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.

pgs. 478 and 479...O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

20 But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord ^aremember the ^bcovenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.

21 And also the Lord will remember the ^aprayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

22 And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?

23 Know ye not that ye are in the ^ahands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the ^bearth shall be ^crolled together as a scroll?

24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a ^aremnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a ^blion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 6

The Nephites gather to the land of Cumorah for the final battles—Mormon hides the sacred records in the hill Cumorah—The Lamanites are victorious, and the Nephite nation is destroyed—Hundreds of thousands are slain with the sword. [A.D. 385]

1 And now I finish my record concerning the ^adestruction of my people, the Nephites. And it came to pass that we did march forth before the Lamanites.

2 And I, Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and desired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our people unto the ^aland of ^bCumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah, and there we could give them battle.

3 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites did grant unto me the thing which I desired.

4 And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents round about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of ^amany waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage over the Lamanites.

5 And *when ^athree hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of Cumorah.

6 And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were ^asacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would ^bdestroy them) therefore I made ^cthis record out of the plates of Nephi, and ^dhid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were ^ethese few plates which I gave unto my son ^fMoroni.

7 And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the ^aarmies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful ^bfear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them.

8 And it came to pass that they came to battle against us, and every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers.

9 And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with all manner of weapons of war.

10 And it came to pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ^aten thousand who were with me, and I fell wounded in the midst; and they passed by me that they did not put an end to my life.

11 And when they had gone through and hewn down ^aall my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when the Lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill Cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in the front by me.

12 And we also beheld the ten thousand of my people who were led by my son Moroni.

13 And behold, the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he also in the midst.

14 And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen with his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Jeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah, and Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem, and Josh, had fallen with their ten thousand each.

15 And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even ^aall my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a ^bfew who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.

16 And my soul was rent with ^aanguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:

17 ^aO ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I ^amourn your loss.

19 O ye ^afair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have ^bfallen!

20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.

21 And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become ^aincorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you.

22 O that ye had repented before this great ^adestruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, ^bknoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his ^cjustice and ^dmercy.

* VERSE 5 (A.D. 385).


As Mormon writes this he is 74 years old and he has seen a lot of war and bloodshed in his lifetime. This is the final destruction of the Nephites as 230,000 of the men plus women and children were killed in battle. It's hard to believe that there were only 24 survivors out of all those people. I'm sure the fact that Mormon and his son Moroni were among that 24 had a lot to do with their divine role to preserve the plates and make it possible for Joseph Smith to find them and bring their words to us today. The Nephites had so many chances to repent but in the end they felt the horror of dying with a guilty conscience as written in Chapter 6 verse 8. So sad.

pgs. 476 and 477...they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus.

20 And they fled again from before them, and they came to the city Boaz; and there they did stand against the Lamanites with exceeding boldness, insomuch that the Lamanites did not beat them until they had come again the second time.

21 And when they had come the second time, the Nephites were driven and slaughtered with an exceedingly great slaughter; their women and their ^achildren were again sacrificed unto idols.

22 And it came to pass that the Nephites did again flee from before them, taking all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages.

23 And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill ^aShim, and did take up all the ^brecords which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 5

Mormon again leads the Nephite armies in battles of blood and carnage—The Book of Mormon shall come forth to convince all Israel that Jesus is the Christ—The Lamanites shall be a dark, filthy, and loathsome people—They shall receive the gospel from the Gentiles in the latter days. Between A.D. 375 and 384

1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the ^aoath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions.

2 But behold, I was ^awithout hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.

3 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come against us as we had fled to the city of Jordan; but behold, they were driven back that they did not take the city at that time.

4 And it came to pass that they came against us again, and we did maintain the city. And there were also other cities which were maintained by the Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land.

5 But it came to pass that whatsoever lands we had passed by, and the inhabitants thereof were not gathered in, were destroyed by the Lamanites, and their towns, and villages, and cities were burned with fire; and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away.

6 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly; but it was all in vain, for so ^agreat were their numbers that they did tread the people of the Nephites under their feet.

