Making Prophets

1 Nephi 9:3

Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people.

God could have made the plates and handed them to Nephi, just as He made and handed the Liahona to Lehi. But He knew that Nephi could figure out how to manufacture the plates on his own. 

Further, God could have engraved the writings He wanted on the plates, just as He wrote words of admonition and instruction on the surface of the Liahona. But Nephi needed the intellectual and spiritual exercise of writing the narrative, so that he could remember and process his experiences and learn to receive revelation about what to write. 

In other words, God could have created the Book of Mormon and handed it to us in perfect English, but the making and writing of the book, and the finding and translating of the plates were vital experiences for some of the Lord's greatest prophets to train them and build them into mighty men of faith. God was not just making scriptures; He was making prophets, seers, and revelators.

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