pgs. 480 and 481...the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 7

Mormon invites the Lamanites of the latter days to believe in Christ, accept his gospel, and be saved—All who believe the Bible will also believe the Book of Mormon. About A.D. 385

1 And now, behold, I would speak somewhat unto the ^aremnant of this people who are spared, if it so be that God may give unto them my words, that they may know of the things of their fathers; yea, I speak unto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel; and these are the words which I speak:

2 Know ye that ye are of the ^ahouse of Israel.

3 Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved.

4 Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall ^acommand you.

5 Know ye that ye must come to the ^aknowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and ^bbelieve in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the ^cvictory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.

6 And he bringeth to pass the ^aresurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his ^bjudgment-seat.

7 And he hath brought to pass the ^aredemption of the ^bworld, whereby he that is found ^cguiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to ^ddwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the ^echoirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are ^fone God, in a state of ^ghappiness which hath no end.

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the ^agospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles ^bfrom the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles ^cunto you.

9 For behold, ^athis is ^bwritten for the intent that ye may ^cbelieve that; and if ^dye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

10 And ye will also know that ye are a ^aremnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first ^bwith water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the ^cexample of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 8

The Lamanites seek out and destroy the Nephites—The Book of Mormon shall come forth by the power of God—Woes pronounced upon those who breathe out wrath and strife against the work of the Lord—The Nephite record shall come forth in a day of wickedness, degeneracy, and apostasy. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 Behold I, ^aMoroni, do finish the ^brecord of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.

2 And now it came to pass that after the ^agreat and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the ^bLamanites, until they were all destroyed.

3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even ^aremain ^balone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.

4 Therefore I will write and ^ahide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.

5 Behold, my father hath made ^athis record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the ^bplates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and ^chow long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.

6 Behold, ^a*four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior.

7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their ^afall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.

8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at ^awar one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.

9 And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none save it be the Lamanites and ^arobbers that do exist upon the face of the land.

10 And there are none that do know the true God save it be the ^adisciples of Jesus, who did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would not suffer them to ^bremain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land no man knoweth.

11 But behold, my ^afather and I have seen ^bthem, and they have ministered unto us.

12 And whoso receiveth ^athis record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of ^bgreater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.

It is so sad to read about Mormon being murdered by the Lamanites and his son Moroni's endeavors to carry on his duty regarding the plates. It is clear that Moroni felt so alone and thought he might die at any time. We know from the end of the Book of Moroni that he actually lived about 21 more years. It must have been so hard to hide from the Lamanites and keep the plates safe. We are all indebted to him for his difficult and tedious sacrifice which made the Book of Mormon possible.