Put simply, it’s a head scratcher—why was that insertion necessary?
It’s also a potential data point for inclusion (or rejection) of the theory that Joseph and Oliver used previously developed texts as sources.
Why is that? I agree that the mention seems clumsy, like the modern author is putting something in that the character wouldn't have said, but why developed source texts?
It doesn’t have to include source texts, but there are things in the book that I don’t believe came from Joseph, particularly the theological bits. I think those were borrowed. A longer term project would be to break the book down chapter by chapter to see if each of those seams can be identified.
This seam in Helaman is exploratory for me—I want to follow where it leads. I see this (from Alma to Helaman 2) as an insertion between two unrelated situations, and then the book seems to return to an explanation at Helaman 12.
I realize this is a huge undertaking but it’s like a puzzle. Sometimes I’ll let it sit for years before finding another piece that fits.
So it’s like having a running hypothesis—I look for things that support or don’t support it.
