ended) | Helaman 11:32 | And it came to pass that thus ended this year. |
|
RJ | 81st year (ended) | Helaman 11:35 | And thus ended the eighty and first year of the reign of the judges. |
|
RJ | 82nd year | Helaman 11:36(a) | And in the eighty and second year they began again to forget the Lord their God. … |
|
RJ | 83rd year | Helaman 11:36(b) | … And in the eighty and third year they began to wax strong in iniquity. … |
|
RJ | 84th year | Helaman 11:36(c) | … And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend their ways. |
|
RJ | 85th year | Helaman 11:37 | And it came to pass in the eighty and fifth year they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness; |
|
RJ | 85th year (ended) | Helaman 11:38 | And thus ended the eighty and fifth year. |
|
RJ | 86th year | Helaman 13:1 | And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, … | Helaman 11:38** |
RJ | 86th year (ended) | Helaman 16:9 | And thus ended the eighty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 13:1** |
RJ | 87th year (ended) | Helaman 16:10 | And thus ended also the eighty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, … |
|
RJ | 88th year | Helaman 16:11 | And these were the conditions also, in the eighty and eighth year of the reign of the judges. |
|
RJ | 89th year | Helaman 16:12 | And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people … in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges. |
|
RJ | 90th year | Helaman 16:13 | But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; |
|
RJ | 90th year (ended) | Helaman 16:24 | And thus ended the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. | Helaman 16:13** |
RJ | 91st year (passed) | 3 Nephi 1:1(a) | Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year had passed away … |
|
LD | 600 years | 3 Nephi 1:1(a) | and it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; | Mosiah 6:4** |
RJ | 92nd year (start) | 3 Nephi 1:4 | And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; |
|
RJ | 92nd year (passed) | 3 Nephi 1:26 | And thus the ninety and second year did pass away, bringing glad tidings unto the people … | 3 Nephi 1:4** |
RJ | 93rd year (passed) | 3 Nephi 1:27 | And it came to pass that the ninety and third year did also pass away in peace, … |
|
RJ | 94th year | 3 Nephi 1:28 | And it came to pass that in the ninety and fourth year they began to increase in a great degree, … |
|
RJ | 95th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:1 | And it came to pass that thus passed away the ninety and fifth year also, and the people began to forget those signs and wonders … |
|
RJ | 96th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:4(a) | And thus did pass away the ninety and sixth year; … | 3 Nephi 2:1* |
RJ | 97th year [passed] | 3 Nephi 2:4(b) | … and also the ninety and seventh year [did pass away]; |
|
RJ | 98th year [passed] | 3 Nephi 2:4(c) | … and also the ninety and eighth year [did pass away]; |
|
RJ | 99th year [passed) | 3 Nephi 2:4(d) | … and also the ninety and ninth year [did pass away]; |
|
RJ | 100 years (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:5 | And also an hundred years had passed away since the days of Mosiah, who was king over the people of the Nephites. | 3 Nephi 1:1**15 |
LD | 609 years (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:6 | And six hundred and nine years had passed away since Lehi left Jerusalem. | 3 Nephi 1:1**16 |
SCB | 9 years (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:7 | And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come into the world. | 3 Nephi 1:1, 15**17 |
SCB | 9 years (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:8 | Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when the sign was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years had passed away. |
|
SCB | 10th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:10(a) | … and thus passed away the tenth year also; … |
|
SCB | 11th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 2:10(b) | … and the eleventh year also passed away in iniquity. |
|
SCB | 13th year | 3 Nephi 2:11 | And it came to pass in the thirteenth year there began to be wars and contentions throughout all the land; |
|
SCB | 13 year (ended) | 3 Nephi 2:16 | And thus ended the thirteenth year. | 3 Nephi 2:11* |
SCB | 14th year (start) | 3 Nephi 2:17 | And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, the war between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue … |
|
SCB | 14th year (ended) | 3 Nephi 2:18(a) | And thus ended the fourteenth year. … |
|
SCB | 15th year | 3 Nephi 2:18(b) | … And in the fifteenth year they did come forth against the people of Nephi; |
|
SCB | 15th year (ended) | 3 Nephi 2:19 | And thus ended the fifteenth year, and thus were the people in a state of many afflictions; |
|
SCB | 16th | 3 Nephi 3:1 | And now it came to pass that in the sixteenth year from the coming of Christ, … |
|
SCB | 17th year (latter end) | 3 Nephi 3:22 | And it came to pass in the seventeenth year, in the latter end of the year, the proclamation of Lachoneus had gone forth … | 3 Nephi 3:1** |
SCB | 18th year (latter end) | 3 Nephi 4:1 | And it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year those armies of robbers had prepared for battle, … | 3 Nephi 4:4* |
SCB | 18th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 4:4 | … and thus the eighteenth year did pass away. | 3 Nephi 4:1* |
SCB | 19th year | 3 Nephi 4:5 | And it came to pass that in the nineteenth year Giddianhi found that it was expedient that he should go up to battle against the Nephites, … |
|
SCB | [19th year] 6th month | 3 Nephi 4:7 | And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; and it was in the sixth month; |
|
SCB | [19th year] 6th month | 3 Nephi 4:11 | And the battle commenced in this the sixth month; | 3 Nephi 4:7* |
