INTRODUCTION: Having summarized accounts of the Lord’s visit among the Nephites and the 200-year era of peace that followed, Mormon reported that, starting in the 201st year, pride, disunity, and wickedness took over. Although Mormon’s own people rejected his pleading invitations to repent, he knew that he had a larger audience to persuade. “Behold,” he declared, “I write unto all the ends of the earth.” In other words, he wrote to us (see Mormon 3:17–20). And his message to you, today, is the same message that could have saved the Nephites in their day: “Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. … Repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ” (Mormon 3:21–22).
READ Mormon 1:1 And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.
READ President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) In an overview of Mormon’s life, referred to the meaning associated with Mormon’s name, a name that has become a reference to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “May I remind you for a moment of the greatness and of the goodness of this man Mormon. He lived on this American continent in the fourth century after Christ. When Mormon was a boy of ten, the historian of the people, whose name was Ammaron, described him as ‘a sober child, and … quick to observe’ (Mormon 1:2). Ammaron gave him a charge that when he reached the age of twenty-four, he was to take custody of the records of the generations who had preceded him.
“The years that followed Mormon’s childhood were years of terrible bloodshed for his nation, the result of a long and vicious and terrible
war between those who were called Nephites and those who were called Lamanites.
“Mormon later became the leader of the armies of the Nephites and witnessed the carnage of his people, making it plain to them that their repeated defeats came because they forsook the Lord and He in turn abandoned them. …
“He wrote to our generation with words of warning and pleading, proclaiming with eloquence his testimony of the resurrected Christ. He warned of calamities to come if we should forsake the ways of the Lord as his own people had done.
“Knowing that his own life would soon be brought to an end, as his enemies hunted the survivors, he pleaded for our generation to walk with faith, hope, and charity, declaring, ‘Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him’ (Moroni 7:47).
“Such was the goodness, the strength, the power, the faith, the prophetic heart of the prophet-leader Mormon” (CR, Oct. 1990, 69–70)
I can follow Jesus Christ regardless of what other people do.
By the time he was only about 10 years old, Mormon was remarkably different from the people around him. As you read Mormon 1–6, look for ways that Mormon’s faith in Jesus Christ made him unique and gave him opportunities to serve and bless others.
READ Mormon 1:2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the
44 CFM Oct 28–Nov 3: Mormon 1-6 “I Would That I Could Persuade All … to Repent”
learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober 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 land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.
13 But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land, insomuch that the Lord did take away his beloved disciples, and the work of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of the people.
14 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.
15 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.
READ Remarkably, living in the midst of all this evil and apostasy—his society being completely devoid of spiritual activity—fifteen year-old Mormon recorded: “I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (verse 15).
-What are the similarities between young Mormon and the young Joseph Smith?
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 wilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were taken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.
17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake.
-What differences do you notice between Mormon and his people?
-What was he forbidden to do?
-What qualities did he have that helped him stay spiritually strong in such a difficult time?
READ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland contrasted the spiritual maturity of Mormon with the sinful state of Mormon’s people. In spite of Mormon’s righteous desire, he was forbidden to preach because of the rebellious condition of his people: “The maturing Mormon, by then fifteen years of age, stood beyond the sinfulness around him and rose above the
despair of his time. Consequently, he ‘was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus,’ trying valiantly to preach to his people. But as God occasionally does when those with so much light reject it, Mormon literally had his mouth shut. He was forbidden to preach to a nation that had willfully rebelled against their God. These people had rejected the miracles and messages delivered them by the three translated Nephite disciples, who had now also been silenced in their ministry and been taken from the nation to whom they had been sent” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 318).
READ Still age 15, Mormon’s character and talents are well-noted among the Nephites—even in their culture of wickedness—and he is appointed “the leader of their armies” (verse 1; verse 2 says Mormon was in his “sixteenth year,” which means he was still 15 years old). This chapter summarizes Mormon’s military leadership through age 39, doing all he could in making preparations, building fortifications, and gathering the people (verses 3-7), but because the people “did not repent of their evil doings … there was blood and carnage spread throughout all the face of the land … and it was one complete revolution” (verse 8).
-What is meant here by “one complete revolution?”