7 And it came to pass that we did again take to flight, and those whose flight was swifter than the Lamanites’ did escape, and those whose flight did not exceed the Lamanites’ were swept down and destroyed.

8 And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely be made known, and that all things which are hid must be ^arevealed upon the house-tops—

9 And also that a knowledge of these things must ^acome unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should ^bscatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught among them—therefore ^cI write a ^dsmall abridgment, daring not to give a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the commandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people.

10 And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel, that realize and know from whence their blessings come.

11 For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus.

12 Now ^athese things are ^bwritten unto the ^cremnant of the house of Jacob; and they are written after this manner, because it is known of God that wickedness will not bring them forth unto them; and they are to be ^dhid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time.

13 And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold, they ^ashall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom.

14 And behold, they shall go unto the ^aunbelieving of the ^bJews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be ^cpersuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the ^dland of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his ^ecovenant;

15 And also that the seed of ^athis people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall ^bgo forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be ^cscattered, and shall ^dbecome a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.

16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to ^astrive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as ^bchaff before the wind.

17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their ^ashepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.

18 But now, behold, they are ^aled about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.

19 And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the ^aGentiles who shall possess the land.

Anyone who reads this record today can't help but feel sorrow for what happened to these Lamanite people. They went from being so wonderful and righteous to being so wicked and destructive. When comparing them it is easy to see that when they chose to be a righteous society it led them to happiness and prosperity and when they chose to be an unrighteous society it led them to destruction and sadness.

pgs. 474 and 475...and it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene...

16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.

17 Therefore I write ^aunto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance;

18 Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel, who shall be ^ajudged according to your works by the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem.

19 And I write also unto the remnant of this people, who shall also be judged by the ^atwelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.

20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the ^ajudgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human ^bfamily of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;

21 And also that ye may ^abelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall ^bhave among you; and also that the ^cJews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other ^dwitness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the ^every Christ and the very God.

22 And I would that I could persuade ^aall ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 4

War and carnage continue—The wicked punish the wicked—Greater wickedness prevails than ever before in all Israel—Women and children are sacrificed to idols—The Lamanites begin to sweep the Nephites before them. Between A.D. 363 and 375

1 And now it came to pass that in the *three hundred and sixty and third year the Nephites did go up with their armies to ^abattle against the Lamanites, out of the land Desolation.

2 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites were driven back again to the land of Desolation. And while they were yet weary, a fresh army of the Lamanites did come upon them; and they had a sore battle, insomuch that the Lamanites did take possession of the ^acity Desolation, and did slay many of the Nephites, and did take many prisoners.

3 And the remainder did flee and join the inhabitants of the city Teancum. Now the city Teancum lay in the borders by the seashore; and it was also near the city ^aDesolation.

4 And it was ^abecause the armies of the Nephites went up unto the Lamanites that they began to be smitten; for were it not for that, the Lamanites could have had no power over them.

5 But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the ^awicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are ^bpunished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.

6 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did make preparations to come against the city Teancum.

7 And it came to pass in the three hundred and sixty and fourth year the Lamanites did come against the city Teancum, that they might take possession of the city Teancum also.

8 And it came to pass that they were repulsed and driven back by the Nephites. And when the Nephites saw that they had driven the Lamanites they did again ^aboast of their own strength; and they went forth in their own might, and took possession again of the city Desolation.

9 And now all these things had been done, and there had been thousands slain on both sides, both the Nephites and the Lamanites.

10 And it came to pass that the three hundred and sixty and sixth year had passed away, and the Lamanites came again upon the Nephites to battle; and yet the Nephites repented not of the evil they had done, but persisted in their wickedness continually.

11 And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they ^adelighted in the shedding of blood continually.

12 And there never had been so great ^awickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people.

13 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did take possession of the city Desolation, and this because their ^anumber did exceed the number of the Nephites.

14 And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did drive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners both women and children, and did offer them up as ^asacrifices unto their idol gods.

