The Book of Mormon and the
Dead Sea Scrolls

Stephen D. Ricks is professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages at Brigham Young University and chairman of the FARMS Board of Trustees.

Professor Steven D. Ricks outside Qumran Cave 3.

Consider this tale of two peoples:

The individuals of one group, originally a family,

• left their mother city, Jerusalem, because they believed that it was becoming irredeemably wicked and that it would eventually be destroyed;

• went out into the desert in order to escape its corruption;

• having left the desert, built temples and had priests;

• strictly observed the law of Moses;

• required the complete immersion of those who entered their community;

• looked forward with anxious anticipation to the coming of their Messiah; and

• wrote on metal plates that they hid away in a time of crisis.

The other group also

• left Jerusalem, which they, too, believed had become irretrievably corrupted;

• withdrew into the desert to escape its corruption;

• loved the temple and honored priests as members of their community;

• strictly observed the law of Moses;

• required immersion of those who wished to enter their community;

• looked forward with eager anticipation for the coming of their Messiah(s); and

• wrote on parchment, on papyrus, and in one case on metal plates, which they hid away in a time of crisis.

Which groups fit these descriptions? The group first described was Lehi and his family, who left Jerusalem and escaped into the desert around 600 b.c. because Lehi had been warned by the Lord that Jerusalem would be destroyed (see 1 Nephi 1:4, 13; 3:17; 2 Nephi 1:4). In the New World, the Nephites built temples that formed the center of their communities (see 2 Nephi 5:16; Jacob 1:17; 2:2, 11; Helaman 3:9, 14). They observed the law of Moses (see 2 Nephi 25:24; Jacob 4:5; 7:7; Jarom 1:5, 11; Mosiah 2:3) while looking forward to the coming of their Messiah (see 2 Nephi 25:16, 18; Jarom 1:11). They organized a church (see Mosiah 21:30; 26:17; Helaman 3:24–5) that required baptism of all those wishing to become members (see Mosiah 18:16–7). The Nephites wrote their history on metal plates (see the title page of the Book of Mormon; 1 Nephi 1:17; Mosiah 1:3–4, 6; Omni 1:3–4, 8, 11; Mormon 1:4; 2:18), which the last of the Nephites, Moroni, hid to come forth "in their purity" at a later time (see 1 Nephi 14:26).

Members of the second group included the writers of many of the Dead Sea Scrolls, who also left Jerusalem (probably sometime in the late third or early second century b.c.),1 established a home in the wilderness, loved the temple, honored priests and Levites,2 expected the imminent coming of their Messiah(s),3 and wrote on various materials, including parchment, papyrus, and copper plates, which they buried in haste in a time of danger to the community.4

Introduction | Section 1 | Section 2 | Conclusion and Notes