Mormon knew that repentance would be key for his people, but as of yet, the Lord forbade him to preach (see 1:16). Nonetheless, Mormon’s account teaches us the following lessons about repentance:
NOTE In verse 23 Mormon “did urge [the Nephites] with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes,” but he did not attempt to inspire them by mentioning the cause of God, religion, and faith (as Captain Moroni and others had so often done in the “war chapters” of Alma), for these things no longer had meaning in the lives of the Nephites of Mormon’s day.
-What changes with the past did Mormon note here?
READ Sadly, this “did arouse them somewhat to vigor” (verse 24). Only “somewhat” is not enough. They had removed God from their lives and therefore what remained in their lives had diminished in meaning and motivation. Mormon noted that “the strength 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…. And my heart did sorrow because of this the great calamity of my people” (verses 26-27).
READ Mormon 2:18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these 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.
19 And woe 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 lifted up at the last day
-What words did Mormon use to describe the world he lived in?
-How did he maintain hope despite his surroundings?
Godly sorrow leads me to Christ and to lasting change.
When Mormon saw his people’s sorrow, he hoped they would repent. But “their sorrowing was not unto repentance” (Mormon 2:13)—it was not godly sorrow but worldly sorrow.
READ Mormon 2:10 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 keep 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 mourning 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 mourning 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 again become a righteous people.
13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.
READ Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted the contrast between godly sorrow and “the sorrowing of the damned”: “After recognition, real remorse floods the soul. This is a ‘godly sorrow,’ not merely the ‘sorrow of the world’ nor the ‘sorrowing of the damned’ when we can no longer ‘take happiness in sin’ (2 Corinthians 7:10; Mormon 2:13). False remorse instead is like fondling our failings. In ritual regret, we mourn our mistakes but without mending them” (CR, Oct. 1991, 40)
Returning to Mormon chapter 2:
14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse 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 day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away.
-What is the difference between godly and worldly sorrow?
-How can you tell the difference?
-If you are experiencing worldly sorrow, how can you change it into godly sorrow?
READ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland noted the chilling line in Mormon’s account that time had run out for saving his people (verse 15): “It is at
this moment in Nephite history—just under 950 years since it had begun and just over 300 years since they had been visited by the Son of God himself—that Mormon realized the story was finished. In perhaps the most chilling line he ever wrote, Mormon asserted simply, ‘I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually.’ His people had learned that most fateful of all lessons—that the Spirit of God will not always strive with man; that it is possible, collectively as well as individually, to have time run out. The day of repentance can pass, and it had passed for the Nephites. Their numbers were being ‘hewn down in open rebellion against their God,’ and in a metaphor almost too vivid in its moral commentary, they were being ‘heaped up as dung upon the face of the land’” (Christ and the New Covenant, 319).
“They did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them.”
Chapter 3
READ Mormon continued to prepare his people, their lands, and their arms for battle (verse 1), and now the Lord commands Mormon to add the most important preparation, which is repentance (verse 2; thus lifting the restriction the Lord had placed upon 15 year-old Mormon in 1:16-17). The Lord even proposes an amazing offer: “Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared” (verse 2). To be spared is exactly what the Nephites have been fighting for, with their lack of repentance being the one thing that has hindered their success. Yet Mormon’s preaching “was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance” (v 3).
READ This led the Nephites, literally and figuratively, to “the land Desolation” (verse 5) to battle once more against the Lamanites. A temporary success resulted in the Nephites’ “boasting in their own strength” (verse 9), and the vulgar sin of “swearing] by the heavens, and also by the throne of God,” that they would avenge the Nephite deaths and destroy the Lamanites (verses 9-10, 14). As a result, Mormon abruptly resigns (verse 11). He had loved his people, not because they were good, but because he was good, having “the love of God which was in me” (verse 12). He laments that his leadership, love, and prayers for them was “without faith,” and their failure to repent would lead them to “be cut off from the face of the earth” (verse 15). Once again we see that it is all about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and it follows that it is also all about repentance; for faith and repentance must always go together. (Jonn Claybaugh, Interpreter Foundation, Oct. 20, 2020)
Mormon observed that the Nephites did not acknowledge the ways that the Lord had blessed them.
READ Mormon 3:3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not 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.
9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast 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.
-What ,mistake had the people made?
-How are you acknowledging God’s influence in your life?
-What blessings come when you acknowledge His influence?
-What are the consequences of not acknowledging Him?
Mormon observed that the Nephites did not acknowledge the ways that the Lord had blessed them.
