Was it Nephi or Moroni?
Mormon missionaries will tell you that in 1823, Joseph Smith Jr. was directed by a heavenly messenger named Moroni to a hill where gold plates lain hidden for centuries. These gold plates contained the writings of ancient prophets giving an account of God’s dealings with some of the early inhabitants of the Americas.
What the missionaries won’t tell you – because they probably don’t themselves – is that Joseph Smith first claimed it was a heavenly messenger named Nephi who appeared to him, NOT Moroni.
And how do we know that?
Here is a quote from Joseph Smith concerning the angel, found in the LDS Church-published newspaper - Times and Seasons, April 15, 1842 “When I first looked upon him, I was afraid, but the fear soon left me. He called me by name and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi. That God has work for me to do… He said there was a book deposited written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.”
The Mormon missionaries will try and excuse it by saying it must have been a misquote or a misprint.
But Joseph Smith lived two more years after the name Nephi was printed in the Times and Seasons, and being the editor, he never published a retraction.
Two months later in May 1842, the LDS Church owed publication in England, the Millennial Star, also printed Joseph Smith’s heavenly messenger story stating that the angel’s name was Nephi. The article quotes, “Again, we read the history of our beloved brother, Joseph Smith, and the glorious ministry and message of the angel Nephi, which has finally opened a new dispensation to man.”
Again, Smith never published a retraction or made any alterations to his own writings.
The Mormon missionaries will tell you that’s not what they teach today.
And they are right!
In modern printings of the History of the Church, Nephi’s name has been changed to read Moroni. But other than a couple of references where the name Moroni appeared in 1835 and 1838, the angel firmly became Nephi in Joseph Smith’s writings. Apparently, Nephi was the name he had settled on and intended to be used for his angel.
Today, all that the Mormon missionaries know is that they believe in the authorized account given in the LDS Church’s canonized Scriptures which names the angel, Moroni.
But there has even been some confusion when it comes to the LDS Church’s canonized Scriptures.
Details of the angelic visitation were fully documented and published in the early 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price. Joseph Smith wrote, “He called me by name and said unto me, that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi.”
A couple decades later, LDS Apostle Orson Pratt changed it from Nephi to Moroni in the 1878 edition of the Pearl of Great Price.
It appears that this story of the angel’s visits evolved over many years. The fact of the matter is that Moroni makes much more sense than Nephi because in the Book of Mormon, it was Moroni who buried the plates.
But let’s not forget that Joseph Smith first said the angel’s name was Nephi, not Moroni.
In the end, a statue of the angel Moroni now appears, covered in gold leaf atop most LDS temples. While the angel Nephi is consigned to the pages of the Book of Mormon.
Something to consider. Please share this with family and friends. God Bless!