September 7, 2025 •

Unique Phrases

This article collects some unique nonbiblcal phrases that are used in the Book of Mormon, that seem unique to Mormonism, but actually predate JS Jr.'s publication of the book.

Tabernacles of Clay

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 3:5:

... the Lord Omnipotent ... shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay

Moroni 9:6:

... we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

The seemingly uniquely-Mormon phrase “tabernacles of clay” (above) is a strange beast. The three-word phrase is not found in the King James Version (KJV) of the English translation of the Bible. The phrase mixes the Old Testament concept of the “tabernacle” (the Jewish predecessor to the temple of Solomon which the children of Israel carried with them in the wilderness to worship the Lord) and especially Paul's reference to the mortal body as “our earthly house of this tabernacle” in 2 Cor. 5:1—with Old and New Testament phraseology about people metaphorically being or dwelling in earthen vessels, jars of clay, potter's vessels, etc. to express metaphorically that the human spirit dwells in a very temporary and flawed and breakable, mortal house of clay, especially in comparison to The Maker, The Potter, e.g. God. (This “tabernacle = temple” concept also reminds us also of the phrase “the body is a temple.”)

2 Cor. 5:1:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Old Testament

Jeremiah 18:4:

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Isa. 45:9:

Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it (other translations, say to the potter), What makest thou? or thy work (say to the potter, e.g. God), He hath no hands?

Job 4:19:

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

Job 13:12:

Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.

New Testament

Romans 9:21 (reference Isa. above):

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

2 Corinthians 4:7–11:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels (also alternately translated jars of clay), ... Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

2 Cor. 5:1 (again):

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

1 Thess. 4:4:

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel (translated body in NIV, ESV, etc.) in sanctification and honour.

2 Timothy 2:20:

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

Rev. 2:27

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers (dashed to pieces like a potter's vessels, NKJV).

18th- & 19th-Century Preachers

The exact phrase, rendered into English in those three words, can be found in various sermons from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, showing that the phrase was in the religious zeitgeist at and around the time of the publication of the Book of Mormon:

The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature, Tobias Smollett, 1763, p.427:

Relate their peculiar gifts and graces, while dwelling in tabernacles of clay, they passed their mortal pilgrimage, in sacred love and pious ardour; imitating the bright example of their Saviour.

The Whole Works of the Late Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Erskine, 1798, p. 347:

Sirs, think upon it now; no sooner hath death dislodged you from these tabernacles of clay, and the eyes of your bodies shut, but that very moment you will find your souls sifted (“fifted” using obsolete typeset long s) before the awful tribunal of an infinite God, in order to have your eternal state determined.

The Whole Works of the Rev. William Bates, Vol 2, 1815, p. 297:

It is promised, “that God will dwell in us, and walk in us;” whose gracious presence is heaven upon earth. Strange condescension! that the God of glory should dwell in tabernacles of clay; far greater than if a king should dwell in a cottage with one of his poort subjects.

Joseph Hall, 1837, p.78, referencing 2 Cor. 5:1:

Let it not overgrieve us, to leave these tabernacles of stone, since we must shortly lay down these tabernacles of clay, and enter into tabernacles not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Till then, farewell, my Dear Brethren, farewell in the Lord.

This should suffice to begin a reasonable discussion on the origin of this unique phrase in Joseph Smith's earliest scriptural production, in Mosiah 3:5 and Moroni 9:6, mentioned at the top.

