The Book of Mormon contains 239 chapters, divided into 15 books. Interpretations of its length vary: Mark Twain joked that it put him to sleep, while Brigham Young wished he had “the voice of seven thunders to wake up the people” to its importance. In modern times, scholars like Dan Vogel criticize its long-winded repetitiveness, while Grant Hardy praises its unexpected sophistication. This article presents key statistics about the Book of Mormon’s structure, reading difficulty, listening time, and other relevant details.
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Chapter Count by Book
This table shows the number of chapters in each of the 15 books within the Book of Mormon. There are 239 total chapters.
Was the Book of Mormon Always Divided into Chapters?
Yes, but the chapter divisions and verse breakdowns haven’t always been identical. For example, Lehi’s dream was not clearly separated into its own chapter in 1830, but today it appears in 1 Nephi 8.
???? Learn more: A Church History Topics essay provides an overview of changes to the Book of Mormon.
How Were the Book of Mormon’s Verse Divisions Created?
The original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon contained chapters but no modern verse divisions. Today’s structure, with over 6,600 verses, was introduced by Orson Pratt in 1879, modeled loosely after the style of the King James Version of the Bible.
Which Book Has the Most Chapters?
The book of Alma has the most chapters—63 in total—and spans 1,975 verses. It traces the rise of Alma the Younger and the fallout of earlier figures like King Noah, whose reign set key events into motion. After King Noah’s wickedness leads to societal collapse, Alma the Elder organizes a church in secret—laying the foundation for much of the later narrative.
The book also devotes significant space to military conflicts, including the famous “war chapters” that chronicle Captain Moroni’s defense of Nephite freedom.
What Are the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon?
The “war chapters” in the Book of Alma (Alma 43–62) describe battles between the Nephites and Lamanites, highlighting notable leaders such as Captain Moroni, Helaman, and the Stripling Warriors. Latter-day Saints often use the term to describe these chapters because they focus heavily on military conflict, strategy, and leadership.
Although sometimes skimmed, the war chapters offer valuable insights into covenant loyalty, faith under pressure, and the cost of lasting peace.
Related Questions About the Book of Mormon
How Many Verses Are in the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon contains 6,604 verses in its current edition. The longest chapter by verse count is Jacob 5, which tells the Allegory of the Olive Tree across 77 verses—meaning this single chapter accounts for about 1.17% of total verses.
How Many Words Are in the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon contains about 270,000 words, depending on the edition and formatting. That’s about twice as long as A Tale of Two Cities and half as short as War and Peace.
Which Book of Mormon Book Is the Longest?
Alma is the longest book, with 63 chapters. Second place goes to 2 Nephi (33 chapters), while 3 Nephi rounds out the Top Three (30 chapters).
What Is the Shortest Book?
Jarom is the shortest book in the Book of Mormon, while several books have just one chapter:
- Enos: Most of the book’s 27 verses describe a series of prayers.
- Jarom: The Book of Mormon’s shortest book highlights the spiritual struggles of the Nephites across 15 verses.
- Omni: A rapid succession of writers summarizes centuries of history in 30 verses.
- Words of Mormon: Mormon bridges his earlier records with the larger abridgment in this short 18-verse interlude.
- 4 Nephi: Three centuries of peace and decline after the appearance of the resurrected Jesus Christ in the Americas takes place in 49 verses.
????Fun Fact. Maxwell Institute scholar Sharon Harris referred to Enos, Jarom, and Omni as the “itty bitty books” of the Book of Mormon.
How Many Names Are in the Book of Mormon?
There are more than 300 unique proper names in the Book of Mormon. That includes approximately 188 names not found in the Bible, including:
How Many Pages Are in the Book of Mormon?
There are 531 pages in the 2013 edition of The Book of Mormon. Large print or study edition page counts vary, and the original 1830 edition had 588 pages.
How Many Books Are in the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon is divided into 15 distinct books, each attributed to a prophet, historian, or record keeper.
List of Books in the Book of Mormon in Order
- 1 Nephi
- 2 Nephi
- Jacob
- Enos
- Jarom
- Omni
- Words of Mormon
- Mosiah
- Alma
- Helaman
- 3 Nephi
- 4 Nephi
- Mormon
- Ether
- Moroni
Together, these 15 books cover nearly 1,000 years of religious history, from the time of Lehi’s departure from Jerusalem in approximately 600 BCE to Moroni’s final writings around AD 421.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Book of Mormon
What Did Mark Twain Say About the Book of Mormon?
