Book of Mormon Central published KnoWhy #498 today and it is phenomenal. Entitled "How Does Prophecy Shape the Book of Mormon's Content and Structure?" this outstanding essay written by Ryan Dahle of Salmon, ID details 124 prophecies in the text whose fulfillment is explicitly recorded elsewhere in the Nephite record.
For instance, 1 Nephi 1:4 records a prophecy that Jerusalem will be destroyed and this prophecy gets repeated five additional times in the text. The first report of fulfillment came soon after the prophecy itself. Once his family was in the New World, Lehi announced that he had seen the destruction of Jerusalem in vision 2 Nephi 1:4 although some among the patriarch's posterity were inclined to disbelieve him 2 Nephi 4:13.
Nephi, through prophetic vision, also came to understand that Jerusalem had been destroyed and many of the Jews had been taken captive into Babylon 2 Nephi 25:10. He knew that not all of his family believed him 2 Nephi 32:7.
Undeniable proof that Jerusalem had been destroyed came when Mosiah I came down to Zarahemla from the city of Nephi and discovered the Mulekites ca. 200 BC Omni 1:15. Nephi II made this proof explicit when he called the people of Zarahemla to repentance from his garden tower Helaman 8:21.
As he compiled his book, Mormon made it abundantly clear that prophecies get fulfilled. We can trust inspired prophets. God keeps His promises. It is clear to most readers that the Book of Mormon places high value on prophetic content. When we discussed a potential KnoWhy on internal prophecies, I thought we might find 25 or 30 instances of prophecies fulfilled later in the text. Ryan found 124 examples and there are undoubtedly more. We have been reading it carefully for years and the Book of Mormon continues to surprise, excite, and impress us.
