The Book of Mormon ..........................................................................................................................................1

Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the LamanitesWritten to

the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and GentileWritten by way of

commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelationWritten and sealed up, and hid up unto

the Lord, that they might not be destroyedTo come forth by the gift and power of God unto the

interpretation thereofSealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by

An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were

scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get

to heavenWhich is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done

for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever And

also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting

himself unto all nationsAnd now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we,

through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this

record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the

people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been

translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety

that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and

they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of

soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we

beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father,

and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in

our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be

obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are

faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the

judgmentseat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father,

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That Joseph

Smith, Jun., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have

the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our

hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of

curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto

us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have

spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen. And we

An account of Lehi and his wife Sariah and his four sons, being called, (beginning at the eldest) Laman,

Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth

unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life. He taketh three days' journey into

the wilderness with his family. Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of Jerusalem after the

record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings. They take the daughters of Ishmael to wife. They take

their families and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness. The course of

their travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi's brethren rebel against him. He confoundeth them, and

buildeth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters into the promised land,

and so forth. This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record.

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my

father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored

of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God,

Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the

And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according

For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father,

Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets,

prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.

Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his

And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him;

and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble

And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being

And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open,

and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the

And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was

And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the

And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father,

And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did

my father read concerning Jerusalemthat it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should

And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim

many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is

high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth, and,

because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!

And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and

his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written

many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he

prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of

my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record

Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my

father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began

to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly

testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard,

and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of the Messiah, and also the

And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom

they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But

behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath

chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him:

Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful and

declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee, behold, they seek to take away thy life.

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and

And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord

And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his

inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his

And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the

borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of

And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by

And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto

And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman, and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the

And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto

Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all

And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and

Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many

things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to

leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the

wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.

And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur

because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them. 1 Nephi 2:13

Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the

prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my

And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with

the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also

having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did

visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father;

And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his

But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for

And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise;

yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy

For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they

And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father.

And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord

For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven

Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and

And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I

Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath

commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall

prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I

And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness, with our tents, to go up to the land of

And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the land of Jerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one

And we cast lotswho of us should go in unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that the lot fell upon

Laman; and Laman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house.

And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the

And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not

that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee.

But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which Laban had done, unto us. And we began to be

exceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness.

But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in

the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.

Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; therefore let us go down to the land

of our father's inheritance, for behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches. And all this he hath

For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people.

For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets. Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land

after he hath been commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish. Wherefore, it must needs

And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we may preserve unto our children

And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy

prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even

And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful

And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold,

And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban.

And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records

which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our silver,

And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it,

insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property.

And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind our

And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we

And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he

hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their

And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them,

and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the

Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to

And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that

the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even

And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be

faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not

Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and

they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies

Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye

doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the

Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless

And it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves without the walls. And after they had hid

themselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban.

And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.

Nevertheless I went forth, and as I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the

And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and

the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious

And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never

at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew

that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the

And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy

Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should

And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto

me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in

Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of

And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this causethat I might obtain the

Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head

And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon

mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.

And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of

Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the

And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my

And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by

And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my

And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had

And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews, as I went forth unto my brethren, who

And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he was exceedingly frightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. And

they fled from before my presence; for they supposed it was Laban, and that he had slain me and had sought

And it came to pass that I called after them, and they did hear me; wherefore they did cease to flee from my

And it came to pass that when the servant of Laban beheld my brethren he began to tremble, and was about to

And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore

And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as

I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life.

And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear; that he should be a free man like unto us if he

And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing; and shall we not be

diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord? Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my

And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the

servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made

Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for this cause, that the Jews might not know concerning

And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him.

And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass and the servant of Laban, and departed into the

And it came to pass that after we had come down into the wilderness unto our father, behold, he was filled

with joy, and also my mother, Sariah, was exceedingly glad, for she truly had mourned because of us.

For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had complained against my father,

telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our

And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had

not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at

But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord

will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness.

And after this manner of language did my father, Lehi, comfort my mother, Sariah, concerning us, while we

journeyed in the wilderness up to the land of Jerusalem, to obtain the record of the Jews.

And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.

And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the

wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of

the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath

And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the

And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were

And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the

And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah,

And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the

reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah.

And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers;

wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who

was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob,

And they were also led out of captivity and out of the land of Egypt, by that same God who had preserved

And thus my father, Lehi, did discover the genealogy of his fathers. And Laban also was a descendant of

And now when my father saw all these things, he was filled with the Spirit, and began to prophesy

That these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people who were of his

Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by

And it came to pass that thus far I and my father had kept the commandments wherewith the Lord had

And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they

were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the

Wherefore, it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journeyed in the wilderness

And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall

I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my

And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father, for they

cannot be written upon these plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God.

For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of

Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto

Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things

And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning

his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he

should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto

the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to

And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael,

And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they

And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the

daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me,

Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.

And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem.

And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea,

even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in

your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto

Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of

Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the

children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.

And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise; and ye shall know at some

future period that the word of the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; for all

things which the Lord hath spoken concerning the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.

For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with them; for behold, they have rejected the

prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison. And they have sought to take away the life of my father,

Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem ye shall also perish with them. And now, if

ye have choice, go up to the land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go ye will also

And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me.

And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they

did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be

But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt

thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with

And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and

And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought to lay hands upon me; but behold, one of

the daughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my

brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did cease striving to take away my life.

And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down

before me, and did plead with me that I would forgive them of the thing that they had done against me.

And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they

would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had

done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all

the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God;

And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every

And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have

And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason to rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi

and also of Sam; for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be saved.

But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you; for behold, methought I saw in my

And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.

And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.

And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would

And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.

And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.

And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet,

above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the

And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be

desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.

And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water;

And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head thereof a little way off; and at the head

thereof I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they

And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they

should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.

And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also;

wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.

And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.

And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.

And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I

stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world.

And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain

And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree.

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness,

insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.

And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of

the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until

And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious

And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was

exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had

And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and

But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold

of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron,

And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.

And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view,

And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that

building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded

And it came to pass after my father had spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he

said unto us, because of these things which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel;

And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that

perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.

And after he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he bade them to keep

And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and

And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full

account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have

given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these

Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special

Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions

of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the

Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I

But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his

works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus

And now I, Nephi, proceed to give an account upon these plates of my proceedings, and my reign and

ministry; wherefore, to proceed with mine account, I must speak somewhat of the things of my father, and

For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his dream, and also of

That after they should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem, and many be carried away captive into

Babylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be brought back out

of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their

Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise

And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this

Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this

And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the

Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths

straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet

And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with

And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the

And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel

which should be preached among the Jews, and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And

after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain he should rise from the dead,

Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they

should be compared like unto an olivetree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered

Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the

fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.

And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the

Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olivetree, or the remnants of the

house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their

And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and speak unto my brethren, and also many more

things which I do not write in this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for me in mine

And all these things, of which I have spoken, were done as my father dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel.

And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he

saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received

by faith on the Son of Godand the Son of God was the Messiah who should comeI, Nephi, was desirous

also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of

God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest

For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power

of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come;

Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment.

Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before

the judgmentseat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.

And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not.

For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord

was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the

Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had

And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most

high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou

believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.

And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the

fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye

witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.

And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto

the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and

And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree

And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereoffor I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I

beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he

And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld

the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said

And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the

And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going

forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which

led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God;

and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the

prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him;

and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and

And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes

were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens

open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among

the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all

manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto

me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of

God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw

And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the

And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious

building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying:

Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight

And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the

world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again,

saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the

And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.

And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in

And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld

And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in

And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and

I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks,

that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were

broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I

And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of

the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the

And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed

And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God,

And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister

And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall

judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye

And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous

forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.

And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness;

and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made

And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against

And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the

And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts

of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.

And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children

of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God,

and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the

And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my

seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the

devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed.

And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my

And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars

And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and

And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.

And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.

And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other

churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them

And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the

And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and finetwined linen, and all manner of precious

And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the

finetwined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable

And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my

And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.

And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the

many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth

upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth

And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the

wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were

And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for

their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble

And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to

And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that

And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was

And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me:

The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath

made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a

record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless,

they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of

And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a

Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord,

of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of

Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in

And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou

seest the formation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for

behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious;

And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes

Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable

church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the

And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles;

and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast

seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seestbecause of the many plain and

precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the

children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of Godbecause of these things which are

taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan

Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up

by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands,

which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of

their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy

Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.

Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which

thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have

Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I

have visited the remnant of the house of Israeland this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy

fatherwherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and

after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the

Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the

LambI will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine

own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I

shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and

dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto

And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.

And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the

power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be

saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how

And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of

God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the

And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb,

from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren,

and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the

And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall

establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain

and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues,

and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all

And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the

words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve

apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd

And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the

Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest

himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall

manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling

And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father;

yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised

land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be

And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded

by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hellyea, that great pit

which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter

destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell

For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent

it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of

Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the

children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the othereither to the

convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts

and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both

temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the

And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the

And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and

the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God

belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and

she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the

wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church

of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon

the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon

the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of

the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of

the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable

church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of

abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and

And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great

and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father

shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people

Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.

Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which

thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the

Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain

And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and

But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle

And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are

sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the

And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the

And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard;

wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things

And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known

And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the spirit;

and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is.

And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I

And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the

For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire

of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought.

And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of the things which

I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of

And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were

great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.

And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the

And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural

And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will

Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in

faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall

Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olivetree, by the Spirit of the Lord

which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch

And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the

fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the

space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of

men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto

And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the

covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and

also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him;

wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they

And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their

salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will

Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted

And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered

by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power

unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.

Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the

covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham,

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them

And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the

house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be

scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified

And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw

And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

And I said unto them that it was the word of God, and whose would hearken unto the word of God, and

would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the

Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all

the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of

And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind

And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also

And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was

And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the

righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto

And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean

the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are

And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for

the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the

Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are

spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be

judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it

must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into

the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.

And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator

of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because

Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most

precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said

And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked,

according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last

day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it,

that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great

Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of

the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the

And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great

astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And

within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all

the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a southsoutheast direction, and we

And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food

for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the

wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction,

keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows

And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we

And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of

fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my

And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly,

because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the

Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and

their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow;

wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words;

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his

murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which

And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and

tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to

And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us

understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions

And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they

beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning;

and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the

And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father,

and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had

brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in

the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings

And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to

And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our

brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.

Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold,

we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts,

that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and

after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us

according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.

And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many

words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord

they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward

from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women

And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness,

our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men

keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby

they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while

And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.

And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and

all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called

And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many

afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly

rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.

And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the

voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which

And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship

And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and

after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I

For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall

keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards

Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord,

am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of

Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to

And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.

And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our

brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these

And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not

believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.

And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and

now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice

over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment;

And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of

the land of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years; and our women have

toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it

were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have

Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our

And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the

statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we

know that they are a righteous people; and our father hath judged them, and hath led us away because we

would hearken unto his words; yea, and our brother is like unto him. And after this manner of language did

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake unto them, saying: Do ye believe that our fathers, who were the

children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not hearkened unto

Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the Lord had not commanded Moses that

Now ye know that the children of Israel were in bondage; and ye know that they were laden with tasks, which

were grievous to be borne; wherefore, ye know that it must needs be a good thing for them, that they should

Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word

the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.

But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh.

Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God which was in him, smote the

rock, and there came forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst.

And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by

day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to

receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true

And it came to pass that according to his word he did destroy them; and according to his word he did lead

them; and according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were

And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them mighty unto the driving out of the children of

And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out

by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto

Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people

had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon

them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against

them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they

And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land

He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.

And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with

them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made;

And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and

the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they

were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to

look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God;

nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.

And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness;

and I know not but they are at this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely come that

Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness; and the Jews also

sought to take away his life; yea, and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers

Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake

unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice,

but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the

voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea,

and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be

Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off

forever. Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.

And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words, they were angry with me, and were desirous to

throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them,

saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power

of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a

dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father;

neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.

And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me

that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men,

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded

and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers,

Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they

shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that

And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before me; but

And now, they said: We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the

Lord that has shaken us. And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would not suffer

them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and

honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give

And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of

curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the

Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the

ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me;

And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me

And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld

that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father, that we should arise and go down into the

And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the

wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we

did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us,

every one according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our children.

And now, my father had begat two sons in the wilderness; the elder was called Jacob and the younger Joseph.

And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things

which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards

And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the

sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance,

and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been

And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our

iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them

with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me, saying: We will not that our younger brother shall

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with

much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of

And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had

Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a

great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they

began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose

And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest began to be exceedingly sore.

And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after we had been

driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God

were upon them, and that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they

came unto me, and loosed the bands which were upon my wrist, and behold they had swollen exceedingly;

Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the

Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them, and also unto the sons of Ishmael; but, behold, they

did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for me; and my parents being stricken in

years, and having suffered much grief because of their children, they were brought down, yea, even upon

Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they were brought near even to be

carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in

And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of the

afflictions of their mother; and also my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did not soften

And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften

their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they

And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it.

And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.

And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land;

and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.

And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our

seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow

And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there

were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and

the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven

upon them the record of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of my father,

and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own

And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make these plates;

wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings

in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which

transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates.

And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the

ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates;

and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess

the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.

Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the other plates, which gives an account, or which gives a

greater account of the wars and contentions and destructions of my people. And this have I done, and

commanded my people what they should do after I was gone; and that these plates should be handed down

from one generation to another, or from one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.

And an account of my making these plates shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to

that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of my

Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even

did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which

For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught

and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample

under their feet but I would speak in other wordsthey set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his

And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left

And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him,

and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it,

because of his loving kindness and his longsuffering towards the children of men.

And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the

wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according

to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of

Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to

the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of

his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the

For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his

voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and

the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of

And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and

because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the

And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they shall be scourged by all people, because they

crucify the God of Israel, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glory of

And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they

shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a byword, and be hated among all nations.

Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they no more turn aside their hearts against the

Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the covenants which he made to their fathers.

Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I

gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.

Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and

And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would

Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain these things.

For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak, for those

who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had

And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning them; and also he did show unto many

concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates

Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read

many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the

And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully

persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the

prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of

Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the

house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom

Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the

waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of

Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel,

Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I

And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee; and I

showed them for fear lest thou shouldst saymine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my

Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them? And that I have showed thee new things from

They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they

Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew

that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

Nevertheless, for my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut

For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I

Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the first, and I am also the last.

Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. I call unto

All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath

loved him; yea, and he will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on

Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called him to declare, I have brought him, and

Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared

And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who

teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.

O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandmentsthen had thy peace been as a river, and thy

Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not

Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the

And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them;

And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

And again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the

wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of

my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from far; the Lord hath called

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a

Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain; surely my judgment is

And now, saith the Lordthat formed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to

himthough Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my

And he said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore

the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto

Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the

nation abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the

Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have

I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the

That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall

They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them

And then, O house of Israel, behold, these shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and

break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his

But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten mebut he will show

For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Thy children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these gather themselves together, and they shall come to thee.

And as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them

For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by

The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the first, shall again in thine ears say: The place is too

Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am

Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the

people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee

with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for

But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall

be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as

with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of

brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold,

are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the

And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by

the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according

Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it

appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also

And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the

more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and

whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away.

And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning

all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against

him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of

Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles

and set them up for a standard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have

been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the

covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who

And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded,

that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and

And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which

shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and

And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel,

unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all

And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he

Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about

Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their

inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord

And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their

own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own

And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and

they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord.

And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of

the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.

For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts

of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as

For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of

Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must

come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the

righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.

Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor

of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to

the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.

For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion

And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he

spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all

And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.

And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel;

And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the

devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which

For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built

up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and

those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine,

all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are

those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is

And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of

And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know

him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find

And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the

space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and

And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come according to the flesh.

But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be

And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things.

Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the

plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.

Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught

them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at

An account of the death of Lehi. Nephi's brethren rebel against him. The Lord warns Nephi to depart into the

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our father, Lehi, also

spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in

And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their

And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtainedhow merciful the

For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained

But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice

above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the

inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also

Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none

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.

And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold,

many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.

Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of

the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they

shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they

shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to

molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.

But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great

blessings from the hand of the Lordhaving a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing

the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all

things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite

goodness into this precious land of promisebehold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the

Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just

Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from

them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.

Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be bloodsheds, and great visitations among them;

wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.

O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful

chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried

Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay

down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of

But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about

And I desire that ye should remember to observe the statutes and the judgments of the Lord; behold, this hath

My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of

your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and

Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword, and

by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.

O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a favored people of

And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but

inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because

of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and

be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into

That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God

upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.

Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come

Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments

from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us

forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness;

nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you.

And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have accused

him that he sought power and authority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority

And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you. Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that

he hath been angry with you; but behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God,

which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, according to that which is in God, which he

And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must

obey. But behold, it was not he, but it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth

And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold,

if ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave unto

But if ye will not hearken unto him I take away my first blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall rest

And now Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been

brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi, forever.

Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in

prosperity long upon the face of this land; and nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or

Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the

And now, Jacob, I speak unto you: Thou art my firstborn in the days of my tribulation in the wilderness.

And behold, in thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy

Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall

Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall

be spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of

thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.

And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall

minister in the flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by

the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and

also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever.

Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a

broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they

may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and

mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by

the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men;

And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him

to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which

the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is

affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness,

righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor

bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must

needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery,

Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no

purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his

And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also

say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no

righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God.

And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to

And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath

created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things

And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the

beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there

was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other

Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for

And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to

that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was

And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all

mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all

lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing

And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to

And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent

while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened,

according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave

commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the

And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the

garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were

And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And

because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act

for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day,

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.

And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose

captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be

And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great

commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the

spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own

I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last days of my probation; and I have chosen the

good part, according to the words of the prophet. And I have none other object save it be the everlasting

And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my lastborn. Thou wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions; yea,

And may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land, which is a most precious land, for thine inheritance and

the inheritance of thy seed with thy brethren, for thy security forever, if it so be that ye shall keep the

And now, Joseph, my lastborn, whom I have brought out of the wilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord

For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph who was carried captive into

Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins

the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which

was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be

made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness

For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the

Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins;

and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment that he

shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the

bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers.

And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do none other work, save the work which I shall

And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O

But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word

unto the seed of thy loinsand not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing

Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which

shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah,

shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing

peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and

And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my

And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him

shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be

And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto

me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my

Yea, thus prophesied Joseph: I am sure of this thing, even as I am sure of the promise of Moses; for the Lord

And the Lord hath said: I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give

judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much, for I will not make

him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a

And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a

spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the

And the words which he shall write shall be the words which are expedient in my wisdom should go forth

unto the fruit of thy loins. And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust; for I

And they shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even after many generations have

gone by them. And it shall come to pass that their cry shall go, even according to the simpleness of their

Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of

thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my

And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of old prophesy.

Wherefore, because of this covenant thou art blessed; for thy seed shall not be destroyed, for they shall

And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an

instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is

great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the

And now, blessed art thou, Joseph. Behold, thou art little; wherefore hearken unto the words of thy brother,

Nephi, and it shall be done unto thee even according to the words which I have spoken. Remember the words

And now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning Joseph,

For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the prophecies which he wrote, there are not

many greater. And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the

Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning the prophecies of Joseph, he called the

children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who

are the sons and the daughters of my firstborn, I would that ye should give ear unto my words.

For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land;

and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a blessing upon

you; for behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it.

Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you

Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will not suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be

And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he

And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of

my second son; behold I leave unto you the same blessing which I left unto the sons and daughters of Laman;

wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed.

And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of speaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the

And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy

seed; for thou shall inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his

seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in

And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had spoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his

heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed old. And it came to pass that he died, and was

And it came to pass that not many days after his death, Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael were

For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word; for I had spoken many things unto

them, and also my father, before his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine other plates; for a

And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates

of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the

Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works,

my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul

I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have

My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath

Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime.

And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels

And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And

mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited

men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh

And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil

one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine

Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my

Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will

O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make

May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!

O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low

O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine

escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling

block in my waybut that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of

O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I

know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man

Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss;

therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness.

Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the anger of my

But behold, their anger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.

Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinks to rule over us; and we have had much

trial because of him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his words.

For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to rule

Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they murmured against me. But it sufficeth me to

And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the

Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine

elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those

who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and

And we did take our tents and whatsoever things were possible for us, and did journey in the wilderness for

the space of many days. And after we had journeyed for the space of many days we did pitch our tents.

And my people would that we should call the name of the place Nephi; wherefore, we did call it Nephi.

And all those who were with me did take upon them to call themselves the people of Nephi.

And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things

And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in

And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass; and also the ball, or

compass, which was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which is written.

And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land.

And I, Nephi, did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords, lest by any

means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their

And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper,

and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it

were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could

not be built like unto Solomon's temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.

And it came to pass that they would that I should be their king. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should

have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power.

And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my brethren, which he spake concerning them, that

I should be their ruler and their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their teacher, according to the

Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not

hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off

And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For

behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they

were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord

And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent

And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same

And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and

And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of

me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers

And I, Nephi, had kept the records upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far.

And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things

Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made these plates upon

And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they

And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the history of my people they must search mine

And it sufficeth me to say that forty years had passed away, and we had already had wars and contentions

The words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spake unto the people of Nephi:

Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy

order, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a protector, and on

whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things.

Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is

great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I

have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are written,

And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to come; wherefore, I

will read you the words of Isaiah. And they are the words which my brother has desired that I should speak

unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may learn and glorify the name of your God.

And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel;

wherefore, they may be likened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which

have been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel.

And now these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and

set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee

with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for

For behold, the Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain

Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should return again. And he also has shown unto me that

the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, should manifest himself unto them in the flesh; and after he should

manifest himself they should scourge him and crucify him, according to the words of the angel who spake it

And after they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel, behold the

judgments of the Holy One of Israel shall come upon them. And the day cometh that they shall be smitten

Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and

shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and

hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their

Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance.

And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall

repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall

be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause

Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet;

and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for

And behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah will set himself again the second time to

recover them; wherefore, he will manifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the destruction of

their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him; and none will he destroy that believe in

And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by

bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of

But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall

be delivered; for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend

And I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood

as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One

Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord:

Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors

have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for

Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O house of Israel,

is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry

up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season

unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame

For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint,

And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine

adversary? Let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.

For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and

Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in

the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine handye shall lie down in sorrow.

Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the

Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.

For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like

Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will

My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. The isles shall

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like

smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But

Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not

For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness

Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut

Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a

Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and

holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee

I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who

And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth,

and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy?

The captive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread

And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant

the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my people.

Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his furythou

And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither that taketh her by the hand, of all the

These two sons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for theethy desolation and destruction, and the

Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all the streets; as a wild bull in a net, they are

Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God pleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thine

hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.

But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go

overand thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for

henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive

And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the

That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from

generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God;

when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands

Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads

forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.

For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore I know that ye

know that our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God.

Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we

came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth

himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a

power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came

by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonementsave it should be an infinite atonement this corruption

could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have

remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother

O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must

become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to

And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from

the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being

who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the

children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful

monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have

spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual

death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits,

and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to

the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the

righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself

again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge

Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and

the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with

And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they

have become immortal, they must appear before the judgmentseat of the Holy One of Israel; and then

cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.

And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot

pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still;

wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire;

prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and

O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his

But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of

Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the

kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full

O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful

monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.

And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he

suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who

And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the

And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the

And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they

Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no

punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of

Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.

For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them,

that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and

brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the

But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that

transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!

O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they

are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside,

supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.

But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the

poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their

Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.

Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.

And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and

O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the

awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnallyminded is death, and to

O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say

that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the

words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear

O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous.

Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is

the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate;

And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are

puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their richesyea, they are they whom he

despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come

But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them foreveryea, that happiness which is

O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I

pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his allsearching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last

day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I shook your

iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood.

O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast;

Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of

judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness,

and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almightybut I know my guilt; I

transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his

But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you to an awful reality of these things? Would I

harrow up your souls if your minds were pure? Would I be plain unto you according to the plainness of the

Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as ye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a

Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of

Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and

Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.

Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of

Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.

Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give

And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his condescensions unto the children of men;

and because of his greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly

be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they shall

And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the

And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved brethren, concerning this righteous branch of which I

For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it

has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless,

God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will

Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christfor in the last night the angel spake

unto me that this should be his nameshould come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked

part of the world; and they shall crucify himfor thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation

For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their

But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be

Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon

But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ,

then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands

And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea,

and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God,

Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing

mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can

But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the

And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall

For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and

Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men,

that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of

Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female,

shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me,

For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles;

nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore,

Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed,

forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands,

wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God.

And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning

these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast

off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better

land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.

But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles,

there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.

For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and

pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he

Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselvesto choose the way of

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and

the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that

Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death

by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise

And now, Jacob spake many more things to my people at that time; nevertheless only these things have I

And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his

words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even

And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto

my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I

will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words.

Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath

the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world,

And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul

delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance

And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.

For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no

creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.

And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their

hearts and rejoice for all men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all men.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the

top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the

God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into

plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooksnation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall

O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray,

Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the

east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of

Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of

Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have

And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.

O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord and the glory of his

And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be

For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and

Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of Lebanon, for they are high and lifted up; and

And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, and upon all the nations which are lifted up, and

And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall

come upon them and the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made for himself to

To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come

upon them and the majesty of his glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?

For behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judah, the stay and the

The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient;

The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent

And I will give children unto them to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor; the child shall

When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, and shall say: Thou hast clothing, be

In that day shall he swear, saying: I will not be a healer; for in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their tongues and their doings have been against the

The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, and

they cannot hide it. Wo unto their souls, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves!

Say unto the righteous that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Wo unto the wicked, for they shall perish; for the reward of their hands shall be upon them!

And my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they who lead thee

The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people and the princes thereof; for ye have eaten

What mean ye? Ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

Moreover, the Lord saith: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretchedforth necks

and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet

Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will

In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, and cauls, and round tires like the

The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings;

The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crispingpins;

And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and

instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; burning instead of

And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate, and shall sit upon the ground.

And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our

In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the earth excellent and comely

And it shall come to pass, they that are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem shall be called holy, every one

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of

Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.

And the Lord will create upon every dwellingplace of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and

smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence.

And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a

And then will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath

And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower

in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it

And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyardI will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall

be eaten up; and I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down;

And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns; I will also

For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he

looked for judgment, and behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.

Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst

In mine ears, said the Lord of Hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, and great and fair cities without

Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.

Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night,

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of

Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are

Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their

And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty

But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope;

That say: Let him make speed, hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of

Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put

Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness,

and their blossoms shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and

Therefore, is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against

them, and hath smitten them; and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the

streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and

behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them.

None shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be

Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all their bows bent, and their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and

They shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry away safe, and

And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea; and if they look unto the land, behold,

In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train

Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he

And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of

Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs

And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am

And he said: Go and tell this peopleHear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyeslest they see with their

eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.

Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses

And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teiltree, and as an oak whose

substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king

of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could

And it was told the house of David, saying: Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and

Then said the Lord unto Isaiah: Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the

And say unto him: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these

smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying:

Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it,

For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rezin; and within three score and five years

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe surely

Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths, or in the heights above.

And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my

Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a signBehold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and

Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good.

For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be

The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come

And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of Egypt,

And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon

In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, by them beyond the river, by the king of

Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

And it shall come to pass in that day, a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep;

And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk they shall give he shall eat butter; for butter and honey

And it shall come to pass in that day, every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand

With arrows and with bows shall men come thither, because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

And all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns;

but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and the treading of lesser cattle.

Moreover, the word of the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen,

And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me: Call his name,

For behold, the child shall not have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, before the riches of

Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's

Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the

king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks.

And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the

Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear all ye of far countries; gird

yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.

For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this

Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor

Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of

And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the

And when they shall say unto you: Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and

muttershould not a people seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead?

To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in

And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that when they shall be

hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

And they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble, and darkness, dimness of anguish, and shall be driven

Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at first he lightly afflicted the land

of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterwards did more grievously afflict by the way of the Red Sea

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,

Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joythey joy before thee according to the joy in harvest,

For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor.

For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his

name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of government and peace there is no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to

order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, that say in the pride and

The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will

Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;

The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his

For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts.

Therefore will the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush in one day.

The ancient, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and

widows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his

For wickedness burneth as the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the

Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire; no

And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be

Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is

Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

To turn away the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows

And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is their indignation.

I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to

take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but in his heart it is to destroy and cut off nations

As my hand hath founded the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem

Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and to her idols?

Wherefore it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and

upon Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high

For he saith: By the strength of my hand and by my wisdom I have done these things; for I am prudent; and I

have moved the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants

And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; and as one gathereth eggs that are left have I

gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that

shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as

Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, send among his fat ones, leanness; and under his glory he shall

And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and shall burn and shall devour his

And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they shall be as

And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of

Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consumption

For the Lord God of Hosts shall make a consumption, even determined in all the land.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian;

he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

And the Lord of Hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of

Oreb; and as his rod was upon the sea so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

And it shall come to pass in that day that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke

He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages.

They are gone over the passage; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramath is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is

Lift up the voice, O daughter of Gallim; cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.

As yet shall he remain at Nob that day; he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the

Behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts shall lop the bough with terror; and the high ones of stature shall be

And he shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall

smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like

And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the

And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the

remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush,

and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the

The envy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy

But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west; they shall spoil them of the east

together; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he shall shake his

hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod.

And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to

And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my

And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make

Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into

I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones, for mine anger is not upon them

The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of

They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to

Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another;

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he

For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his

And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of

And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up; and they shall every man turn to his

Every one that is proud shall be thrust through; yea, and every one that is joined to the wicked shall fall by

Their children, also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives

Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver and gold, nor shall they delight in

Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb;

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew

It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian

But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall

And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and

her time is near to come, and her day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy her speedily; yea, for I will be

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the

strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and

they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them, and the land of the

Lord shall be for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captives unto whom they were captives;

And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear,

And it shall come to pass in that day, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted,

Yea, the firtrees rejoice at thee, and also the cedars of Lebanon, saying: Since thou art laid down no feller is

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the

chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is not heard; the worm is spread under thee,

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which did

For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that

And made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened not the house of his

All the kings of the nations, yea, all of them, lie in glory, every one of them in his own house.

But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and the remnant of those that are slain, thrust

through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.

Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land and slain thy people; the

Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquities of their fathers, that they do not rise, nor possess the land,

For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of

The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have

That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all

For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall

Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's

root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with

Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved; for there shall come from the north a smoke,

What shall then answer the messengers of the nations? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his

Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written, which have been spoken by

the mouth of Isaiah. For behold, Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to

understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.

For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the manner of the Jews; for their works were

Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that

they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath

Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because

the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the

spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall

prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem

with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn.

Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah, for I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld

the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there is none

other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they

But behold, I, Nephi, have not taught my children after the manner of the Jews; but behold, I, of myself, have

dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore I know concerning the regions round about; and I have made mention unto my

children concerning the judgments of God, which hath come to pass among the Jews, unto my children,

But behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the which I know that no man

can err; nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at

Wherefore, they are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are not, unto them will

I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be of great worth

unto them in the last days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good have I written

And as one generation hath been destroyed among the Jews because of iniquity, even so have they been

destroyed from generation to generation according to their iniquities; and never hath any of them been

Wherefore, it hath been told them concerning the destruction which should come upon them, immediately

after my father left Jerusalem; nevertheless, they hardened their hearts; and according to my prophecy they

have been destroyed, save it be those which are carried away captive into Babylon.

And now this I speak because of the spirit which is in me. And notwithstanding they have been carried away

they shall return again, and possess the land of Jerusalem; wherefore, they shall be restored again to the land

But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars; and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of

the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold,

they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their

Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from

the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom

of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart

And behold it shall come to pass that after the Messiah hath risen from the dead, and hath manifested himself

unto his people, unto as many as will believe on his name, behold, Jerusalem shall be destroyed again; for wo

Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed;

And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of

many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in

Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankindand when that day shall come

that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and

look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be

And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state.

Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.

Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day, for they

shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and

unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there

should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one

Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews.

For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my

father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his

And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. And as the Lord God liveth that brought

Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had

been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up

before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea,

behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given

under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.

Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept

and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be

fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand.

Wherefore, these things shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand; and they shall

go according to the will and pleasure of God; and the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them

For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be

reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness

For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write

according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of

Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by

knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end

the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him

And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye

cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they

are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by

And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the

Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind,

and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.