SCB | 19th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 4:15(a) | … And it came to pass that this nineteenth year did pass away, and the robbers did not come again to battle; … | 3 Nephi 4:5** |
SCB | 20th year | 3 Nephi 4:15(b) | … neither did they come again in the twentieth year. |
|
SCB | 21st year | 3 Nephi 4:16 | And in the twenty and first year they did not come up to battle, … |
|
SCB | 22nd year (passed) | 3 Nephi 5:7(a) | And thus had the twenty and second year passed away, … | 3 Nephi 4:16** |
SCB | 23rd year [passed] | 3 Nephi 5:7(b) | … and the twenty and third year also [passed], … |
|
SCB | 24th year [passed] | 3 Nephi 5:7(c) | … and the twenty and fourth [passed], … |
|
SCB | 25th year [passed] | 3 Nephi 5:7(d) | … and the twenty and fifth[passed]; and thus had twenty and five years passed away. |
|
SCB | 25 years (space of) | 3 Nephi 5:8 | … this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years; |
|
SCB | 26th year | 3 Nephi 6:1 | And now it came to pass that the people of the Nephites did all return to their own lands in the twenty and sixth year, … | 3 Nephi 5:7** |
SCB | 26th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 6:4(a) | And they began again to prosper and to wax great; and the twenty and sixth [year passed] … | 3 Nephi 6:1* |
SCB | 27th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 6:4(b) | … and [the twenty and] seventh years passed away, … |
|
SCB | 28th year (passed) | 3 Nephi 6:9 | And thus passed away the twenty and eighth year, and the people had continual peace. |
|
SCB | 29th year | 3 Nephi 6:10 | But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; … |
|
SCB | 30th year | 3 Nephi 6:14 | … yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land … | 3 Nephi 6:10* |
SCB | 30th year (start) | 3 Nephi 6:17 | And thus, in the commencement of the thirtieth year … and thus in the commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they were in a state of awful wickedness. |
|
SCB | 30th year | 3 Nephi 7:1 | … but in this same year, yea, the thirtieth year, they did destroy upon the judgment-seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the land. | 3 Nephi 6:17** |
SCB | 30th year (ended) | 3 Nephi 7:13 | And thus ended the thirtieth year; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi. | 3 Nephi 7:1** |
SCB | 31st year | 3 Nephi 7:14 | And it came to pass in the thirty and first year that they were divided into tribes, … |
|
SCB | 31st year (passed) | 3 Nephi 7:21 | 21 And it came to pass that the thirty and first year did pass away, and there were but few who were converted unto the Lord; | 3 Nephi 7:14* |
SCB | 32nd year (passed | 3 Nephi 7:23(a) | Thus passed away the thirty and second year also. … |
|
SCB | 33rd year (start) | 3 Nephi 7:23(b) | … And Nephi did cry unto the people in the commencement of the thirty and third year; |
|
SCB | 33rd year (passed) | 3 Nephi 8:2 | And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time, the thirty and third year had passed away; | 3 Nephi 7:23* |
SCB | 34th year, 1st month, 4th day | 3 Nephi 8:5 | And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. |
|
SCB | 34th year (in ending) | 3 Nephi 10:18 | And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people … who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, … | 3 Nephi 8:5** |
SCB | 34th year (passed | 4 Nephi 1:1(a) | And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away … | 3 Nephi 10:18** |
SCB | 35th year [passed] | 4 Nephi 1:1(b) | … and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. |
|
SCB | 36th year | 4 Nephi 1:2 | And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, … |
|
SCB | 37th year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:4 | And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed away also, and there still continued to be peace in the land. |
|
SCB | 38th year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(a) | And thus did the thirty and eighth year pass away, … |
|
SCB | 39th year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(b) | … and also the thirty and ninth [did pass away], … |
|
SCB | 41st year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(c) | … and forty and first [did pass away], … |
|
SCB | 42nd year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(d) | … and the forty and second [did pass away], … |
|
SCB | 49 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(e) | … yea, even until forty and nine years had passed away, … |
|
SCB | 51st year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(f) | … and also the fifty and first [had passed away], … |
|
SCB | 52nd year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(g) | … and the fifty and second [had passed away]; … |
|
SCB | 59 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:6(h) | … yea, and even until fifty and nine years had passed away. |
|
SCB | 71st year | 4 Nephi 1:14(a) | And it came to pass that the seventy and first year passed away, | 4 Nephi 1:6* |
SCB | 72nd year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:14(b) | and also the seventy and second year [passed away], |
|
SCB | 79th year (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:14(c) | yea, and in fine, till the seventy and ninth year had passed away; |
|
SCB | 100 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:14(d) | yea, even an hundred years had passed away, and the disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all gone to the paradise of God … |
|
SCB | 110 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:18 | … yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; … | 4 Nephi 1:14* |
SCB | 194 years (from Christ) | 4 Nephi 1:21 | And it came to pass that Amos died also, (and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ) … |
|