He called it “chloroform in print” when describing his visit to Salt Lake City in an 1872 book entitled Roughing It.
????Fun Fact. Roughing It also includes an account of Mark Twain’s meeting with Brigham Young, as well as Twain’s fascination with polygamy in pioneer Utah.
What Grade Level Is the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon has an average 11th-grade reading level, while portions vary by difficulty. Narrative sections tend to be easier, while doctrinal sermons (such as those in 2 Nephi or Alma) can be more complex due to their sentence structure and biblical phrasing.
Other books with a similar 11th-grade level include:
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
How Many Words Did Joseph Smith Produce Per Day?
John W. Welch estimates that Joseph Smith translated an average of 4,700 words per day during the 87-day translation of the Book of Mormon.
How Many Pages of the Book of Mormon Were Lost?
Martin Harris lost 116 pages during the early translation process—now known as the lost manuscript. These pages reportedly covered the Book of Lehi, and Joseph Smith was instructed not to retranslate them (see D&C 10).
????Fun Fact. Those ‘116 pages’? Likely more myth than math! Historian Don Bradley notes the number probably echoed the replacement manuscript’s length—a handy coincidence, not a modern page count of the (perhaps much longer) original.
How Long Does It Take to Listen to the Book of Mormon?
It takes about 25 hours to listen to the entire Book of Mormon. The exact time depends on your listening speed and recording version, though. For example, you can shave off 12 hours at 2x speed—or blow through the whole thing faster than a Ted Lasso episode if you crank it to 50x.
How Many Times Is Jesus Mentioned in the Book of Mormon?
Jesus Christ is mentioned nearly 4,000 times in the Book of Mormon. Ancient prophets used over 100 different names and titles for Jesus, who is mentioned every 1.7 verses.
Some Book of Mormon titles for Jesus Christ include:
- Beloved Son
- Christ the Lord
- Good Shepherd
- Holy One of Israel
- King of Heaven
- Lamb of God
- Mighty One of Jacob
What Is the Longest Word in the Book of Mormon?
The longest common word in the Book of Mormon is righteousness, spanning 13 letters. It appears frequently throughout the text, reflecting one of the book’s central themes.
????Fun Fact. This doesn’t include Maher-shalal-hash-baz, an 18-letter name found in the King James Bible that also appears in the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi.
What Is the Shortest Word in the Book of Mormon?
The shortest word in the Book of Mormon is the pronoun “I,” which appears throughout the text. Common two-letter words like “he,” “me,” “it,” and “in” also occur frequently.
What Is the Longest Sentence in the Book of Mormon?
The longest sentence in the Book of Mormon spans seven verses in 3 Nephi 21:1–7. It begins with Jesus Christ prophesying about the future gathering of Israel and continues uninterrupted for more than 400 words.
How Long Was the Original Manuscript?
The original Book of Mormon manuscript was about 500 handwritten pages long. Joseph Smith dictated most of the text between April and June 1829, working rapidly with the help of scribes like Oliver Cowdery.
???? Fun Fact: Only about 28% of the original manuscript survives today—and much of it is housed in the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.
How Many Scribes Wrote the Book of Mormon?
Five people helped Joseph Smith record the Book of Mormon. The major scribes were Emma Smith, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery, with additional help from Samuel Smith and John Whitmer. Emma and Martin assisted early on, including work on the now-lost 116 pages, while Oliver Cowdery served as the primary scribe for the surviving text.
???? Fun Fact: Oliver Cowdery alone recorded more than 85% of the Book of Mormon’s surviving words.
What Percentage of the Book of Mormon Is Copied From the Bible?
Roughly 20–25% of the Book of Mormon closely parallels biblical language, particularly from the King James Bible, with most quotations drawn from Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets.
Curiously, at least one phrase—the “ships of Tarshish” passage (2 Nephi 12:16)—matches the Masoretic Text, hinting at a more complex relationship between the Book of Mormon and biblical sources.
How Many Isaiah Chapters Are There?
The Book of Mormon includes substantial portions of the Book of Isaiah, particularly in 2 Nephi. About 21 chapters from Isaiah appear either quoted or paraphrased, making Isaiah one of the most cited prophets in the Book of Mormon.