And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law

And after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved

brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.

For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great

And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death

and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they

perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of

Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the

And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of

Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon

And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions,

for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day

O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it

well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.

But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward

unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecutionbehold, they

But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with

him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed

And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding

the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for

naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they

yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell.

For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man

And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the

And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto

every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children

But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring

After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by

the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege

against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in

the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful

shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of

the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power,

that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of

For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be

written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek

Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their

terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth awayyea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant,

And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the

And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their

stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles

of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and

And there are many churches built up which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice.

And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil,

for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he

leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.

For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness.

He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth

down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not

Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto

me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of

Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he

hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to

Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you,

Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold priestcrafts are that men preach and set

themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the

Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men

should have charity, which charity is love, and except they should have charity they were nothing.

Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.

But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.

And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they

should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not envy;

that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit

whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.

For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men;

and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and

partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and

female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

But, behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentilesyea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and

also the Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands, yea, even

upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations

And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake,

and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.

And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it

shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his

soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold

he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against

For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall

For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes,

and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.

And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be

And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of

Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up, the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the

day of the wickedness and abominations of the people. Wherefore the book shall be kept from them.

But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words

of those who have slumbered in the dust, and he shall deliver these words unto another;

But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver the book. For the book shall be

sealed by the power of God, and the revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book until the own due

time of the Lord, that they may come forth; for behold, they reveal all things from the foundation of the world

And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they

shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever

have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth.

Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall

be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall

behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the

And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of

his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if

Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many

witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of

But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book:

Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned,

saying: Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither the book, and I will read them.

And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him

that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.

Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am

able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.

Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto

Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I

have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve

the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the

For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same

yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.

And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be

Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have

removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men

Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder,

for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.

And wo unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord! And their works are in the dark; and

they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down

shall be esteemed as the potter's clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I know

all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of

But behold, saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is yet a very little while and

Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.

And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity

And the meek also shall increase, and their joy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in

For assuredly as the Lord liveth they shall see that the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is

And they that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn

Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now

But when he seeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and

They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me;

And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and

For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one

shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord's; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord's; and thus shall

And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall

And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and

hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and

Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord,

believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be

And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear Godhe will

justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for

thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are

guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and

shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works

Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted,

They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they

persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.

They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and

whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless,

they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.

O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who

preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo,

wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!

Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that

is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in

But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be

But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great

For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto

repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and

For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea,

Zion prospereth, all is welland thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil,

for there is noneand thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from

Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized

therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they

must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of

And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is

built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he

Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God,

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept,

here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my

counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall

Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men,

Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm

unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God,

if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of

But behold, there shall be manyat that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that

I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the

And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father,

that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto

your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are

And because my words shall hiss forthmany of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a

But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine

ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea,

what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and

O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them,

and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon

Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible

Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all

men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in

the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the

Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of

two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I

speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the

And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak

forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not

suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man,

Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye

For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands

of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written

I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and

they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away,

and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.

And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the

words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost

And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the

lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight

against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted

And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should

suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the

commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye

For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord;

and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be

And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of

which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord,

there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the

And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that

And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the

knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their

scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them,

And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall

begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a

And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues,

And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the

For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked

will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the

Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the

There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made

manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.

Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and

Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved

And now I, Nephi, make an end of my prophesying unto you, my beloved brethren. And I cannot write but a

few things, which I know must surely come to pass; neither can I write but a few of the words of my brother

Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak

concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my

For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of

men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their

Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the

Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.

And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all

righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in

Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that,

according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be

Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.

And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straightness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by

And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus

And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father

give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no

hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the

Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptismyea, by following your Lord and

your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea,

then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and

But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of

your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of

water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea,

even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had

And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that

And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the

Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for,

for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the

gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins

And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate;

ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy

Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that

And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is

done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with

unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a

love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under

heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ,

and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God,

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that

which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your

Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the

And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said

unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye

Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not,

neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest

himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he

And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the

unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search

knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word

And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must

speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would

know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto

the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy

And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in

writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy

But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them;

wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.

But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my

people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them;

And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I

have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known

unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to

And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

I have charity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his

I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled

unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and

believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye

will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge yefor Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory,

that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know

that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that

And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak

unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.

And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words,

and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an

For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded

The words of his preaching unto his brethren. He confoundeth a man who seeketh to overthrow the doctrine

For behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem;

wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these things are

And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I

consider to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this

For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his other plates, and that I should preserve

And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should

engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ's

For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what

And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of Christ and his

Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and

partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his

wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel

Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to

anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of

the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi.

Now Nephi began to be old, and he saw that he must soon die; wherefore, he anointed a man to be a king and

The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the

sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare

Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead

were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and

Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites,

But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to

destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or the people of Nephi,

And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in

their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring

Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride.

Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine

For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of

And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the

people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by

laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come

The words which Jacob, the brother of Nephi, spake unto the people of Nephi, after the death of Nephi:

Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to the responsibility which I am under to God, to magnify

mine office with soberness, and that I might rid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple this day

And ye yourselves know that I have hitherto been diligent in the office of my calling; but I this day am

weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been.

For behold, as yet, ye have been obedient unto the word of the Lord, which I have given unto you.

But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the allpowerful Creator of heaven and earth I

can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very

Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must

And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and

your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God, which

And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which

Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I

have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are

already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded,

instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their

But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell

you concerning your wickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart,

Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired

of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and

And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to

search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of

And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and

because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of

your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your

And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But

he condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.

O that he would show you that he can pierce you, and with one glance of his eye he can smite you to the dust!

O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his

Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they

And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for

the intent to do goodto clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer

And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your

neighbor, and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you,

Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh? And the one being is as

precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust; and for the selfsame end hath he created them,

And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto

you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you.

But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people

begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing

whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son.

Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me,

Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine

arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.

Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.

Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among

For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus

Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their

For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall

For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the

land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of

And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have

led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of

For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit

them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old,

And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore,

ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which

Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your

tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the

sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God,

But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and

pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause,

O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his

But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the

land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless they are

And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the

Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath

come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the

Lord, which was given unto our fatherthat they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they

And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this

commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall

Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their

wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their

fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?

O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when

Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them

because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye

shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.

Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example

that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children

O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may

awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels

to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.

And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, warning them against fornication and

lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.

And a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, which now began to be numerous, cannot be written

upon these plates; but many of their proceedings are written upon the larger plates, and their wars, and their

These plates are called the plates of Jacob, and they were made by the hand of Nephi. And I make an end of

Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot

write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that

But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away; but we

can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small

Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our

beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may

learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.

For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a

hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory,

Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his

name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is

sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient

unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten

Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all

these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in

the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great

Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of

him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be

For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the

power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was

created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it,

Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye

yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.

Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten

Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be

presented as the firstfruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before

And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and

attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?

Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit

speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they

really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But

behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old.

But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the

prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which

blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness

from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And

And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit

which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and

But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure

And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build

Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from

Behold, my brethren, do ye not remember to have read the words of the prophet Zenos, which he spake unto

For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olivetree, which a man

took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay.

And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard went forth, and he saw that his olivetree began to decay;

and he said: I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender

And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches;

And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he said unto his servant: It grieveth me that I

should lose this tree; wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olivetree, and bring them hither unto

me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them

And behold, saith the Lord of the vineyard, I take away many of these young and tender branches, and I will

graft them whithersoever I will; and it mattereth not that if it so be that the root of this tree will perish, I may

preserve the fruit thereof unto myself; wherefore, I will take these young and tender branches, and I will graft

Take thou the branches of the wild olivetree, and graft them in, in the stead thereof; and these which I have

plucked off I will cast into the fire and burn them, that they may not cumber the ground of my vineyard.

And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did according to the word of the Lord of the

And the Lord of the vineyard caused that it should be digged about, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto

his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, that perhaps I might preserve the roots

thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself, I have done this thing.

And these will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard, whithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee;

and I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree; and also, that I may lay up fruit

thereof against the season, unto myself; for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way, and hid the natural branches of the tame

olivetree in the nethermost parts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another, according to his will and

And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come,

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard, and also the servant, went down into the vineyard to labor.

And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Behold, look here; behold the tree.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive

branches had been grafted; and it had sprung forth and begun to bear fruit. And he beheld that it was good;

And he said unto the servant: Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root

thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much strength of the root

thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree

thereof would have perished. And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which the tree thereof hath brought

forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season, unto mine own self.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Come, let us go to the nethermost part

of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much fruit also, that I

And it came to pass that they went forth whither the master had hid the natural branches of the tree, and he

said unto the servant: Behold these; and he beheld the first that it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld

also that it was good. And he said unto the servant: Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season,

that I may preserve it unto mine own self; for behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it, and it hath

And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this

branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground;

wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted

another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But,

behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it,

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another

branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.

And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of

ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and

the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck off the branches that have not

But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that

perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the season.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all

And it came to pass that a long time had passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant:

Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard. For behold, the time

draweth near, and the end soon cometh; wherefore, I must lay up fruit against the season, unto mine own self.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant went down into the vineyard; and they came

to the tree whose natural branches had been broken off, and the wild branches had been grafted in; and

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard did taste of the fruit, every sort according to its number.

And the Lord of the vineyard said: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto

But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold, there

are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me

And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again

And the servant said unto his master: Behold, because thou didst graft in the branches of the wild olivetree

they have nourished the roots, that they are alive and they have not perished; wherefore thou beholdest that

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: The tree profiteth me nothing, and the

Nevertheless, I know that the roots are good, and for mine own purpose I have preserved them; and because

of their much strength they have hitherto brought forth, from the wild branches, good fruit.

But behold, the wild branches have grown and have overrun the roots thereof; and because that the wild

branches have overcome the roots thereof it hath brought forth much evil fruit; and because that it hath

brought forth so much evil fruit thou beholdest that it beginneth to perish; and it will soon become ripened,

that it may be cast into the fire, except we should do something for it to preserve it.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Let us go down into the nethermost

parts of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit.

And it came to pass that they went down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard. And it came to pass that

they beheld that the fruit of the natural branches had become corrupt also; yea, the first and the second and

And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done

Behold, I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard, save it were these, had become corrupted. And now these

which have once brought forth good fruit have also become corrupted; and now all the trees of my vineyard

And behold this last, whose branch hath withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that

And thou beheldest that I also cut down that which cumbered this spot of ground, that I might plant this tree

And thou beheldest that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and

because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good

And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have

become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit

thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olivetree,

and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose

But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it,

Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have

stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should

hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that

And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyardhave not the

branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots

thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say,

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down the trees

of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have

But, behold, the servant said unto the Lord of the vineyard: Spare it a little longer.

And the Lord said: Yea, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my

Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard,

and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came; and let us pluck from the tree those branches

whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the stead thereof.

And this will I do that the tree may not perish, that, perhaps, I may preserve unto myself the roots thereof for

And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive;

wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I

Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine

own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I

And it came to pass that they took from the natural tree which had become wild, and grafted in unto the

And they also took of the natural trees which had become wild, and grafted into their mother tree.

And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be

those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.

And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof; and we will

pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the fire.

And this I do that, perhaps, the roots thereof may take strength because of their goodness; and because of the

And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the

natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps,

the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my

vineyard, and, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the

Wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may

prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most

Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is

Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the

trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again

Wherefore, dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once more, for the last time, for the end draweth

nigh. And if it be so that these last grafts shall grow, and bring forth the natural fruit, then shall ye prepare the

And as they begin to grow ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the

strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots

thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my

For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard; wherefore ye shall clear away the bad

according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall

overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the fire, that they cumber not the ground of my

And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree;

And the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree; and thus will I bring

them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one.

And the bad shall be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of my vineyard; for behold, only this once will I

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord

And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold,

this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily

cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto

And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored

also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.

And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and

thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the

And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even

until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees

had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the

Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the

And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was

no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished

my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit,

that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in

laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the

natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with

For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season,

which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it,

and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which

And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and

the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own

place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.

And now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecythat

the things which this prophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto

And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the

last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after

And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be

And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and

he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people;

but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with

full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended

Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?

For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil

Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words

which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good

word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a

Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in

Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?

And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and

brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of

O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is

Finally, I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before the pleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the

And now it came to pass after some years had passed away, there came a man among the people of Nephi,

And it came to pass that he began to preach among the people, and to declare unto them that there should be

no Christ. And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might

And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away

many hearts; and he knowing that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much opportunity

And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use

And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things

which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And

also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could

And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I

have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou goest

And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of

Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall

come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy; for no

man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem contend

But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his

And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come? And he said: If there should be a Christ, I

would not deny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.

And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you

that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.

And this is not allit has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made

manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made

And it came to pass that he said unto me: Show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye

And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou

Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite

thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall

And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him,

insomuch that he fell to the earth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many days.

And it came to pass that he said unto the people: Gather together on the morrow, for I shall die; wherefore, I

And it came to pass that on the morrow the multitude were gathered together; and he spake plainly unto them

and denied the things which he had taught them, and confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost,

And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil. And he spake of hell,

And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the

Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. And because I have thus lied unto

And it came to pass that when he had said these words he could say no more, and he gave up the ghost.

And when the multitude had witnessed that he spake these things as he was about to give up the ghost, they

were astonished exceedingly; insomuch that the power of God came down upon them, and they were

Now, this thing was pleasing unto me, Jacob, for I had requested it of my Father who was in heaven; for he

And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched

And it came to pass that many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of

the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against

us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of their arms to destroy us continually.

Wherefore, the people of Nephi did fortify against them with their arms, and with all their might, trusting in

the God and rock of their salvation; wherefore, they became as yet, conquerors of their enemies.

And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates

of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my

knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto

us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in

tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did

And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these

plates. And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience

unto the commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has been small; and

to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.

Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just manfor he taught me in his

language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lordand blessed be the name of my God for it

And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak

And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and

supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did

And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many

years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee

Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my

brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.

And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying:

I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them

this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy

brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own

And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him

And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant

And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of himthat if it should so be, that my people, the

Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be

destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the

power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps,

For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath

that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.

Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he

had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ,

And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that

And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them

And now it came to pass that I, Enos, went about among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come,

And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in

God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became

wild, and ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey;

dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their

heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat

And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and

flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many

And there were exceedingly many prophets among us. And the people were a stiffnecked people, hard to

And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions,

and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments

and the power of God, and all these thingsstirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord.

I say there was nothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them

from going down speedily to destruction. And after this manner do I write concerning them.

And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and seventy and nine years had passed away from

And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must

preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I

have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.

And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I

rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his

face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in

Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our

And as these plates are small, and as these things are written for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the

Lamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying,

nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed

Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts,

and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless,

God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.

And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as

are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the

And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land.

They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not;

And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were

exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the

And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our

leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore,

we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or

And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold,

and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and

also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and

weapons of waryea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all

And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was

verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall

And it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi, according to the word of

God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed

Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all

longsuffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given;

persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was.

And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they

did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.

And it came to pass that two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed awayafter the manner of wars,

And I, Jarom, do not write more, for the plates are small. But behold, my brethren, ye can go to the other

plates of Nephi; for behold, upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the writings of the

And I deliver these plates into the hands of my son Omni, that they may be kept according to the

Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat

Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my

people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am

a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had passed away, and we had many seasons

of peace; and we had many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty

and two years had passed away, and I had kept these plates according to the commandments of my fathers;

And now I, Amaron, write the things whatsoever I write, which are few, in the book of my father.

Behold, it came to pass that three hundred and twenty years had passed away, and the more wicked part of

For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led them out of the land of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them

from falling into the hands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should not be verified,

which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not

Wherefore, the Lord did visit them in great judgment; nevertheless, he did spare the righteous that they

Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book with my brother; for behold, I saw the last

which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me.

And after this manner we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I

Behold, I, Abinadom, am the son of Chemish. Behold, it came to pass that I saw much war and contention

between my people, the Nephites, and the Lamanites; and I, with my own sword, have taken the lives of

And behold, the record of this people is engraven upon plates which is had by the kings, according to the

generations; and I know of no revelation save that which has been written, neither prophecy; wherefore, that

Behold, I am Amaleki, the son of Abinadom. Behold, I will speak unto you somewhat concerning Mosiah,

who was made king over the land of Zarahemla; for behold, he being warned of the Lord that he should flee

out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of

And it came to pass that he did according as the Lord had commanded him. And they departed out of the land

into the wilderness, as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord; and they were led by many

preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led

by the power of his arm, through the wilderness, until they came down into the land which is called the land

And they discovered a people, who were called the people of Zarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing

among the people of Zarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the

people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews.

Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the

And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into

the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.

And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they

had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their

language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of

But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that

after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his

And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did unite together; and Mosiah was

And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it;

And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people. And Coriantumr was discovered by

It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time

the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his

Behold, I, Amaleki, was born in the days of Mosiah; and I have lived to see his death; and Benjamin, his son,

And behold, I have seen, in the days of king Benjamin, a serious war and much bloodshed between the

Nephites and the Lamanites. But behold, the Nephites did obtain much advantage over them; yea, insomuch

And it came to pass that I began to be old; and, having no seed, and knowing king Benjamin to be a just man

before the Lord, wherefore, I shall deliver up these plates unto him, exhorting all men to come unto God, the

Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the

gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are good; for

there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord; and that which is evil cometh from the devil.

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and

partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as

an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye

And now I would speak somewhat concerning a certain number who went up into the wilderness to return to

the land of Nephi; for there was a large number who were desirous to possess the land of their inheritance.

Wherefore, they went up into the wilderness. And their leader being a strong and mighty man, and a

stiffnecked man, wherefore he caused a contention among them; and they were all slain, save fifty, in the

And it came to pass that they also took others to a considerable number, and took their journey again into the

And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. And I

am about to lie down in my grave; and these plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking.

And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son

Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.

And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ that I deliver these records into the hands of my son;

and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God grant that he may

survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps

And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an abridgment from

the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the

records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account

of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.

And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ;

and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as

have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day

Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take

from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.

But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the

remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.

And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the

Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come;

And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God,

yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.

And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it

Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin,

he took them and put them with the other plates, which contained records which had been handed down by

And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into

my hands. And I, Mormon, pray to God that they may be preserved from this time henceforth. And I know

that they will be preserved; for there are great things written upon them, out of which my people and their

brethren shall be judged at the great and last day, according to the word of God which is written.

And now, concerning this king Benjaminhe had somewhat of contentions among his own people.

And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle

But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with

And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of

the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had driven them out

And it came to pass that after there had been false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished

And after there had been false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these

having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many

dissensions away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the

For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were

many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did

Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty

of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.

And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to

king Benjamin, so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.

And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman.

And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become

men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the

And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons,

I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these

commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of

For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to

his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the

Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could

teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God,

that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that

even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the

Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught

O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true.

And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time

they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them

And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby;

and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the

And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, which are not written in this book.

And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of teaching his sons, that he waxed old, and he

saw that he must very soon go the way of all the earth; therefore, he thought it expedient that he should

Therefore, he had Mosiah brought before him; and these are the words which he spake unto him, saying: My

son, I would that ye should make a proclamation throughout all this land among all this people, or the people

of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the land, that thereby they may be gathered together;

for on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth that thou art a king and a ruler

And moreover, I shall give this people a name, that thereby they may be distinguished above all the people

which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I do because they have been a diligent

And I give unto them a name that never shall be blotted out, except it be through transgression.

Yea, and moreover I say unto you, that if this highly favored people of the Lord should fall into transgression,

and become a wicked and an adulterous people, that the Lord will deliver them up, that thereby they become

weak like unto their brethren; and he will no more preserve them by his matchless and marvelous power, as

For I say unto you, that if he had not extended his arm in the preservation of our fathers they must have fallen

And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of these sayings to his son, that he gave him

And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass;

and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers

through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one

Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back,

and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore

And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his father had commanded him, and proclaimed unto

all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together, to go up

And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a

proclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land,

that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them.

And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied

And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings

And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of

Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be

their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and

who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love

And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man

according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons, and their

daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another.

And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards

the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should

For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple,

therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak

And it came to pass that he began to speak to his people from the tower; and they could not all hear his words

because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be

written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his

And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have

assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have

not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should

hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your

I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself

But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by

this people, and consecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler

and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all

I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have

Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of

another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye

should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of

And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be

laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borneand of all

Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I

might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before

Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the

Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not

And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the

service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has

power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you

from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and

even supporting you from one moment to anotherI say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye

would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath

said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted

And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth

immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will

And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as

the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created

And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye

behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.

Therefore, as I said unto you that I had served you, walking with a clear conscience before God, even so I at

this time have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found blameless, and that

your blood should not come upon me, when I shall stand to be judged of God of the things whereof he hath

I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might rid my garments of

your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go down in peace,

and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above in singing the praises of a just God.

And moreover, I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might

For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the

Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me that I

should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you.

And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my

commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from

falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the

commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your

But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit,

For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him,

and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his

wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.

I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been taught

concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to

him all that you have and are; and also have been taught concerning the records which contain the prophecies

which have been spoken by the holy prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left Jerusalem;

And also, all that has been spoken by our fathers until now. And behold, also, they spake that which was

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,

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

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

And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a

O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for I have

spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the

commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they

hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of

neverending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

And again my brethren, I would call your attention, for I have somewhat more to speak unto you; for behold,

And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me:

And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare

For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto

thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who

was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and

shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing

the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and

And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can

suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things

And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his

name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge

And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all

these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam,

who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it

And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every

kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might

receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come

Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the

And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and

also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and

understood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood.

And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are

blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins.

And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby

salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men

drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe

that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,

unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint

through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of

love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to

And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of the Savior shall spread

And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children,

And even at this time, when thou shalt have taught thy people the things which the Lord thy God hath

commanded thee, even then are they found no more blameless in the sight of God, only according to the

And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people, at the judgment day;

whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they be

And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth

cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence

they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.

Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them

than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy

And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke

And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been

delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold

And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all

cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive

forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who

created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they

were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the

exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king

And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them, saying: My friends and my

brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the

For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your

I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his

wisdom, and his patience, and his longsuffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which

has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put

his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even

I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the

foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever

And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been

spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he

has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the

And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and

ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do

And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or

if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins,

which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and

always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and

longsuffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility,

calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which

And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and

always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created

And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man

And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress

the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who

is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and

And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your

substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will

not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his

But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth

of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the

substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which

And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins.

And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused

that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could

And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have

and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then,

And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and

condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth

not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of

I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto

And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I

mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not

And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your

And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto youthat is, for the sake of retaining a

remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before GodI would that ye should

impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry,

clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally,

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster

than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize;

And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you borroweth of his neighbor should return

the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou shalt

And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means,

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your

deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning

the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and

And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them,

desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them.

And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and

also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a

mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great

views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.

And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to

And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his

commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring

upon ourselves a neverending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the

And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them: Ye

have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant.

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and

his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed

through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no

other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of

Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your

And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know

And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by

And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you that never

should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that

I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are

not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also,

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from

And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he

will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. I say unto

you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called.

Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ,

the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting

salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all

And now, king Benjamin thought it was expedient, after having finished speaking to the people, that he

should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments.

And it came to pass that there was not one soul, except it were little children, but who had entered into the

And again, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of all these things, and had consecrated

his son Mosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him all the charges concerning the

kingdom, and also had appointed priests to teach the people, that thereby they might hear and know the

commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of the oath which they had made, he dismissed

the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to their families, to their own houses.

And Mosiah began to reign in his father's stead. And he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making

in the whole, about four hundred and seventysix years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his

statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him.

And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth,

that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his

father had done in all things. And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years.

And now, it came to pass that after king Mosiah had had continual peace for the space of three years, he was

desirous to know concerning the people who went up to dwell in the land of LehiNephi, or in the city of

LehiNephi; for his people had heard nothing from them from the time they left the land of Zarahemla;

And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted that sixteen of their strong men might go up to the land of

And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with them one Ammon, he being a

strong and mighty man, and a descendant of Zarahemla; and he was also their leader.

And now, they knew not the course they should travel in the wilderness to go up to the land of LehiNephi;

therefore they wandered many days in the wilderness, even forty days did they wander.

And when they had wandered forty days they came to a hill, which is north of the land of Shilom, and there

And Ammon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went

And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and

they were surrounded by the king's guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison.

And it came to pass when they had been in prison two days they were again brought before the king, and their

bands were loosed; and they stood before the king, and were permitted, or rather commanded, that they

And he said unto them: Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of

the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the

And now, I desire to know the cause whereby ye were so bold as to come near the walls of the city, when I,

And now, for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I

should have caused that my guards should have put you to death. Ye are permitted to speak.

And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and bowed himself before the

king; and rising again he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am

For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn these bands.

For I am Ammon, and am a descendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla to

And now, it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly glad, and said:

Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are yet alive. And now, I will

For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are taxed with a tax which is grievous to be borne. And

now, behold, our brethren will deliver us out of our bondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites, and we

will be their slaves; for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the

And now, king Limhi commanded his guards that they should no more bind Ammon nor his brethren, but

caused that they should go to the hill which was north of Shilom, and bring their brethren into the city, that

thereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors of their journey; for they had suffered

And now, it came to pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people, that

thereby they might gather themselves together to the temple to hear the words which he should speak unto

And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he spake unto them in this wise,

saying: O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far

distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings,

which have been in vain; yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.

Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of

Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of

Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that

they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.

And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved

his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us

And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being overzealous to

inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who

having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of

the land, or even the city of LehiNephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round about

And all this he did, for the sole purpose of bringing this people into subjection or into bondage. And behold,

we at this time do pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites, to the amount of one half of our corn, and our

barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one half of the increase of our flocks and our herds; and even

one half of all we have or possess the king of the Lamanites doth exact of us, or our lives.

And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our affliction, great? Now behold, how great

Yea, I say unto you, great are the reasons which we have to mourn; for behold how many of our brethren

have been slain, and their blood has been spilt in vain, and all because of iniquity.

For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should

come upon them. But behold, they would not hearken unto his words; but there arose contentions among

And a prophet of the Lord have they slain; yea, a chosen man of God, who told them of their wickedness and

abominations, and prophesied of many things which are to come, yea, even the coming of Christ.

And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things, and said that he should take

upon him the image of man, and it should be the image after which man was created in the beginning; or in

other words, he said that man was created after the image of God, and that God should come down among the

children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth

And now, because he said this, they did put him to death; and many more things did they do which brought

down the wrath of God upon them. Therefore, who wondereth that they are in bondage, and that they are

For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge

up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them.

And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and

And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate

And now, behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are smitten and afflicted.

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all

diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

And it came to pass that after king Limhi had made an end of speaking to his people, for he spake many

things unto them and only a few of them have I written in this book, he told his people all the things

And he caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had

happened unto their brethren from the time that Zeniff went up out of the land even until the time that he

And he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had taught them, and explained them to

the people of king Limhi, so that they might understand all the words which he spake.

And it came to pass that after he had done all this, that king Limhi dismissed the multitude, and caused that

And it came to pass that he caused that the plates which contained the record of his people from the time that

they left the land of Zarahemla, should be brought before Ammon, that he might read them.

Now, as soon as Ammon had read the record, the king inquired of him to know if he could interpret

And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my people, I caused that forty and three of

my people should take a journey into the wilderness, that thereby they might find the land of Zarahemla, that

And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days, yet they were diligent, and found not the

land of Zarahemla but returned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered

a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of

every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the

And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twentyfour plates which are

And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and

And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered

with rust; and there is no one in the land that is able to interpret the language or the engravings that are on the

And I say unto thee again: Knowest thou of any one that can translate? For I am desirous that these records

should be translated into our language; for, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of a remnant of the people

who have been destroyed, from whence these records came; or, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of this

very people who have been destroyed; and I am desirous to know the cause of their destruction.

Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he

has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.

And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should

look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is

And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do

And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have,

except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him

But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all

things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and

things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them

Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh

And now, when Ammon had made an end of speaking these words the king rejoiced exceedingly, and gave

thanks to God, saying: Doubtless a great mystery is contained within these plates, and these interpreters were

doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men.

O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how blind

and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do

Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and are devoured

I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of

Nephi, or of the land of our fathers' first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that

I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy thembut when I saw that

Therefore, I contended with my brethren in the wilderness for I would that our ruler should make a treaty

with them; but he being an austere and a bloodthirsty man commanded that I should be slain; but I was

rescued by the shedding of much blood; for father fought against father, and brother against brother, until the

greater number of our army was destroyed in the wilderness; and we returned, those of us that were spared, to

And yet, I being overzealous to inherit the land of our fathers, collected as many as were desirous to go up

to possess the land, and started again on our journey into the wilderness to go up to the land; but we were

smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God.

Nevertheless, after many days' wandering in the wilderness we pitched our tents in the place where our

And it came to pass that I went again with four of my men into the city, in unto the king, that I might know of

the disposition of the king, and that I might know if I might go in with my people and possess the land in

And I went in unto the king, and he covenanted with me that I might possess the land of LehiNephi, and the

And he also commanded that his people should depart out of the land, and I and my people went into the land

And we began to build buildings, and to repair the walls of the city, yea, even the walls of the city of

And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of

barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply

Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman, to bring my people into bondage, that he yielded

Therefore it came to pass, that after we had dwelt in the land for the space of twelve years that king Laman

began to grow uneasy, lest by any means my people should wax strong in the land, and that they could not

Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that

they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks

Therefore it came to pass that king Laman began to stir up his people that they should contend with my

For, in the thirteenth year of my reign in the land of Nephi, away on the south of the land of Shilom, when

my people were watering and feeding their flocks, and tilling their lands, a numerous host of Lamanites came

upon them and began to slay them, and to take off their flocks, and the corn of their fields.

Yea, and it came to pass that they fled, all that were not overtaken, even into the city of Nephi, and did call

And it came to pass that I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and

with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people did

Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry

mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a

And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might; yea, we did go forth

against the Lamanites, and in one day and a night we did slay three thousand and fortythree; we did slay

And I, myself, with mine own hands, did help to bury their dead. And behold, to our great sorrow and

And it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in

peace. And I caused that there should be weapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have

weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people.

And I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and

destroy us; and thus I did guard my people and my flocks, and keep them from falling into the hands of our

And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers for many years, yea, for the space of twenty and

And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of grain and all manner of fruit of

And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and

cloth of every kind, that we might clothe our nakedness; and thus we did prosper in the landthus we did

And it came to pass that king Laman died, and his son began to reign in his stead. And he began to stir his

people up in rebellion against my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come up to battle

But I had sent my spies out round about the land of Shemlon, that I might discover their preparations, that I

might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them.

And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men

armed with bows, and with arrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with slings; and

they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they were girded with a leathern girdle about their

And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of my people should be hid in the wilderness;

and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear

arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their

And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up

to battle against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle.

Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended

upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men.

They were a wild, and ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which

is thisBelieving that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers,

and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing

And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea,

and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lordtherefore he

was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their

And his brethren were wroth with him because they understood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also

wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the Lord.

And again, they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he

had taken the ruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him.

And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded

him, and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them.

And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and

that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal

For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me,

that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered

And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate

them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face

And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter,

And it came to pass that we returned again to our own land, and my people again began to tend their flocks,

And now I, being old, did confer the kingdom upon one of my sons; therefore, I say no more. And may the

And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah

For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart.

And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was

abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.

And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth

part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and

And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their

For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their

Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes

which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.

Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the

And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with

fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and

And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and

And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of

And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament

with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their

And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could

stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was

possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.

And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower

to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time

they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.

And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his

wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.

And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built winepresses, and made

And it came to pass that the Lamanites began to come in upon his people, upon small numbers, and to slay

And king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off; but he did not send a sufficient number,

and the Lamanites came upon them and killed them, and drove many of their flocks out of the land; thus the

And it came to pass that king Noah sent his armies against them, and they were driven back, or they drove

And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast in their

own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and thus they did boast,

and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness

And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among

them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying,

Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the LordWo be unto this people, for I have seen their

abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine

And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their

enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies.

And it shall come to pass that they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and am a jealous God, visiting

And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be

brought into bondage; and none shall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God.

Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall cry unto me I will be slow to hear their cries; yea, and I

And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not hear their

prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions; and thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he

Now it came to pass that when Abinadi had spoken these words unto them they were wroth with him, and

Now when king Noah had heard of the words which Abinadi had spoken unto the people, he was also wroth;

and he said: Who is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord, that shall

I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him, for he has said these things that he might stir up

my people to anger one with another, and to raise contentions among my people; therefore I will slay him.

