Mormon, again, told he was a descendant of Nephi. Earlier, he wrote, “I am Mormon, and a pure
descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ,
that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it
save it were himself and those whom he brought out of that land) and that he
hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls” (3
Nephi 5:20).
He tells us he was named after his father.
When he was eleven years old, his father moved him to the land
of Zarahemla. It was a major city, with a large population.
Around this time, a war broke out. On one side were the
Nephites (Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites). On the other were
the Lamanites (Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites). “That the tribal
structure had never changed is evidenced by the fact that these groups are
named in this same order in 4 Nephi 1:38 (referring to events dating two
centuries prior to Mormon’s time) and Jacob 1:13-14 (dating to the sixth century
B.C.).”[1]
The Nephite army consisted of over 30,000 men. The Nephites defeated the Lamanites and the
Lamanites withdrew. The war ended and,
for four years, there was peace in the land.
In spite of their victory, the Nephites had become a wicked
people. Because of their wickedness, the
Lord removed the three disciples. Works
of miracles and healings ceased.
The Lord also withdrew His gifts from the people. They also
no longer had the guidance of the Holy Ghost.
King Benjamin warned us about the consequences of losing the
Holy Ghost.
“And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have
known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go
contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the
Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s
paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—
“I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same
cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil
spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no
place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.
“Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and
dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal
soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from
the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and
anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever
and ever.
“And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that
man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment” (Mosiah
2:36-39).
Mormon was now fifteen years old. Like Joseph Smith, Mormon’s
age had no bearing on how the Lord dealt with him. He had been visited by the
Lord and knew the goodness of Christ. “One can only wonder at the lasting
influence the visit from Jesus Christ had upon Mormon’s leadership.”[2]
Mormon preached the gospel to his people, but because of
their willful rebellion, he was commanded to cease preaching. “And there are
none that do know the true God save it be the disciples 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 remain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of
the land no man knoweth” (Mormon 8:10).
Even so, Mormon remained among his people.
The land had been cursed because of their wickedness. “Wherefore,
this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that
they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it
shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought
down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity
shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous
it shall be blessed forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).
“And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land,
yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto
destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so
shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for
the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (Alma 45:16).
“And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and
the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath
hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed.
“And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man
shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it
henceforth and forever” (Helaman 12:18-19).
“And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land
because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool
or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it,
behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the
land” (Ether 14:1).
“In calling the Nephites to repentance, Samuel the Lamanite
warned that ‘the time cometh that [the Lord] curseth your riches, that they
become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye
cannot retain them’ (Helaman 13:31). In that day the Nephites would lament, ‘We
have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the
curse of the land. O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord
came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become
slippery, and we cannot hold them’ (vv. 35-36).
“More than three centuries later, Mormon recorded that, in
fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecy, the Gadianton robbers ‘did infest the land,
insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the
earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that
they could not hold them, nor retain them again’ (Mormon 1:18).”[3]
The occult became a part of Nephite society. There were witchcrafts, sorceries, and
magic. Satan’s power spread across the
land.
[1] Book of
Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell
Institute website.
[2] Mormon’s
Spiritual Treasure, “Dazzling” or Otherwise, Paula W. Hicken, FARMS Review
19/2 (2007): 5.
[3] “Slippery
Treasures” in the Book of Mormon: A Concept from the Ancient World, Insight
20/6, 2000.
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