Many readers of the Book of Mormon naturally
assume that Joseph Smith translated its books
in the order we find them today, that is,
beginning with First Nephi and ending with Moroni.
Yet research shows this most likely wasn’t the case.
In recent decades,
scholars have come to prefer the conclusion that Joseph and Oliver picked up translating and transcribing
a few pages into the book of Mosiah,
they then worked to the end of Moroni including the Title Page,
and finished by translating the books of First Nephi through Words of Mormon.
This translation sequence is due to the fact that the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon’s translation
which contained a record called
the book of Lehi, were lost by Martin Harris in 1828.
When the translation resumed, Joseph continued from where he had left off in Mosiah,
rather than starting over.
Thankfully the Lord had a plan, more than two millennia in advance to compensate for the lost book of Lehi.
Important ancient documents were often “doubled,”
and backup copies provided a safeguard against  loss or damage.
In keeping with this ancient tradition, the
Lord told Nephi from the beginning,
to keep two sets of records,
a historical and public record on his Large Plates,
and shorter more spiritually focused record on his Small Plates.
The Lord then inspired Mormon to include Nephi’s
small plates with Mormon’s own abridgement.
When it came time to publish the Book of Mormon,
Joseph and Oliver moved the transcription of Nephi’s small plates to the beginning of the text
were it provided an ideal starting point and replacement for the lost book of Lehi.
This unexpected order of translation, commonly
called the “Mosiah-First” sequence,
actually provides many remarkable insights concerning
the translation process itself,
as well as intriguing evidence for the Book of Mormon’s
authenticity.
This is because the books in Mormon’s abridgment
often refer back to the chronologically earlier content
that he knew was found in the book
of Lehi or on the small plates.
For example, in Alma 36, Alma said he thought he saw
Alma directly attributed this quote to Lehi,
and indeed, these very words can be found in the small plates.
On another occasion, Alma referred to the
fruit of the Tree of Life as being.
This is a reference to the fruit in Lehi’s
dream, which he had described as being
Similar references and allusions to Nephi and
Lehi’s visions of the Tree of Life,
as well as to other content from Nephi’s small plates,
can be found scattered throughout Mormon’s abridgment and Moroni’s conclusion.
This situation makes complete sense if the Book of Mormon is truly what it claims to be.
Alma and other later Book of Mormon prophets would have had and known Lehi’s
and Nephi’s earlier writings to refer to and quote from.
Studies suggest that Mormon, who came across Nephi’s small plates early on in the process of his abridgment,
consciously structured
and composed his own record based on their contents.
On the other hand, these references and allusions are hard to explain
if Joseph Smith was simply  making up the Book of Mormon.
This is because, under the theory that Joseph
composed (rather than translated) the text,
he would have needed to make many detailed references back to passages he hadn’t even  created yet.
Not only that, but he would have had to create
and then remember all these references
in a fast-paced translation setting, without
any notes or reference materials to aid his memory.
And then, he would have needed, in composing
the Small Plates last,
to remember to accurately create the earlier layers of texts
that later prophets had already referred and alluded to.
These findings show that as readers carefully
and thoughtfully study the Book of Mormon,
they might discover new textual connections
and sometimes previously unnoticed and even unexpected evidence
that enriches and supports their faith.