Now the eyes of the people were blinded; therefore they hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi,

and they sought from that time forward to take him. And king Noah hardened his heart against the word of

And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they

knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me,

sayingAbinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my

words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce

Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy saying:

Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into

bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the

vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.

And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he

And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with

Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before

And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also

be smitten with the east wind; and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.

And they shall be smitten with a great pestilenceand all this will I do because of their iniquities and

And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth; yet

they shall leave a record behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land;

yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things

And it came to pass that they were angry with him; and they took him and carried him bound before the king,

and said unto the king: Behold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil concerning thy

And he also prophesieth evil concerning thy life, and saith that thy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of

And again, he saith that thou shalt be as a stalk, even as a dry stalk of the field, which is run over by the

And again, he saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle, which, when it is fully ripe, if the wind bloweth,

it is driven forth upon the face of the land. And he pretendeth the Lord hath spoken it. And he saith all this

And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we

And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied

And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and

Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good.

And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that

the priests should gather themselves together that he might hold a council with them what he should do with

And it came to pass that they said unto the king: Bring him hither that we may question him; and the king

And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse

him; but he answered them boldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment; for he did

withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words.

And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: What meaneth the words which are written, and which

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that

bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye

Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the

And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the

I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord! For if ye understand these things ye have

Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise. Therefore, what teach ye

And again he said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts

upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people

to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil

Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God.

And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities, for ye have said that ye teach the law of

Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What

But now Abinadi said unto them: I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye

keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying:

I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things

Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. And have ye taught

this people that they should do all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not.

And now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests: Away with this fellow, and slay him;

And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but he withstood them, and said unto them:

Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message

which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore,

But I must fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me; and because I have told you the

truth ye are angry with me. And again, because I have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am

Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their

hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as

And he spake with power and authority from God; and he continued his words, saying:

Ye see that ye have not power to slay me, therefore I finish my message. Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you

But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved.

But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are

And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written

in your hearts; I perceive that ye have studied and taught iniquity the most part of your lives.

And now, ye remember that I said unto you: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness

of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the water under the

And again: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous

God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations of them that

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh

But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy

daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates;

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor

And it came to pass that after Abinadi had made an end of these sayings that he said unto them: Have ye

taught this people that they should observe to do all these things for to keep these commandments?

I say unto you, Nay; for if ye had, the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy evil

And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye

should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be

And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the

atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must

And now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea,

even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the

Therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were

to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him.

And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this

because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except

For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should

redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world beganhave

Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the

Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself,

Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor

comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our

Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace

All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,

He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for

sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he

hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of

And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down

And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will

The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming

And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth

temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast

And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even

as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the

And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to

Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children

of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their

iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.

And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has

been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?

Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who

have prophesied concerning the coming of the LordI say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto

their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a

remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are heirs of the kingdom of God.

For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their

Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into

transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they are his seed.

And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published

And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!

And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea,

And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that

bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea,

For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the

foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.

But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore,

And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been,

and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christfor so shall he be called.

And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that

have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first

They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who

And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ

came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the

restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the

But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that

rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world

began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not

Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such;

yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its

And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every

Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the

And now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hand and said: The

time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people

And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their

teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them

For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did

beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming

carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.

Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed

But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion

against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore, he is as though

there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God.

And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come,

And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no

victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a

Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought

to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether

If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of

endless damnation, being delivered up to the devil, who hath subjected them, which is damnation

Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called upon the Lord while the

arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they

would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were

And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye

Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a shadow of those things which are to come

Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is the very Eternal Father. Amen.

And now it came to pass that when Abinadi had finished these sayings, that the king commanded that the

But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a

young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which

Abinadi has testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with

But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his

But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days

And it came to pass that the king caused that his guards should surround Abinadi and take him; and they

And after three days, having counseled with his priests, he caused that he should again be brought before him.

And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death.

For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this cause

thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil concerning me and

Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you

concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I

Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony

And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last

And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God

But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king.

Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.

And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto

Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer

the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the

And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities.

Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock

And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall

Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people. O God, receive my soul.

And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to

death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his

And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah, repented of his sins and

iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi

Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the

redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of

And as many as would hear his word he did teach. And he taught them privately, that it might not come to the

And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having

received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons,

Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a

thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king.

And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to hear his words.

And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon,

to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did

teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.

And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they

called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing

Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,

and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until

death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of

the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and

keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the

And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the

water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness

And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee,

having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him

until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he

grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of

And after Alma had said these words, both Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose and

And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second time into the water, and baptized him according to

And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in

number about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were

And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass

that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church.

And it came to pass that Alma, having authority from God, ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of

their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the

And he commanded them that they should teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and

Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord,

And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look

forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love

And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they

And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for

And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach

the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in their power, to assemble

And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive

the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might

And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one

according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him

that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.

And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to

And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God,

imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.

And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that

was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon,

how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how

And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they might not come to the knowledge of the king.

But behold, it came to pass that the king, having discovered a movement among the people, sent his servants

to watch them. Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word of the

And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to rebellion against him; therefore he sent his

And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king's army;

therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that the army of the king returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lord.

And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been reduced, and there began to be a division

And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the king, and there began to be a great

And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to

the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.

And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the king saw that he was about to overpower him,

And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes

round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of

And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon

And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life; nevertheless,

And the king commanded the people that they should flee before the Lamanites, and he himself did go before

them, and they did flee into the wilderness, with their women and their children.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did overtake them, and began to slay them.

Now it came to pass that the king commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their

Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather stay and perish with them. And the rest left

And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and their children caused that their fair daughters

And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of

Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of

Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver

up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they

possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay

And now there was one of the sons of the king among those that were taken captive, whose name was Limhi.

And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of

And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into the wilderness secretly, to search for the king and those that

were with him. And it came to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the king and his

Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their

children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish

And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the king, and caused

And they were about to take the priests also and put them to death, and they fled before them.

And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of Nephi, and they met the men of Gideon. And

the men of Gideon told them of all that had happened to their wives and their children; and that the Lamanites

had granted unto them that they might possess the land by paying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all

And the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the king, and his priests had fled from them farther

And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing,

because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the king.

And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made an oath unto them, that his people should not slay

And also Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdom conferred upon him by the people, made oath

unto the king of the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of all they

And it came to pass that Limhi began to establish the kingdom and to establish peace among his people.

And the king of the Lamanites set guards round about the land, that he might keep the people of Limhi in the

land, that they might not depart into the wilderness; and he did support his guards out of the tribute which he

And now king Limhi did have continual peace in his kingdom for the space of two years, that the Lamanites

Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to

And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them gathered together to sing and to dance.

And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the

people would slay them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children.

And having tarried in the wilderness, and having discovered the daughters of the Lamanites, they laid and

And when there were but few of them gathered together to dance, they came forth out of their secret places

and took them and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the Lamanites

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that their daughters had been missing, they were angry

Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the king himself went before his people; and they went up to

And now Limhi had discovered them from the tower, even all their preparations for war did he discover;

therefore he gathered his people together, and laid wait for them in the fields and in the forests.

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had come up, that the people of Limhi began to fall upon them

And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey.

And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half

so numerous as the Lamanites. But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children;

And it came to pass that they found the king of the Lamanites among the number of their dead; yet he was not

dead, having been wounded and left upon the ground, so speedy was the flight of his people.

And they took him and bound up his wounds, and brought him before Limhi, and said: Behold, here is the

king of the Lamanites; he having received a wound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him; and

But Limhi said unto them: Ye shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him. And they brought

him. And Limhi said unto him: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my people

have not broken the oath that I made unto you; therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto

And now the king said: I have broken the oath because thy people did carry away the daughters of my people;

therefore, in my anger I did cause my people to come up to war against thy people.

And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning this matter; therefore he said: I will search among my people

and whosoever has done this thing shall perish. Therefore he caused a search to be made among his people.

Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king's captain, he went forth and said unto the king: I

pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge.

For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not in the

wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites?

And now, behold, and tell the king of these things, that he may tell his people that they may be pacified

towards us; for behold they are already preparing to come against us; and behold also there are but few of us.

And behold, they come with their numerous hosts; and except the king doth pacify them towards us we must

For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against usand all this because we would

And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is better that we

should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so

And now Limhi told the king all the things concerning his father, and the priests that had fled into the

And it came to pass that the king was pacified towards his people; and he said unto them: Let us go forth to

meet my people, without arms; and I swear unto you with an oath that my people shall not slay thy people.

And it came to pass that they followed the king, and went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites. And it

came to pass that they did meet the Lamanites; and the king of the Lamanites did bow himself down before

And when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, they had compassion on

them and were pacified towards them, and returned with their king in peace to their own land.

And it came to pass that Limhi and his people returned to the city of Nephi, and began to dwell in the land

And it came to pass that after many days the Lamanites began again to be stirred up in anger against the

Now they durst not slay them, because of the oath which their king had made unto Limhi; but they would

smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their

And now the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was no way that they could deliver themselves

And it came to pass that the people began to murmur with the king because of their afflictions; and they

began to be desirous to go against them to battle. And they did afflict the king sorely with their complaints;

And they gathered themselves together again, and put on their armor, and went forth against the Lamanites to

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did beat them, and drove them back, and slew many of them.

And now there was a great mourning and lamentation among the people of Limhi, the widow mourning for

her husband, the son and the daughter mourning for their father, and the brothers for their brethren.

Now there were a great many widows in the land, and they did cry mightily from day to day, for a great fear

And it came to pass that their continual cries did stir up the remainder of the people of Limhi to anger against

the Lamanites; and they went again to battle, but they were driven back again, suffering much loss.

Yea, they went again even the third time, and suffered in the like manner; and those that were not slain

And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting

themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.

And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even

all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.

And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their

cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did

And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degrees in the land, and began to raise grain more

Now there was a great number of women, more than there was of men; therefore king Limhi commanded that

every man should impart to the support of the widows and their children, that they might not perish with

hunger; and this they did because of the greatness of their number that had been slain.

Now the people of Limhi kept together in a body as much as it was possible, and secured their grain and their

And the king himself did not trust his person without the walls of the city, unless he took his guards with him,

And he caused that his people should watch the land round about, that by some means they might take those

priests that fled into the wilderness, who had stolen the daughters of the Lamanites, and that had caused such

For they were desirous to take them that they might punish them; for they had come into the land of Nephi by

night, and carried off their grain and many of their precious things; therefore they laid wait for them.

And it came to pass that there was no more disturbance between the Lamanites and the people of Limhi, even

And the king having been without the gates of the city with his guard, discovered Ammon and his brethren;

and supposing them to be priests of Noah therefore he caused that they should be taken, and bound, and cast

into prison. And had they been the priests of Noah he would have caused that they should be put to death.

But when he found that they were not, but that they were his brethren, and had come from the land of

Now king Limhi had sent, previous to the coming of Ammon, a small number of men to search for the land

Nevertheless, they did find a land which had been peopled; yea, a land which was covered with dry bones;

yea, a land which had been peopled and which had been destroyed; and they, having supposed it to be the

land of Zarahemla, returned to the land of Nephi, having arrived in the borders of the land not many days

And they brought a record with them, even a record of the people whose bones they had found; and it was

And now Limhi was again filled with joy in learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift

from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings; yea, and Ammon also did rejoice.

Yet Ammon and his brethren were filled with sorrow because so many of their brethren had been slain;

And also that king Noah and his priests had caused the people to commit so many sins and iniquities against

God; and they also did mourn for the death of Abinadi; and also for the departure of Alma and the people that

went with him, who had formed a church of God through the strength and power of God, and faith on the

Yea, they did mourn for their departure, for they knew not whither they had fled. Now they would have

gladly joined with them, for they themselves had entered into a covenant with God to serve him and keep his

And now since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many

And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none

in the land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an

Therefore they did not at that time form themselves into a church, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now

they were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness.

They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all

their hearts; nevertheless they did prolong the time; and an account of their baptism shall be given hereafter.

And now all the study of Ammon and his people, and king Limhi and his people, was to deliver themselves

And now it came to pass that Ammon and king Limhi began to consult with the people how they should

deliver themselves out of bondage; and even they did cause that all the people should gather themselves

together; and this they did that they might have the voice of the people concerning the matter.

And it came to pass that they could find no way to deliver themselves out of bondage, except it were to take

their women and children, and their flocks, and their herds, and their tents, and depart into the wilderness; for

the Lamanites being so numerous, it was impossible for the people of Limhi to contend with them, thinking

Now it came to pass that Gideon went forth and stood before the king, and said unto him: Now O king, thou

hast hitherto hearkened unto my words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the

And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an unprofitable servant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to

my words in any degree, and they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou wouldst listen to my

words at this time, and I will be thy servant and deliver this people out of bondage.

Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of the city. The Lamanites, or the guards of the

Lamanites, by night are drunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people that they gather

together their flocks and herds, that they may drive them into the wilderness by night.

And I will go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be

drunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep.

Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our flocks, and our herds into the wilderness; and we

And king Limhi caused that his people should gather their flocks together; and he sent the tribute of wine to

the Lamanites; and he also sent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of the wine

And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did depart by night into the wilderness with their flocks and

their herds, and they went round about the land of Shilom in the wilderness, and bent their course towards the

And they had taken all their gold, and silver, and their precious things, which they could carry, and also their

And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah's

And it came to pass that Mosiah received them with joy; and he also received their records, and also the

And now it came to pass when the Lamanites had found that the people of Limhi had departed out of the land

And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer follow their tracks; therefore they were lost

Now Alma, having been warned of the Lord that the armies of king Noah would come upon them, and having

made it known to his people, therefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain, and

And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah could not overtake them to destroy them.

And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water.

And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were

And the people were desirous that Alma should be their king, for he was beloved by his people.

But he said unto them: Behold, it is not expedient that we should have a king; for thus saith the Lord: Ye

shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another; therefore I say

Nevertheless, if it were possible that ye could always have just men to be your kings it would be well for you

But remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests; and I myself was caught in a snare, and did many

things which were abominable in the sight of the Lord, which caused me sore repentance;

Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made

me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.

And now I say unto you, ye have been oppressed by king Noah, and have been in bondage to him and his

priests, and have been brought into iniquity by them; therefore ye were bound with the bands of iniquity.

And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the hands of

king Noah and his people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should stand fast in

this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust no man to be a king over you.

And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways

Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no

And it came to pass that none received authority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God.

Therefore he consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were

Therefore they did watch over their people, and did nourish them with things pertaining to righteousness.

And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the land; and they called the land Helam.

And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city,

Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.

Neverthelesswhosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it

For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the

And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great

For behold, it came to pass that while they were in the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling

the land round about, behold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the land.

Now it came to pass that the brethren of Alma fled from their fields, and gathered themselves together in the

city of Helam; and they were much frightened because of the appearance of the Lamanites.

But Alma went forth and stood among them, and exhorted them that they should not be frightened, but that

Therefore they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts of the

And it came to pass the the Lord did soften the hearts of the Lamanites. And Alma and his brethren went

forth and delivered themselves up into their hands; and the Lamanites took possession of the land of Helam.

Now the armies of the Lamanites, which had followed after the people of king Limhi, had been lost in the

And behold, they had found those priests of king Noah, in a place which they called Amulon; and they had

And it came to pass that Amulon did plead with the Lamanites; and he also sent forth their wives, who were

the daughters of the Lamanites, to plead with their brethren, that they should not destroy their husbands.

And the Lamanites had compassion on Amulon and his brethren, and did not destroy them, because of their

And Amulon and his brethren did join the Lamanites, and they were traveling in the wilderness in search of

the land of Nephi when they discovered the land of Helam, which was possessed by Alma and his brethren.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his brethren, that if they would show them

the way which led to the land of Nephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty.

But after Alma had shown them the way that led to the land of Nephi the Lamanites would not keep their

promise; but they set guards round about the land of Helam, over Alma and his brethren.

And the remainder of them went to the land of Nephi; and a part of them returned to the land of Helam, and

also brought with them the wives and the children of the guards who had been left in the land.

And the king of the Lamanites had granted unto Amulon that he should be a king and a ruler over his people,

who were in the land of Helam; nevertheless he should have no power to do anything contrary to the will of

And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king

of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people,

yea, even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of Shilom, and in the land of

For the Lamanites had taken possession of all these lands; therefore, the king of the Lamanites had appointed

And now the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, being called after the name of his father; and

And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and

thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites.

And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren

of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach

But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another.

And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and

began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people,

delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren.

And now it came to pass that Amulon began to exercise authority over Alma and his brethren, and began to

For Amulon knew Alma, that he had been one of the king's priests, and that it was he that believed the words

of Abinadi and was driven out before the king, and therefore he was wroth with him; for he was subject to

king Laman, yet he exercised authority over them, and put tasks upon them, and put taskmasters over them.

And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God.

And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them,

And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him;

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and

be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my

And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon

your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter,

and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea,

the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully

And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them

again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go with thee and deliver this people out

Now it came to pass that Alma and his people in the nighttime gathered their flocks together, and also of

their grain; yea, even all the nighttime were they gathering the flocks together.

And in the morning the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their taskmasters

And Alma and his people departed into the wilderness; and when they had traveled all day they pitched their

tents in a valley, and they called the valley Alma, because he led their way in the wilderness.

Yea, and in the valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to God because he had been merciful unto them,

and eased their burdens, and had delivered them out of bondage; for they were in bondage, and none could

And they gave thanks to God, yea, all their men and all their women and all their children that could speak

And now the Lord said unto Alma: Haste thee and get thou and this people out of this land, for the Lamanites

have awakened and do pursue thee; therefore get thee out of this land, and I will stop the Lamanites in this

And it came to pass that they departed out of the valley, and took their journey into the wilderness.

And after they had been in the wilderness twelve days they arrived in the land of Zarahemla; and king Mosiah

Now there were not so many of the children of Nephi, or so many of those who were descendants of Nephi,

as there were of the people of Zarahemla, who was a descendant of Mulek, and those who came with him into

And there were not so many of the people of Nephi and of the people of Zarahemla as there were of the

And now all the people of Nephi were assembled together, and also all the people of Zarahemla, and they

And it came to pass that Mosiah did read, and caused to be read, the records of Zeniff to his people; yea, he

read the records of the people of Zeniff, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until they returned

And he also read the account of Alma and his brethren, and all their afflictions, from the time they left the

And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were

For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered out of bondage they

And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been slain by the Lamanites they were filled with

And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his

brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.

And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state,

And it came to pass that those who were the children of Amulon and his brethren, who had taken to wife the

daughters of the Lamanites, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no longer be

called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might

be called the children of Nephi and be numbered among those who were called Nephites.

And now all the people of Zarahemla were numbered with the Nephites, and this because the kingdom had

And now it came to pass that when Mosiah had made an end of speaking and reading to the people, he

And Alma did speak unto them, when they were assembled together in large bodies, and he went from one

And he did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those that had been delivered out of bondage, that

And it came to pass that after Alma had taught the people many things, and had made an end of speaking to

them, that king Limhi was desirous that he might be baptized; and all his people were desirous that they

Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and did baptize them; yea, he did baptize them after the manner

he did his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize did belong to the church of

And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the

land of Zarahemla; and gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church.

Now this was done because there were so many people that they could not all be governed by one teacher;

Therefore they did assemble themselves together in different bodies, being called churches; every church

having their priests and their teachers, and every priest preaching the word according as it was delivered to

And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church, yea, even the church of God;

for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God.

And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were

desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;

And they were called the people of God. And the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were

Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king

Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of

They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe

And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were

And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to

their faith, and remained so ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the

And now in the reign of Mosiah they were not half so numerous as the people of God; but because of the

For it came to pass that they did deceive many with their flattering words, who were in the church, and did

cause them to commit many sins; therefore it became expedient that those who committed sin, that were in

And it came to pass that they were brought before the priests, and delivered up unto the priests by the

And it came to pass that Alma did not know concerning them; but there were many witnesses against them;

Now there had not any such thing happened before in the church; therefore Alma was troubled in his spirit,

And he said unto the king: Behold, here are many whom we have brought before thee, who are accused of

their brethren; yea, and they have been taken in divers iniquities. And they do not repent of their iniquities;

therefore we have brought them before thee, that thou mayest judge them according to their crimes.

But king Mosiah said unto Alma: Behold, I judge them not; therefore I deliver them into thy hands to be

And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do

concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God.

And it came to pass that after he had poured out his whole soul to God, the voice of the Lord came to him,

Blessed art thou, Alma, and blessed are they who were baptized in the waters of Mormon. Thou art blessed

And blessed are they because of their exceeding faith in the words alone which thou hast spoken unto them.

And blessed art thou because thou hast established a church among this people; and they shall be established,

Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they

And because thou hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor, thou art blessed.

Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go

And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I

For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye

For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth

For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they shall come forth, and shall have a place

And it shall come to pass that when the second trump shall sound then shall they that never knew me come

And then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer; but they would not be

And then I will confess unto them that I never knew them; and they shall depart into everlasting fire prepared

Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church,

Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the

sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of

Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his

neighbor's trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation.

Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my

And it came to pass when Alma had heard these words he wrote them down that he might have them, and that

And it came to pass that Alma went and judged those that had been taken in iniquity, according to the word

And whosoever repented of their sins and did confess them, them he did number among the people of the

And those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same were not numbered among

And it came to pass that Alma did regulate all the affairs of the church; and they began again to have peace

and to prosper exceedingly in the affairs of the church, walking circumspectly before God, receiving many,

And now all these things did Alma and his fellow laborers do who were over the church, walking in all

diligence, teaching the word of God in all things, suffering all manner of afflictions, being persecuted by all

And they did admonish their brethren; and they were also admonished, every one by the word of God,

according to his sins, or to the sins which he had committed, being commanded of God to pray without

And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became

so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did

complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.

And it came to pass that king Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land round about that there should

And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among

That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor

Yea, and all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it

were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of God.

And there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and began to

scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west,

And the Lord did visit them and prosper them, and they became a large and wealthy people.

Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was

numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an

idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led

And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the

people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his

And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about

secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord,

And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord

appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder,

And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake

Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God?

For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the

And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his

servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be

brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power

and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.

And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can

Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of

Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered

them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers

And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed.

And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with

their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth;

and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble

And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea,

and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with

And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that

And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done

And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the

Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might

receive their strengththat the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and

And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of

Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good

For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.

And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues

and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of

And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast

Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulations, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen

My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but

now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and

I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that they may

foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself

Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men

shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live

without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall

And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were

with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to

all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation,

being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them.

But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and

exhorting them with longsuffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.

And four of them were the sons of Mosiah; and their names were Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and

And they traveled throughout all the lands of Zarahemla, and among all the people who were under the reign

of king Mosiah, zealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all

their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures

And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to

And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did

Now it came to pass that after the sons of Mosiah had done all these things, they took a small number with

them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that they might,

with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they

had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites

That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the

iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that they

might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and

that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them.

Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any

human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause

And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord

saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their

And it came to pass that they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of

And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to

And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have

And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do according to their request.

And they took their journey into the wilderness to go up to preach the word among the Lamanites; and I shall

Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who would

Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and

all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having

translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the

And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know

And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a

Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation,

And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature

Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold, it gave an account of the people who were

destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord

confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and

Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow;

And this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things

And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all

the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records,

and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and

preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even

Now when Mosiah had done this he sent out throughout all the land, among all the people, desiring to know

And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: We are desirous that Aaron thy son should be

Now Aaron had gone up to the land of Nephi, therefore the king could not confer the kingdom upon him;

neither would Aaron take upon him the kingdom; neither were any of the sons of Mosiah willing to take upon

Therefore king Mosiah sent again among the people; yea, even a written word sent he among the people. And

Behold, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such, I desire that ye should consider the cause

Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take

And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among

you. And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and

draw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would

be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many

Now I say unto you let us be wise and consider these things, for we have no right to destroy my son, neither

should we have any right to destroy another if he should be appointed in his stead.

And if my son should turn again to his pride and vain things he would recall the things which he had said,

and claim his right to the kingdom, which would cause him and also this people to commit much sin.

And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this

Therefore I will be your king the remainder of my days; nevertheless, let us appoint judges, to judge this

people according to our law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise

men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.

Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just,

Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of

God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who

would do even as my father Benjamin did for this peopleI say unto you, if this could always be the case

And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the

commandments of God, and to establish peace throughout the land, that there should be no wars nor

contentions, no stealing, nor plundering, nor murdering, nor any manner of iniquity;

And whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I punished according to the crime which he has committed,

Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to

For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations

of his people. Behold what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities they

And were it not for the interposition of their allwise Creator, and this because of their sincere repentance,

But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried

mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all

cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him.

And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention,

For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of

those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of

And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own

wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel

against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an

And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such abominations should come upon you.

Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which

have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is

common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and

And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of

God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto

And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you according to the law which has been given, ye can

If your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower

judges should be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher judges, according to the voice of the

And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord; and I command you to do these things, and

that ye have no king; that if these people commit sins and iniquities they shall be answered upon their own

For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore

And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I

desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as

the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon

And many more things did king Mosiah write unto them, unfolding unto them all the trials and troubles of a

righteous king, yea, all the travails of soul for their people, and also all the murmurings of the people to their

And he told them that these things ought not to be; but that the burden should come upon all the people, that

And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an unrighteous king to

Yea, all his iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing,

and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot be

enumeratedtelling them that these things ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the

And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were

Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should

have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his

Therefore, it came to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in

their voices concerning who should be their judges, to judge them according to the law which had been given

them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.

And they did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other man; for they

did not look upon him as a tyrant who was seeking for gain, yea, for that lucre which doth corrupt the soul;

for he had not exacted riches of them, neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had

established peace in the land, and he had granted unto his people that they should be delivered from all

manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea, exceedingly, beyond measure.

And it came to pass that they did appoint judges to rule over them, or to judge them according to the law; and

And it came to pass that Alma was appointed to be the first chief judge, he being also the high priest, his

father having conferred the office upon him, and having given him the charge concerning all the affairs of the

And now it came to pass that Alma did walk in the ways of the Lord, and he did keep his commandments,

and he did judge righteous judgments; and there was continual peace through the land.

And thus commenced the reign of the judges throughout all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who

And now it came to pass that his father died, being eighty and two years old, having lived to fulfil the

And it came to pass that Mosiah died also, in the thirty and third year of his reign, being sixty and three years

old; making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem.

And thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma, who was

The account of Alma, who was the son of Alma the first, and chief judge over the people of Nephi, and also

the high priest over the Church. An account of the reign of the judges, and the wars and contentions among

the people. And also an account of a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, according to the record of

Now it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, from this time

forward, king Mosiah having gone the way of all the earth, having warred a good warfare, walking uprightly

before God, leaving none to reign in his stead; nevertheless he had established laws, and they were

acknowledged by the people; therefore they were obliged to abide by the laws which he had made.

And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgmentseat, there was a man brought

before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.

And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God,

bearing down against the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become

popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.

And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not

fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had

And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many

And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even began to

And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who

belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their teachers; and he began to contend with him sharply,

that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with the

Now the name of the man was Gideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in

Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword

and began to smite him. Now Gideon being stricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand

And the man who slew him was taken by the people of the church, and was brought before Alma, to be

And it came to pass that he stood before Alma and pleaded for himself with much boldness.

But Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft has been introduced among this people.

And behold, thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were

priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.

And thou hast shed the blood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this people;

Therefore thou art condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king;

and it has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the law.

And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor; and they carried him upon the top of the hill

Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he

had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death.

Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who

loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines; and this they did for the

Nevertheless, they durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they

pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for his belief.

And they durst not steal, for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he

But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did

Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of words, and this because of their humility;

because they were not proud in their own eyes, and because they did impart the word of God, one with

Now there was a strict law among the people of the church that there should not any man, belonging to the

church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution

Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their

adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their fists.

Now this was in the second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the church;

For the hearts of many were hardened, and their names were blotted out, that they were remembered no more

Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were steadfast and

immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with patience the persecution which was

And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their

labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all

returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the

preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were

And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy,

and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.

And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again,

And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all

things whatsoever they stood in needan abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also

abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and finetwined

And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were

hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts

upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female,

whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.

And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church.

For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness,

and in babblings, and in envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of their own

eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of

wickedness; nevertheless, the law was put in force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was

And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them, every man suffering according to that which

he had done, they became more still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known; therefore, there

was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention

among the people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to

the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was

Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be

very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be king over the people.

Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after

the persuasions of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be established by

Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would

deprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.

And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man

according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and

And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their voices concerning the matter; and they were

And it came to pass that the voice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the

Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against him; but Amlici did stir up those who

And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did consecrate Amlici to be their king.

Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that they should take up arms against their

Now the people of Amlici were distinguished by the name of Amlici, being called Amlicites; and the

Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare

to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows,

and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons of war, of every kind.

And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of their coming. And there were appointed

And it came to pass that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of weapons of war of every kind; and he

also appointed rulers and leaders over his people, to lead them to war against their brethren.

And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river Sidon, which

ran by the land of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the Nephites.

Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his

people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to

And they began to slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon. And the Amlicites did contend with the

Nephites with great strength, insomuch that many of the Nephites did fall before the Amlicites.

Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great

And it came to pass that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all that day, and did slay them with much

slaughter, insomuch that there were slain of the Amlicites twelve thousand five hundred thirty and two souls;

and there were slain of the Nephites six thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.

And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should

pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by the hand

of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.

And Alma sent spies to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that he might know of their plans and their plots,

whereby he might guard himself against them, that he might preserve his people from being destroyed.

Now those whom he had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites were called Zeram, and Amnor, and

Manti, and Limher; these were they who went out with their men to watch the camp of the Amlicites.

And it came to pass that on the morrow they returned into the camp of the Nephites in great haste, being

Behold, we followed the camp of the Amlicites, and to our great astonishment, in the land of Minon, above

the land of Zarahemla, in the course of the land of Nephi, we saw a numerous host of the Lamanites; and

And they are upon our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing before them with their flocks, and their

wives, and their children, towards our city; and except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and

And it came to pass that the people of Nephi took their tents, and departed out of the valley of Gideon

And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as numerous

Nevertheless, the Nephites being strengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to him that he

would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries, and did

And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend

And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord,

have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.

Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened, insomuch

And he also contended with the king of the Lamanites; but the king of the Lamanites fled back from before

But Alma, with his guards, contended with the guards of the king of the Lamanites until he slew and drove

And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon, throwing the

bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might have room

to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the Amlicites on the west side of the river Sidon.

And it came to pass that when they had all crossed the river Sidon that the Lamanites and the Amlicites began

to flee before them, notwithstanding they were so numerous that they could not be numbered.

And they fled before the Nephites towards the wilderness which was west and north, away beyond the

borders of the land; and the Nephites did pursue them with their might, and did slay them.

Yea, they were met on every hand, and slain and driven, until they were scattered on the west, and on the

north, until they had reached the wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the

And it came to pass that many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those beasts and

also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth.

And it came to pass that the Nephites who were not slain by the weapons of war, after having buried those

who had been slainnow the number of the slain were not numbered, because of the greatness of their

numberafter they had finished burying their dead they all returned to their lands, and to their houses, and

Now many women and children had been slain with the sword, and also many of their flocks and their herds;

and also many of their fields of grain were destroyed, for they were trodden down by the hosts of men.

And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river Sidon

were cast into the waters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the sea, and they are many.

And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their

foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the

Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked, save it were skin which was girded about

their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows, and their

And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was

a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of

And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon

them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.

And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord

God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove

And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse

Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there

And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the tradition of the Lamanites, but believed those

records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of their fathers, which were

correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were called the Nephites, or the people of

And it is they who have kept the records which are true of their people, and also of the people of the

Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a mark set upon them; yea, they set the mark

Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have

I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from

this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy

And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.

And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and

whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto

Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves

in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient

Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that

Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of Zarahemla, by the

Lamanites and the Amlicites, that there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of

And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out of their land.

Now Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites;

But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and slew many of the Lamanites, and drove

And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with

Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the fifth

And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap

their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal

happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a

For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit

of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no

But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the loss of their

flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by

And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the

judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were

And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and

were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated

And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five

hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus endeth the seventh

year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.

And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax

proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their finetwined linen, and because of their

many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had

obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began

Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had

consecrated to be teachers, and priests, and elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for

For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of

their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be

scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own

And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people

of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed

And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great

stumblingblock to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he

saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of

Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others,

turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst,

Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves,

succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the

needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake, who should come

Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the

resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of

And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the

persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality,

began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.