Beggars Before God

Another concept from King Benjamin's address, Beggars Before God (Mosiah 4:16–26), also has precedent in a sermon of Dr. Hugh Latimer, 1824, p.72:

And here we be admonished of our estate and condition, what we be, namely beggars. For we ask bread [when we pray]; of whom? Marry, of God. What are we then? Marry, beggars: the greatest lords and ladies in England [presumably up through King George IV, as also King Benjamin] are but beggars afore God. Seeing then that we all are but beggars, why should we then disdain and despise poor men? Let us therefore consider that we [are] but beggars: let us pull down our stomachs; for if we consider the matter well, we are like as they be afore [sic] God: for St. Paul saith, Quid habes quod non accepisti? “What has thou that thou hast not received of God?” (1 Cor. 4.) Thou are but a beggar whatsoever thou art: and though there be some very rich, and have great abundance, of whom have they it? of God. What saith he, that rich man? He saith, “Our Father, which art in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread:” then he is a beggar afore God, as well as the poorest man.

I found this sermon with a less than a minute of using Google Book search. I'm sure more extensive research has been done on King Benjamin's revival sermon, but it doesn't really matter. With a total of perhaps 15 minutes of poking around, I found plausible sources for supposedly unique phrases and ideas in King Benjamin's sermon. I don't care if we can prove that Joseph had access to this sermon between 1824 and 1829 when he dictated it back to his scribes, we have stacks of other verified books and sermons and arguments from the early 19th century (and earlier) bursting through the seams of the Book of Mormon. Even if there is no discoverable direct link from this sermon to JS Jr. in upstate NY, if we accept the faithful perspective, we are asked to believe that God saw it fit to canonize the work of a Protestant preacher from the 1820s by sending this sermon back in time to King Benjamin, so ancient prophets could engrave it on metal plates multiple times, for centuries, abridge it, carry it thousands(?) of miles, bury it, come back from the dead, all to bring it back to the 19th century from whence it came. Who needs Ockham's razor when you have time travel?

This is not to criticize the content of the sermon in Mosiah 4. These verses are some of the most Christian and charitable verses in all of the scriptures of any religion. It should be required reading for the leaders of all Churches. It should be canonized. However, it should also be credited to the source.

Succor them that perish, that thyself perish not

I read the ending of Mosiah 4 and thought, the phrase “perish not” from John 11:50 seems unique enough for Benjamin to quote, worded “Remember, and perish not,” that I also decided to search for it, and found this mid-17th century gem (1651, written in nearly unreadable blackface), quoting the ancient Roman Seneca, headinged Precepts and Counsels:

Give no vain and unmeet gifts, as armor to women, books to fools, or nets to a student.
Give to the needy pearls that thou need not thyself.
Succor them that perish, yet so that thou thyself perish not thereby [(Mosiah 4:16 uses the word succor twice in the same context, Mosiah 4:30 says “remember and perish not”)].
If thou bestowest a beneft keep it secret, but if thou receivest any publish it abroad.
Speak not to him that will not hear, for so thou shalt vex him.
Give at the first asking, for it is not freely given, that is often craved.
Boast not thyself of that which is another man's.
Blame not nature, for she doeth for every man alike.
If thou wilt praise any man because he is a gentleman, praise his parents also; if thou praise him for his riches, that appertaineth to fortune, if for his strength, remember that sickness will make him weak; if for swiftness of foot, remember that age will take it away; if for his beauty, it will soon vanish. But if thou wilt praise him for manners and learning, then praise thou him as much as appertaineth to man, for that is his own, which neither cometh by heritage, nor altereth with fortune or age, but is always one.

Unholy Temples

The non-biblical phrase is used twice in the Book of Mormon (Alma 7:21, Helaman 4:24), and more often in JS Jr.'s later revelations, and throughout later Mormon discourse. However the phrase does predate the Book of Mormon, showing that it was used out in the broader world of Christian thought:

Henry Lee, The Scripture, Doctrine of the Atonement, 1752, p. 223:

But, otherwise, what would Christ, as an example only, avail us? He had the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him: but does he dwell in sinners out of Christ? if he does, you must have more gods than one to suit your shceme; and you must say, they dwell in unholy temples of flesh, unless then you own our union with Christ; that he dwelleth in us, and we in him; (for being many we are one body in Christ) are also the temple of God, 1 Cor. 3:16,17,19, 2 Cor. 6:16.

