…my father Lehi took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning. And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who was our first parents, and also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, and also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah. And it came to pass that my father Lehi also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers.”
–1 Nephi 1:58-164 [5:10-14a]
On the morning of October 16, 2025, as I was saying my morning prayers, preparing to leave for our trip to Missouri. I felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to ask the Lord about the Plates of Brass. By this point, I had translated all five of the Books of Moses, and a variety of books from the Records of the Jews (Israel), and the Prophecies of the Holy Prophets. Up to this point, however, I had not translated anything from the Genealogies of Joseph. I asked the Lord if this part of the record was sealed from me, or why I had not had the opportunity to translate anything from that section.
At that moment, when I had finished asking the question, I was whisked away to the cave where the plates are kept. I was shown where this section of the records was in the bound stack. This portion appeared to be roughly about the same size as the five Books of Moses, maybe a little larger or a little smaller. Looking at the first part of this section of the plates, I read:
The Record of Joseph
A record of the traditions of the tribes of Ephram and Manasseh, who are of the seed of Joesph, and of the nation of Israel, passed down from our fathers, recorded and preserved by the Commandments of God, to be brought forth in the Last Days. These are the records of our father, Joseph, as given to us father to son, mother to daughter, to be passed down unto our seed forever and for all time, until the end of days; for as our fathers did flee the nation of Israel before it could be taken, unto the safety of our sister, the nation of Judah, it was needed that our people, the people of the teachings of Moses and of Zenoch, should not lose our way of life, nor the memories of this people. And because we are called to be the people of God (YHVH) in the wilderness, we are called the people Mormon, which is to say: the people of God in the wilderness, or in other words: We are the Mormons.
After reading this, I immediately went to my office and wrote down this translation. I understood that Lehi, Ishmael, and Laban were descended not merely from Joseph of Egypt, but from those who had fled Israel just as Lehi and Ishmael fled Judah. I understood that had Laban been righteous, Nephi and his brothers would not merely have been sent to get the Plates of Brass, but Laban and his house as well. Lehi understood the need to flee, as it was not the first time his family had fled.
In translating the Books of Moses, I had learned that “Mormon” meant “wilderness,” but I now had a deeper understanding. When the enemies of the early Saints were called “Mormons” by their detractors, they were unknowingly calling them “the people of God in the wilderness.” A Mormon is anyone who will follow God into the wilderness. It is not a slight or an insult, it truly is who we are as the people of Christ!
I wanted to read more. However, the Lord had instructed me as to what I was to translate next. He has asked me to finish translating “An Account of the Life of Adam and Eve” from the Record of the Jews (Israel) and the books of Isaiah recorded on the plates, as well as work on the modern English version of the Book of Mormon. This seemed to be enough for me at this time.