And he selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the

voice of the people, that he might have power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and

Now this man's name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgmentseat to

Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of

And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might

preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down,

by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing

no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma

delivered up the judgmentseat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy

order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.

Now it came to pass that Alma began to deliver the word of God unto the people, first in the land of

And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church which was established in the city of

I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having

power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in

the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he

And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy

And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea,

I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his

word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this

And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained

in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his

mercy and longsuffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that

Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God.

Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the

everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an

And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were

they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming

And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation?

What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

Behold, I can tell youdid not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of

Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe

And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is

And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts,

and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful

And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye

received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith,

and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before

God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day:

Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the

Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and sayLord, our works have been

Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt

and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea,

I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you

I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the

I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his

garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through

the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from

And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having

your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against

Behold will they not testify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are guilty of all manner of

Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God,

with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and

I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from

the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast

And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this

time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and

made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye

must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.

Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy? I say unto you that such an one is not

prepared; and I would that he should prepare quickly, for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth not when

And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon

Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the time is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be

Yea, even wo unto all ye workers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!

Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith:

Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of

Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the

For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever bringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the

O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have

known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd,

notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his

Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you,

which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by

And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the

devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you,

For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.

Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth

follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he

And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages he receiveth death, as to

And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for I speak in the energy of my soul; for behold, I

have spoken unto you plainly that ye cannot err, or have spoken according to the commandments of God.

For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I

am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers

And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do

know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and

prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true;

for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation

And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken

by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the

I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come,

is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the

Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world,

And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved

brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond

and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto

Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the

Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say

unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall

And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this

peopleRepent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven.

And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree

that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be

consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it.

And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these

things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea,

will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world,

Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of

your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith they have been

brought into this church, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are

Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and the needy, and in withholding your

And finally, all ye that will persist in your wickedness, I say unto you that these are they who shall be hewn

And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from

the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be blotted

out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of

God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my

For the names of the righteous shall be written in the book of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at

my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if ye speak against it,

For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter

not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last,

And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he

will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to

And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of him who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do

I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the

church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be

And now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which

was established in the city of Zarahemla, he ordained priests and elders, by laying on his hands according to

And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who repented of their sins were baptized

And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and

humble themselves before GodI mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their heartsthe same were

rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.

And thus they began to establish the order of the church in the city of Zarahemla.

Now I would that ye should understand that the word of God was liberal unto all, that none were deprived of

Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join

in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.

And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the

church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the valley of

Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was

called Gideon, being called after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.

And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of

Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and

according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of

God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And

Behold my beloved brethren, seeing that I have been permitted to come unto you, therefore I attempt to

address you in my language; yea, by my own mouth, seeing that it is the first time that I have spoken unto

you by the words of my mouth, I having been wholly confined to the judgmentseat, having had much

And even I could not have come now at this time were it not that the judgmentseat hath been given to

another, to reign in my stead; and the Lord in much mercy hath granted that I should come unto you.

And behold, I have come having great hopes and much desire that I should find that ye had humbled

yourselves before God, and that ye had continued in the supplicating of his grace, that I should find that ye

were blameless before him, that I should find that ye were not in the awful dilemma that our brethren were in

But blessed be the name of God, that he hath given me to know, yea, hath given unto me the exceedingly

great joy of knowing that they are established again in the way of his righteousness.

And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I

do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have

had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction

But behold, I trust that ye are not in a state of so much unbelief as were your brethren; I trust that ye are not

lifted up in the pride of your hearts; yea, I trust that ye have not set your hearts upon riches and the vain

things of the world; yea, I trust that you do not worship idols, but that ye do worship the true and living God,

and that ye look forward for the remission of your sins, with an everlasting faith, which is to come.

For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more

importance than they allfor behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among

Behold, I do not say that he will come among us at the time of his dwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for

behold, the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not know; but

this much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all things which are according to his word.

But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, sayingRepent ye, and

prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at

And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a

precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word

might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will

take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may

know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might

take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his

Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye

cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be

washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,

Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind

you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of

your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by

And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember

that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to

And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye

believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in

me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken,

For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of dilemma like

For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the

I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in

crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from

the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal

And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into

the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he

And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your

duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after

And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of

patience and longsuffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of

God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning

And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your

garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in

me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given

And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and

herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from

And now it came to pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon, after having taught the people of

Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the order of the church, according as he had

before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the

And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of

Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of the

And he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to the holy order of God, by which he had

And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by the

So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days' journey on the

Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even

all their small villages, after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of

And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God

Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they

Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out

his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto

Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know

that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to

your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.

And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou

hast delivered up the judgmentseat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.

Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and

caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which

And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through

much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of

Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord

Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou

hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first

And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the

people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy

For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord)

which is contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people.

Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily

to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of

And as he entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of

And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the

man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will

impart unto thee of my food; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.

And it came to pass that the man received him into his house; and the man was called Amulek; and he

And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he blessed Amulek and his house, and he gave

And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am Alma, and am the high priest over the

And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all this people, according to the spirit of

revelation and prophecy; and I was in this land and they would not receive me, but they cast me out and I was

But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to

And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I

And Alma tarried many days with Amulek before he began to preach unto the people.

And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my servant Amulek, go forth and prophesy unto

this people, sayingRepent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine

And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they

And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it

possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound

in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.

And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to

And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach

again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach

Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto us

Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away.

And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be

Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous works, for they were a hardhearted and a stiffnecked

And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto

And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare

Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have ye forgotten the tradition of your fathers; yea, how

Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not

And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies,

and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?

Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his longsuffering towards us, we

should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps

Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit

the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not allhe has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy

you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn

Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my

commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my

Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of

God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been

verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their

Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye

remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.

For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their

fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them

And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of

the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call

But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the

land, for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know

not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord.

For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he

would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it

were possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much

Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every

other nation, kindred, tongue, or people; after having had all things made known unto them, according to their

desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come;

Having been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the

voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift

of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation;

Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having

been saved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed

strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of bondage time after time, and

having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of

And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the

Lord, should transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be

the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for

For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye

transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that

And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people,

declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the

And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only

Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and longsuffering, quick to

And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.

Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their

works, according to that which they have beenif they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of

their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap

the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.

And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring

forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the

Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me

And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and

But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me at that time and cast me into

And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to preach unto them also. And now the

words of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.

Now these are the words which Amulek preached unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah,

I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and

it was the same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was

And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem,

who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his

And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have

many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.

Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and

marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much

of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.

Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew

concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness

of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the

As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said:

Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a

chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered,

and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the

And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going

thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy houseand behold it was

And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an

And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the

Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while

For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father

and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us

And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more

than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to

Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought to question them, that by their cunning devices they

might catch them in their words, that they might find witness against them, that they might deliver them to

their judges that they might be judged according to the law, and that they might be slain or cast into prison,

Now it was those men who sought to destroy them, who were lawyers, who were hired or appointed by the

people to administer the law at their times of trials, or at the trials of the crimes of the people before the

Now these lawyers were learned in all the arts and cunning of the people; and this was to enable them that

And it came to pass that they began to question Amulek, that thereby they might make him cross his words,

Now they knew not that Amulek could know of their designs. But it came to pass as they began to question

him, he perceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers

and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundation of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the

Ye are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your

Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no

one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by their own voicesyea, well did he say

that if the time should come that the voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should

come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction.

And now I say unto you that well doth the Lord judge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto this people, by

the voice of his angels: Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will come down among my people, with equity and

Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye

would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days

But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous

from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you;

then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except

And now it came to pass that the people were more angry with Amulek, and they cried out, saying: This man

doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom we have selected.

But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried the mightier unto them, saying: O ye wicked and perverse

generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that

he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken,

For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your

law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.

And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid

And now it came to pass that when Amulek had spoken these words the people cried out against him, saying:

Now we know that this man is a child of the devil, for he hath lied unto us; for he hath spoken against our

And it came to pass that the lawyers put it into their hearts that they should remember these things against

And there was one among them whose name was Zeezrom. Now he was the foremost to accuse Amulek and

Alma, he being one of the most expert among them, having much business to do among the people.

Now the object of these lawyers was to get gain; and they got gain according to their employ.

Now it was in the law of Mosiah that every man who was a judge of the law, or those who were appointed to

be judges, should receive wages according to the time which they labored to judge those who were brought

Now if a man owed another, and he would not pay that which he did owe, he was complained of to the judge;

and the judge executed authority, and sent forth officers that the man should be brought before him; and he

judged the man according to the law and the evidences which were brought against him, and thus the man

was compelled to pay that which he owed, or be stripped, or be cast out from among the people as a thief and

And the judge received for his wages according to his timea senine of gold for a day, or a senum of silver,

which is equal to a senine of gold; and this is according to the law which was given.

Now these are the names of the different pieces of their gold, and of their silver, according to their value. And

the names are given by the Nephites, for they did not reckon after the manner of the Jews who were at

Jerusalem; neither did they measure after the manner of the Jews; but they altered their reckoning and their

measure, according to the minds and the circumstances of the people, in every generation, until the reign of

Now the reckoning is thusa senine of gold, a seon of gold, a shum of gold, and a limnah of gold.

A senum of silver, an amnor of silver, an ezrom of silver, and an onti of silver.

A senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold, and either for a measure of barley, and also for a measure of

A shiblon is half of a senum; therefore, a shiblon for half a measure of barley.

Now, it was for the sole purpose to get gain, because they received their wages according to their employ,

therefore, they did stir up the people to riotings, and all manner of disturbances and wickedness, that they

might have more employ, that they might get money according to the suits which were brought before them;

And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I shall ask

you? Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which

was good; therefore, he said unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions which I shall put unto you?

And Amulek said unto him: Yea, if it be according to the Spirit of the Lord, which is in me; for I shall say

nothing which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord. And Zeezrom said unto him: Behold, here are six onties of

silver, and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a Supreme Being.

Now Amulek said: O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no

Believest thou that there is no God? I say unto you, Nay, thou knowest that there is a God, but thou lovest

And now thou hast lied before God unto me. Thou saidst unto meBehold these six onties, which are of

great worth, I will give unto theewhen thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was only

thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou mightest have cause to destroy me. And now

And Zeezrom said again: Shall he save his people in their sins? And Amulek answered and said unto him: I

Now Zeezrom said unto the people: See that ye remember these things; for he said there is but one God; yet

he saith that the Son of God shall come, but he shall not save his peopleas though he had authority to

Now Amulek saith again unto him: Behold thou hast lied, for thou sayest that I spake as though I had

authority to command God because I said he shall not save his people in their sins.

And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said

that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the

And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in

And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those

who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.

Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the

bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be

Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this

The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its

proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both

the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing

shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before

the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged

Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the

resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is

from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their

bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see

Now, when Amulek had finished these words the people began again to be astonished, and also Zeezrom

began to tremble. And thus ended the words of Amulek, or this is all that I have written.

Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught

him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of

his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to

explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.

Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the people round about; for the multitude was

Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men

only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are

And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and

to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out

Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should

And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people,

that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he

might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.

Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was

convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a

knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was

given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy.

And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God.

And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the

dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be

And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries

of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the

portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will

not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing

concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to

And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of

immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it

has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our

thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would

fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might,

majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is

just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every

And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a

time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die

Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up

forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according

to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be

redeemed according to God's justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more

But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this

that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state

What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the

garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever?

And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain, now we see that Adam did fall by

the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all

And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree

of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar,

And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is

the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this

life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which

Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there

could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to

And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life

they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would

have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.

But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come

And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was

expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made

known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this

he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to

things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to

act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good

Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption,

that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to

things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works

But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying:

If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten

Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine

Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter

And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest

of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first

provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting

destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our

hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second

commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these

commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests,

after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in

And this is the manner after which they were ordainedbeing called and prepared from the foundation of the

world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first

place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great

faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a

And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the

Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been

Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being

prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the

And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to

teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest

This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in

other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity,

Now they were ordained after this mannerbeing called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy

ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and

Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is

without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.

Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and

became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their

righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;

Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white

Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and

spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly

And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for

Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after this

same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.

And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of

Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of

God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a

Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and

abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;

But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to

the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek

did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of

Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of

Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye

And now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words unto them, he stretched forth his hand unto

them and cried with a mighty voice, saying: Now is the time to repent, for the day of salvation draweth nigh;

Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it,

that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people,

yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us.

And they are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this

because of our being wanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have these

For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing

the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.

And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the

time cometh, we know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner or later, in

And it shall be made known unto just and holy men, by the mouth of angels, at the time of his coming, that

the words of our fathers may be fulfilled, according to that which they have spoken concerning him, which

And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that

ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray

continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit,

Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in

And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may

not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death.

And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in this book.

And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his

But the more part of them were desirous that they might destroy Alma and Amulek; for they were angry with

Alma, because of the plainness of his words unto Zeezrom; and they also said that Amulek had lied unto

them, and had reviled against their law and also against their lawyers and judges.

And they were also angry with Alma and Amulek; and because they had testified so plainly against their

But it came to pass that they did not; but they took them and bound them with strong cords, and took them

And the people went forth and witnessed against themtestifying that they had reviled against the law, and

their lawyers and judges of the land, and also of all the people that were in the land; and also testified that

there was but one God, and that he should send his Son among the people, but he should not save them; and

many such things did the people testify against Alma and Amulek. Now this was done before the chief judge

And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew

concerning the blindness of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his

soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by

And it came to pass that he began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am guilty, and these men are

spotless before God. And he began to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art

And they spit upon him, and cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in the words

which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them out, and sent men to cast stones at them.

And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in

the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire, and they also brought forth their records

which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed

And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that

And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was

pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our

hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.

But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the

Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the

people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he

shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness

And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they

Now it came to pass that when the bodies of those who had been cast into the fire were consumed, and also

the records which were cast in with them, the chief judge of the land came and stood before Alma and

Amulek, as they were bound; and he smote them with his hand upon their cheeks, and said unto them: After

what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and

Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved

them because they were of thy faith. And the judge smote them again upon their cheeks, and asked: What say

And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek answered him nothing; and he smote them again, and delivered

And when they had been cast into prison three days, there came many lawyers, and judges, and priests, and

teachers, who were of the profession of Nehor; and they came in unto the prison to see them, and they

And it came to pass that the judge stood before them, and said: Why do ye not answer the words of this

people? Know ye not that I have power to deliver you up unto the flames? And he commanded them to

And it came to pass that they departed and went their ways, but came again on the morrow; and the judge

also smote them again on their cheeks. And many came forth also, and smote them, saying: Will ye stand

again and judge this people, and condemn our law? If ye have such great power why do ye not deliver

And many such things did they say unto them, gnashing their teeth upon them, and spitting upon them, and

And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say unto them; and thus they did mock them

for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might

thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with

And it came to pass after they had thus suffered for many days, (and it was on the twelfth day, in the tenth

month, in the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) that the chief judge over the land

of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek

And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the power of

God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people

And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and

when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood

And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength

according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they

were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon

And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of

the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the

earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek,

And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto

them power, according to their faith which was in Christ. And they straightway came forth out of the prison;

and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls

thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city.

Now the people having heard a great noise came running together by multitudes to know the cause of it; and

when they saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth,

they were struck with great fear, and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with

her young from two lions; and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek.

And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek were commanded to depart out of that city; and they departed,

and came out even into the land of Sidom; and behold, there they found all the people who had departed out

of the land of Ammonihah, who had been cast out and stoned, because they believed in the words of Alma.

And they related unto them all that had happened unto their wives and children, and also concerning

And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his

mind on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed

that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his

mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a

Now, when he heard that Alma and Amulek were in the land of Sidom, his heart began to take courage; and

And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they

went in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning

fever; and his mind also was exceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched

And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ

And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.

And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him

And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to

the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of

And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.

And Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and consecrated priests and teachers in the land, to

And it came to pass that they were many; for they did flock in from all the region round about Sidom, and

But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet remained a hardhearted and a stiffnecked

people; and they repented not of their sins, ascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil; for they

were of the profession of Nehor, and did not believe in the repentance of their sins.

And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious

things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were

Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom, seeing a great check, yea, seeing that the

people were checked as to the pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God, and began to

assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God before the altar, watching and praying

continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction

Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of

Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened

And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day

of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor

contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year,

For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land,

even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.

And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they

had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah,

Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into

Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was

Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high

priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and

desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their

And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And Alma returned and said unto

them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders

of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord

will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched

away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon.

And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the

wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one

soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their

And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the

people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also

their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness.

But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the

Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were

covered with a shallow covering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to

possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the

And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites until the fourteenth year of the reign of the

judges over the people of Nephi. And thus for three years did the people of Nephi have continual peace in all

And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their

sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.

And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect of

And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to preach

the word throughout all the land. And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land, in

And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to

prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be

That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to

destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that

Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and

envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing

adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be

Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his

And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were

taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and

And now after the church had been established throughout all the landhaving got the victory over the devil,

and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon

the peoplethus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land

of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of

Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did

rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the

Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound

understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of

prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites, having

had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, by the power of their words many

were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him.

Now these are the circumstances which attended them in their journeyings, for they had many afflictions;

they did suffer much, both in body and in mind, such as hunger, thirst and fatigue, and also much labor in the

Now these were their journeyings: Having taken leave of their father, Mosiah, in the first year of the judges;

having refused the kingdom which their father was desirous to confer upon them, and also this was the minds

Nevertheless they departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and took their swords, and their spears, and their

bows, and their arrows, and their slings; and this they did that they might provide food for themselves while

And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had selected, to go up to the land

And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much

that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they

might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the

knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not

And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they

And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet

ye shall be patient in longsuffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me,

and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to

And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated

themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of

their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.

And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a

ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and

their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these

things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands.

Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen

upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended

Therefore, this was the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps they might

bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption.

Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went forth among them, every man alone,

Now Ammon being the chief among them, or rather he did administer unto them, and he departed from them,

after having blessed them according to their several stations, having imparted the word of God unto them, or

administered unto them before his departure; and thus they took their several journeys throughout the land.

And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called after the sons of Ishmael, who also became

And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound him, as was their custom to

bind all the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carry them before the king; and thus it was left to the

pleasure of the king to slay them, or to retain them in captivity, or to cast them into prison, or to cast them out

And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni;

And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his

And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the

And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon, and caused that his bands should be

But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant. Therefore Ammon became a servant to king

Lamoni. And it came to pass that he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni, according

And after he had been in the service of the king three days, as he was with the Lamanitish servants going

forth with their flocks to the place of water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive

Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forth their flocks to this place of water,

behold, a certain number of the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the

flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.

Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren

because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly,

Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within

him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellowservants, or the power which is

in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellowservants, that I

And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his

And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go

in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and

And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth

with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to the place of

And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the flocks

round about that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.

Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth and stood to contend with those who

Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their

pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their

hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of

their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.

But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yea, with mighty power he did sling

stones amongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of them insomuch that they began to be astonished

at his power; nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of their brethren, and they were determined

that he should fall; therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs

But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did

withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be

astonished, and began to flee before him; yea, and they were not few in number; and he caused them to flee

Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slew none save it were their leader with his sword; and he

smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him, and they were not a few.

And when he had driven them afar off, he returned and they watered their flocks and returned them to the

pasture of the king, and then went in unto the king, bearing the arms which had been smitten off by the sword

of Ammon, of those who sought to slay him; and they were carried in unto the king for a testimony of the

And it came to pass that king Lamoni caused that his servants should stand forth and testify to all the things

And when they had all testified to the things which they had seen, and he had learned of the faithfulness of

Ammon in preserving his flocks, and also of his great power in contending against those who sought to slay

him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great

Spirit who doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?

And they answered the king, and said: Whether he be the Great Spirit or a man, we know not; but this much

we do know, that he cannot be slain by the enemies of the king; neither can they scatter the king's flocks

when he is with us, because of his expertness and great strength; therefore, we know that he is a friend to the

king. And now, O king, we do not believe that a man has such great power, for we know he cannot be slain.

And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he

has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I did your brethren. Now this

Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a Great Spirit.

Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit they supposed that whatsoever they did was right;

nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants;

For he had slain many of them because their brethren had scattered their flocks at the place of water; and

Now it was the practice of these Lamanites to stand by the waters of Sebus to scatter the flocks of the people,

that thereby they might drive away many that were scattered unto their own land, it being a practice of

And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of his servants, saying: Where is this man that has such great

And they said unto him: Behold, he is feeding thy horses. Now the king had commanded his servants,

previous to the time of the watering of their flocks, that they should prepare his horses and chariots, and

conduct him forth to the land of Nephi; for there had been a great feast appointed at the land of Nephi, by the

Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his chariots he was more

astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all

my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to

Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst

And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and the chariots for the king and his

servants, he went in unto the king, and he saw that the countenance of the king was changed; therefore he was

And one of the king's servants said unto him, Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king,

considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay.

Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him: What wilt thou that I should do for thee,

O king? And the king answered him not for the space of an hour, according to their time, for he knew not

And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again: What desirest thou of me? But the king answered him

And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the Spirit of God, therefore he perceived the thoughts of

the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and

slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to

defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?

Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.

Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could discern his

thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art

Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me by what power ye slew and

And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it

were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they;

Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee

And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile.

And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?

And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is

And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.

And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.

And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and

And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God?

Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am

called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of

And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my

Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of

Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and rehearsed and laid before him the records

and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that

And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their

fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth.

And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael,

yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures

But this is not all; for he expounded unto them the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the

foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the

And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king

And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou

And it came to pass that his servants took him and carried him in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and

he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons, and his

daughters mourned over him, after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamenting his loss.

And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his body and lay it in a

Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in

And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know

And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a

Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his

bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead

and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not

Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew

that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind,

which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodnessyea, this light had

infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting

life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in

Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according

as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.

And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again;

And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word,

and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.

And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has

And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the

And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his

hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.

For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a

woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his

heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered

Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his

brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God

because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer

and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and

Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the

fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified unto

And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to

the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto

Thus, having been converted to the Lord, and never having made it known, therefore, when she saw that all

the servants of Lamoni had fallen to the earth, and also her mistress, the queen, and the king, and Ammon lay

prostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power of God; and supposing that this opportunity, by

making known unto the people what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it would cause

them to believe in the power of God, therefore she ran forth from house to house, making it known unto the

And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king. And there came a multitude, and

to their astonishment they beheld the king, and the queen, and their servants prostrate upon the earth, and they

all lay there as though they were dead; and they also saw Ammon, and behold, he was a Nephite.

And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying that it was a great evil that had come

upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should remain in the

But others rebuked them, saying: The king hath brought this evil upon his house, because he slew his servants

And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and scattered the flocks

which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of

Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry with

Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the

Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him,

and it shall be unto him according to thy faiththerefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.

And it came to pass that when the multitude beheld that the man had fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slay

Ammon, fear came upon them all, and they durst not put forth their hands to touch him or any of those who

had fallen; and they began to marvel again among themselves what could be the cause of this great power, or

And it came to pass that there were many among them who said that Ammon was the Great Spirit, and others

But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a monster, who had been sent from the Nephites to torment

And there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict them because of their

iniquities; and that it was the Great Spirit that had always attended the Nephites, who had ever delivered them

out of their hands; and they said that it was this Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren, the

And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them. And while they were thus contending,

the woman servant who had caused the multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the

contention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears.

And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the hand, that perhaps she might raise her from the

ground; and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice,

saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!

And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled with joy, speaking many words which were

not understood; and when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and

And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to

teach them the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words

But there were many among them who would not hear his words; therefore they went their way.

And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of

Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thingthat their hearts had been changed; that

And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them; and

And it came to pass that there were many that did believe in their words; and as many as did believe were

baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.

And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his

Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name.

And it came to pass that when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that

Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.

And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for behold, the

king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also

Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren

Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I

will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a

friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast

thy brethren out of prison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?

And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto meGo and deliver thy

Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his chariots.

And he said unto Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will plead with

And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of Lamoni, who

And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye not come to the feast on that great day when I

And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar?

And it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend him.

And he also told him all the cause of his tarrying in his own kingdom, that he did not go unto his father to the

And now when Lamoni had rehearsed unto him all these things, behold, to his astonishment, his father was

angry with him, and said: Lamoni, thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold, he

robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they may, by their cunning and their

Now the father of Lamoni commanded him that he should slay Ammon with the sword. And he also

commanded him that he should not go to the land of Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land

But Lamoni said unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I return to the land of Ishmael, but I go to the

land of Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men and holy

Now when his father had heard these words, he was angry with him, and he drew his sword that he might

But Ammon stood forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not slay thy son; nevertheless, it were better

that he should fall than thee, for behold, he has repented of his sins; but if thou shouldst fall at this time, in

And again, it is expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if thou shouldst slay thy son, he being an innocent

man, his blood would cry from the ground to the Lord his God, for vengeance to come upon thee; and

Now when Ammon had said these words unto him, he answered him, saying: I know that if I should slay my

son, that I should shed innocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought to destroy him.

And he stretched forth his hand to slay Ammon. But Ammon withstood his blows, and also smote his arm

Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his

But Ammon raised his sword, and said unto him: Behold, I will smite thee except thou wilt grant unto me that

Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever

Now when Ammon saw that he had wrought upon the old king according to his desire, he said unto him: If

thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison, and also that Lamoni may retain his kingdom, and

that ye be not displeased with him, but grant that he may do according to his own desires in whatsoever thing

Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life.

And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great love he had for

his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I

would release thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant

unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more

And I will also grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out of prison, and thou and thy brethren may

come unto me, in my kingdom; for I shall greatly desire to see thee. For the king was greatly astonished at the

words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he

And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their journey towards the land of Middoni. And

Lamoni found favor in the eyes of the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought forth

And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins

were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger, thirst,

and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings.

And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked

people; therefore they would not hearken unto their words, and they had cast them out, and had smitten them,

and had driven them from house to house, and from place to place, even until they had arrived in the land of

Middoni; and there they were taken and cast into prison, and bound with strong cords, and kept in prison for

Now when Ammon and his brethren separated themselves in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, behold

Aaron took his journey towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, Jerusalem, calling it after the

Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and the people of Amulon had built a great city, which was called

Now the Lamanites of themselves were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites were

still harder; therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts, that they should wax

And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem, and first began to preach to the Amalekites.

And he began to preach to them in their synagogues, for they had built synagogues after the order of the

Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors

Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking

unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast

testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as

Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts?

How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people?

Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe

Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?

And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these

foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy

fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.

Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the

resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death

And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to

Therefore, when he saw that they would not hear his words, he departed out of their synagogue, and came

over to a village which was called AniAnti, and there he found Muloki preaching the word unto them; and

And it came to pass that they saw that the people would harden their hearts, therefore they departed and came

over into the land of Middoni. And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on the words

Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into prison, and the remainder

And those who were cast into prison suffered many things, and they were delivered by the hand of Lamoni

And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison;

And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in

every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted.

And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of

the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers, which were not

And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returned from the land of Middoni to the land of Ishmael,

And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant.

But he caused that there should be synagogues built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or

And he did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things. And he did also declare unto them that

they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the

oppressions of the king, his father; for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people

And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according

to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under the reign of king

And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came to pass that he did teach them all things

concerning things pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and they gave

Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of Aaron

and his brethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land of Nephi,

even to the house of the king which was over all the land save it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the

And it came to pass that he went in unto him into the king's palace, with his brethren, and bowed himself

before the king, and said unto him: Behold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hast delivered

And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy servants. And the king said unto them: Arise, for

I will grant unto you your lives, and I will not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I will insist that ye shall

administer unto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness

of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of Middoni

And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the

Now the king said unto them: What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is

And also, what is this that Ammon saidIf ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, ye

And Aaron answered him and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? And the king said: I know

that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries,

that they may assemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I

And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O

And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?

And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth.

And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me

And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation

of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the kinghow God created man after his own image, and that God

And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him,

and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world,

And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone

for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the

grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and

And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that

I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having

this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not

be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom,

But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt

repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall

And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his

knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:

O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make

thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead,

and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead.

And it came to pass that his servants ran and told the queen all that had happened unto the king. And she

came in unto the king; and when she saw him lay as if he were dead, and also Aaron and his brethren

standing as though they had been the cause of his fall, she was angry with them, and commanded that her

Now the servants had seen the cause of the king's fall, therefore they durst not lay their hands on Aaron and

his brethren; and they pled with the queen saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these men,

when behold one of them is mightier than us all? Therefore we shall fall before them.

Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants she also began to fear exceedingly, lest there should some

evil come upon her. And she commanded her servants that they should go and call the people, that they might

Now when Aaron saw the determination of the queen, he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of the

people, feared lest that a multitude should assemble themselves together, and there should be a great

contention and a disturbance among them; therefore he put forth his hand and raised the king from the earth,

Now this was done in the presence of the queen and many of the servants. And when they saw it they greatly

marveled, and began to fear. And the king stood forth, and began to minister unto them. And he did minister

Now there was a multitude gathered together because of the commandment of the queen, and there began to

But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them. And they were pacified towards Aaron and

And it came to pass that when the king saw that the people were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his

brethren should stand forth in the midst of the multitude, and that they should preach the word unto them.

And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who

were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east

and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which

ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of

the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of

the river Sidon, running from the east towards the westand thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites

Now, the more idle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents; and they were spread

through the wilderness on the west, in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla,

in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers' first

And also there were many Lamanites on the east by the seashore, whither the Nephites had driven them. And

thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession

of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east

to the west, round about on the wilderness side; on the north, even until they came to the land which they

And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the

land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by

And they came from there up into the south wilderness. Thus the land on the northward was called

Desolation, and the land on the southward was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled with

all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward for food.

And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half's journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the

land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were

nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land

And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land Bountiful, even from the east unto the west sea,

and thus the Nephites in their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the Lamanites on

the south, that thereby they should have no more possession on the north, that they might not overrun the land

Therefore the Lamanites could have no more possessions only in the land of Nephi, and the wilderness round

about. Now this was wisdom in the Nephitesas the Lamanites were an enemy to them, they would not

suffer their afflictions on every hand, and also that they might have a country whither they might flee,

And now I, after having said this, return again to the account of Ammon and Aaron, Omner and Himni, and

Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, that

they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who

should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land.

Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them

into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor

scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses,

And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted

unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people,

that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his

people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be

convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to

And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren

went forth from city to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and

consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word

And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the

traditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down even to

And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of

the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of

prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in themyea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many

of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.

For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight

And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of

And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are

they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites.

And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did

harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea,

Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge

And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a

name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron

and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be

And it came to pass that they called their names AntiNephiLehies; and they were called by this name and

And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they

did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them.

And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of

Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land

round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of AntiNephiLehi, were

stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.

And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their

king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the

Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name AntiNephiLehi.

And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the

Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the

Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his

brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and

also with his brother AntiNephiLehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up

arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king

Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved

people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us,

And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we

And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins,

And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these

things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and

And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all

mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take

them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take

Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright,

Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren;

for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the

And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea,

and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our

children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made

Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains

taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a

testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged,

that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has

And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even

we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used

them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were

assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man's

And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use

weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that

rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away

from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor

And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm,

and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of

And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of

Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the

Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated

themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this

attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they

Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside

to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act

Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had

swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things

And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they

were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying

And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain;

and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they

And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the

knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and

Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites,

or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and

have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and

transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never

And behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren;

therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did no more attempt to slay the people of

But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people

And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.

And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the

And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and having usurped the power and authority over the

Lamanites, caused that many of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their belief

For many of them, after having suffered much loss and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in

remembrance of the words which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they

began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to believe in the Lord, and that he gave great power

unto the Nephites; and thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness.

And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of Amulon caused that they should

Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be

contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began

And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass,

which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.

For he said unto them: What ye shall do unto me shall be a type of things to come.

And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he

And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner

as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven

and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites,

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned

again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi,

and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of AntiNephiLehi.

And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a

righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and

Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet,

for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of

Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those

Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to

strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying

And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for

the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according

to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular.

And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren,

behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started

from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss,

but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing

which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about

Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.

Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might,

yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the

Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the

whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot

penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry

But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the

Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth

For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so

dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been

And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying:

But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will

boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought

Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to

sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great

Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the

Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them

into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless

bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will

praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great

power, and of his mercy, and of his longsuffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I

Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful,

Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to destroy his church.

Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice

Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his

great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls.

And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is

Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without

ceasingunto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things

which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to

repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the

land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn?