Charles Lucas, in Joseph a Religious Poem, 1810, Book 24, p. 331:

Unknown of men, God sees and knows and [sic]
And are there no good Kings? Yes, there are they,
Who grind to dust the Serpent, spurn the Calves,
Destory the Groves of sin, throw down the Altars,
Scatter the Idols, slay the Worshippers,
And crush the unholy Temples to the ground,
So that no more the abominations rise.

Sing Redeeming Love

In Alma 5:9, Alma 5:26, Alma 26:13, another non-biblical phrase, refers to a hymn, “Lord's Day Morning” from 1816, 1821, 1826:

All hail, auspicious Morn, On which the Saviour rose;
Victorious over sin and death, And all our hellish foes.
The triumphs of this day, Demand a cheerful song;
Vast as the sacred name we sing, From all the ransom'd throng.
Then let my soul arise,
Nor longer sluggish lie,
Loud hallelujahs shall ascend, And reach the lofty skies.
Adieu, ye joys of sense, Be banish'd from my mind ;
This soul would find no room for you, Her joy is more refin'd.
My ransom'd soul would sit, And sing redeeming love;
Till Death should terminate my song, And she ascend above,
To see her risen Lord, In all his glory shine;
Mix with the millions round the throne, And join the theme divine.
Nor Sin, nor Death, nor Hell,
Nor grief, nor fear, nor pains,
Shall e'er molest that happy place,
There Christ triumphant reigns.

Land Bountiful

A Bountiful land amidst a sea of Arabian desert, with fruits, along a religious pilgrimage route

“Bountiful” is used as a place name in the Book of Mormon (and adopted later for the same purpose in Colorado and Utah), the term appears twice in the Old Testament—Proverbs 22:9: “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.” Isa. 32:5: “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.”

The term is also used in Christian hymns from the 1820s: “Thou bountiful giver of mercy and grace,” (1822) and “Thou bountiful giver of glory and grace,” (1826) or “Which they hand hath conducted me through; What blessings bestow'd by a bountiful God.” (1823) etc.

The use of Bountiful as a proper name in English apparently dates to 1707 in the comedy The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar (Lady Bountiful, Sir Charles Bountiful). This use of Lady Bountiful as a rich and generous woman entered the English lexicon.

As I kept searching for the phrase “bountiful land” in English literature throught 1828, I was trying to find Christian contexts (hymns, sermons), so I was ignoring the results that only referenced places in Arabia, before I realized that this is exactly how it is used in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 17): to refer to the place on the Arabic peninsula where they arrived, after a long journey across a harsh desert wilderness, before they crossed the Indian and Pacific oceans(!), in 600 BCE, aboard a ship made by amateurs, to the New World. Specifically, Arabia, by Josiah Conder, 1825, p. 289 states:

The whole of this tract is a real desert, containing no river, and only a few inconsiderable springs, no arable land, and scarcely a garden throughout the territory. Mekka and Djidda are the only towns: the other inhabited spots are little else than miserable villages, composed of barracks and tents established near a well or spring. Medinah and Tayif are represented as situated “on a bountiful land, with plenty of water, and covered with gardens and plantations.”

The asterisk here quotes Conder's own reference (Niebuhr):

Tayif, Niebuhr says, “is situate[d] upon a lofty mountain, in so agreeable a country, that the Arabs compare its environs to those of Damascus and Sanaa. This city supplies Djidda and Mekka with excellent fruits, particularly raisins, and carries on a considerable trade in almonds, which grow in great plenty in its territory.” He was told, also, of “a charming valley,” called Wady Fatima, somewhere between Mekka and Medinah, which Mohammed is said to have bestowed as a dowry on his daughter Fatima. It occurs in the western hadji route [(the hadj is one of the pillars of Islam, a pilgimage to the Holy Mecca)], one day's journey from Mekka.