SCB | 200 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:22 | And it came to pass that two hundred years had passed away; |
|
SCB | 201st year | 4 Nephi 1:24 | And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, … |
|
SCB | 210 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:27 | And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; |
|
SCB | 230 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:34 | … And thus they did dwindle in unbelief and wickedness, from year to year, even until two hundred and thirty years had passed away. | 4 Nephi 1:27* |
SCB | 231st year | 4 Nephi 1:35 | And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two hundred and thirty and first year, there was a great division among the people. |
|
SCB | 244 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:40 | And it came to pass that two hundred and forty and four years had passed away, and thus were the affairs of the people. |
|
SCB | 250 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:41(a) | … And thus did two hundred and fifty years pass away, … |
|
SCB | 260 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:41(a) | … and also two hundred and sixty years [did pass away]. |
|
SCB | 300 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:45 | And it came to pass that when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another. |
|
SCB | 305 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:47 | And it came to pass that after three hundred and five years had passed away, (and the people did still remain in wickedness) Amos died; |
|
SCB | 320 years (passed) | 4 Nephi 1:48 | And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ. |
|
SCB | 326 years (passed) | Mormon 2:2 | Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away. | 4 Nephi 1:48**18 |
SCB | 327th year | Mormon 2:3 | And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great power, … |
|
SCB | 330 years (passed) | Mormon 2:9 | And behold, all this was done, and three hundred and thirty years had passed away. | Mormon 2:3* |
SCB | 344 years (passed) | Mormon 2:15 | And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away. | Mormon 2:9* |
SCB | 345th year | Mormon 2:16 | And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth year the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; |
|
SCB | 346th year | Mormon 2:22 | And it came to pass in the three hundred and forty and sixth year they began to come upon us again. | Mormon 2:16* |
SCB | 349th year (passed) | Mormon 2:28(a) | And the three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away. … | Mormon 2:22* |
SCB | 350th year | Mormon 2:28(b) | … And in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, … |
|
SCB | 360 years (from Christ) | Mormon 3:4 | And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed away, making, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from the coming of Christ, … | Mormon 2:28(b)*19 |
SCB | 361st year | Mormon 3:7 | And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the city of Desolation to battle against us … |
|
SCB | 362nd year | Mormon 3:8 | And in the three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down again to battle. |
|
SCB | 363rd year | Mormon 4:1 | And now it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and third year the Nephites did go up with their armies to battle against the Lamanites, out of the land Desolation. | Mormon 3:8** |
SCB | 364th year | Mormon 4:7 | And it came to pass in the three hundred and sixty and fourth year the Lamanites did come against the city Teancum … | Mormon 4:1* |
SCB | 366th year | Mormon 4:10 | And it came to pass that the three hundred and sixty and sixth year had passed away, |
|
SCB | 367th year | Mormon 4:15 | And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and seventh year, the Nephites … did go against the Lamanites with exceedingly great anger, … | Mormon 4:10* |
SCB | 375th year | Mormon 4:16 | And the Lamanites did not come again against the Nephites until the three hundred and seventy and fifth year. |
|
SCB | 379 years (passed) | Mormon 5:5 | … and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away. | Mormon 4:16** |
SCB | 380th year | Mormon 5:6 | And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly; |
|
SCB | 384 years (passed) | Mormon 6:5 | And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of Cumorah. | Mormon 5:6** |
SCB | 400 years (since Christ) | Mormon 8:6 | Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior. | Mormon 6:5** |
EH | 1st year | Ether 13:18 | Wherefore, it came to pass that in the first year that Ether dwelt in the cavity of a rock, there were many people who were slain by the sword of those secret combinations, … |
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EH | 2nd year | Ether 13:20 | And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that he should go and prophesy unto Coriantumr that, … |
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EH | 3rd year | Ether 13:23 | And it came to pass that there arose up Shared, and he also gave battle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him, insomuch that in the third year he did bring him into captivity. | Ether 13:20* |
EH | 4th year | Ether 13:24 | And the sons of Coriantumr, in the fourth year, did beat Shared, and did obtain the kingdom again unto their father. |
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SCB | +420 years (passed) | Moroni 10:1 | Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the Lamanites; and I would that they should know that more than four hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christ. | Mormon 8:6* (questionable) |