For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye

suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as

stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent

in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my

And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of

But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and

said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto

And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings,

and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of

And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we

have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and

taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have

been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom

And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving

some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they

are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also

For behold, they had rather sacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy; and they have buried

their weapons of war deep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren.

And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay,

For behold, they would take up arms against their brethren; they would not suffer themselves to be slain. But

behold how many of these have laid down their lives; and we know that they have gone to their God, because

Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to

rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he

has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being,

Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my

redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people,

who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he

numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great

Now it came to pass that when those Lamanites who had gone to war against the Nephites had found, after

their many struggles to destroy them, that it was in vain to seek their destruction, they returned again to the

And it came to pass that the Amalekites, because of their loss, were exceedingly angry. And when they saw

that they could not seek revenge from the Nephites, they began to stir up the people in anger against their

brethren, the people of AntiNephiLehi; therefore they began again to destroy them.

Now this people again refused to take their arms, and they suffered themselves to be slain according to the

Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved,

and among those who had so dearly beloved themfor they were treated as though they were angels sent

from God to save them from everlasting destructiontherefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this

great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion, and they said unto the king:

Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the

But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we

And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord, and if he say unto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye

And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will

be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them.

But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that

there should be any slaves among them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our brethren.

But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will

And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said unto him:

Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites,

who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land;

And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him.

And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their

flocks and herds, and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi

And it came to pass that Ammon said unto them: Behold, I and my brethren will go forth into the land of

Zarahemla, and ye shall remain here until we return; and we will try the hearts of our brethren, whether they

And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in

Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God,

Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and

Now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great, and also the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and

And now it came to pass that Alma conducted his brethren back to the land of Zarahemla; even to his own

house. And they went and told the chief judge all the things that had happened unto them in the land of

And it came to pass that the chief judge sent a proclamation throughout all the land, desiring the voice of the

people concerning the admitting their brethren, who were the people of AntiNephiLehi.

And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon,

which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful;

and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance.

And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and the land Nephi, that we may protect our

brethren in the land Jershon; and this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up arms against

their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their great fear came because of their sore repentance

And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard

them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their substance to

Now, it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he returned to the people of AntiNephiLehi, and

also Alma with him, into the wilderness, where they had pitched their tents, and made known unto them all

these things. And Alma also related unto them his conversion, with Ammon and Aaron, and his brethren.

And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them. And they went down into the land of Jershon, and

took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore

And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of

God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were

perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.

And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence; and they never

could be prevailed upon to take up arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with any

degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to

Therefore, they would suffer death in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted

And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.

And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, and a

church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of

Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had

And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people

in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and

Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were

And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land,

Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the

daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of

And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer.

And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi;

And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in

the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of

the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls

And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the Nephites, and also the wars between the

Nephites and the Lamanites; and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended.

And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has

And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are

moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their

kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a

While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the

hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of

And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the

devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.

And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the

great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicingsorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump

Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption,

that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the

But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath

I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men

according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea,

decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or

Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is

blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth

Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have

Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in

wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom,

I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that

which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the

And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my

soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my

Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out

of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the

Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a

holy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is

But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who

Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their

Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it

And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and

also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him

forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen.

Behold, now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, yea, and

also after the Lamanites were driven out of the land, and their dead were buried by the people of the land

Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their numbers; neither were the dead of the

Nephites numberedbut it came to pass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of fasting,

and mourning, and prayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of

Yea, and the people did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord; and they were strict in observing the

ordinances of God, according to the law of Moses; for they were taught to keep the law of Moses until it

And thus the people did have no disturbance in all the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the

And it came to pass that in the commencement of the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges, there was

But it came to pass in the latter end of the seventeenth year, there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and

he was AntiChrist, for he began to preach unto the people against the prophecies which had been spoken by

Now there was no law against a man's belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there

Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to

But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed he was also punished; and if he stole he was

also punished; and if he committed adultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were

For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law

against a man's belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all

And this AntiChrist, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preach

unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:

O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish

things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.

Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they

How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot

But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the

traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.

And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the

sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every

man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and

And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in

their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredomstelling them that

Now this man went over to the land of Jershon also, to preach these things among the people of Ammon, who

But behold they were more wise than many of the Nephites; for they took him, and bound him, and carried

And it came to pass that he caused that he should be carried out of the land. And he came over into the land

of Gideon, and began to preach unto them also; and here he did not have much success, for he was taken and

bound and carried before the high priest, and also the chief judge over the land.

And it came to pass that the high priest said unto him: Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord?

Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings? Why do ye speak

Now the high priest's name was Giddonah. And Korihor said unto him: Because I do not teach the foolish

traditions of your fathers, and because I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish

ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them,

to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words.

Ye say that this people is a free people. Behold, I say they are in bondage. Ye say that those ancient

Ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallen people, because of the transgression of a parent. Behold, I say

And ye also say that Christ shall come. But behold, I say that ye do not know that there shall be a Christ. And

And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own

desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of

their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges.

Yea, they durst not make use of that which is their own lest they should offend their priests, who do yoke

them according to their desires, and have brought them to believe, by their traditions and their dreams and

their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries, that they should, if they did not do according to

their words, offend some unknown being, who they say is Goda being who never has been seen or known,

Now when the high priest and the chief judge saw the hardness of his heart, yea, when they saw that he would

revile even against God, they would not make any reply to his words; but they caused that he should be

bound; and they delivered him up into the hands of the officers, and sent him to the land of Zarahemla, that

he might be brought before Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over all the land.

And it came to pass that when he was brought before Alma and the chief judge, he did go on in the same

And he did rise up in great swelling words before Alma, and did revile against the priests and teachers,

accusing them of leading away the people after the silly traditions of their fathers, for the sake of glutting on

Now Alma said unto him: Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of this people; for

behold I have labored even from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with mine own

hands for my support, notwithstanding my many travels round about the land to declare the word of God unto

And notwithstanding the many labors which I have performed in the church, I have never received so much

as even one senine for my labor; neither has any of my brethren, save it were in the judgmentseat; and then

And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in the church, what doth it profit us to labor in the

church save it were to declare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the joy of our brethren?

Then why sayest thou that we preach unto this people to get gain, when thou, of thyself, knowest that we

receive no gain? And now, believest thou that we deceive this people, that causes such joy in their hearts?

Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say

And now what evidence have ye that there is no God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have

But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a

testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things are true?

Behold, I know that thou believest, but thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of

God that it may have no place in you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about, working

And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God,

yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words.

But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a

sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are

laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the

face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that

And yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God? And yet

will ye deny against all these witnesses? And he said: Yea, I will deny, except ye shall show me a sign.

And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him: Behold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your

heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed.

But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many

souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold

God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou

Now Korihor said unto him: I do not deny the existence of a God, but I do not believe that there is a God; and

I say also, that ye do not know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe.

Now Alma said unto him: This will I give unto thee for a sign, that thou shalt be struck dumb, according to

my words; and I say, that in the name of God, ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have utterance.

Now when Alma had said these words, Korihor was struck dumb, that he could not have utterance, according

And now when the chief judge saw this, he put forth his hand and wrote unto Korihor, saying: Art thou

convinced of the power of God? In whom did ye desire that Alma should show forth his sign? Would ye that

he should afflict others, to show unto thee a sign? Behold, he has showed unto you a sign; and now will ye

And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: I know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know that

nothing save it were the power of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always knew that there was a

But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me:

Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There

is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them

because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch

that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought

Now when he had said this, he besought that Alma should pray unto God, that the curse might be taken from

But Alma said unto him: If this curse should be taken from thee thou wouldst again lead away the hearts of

And it came to pass that the curse was not taken off of Korihor; but he was cast out, and went about from

Now the knowledge of what had happened unto Korihor was immediately published throughout all the land;

yea, the proclamation was sent forth by the chief judge to all the people in the land, declaring unto those who

had believed in the words of Korihor that they must speedily repent, lest the same judgments would come

And it came to pass that they were all convinced of the wickedness of Korihor; therefore they were all

converted again unto the Lord; and this put an end to the iniquity after the manner of Korihor. And Korihor

And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated

themselves from the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was

Zoramand as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was

And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not

Now it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having received tidings that the Zoramites were

perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to

bow down to dumb idols, his heart again began to sicken because of the iniquity of the people.

For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was

exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites.

Now the Zoramites had gathered themselves together in a land which they called Antionum, which was east

of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of

Jershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which wilderness was full of the Lamanites.

Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter into a correspondence with the Lamanites,

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was

justyea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else,

which had happened unto themtherefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of

Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner; and Himni he did leave in the church in Zarahemla; but

the former three he took with him, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, who were at Melek; and he also took two

Now the eldest of his sons he took not with him, and his name was Helaman; but the names of those whom

he took with him were Shiblon and Corianton; and these are the names of those who went with him among

Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore they had had the word of God preached unto

But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his

Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God

Yea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord in very many instances; therefore, for this cause, Alma and

Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built

synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the

day of the Lord; and they did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld;

For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the

Therefore, whosoever desired to worship must go forth and stand upon the top thereof, and stretch forth his

Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit,

Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of

our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou

hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.

But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all

around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and

we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our

brethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from

Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren and his sons had heard these prayers, they were

Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, which, being interpreted, is the holy stand.

Now, from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God, thanking their God that

they were chosen of him, and that he did not lead them away after the tradition of their brethren, and that their

hearts were not stolen away to believe in things to come, which they knew nothing about.

Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this manner, they returned to their homes, never

speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up

Now when Alma saw this his heart was grieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse people;

yea, he saw that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods.

Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride.

And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy

servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?

Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they

cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world.

Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold,

and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and

yet they cry unto thee and sayWe thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others

Yea, and they say that thou hast made it known unto them that there shall be no Christ.

O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O

Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness

O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto

me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me,

O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with

meyea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom and also my two sonsyea, even

all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ.

Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come

O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.

Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord,

Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he clapped his hands upon all them who were

with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

And after that they did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what they

And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave

them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.

Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith.

And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into

their synagogues, and into their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their streets.

And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began to have success among the poor class of

people; for behold, they were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel

Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as

filthiness; therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross; therefore they were

Now, as Alma was teaching and speaking unto the people upon the hill Onidah, there came a great multitude

unto him, who were those of whom we have been speaking, of whom were poor in heart, because of their

And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold, what shall

these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by

our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our

own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place to worship our

And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with

great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them and that they were in a preparation to

Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he stretched forth his hand, and cried unto those

Behold thy brother hath said, What shall we do?for we are cast out of our synagogues, that we cannot

Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye cannot worship God save it be in your synagogues only?

Moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must not worship God only once in a week?

I say unto you, it is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may

learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are cast out, that ye are

despised of your brethren because of your exceeding poverty, that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for

And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to

be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth

And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not

suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?

Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be

blessedyea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding

Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other

words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea,

without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a

Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to

And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only

Now of this thing ye must judge. Behold, I say unto you, that it is on the one hand even as it is on the other;

And now as I said concerning faithfaith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have

And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who

believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.

And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all;

little children do have words given unto them many times which confound the wise and the learned.

And now, my beloved brethren, as ye have desired to know of me what ye shall do because ye are afflicted

and cast outnow I do not desire that ye should suppose that I mean to judge you only according to that

For I do not mean that ye all of you have been compelled to humble yourselves; for I verily believe that there

are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances they might.

Now, as I said concerning faiththat it was not a perfect knowledgeeven so it is with my words. Ye

cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a

particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart,

behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the

Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling

motions, ye will begin to say within yourselvesIt must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is

good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth

Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a

But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed

is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now behold, will not this

strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for

And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto

Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.

And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth,

And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is

dormant; and this because ye know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that

it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to

O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is

discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your

Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to

And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root,

that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get

But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when

the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and

Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable;

but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit

And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can

But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great

diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a

And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may

take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet

above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye

shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and

Now after Alma had spoken these words, they sent forth unto him desiring to know whether they should

believe in one God, that they might obtain this fruit of which he had spoken, or how they should plant the

seed, or the word of which he had spoken, which he said must be planted in their hearts; or in what manner

And Alma said unto them: Behold, ye have said that ye could not worship your God because ye are cast out

of your synagogues. But behold, I say unto you, if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do greatly err,

and ye ought to search the scriptures; if ye suppose that they have taught you this, ye do not understand them.

Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship?

For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea,

thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in

And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou

Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea,

thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with

And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou

hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for

And now Alma said unto them: Do ye believe those scriptures which have been written by them of old?

Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he said: Thou hast turned away thy judgments

Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the

For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things

For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies

And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the

But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever

But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there

were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they

O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not

behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast

If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God,

that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he

shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him,

And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even

so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And

then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this

And now it came to pass that after Alma had spoken these words unto them he sat down upon the ground, and

My brethren, I think that it is impossible that ye should be ignorant of the things which have been spoken

concerning the coming of Christ, who is taught by us to be the Son of God; yea, I know that these things were

And as ye have desired of my beloved brother that he should make known unto you what ye should do,

because of your afflictions; and he hath spoken somewhat unto you to prepare your minds; yea, and he hath

Yea, even that ye would have so much faith as even to plant the word in your hearts, that ye may try the

And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God,

And ye also beheld that my brother has proved unto you, in many instances, that the word is in Christ unto

My brother has called upon the words of Zenos, that redemption cometh through the Son of God, and also

upon the words of Zenock; and also he has appealed unto Moses, to prove that these things are true.

And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do

know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people,

and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there

must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are

fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast,

neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal

Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a

man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.

But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an

Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is

expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it

And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that

And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last

sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto

And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that

exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto

him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance,

Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, midday, and evening.

But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually

And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done

all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of

your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in needI say unto you, if ye do not any of these things,

behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of

And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures

Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and

the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for

And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do

not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to

prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of

Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay,

ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life,

For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become

subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn

from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the

And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the

righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no

more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb.

And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should work out

your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ;

That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ;

that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and

in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow

Yea, and I also exhort you, my brethren, that ye be watchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led

away by the temptations of the devil, that he may not overpower you, that ye may not become his subjects at

And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of

afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye

But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all

Now it came to pass that after Amulek had made an end of these words, they withdrew themselves from the

Yea, and the rest of the brethren, after they had preached the word unto the Zoramites, also came over into

And it came to pass that after the more popular part of the Zoramites had consulted together concerning the

words which had been preached unto them, they were angry because of the word, for it did destroy their craft;

And they sent and gathered together throughout all the land all the people, and consulted with them

Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concerning their desires;

And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the

words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land; and they were many; and

Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon, and the chief

ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them that they

should cast out of their land all those who came over from them into their land.

And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their

words; therefore they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over

unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their inheritance;

Now this did stir up the Zoramites to anger against the people of Ammon, and they began to mix with the

And thus the Zoramites and the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of Ammon,

And thus ended the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And the people of Ammon departed out of the land of Jershon, and came over into the land of Melek, and

gave place in the land of Jershon for the armies of the Nephites, that they might contend with the armies of

the Lamanites and the armies of the Zoramites; and thus commenced a war betwixt the Lamanites and the

Nephites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges; and an account shall be given of their wars

And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla,

after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as

many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in

the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and

Now Alma, being grieved for the iniquity of his people, yea for the wars, and the bloodsheds, and the

contentions which were among them; and having been to declare the word, or sent to declare the word,

among all the people in every city; and seeing that the hearts of the people began to wax hard, and that they

began to be offended because of the strictness of the word, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

Therefore, he caused that his sons should be gathered together, that he might give unto them every one his

charge, separately, concerning the things pertaining unto righteousness. And we have an account of his

My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of

I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in

bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God

And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt

hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported

in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.

And I would not that ye think that I know of myselfnot of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the

Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God

has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself.

For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his

And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our

But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.

And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.

And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of three days and three nights that I could

And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did not hear them; for

when I heard the wordsIf thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of GodI

was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I

But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all

Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw

that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.

Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so

great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul

Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to

And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.

And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my

many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the

Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have

mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and

again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my

Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless

concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the

Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto

repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be

Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;

For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have

tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of

And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea,

God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he

And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him

forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea;

and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and

Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting

power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I

have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I

But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the

commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not

keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.

And now, my son Helaman, I command you that ye take the records which have been entrusted with me;

And I also command you that ye keep a record of this people, according as I have done, upon the plates of

Nephi, and keep all these things sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for a wise

And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon

Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation

to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation,

kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.

And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness;

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things

are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small

means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have

enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to

Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates,

Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect

tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they

brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.

And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many

thousands of our stiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities,

Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me; therefore I shall forbear.

And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for

he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.

O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: If ye will

keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the landbut if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut

And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has

kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his

And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold,

these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up

But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which

the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with

them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his

For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he

For he promised unto them that he would preserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that he might show

And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to the restoration of many thousands of the Lamanites to

the knowledge of the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and he will also still show forth his

Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be

And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twentyfour plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries

and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been

destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings,

and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve

For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and

abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the

And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto

light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their

brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.

And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake,

I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they

repent I will destroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and

And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they have been destroyed, and thus far the word

of God has been fulfilled; yea, their secret abominations have been brought out of darkness and made known

And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths, and their covenants, and their agreements in

their secret abominations; yea, and all their signs and their wonders ye shall keep from this people, that they

know them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed.

For behold, there is a curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness,

according to the power of God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that this people might not be

Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their oaths and their covenants from this people, and only their

wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teach

them to abhor such wickedness and abominations and murders; and ye shall also teach them that these people

were destroyed on account of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.

For behold, they murdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them to declare unto them

concerning their iniquities; and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for

vengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments of God did come upon these

Yea, and cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even

And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this

Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be

meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord

Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to

O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of

Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou

goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night

lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy

heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or directoror

our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.

And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was

prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could

cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this

Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works.

They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased,

Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and

And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our

fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper;

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal

bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by

following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us

O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so

was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared,

And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto

My son, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep

the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments

And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness

unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you

will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end.

I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence,

For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word's sake; and thou

didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord

And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God

even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be

Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God

which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not

But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of

destruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice

And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and

never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But

And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no

other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light

And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would

See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much

Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with

Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for

Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my

unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercyyea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all

And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace.

Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be sober. My son, farewell.

And now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I said unto thy brother; for behold, have

ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the

For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the Zoramites.

Now this is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy wisdom.

And this is not all, my son. Thou didst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsake the

ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron, among the borders of the Lamanites, after the harlot Isabel.

Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have

Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable

above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?

For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold,

this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it

is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a

And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon

But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against

Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes,

but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh,

And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings; for behold,

thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel.

Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart

again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for

And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the

hearts of many people to destruction; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain

That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of no more to

do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done.

Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.

And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you,

that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of

And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this

people to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds

And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be

known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul

Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their

Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our

Now my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto thee; for I perceive that thy mind is worried

Behold, I say unto you, that there is no resurrectionor, I would say, in other words, that this mortal does

not put on immortality, this corruption does not put on incorruptionuntil after the coming of Christ.

Behold, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now,

I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth

them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might

Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead. Now when this time cometh no one

Now, whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the

dead, it mattereth not; for God knoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the

Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the time of the resurrection.

And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men from this time of death to the time appointed for

Now whether there is more than one time appointed for men to rise it mattereth not; for all do not die at once,

and this mattereth not; all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men.

Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there is a space between

the time of death and the resurrection. And now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of

men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and this is the thing of which I do

And when the time cometh when all shall rise, then shall they know that God knoweth all the times which are

Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrectionBehold, it has been made known

unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the

spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of

happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their

And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evilfor behold, they have no part

nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of

the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their houseand these shall be cast out into outer

darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity,

Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the

fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in

Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul,

before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the raising of

the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been

And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have

been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection

of the souls and their consignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth.

Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of

Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the

wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice; that I say that they all come forth; or in other

words, their resurrection cometh to pass before the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of

Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection cometh at the resurrection of Christ; but behold, I give it as

my opinion, that the souls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at the resurrection of Christ, and his

But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between

death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is

appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand

Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the

The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be

restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their

And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets

But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of

righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast

out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink

And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration of which has been spoken; for behold,

some have wrested the scriptures, and have gone far astray because of this thing. And I perceive that thy mind

has been worried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto thee.

I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that

all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and

resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body

And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their

works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day,

And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to

their proper order, every thing to its natural framemortality raised to immortality, corruption to

incorruptionraised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the

The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good;

and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so

And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his

These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from

that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do

Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein

And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offense against your God upon those points of doctrine,

Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to

And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of

bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the

nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.

And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an

O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or

carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilishgood for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous;

Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good

continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored

unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored

For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration

And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot

understandwhich is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose

Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sent our first parents

forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were takenyea, he drew out the man,

and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way,

Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand,

and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming

And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent

For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived

forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would

But behold, it was appointed unto man to dietherefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they

should be cut off from the face of the earthand man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.

And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence

of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will.

Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would

Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a

temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be

Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state

And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they were

And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself

Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of

repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these

conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice

And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God,

And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God

himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice,

Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life

of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the

Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there

Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

Now, if there was no law givenif a man murdered he should diewould he be afraid he would die if he

And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no

But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance mercy

claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the

punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.

But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the

atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead

bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged

For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none

What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to

And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the

world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery.

Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever

will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to

If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to

And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble

O my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the

least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and his

mercy, and his longsuffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility.

And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people. And now, my son, go thy way,

declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of

mercy may have claim upon them. And may God grant unto you even according to my words. Amen.

And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them.

Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth,

according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order of God by which

And now I return to an account of the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites, in the eighteenth year of

For behold, it came to pass that the Zoramites became Lamanites; therefore, in the commencement of the

eighteenth year the people of the Nephites saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they

made preparations for war; yea, they gathered together their armies in the land of Jershon.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites came with their thousands; and they came into the land of Antionum,

which is the land of the Zoramites; and a man by the name of Zerahemnah was their leader.

And now, as the Amalekites were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were, in

and of themselves, therefore, Zerahemnah appointed chief captains over the Lamanites, and they were all

Now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into

For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might

usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into

And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their

children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve

their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their

For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in

Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of

AntiNephiLehi, who were called the people of Ammonand they would not take up arms, yea, they had

entered into a covenant and they would not break ittherefore, if they should fall into the hands of the

And the Nephites would not suffer that they should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their

And the people of Ammon did give unto the Nephites a large portion of their substance to support their

armies; and thus the Nephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who were a

compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all those who had dissented from the

Nephites, who were Amalekites and Zoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah.

Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the Nephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged

And it came to pass as the armies of the Lamanites had gathered together in the land of Antionum, behold,

Now, the leader of the Nephites, or the man who had been appointed to be the chief captain over the

Nephitesnow the chief captain took the command of all the armies of the Nephitesand his name was

And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their wars. And he was only twenty and five years

And it came to pass that he met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with

And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people

with breastplates and with armshields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were

Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their

cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin

which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites;

But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shieldstherefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the

armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the

Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore

they departed out of the land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round about in the

wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they might come into the land of Manti and take

possession of the land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they had

But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to

watch their camp; and Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring

him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves

And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of

Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come

over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack upon the weaker part of the people. And

Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites

should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched

And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle

against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they

And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the

bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.

And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren,

or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all

And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and

their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by

Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the valley, and concealed them on the east, and

And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the

And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was prepared to meet them.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites came up on the north of the hill, where a part of the army of Moroni

And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon,

the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was Lehi, and he

And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the Nephites coming upon them in their rear, turned

And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for

their nakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which

While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss

of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being

shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their armshields, and their

headplates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even

And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they

crossed the waters of Sidon. And Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they should

And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley, on the other side of the river

And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the

Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with

And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and

by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like

dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their

headplates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and

Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor

power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all,

And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said

unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the

second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this

cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their

And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they

were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their

hearts with these thoughtsyea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.

And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their

And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the

Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon.

Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites;

nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the

Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea, even on both sides of the river, for behold, on the

Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on

the west of the river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with terror.

Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood.

And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from them. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah:

Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do

Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we

desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us;

But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now

I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ.

Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so

long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we

And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that allpowerful God, who has strengthened our

arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by

our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which

binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which

Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your

weapons of war unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way

And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my men that they shall fall upon

you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we will see who

shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be brought into bondage.

And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these sayings he came forth and delivered up his

sword and his cimeter, and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are our

weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you,

which we know that we shall break, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer that we

may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will perish or conquer.

Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we

believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your breastplates and

And now when Zerahemnah had made an end of speaking these words, Moroni returned the sword and the

weapons of war, which he had received, unto Zerahemnah, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.

Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken, therefore as the Lord liveth, ye shall not depart except ye

depart with an oath that ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands we will spill

your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the conditions which I have proposed.

And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni,

and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni's soldiers

smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp

and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his soldiers.

And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp

from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them,

Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except

Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the scalp which was upon the sword, that were

struck with fear; and many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and

entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to depart into the

Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers

And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the Lamanites; therefore he commanded his

people that they should fall upon them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them; yea,

But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea,

behold they were pierced and smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the Nephites;

Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni,

promising that he would covenant and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their

And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death should cease again among the people. And he

took the weapons of war from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him of peace

Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of

And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are

And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned and came to their houses and their lands.

And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the

Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again

delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea,

and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy.

And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma

came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning

Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall prosper thee in this land.

But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known;

yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore write

And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of

revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto

Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi

Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and lasciviousness,

and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and

knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth generation shall not all pass away before

And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed of

those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi, shall no more be numbered among the people of

But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among the

Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the

Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall become extinct. And now, because of

And now it came to pass that after Alma had said these things to Helaman, he blessed him, and also his other

And he said: Thus saith the Lord GodCursed 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

And now, when Alma had said these words he blessed the church, yea, all those who should stand fast in the

And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek.

And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.

Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was

taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the

Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself;

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the

people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the word unto them.

For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which

had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of God should be declared among them, yea,

Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in all the land, yea, in every city

throughout all the land which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came to pass that they did

And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the

churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman

But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they

grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before God.

And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the words of Helaman and his brethren were

And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them.

Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name

And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he

should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were

And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be

Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his

brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were high priests over

And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they

dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and

dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great

rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord.

Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and

Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children

Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words,

that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and

to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon

And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had

And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon itIn memory of our

God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our childrenand he fastened it upon the end

And he fastened on his headplate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his

loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and

he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon

his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land

For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not

And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took

upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who

And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might

And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of

the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the southA chosen land, and the

And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of

Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions.

And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment

in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice,

Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and

enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.

And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together

with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would

not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or

fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even

Now this was the covenant which they made, and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We

covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall

into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy

Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of

Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep

the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be

Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his

death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed.

And he saidEven as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed

of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of

Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his

And now who knoweth but what the remnant of the seed of Joseph, which shall perish as his garment, are

those who have dissented from us? Yea, and even it shall be ourselves if we do not stand fast in the faith of

And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he went forth, and also sent forth in all the

parts of the land where there were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were desirous to

maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and those who had dissented, who were called

And it came to pass that when Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the

Amalickiahitesand he also saw that his people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which

they had undertakentherefore, fearing that he should not gain the point, he took those of his people who

Now Moroni thought it was not expedient that the Lamanites should have any more strength; therefore he

thought to cut off the people of Amalickiah, or to take them and bring them back, and put Amalickiah to

death; yea, for he knew that he would stir up the Lamanites to anger against them, and cause them to come to

battle against them; and this he knew that Amalickiah would do that he might obtain his purposes.

Therefore Moroni thought it was expedient that he should take his armies, who had gathered themselves

together, and armed themselves, and entered into a covenant to keep the peaceand it came to pass that he

took his army and marched out with his tents into the wilderness, to cut off the course of Amalickiah in the

And it came to pass that he did according to his desires, and marched forth into the wilderness, and headed

And it came to pass that Amalickiah fled with a small number of his men, and the remainder were delivered

Now, Moroni being a man who was appointed by the chief judges and the voice of the people, therefore he

had power according to his will with the armies of the Nephites, to establish and to exercise authority over

And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that would not enter into a covenant to support

the cause of freedom, that they might maintain a free government, he caused to be put to death; and there

And it came to pass also, that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the

land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the

And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did maintain peace in the land until nearly the

And Helaman and the high priests did also maintain order in the church; yea, even for the space of four years

And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly believing that their souls were redeemed by the

And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the

landbut not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which

God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate

But there were many who died with old age; and those who died in the faith of Christ are happy in him, as we

Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had fled with him into the wilderness; for,

behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites, and

did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a

proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again

And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid;

yea, they feared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should

lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the

And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their disobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah

the command of that part of his army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that he

Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very subtle man to do evil therefore he laid the

And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he

sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called

Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they

were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms.

And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a

determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites.

And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called

Now it was not Amalickiah's intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but

behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their

And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the

And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the

leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of

And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount.

And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to

And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the

mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti's camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message

unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.

And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah

desired him to come down with his army in the nighttime, and surround those men in their camps over

whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti's hands, if he would

And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that

before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti.

And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they plead with Amalickiah that he would

And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the commands of the king. Now this was the thing

that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.

Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to

And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to

Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief

And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for he had gained his desires) to the land of

And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he supposed that Amalickiah had fulfilled his

commands, and that Amalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the Nephites to battle.

But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused that his servants should go forth to meet the

king. And they went and bowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his greatness.

And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise them, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a

And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the ground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart;

Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry, saying:

Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart, and he has fallen and they have fled; behold,

And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had

happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah

pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they

And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued

Now when the servants of the king saw an army pursuing after them, they were frightened again, and fled

into the wilderness, and came over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the people of Ammon.

And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued after them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by

And it came to pass on the morrow he entered the city Nephi with his armies, and took possession of the city.

And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that the king was slainfor Amalickiah had

sent an embassy to the queen informing her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had pursued

Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would

spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired

him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king.

And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with

him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her that the king was

slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus

And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus

by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was

acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of

the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of

Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been

instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their

dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the

Lamanitesdrinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of

And now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiah had obtained the kingdom he began to inspire the hearts

of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their

And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year

of the reign of the judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having been made king over the

Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the land, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the

Therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their

minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to battle

For he was determined, because of the greatness of the number of his people, to overpower the Nephites and

And thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of

the Nephites, and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he appointed them to be

And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth toward the land of Zarahemla in the

Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on

the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort;

throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle

them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and

And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace,

and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their

And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not

delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which

he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his

people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it

were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword

And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were

faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee,

And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against

their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart

did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni,

behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over

Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and

Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they

did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto

And thus they went forth, and the people did humble themselves because of their words, insomuch that they

were highly favored of the Lord, and thus they were free from wars and contentions among themselves, yea,

But, as I have said, in the latter end of the nineteenth year, yea, notwithstanding their peace amongst

themselves, they were compelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites.

Yea, and in fine, their wars never did cease for the space of many years with the Lamanites, notwithstanding

Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of

blood; yea, and this was not allthey were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of

Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be

massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their

church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites.

Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there

were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep

And now it came to pass in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year, on the tenth day of the month, the

And behold, the city had been rebuilt, and Moroni had stationed an army by the borders of the city, and they

had cast up dirt around about to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites; for behold, they

Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt; and

because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it

But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round

about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at them that

they might take effect, neither could they come upon them save it was by their place of entrance.

Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of

Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed, because of the greatness of their numbers, yea, they

supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done; yea, and they had also

prepared themselves with shields, and with breastplates; and they had also prepared themselves with

And being thus prepared they supposed that they should easily overpower and subject their brethren to the

But behold, to their uttermost astonishment, they were prepared for them, in a manner which never had been

known among the children of Lehi. Now they were prepared for the Lamanites, to battle after the manner of

And it came to pass that the Lamanites, or the Amalickiahites, were exceedingly astonished at their manner of

Now, if king Amalickiah had come down out of the land of Nephi, at the head of his army, perhaps he would

have caused the Lamanites to have attacked the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah; for behold, he did care

But behold, Amalickiah did not come down himself to battle. And behold, his chief captains durst not attack

the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah, for Moroni had altered the management of affairs among the

Nephites, insomuch that the Lamanites were disappointed in their places of retreat and they could not come

Therefore they retreated into the wilderness, and took their camp and marched towards the land of Noah,

For they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security, for every city in all the land round

about; therefore, they marched forward to the land of Noah with a firm determination; yea, their chief

captains came forward and took an oath that they would destroy the people of that city.

But behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the

means of Moroni, become strong, yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah.

And now, behold, this was wisdom in Moroni; for he had supposed that they would be frightened at the city

Ammonihah; and as the city of Noah had hitherto been the weakest part of the land, therefore they would

And behold, Moroni had appointed Lehi to be chief captain over the men of that city; and it was that same

Lehi who fought with the Lamanites in the valley on the east of the river Sidon.

