Today's Menu, a little breakfast: Morooni or Nephi

When reading Hugh Nibley's "Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass", I saw him refute the "Joseph confused Nephi and Moroni" theory as simply being from some letter of brothers in which they mention a "Spaniard with his throat cut" and then he shows that it doesn't even agree with the story that their father tells.

"'he saw a man standing over the spot who, to him, appeared like a Spaniard, having a long beard down over his breast".  Their father, being the man "Nathaniel C. Lewis, who in 1834 swore an affidavit that he knew Joseph Smith to be "an imposter . . . and [a] liar,"

That's all well and good; and agrees well with the "manager's special" meal offered by the cafeteria, clearly Joseph never said Nephi visited him, nor is there any confusion in the matter if you pick the "Manager Special".  However, the truth, is less simple to digest.  Again, this isn't a case of "There is no picking and choosing required, and those non-members just made it all up to attack Joseph".

Let's see what else is on the menu:

The Times and Seasons Vol. III pp. 749, 753

"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 a 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."

This was a paper edited by Joesph Smith.  Of course it could be a misprint, but this is being printed on March 15,1842.  One might expect at least a "Whoops the paper made an error" in the next edition.

Millennial Star, vol. 3, p.53 (August, 1842)

(Click here for larger image)

August, 1842, the Millennial Star, printed in England , also published Joseph Smith's story stating that the angel's name was "Nephi" 


Ok, so the millenial star often reprinted what was stated in the times and seasons, just in the UK.  The misprint could have been a re-publish of the previous error.  But that could have left a lot of members in confusion.  Now we might excuse some of the non-members for also not keeping the story straight

Lucy Mack Smith

In 1853, Joseph's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, also said the angel's name was Nephi 

Hmm... maybe her memory was affected by the newspapers.

Pearl of Great Price, 1851 edition

"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." (Pearl of Great Price, 1851 edition, page 41)

ಠ_ಠ 

So the original menu had "Nephi" being served from 1830-1853 and then sometime Orson Pratt changed it to have "Moroni" in its place (see Textual Changes in the Pearl of Great Price, typed copy, p.125).

This isn't to say that it was either Nephi or Moroni who appeared; but to say that the idea that there was ever only one menu, and that member should never, ever pick and choose their doctrine is absolutely ridiculous.  The doctrine shifts; and one can't help but pick and choose.  

Simply because it isn't the manager's special doesn't mean it isn't wrong