Jesus’s conclusion to this section on the value and importance of the written scriptures is his command to teach the people from the written record. It reemphasizes his earlier instructions about, first, the importance of Isaiah’s prophecies, and second, the need to record his own visitation. That record would be as valuable as Isaiah’s, and both should become teaching documents. Scriptures are valuable according to the truth they contain, not their relative age. Even Samuel’s “new” scriptures were important and must be recorded.
Text: As already noted (see commentary accompanying Alma 8:1), the Book of Mormon’s original chapters, as reflected in 1830 chapter breaks, at times begin with what logically seems to be a conclusion to the preceding chapter. In this case, Mormon placed this verse at the beginning of the following chapter. Because that chapter quotes Malachi 3, Orson Pratt moved this verse to the end of Chapter 23 in 1879 edition in order to preserve the KJV chapter and versification.