And now behold it came to pass, that when the Lamanites had found that Lehi commanded the city they were

again disappointed, for they feared Lehi exceedingly; nevertheless their chief captains had sworn with an oath

Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance,

because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been

And thus were the Nephites prepared to destroy all such as should attempt to climb up to enter the fort by any

Thus they were prepared, yea, a body of their strongest men, with their swords and their slings, to smite down

all who should attempt to come into their place of security by the place of entrance; and thus were they

And it came to pass that the captains of the Lamanites brought up their armies before the place of entrance,

and began to contend with the Nephites, to get into their place of security; but behold, they were driven back

Now when they found that they could not obtain power over the Nephites by the pass, they began to dig down

their banks of earth that they might obtain a pass to their armies, that they might have an equal chance to

fight; but behold, in these attempts they were swept off by the stones and arrows which were thrown at them;

and instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down the banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure

Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies; and thus the Lamanites did attempt to destroy the

Nephites until their chief captains were all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain;

while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain.

There were about fifty who were wounded, who had been exposed to the arrows of the Lamanites through the

pass, but they were shielded by their shields, and their breastplates, and their headplates, insomuch that their

And it came to pass, that when the Lamanites saw that their chief captains were all slain they fled into the

wilderness. And it came to pass that they returned to the land of Nephi, to inform their king, Amalickiah, who

And it came to pass that he was exceedingly angry with his people, because he had not obtained his desire

Yea, he was exceedingly wroth, and he did curse God, and also Moroni, swearing with an oath that he would

drink his blood; and this because Moroni had kept the commandments of God in preparing for the safety of

And it came to pass, that on the other hand, the people of Nephi did thank the Lord their God, because of his

And thus ended the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of

their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman,

and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea, and by all those who had been ordained by

the holy order of God, being baptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people.

And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people

against the Lamanites; for he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of the twentieth

year of the reign of the judges, that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the

And upon the top of these ridges of earth he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of timbers built

And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon the timbers

And he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets, and he caused places of security

to be built upon those towers, that the stones and the arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them.

And they were prepared that they could cast stones from the top thereof, according to their pleasure and their

strength, and slay him who should attempt to approach near the walls of the city.

Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the

And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his armies should go forth into the east wilderness; yea, and they

went forth and drove all the Lamanites who were in the east wilderness into their own lands, which were

And the land of Nephi did run in a straight course from the east sea to the west.

And it came to pass that when Moroni had driven all the Lamanites out of the east wilderness, which was

north of the lands of their own possessions, he caused that the inhabitants who were in the land of Zarahemla

and in the land round about should go forth into the east wilderness, even to the borders by the seashore, and

And he also placed armies on the south, in the borders of their possessions, and caused them to erect

fortifications that they might secure their armies and their people from the hands of their enemies.

And thus he cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the east wilderness, yea, and also on the west,

fortifying the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of

Nephi, from the west sea, running by the head of the river Sidonthe Nephites possessing all the land

northward, yea, even all the land which was northward of the land Bountiful, according to their pleasure.

Thus Moroni, with his armies, which did increase daily because of the assurance of protection which his

works did bring forth unto them, did seek to cut off the strength and the power of the Lamanites from off the

lands of their possessions, that they should have no power upon the lands of their possession.

And it came to pass that the Nephites began the foundation of a city, and they called the name of the city

Moroni; and it was by the east sea; and it was on the south by the line of the possessions of the Lamanites.

And they also began a foundation for a city between the city of Moroni and the city of Aaron, joining the

borders of Aaron and Moroni; and they called the name of the city, or the land, Nephihah.

And they also began in that same year to build many cities on the north, one in a particular manner which

And in these prosperous circumstances were the people of Nephi in the commencement of the twenty and

And they did prosper exceedingly, and they became exceedingly rich; yea, and they did multiply and wax

And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto

the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto

Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments

they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall

And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings

and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their

abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions.

And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst

thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle

But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the

days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.

And it came to pass that the twenty and second year of the reign of the judges also ended in peace; yea, and

And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges, there

would also have been peace among the people of Nephi had it not been for a contention which took place

among them concerning the land of Lehi, and the land of Morianton, which joined upon the borders of Lehi;

For behold, the people who possessed the land of Morianton did claim a part of the land of Lehi; therefore

there began to be a warm contention between them, insomuch that the people of Morianton took up arms

But behold, the people who possessed the land of Lehi fled to the camp of Moroni, and appealed unto him for

And it came to pass that when the people of Morianton, who were led by a man whose name was Morianton,

found that the people of Lehi had fled to the camp of Moroni, they were exceedingly fearful lest the army of

Therefore, Morianton put it into their hearts that they should flee to the land which was northward, which was

covered with large bodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward.

And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which would have been a cause to have been

lamented) but behold, Morianton being a man of much passion, therefore he was angry with one of his maid

And it came to pass that she fled, and came over to the camp of Moroni, and told Moroni all things

concerning the matter, and also concerning their intentions to flee into the land northward.

Now behold, the people who were in the land Bountiful, or rather Moroni, feared that they would hearken to

the words of Morianton and unite with his people, and thus he would obtain possession of those parts of the

land, which would lay a foundation for serious consequences among the people of Nephi, yea, which

Therefore Moroni sent an army, with their camp, to head the people of Morianton, to stop their flight into the

And it came to pass that they did not head them until they had come to the borders of the land Desolation;

and there they did head them, by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the

And it came to pass that the army which was sent by Moroni, which was led by a man whose name was

Teancum, did meet the people of Morianton; and so stubborn were the people of Morianton, (being inspired

by his wickedness and his flattering words) that a battle commenced between them, in the which Teancum

did slay Morianton and defeat his army, and took them prisoners, and returned to the camp of Moroni. And

thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And thus were the people of Morianton brought back. And upon their covenanting to keep the peace they

were restored to the land of Morianton, and a union took place between them and the people of Lehi; and they

And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of Nephi had peace restored unto them, that

Nephihah, the second chief judge, died, having filled the judgmentseat with perfect uprightness before God.

Nevertheless, he had refused Alma to take possession of those records and those things which were esteemed

by Alma and his fathers to be most sacred; therefore Alma had conferred them upon his son, Helaman.

Behold, it came to pass that the son of Nephihah was appointed to fill the judgmentseat, in the stead of his

father; yea, he was appointed chief judge and governor over the people, with an oath and sacred ordinance to

judge righteously, and to keep the peace and the freedom of the people, and to grant unto them their sacred

privileges to worship the Lord their God, yea, to support and maintain the cause of God all his days, and to

Now behold, his name was Pahoran. And Pahoran did fill the seat of his father, and did commence his reign

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the

people of Nephi, they having established peace between the people of Lehi and the people of Morianton

concerning their lands, and having commenced the twenty and fifth year in peace;

Nevertheless, they did not long maintain an entire peace in the land, for there began to be a contention among

the people concerning the chief judge Pahoran; for behold, there were a part of the people who desired that a

But behold, Pahoran would not alter nor suffer the law to be altered; therefore, he did not hearken to those

who had sent in their voices with their petitions concerning the altering of the law.

Therefore, those who were desirous that the law should be altered were angry with him, and desired that he

should no longer be chief judge over the land; therefore there arose a warm dispute concerning the matter, but

And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgmentseat

were called kingmen, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free

And those who were desirous that Pahoran should remain chief judge over the land took upon them the name

of freemen; and thus was the division among them, for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their

And it came to pass that this matter of their contention was settled by the voice of the people. And it came to

pass that the voice of the people came in favor of the freemen, and Pahoran retained the judgmentseat,

which caused much rejoicing among the brethren of Pahoran and also many of the people of liberty, who also

put the kingmen to silence, that they durst not oppose but were obliged to maintain the cause of freedom.

Now those who were in favor of kings were those of high birth, and they sought to be kings; and they were

But behold, this was a critical time for such contentions to be among the people of Nephi; for behold,

Amalickiah had again stirred up the hearts of the people of the Lamanites against the people of the Nephites,

and he was gathering together soldiers from all parts of his land, and arming them, and preparing for war with

But behold, we shall see that his promise which he made was rash; nevertheless, he did prepare himself and

Now his armies were not so great as they had hitherto been, because of the many thousands who had been

slain by the hand of the Nephites; but notwithstanding their great loss, Amalickiah had gathered together a

wonderfully great army, insomuch that he feared not to come down to the land of Zarahemla.

Yea, even Amalickiah did himself come down, at the head of the Lamanites. And it was in the twenty and

fifth year of the reign of the judges; and it was at the same time that they had begun to settle the affairs of

And it came to pass that when the men who were called kingmen had heard that the Lamanites were coming

down to battle against them, they were glad in their hearts; and they refused to take up arms, for they were so

wroth with the chief judge, and also with the people of liberty, that they would not take up arms to defend

And it came to pass that when Moroni saw this, and also saw that the Lamanites were coming into the borders

of the land, he was exceedingly wroth because of the stubbornness of those people whom he had labored with

so much diligence to preserve; yea, he was exceedingly wroth; his soul was filled with anger against them.

And it came to pass that he sent a petition, with the voice of the people, unto the governor of the land,

desiring that he should read it, and give him (Moroni) power to compel those dissenters to defend their

For it was his first care to put an end to such contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this

had been hitherto a cause of all their destruction. And it came to pass that it was granted according to the

And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go against those kingmen, to pull down

their pride and their nobility and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the cause

And it came to pass that the armies did march forth against them; and they did pull down their pride and their

nobility, insomuch that as they did lift their weapons of war to fight against the men of Moroni they were

And it came to pass that there were four thousand of those dissenters who were hewn down by the sword; and

those of their leaders who were not slain in battle were taken and cast into prison, for there was no time for

And the remainder of those dissenters, rather than be smitten down to the earth by the sword, yielded to the

standard of liberty, and were compelled to hoist the title of liberty upon their towers, and in their cities, and to

And thus Moroni put an end to those kingmen, that there were not any known by the appellation of

kingmen; and thus he put an end to the stubbornness and the pride of those people who professed the blood

of nobility; but they were brought down to humble themselves like unto their brethren, and to fight valiantly

Behold, it came to pass that while Moroni was thus breaking down the wars and contentions among his own

people, and subjecting them to peace and civilization, and making regulations to prepare for war against the

Lamanites, behold, the Lamanites had come into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the

And it came to pass that the Nephites were not sufficiently strong in the city of Moroni; therefore Amalickiah

did drive them, slaying many. And it came to pass that Amalickiah took possession of the city, yea,

And those who fled out of the city of Moroni came to the city of Nephihah; and also the people of the city of

Lehi gathered themselves together, and made preparations and were ready to receive the Lamanites to battle.

But it came to pass that Amalickiah would not suffer the Lamanites to go against the city of Nephihah to

battle, but kept them down by the seashore, leaving men in every city to maintain and defend it.

And thus he went on, taking possession of many cities, the city of Nephihah, and the city of Lehi, and the city

of Morianton, and the city of Omner, and the city of Gid, and the city of Mulek, all of which were on the east

And thus had the Lamanites obtained, by the cunning of Amalickiah, so many cities, by their numberless

hosts, all of which were strongly fortified after the manner of the fortifications of Moroni; all of which

And it came to pass that they marched to the borders of the land Bountiful, driving the Nephites before them

But it came to pass that they were met by Teancum, who had slain Morianton and had headed his people in

And it came to pass that he headed Amalickiah also, as he was marching forth with his numerous army that

But behold he met with a disappointment by being repulsed by Teancum and his men, for they were great

warriors; for every man of Teancum did exceed the Lamanites in their strength and in their skill of war,

And it came to pass that they did harass them, insomuch that they did slay them even until it was dark. And it

came to pass that Teancum and his men did pitch their tents in the borders of the land Bountiful; and

Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on the beach by the seashore, and after this manner were they

And it came to pass that when the night had come, Teancum and his servant stole forth and went out by night,

and went into the camp of Amalickiah; and behold, sleep had overpowered them because of their much

And it came to pass that Teancum stole privily into the tent of the king, and put a javelin to his heart; and he

And he returned again privily to his own camp, and behold, his men were asleep, and he awoke them and told

And he caused that his armies should stand in readiness, lest the Lamanites had awakened and should come

And thus endeth the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus endeth

And now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi,

behold, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found Amalickiah

was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was ready to give them battle on that day.

And now, when the Lamanites saw this they were affrighted; and they abandoned their design in marching

into the land northward, and retreated with all their army into the city of Mulek, and sought protection in their

And it came to pass that the brother of Amalickiah was appointed king over the people; and his name was

Ammoron; thus king Ammoron, the brother of king Amalickiah, was appointed to reign in his stead.

And it came to pass that he did command that his people should maintain those cities, which they had taken

by the shedding of blood; for they had not taken any cities save they had lost much blood.

And now, Teancum saw that the Lamanites were determined to maintain those cities which they had taken,

and those parts of the land which they had obtained possession of; and also seeing the enormity of their

number, Teancum thought it was not expedient that he should attempt to attack them in their forts.

But he kept his men round about, as if making preparations for war; yea, and truly he was preparing to defend

himself against them, by casting up walls round about and preparing places of resort.

And it came to pass that he kept thus preparing for war until Moroni had sent a large number of men to

And Moroni also sent orders unto him that he should retain all the prisoners who fell into his hands; for as the

Lamanites had taken many prisoners, that he should retain all the prisoners of the Lamanites as a ransom for

And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify the land Bountiful, and secure the narrow pass which

led into the land northward, lest the Lamanites should obtain that point and should have power to harass them

And Moroni also sent unto him, desiring him that he would be faithful in maintaining that quarter of the land,

and that he would seek every opportunity to scourge the Lamanites in that quarter, as much as was in his

power, that perhaps he might take again by stratagem or some other way those cities which had been taken

out of their hands; and that he also would fortify and strengthen the cities round about, which had not fallen

And he also said unto him, I would come unto you, but behold, the Lamanites are upon us in the borders of

the land by the west sea; and behold, I go against them, therefore I cannot come unto you.

Now, the king (Ammoron) had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and had made known unto the queen

concerning the death of his brother, and had gathered together a large number of men, and had marched forth

And thus he was endeavoring to harass the Nephites, and to draw away a part of their forces to that part of the

land, while he had commanded those whom he had left to possess the cities which he had taken, that they

should also harass the Nephites on the borders by the east sea, and should take possession of their lands as

And thus were the Nephites in those dangerous circumstances in the ending of the twenty and sixth year of

But behold, it came to pass in the twenty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, that Teancum, by the

command of Moroniwho had established armies to protect the south and the west borders of the land, and

had begun his march towards the land Bountiful, that he might assist Teancum with his men in retaking the

And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it

And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march

forth with his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them

while they were in their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designs and returned again to the city

Bountiful, to wait for the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.

And it came to pass that Moroni did arrive with his army at the land of Bountiful, in the latter end of the

And in the commencement of the twenty and eighth year, Moroni and Teancum and many of the chief

captains held a council of warwhat they should do to cause the Lamanites to come out against them to

battle; or that they might by some means flatter them out of their strongholds, that they might gain advantage

And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to

their leader, whose name was Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to meet them upon

the plains between the two cities. But behold, Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army

And it came to pass that Moroni, having no hopes of meeting them upon fair grounds, therefore, he resolved

Therefore he caused that Teancum should take a small number of men and march down near the seashore;

and Moroni and his army, by night, marched in the wilderness, on the west of the city Mulek; and thus, on the

morrow, when the guards of the Lamanites had discovered Teancum, they ran and told it unto Jacob, their

And it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did march forth against Teancum, supposing by their

numbers to overpower Teancum because of the smallness of his numbers. And as Teancum saw the armies of

the Lamanites coming out against him he began to retreat down by the seashore, northward.

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that he began to flee, they took courage and pursued them

with vigor. And while Teancum was thus leading away the Lamanites who were pursuing them in vain,

behold, Moroni commanded that a part of his army who were with him should march forth into the city, and

And thus they did, and slew all those who had been left to protect the city, yea, all those who would not yield

And thus Moroni had obtained possession of the city Mulek with a part of his army, while he marched with

the remainder to meet the Lamanites when they should return from the pursuit of Teancum.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue Teancum until they came near the city Bountiful, and then

they were met by Lehi and a small army, which had been left to protect the city Bountiful.

And now behold, when the chief captains of the Lamanites had beheld Lehi with his army coming against

them, they fled in much confusion, lest perhaps they should not obtain the city Mulek before Lehi should

overtake them; for they were wearied because of their march, and the men of Lehi were fresh.

Now the Lamanites did not know that Moroni had been in their rear with his army; and all they feared was

Now Lehi was not desirous to overtake them till they should meet Moroni and his army.

And it came to pass that before the Lamanites had retreated far they were surrounded by the Nephites, by the

men of Moroni on one hand, and the men of Lehi on the other, all of whom were fresh and full of strength;

And Moroni commanded his men that they should fall upon them until they had given up their weapons of

And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader, being also a Zoramite, and having an unconquerable spirit,

Moroni being in their course of march, therefore Jacob was determined to slay them and cut his way through

to the city of Mulek. But behold, Moroni and his men were more powerful; therefore they did not give way

And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding fury; and there were many slain on both

And Lehi pressed upon their rear with such fury with his strong men, that the Lamanites in the rear delivered

up their weapons of war; and the remainder of them, being much confused, knew not whither to go or to

Now Moroni seeing their confusion, he said unto them: If ye will bring forth your weapons of war and deliver

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had heard these words, their chief captains, all those who were

not slain, came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and also commanded their

But behold, there were many that would not; and those who would not deliver up their swords were taken and

bound, and their weapons of war were taken from them, and they were compelled to march with their

And now the number of prisoners who were taken exceeded more than the number of those who had been

And it came to pass that they did set guards over the prisoners of the Lamanites, and did compel them to go

forth and bury their dead, yea, and also the dead of the Nephites who were slain; and Moroni placed men over

And Moroni went to the city of Mulek with Lehi, and took command of the city and gave it unto Lehi. Now

behold, this Lehi was a man who had been with Moroni in the more part of all his battles; and he was a man

like unto Moroni, and they rejoiced in each other's safety; yea, they were beloved by each other, and also

And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had finished burying their dead and also the dead of the

Nephites, they were marched back into the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused

that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city, Bountiful.

And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; and they cast

up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until

they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding

And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the

Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands. Now Moroni

was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor; and he

And it came to pass that Moroni had thus gained a victory over one of the greatest of the armies of the

Lamanites, and had obtained possession of the city of Mulek, which was one of the strongest holds of the

Lamanites in the land of Nephi; and thus he had also built a stronghold to retain his prisoners.

And it came to pass that he did no more attempt a battle with the Lamanites in that year, but he did employ

his men in preparing for war, yea, and in making fortifications to guard against the Lamanites, yea, and also

delivering their women and their children from famine and affliction, and providing food for their armies.

And now it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites, on the west sea, south, while in the absence of

Moroni on account of some intrigue amongst the Nephites, which caused dissensions amongst them, had

gained some ground over the Nephites, yea, insomuch that they had obtained possession of a number of their

And thus because of iniquity amongst themselves, yea, because of dissensions and intrigue among themselves

And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, who in the beginning, were

Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been

converted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land of Zarahemla, and had ever since

And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms against their brethren; for they had taken

an oath that they never would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea,

they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren, had it not been for the

And for this cause they were brought down into the land of Zarahemla; and they ever had been protected by

But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the

Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence

But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of

Helaman and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made.

And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls; therefore all those who had entered into

this covenant were compelled to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous

But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take

their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves

together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites.

And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the

laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they

Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their

And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this

period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should

And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and

activity; but behold, this was not allthey were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they

Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and

And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the

And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year of the judges, that Ammoron

And it came to pass that Moroni felt to rejoice exceedingly at this request, for he desired the provisions which

were imparted for the support of the Lamanite prisoners for the support of his own people; and he also

Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there was not a woman nor a child among all

the prisoners of Moroni, or the prisoners whom Moroni had taken; therefore Moroni resolved upon a

stratagem to obtain as many prisoners of the Nephites from the Lamanites as it were possible.

Therefore he wrote an epistle, and sent it by the servant of Ammoron, the same who had brought an epistle to

Behold, Ammoron, I have written unto you somewhat concerning this war which ye have waged against my

people, or rather which thy brother hath waged against them, and which ye are still determined to carry on

Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath,

which doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of

Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you

concerning that awful hell that awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother have been, except ye

repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may

And now behold, we are prepared to receive you; yea, and except you withdraw your purposes, behold, ye

will pull down the wrath of that God whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter destruction.

But, as the Lord liveth, our armies shall come upon you except ye withdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with

death, for we will retain our cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our

But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art

a child of hell; therefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners, save it be on

conditions that ye will deliver up a man and his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the case that

And behold, if you do not this, I will come against you with my armies; yea, even I will arm my women and

my children, and I will come against you, and I will follow you even into your own land, which is the land of

our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until

Behold, I am in my anger, and also my people; ye have sought to murder us, and we have only sought to

defend ourselves. But behold, if ye seek to destroy us more we will seek to destroy you; yea, and we will seek

Now I close my epistle. I am Moroni; I am a leader of the people of the Nephites.

Now it came to pass that Ammoron, when he had received this epistle, was angry; and he wrote another

I am Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites; I am the brother of Amalickiah whom ye have murdered. Behold,

I will avenge his blood upon you, yea, and I will come upon you with my armies for I fear not your

For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to the

And now behold, if ye will lay down your arms, and subject yourselves to be governed by those to whom the

government doth rightly belong, then will I cause that my people shall lay down their weapons and shall be at

Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my people; but behold, we fear not your

Nevertheless, I will grant to exchange prisoners according to your request, gladly, that I may preserve my

food for my men of war; and we will wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting the Nephites

And as concerning that God whom ye say we have rejected, behold, we know not such a being; neither do ye;

but if it so be that there is such a thing, we know not but that he hath made us as well as you.

And if it so be that there is a devil and a hell, behold will he not send you there to dwell with my brother

whom ye have murdered, whom ye have hinted that he hath gone to such a place? But behold these things

I am Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers pressed and brought out of Jerusalem.

And behold now, I am a bold Lamanite; behold, this war hath been waged to avenge their wrongs, and to

maintain and to obtain their rights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni.

Now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle he was more angry, because he knew that

Ammoron had a perfect knowledge of his fraud; yea, he knew that Ammoron knew that it was not a just

And he said: Behold, I will not exchange prisoners with Ammoron save he will withdraw his purpose, as I

have stated in my epistle; for I will not grant unto him that he shall have any more power than what he hath

Behold, I know the place where the Lamanites do guard my people whom they have taken prisoners; and as

Ammoron would not grant unto me mine epistle, behold, I will give unto him according to my words; yea, I

And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words, he caused that a search should be made

among his men, that perhaps he might find a man who was a descendant of Laman among them.

And it came to pass that they found one, whose name was Laman; and he was one of the servants of the king

Now Moroni caused that Laman and a small number of his men should go forth unto the guards who were

Now the Nephites were guarded in the city of Gid; therefore Moroni appointed Laman and caused that a

And when it was evening Laman went to the guards who were over the Nephites, and behold, they saw him

coming and they hailed him; but he saith unto them: Fear not; behold, I am a Lamanite. Behold, we have

escaped from the Nephites, and they sleep; and behold we have taken of their wine and brought with us.

Now when the Lamanites heard these words they received him with joy; and they said unto him: Give us of

your wine, that we may drink; we are glad that ye have thus taken wine with you for we are weary.

But Laman said unto them: Let us keep of our wine till we go against the Nephites to battle. But this saying

For, said they: We are weary, therefore let us take of the wine, and by and by we shall receive wine for our

And it came to pass that they did take of the wine freely; and it was pleasant to their taste, therefore they took

And it came to pass they did drink and were merry, and by and by they were all drunken.

And now when Laman and his men saw that they were all drunken, and were in a deep sleep, they returned to

And now this was according to the design of Moroni. And Moroni had prepared his men with weapons of

war; and he went to the city Gid, while the Lamanites were in a deep sleep and drunken, and cast in weapons

Yea, even to their women, and all those of their children, as many as were able to use a weapon of war, when

Moroni had armed all those prisoners; and all those things were done in a profound silence.

But had they awakened the Lamanites, behold they were drunken and the Nephites could have slain them.

But behold, this was not the desire of Moroni; he did not delight in murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in

the saving of his people from destruction; and for this cause he might not bring upon him injustice, he would

But he had obtained his desires; for he had armed those prisoners of the Nephites who were within the wall of

the city, and had given them power to gain possession of those parts which were within the walls.

And then he caused the men who were with him to withdraw a pace from them, and surround the armies of

Now behold this was done in the nighttime, so that when the Lamanites awoke in the morning they beheld

that they were surrounded by the Nephites without, and that their prisoners were armed within.

And thus they saw that the Nephites had power over them; and in these circumstances they found that it was

not expedient that they should fight with the Nephites; therefore their chief captains demanded their weapons

of war, and they brought them forth and cast them at the feet of the Nephites, pleading for mercy.

Now behold, this was the desire of Moroni. He took them prisoners of war, and took possession of the city,

and caused that all the prisoners should be liberated, who were Nephites; and they did join the army of

And it came to pass that he did cause the Lamanites, whom he had taken prisoners, that they should

And it came to pass that when he had fortified the city Gid, according to his desires, he caused that his

prisoners should be taken to the city Bountiful; and he also guarded that city with an exceedingly strong

And it came to pass that they did, notwithstanding all the intrigues of the Lamanites, keep and protect all the

prisoners whom they had taken, and also maintain all the ground and the advantage which they had retaken.

And it came to pass that the Nephites began again to be victorious, and to reclaim their rights and their

Many time did the Lamanites attempt to encircle them about by night, but in these attempts they did lose

And many times did they attempt to administer of their wine to the Nephites, that they might destroy them

But behold, the Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction. They

could not be taken in their snares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first given to some

And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered among them; for if their wine would

poison a Lamanite it would also poison a Nephite; and thus they did try all their liquors.

And now it came to pass that it was expedient for Moroni to make preparations to attack the city Morianton;

for behold, the Lamanites had, by their labors, fortified the city Morianton until it had become an exceeding

And they were continually bringing new forces into that city, and also new supplies of provisions.

And thus ended the twenty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges, on the second

day in the first month, Moroni received an epistle from Helaman, stating the affairs of the people in that

And these are the words which he wrote, saying: My dearly beloved brother, Moroni, as well in the Lord as in

the tribulations of our warfare; behold, my beloved brother, I have somewhat to tell you concerning our

Behold, two thousand of the sons of those men whom Ammon brought down out of the land of Nephinow

ye have known that these were descendants of Laman, who was the eldest son of our father Lehi;

Now I need not rehearse unto you concerning their traditions or their unbelief, for thou knowest concerning

Therefore it sufficeth me that I tell you that two thousand of these young men have taken their weapons of

war, and would that I should be their leader; and we have come forth to defend our country.

And now ye also know concerning the covenant which their fathers made, that they would not take up their

But in the twenty and sixth year, when they saw our afflictions and our tribulations for them, they were about

to break the covenant which they had made and take up their weapons of war in our defence.

But I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant which they had made, supposing that God

would strengthen us, insomuch that we should not suffer more because of the fulfilling the oath which they

But behold, here is one thing in which we may have great joy. For behold, in the twenty and sixth year, I,

Helaman, did march at the head of these two thousand young men to the city of Judea, to assist Antipus,

And I did join my two thousand sons, (for they are worthy to be called sons) to the army of Antipus, in which

strength Antipus did rejoice exceedingly; for behold, his army had been reduced by the Lamanites because

their forces had slain a vast number of our men, for which cause we have to mourn.

Nevertheless, we may console ourselves in this point, that they have died in the cause of their country and of

And the Lamanites had also retained many prisoners, all of whom are chief captains, for none other have they

spared alive. And we suppose that they are now at this time in the land of Nephi; it is so if they are not slain.

And now these are the cities of which the Lamanites have obtained possession by the shedding of the blood

The land of Manti, or the city of Manti, and the city of Zeezrom, and the city of Cumeni, and the city of

And these are the cities which they possessed when I arrived at the city of Judea; and I found Antipus and his

Yea, and they were depressed in body as well as in spirit, for they had fought valiantly by day and toiled by

night to maintain their cities; and thus they had suffered great afflictions of every kind.

And now they were determined to conquer in this place or die; therefore you may well suppose that this little

force which I brought with me, yea, those sons of mine, gave them great hopes and much joy.

And now it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Antipus had received a greater strength to his

army, they were compelled by the orders of Ammoron to not come against the city of Judea, or against us, to

And thus were we favored of the Lord; for had they come upon us in this our weakness they might have

They were commanded by Ammoron to maintain those cities which they had taken. And thus ended the

twenty and sixth year. And in the commencement of the twenty and seventh year we had prepared our city

Now we were desirous that the Lamanites should come upon us; for we were not desirous to make an attack

And it came to pass that we kept spies out round about, to watch the movements of the Lamanites, that they

might not pass us by night nor by day to make an attack upon our other cities which were on the northward.

For we knew in those cities they were not sufficiently strong to meet them; therefore we were desirous, if

they should pass by us, to fall upon them in their rear, and thus bring them up in the rear at the same time

they were met in the front. We supposed that we could overpower them; but behold, we were disappointed in

They durst not pass by us with their whole army, neither durst they with a part, lest they should not be

Neither durst they march down against the city of Zarahemla; neither durst they cross the head of Sidon, over

And thus, with their forces, they were determined to maintain those cities which they had taken.

And now it came to pass in the second month of this year, there was brought unto us many provisions from

And also there were sent two thousand men unto us from the land of Zarahemla. And thus we were prepared

with ten thousand men, and provisions for them, and also for their wives and their children.

And the Lamanites, thus seeing our forces increase daily, and provisions arrive for our support, they began to

be fearful, and began to sally forth, if it were possible to put an end to our receiving provisions and strength.

Now when we saw that the Lamanites began to grow uneasy on this wise, we were desirous to bring a

stratagem into effect upon them; therefore Antipus ordered that I should march forth with my little sons to a

And we were to march near the city of Antiparah, as if we were going to the city beyond, in the borders by

And it came to pass that we did march forth, as if with our provisions, to go to that city.

And it came to pass that Antipus did march forth with a part of his army, leaving the remainder to maintain

the city. But he did not march forth until I had gone forth with my little army, and came near the city

And now, in the city Antiparah were stationed the strongest army of the Lamanites; yea, the most numerous.

And it came to pass that when they had been informed by their spies, they came forth with their army and

And it came to pass that we did flee before them, northward. And thus we did lead away the most powerful

Yea, even to a considerable distance, insomuch that when they saw the army of Antipus pursuing them, with

their might, they did not turn to the right nor to the left, but pursued their march in a straight course after us;

and, as we suppose, it was their intent to slay us before Antipus should overtake them, and this that they

And now Antipus, beholding our danger, did speed the march of his army. But behold, it was night; therefore

they did not overtake us, neither did Antipus overtake them; therefore we did camp for the night.

And it came to pass that before the dawn of the morning, behold, the Lamanites were pursuing us. Now we

were not sufficiently strong to contend with them; yea, I would not suffer that my little sons should fall into

their hands; therefore we did continue our march, and we took our march into the wilderness.

Now they durst not turn to the right nor to the left lest they should be surrounded; neither would I turn to the

right nor to the left lest they should overtake me, and we could not stand against them, but be slain, and they

would make their escape; and thus we did flee all that day into the wilderness, even until it was dark.

And it came to pass that again, when the light of the morning came we saw the Lamanites upon us, and we

But it came to pass that they did not pursue us far before they halted; and it was in the morning of the third

And now, whether they were overtaken by Antipus we knew not, but I said unto my men: Behold, we know

not but they have halted for the purpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in their

And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not

For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me:

Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would

not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their

fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt,

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

And it came to pass that I did return with my two thousand against these Lamanites who had pursued us. And

now behold, the armies of Antipus had overtaken them, and a terrible battle had commenced.

The army of Antipus being weary, because of their long march in so short a space of time, were about to fall

into the hands of the Lamanites; and had I not returned with my two thousand they would have obtained their

For Antipus had fallen by the sword, and many of his leaders, because of their weariness, which was

occasioned by the speed of their marchtherefore the men of Antipus, being confused because of the fall of

And it came to pass that the Lamanites took courage, and began to pursue them; and thus were the Lamanites

pursuing them with great vigor when Helaman came upon their rear with his two thousand, and began to slay

them exceedingly, insomuch that the whole army of the Lamanites halted and turned upon Helaman.