READ Mormon 3:3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not 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.
-What ,mistake had the people made?
-How are you acknowledging God’s influence in your life?
-What blessings come when you acknowledge His influence?
-What are the consequences of not acknowledging Him?
READ Mormon 3:8 And in the three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down again 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 boast 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 swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they would 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 refuse 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 love 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 without faith, because of the hardness of their hearts.
-Why did Mormon refuse [temporarily] to lead their army?
-How did Mormon feel about the people around him?
-What can you do to develop the kind of love he had?
-Why is it important for followers of Jesus Christ to stand out or be different?
READ In the beginning of chapter 3 Mormon is 49 years old, and at the end of chapter 6 he is 73. In these four chapters Mormon frequently (even more than usual) steps out of the storyline in order to share important takeaways for his readers.
READ Mormon 3:17 Therefore I write unto 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 judged 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 twelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
-Who was Mormon’s audience?
READ He makes clear who his audience is, addressing himself to “you Gentiles,” to the “twelve tribes of Israel,” to “the remnants of this [Nephite/Lamanite] people,” and “unto all the ends of the earth.”
Jesus Christ stands with open arms to receive me.
If you ever feel discouraged about your own sins, Mormon’s description of the Savior standing “with open arms to receive you” could provide reassurance.
READ Mormon 5:8 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 revealed upon the house-tops—
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.
12 Now these things are written unto the remnant 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 hid 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 shall 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 unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded 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 land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant;
-What did Mormon perceive were the main purposes of his record keeping?
15 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become 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 strive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as chaff before the wind.
READ President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) explained that the wicked people of Mormon’s time had lost not only the Holy Ghost, but the Spirit of
Christ from their lives: “Mormon described some people, his people, from whom the spirit of the Lord had departed, and when I read that … it seems clear to me that what he was talking about was not merely the inability to have the companionship of or the gift of the Holy Ghost, but he was talking of that light of truth to which every one born into the world is entitled and will never cease to strive with the individual unless he loses it through his own sinning” (iCR, Apr. 1956, 108).
17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.
18 But now, behold, they are led 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 Gentiles who shall possess the land.
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 remember the covenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.
21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers 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 hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?
READ Mormon wrote for us in the latter days, admonishing us to recognize God and His power. We are in His hands.
24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go
forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
READ Mormon mourned the death of his unrepentant people and sorrowed that they did not change their ways before their lives ended. If they had set aside their pride and repented of their sins, Mormon taught that their reunion with the Savior would have been joyful. (Institute Manual)
READ Mormon 6:16 And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:
17 O 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 mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!
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 incorruptible 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 destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.
-What do you learn about Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s feelings toward you, even when you sin?
-How have you felt Jesus Christ reaching out to you with open arms?
-What do you feel inspired to do as a result?
LAST WORDS: Mormon records that 230,000 Nephites were killed in their last battle (verses 10-15). There were only 24 survivors, including Mormon and his son Moroni (however, Mormon and the “few who escaped into the south countries” were later hunted down and killed by the Lamanites; see 6:15; 8:2-3, 7). This last battle of the Nephites appears to have occurred in a single day. [By comparison, the total U.S. combat deaths in all wars from 1775 through 1991—a period of over 200 years—were about 650,000.] Overlooking the carnage Mormon laments: “O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.” (vs 22)
An assumption we can make from the words of Mormon in these chapters is that we too must prepare ourselves to stand before the Lord at the Judgment. In the third chapter we read that the 12 in Jerusalem and the 12 in the new world will participate in the judgment. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, speaking of these verses, explained that others would also take part in our Judgment: “The reality is that there will be a whole hierarchy of judges who, under Christ, shall judge the righteous. He alone shall issue the decrees of damnation for the wicked” (The Millennial Messiah [1982], 520). The scriptures teach that there will be at least five sources who will take part on Judgment Day:
President James E. Faust explained: “We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.
“The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to us to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence” (CR, Oct. 2001)
The judgement is real, it will happen for each of us. And there is hope. We are free to choose what that outcome will be. Let us be among those who allow ourselves to “be persuaded,” in the words of Mormon, to repent and take full advantage of the blessings accorded us if we follow the Savior.
Have a good week, be of good cheer. This is the season to acknowledge how much we have to be grateful for.
Greg