- 1 See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Multiple Calendar Systems,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 2 One apparent chronological discrepancy can be seen in Samuel the Lamanite’s five-year prophecy concerning the sign of Christ’s birth. Samuel said the sign would appear in 5 years when Mormon noted the passage of 6 years before its fulfillment (Helaman 14:2; 3 Nephi 1:1–15). However, this could be categorized as a mathematical error involved in the timing of the prophecy rather than a sequential one involving the dates. Furthermore, an assumed Mesoamerican context for the Book of Mormon may adequately account for this seeming discrepancy. See Neal Rappleye, “‘The Time is Past’: A Note on Samuel’s Five-Year Prophecy,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 29 (2018): 21–30. For several other potential solutions to this concern, see Daniel L. Belnap, “‘There was One Samuel’: Possible Multiple Sources for the Samuel Narrative,” in Samuel the Lamanite: That Ye Might Believe, ed. Charles Swift (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Religious Studies Center, 2021), 260–263. Another error has been proposed in relation to the time markers given in Alma 53:22–23 and Alma 56:9. For a response and discussion of this concern, see endonte #14.
- 3 For analysis of the various flashbacks in the Book of Mormon, see Evidence Central, “Narratives” (subcategory), accessed July 13, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 4 An epistle written by Helaman to Moroni, found in Alma 56–58, is the only flashback which contains sequential dating during the flashback itself in addition to the surrounding time references in Mormon’s abridgment.
- 5 In some instances (see endnotes 13–18), when corroborating chronological data exists, years that are not technically sequentially precise may still be considered as precise because the intervening years are accounted for in a mathematically consistent way. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 6 See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: No Notes or Reference Materials,” November 2, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 7 See Royal Skousen, ed., The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001); Royal Skousen, “The Original Book of Mormon Transcript,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo and Salt Lake City, UT: FARMS and Deseret Book, 1992), 10.
- 8 See Royal Skousen, “Translating the Book of Mormon: Evidence from the Original Manuscript,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 61–75.
- 9 See John W. Welch, “Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon: ‘Days [and Hours] Never to Be Forgotten’,” BYU Studies Quarterly 57, no. 4 (2018): 37–40; Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Rapid Translation,” September 9, 2020, online at evidence central.org.
- 10 See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Rapid Translation,” September 9, 2020, online at evidence central.org. Even when the translation progressed smoothly, there was still the interruption, every 20 or 30 words, of the scribe reading back the text to Joseph, which likely would have made it difficult to keep track of the flow of ideas and information.
- 11 See Evidence Central, “Complexity” (main category), accessed July 13, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 12 See Edmund C. Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” Journal of History 9 (October 1916): 454; as cited in John W. Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844, 2nd edition, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Press, 2017), 142, doc. 38.
- 13 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 14 It has been proposed that a chronological discrepancy arises in Alma 53:22–23 when these verses are compared to Helaman’s account of these same events recorded in Alma 56:9. See John L. Sorenson, “The Significance of the Chronological Discrepancy between Alma 53:22 and Alma 56:9,” FARMS Paper SOR-90b (Provo, UT, 1990); John L. Sorenson, “Mormon’s Sources,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 20, no. 2 (2011), 11. However, the error might simply be in the way that Sorenson interpreted these passages. Readers should note that Alma 53:10–22 doesn’t contain any dates and that these verses clearly act as a digression, giving a brief glimpse of what was happening on a different front of the war during a roughly contemporaneous period of conflict. A careful parsing of verses 22–23 is particularly important: “And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of the people in the borders of the land on the south by the west sea. And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.” It is clear from Helaman’s later epistle that while his initial march to the southwest war front occurred in the 26th year (Alma 56:9), his efforts to support the war effort in this area (including lots of additional marching to and from locations in this region) continued into the 28th year and even beyond (Alma 57:5–6). In other words, Alma 53:10–22 can be seen as a digression/flashback that lets readers know about some key events that were happening on another war front, which events began in the 26th year but clearly continued into the 28th year—the very year which Mormon was discussing before and after the digression (Alma 52:19; 53:23). When Mormon’s statements are interpreted in this way, there is no chronological error or discrepancy.
- 15 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 16 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 17 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 18 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 19 Although this chronological relationship isn’t precise when viewed in isolation, it is corroborated by other data that makes it equivalent to a precise correlation. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Mathematically Consistent Chronology,” September 20, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.