Now when the people of Antipus saw that the Lamanites had turned them about, they gathered together their

And now it came to pass that we, the people of Nephi, the people of Antipus, and I with my two thousand,

did surround the Lamanites, and did slay them; yea, insomuch that they were compelled to deliver up their

And now it came to pass that when they had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those

But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if

with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with

such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the

And as we had no place for our prisoners, that we could guard them to keep them from the armies of the

Lamanites, therefore we sent them to the land of Zarahemla, and a part of those men who were not slain of

Antipus, with them; and the remainder I took and joined them to my stripling Ammonites, and took our

And now it came to pass that I received an epistle from Ammoron, the king, stating that if I would deliver up

those prisoners of war whom we had taken that he would deliver up the city of Antiparah unto us.

But I sent an epistle unto the king, that we were sure our forces were sufficient to take the city of Antiparah

by our force; and by delivering up the prisoners for that city we should suppose ourselves unwise, and that we

And Ammoron refused mine epistle, for he would not exchange prisoners; therefore we began to make

But the people of Antiparah did leave the city, and fled to their other cities, which they had possession of, to

And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year, we received a supply of

provisions, and also an addition to our army, from the land of Zarahemla, and from the land round about, to

the number of six thousand men, besides sixty of the sons of the Ammonites who had come to join their

brethren, my little band of two thousand. And now behold, we were strong, yea, and we had also plenty of

And it came to pass that it was our desire to wage a battle with the army which was placed to protect the city

And now behold, I will show unto you that we soon accomplished our desire; yea, with our strong force, or

with a part of our strong force, we did surround, by night, the city Cumeni, a little before they were to receive

And it came to pass that we did camp round about the city for many nights; but we did sleep upon our

swords, and keep guards, that the Lamanites could not come upon us by night and slay us, which they

attempted many times; but as many times as they attempted this their blood was spilt.

At length their provisions did arrive, and they were about to enter the city by night. And we, instead of being

And notwithstanding the Lamanites being cut off from their support after this manner, they were still

determined to maintain the city; therefore it became expedient that we should take those provisions and send

And it came to pass that not many days had passed away before the Lamanites began to lose all hopes of

succor; therefore they yielded up the city unto our hands; and thus we had accomplished our designs in

But it came to pass that our prisoners were so numerous that, notwithstanding the enormity of our numbers,

For behold, they would break out in great numbers, and would fight with stones, and with clubs, or

whatsoever thing they could get into their hands, insomuch that we did slay upwards of two thousand of them

Therefore it became expedient for us, that we should put an end to their lives, or guard them, sword in hand,

down to the land of Zarahemla; and also our provisions were not any more than sufficient for our own people,

And now, in those critical circumstances, it became a very serious matter to determine concerning these

prisoners of war; nevertheless, we did resolve to send them down to the land of Zarahemla; therefore we

selected a part of our men, and gave them charge over our prisoners to go down to the land of Zarahemla.

But it came to pass that on the morrow they did return. And now behold, we did not inquire of them

concerning the prisoners; for behold, the Lamanites were upon us, and they returned in season to save us

from falling into their hands. For behold, Ammoron had sent to their support a new supply of provisions and

And it came to pass that those men whom we sent with the prisoners did arrive in season to check them, as

But behold, my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most desperately; yea, they were firm before the

And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand

Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even

according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that

And now behold, it was these my sons, and those men who had been selected to convey the prisoners, to

whom we owe this great victory; for it was they who did beat the Lamanites; therefore they were driven back

And we retained our city Cumeni, and were not all destroyed by the sword; nevertheless, we had suffered

And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had fled, I immediately gave orders that my men who had been

wounded should be taken from among the dead, and caused that their wounds should be dressed.

And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because

of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also

the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul

And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there

was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God,

because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believethat there was a just God, and

Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do

And now it came to pass that after we had thus taken care of our wounded men, and had buried our dead and

also the dead of the Lamanites, who were many, behold, we did inquire of Gid concerning the prisoners

Now Gid was the chief captain over the band who was appointed to guard them down to the land.

And now, these are the words which Gid said unto me: Behold, we did start to go down to the land of

Zarahemla with our prisoners. And it came to pass that we did meet the spies of our armies, who had been

And they cried unto us, sayingBehold, the armies of the Lamanites are marching towards the city of

And it came to pass that our prisoners did hear their cries, which caused them to take courage; and they did

And it came to pass because of their rebellion we did cause that our swords should come upon them. And it

came to pass that they did in a body run upon our swords, in the which, the greater number of them were

And behold, when they had fled and we could not overtake them, we took our march with speed towards the

city Cumeni; and behold, we did arrive in time that we might assist our brethren in preserving the city.

And behold, we are again delivered out of the hands of our enemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for

behold, it is he that has delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us.

Now it came to pass that when I, Helaman, had heard these words of Gid, I was filled with exceeding joy

because of the goodness of God in preserving us, that we might not all perish; yea, and I trust that the souls of

And behold, now it came to pass that our next object was to obtain the city of Manti; but behold, there was no

way that we could lead them out of the city by our small bands. For behold, they remembered that which we

had hitherto done; therefore we could not decoy them away from their strongholds.

And they were so much more numerous than was our army that we durst not go forth and attack them in their

Yea, and it became expedient that we should employ our men to the maintaining those parts of the land which

we had regained of our possessions; therefore it became expedient that we should wait, that we might receive

And it came to pass that I thus did send an embassy to the governor of our land, to acquaint him concerning

the affairs of our people. And it came to pass that we did wait to receive provisions and strength from the

But behold, this did profit us but little; for the Lamanites were also receiving great strength from day to day,

and also many provisions; and thus were our circumstances at this period of time.

And the Lamanites were sallying forth against us from time to time, resolving by stratagem to destroy us;

nevertheless we could not come to battle with them, because of their retreats and their strongholds.

And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until

But it came to pass that we did receive food, which was guarded to us by an army of two thousand men to our

assistance; and this is all the assistance which we did receive, to defend ourselves and our country from

falling into the hands of our enemies, yea, to contend with an enemy which was innumerable.

And now the cause of these our embarrassments, or the cause why they did not send more strength unto us,

we knew not; therefore we were grieved and also filled with fear, lest by any means the judgments of God

Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the

hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea,

insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we

And we did take courage with our small force which we had received, and were fixed with a determination to

conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the

And thus we did go forth with all our might against the Lamanites, who were in the city of Manti; and we did

And it came to pass that on the morrow, that when the Lamanites saw that we were in the borders by the

wilderness which was near the city, that they sent out their spies round about us that they might discover the

And it came to pass that when they saw that we were not strong, according to our numbers, and fearing that

we should cut them off from their support except they should come out to battle against us and kill us, and

also supposing that they could easily destroy us with their numerous hosts, therefore they began to make

And when we saw that they were making preparations to come out against us, behold, I caused that Gid, with

a small number of men, should secrete himself in the wilderness, and also that Teomner and a small number

Now Gid and his men were on the right and the others on the left; and when they had thus secreted

themselves, behold, I remained, with the remainder of my army, in that same place where we had first pitched

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come out with their numerous army against us. And when they

had come and were about to fall upon us with the sword, I caused that my men, those who were with me,

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did follow after us with great speed, for they were exceedingly

desirous to overtake us that they might slay us; therefore they did follow us into the wilderness; and we did

pass by in the midst of Gid and Teomner, insomuch that they were not discovered by the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had passed by, or when the army had passed by, Gid and

Teomner did rise up from their secret places, and did cut off the spies of the Lamanites that they should not

And it came to pass that when they had cut them off, they ran to the city and fell upon the guards who were

left to guard the city, insomuch that they did destroy them and did take possession of the city. Alma 58:22

Now this was done because the Lamanites did suffer their whole army, save a few guards only, to be led

And it came to pass that Gid and Teomner by this means had obtained possession of their strongholds. And it

came to pass that we took our course, after having traveled much in the wilderness towards the land of

And when the Lamanites saw that they were marching towards the land of Zarahemla, they were exceedingly

afraid, lest there was a plan laid to lead them on to destruction; therefore they began to retreat into the

And behold, it was night and they did pitch their tents, for the chief captains of the Lamanites had supposed

that the Nephites were weary because of their march; and supposing that they had driven their whole army

Now it came to pass that when it was night, I caused that my men should not sleep, but that they should

And because of this our march in the nighttime, behold, on the morrow we were beyond the Lamanites,

And thus it came to pass, that by this stratagem we did take possession of the city of Manti without the

And it came to pass that when the armies of the Lamanites did arrive near the city, and saw that we were

prepared to meet them, they were astonished exceedingly and struck with great fear, insomuch that they did

Yea, and it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did flee out of all this quarter of the land. But

And those cities which had been taken by the Lamanites, all of them are at this period of time in our

possession; and our fathers and our women and our children are returning to their homes, all save it be those

But behold, our armies are small to maintain so great a number of cities and so great possessions.

But behold, we trust in our God who has given us victory over those lands, insomuch that we have obtained

Now we do not know the cause that the government does not grant us more strength; neither do those men

Behold, we do not know but what ye are unsuccessful, and ye have drawn away the forces into that quarter of

And if it is not so, behold, we fear that there is some faction in the government, that they do not send more

men to our assistance; for we know that they are more numerous than that which they have sent.

But, behold, it mattereth notwe trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea,

Behold, this is the twenty and ninth year, in the latter end, and we are in the possession of our lands; and the

And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly spoken, are with me in the city of Manti;

and the Lord had supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even one soul

But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has

made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to

keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the

And now, my beloved brother, Moroni, may the Lord our God, who has redeemed us and made us free, keep

you continually in his presence; yea, and may he favor this people, even that ye may have success in

obtaining the possession of all that which the Lamanites have taken from us, which was for our support. And

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, after Moroni had

received and had read Helaman's epistle, he was exceedingly rejoiced because of the welfare, yea, the

exceeding success which Helaman had had, in obtaining those lands which were lost.

Yea, and he did make it known unto all his people, in all the land round about in that part where he was, that

And it came to pass that he immediately sent an epistle to Pahoran, desiring that he should cause men to be

gathered together to strengthen Helaman, or the armies of Helaman, insomuch that he might with ease

maintain that part of the land which he had been so miraculously prospered in regaining.

And it came to pass when Moroni had sent this epistle to the land of Zarahemla, he began again to lay a plan

that he might obtain the remainder of those possessions and cities which the Lamanites had taken from them.

And it came to pass that while Moroni was thus making preparations to go against the Lamanites to battle,

behold, the people of Nephihah, who were gathered together from the city of Moroni and the city of Lehi and

Yea, even those who had been compelled to flee from the land of Manti, and from the land round about, had

And thus being exceedingly numerous, yea, and receiving strength from day to day, by the command of

Ammoron they came forth against the people of Nephihah, and they did begin to slay them with an

And their armies were so numerous that the remainder of the people of Nephihah were obliged to flee before

And now as Moroni had supposed that there should be men sent to the city Nephihah, to the assistance of the

people to maintain that city, and knowing that it was easier to keep the city from falling into the hands of the

Lamanites than to retake it from them, he supposed that they would easily maintain that city.

Therefore he retained all his force to maintain those places which he had recovered.

And now, when Moroni saw that the city of Nephihah was lost he was exceedingly sorrowful, and began to

doubt, because of the wickedness of the people, whether they should not fall into the hands of their brethren.

Now this was the case with all his chief captains. They doubted and marveled also because of the wickedness

And it came to pass that Moroni was angry with the government, because of their indifference concerning the

And it came to pass that he wrote again to the governor of the land, who was Pahoran, and these are the

words which he wrote, saying: Behold, I direct mine epistle to Pahoran, in the city of Zarahemla, who is the

chief judge and the governor over the land, and also to all those who have been chosen by this people to

For behold, I have somewhat to say unto them by the way of condemnation; for behold, ye yourselves know

that ye have been appointed to gather together men, and arm them with swords, and with cimeters, and all

manner of weapons of war of every kind, and send forth against the Lamanites, in whatsoever parts they

And now behold, I say unto you that myself, and also my men, and also Helaman and his men, have suffered

exceedingly great sufferings; yea, even hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and all manner of afflictions of every kind.

But behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it

might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for them. Yea,

And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly great neglect; yea, we desire to know the

Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the

work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren

Yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might

have succored them, yea, ye might have sent armies unto them, to have strengthened them, and have saved

But behold, this is not allye have withheld your provisions from them, insomuch that many have fought

and bled out their lives because of their great desires which they had for the welfare of this people; yea, and

this they have done when they were about to perish with hunger, because of your exceedingly great neglect

And now, my beloved brethrenfor ye ought to be beloved; yea, and ye ought to have stirred yourselves

more diligently for the welfare and the freedom of this people; but behold, ye have neglected them insomuch

that the blood of thousands shall come upon your heads for vengeance; yea, for known unto God were all

Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God

ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain.

Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness? I

say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have

For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked;

therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into

And now behold, I say unto you, I fear exceedingly that the judgments of God will come upon this people,

because of their exceeding slothfulness, yea, even the slothfulness of our government, and their exceedingly

For were it not for the wickedness which first commenced at our head, we could have withstood our enemies

Yea, had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves; yea, were it not for these kingmen, who

caused so much bloodshed among ourselves; yea, at the time we were contending among ourselves, if we had

united our strength as we hitherto have done; yea, had it not been for the desire of power and authority which

those kingmen had over us; had they been true to the cause of our freedom, and united with us, and gone

forth against our enemies, instead of taking up their swords against us, which was the cause of so much

bloodshed among ourselves; yea, if we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, we should

have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done, according to the fulfilling of his word.

But behold, now the Lamanites are coming upon us, taking possession of our lands, and they are murdering

our people with the sword, yea, our women and our children, and also carrying them away captive, causing

them that they should suffer all manner of afflictions, and this because of the great wickedness of those who

But why should I say much concerning this matter? For we know not but what ye yourselves are seeking for

Or is it that ye have neglected us because ye are in the heart of our country and ye are surrounded by security,

that ye do not cause food to be sent unto us, and also men to strengthen our armies?

Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have ye forgotten the captivity of our

fathers? Have ye forgotten the many times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?

Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the

Yea, will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who

do also sit in idleness, while there are thousands round about in the borders of the land who are falling by the

Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things? Behold I

say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be

And now, except ye do repent of that which ye have done, and begin to be up and doing, and send forth food

and men unto us, and also unto Helaman, that he may support those parts of our country which he has

regained, and that we may also recover the remainder of our possessions in these parts, behold it will be

expedient that we contend no more with the Lamanites until we have first cleansed our inward vessel, yea,

And except ye grant mine epistle, and come out and show unto me a true spirit of freedom, and strive to

strengthen and fortify our armies, and grant unto them food for their support, behold I will leave a part of my

freemen to maintain this part of our land, and I will leave the strength and the blessings of God upon them,

And this because of their exceeding faith, and their patience in their tribulations

And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a

spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires

Yea, behold I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it is my God whom I fear; and it is according to

his commandments that I do take my sword to defend the cause of my country, and it is because of your

Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your

country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit

Behold, I wait for assistance from you; and, except ye do administer unto our relief, behold, I come unto you,

even in the land of Zarahemla, and smite you with the sword, insomuch that ye can have no more power to

For behold, the Lord will not suffer that ye shall live and wax strong in your iniquities to destroy his

Behold, can you suppose that the Lord will spare you and come out in judgment against the Lamanites, when

it is the tradition of their fathers that has caused their hatred, yea, and it has been redoubled by those who

have dissented from us, while your iniquity is for the cause of your love of glory and the vain things of the

Ye know that ye do transgress the laws of God, and ye do know that ye do trample them under your feet.

Behold, the Lord saith unto me: If those whom ye have appointed your governors do not repent of their sins

And now behold, I, Moroni, am constrained, according to the covenant which I have made to keep the

commandments of my God; therefore I would that ye should adhere to the word of God, and send speedily

And behold, if ye will not do this I come unto you speedily; for behold, God will not suffer that we should

perish with hunger; therefore he will give unto us of your food, even if it must be by the sword. Now see that

Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the

world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country. And thus I close mine

Behold, now it came to pass that soon after Moroni had sent his epistle unto the chief governor, he received

an epistle from Pahoran, the chief governor. And these are the words which he received:

I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send these words unto Moroni, the chief captain over

the army. Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul.

But behold, there are those who do joy in your afflictions, yea, insomuch that they have risen up in rebellion

against me, and also those of my people who are freemen, yea, and those who have risen up are exceedingly

And it is those who have sought to take away the judgmentseat from me that have been the cause of this

great iniquity; for they have used great flattery, and they have led away the hearts of many people, which will

be the cause of sore affliction among us; they have withheld our provisions, and have daunted our freemen

And behold, they have driven me out before them, and I have fled to the land of Gideon, with as many men as

And behold, I have sent a proclamation throughout this part of the land; and behold, they are flocking to us

daily, to their arms, in the defence of their country and their freedom, and to avenge our wrongs.

And they have come unto us, insomuch that those who have risen up in rebellion against us are set at

defiance, yea, insomuch that they do fear us and durst not come out against us to battle.

They have got possession of the land, or the city, of Zarahemla; they have appointed a king over them, and he

hath written unto the king of the Lamanites, in the which he hath joined an alliance with him; in the which

alliance he hath agreed to maintain the city of Zarahemla, which maintenance he supposeth will enable the

Lamanites to conquer the remainder of the land, and he shall be placed king over this people when they shall

And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the

greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgmentseat that I may

preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath

And now, behold, we will resist wickedness even unto bloodshed. We would not shed the blood of the

We would not shed the blood of our brethren if they would not rise up in rebellion and take the sword against

We would subject ourselves to the yoke of bondage if it were requisite with the justice of God, or if he should

But behold he doth not command us that we shall subject ourselves to our enemies, but that we should put

Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our

words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our

freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our

Therefore, come unto me speedily with a few of your men, and leave the remainder in the charge of Lehi and

Teancum; give unto them power to conduct the war in that part of the land, according to the Spirit of God,

Behold I have sent a few provisions unto them, that they may not perish until ye can come unto me.

Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither, and we will go speedily against those

And we will take possession of the city of Zarahemla, that we may obtain more food to send forth unto Lehi

and Teancum; yea, we will go forth against them in the strength of the Lord, and we will put an end to this

And now, Moroni, I do joy in receiving your epistle, for I was somewhat worried concerning what we should

But ye have said, except they repent the Lord hath commanded you that ye should go against them.

See that ye strengthen Lehi and Teancum in the Lord; tell them to fear not, for God will deliver them, yea,

and also all those who stand fast in that liberty wherewith God hath made them free. And now I close mine

And now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle his heart did take courage, and was filled

with exceedingly great joy because of the faithfulness of Pahoran, that he was not also a traitor to the freedom

But he did also mourn exceedingly because of the iniquity of those who had driven Pahoran from the

judgmentseat, yea, in fine because of those who had rebelled against their country and also their God.

And it came to pass that Moroni took a small number of men, according to the desire of Pahoran, and gave

Lehi and Teancum command over the remainder of his army, and took his march towards the land of Gideon.

And he did raise the standard of liberty in whatsoever place he did enter, and gained whatsoever force he

And it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard, and did take up their swords in the defence of

And thus, when Moroni had gathered together whatsoever men he could in all his march, he came to the land

of Gideon; and uniting his forces with those of Pahoran they became exceedingly strong, even stronger than

the men of Pachus, who was the king of those dissenters who had driven the freemen out of the land of

And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran went down with their armies into the land of Zarahemla, and

went forth against the city, and did meet the men of Pachus, insomuch that they did come to battle.

And behold, Pachus was slain and his men were taken prisoners, and Pahoran was restored to his

And the men of Pachus received their trial, according to the law, and also those kingmen who had been

taken and cast into prison; and they were executed according to the law; yea, those men of Pachus and those

kingmen, whosoever would not take up arms in the defence of their country, but would fight against it, were

And thus it became expedient that this law should be strictly observed for the safety of their country; yea, and

whosoever was found denying their freedom was speedily executed according to the law.

And thus ended the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; Moroni and Pahoran

having restored peace to the land of Zarahemla, among their own people, having inflicted death upon all

And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the

people of Nephi, Moroni immediately caused that provisions should be sent, and also an army of six thousand

men should be sent unto Helaman, to assist him in preserving that part of the land.

And he also caused that an army of six thousand men, with a sufficient quantity of food, should be sent to the

armies of Lehi and Teancum. And it came to pass that this was done to fortify the land against the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran, leaving a large body of men in the land of Zarahemla, took

their march with a large body of men towards the land of Nephihah, being determined to overthrow the

And it came to pass that as they were marching towards the land, they took a large body of men of the

Lamanites, and slew many of them, and took their provisions and their weapons of war.

And it came to pass after they had taken them, they caused them to enter into a covenant that they would no

And when they had entered into this covenant they sent them to dwell with the people of Ammon, and they

And it came to pass that when they had sent them away they pursued their march towards the land of

Nephihah. And it came to pass that when they had come to the city of Nephihah, they did pitch their tents in

Now Moroni was desirous that the Lamanites should come out to battle against them, upon the plains; but the

Lamanites, knowing of their exceedingly great courage, and beholding the greatness of their numbers,

therefore they durst not come out against them; therefore they did not come to battle in that day.

And when the night came, Moroni went forth in the darkness of the night, and came upon the top of the wall

And it came to pass that they were on the east, by the entrance; and they were all asleep. And now Moroni

returned to his army, and caused that they should prepare in haste strong cords and ladders, to be let down

And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his men should march forth and come upon the top of the wall,

and let themselves down into that part of the city, yea, even on the west, where the Lamanites did not camp

And it came to pass that they were all let down into the city by night, by the means of their strong cords and

their ladders; thus when the morning came they were all within the walls of the city.

And now, when the Lamanites awoke and saw that the armies of Moroni were within the walls, they were

And now when Moroni saw that they were fleeing before him, he did cause that his men should march forth

against them, and slew many, and surrounded many others, and took them prisoners; and the remainder of

Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the possession of the city of Nephihah without the loss of one soul;

Now it came to pass that many of the Lamanites that were prisoners were desirous to join the people of

And it came to pass that as many as were desirous, unto them it was granted according to their desires.

Therefore, all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people of Ammon, and did begin to labor

exceedingly, tilling the ground, raising all manner of grain, and flocks and herds of every kind; and thus were

the Nephites relieved from a great burden; yea, insomuch that they were relieved from all the prisoners of the

Now it came to pass that Moroni, after he had obtained possession of the city of Nephihah, having taken

many prisoners, which did reduce the armies of the Lamanites exceedingly, and having regained many of the

Nephites who had been taken prisoners, which did strengthen the army of Moroni exceedingly; therefore

And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Moroni was coming against them, they were again

And it came to pass that Moroni and his army did pursue them from city to city, until they were met by Lehi

and Teancum; and the Lamanites fled from Lehi and Teancum, even down upon the borders by the seashore,

And the armies of the Lamanites were all gathered together, insomuch that they were all in one body in the

And it came to pass that Moroni and Lehi and Teancum did encamp with their armies round about in the

borders of the land of Moroni, insomuch that the Lamanites were encircled about in the borders by the

And thus they did encamp for the night. For behold, the Nephites and the Lamanites also were weary because

of the greatness of the march; therefore they did not resolve upon any stratagem in the nighttime, save it

were Teancum; for he was exceedingly angry with Ammoron, insomuch that he considered that Ammoron,

and Amalickiah his brother, had been the cause of this great and lasting war between them and the Lamanites,

And it came to pass that Teancum in his anger did go forth into the camp of the Lamanites, and did let

himself down over the walls of the city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch that he

did find the king; and he did cast a javelin at him, which did pierce him near the heart. But behold, the king

did awaken his servants before he died, insomuch that they did pursue Teancum, and slew him.

Now it came to pass that when Lehi and Moroni knew that Teancum was dead they were exceedingly

sorrowful; for behold, he had been a man who had fought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to

liberty; and he had suffered very many exceedingly sore afflictions. But behold, he was dead, and had gone

Now it came to pass that Moroni marched forth on the morrow, and came upon the Lamanites, insomuch that

they did slay them with a great slaughter; and they did drive them out of the land; and they did flee, even that

And thus ended the thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus they had

had wars, and bloodsheds, and famine, and affliction, for the space of many years.

And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people

of Nephi; nevertheless for the righteous' sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared.

But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many

had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because

of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.

And it came to pass that after Moroni had fortified those parts of the land which were most exposed to the

Lamanites, until they were sufficiently strong, he returned to the city of Zarahemla; and also Helaman

returned to the place of his inheritance; and there was once more peace established among the people of

And Moroni yielded up the command of his armies into the hands of his son, whose name was Moronihah;

and he retired to his own house that he might spend the remainder of his days in peace.

And Pahoran did return to his judgmentseat; and Helaman did take upon him again to preach unto the

people the word of God; for because of so many wars and contentions it had become expedient that a

Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth, and did declare the word of God with much power unto the

convincing of many people of their wickedness, which did cause them to repent of their sins and to be

And it came to pass that they did establish again the church of God, throughout all the land.

Yea, and regulations were made concerning the law. And their judges, and their chief judges were chosen.

And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly

But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of

their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves

Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death,

and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions and he had delivered them out of the

And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to

And it came to pass that all these things were done. And Helaman died, in the thirty and fifth year of the reign

And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the

people of Nephi, that Shiblon took possession of those sacred things which had been delivered unto Helaman

And he was a just man, and he did walk uprightly before God; and he did observe to do good continually, to

And it came to pass that Moroni died also. And thus ended the thirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges.

And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, there was a large company

of men, even to the amount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children,

And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him

an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth

And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions,

and also many women and children; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and

And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions,

And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned in the

depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we know

And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And

And it came to pass in the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, Shiblon died also, and Corianton

had gone forth to the land northward in a ship, to carry forth provisions unto the people who had gone forth

Therefore it became expedient for Shiblon to confer those sacred things, before his death, upon the son of

Now behold, all those engravings which were in the possession of Helaman were written and sent forth

among the children of men throughout all the land, save it were those parts which had been commanded by

Nevertheless, these things were to be kept sacred, and handed down from one generation to another;

therefore, in this year, they had been conferred upon Helaman, before the death of Shiblon.

And it came to pass also in this year that there were some dissenters who had gone forth unto the Lamanites;

And also in this same year they came down with a numerous army to war against the people of Moronihah, or

against the army of Moronihah, in the which they were beaten and driven back again to their own lands,

And thus ended the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And thus ended the account of Alma, and Helaman his son, and also Shiblon, who was his son.

An account of the Nephites. Their wars and contentions, and their dissensions. And also the prophecies of

many holy prophets, before the coming of Christ, according to the records of Helaman, who was the son of

Helaman, and also according to the records of his sons, even down to the coming of Christ. And also many of

the Lamanites are converted. An account of their conversion. An account of the righteousness of the

Lamanites, and the wickedness and abominations of the Nephites, according to the record of Helaman and his

And now behold, it came to pass in the commencement of the fortieth year of the reign of the judges over the

people of Nephi, there began to be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites.

For behold, Pahoran had died, and gone the way of all the earth; therefore there began to be a serious

contention concerning who should have the judgmentseat among the brethren, who were the sons of

Now these are their names who did contend for the judgmentseat, who did also cause the people to contend:

Now these are not all the sons of Pahoran, (for he had many) but these are they who did contend for the

Nevertheless, it came to pass that Pahoran was appointed by the voice of the people to be chief judge and a

And it came to pass that Pacumeni, when he saw that he could not obtain the judgmentseat, he did unite

But behold, Paanchi, and that part of the people that were desirous that he should be their governor, was

exceedingly wroth; therefore, he was about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their

And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, he was taken, and was tried according to the voice of

the people, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of

Now when those people who were desirous that he should be their governor saw that he was condemned unto

death, therefore they were angry, and behold, they sent forth one Kishkumen, even to the judgmentseat of

And he was pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, so speedy was the flight of Kishkumen that no

And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by their everlasting

Therefore, Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, for he was in disguise at the time that he

murdered Pahoran. And Kishkumen and his band, who had covenanted with him, did mingle themselves

among the people, in a manner that they all could not be found; but as many as were found were condemned

And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of the people, to be a chief judge and a

governor over the people, to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his right. And

all this was done in the fortieth year of the reign of the judges; and it had an end.

And it came to pass in the forty and first year of the reign of the judges, that the Lamanites had gathered

together an innumerable army of men, and armed them with swords, and with cimeters and with bows, and

with arrows, and with headplates, and with breastplates, and with all manner of shields of every kind.

And they came down again that they might pitch battle against the Nephites. And they were led by a man

whose name was Coriantumr; and he was a descendant of Zarahemla; and he was a dissenter from among the

Therefore, the king of the Lamanites, whose name was Tubaloth, who was the son of Ammoron, supposing

that Coriantumr, being a mighty man, could stand against the Nephites, with his strength and also with his

great wisdom, insomuch that by sending him forth he should gain power over the Nephites

Therefore he did stir them up to anger, and he did gather together his armies, and he did appoint Coriantumr

to be their leader, and did cause that they should march down to the land of Zarahemla to battle against the

And it came to pass that because of so much contention and so much difficulty in the government, that they

had not kept sufficient guards in the land of Zarahemla; for they had supposed that the Lamanites durst not

But it came to pass that Coriantumr did march forth at the head of his numerous host, and came upon the

inhabitants of the city, and their march was with such exceedingly great speed that there was no time for the

Therefore Coriantumr did cut down the watch by the entrance of the city, and did march forth with his whole

army into the city, and they did slay every one who did oppose them, insomuch that they did take possession

And it came to pass that Pacumeni, who was the chief judge, did flee before Coriantumr, even to the walls of

the city. And it came to pass that Coriantumr did smite him against the wall, insomuch that he died. And thus

And now when Coriantumr saw that he was in possession of the city of Zarahemla, and saw that the Nephites

had fled before them, and were slain, and were taken, and were cast into prison, and that he had obtained the

possession of the strongest hold in all the land, his heart took courage insomuch that he was about to go forth

And now he did not tarry in the land of Zarahemla, but he did march forth with a large army, even towards

the city of Bountiful; for it was his determination to go forth and cut his way through with the sword, that he

And, supposing that their greatest strength was in the center of the land, therefore he did march forth, giving

them no time to assemble themselves together save it were in small bodies; and in this manner they did fall

But behold, this march of Coriantumr through the center of the land gave Moronihah great advantage over

them, notwithstanding the greatness of the number of the Nephites who were slain.

For behold, Moronihah had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the center of the land, but that

they would attack the cities round about in the borders as they had hitherto done; therefore Moronihah had

caused that their strong armies should maintain those parts round about by the borders.

But behold, the Lamanites were not frightened according to his desire, but they had come into the center of

the land, and had taken the capital city which was the city of Zarahemla, and were marching through the most

capital parts of the land, slaying the people with a great slaughter, both men, women, and children, taking

But when Moronihah had discovered this, he immediately sent forth Lehi with an army round about to head

And thus he did; and he did head them before they came to the land Bountiful, and gave unto them battle,

And it came to pass that Moronihah did head them in their retreat, and did give unto them battle, insomuch

that it became an exceedingly bloody battle; yea, many were slain, and among the number who were slain

And now, behold, the Lamanites could not retreat either way, neither on the north, nor on the south, nor on

the east, nor on the west, for they were surrounded on every hand by the Nephites.

And thus had Coriantumr plunged the Lamanites into the midst of the Nephites, insomuch that they were in

the power of the Nephites, and he himself was slain, and the Lamanites did yield themselves into the hands of

And it came to pass that Moronihah took possession of the city of Zarahemla again, and caused that the

And it came to pass in the forty and second year of the reign of the judges, after Moronihah had established

again peace between the Nephites and the Lamanites, behold there was no one to fill the judgmentseat;

therefore there began to be a contention again among the people concerning who should fill the

And it came to pass that Helaman, who was the son of Helaman, was appointed to fill the judgmentseat, by

But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also; and he was

upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness.

For there was one Gadianton, who was exceedingly expert in many words, and also in his craft, to carry on

the secret work of murder and of robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen.

Therefore he did flatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they would place him in the judgmentseat he

would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among

And it came to pass as he went forth towards the judgmentseat to destroy Helaman, behold one of the

servants of Helaman, having been out by night, and having obtained, through disguise, a knowledge of those

And it came to pass that he met Kishkumen, and he gave unto him a sign; therefore Kishkumen made known

unto him the object of his desire, desiring that he would conduct him to the judgmentseat that he might

And when the servant of Helaman had known all the heart of Kishkumen, and how that it was his object to

murder, and also that it was the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to rob, and to

gain power, (and this was their secret plan, and their combination) the servant of Helaman said unto

Now this did please Kishkumen exceedingly, for he did suppose that he should accomplish his design; but

behold, the servant of Helaman, as they were going forth unto the judgmentseat, did stab Kishkumen even

to the heart, that he fell dead without a groan. And he ran and told Helaman all the things which he had seen,

And it came to pass that Helaman did send forth to take this band of robbers and secret murderers, that they

But behold, when Gadianton had found that Kishkumen did not return he feared lest that he should be

destroyed; therefore he caused that his band should follow him. And they took their flight out of the land, by

a secret way, into the wilderness; and thus when Helaman sent forth to take them they could nowhere be

And more of this Gadianton shall be spoken hereafter. And thus ended the forty and second year of the reign

And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this Gadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the

Behold I do not mean the end of the book of Helaman, but I mean the end of the book of Nephi, from which I

And now it came to pass in the forty and third year of the reign of the judges, there was no contention among

the people of Nephi save it were a little pride which was in the church, which did cause some little

dissensions among the people, which affairs were settled in the ending of the forty and third year.

