pgs. 470 and 471...I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them...

15 And I, *being ^afifteen years of age and being somewhat of a ^bsober mind, therefore I was ^cvisited of the Lord, and ^dtasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.

16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had ^awilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were ^btaken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.

17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to ^apreach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was ^bcursed for their sake.

18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to ^ahide up their ^btreasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again.

19 And it came to pass that there were ^asorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land, even unto the fulfilling of all the words of Abinadi, and also ^bSamuel the Lamanite.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 2

Mormon leads the Nephite armies—Blood and carnage sweep the land—The Nephites lament and mourn with the sorrowing of the damned—Their day of grace is passed—Mormon obtains the plates of Nephi—Wars continue. Between A.D. 327 and 350

1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being ^ayoung, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.

2 Therefore it came to pass that *in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away.

3 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with ^aexceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and they began to retreat towards the ^bnorth countries.

4 And it came to pass that we did come to the city of Angola, and we did take possession of the city, and make preparations to defend ourselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did ^afortify the city with our might; but notwithstanding all our fortifications the Lamanites did come upon us and did drive us out of the city.

5 And they did also drive us forth out of the land of David.

6 And we marched forth and came to the land of Joshua, which was in the borders west by the seashore.

7 And it came to pass that we did gather in our people as fast as it were possible, that we might get them together in ^aone body.

8 But behold, the land was ^afilled with ^brobbers and with Lamanites; and notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people, they did not repent of their evil doings; therefore there was blood and carnage spread throughout all the face of the land, both on the part of the Nephites and also on the part of the Lamanites; and it was one complete revolution throughout all the face of the land.

9 And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was ^aAaron; and he came against us with an army of forty and four thousand. And behold, I withstood him with forty and two thousand. And it came to pass that I beat him with my army that he fled before me. And behold, all this was done, and *three hundred and thirty years had passed away.

10 And it came to pass that the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity, and began to cry even as had been prophesied by Samuel the prophet; for behold no man could ^akeep that which was his own, for the thieves, and the robbers, and the murderers, and the magic art, and the witchcraft which was in the land.

11 Thus there began to be a ^amourning and a lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more especially among the people of Nephi.

12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their ^amourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would ^bagain become a righteous people.

13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their ^asorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the ^bsorrowing of the ^cdamned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take ^dhappiness in sin.

14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken ^ahearts and contrite spirits, but they did ^bcurse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives.

15 And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the ^aday of ^bgrace ^cwas passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open ^drebellion against their God, and heaped up as ^edung upon the face of the land. And thus *three hundred and forty and four years had passed away.

16 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth year the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; and they were pursued until they came even to the land of Jashon, before it was possible to stop them in their retreat.

17 And now, the city of Jashon was near the ^aland where Ammaron had ^bdeposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed. And behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the ^cplates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron.

18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon ^athese plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.

Mormon lived during such a wicked time. It must have been really bad if the Lord wouldn't even let him preach the gospel. It helps me realize that even though our society has it's problems, it could definitely be worse. The influence of Satan is so real and there are so many instances in history when he has prevailed. I feel strongly that he is not prevailing today. He is definitely present and fighting but not prevailing! There are so many good people in the world today both in and out of the church. The power of the Lord is definitely strong on the earth today!