15 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and seventh year, the Nephites being angry because the Lamanites had sacrificed their women and their children, that they did go against the Lamanites with exceedingly great anger, insomuch that they did beat again the Lamanites, and drive them out of their lands.

16 And the Lamanites did not come again against the Nephites until the three hundred and seventy and fifth year.

17 And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all their powers; and they were not numbered because of the greatness of their number.

18 And ^afrom this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the Lamanites, but began to be swept off by them even as a dew before the sun.

19 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come down against the ^acity Desolation; and there was an exceedingly sore battle fought in the land Desolation, in the which they did beat the Nephites.

“In this crucible of wickedness the true greatness of Mormon shines like a star as he calls his son to action, telling him that no matter how bad things are, we must never stop trying to do what we can to improve matters, ‘for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay.’ (Moroni 9:6.) In this spirit Mormon took over command of the army even when he knew that all was lost, ‘. . . for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions. But behold, I was without hope. . . .’ (Mormon 5:1f.) His is the predicament of the true tragic hero: ‘. . . I had led them notwithstanding their wickedness . . . and had loved them . . . with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was without faith, because of the hardness of their hearts.’ (Mormon 3:12.) However it might appeal to our own age of violence, Mormon found little consolation in the fact that his people were wonderfully tough and proud of it—‘for so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth to me that they have no fear of death.’ (Moroni 9:5.) ‘. . . they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.’ (Mormon 5:2.) They could take care of themselves, thank you—and they did” (Hugh W. Nibley, Since Cumorah: The Book of Mormon in the Modern World, pp. 437–38).

pgs. 472 and 473...they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance.

19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be ^alifted up at the last day.

20 And it came to pass that in this year the people of Nephi again were hunted and driven. And it came to pass that we were driven forth until we had come northward to the land which was called Shem.

21 And it came to pass that we did ^afortify the city of Shem, and we did gather in our people as much as it were possible, that perhaps we might save them from destruction.

22 And it came to pass in the *three hundred and forty and sixth year they began to come upon us again.

23 And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge them with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and ^afight for their ^bwives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.

24 And my words did arouse them somewhat to vigor, insomuch that they did not flee from before the Lamanites, but did stand with boldness against them.

25 And it came to pass that we did contend with an army of thirty thousand against an army of fifty thousand. And it came to pass that we did stand before them with such firmness that they did flee from before us.

26 And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again, and did ^abeat them; nevertheless the ^bstrength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.

27 And my heart did sorrow because of this the great calamity of my people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. But behold, we did go forth against the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, until we had again taken possession of the lands of our inheritance.

28 And the *three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away. And in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, in which we did get the lands of our inheritance divided.

29 And the Lamanites did give unto us the land ^anorthward, yea, even to the ^bnarrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 3

Mormon cries repentance unto the Nephites—They gain a great victory and glory in their own strength—Mormon refuses to lead them, and his prayers for them are without faith—The Book of Mormon invites the twelve tribes of Israel to believe the gospel. Between A.D. 350 and 362

1 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did not come to battle again *until ten years more had passed away. And behold, I had employed my people, the Nephites, in preparing their lands and their arms against the time of battle.

2 And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be ^aspared.

3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was ^ain vain; and they did ^bnot realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God.

4 And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed away, making, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from the coming of Christ, the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me, which gave unto me to know that they were preparing to come again to battle against us.

5 And it came to pass that I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together at the land ^aDesolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land ^bsouthward.

6 And there we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands; therefore we did fortify against them with all our force.

7 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the ^acity of Desolation to battle against us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that they did return to their own lands again.

8 And in the *three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down ^aagain to battle. And we did beat them again, and did slay a great number of them, and their dead were cast into the sea.

9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to ^aboast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.

10 And they did ^aswear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they ^bwould go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land.

11 And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly ^arefuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.

12 Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the ^alove of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was ^bwithout faith, because of the ^chardness of their hearts.

13 And ^athrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and they have repented not of their sins.

14 And when they had sworn by all that had been ^aforbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:

15 ^aVengeance is mine, and I will ^brepay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.