Note that in this part of the Book of Mormon, the land Bountiful is a sort of desert oasis waypoint that also occurs along the route of a religious pilgrimage.

Any one of these points of connection could be dismissed as a coincidence, but to find four in the space of a single page of a book available in English in 1826 really marks this as a potential bullseye.

Every time I think, OK, this one weird angular phrase might be unique to the Book of Mormon, it keeps turning on its head and revealing that any imposter (not JS Jr.) could have written a so-called ancient narrative and included this detail by simply reading material available in their own time, without the need for revelation or ancient records. Luckily no one else attempted to do such a dishonest thing.

Book of Mormon names and places from an antiquities dictionary

Specifically Charles Anthon's A Classical Dictionary, sixth edition 1827. Yes that Charles Anthon (cf. early D&C section and 2 Nephi 27: I cannot read it (a sealed book)).

Helorum

A silver bullet, bullseye, right on target. Anthon 1827, p.334, a town of Sicily.

Moron

From Ancient Greek μωρόν. Attested in 18th and 19th century works:

1823, a Spanish place name (also listed in 1815 as a town of Seville hit by the Pestilential Fever)
Also, the character Moron in Moliere's play “The Princess of Elis,” one English translation dates to 1748.

Martin Luther, 1537: Melchizedek a High Priest like unto Jesus Christ

The direct references to Melchizedek in the Bible are fairly slim.

Gen 14:18–19:

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Psalm 110:4:

The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

In the New Testament, Melchizedek is not mentioned directly, but Hebrews 2:17–3:2 interprets the idea of Christ being a High Priest thus:

Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

Martin Luther and later preachers explained to the Protestant Christian world for hundreds of years this idea that Melchizedek was an archetype of Jesus. For example, 1788, translated from Martin Luther (1483–1546) into Dutch, Lutheran Small Catechism translated from German by J. A. Cramer (3rd edition), p.204–205:

Jezus Christus wordt in de Schrift een Hoogepriester genoemd, en wel miet alleen als Aäron, maar ook als Melchizedek, welke zyne voorbeelden waren. Hy was een Hoogepriester, ais Aäron, dewyl hy de menfchen aangaande Gods wil onderricht, hen met zyn lyden, als de eenige waare offerande voor de zonde, van alle de ellende derzelve verlost beeft, en voor hen bidt, gelyk als Aäron en zyne navolgers in het Toodfche Hoogepriester om de Jooden van Gods wille moesten onderrichten, voor hen offeren, en voor hen bidden. Hy was een Hoogepriester, als Melchizedek, dewyl hy ook een Heer aller menfchen is, en zich van zyne magt en heerfchappye bedient, om hen zalig te maaken, gelyk als Melchizedek, die een Koning te Salem was, den geloovigen Abraham zegende, zynen onderdaanen den vrede bezorgde en hen gelukkig maakte. Wegens alle deeze werken wordt onze Heiland ook de Middelaar tusfchen God en de menfchen genoemd.

Google Translate, into English:

Jesus Christ is called a High Priest in Scripture, not only as Aaron, but also as Melchizedek, who were his examples. He was a High Priest, like Aaron, because he taught people about God's will, redeemed them from all its misery by his suffering, as the only true sacrifice for sin, and interceded for them, just as Aaron and his followers in the Holy High Priesthood were required to teach the Jews about God's will, sacrifice for them, and pray for them. He was a High Priest, like Melchizedek, because he is also Lord of all people, and uses his power and dominion to save them, just as Melchizedek, who was King in Salem, blessed faithful Abraham, brought peace to his subjects, and made them happy. Because of all these works, our Savior is also called the Mediator between God and mankind.

