Mosiah 28

The sons of Mosiah went back to their dad with a select group of companions. They asked him if they could go and preach to the Lamanites. Maybe they could convince them of how wickedly they were raised, cure them of hating Nephites, and enhance international relations, even bring world peace. Teenagers.

They had this passion, common to young former delinquents, that they could convert every living thing on the planet to their belief system, thinking that without it no one could be happy, and of course no one could live forever. So they begged and begged Mosiah for weeks.

He finally asked God about it and got the word: Let them. I’ll protect them and they’ll actually convert people, believe it or not. So Mosiah gave permission for the trip.

They left. How they did, I’ll tell you about later.

First this literacy update: Mosiah was getting old and had to pass the throne to a son. But none of them wanted it. So he took all the engraved plates he had—brass, Nephi, Limhi— and translated them with a set of magical glasses that hooked over his ears and had clear lenses one looked through to get the translation. These glasses were heirlooms. It was thought that they would reveal any missing history of any people anywhere. Anyone who owned them took the non-too-subtle title of “seer.” (I know, this is mostly review.)

The magic glasses were fast and handy, with no need to check or otherwise verify the translation. Maybe all translation should be done this way. Saves lots of tuition and hand-wringing.

In any case, Mosiah translated all the plates into his own language. One set disclosed the deeds of a group who’d fled from the Tower of Babel and traced their story back to Adam and Eve.

It was a sacred tear-jerker. But people waded through the sad parts for the parts that made them smarter. A good way to deal with literature generally. (I’ll put that book in this anthology later.)

In a surprise move, Mosiah took all the plates and the glasses and gave them to Alma Junior, telling him not only to keep them safe but to add to them with his own writing then pass the whole batch to the next generation. Alma accepted, though probably had no idea either what he was in for or what would come of it.