It is understood that Mormon abridged many plates, including Nephi’s small plates, and added them to his record to make the Book of Mormon. One professor, Jeffery R Chadwick, found an error in Mormon’s heading at the start of 1 Nephi. He says –
“The heading to the book of 1 Nephi contains an error in understanding the events and context of Lehi’s departure into the wilderness. The heading simply states, “He taketh three days’ journey into the wilderness with his family.” This is an incorrect description of Lehi’s travel in 1 Nephi 2:4–6, which notes (1) his departure into the wilderness, (2) his arrival at the Red Sea, and (3) his continued journey of three more days until arrival at the valley of Lemuel, a 250-mile journey that would have taken thirteen days—two weeks minus one Sabbath spent resting. Nephi would surely not have made such a mistake as the “three days’ journey” error if he had written that heading… But Mormon’s “three days’ journey” error is quite forgivable, inasmuch as he was personally unfamiliar with the physical context and details of Lehi’s travel.
This observation is very interesting as it is these small details that continue to add proofs to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Of course, Mormon would not have known the distance Lehi had to travel just to get past the Red sea and camp on the Gulf of Aqaba. How could he? His life and culture was literally thousands of miles away and a thousand years later.
We can now appreciate the distance that Lehi fled and all the subsequent trips their family made back to Jerusalem. In fact, professor Chadwick also hypothesizes that Lehi and his family stayed in the valley of Lemuel for a bit over four months!
This would include two weeks of initial camp setup; two weeks to travel back to Jerusalem to visit Laban; one week to go to the land of inheritance to obtain gold and silver and then return to Jerusalem in the attempt to buy the plates of brass; one week to be robbed by Laban, to be chased into the wilderness, and to return to Jerusalem to finally take the plates; two weeks for the return trip to the Valley of Lemuel; two weeks for Lehi to study the plates of brass; two weeks for a second return to Jerusalem to visit Ishmael; one week to convince and prepare his family to depart Jerusalem; two weeks again to return to the Valley of Lemuel; one week in which Lehi experienced his vision and related it to his family; one week in which Nephi experienced the same vision and taught his brothers; one week to prepare for and perform marriages of Lehi’s sons to Ishmael’s daughters; and one week to break camp and depart the Valley of Lemuel for good.
Whew!! There is a lot going on in those first 16 chapters!! And only 4 months or so to do it! Interestingly enough, the journey into the wilderness takes Lehi and his family 8 years and Nephi only describes it in a small part of chapters 16 and 17. Nephi explains that he desired the room on the plates to talk of Christ and the Abrahamic covenant.
For the fullness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.
1 Nephi 6:4
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4839&context=byusq Article by Jeffery R Chadwick professor at BYU Jerusalem Center
krhofhiens.com 