I would love to get people's ideas on this. I have put together a little something to track the plates from author to author and to help define the large plates and the small plates. Also, to bring out the fact that Mosiah (Benjamin's father, not son) left the Land of Nephi, much like Lehi left Jerusalem, and the people of Zarahemla became Nephites. Please offer suggestions or corrections.
Book of Mormon Writers in Order
Division of Small Plates of Nephi and Large Plates of Nephi, who they were passed to, and who wrote in each book, and a little history to help understand the separation of the Land of Nephi and Zarahemla:
Small Plates of Nephi
1 Nephi
2 Nephi
Jacob (Nephi's brother)
Enos (Jacob's son)
Jarom (Enos' son)
Omni (Jarom's son)
These plates were passed to the name of each book until Omni.
Within Omni, the plates were passed to:
Amaron (Omni's son)
Chemish (Amaron's brother)
Abinabom (Chemish's son)
Amaleki (Abinadom's son)
Amaleki wrote of how Mosiah (father of King Benjamin) was commanded by the Lord to leave the land of Nephi and take all those who would go with him into the wilderness (Omni 1: 12-15). They found a city called Zarahemla. The people of Zarahemla and those Nephites that went with Mosiah united in Zarahemla, and Mosiah became their king and he taught the people of Zarahemla to understand his language. The people of Zarahemla left Jerusalem at the time king Zedekiah was carried away captive into Babylon (about the same time as Lehi, presumably after Lehi left since they knew Zedekiah was carried away, but not too long after since they didn’t seem to know what happened to Zedekiah once in Babylon).
Omni 1:
23 Behold, I, Amaleki, was born in the days of Mosiah; and I have lived to see his death; and Benjamin, his son, reigneth in his stead.
The book of Mosiah is named after the son of king Benjamin, not the Mosiah that left the land of Nephi. It was here that Mosiah (Benjamin's son) translated a stone that spoke of Coriantumr, who the people of Zarahemla found shortly after they arrived on the land. Coriantumr lived with the people of Zarahemla 9 moons. Coriantumr's people left Jerusalem at the confounding of the languages during the time of the Tower of Babel.
Mosiah 1:
1 AND now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin, so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.
2 And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord.
The Words of Mormon divide his abridgment of the Small Plates of Nephi from the Large Plates of Nephi. Mormon's abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi comprise:
Mosiah (Son of Benjamin, not the one who fled the land of Nephi)
Alma
Helaman
3rd Nephi
4th Nephi
Mormon (to chapter 7)
Mormon explained it in The Words of Mormon (after Omni) this way:
10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up these plates (Small Plates of Nephi) into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates (Large Plates of Nephi), which contained records which had been handed down by the kings, from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin.
11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into my hands...
So, from that point on (Benjamin) it would seem the plates were handed from father to son.
Then...
Mormon 8:
1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon...
Moroni wrote chapters 8 and 9 in the Book of Mormon. Then, he abridged the record of the people of Coriantor, which was written by his descendant Ether, who were led away from Jerusalem at the time the Lord counfounded the language of the people when they built the Tower of Babel.
Ether 1:
6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was Ether, and he was a descendant of Coriantor.
Some notable events that happened after the reign of king Mosiah (son of Benjamin):
Ammon leads a small group of people from Zarahemla to find the people of Zeniff, or the descendants of those who left Zarahemla long ago.
Limhi sent men from the land of Nephi to find the land of Zarahemla. And, some people, who used to live in the land of Nephi, left Zarahemla earlier to find the Nephites or Lamanites. Before Amaleki, who gave the plates to King Benjamin, died he said this...
Omni 1:
29 And it came to pass that they also took others to a considerable number, and took their journey again into the wilderness.
30 And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. And I am about to lie down in my grave; and these plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking.
Both sides were sending groups of people to find the other. Ammon, who came from Zarahemla, was finally successful in finding the Land of Nephi…
Mosiah 21:
24 But when he (king Limhi) found that they (Ammon and those with him) were not (priests of Noah), but that they were his brethren, and had come from the aland of Zarahemla, he was filled with exceedingly great joy.
25 Now king Limhi had sent, previous to the coming of Ammon, a asmall number of men to bsearch for the land of Zarahemla; but they could not find it, and they were lost in the wilderness.
26 Nevertheless, they did find a land which had been peopled; yea, a land which was covered with dry bones; yea, a land which had been peopled and which had been destroyed; and they, having supposed it to be the land of Zarahemla, returned to the land of Nephi, having arrived in the borders of the land not many days before the coming of Ammon.
27 And they brought a record with them, even a record of the people whose bones they had found; and it was engraven on plates of ore.
28 And now Limhi was again filled with joy on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings; yea, and Ammon also did rejoice.
These are the same 24 plates of "ore" that Moroni abridged as the Book of Ether.
Ether 1:
1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.
2 And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.
3 And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—
Then Moroni writes a "few more words" called the The Book of Moroni and seals up the records.
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