Omni (Book of Mormon record keeper)
According to the Book of Mormon, Omni (/ˈɒmnaɪ/)[1] is the first writer of several authors of the Book of Omni, and the son of Jarom. It is believed that he was born in 390 BC. Omni wrote the first three verses of the Book of Omni before passing the responsibility of keeping the Book of Mormon record to his son, Amaron. His writings are shown below:
- Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon these plates, to preserve our genealogy—
- Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.
- And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had passed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty and two years had passed away, and I had kept these plates according to the commandments of my fathers; and I conferred them upon my son Amaron. And I make an end.[2]
Possible origin of the name
Hugh Nibley relates the name to the Egyptian deity Amon,[3] and states:
- "[His] name is very obvious. It means 'belonging to Amon'. Remember Amon is the name in the Book of Mormon. There are more Ammon names and Amon compounds than anything else, because actually in the time of Lehi, Amon was the god of the empire. It was the one time when God filled the Earth. Amon filled the Earth with the Egyptian Empire. They claimed everything, but always in the name of Amon.... [Amon] means 'the one who is not known, the secret one whom we can't name, whose name is not known to us.' but Omni means 'he who belongs to Amon.'"
This element can be found in the name of the 7th century Jewish king Amon.
Omni is also similar to the Biblical name "Omri" (Hebrew: עמרי); fl. 9th century BC) who was the sixth king of Israel.
References
- churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from «äm´nī»
- Omni 1:1-3
- Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1 (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO
| Preceded by Jarom |
Nephite record keeper of the small plates Sometime before 323 B.C. - 317 B.C. |
Succeeded by Amaron |
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