From 1537, The 110th Pslam: Saith the Lord. Preached and Expounded through Dr. Martin Luther, p.228–231. (Google Translate, cleaned up and bold emphasis added):

Now this Story has carefully examined the Epistle to the Hebrews and interpreted from it this text (You are a priest after the way of Melchizedek) and shown the difference between the priesthood of the New Testament and the Old Testament and concluded that this priesthood of Christ (which was formed through Melchizedek) must be much higher and better than the Levite. Firstly, because this priest Melchizedek blesses the patriarch Abraham and takes tithes from him. For since he is thus blessed, he is lesser and less than he who blesses, and not the greater to the lesser, but the one who gives tithes to the greater, must therefore be greater and greater than Abraham. But if he [(Melchizedek)] is greater than Abraham, he must also be greater before Aaron. Abraham is indeed the highest man among all those the Jews can praise. As the deity and source or stem and root of the entire people, and indeed greater than Levi and Aaron, who were born of his blood and flesh. Therefore, all who can come from him (including Levi with his priesthood) must be under this Melchizedek who blesses their patriarch and priest and takes the tithes from him. Yes, they themselves are forsaken in Abraham (says the same epistle) when they were still in his loins and not born.

Secondly, the same epistle also noted that this priest, Melchizedek, is remembered so: briefly, and nothing is said about him, where he came from or where he stayed, but neither the beginning nor the end of his lineage is reported. Yet everything about Aaron is written clearly, and his entire lineage from Abraham is clearly distinguished, including how he was called to the priesthood and, indeed, how he died, and [from whom] he inherited the priesthood. This holy prophet also considered this and added the word (Eternal Priest) to it. That, just as one finds this Melchizedek no father and mother, beginning and end, it is not that he had no father and mother, but that nothing is written about it. Therefore, Christ (who was formed through him) is truly a such a priest, who has neither a beginning nor an end, but is from eternity and remains forever.

If the Jews had opened their eyes and read the Scriptures properly, they would have realized that their priesthood, the Levite one, and the Aaronic one, which came after, would not be the true permanent priesthood, but [they] would wait for another priest and priesthood, which would be higher and better than the temporal kingdom and priesthood that all their forefathers had been. For with this (which he calls Christ, a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek) he lifts up all of them and casts them under the feet. The Word (a priest after the order of Melchizedek) which was swept through Abraham, sets it (as said) over Abraham and all his people, also over King David. But the Word, forever, does not raise him as only over Abraham and David, but over all kings and kingdoms, yes, over Israel and earth. For it shows and proves that he must not only be a true man (which the word, priest, brings with it), but must also be a true God, because he is without beginning and end and existed before both Abraham and David. As he which he also named his father above, before he was ordained.

Now this is said of the person of this priest [(Melchizedek)]: that he is a different man than Aaron, Abraham, and the entire Jewish people. But we must also consider the difference in office between Aaron's and Christ's Priesthood. This is also shown by the words (according to the way Melchizedek, that is, also as it is written and read by Melchizedek) For thus it is written there (as said in) Genesis 14, when Abraham came from the slaughter which he had won from the five kings, this Melchizedek brought bread and wine before him, and as he was a priest of God, he swept Abraham with a beautiful, glorious blessing.

To summarize the point here, as Wikipedia explain about Melchizedek in Protestanism: “Traditional Protestant Christian denominations, following Luther [(who died in 1546)], teach that Melchizedek was a historical figure and an archetype of Christ. Tremper Longman III notes that a popular understanding of the relationship between Melchizedek and Jesus is that Melchizedek is an Old Testament Christophany – in other words, that Melchizedek is Jesus, or at the very least, is a close resemblance of Jesus.” Martin Luthers's interpretation for essentially all of Protestantism is not something that developed after Christians read the Book of Mormon, rather it predates the Book of Mormon intrepretation by nearly 300 years. Though grabbing a few quotes in German (1537) and Dutch (1788) does not show exactly how the idea made its way from 16th century European German to early 19th century English (1826), the point is that the idea is old (but newer and more fleshed out than in the New Testament, and well over a thousand years after Moroni buried the plates) and not original to JS Jr., and did not need to be delivered by revelation because it was already widely circulated in print for three hundred years.