????Fun Fact. The Isaiah chapters have jokingly been referred to as the “sealed portion” because some Latter-day Saints tend to skip them.
How Many Times Does the Book of Mormon Say “Remember”?
The word “remember” appears approximately 220 times in the Book of Mormon. It’s a key theme connected to faithfulness, covenant-keeping, and identity, appearing most often in the Book of Helaman.
6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.
One verse (Helaman 5:6) includes many Book of Mormon uses of the word “remember.”
What Is the Longest Scripture in the Book of Mormon?
The longest verse in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 2:41, which contains 77 words depicting King Benjamin emphasizing blessings promised to those who keep the commandments of God. Other notably long verses include 2 Nephi 9:18 (62 words) and Alma 5:15 (54 words).
What Is the Shortest Scripture in the Book of Mormon?
The shortest verse in the Book of Mormon is 1 Nephi 2:15, which states, “And my father dwelt in a tent.”
That’s three times longer than “Jesus wept” (John 11:35)—but still a haiku compared to your average Charles Dickens sentence.
How Many Times Does the Book of Mormon Say “Repent”?
“Repent” appears over 100 times in the Book of Mormon, particularly during the chief judge era and the war chapters, when prophets urged the Nephites to turn away from pride and conflict.
Here are a few verses that emphasize the Book of Mormon’s call to repentance:
- Alma 13:13 – “Humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance.”
- Alma 42:4 – “There was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.”
- Helaman 7:17 – “O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die?”
How Much Does a Book of Mormon Cost?
A paperback version usually costs around $2 on Amazon, while hardcover study editions—like Oxford’s Annotated Book of Mormon—can cost $40 or more. Or, if you happen to meet a pair of Latter-day Saint missionaries, you might find one offered to you free of charge.
What Is the Halfway Point in the Book of Mormon?
The halfway point of the Book of Mormon falls roughly around Alma 30. While exact halfway calculations vary depending on whether you measure by chapters, verses, or words, Alma’s transition from missionary journeys to the war chapters often marks a natural midpoint in the book’s structure.
How Many Chapters Are in the Bible Vs. Book of Mormon?
The Bible has 1,189 chapters across its 66 books, while the Book of Mormon contains 239 chapters spread over 15 books. Although the Bible covers a broader historical span and includes multiple literary genres, both scriptures are structured in a way that allows readers to study them chapter by chapter.
The following table compares the number of books and chapters between the two volumes.
Comparison of Bible and Book of Mormon Chapters and Books
| Text | Chs. | Vv. | Word Count |
| Old Test. | 929 | 23,145 | ~610k |
| New Test. | 260 | 7,957 | ~180k |
| Book of Mormon | 239 | 6,604 | ~270k |
How Many Times Does the Book of Mormon Musical Use the F-Bomb?
The Broadway play deploys the colorful four-letter word at least 40 times. That’s substantially more than the average musical, but only half of what’s found in Jerry Springer: The Opera (about 96 f-bombs).
????Fun Fact. There aren’t any f-bombs in the actual Book of Mormon. However, there are 11 uses of the word “damn,” 61 instances of “hell,” and over 9,000 f-words of a friendlier variety, including faith, forgiveness, and family.
Did You Enjoy This?
Further Reading
- The Book of Mormon: Scholarly and Devotional Insights
- Do Book of Mormon Names Have Ancient Origins?
- What Are the “I AM” Statements of Jesus in the Book of Mormon?
- Could Brandon Sanderson Have Saved the Nephites?
- What’s Next for Book of Mormon Studies?
- How Did the Twelve Apostles Die?
Chapters in the Book of Mormon Resources
- Corresponding Chapters in Editions of the Book of Mormon (Joseph Smith Papers)
- Some Textual Changes for a Scholarly Study of the Book of Mormon (BYU Studies)
- Is 500 Pages Too Much? (Wayfare)
- Curiously Unique: Joseph Smith as Author of the Book of Mormon (Interpreter Foundation)
- Chloroform in Print: Does the Book of Mormon Get a Bad Rap? (Slate)
2 replies on “How Many Chapters Are in the Book of Mormon?”
That was a fun read. Thanks!
That’s some helpful information. Thanks for putting this together. Jesus Christ being mentioned 4000 times. Wow!