Visions in a Seer Stone by William L. Davis

Author:William L. Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

In the original scribal manuscript, this preliminary summary occurs in the middle of a sheet of foolscap paper, taking up a total of eleven lines (including solid lines drawn above and below this preface, in order to offset it from the surrounding text).17 Immediately before this summary, Smith dictated the last portion of the Book of Alma (the previous book in the overall structure of the Book of Mormon). And immediately following this summary, Smith dictated the opening narrative of the Book of Helaman. The ink flow of the transcription further indicates that Oliver Cowdery recorded Smith’s dictation in the same sequence as it appears on the page.18

In other words, the dictation of the opening summary for the Book of Helaman occurred during the regular course of Smith’s oral composition, rather than being a later addition—more specifically, Smith dictated the outline first, before expanding the outline into a fully developed story. Smith’s ability to compose the outline of the Book of Helaman before he actually dictated the narrative therefore provides direct evidence that Smith was aware of the contents of the Book of Helaman before he started to compose the main body of the story.

In addition, Smith’s sequence of dictating a summary before dictating its corresponding narrative is not limited to the prefaces of the Book of Helaman or the First Book of Nephi. Evidence from the original scribal manuscript suggests that Smith dictated all of his prefatory outlines first, before proceeding directly to the dictation of the extended narratives.19 In The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, his edition of what he believes to be the original text of the Book of Mormon, Skousen affirms that these summaries were part of Smith’s process. When addressing “the prefaces (or summaries) that appear at the beginning of most of the books in the Book of Mormon (as well as at the beginning of some sections in the middle of books),” Skousen indicates that, “these prefaces, along with the division into books and sections, were part of Joseph Smith’s dictation and hence are also included in The Earliest Text.”20

Grant Hardy concurs with Skousen’s observation, indicating, “These editorial guideposts occur regularly in the Book of Mormon, and they were part of the original dictation rather than later additions to the text.”21 In the context of Smith’s practice of dictating the outlines of forthcoming narratives, the original scribal manuscript of the Book of Mormon thus offers strong evidence that Smith did not produce the stories in sudden bursts of improvised, extempore performances. Rather, the manuscript indicates that Smith worked from premeditated outlines, which he then expanded into full-length narratives during dictation. In other words, like the sermonizing of preachers all around him throughout his life, Smith prepared and laid down the main heads of skeletal outlines before creating his extended sermons and narrative passages.

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