Because you did not translate according to that which you desired of me, and did commence again to write for my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., even so I would that ye should continue.
Doctrine & Covenants 9:1
I’m coming to understand what happened here and how the process of spiritual learning works. Oliver Cowdery asked for the ability and opportunity to translate and received it. As he started out he prayed fervently for answers—”what should this word be” or “what is the phrase or concept for this character here”—and the Lord gave him answers easily.
Oliver continued praying for guidance and expecting that the Lord would keep answering just as easily as He had at first but the Lord expected Oliver to begin to make some connections himself based on the prior questions and characters. He expected Oliver to begin to see the patterns in the language he was trying to translate and then verify his conclusions with the Lord rather than forever asking “what’s the next word” or “what does this character mean?”
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