In verse 3 when Mormon tells us that "the people did not realize that the Lord had spared them and granted them a chance for repentance" we learn an important characteristic of the Lord. He is slow to punish and quick to give second, third, fourth, and as many chances as it takes. He does not want our time to run out. He wants us to have as much time as it takes to make righteous decisions and exercise faith in Him.

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!

pgs. 468 and 469...and there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.

38 And it came to pass that they who rejected the gospel were called Lamanites, and Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites; and they did not dwindle in ^aunbelief, but they did ^bwilfully rebel against the gospel of Christ; and they did teach their children that they should not believe, even as their fathers, from the beginning, did dwindle.

39 And it was because of the wickedness and abomination of their fathers, even as it was in the beginning. And they were ^ataught to hate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to ^bhate the children of Nephi from the beginning.

40 And it came to pass that *two hundred and forty and four years had passed away, and thus were the affairs of the people. And the ^amore wicked part of the people did wax strong, and became exceedingly more numerous than were the people of God.

41 And they did still continue to build up churches unto themselves, and adorn them with all manner of precious things. And thus did two hundred and fifty years pass away, and also two hundred and sixty years.

42 And it came to pass that the wicked part of the people began again to build up the secret oaths and ^acombinations of Gadianton.

43 And also the people who were called the people of Nephi began to be proud in their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, and become ^avain like unto their brethren, the Lamanites.

44 And from this time the disciples began to sorrow for the ^asins of the world.

45 And it came to pass that when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another.

46 And it came to pass that the robbers of ^aGadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did ^btraffic in all manner of traffic.

47 And it came to pass that after *three hundred and five years had passed away, (and the people did still remain in wickedness) ^aAmos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead.

48 And it came to pass that when *three hundred and twenty years had passed away, ^aAmmaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did ^bhide up the ^crecords which were ^dsacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ.

49 And he did hide them up unto the Lord, that they might ^acome again unto the remnant of the house of Jacob, according to the prophecies and the promises of the Lord. And thus is the end of the record of Ammaron.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

CHAPTER 1

Ammaron instructs Mormon concerning the sacred records—War commences between the Nephites and the Lamanites—The Three Nephites are taken away—Wickedness, unbelief, sorceries, and witchcraft prevail. About A.D. 322—326

1 And now I, Mormon, make a ^arecord of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the ^bBook of Mormon.

2 And about the time that ^aAmmaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be ^blearned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a ^csober child, and art quick to observe;

3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the ^aland Antum, unto a hill which shall be called ^bShim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.

4 And behold, ye shall take the ^aplates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.

5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of ^aNephi, (and my father’s name was Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.

6 And it came to pass that I, being *eleven years old, was carried by my father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla.

7 The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.

8 And it came to pass in this year there began to be a war between the ^aNephites, who consisted of the Nephites and the Jacobites and the Josephites and the Zoramites; and this war was between the Nephites, and the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites.

9 Now the ^aLamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites were called Lamanites, and the two parties were Nephites and Lamanites.

10 And it came to pass that the war began to be among them in the borders of Zarahemla, by the waters of Sidon.

11 And it came to pass that the Nephites had gathered together a great number of men, even to exceed the number of thirty thousand. And it came to pass that they did have in this same year a number of ^abattles, in which the Nephites did beat the Lamanites and did slay many of them.

12 And it came to pass that the Lamanites withdrew their design, and there was peace settled in the land; and peace did remain for the space of about four years, that there was no bloodshed.

13 But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land, insomuch that the Lord did take away his ^abeloved disciples, and the work of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of the people.

14 And there were no ^agifts from the Lord, and the ^bHoly Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and ^cunbelief.

In the introduction to the first 5 chapters of Mormon in the Institute Manual it states, "these chapters repeat the message that prevails throughout the Book of Mormon - there is no weapon that can prevail against the righteous, except their own unrighteousness." If people only realized this so many could be saved from so much suffering. The Lord wants us to be happy but He is not going to force us. We must choose it for ourselves.