And there was no contention among the people in the forty and fourth year; neither was there much

And it came to pass in the forty and sixth, yea, there was much contention and many dissensions; in the

which there were an exceedingly great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto

And they did travel to an exceedingly great distance, insomuch that they came to large bodies of water and

Yea, and even they did spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had not been rendered

desolate and without timber, because of the many inhabitants who had before inherited the land.

And now no part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the greatness of the

destruction of the people who had before inhabited the land it was called desolate.

And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became

exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did

And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land

northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south

And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did

suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they

might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their

And it came to pass as timber was exceedingly scarce in the land northward, they did send forth much by the

And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood

And it came to pass that there were many of the people of Ammon, who were Lamanites by birth, did also go

And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are

But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the

Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and

their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their

sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their

plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.

But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the

And they have been handed down from one generation to another by the Nephites, even until they have fallen

into transgression and have been murdered, plundered, and hunted, and driven forth, and slain, and scattered

upon the face of the earth, and mixed with the Lamanites until they are no more called the Nephites,

And now I return again to mine account; therefore, what I have spoken had passed after there had been great

contentions, and disturbances, and wars, and dissensions, among the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass that there was still great contention in the land, yea, even in the forty and seventh year,

Nevertheless Helaman did fill the judgmentseat with justice and equity; yea, he did observe to keep the

statutes, and the judgments, and the commandments of God; and he did do that which was right in the sight of

God continually; and he did walk after the ways of his father, insomuch that he did prosper in the land.

And it came to pass that he had two sons. He gave unto the eldest the name of Nephi, and unto the youngest,

And it came to pass that the wars and contentions began to cease, in a small degree, among the people of the

Nephites, in the latter end of the forty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass in the forty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace

established in the land, all save it were the secret combinations which Gadianton the robber had established in

the more settled parts of the land, which at that time were not known unto those who were at the head of

And it came to pass that in this same year there was exceedingly great prosperity in the church, insomuch that

there were thousands who did join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance.

And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the

people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure.

And it came to pass that the work of the Lord did prosper unto the baptizing and uniting to the church of God,

Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy

Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus

Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which

shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a

strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked

And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit

down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

And in this year there was continual rejoicing in the land of Zarahemla, and in all the regions round about,

And it came to pass that there was peace and exceedingly great joy in the remainder of the forty and ninth

year; yea, and also there was continual peace and great joy in the fiftieth year of the reign of the judges.

And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which

began to enter into the churchnot into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to

And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil,

which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much

Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and

firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying

and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto

And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace also, save it were the exceedingly great

pride which had gotten into the hearts of the people; and it was because of their exceedingly great riches and

And it came to pass in the fifty and third year of the reign of the judges, Helaman died, and his eldest son

Nephi began to reign in his stead. And it came to pass that he did fill the judgmentseat with justice and

equity; yea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did walk in the ways of his father.

And it came to pass in the fifty and fourth year there were many dissensions in the church, and there was also

And the rebellious part were slain and driven out of the land, and they did go unto the king of the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that they did endeavor to stir up the Lamanites to war against the Nephites; but behold,

the Lamanites were exceedingly afraid, insomuch that they would not hearken to the words of those

But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of the reign of the judges, there were dissenters who went up

from the Nephites unto the Lamanites; and they succeeded with those others in stirring them up to anger

And in the fifty and seventh year they did come down against the Nephites to battle, and they did commence

the work of death; yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of the judges they succeeded in

obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea, and also all the lands, even unto the land which was near

And the Nephites and the armies of Moronihah were driven even into the land of Bountiful;

And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day's

journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north

And thus those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help of a numerous army of the Lamanites, had obtained

all the possession of the Nephites which was in the land southward. And all this was done in the fifty and

And it came to pass in the sixtieth year of the reign of the judges, Moronihah did succeed with his armies in

obtaining many parts of the land; yea, they regained many cities which had fallen into the hands of the

And it came to pass in the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges they succeeded in regaining even the

Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, would not have

happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was

And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their

oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked,

and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the

spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in

great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites

And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their

own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites,

But behold, Moronihah did preach many things unto the people because of their iniquity, and also Nephi and

Lehi, who were the sons of Helaman, did preach many things unto the people, yea, and did prophesy many

things unto them concerning their iniquities, and what should come unto them if they did not repent of their

And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper.

For when Moronihah saw that they did repent he did venture to lead them forth from place to place, and from

city to city, even until they had regained the onehalf of their property and the onehalf of all their lands.

And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges, that Moronihah could obtain no

Therefore they did abandon their design to obtain the remainder of their lands, for so numerous were the

Lamanites that it became impossible for the Nephites to obtain more power over them; therefore Moronihah

And it came to pass, because of the greatness of the number of the Lamanites the Nephites were in great fear,

Yea, they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah; and they saw that they

had been a stiffnecked people, and that they had set at naught the commandments of God.

And that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord

commanded him to give unto the people; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that they

had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even like unto the Lamanites.

And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of

prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face.

And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the

Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not

Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen

into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more

numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God, they must unavoidably perish.

For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And

thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their

And it came to pass that in this same year, behold, Nephi delivered up the judgmentseat to a man whose

For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil

were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had

Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the

And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their iniquity; and he yielded up the

judgmentseat, and took it upon him to preach the word of God all the remainder of his days, and his brother

For they remembered the words which their father Helaman spake unto them. And these are the words which

Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye

should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who

came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may

remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their

Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written,

And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these

things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea,

which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we

O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that

there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ,

And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said

unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them

And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance;

therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of

God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts

in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over

you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built,

And it came to pass that these were the words which Helaman taught to his sons; yea, he did teach them

And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God, to

teach the word of God among all the people of Nephi, beginning at the city Bountiful;

And from thenceforth to the city of Gid; and from the city of Gid to the city of Mulek;

And even from one city to another, until they had gone forth among all the people of Nephi who were in the

land southward; and from thence into the land of Zarahemla, among the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those

dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and

were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority,

for they had power and authority, given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should

Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch

that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized

unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did proceed from thence to go to the land of Nephi.

And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison; yea, even in that

And after they had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison to

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not

lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned;

And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their

For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither durst they come near unto them,

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for

behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot

And behold, when they had said these words, the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did

shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall.

And behold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters.

And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came

And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye,

repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.

And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a

voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a

And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the

prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had

And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and

seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled.

And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be

uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow

them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them.

Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of

Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they

did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being

And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there

was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.

And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do

Now the man's name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of

And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be

And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in

Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of

And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they

And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed

from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.

And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the

midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and

And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they

And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:

Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the

And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and

behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.

And there were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these things; and they were bidden to go forth

And it came to pass that they did go forth, and did minister unto the people, declaring throughout all the

regions round about all the things which they had heard and seen, insomuch that the more part of the

Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the evidences which they had received.

And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of

And it came to pass that they did yield up unto the Nephites the lands of their possession.

And it came to pass that when the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges had ended, all these things

had happened and the Lamanites had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their

righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith.

For behold, there were many of the Nephites who had become hardened and impenitent and grossly wicked,

insomuch that they did reject the word of God and all the preaching and prophesying which did come among

Nevertheless, the people of the church did have great joy because of the conversion of the Lamanites, yea,

because of the church of God, which had been established among them. And they did fellowship one with

And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare

unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and repentance.

Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them

And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did go into the land northward; and also Nephi and Lehi went

into the land northward, to preach unto the people. And thus ended the sixty and third year.

And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether it were among the

Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to

And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites; and they did

have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south

Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of

Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.

And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind;

and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and thus they did

They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did flourish exceedingly, both

in the north and in the south. And they did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did

Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of finetwined linen and cloth of

every kind, to clothe their nakedness. And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace.

And in the sixty and fifth year they did also have great joy and peace, yea, much preaching and many

prophecies concerning that which was to come. And thus passed away the sixty and fifth year.

And it came to pass that in the sixty and sixth year of the reign of the judges, behold, Cezoram was murdered

by an unknown hand as he sat upon the judgmentseat. And it came to pass that in the same year, that his

son, who had been appointed by the people in his stead, was also murdered. And thus ended the sixty and

And in the commencement of the sixty and seventh year the people began to grow exceedingly wicked again.

For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up

to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began

to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret

And now behold, those murderers and plunderers were a band who had been formed by Kishkumen and

Gadianton. And now it had come to pass that there were many, even among the Nephites, of Gadianton's

band. But behold, they were more numerous among the more wicked part of the Lamanites. And they were

And it was they who did murder the chief judge Cezoram, and his son, while in the judgmentseat; and

And now it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that there were robbers among them they were

exceedingly sorrowful; and they did use every means in their power to destroy them off the face of the earth.

But behold, Satan did stir up the hearts of the more part of the Nephites, insomuch that they did unite with

those bands of robbers, and did enter into their covenants and their oaths, that they would protect and

preserve one another in whatsoever difficult circumstances they should be placed, that they should not suffer

And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs, and their secret words; and this that

they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever wickedness his brother

should do he should not be injured by his brother, nor by those who did belong to his band, who had taken

And thus they might murder, and plunder, and steal, and commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness,

And whosoever of those who belonged to their band should reveal unto the world of their wickedness and

their abominations, should be tried, not according to the laws of their country, but according to the laws of

Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto

the world, lest they should be a means of bringing down the people unto destruction.

Now behold, those secret oaths and covenants did not come forth unto Gadianton from the records which

were delivered unto Helaman; but behold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being who

Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known

unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.

And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that

they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into

this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged

Yea, it is that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton to still carry on the work of darkness, and of

secret murder; and he has brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time.

And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and

secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful

wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of

And now behold, he had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become

exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample

under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto

And it came to pass that all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years, insomuch that

a more part of it had come unto them in the sixty and seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people

And thus we see that the Nephites did begin to dwindle in unbelief, and grow in wickedness and

abominations, while the Lamanites began to grow exceedingly in the knowledge of their God; yea, they did

begin to keep his statutes and commandments, and to walk in truth and uprightness before him.

And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness

And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the

word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed

And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the

more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more

part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to

And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government, insomuch that they did trample under their

feet and smite and rend and turn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers of God.

And thus we see that they were in an awful state, and ripening for an everlasting destruction.

And it came to pass that thus ended the sixty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people of

Behold, now it came to pass in the sixty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of the

Nephites, that Nephi, the son of Helaman, returned to the land of Zarahemla from the land northward.

For he had been forth among the people who were in the land northward, and did preach the word of God

And they did reject all his words, insomuch that he could not stay among them, but returned again unto the

And seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the

judgmentseatshaving usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of

God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men;

Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished

because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do

according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the

more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills

Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years; and when Nephi saw it,

his heart was swollen with sorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul:

Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem,

that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep

the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words

Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my

But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of

And behold, now it came to pass that it was upon a tower, which was in the garden of Nephi, which was by

the highway which led to the chief market, which was in the city of Zarahemla; therefore, Nephi had bowed

himself upon the tower which was in his garden, which tower was also near unto the garden gate by which

And it came to pass that there were certain men passing by and saw Nephi as he was pouring out his soul

unto God upon the tower; and they ran and told the people what they had seen, and the people came together

in multitudes that they might know the cause of so great mourning for the wickedness of the people.

And now, when Nephi arose he beheld the multitudes of people who had gathered together.

And it came to pass that he opened his mouth and said unto them: Behold, why have ye gathered yourselves

Yea, because I have got upon my tower that I might pour out my soul unto my God, because of the exceeding

And because of my mourning and lamentation ye have gathered yourselves together, and do marvel; yea, and

ye have great need to marvel; yea, ye ought to marvel because ye are given away that the devil has got so

Yea, how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to

O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God. Why has he forsaken you?

It is because you have hardened your hearts; yea, ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd;

And behold, instead of gathering you, except ye will repent, behold, he shall scatter you forth that ye shall

O, how could you have forgotten you God in the very day that he has delivered you?

But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set

your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and

steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity.

And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great

city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be

taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he

For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other,

save it be unto those that repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would that ye

should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent.

For behold, they are more righteous than you, for they have not sinned against that great knowledge which ye

have received; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them; yea, he will lengthen out their days and increase

Yea, wo be unto you because of that great abomination which has come among you; and ye have united

yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band which was established by Gadianton!

Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has

lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches!

And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed

Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be, of myself, because it is not of myself that I know these

things; but behold, I know that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me,

And now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words, behold, there were men who were judges,

who also belonged to the secret band of Gadianton, and they were angry, and they cried out against him,

saying unto the people: Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth, that he may be condemned

Why seest thou this man, and hearest him revile against this people and against our law?

For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; yea, many things did Nephi

speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God.

And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of

darkness; nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they

Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold

he doth condemn all this people, even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our great cities shall be taken

And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are powerful, and our cities great, therefore our

And it came to pass that thus they did stir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among

them; for there were some who did cry out: Let this man alone, for he is a good man, and those things which

Yea, behold, all the judgments will come upon us which he has testified unto us; for we know that he has

testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he knoweth as well all

Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things.

And it came to pass that those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear, that

they did not lay their hands on him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had gained

Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that

God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither

and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters

And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and

say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may know concerning the judgments that shall come

But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our

fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto

Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the

And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of

God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even

Yea, and behold, Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.

Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the

days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it

should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption

And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets

that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.

And behold, also Zenock, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet

who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to

the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy?

And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain,

all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were

Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he testified of these things. Nephi also testified of these

things, and also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the coming of

And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed

And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie, therefore in this ye have

sinned, for ye have rejected all these things, notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have received; yea,

even ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that

But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and rebelled against your holy God; and even at this time, instead of

laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which

Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness, for

Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgmentseat, and search; and behold, your

judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in

And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose author is Gadianton and the evil one who seeketh to

Behold, now it came to pass that when Nephi had spoken these words, certain men who were among them ran

to the judgmentseat; yea, even there were five who went, and they said among themselves, as they went:

Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to

prophesy such marvelous things unto us. Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that

he is a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be

And it came to pass that they ran in their might, and came in unto the judgmentseat; and behold, the chief

And now behold, when they saw this they were astonished exceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth;

for they had not believed the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge.

But now, when they saw they believed, and fear came upon them lest all the judgments which Nephi had

spoken should come upon the people; therefore they did quake, and had fallen to the earth.

Now, immediately when the judge had been murderedhe being stabbed by his brother by a garb of secrecy,

and he fled, and the servants ran and told the people, raising the cry of murder among them;

And behold the people did gather themselves together unto the place of the judgmentseatand behold, to

And now behold, the people knew nothing concerning the multitude who had gathered together at the garden

of Nephi; therefore they said among themselves: These men are they who have murdered the judge, and God

And it came to pass that they laid hold on them, and bound them and cast them into prison. And there was a

proclamation sent abroad that the judge was slain, and that the murderers had been taken and were cast into

And it came to pass that on the morrow the people did assemble themselves together to mourn and to fast, at

And thus also those judges who were at the garden of Nephi, and heard his words, were also gathered

And it came to pass that they inquired among the people, saying: Where are the five who were sent to inquire

concerning the chief judge whether he was dead? And they answered and said: Concerning this five whom ye

say ye have sent, we know not; but there are five who are the murderers, whom we have cast into prison.

And it came to pass that the judges desired that they should be brought; and they were brought, and behold

they were the five who were sent; and behold the judges inquired of them to know, concerning the matter,

We ran and came to the place of the judgmentseat, and when we saw all things even as Nephi had testified,

we were astonished insomuch that we fell to the earth; and when we were recovered from our astonishment,

Now, as for the murder of this man, we know not who has done it; and only this much we know, we ran and

came according as ye desired, and behold he was dead, according to the words of Nephi.

And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and did cry out against

Nephi, saying: Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and then

he might declare it unto us, that he might convert us unto his faith, that he might raise himself to be a great

And now behold, we will detect this man, and he shall confess his fault and make known unto us the true

And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the

judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch

Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they

began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death

Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and

acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell

But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye

know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?

O ye ought to begin to howl and mourn, because of the great destruction which at this time doth await you,

Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder Seezoram, our chief judge. But behold, I

say unto you, that this is because I have testified unto you that ye might know concerning this thing; yea,

even for a witness unto you, that I did know of the wickedness and abominations which are among you.

And because I have done this, ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should do this thing; yea, because

And now behold, I will show unto you another sign, and see if ye will in this thing seek to destroy me.

Behold I say unto you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the brother of Seezoram, and say unto him

Has Nephi, the pretended prophet, who doth prophesy so much evil concerning this people, agreed with thee,

And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And behold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make

as if he were astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent.

But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.

And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this blood? Do we not know that it is the

And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death had come upon him.

And then shall ye say: Because of this fear and this paleness which has come upon your face, behold, we

And then shall greater fear come upon him; and then shall he confess unto you, and deny no more that he has

And then shall he say unto you, that I, Nephi, know nothing concerning the matter save it were given unto me

by the power of God. And then shall ye know that I am an honest man, and that I am sent unto you from God.

And it came to pass that they went and did, even according as Nephi had said unto them. And behold, the

words which he had said were true; for according to the words he did deny; and also according to the words

And he was brought to prove that he himself was the very murderer, insomuch that the five were set at

And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who

believed because of the testimony of the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison.

And there were others who said: Behold, he is a god, for except he was a god he could not know of all things.

For behold, he has told us the thoughts of our hearts, and also has told us things; and even he has brought

And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and

thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them.

And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the

And it came to pass as he was thus ponderingbeing much cast down because of the wickedness of the

people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all

manner of iniquitiesand it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto

Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with

unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared

them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. Helaman

And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will

make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee

according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.

Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye

shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction,

Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and

whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.

And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done.

And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.

And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass.

And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord God,

who is the Almighty: Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction.

And behold, now it came to pass that when the Lord had spoken these words unto Nephi, he did stop and did

not go unto his own house, but did return unto the multitudes who were scattered about upon the face of the

land, and began to declare unto them the word of the Lord which had been spoken unto him, concerning their

Now behold, notwithstanding that great miracle which Nephi had done in telling them concerning the death

of the chief judge, they did harden their hearts and did not hearken unto the words of the Lord.

Therefore Nephi did declare unto them the word of the Lord, saying: Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye

And it came to pass that when Nephi had declared unto them the word, behold, they did still harden their

hearts and would not hearken unto his words; therefore they did revile against him, and did seek to lay their

But behold, the power of God was with him, and they could not take him to cast him into prison, for he was

And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from multitude to multitude, declaring the word of

God, even until he had declared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people.

And it came to pass that they would not hearken unto his words; and there began to be contentions, insomuch

that they were divided against themselves and began to slay one another with the sword.

And thus ended the seventy and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And now it came to pass in the seventy and second year of the reign of the judges that the contentions did

increase, insomuch that there were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi.

And it was this secret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness. And this

O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine

in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto

And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi. And there was a great famine upon the land, among all

the people of Nephi. And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of

And this work of destruction did also continue in the seventy and fifth year. For the earth was smitten that it

was dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was smitten, even among the

Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the

And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to

And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi:

Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from

us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our destruction be fulfilled.

And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi, according to the words which had been desired. And

it came to pass that when Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in sackcloth, he

O Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away the band of Gadianton from amongst them

insomuch that they have become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth.

Now, O Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou turn away thine anger, and let thine anger be appeased

O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, thy fierce anger, and cause that this famine may cease in this

O Lord, wilt thou hearken unto me, and cause that it may be done according to my words, and send forth rain

upon the face of the earth, that she may bring forth her fruit, and her grain in the season of grain.

O Lord, thou didst hearken unto my words when I said, Let there be a famine, that the pestilence of the sword

might cease; and I know that thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words, for thou saidst that: If this

Yea, O Lord, and thou seest that they have repented, because of the famine and the pestilence and destruction

And now, O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and try again if they will serve thee? And if so, O Lord,

And it came to pass that in the seventy and sixth year the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, and

caused that rain should fall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the season of her fruit.

And it came to pass that it did bring forth her grain in the season of her grain.

And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing;

and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man of God,

And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a whit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness.

And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build

up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land,

And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in peace. And the seventy and seventh year began

in peace; and the church did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the people, both

the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the

And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it were a few contentions concerning the points

And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and

many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily,

therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year.

And it came to pass that in the eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were a

certain number of the dissenters from the people of Nephi, who had some years before gone over unto the

Lamanites, and taken upon themselves the name of Lamanites, and also a certain number who were real

descendants of the Lamanites, being stirred up to anger by them, or by those dissenters, therefore they

And they did commit murder and plunder; and then they would retreat back into the mountains, and into the

wilderness and secret places, hiding themselves that they could not be discovered, receiving daily an addition

And thus in time, yea, even in the space of not many years, they became an exceedingly great band of

robbers; and they did search out all the secret plans of Gadianton; and thus they became robbers of

Now behold, these robbers did make great havoc, yea, even great destruction among the people of Nephi, and

And it came to pass that it was expedient that there should be a stop put to this work of destruction; therefore

they sent an army of strong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out this band of

But behold, it came to pass that in that same year they were driven back even into their own lands. And thus

And it came to pass in the commencement of the eighty and first year they did go forth again against this

band of robbers, and did destroy many; and they were also visited with much destruction.

And they were again obliged to return out of the wilderness and out of the mountains unto their own lands,

because of the exceeding greatness of the numbers of those robbers who infested the mountains and the

And it came to pass that thus ended this year. And the robbers did still increase and wax strong, insomuch

that they did defy the whole armies of the Nephites, and also of the Lamanites; and they did cause great fear

Yea, for they did visit many parts of the land, and did do great destruction unto them; yea, did kill many, and

did carry away others captive into the wilderness, yea, and more especially their women and their children.

Now this great evil, which came unto the people because of their iniquity, did stir them up again in

And in the eighty and second year they began again to forget the Lord their God. And in the eighty and third

year they began to wax strong in iniquity. And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend their ways.

And it came to pass in the eighty and fifth year they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their

And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can

see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.

Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields,

their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and

art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their

enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and

happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their

God, and do trample under their feet the Holy Oneyea, and this because of their ease, and their

And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit

them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember

O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do

good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their

Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity;

and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to

Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them;

notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they

O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.

For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our

And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.

Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.

Yea, if he say unto the earthThou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hoursit is done;

And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still;

yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.

And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deepBe thou dried upit is done.

Behold, if he say unto this mountainBe thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be

And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall sayLet it be accursed, because of

And if the Lord shall sayBe thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and

And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a manBecause of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed foreverit

And if the Lord shall sayBecause of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presencehe will cause

And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be

saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.

Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are

And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that

And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall

Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery, fulfilling the words which say: They that have done

good shall have everlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation. And thus it is.

And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea in great

wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the

And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and

began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the

But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people

And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got

upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the

And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into

my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth

over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people.

Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this

people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and

And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And

behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would

Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except

they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer

And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit

Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation who shall live, of

your enemies, to behold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye repent, saith the Lord;

But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus

saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not.

Yea, wo unto this great city of Zarahemla; for behold, it is because of those who are righteous that it is saved;

yea, wo unto this great city, for I perceive, saith the Lord, that there are many, yea, even the more part of this

But blessed are they who will repent, for them will I spare. But behold, if it were not for the righteous who

are in this great city, behold, I would cause that fire should come down out of heaven and destroy it.

But behold, it is for the righteous' sake that it is spared. But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that

when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction; yea, wo be unto

Yea, and wo be unto the city of Gideon, for the wickedness and abominations which are in her.

Yea, and wo be unto all the cities which are in the land round about, which are possessed by the Nephites,

And behold, a curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of the people's sake who are

And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up

treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land, save he be a

For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up

their treasures unto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; and he that hideth

not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse

And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches;

and because they have set their hearts upon their riches, and will hide up their treasures when they shall flee

before their enemies; because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures; and

Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the

Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed

because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them

Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always

remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the

Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice,

For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land, and also upon your riches,

Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do

mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they

And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain

Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you

the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and

seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner,

But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye

shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your

eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desirethand if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will

Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and

of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you,

O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose

that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides?

Yea, behold, the anger of the Lord is already kindled against you; behold, he hath cursed the land because of

And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them;

And in the days of your poverty ye shall cry unto the Lord; and in vain shall ye cry, for your desolation is

already come upon you, and your destruction is made sure; and then shall ye weep and howl in that day, saith

O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye

shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they

would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.

Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and behold, our swords are taken from us in the day

Yea, 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

Behold, we are surrounded by demons, yea, we are encircled about by the angels of him who hath sought to

destroy our souls. Behold, our iniquities are great. O Lord, canst thou not turn away thine anger from us? And

But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is

everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for

that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to

O ye people of the land, that ye would hear my words! And I pray that the anger of the Lord be turned away

And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be

And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then

And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great

lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it

Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this

shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they

shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened;

And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign

And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting

And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you;

yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto

And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded

me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me

And ye shall hear my words, for, for this intent have I come up upon the walls of this city, that ye might hear

and know of the judgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and also that ye might

And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of

earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the

And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them

For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that

he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of

Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first

deaththat spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord,

But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back

Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down

and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon

them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to

Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to

But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall

suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars;

and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the

Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of

many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which

are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid

Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments

And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and

there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is

And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto

And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto me that there should be thunderings and

And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should

be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.

And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things than these, to the intent that they might believe

that these signs and these wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to the intent that there

And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a

righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their

And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and

whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for

yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose

life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored

And now, my beloved brethren, behold, I declare unto you that except ye shall repent your houses shall be

Yea, except ye repent, your women shall have great cause to mourn in the day that they shall give suck; for

ye shall attempt to flee and there shall be no place for refuge; yea, and wo unto them which are with child, for

they shall be heavy and cannot flee; therefore, they shall be trodden down and shall be left to perish.

Yea, wo unto this people who are called the people of Nephi except they shall repent, when they shall see all

these signs and wonders which shall be showed unto them; for behold, they have been a chosen people of the

Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also hath he chastened them; yea, in the days of their

But behold my brethren, the Lamanites hath he hated because their deeds have been evil continually, and this

because of the iniquity of the tradition of their fathers. But behold, salvation hath come unto them through the

preaching of the Nephites; and for this intent hath the Lord prolonged their days.

And I would that ye should behold that the more part of them are in the path of their duty, and they do walk

circumspectly before God, and they do observe to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments

Yea, I say unto you, that the more part of them are doing this, and they are striving with unwearied diligence

that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth; therefore there are many

And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the

knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to

believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to

faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them

Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the

And ye know also that they have buried their weapons of war, and they fear to take them up lest by any

means they should sin; yea, ye can see that they fear to sinfor behold they will suffer themselves that they

be trodden down and slain by their enemies, and will not lift their swords against them, and this because of

And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because

of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days,

Yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall prolong their days, until the time shall come

which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets,

concerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth

Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the

Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be

driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having

And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be brought to the true knowledge, which is

knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep.

Therefore I say unto you, it shall be better for them than for you except ye repent.

For behold, had the mighty works been shown unto them which have been shown unto you, yea, unto them

who have dwindled in unbelief because of the traditions of their fathers, ye can see of yourselves that they

Therefore, saith the Lord: I will not utterly destroy them, but I will cause that in the day of my wisdom they

And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the Nephites: If they will not repent, and observe to

do my will, I will utterly destroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief notwithstanding the many

mighty works which I have done among them; and as surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the

And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he

spake upon the walls of the city. And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and

when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they

But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast

stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the

Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.

Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words,

For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people,

showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must

Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might know and remember at the time of their

coming that they had been made known unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe; therefore

as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and

But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could

not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind

him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with

And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee

out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own

And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites; and thus were the affairs of the people.

And thus ended the eighty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And thus ended also the eighty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, the more part of the people

remaining in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God.

And these were the conditions also, in the eighty and eighth year of the reign of the judges.

And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more

hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which was contrary to the commandments of God, in the

But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were great signs given unto the

And angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy; thus in this

Nevertheless, the people began to harden their hearts, all save it were the most believing part of them, both of

the Nephites and also of the Lamanites, and began to depend upon their own strength and upon their own

Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these great and

That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father

of heaven and of earth, as it has been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us as well as unto them who

Yea, why will he not show himself in this land as well as in the land of Jerusalem?

But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to

cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among

us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for

And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we

cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for

we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves

And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and vain; and they were

much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading rumors

and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which

And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought among the people of the Lord, and the

many miracles which they did, Satan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the face of the

And thus ended the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

And thus ended the book of Helaman, according to the record of Helaman and his sons.

And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a

descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of

Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year had passed away and it was six hundred years from the time

that Lehi left Jerusalem; and it was in the year that Lachoneus was the chief judge and the governor over the

And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving charge unto his son Nephi,

who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been kept, and all those

Then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the

And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the

prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought

But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken

And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are

not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.

And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed

began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as

if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those

traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the

Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was

And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God

in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of

And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord, all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be

given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have

Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the

foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Sonof the Father because of me,

and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken;

for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished

And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if

they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in

the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of

the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly

For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been

given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.

And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was midday.

And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew

that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan,

to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had

seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were

And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and also many others, baptizing unto

repentance, in the which there was a great remission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace

And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to preach, endeavoring to prove by the

scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having

But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for

it was made known unto them that the law was not yet fulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled in every whit;

yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled; yea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it

should all be fulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did

And thus the ninety and second year did pass away, bringing glad tidings unto the people because of the signs

which did come to pass, according to the words of the prophecy of all the holy prophets.

And it came to pass that the ninety and third year did also pass away in peace, save it were for the Gadianton

robbers, who dwelt upon the mountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds and their

secret places that the people could not overpower them; therefore they did commit many murders, and did do

And it came to pass that in the ninety and fourth year they began to increase in great degree, because there

were many dissenters of the Nephites who did flee unto them, which did cause much sorrow unto those

And there was also a cause of much sorrow among the Lamanites; for behold, they had many children who

did grow up and began to wax strong in years, that they became for themselves, and were led away by some

who were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers.

And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because

And it came to pass that thus passed away the ninety and fifth year also, and the people began to forget those

signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from

heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve

Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to

lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people

again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a

And it came to pass that the people began to wax strong in wickedness and abominations; and they did not

believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did go about, leading away the

hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land.

And thus did pass away the ninety and sixth year; and also the ninety and seventh year; and also the ninety

And also an hundred years had passed away since the days of Mosiah, who was king over the people of the

And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the

Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when the sign was given, or from the coming

And Nephi, who was the father of Nephi, who had the charge of the records, did not return to the land of

And it came to pass that the people did still remain in wickedness, notwithstanding the much preaching and

prophesying which was sent among them; and thus passed away the tenth year also; and the eleventh year

And it came to pass in the thirteenth year there began to be wars and contentions throughout all the land; for

the Gadianton robbers had become so numerous, and did slay so many of the people, and did lay waste so

many cities, and did spread so much death and carnage throughout the land, that it became expedient that all

the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, should take up arms against them.

Therefore, all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the Lord did unite with their brethren, the

Nephites, and were compelled, for the safety of their lives and their women and their children, to take up

arms against those Gadianton robbers, yea, and also to maintain their rights, and the privileges of their church

And it came to pass that before this thirteenth year had passed away the Nephites were threatened with utter

And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the

And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;

And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the

And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, the war between the robbers and the people

of Nephi did continue and did become exceedingly sore; nevertheless, the people of Nephi did gain some

advantage of the robbers, insomuch that they did drive them back out of their lands into the mountains and

And thus ended the fourteenth year. And in the fifteenth year they did come forth against the people of

Nephi; and because of the wickedness of the people of Nephi, and their many contentions and dissensions,

And thus ended the fifteenth year, and thus were the people in a state of many afflictions; and the sword of

destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of

And now it came to pass that in the sixteenth year from the coming of Christ, Lachoneus, the governor of the

land, received an epistle from the leader and the governor of this band of robbers; and these were the words

Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto

you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining

that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand

of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.

And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose

that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their

arms, and do await with great anxiety for the wordGo down upon the Nephites and destroy them.

And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in the field of battle, and knowing of their

everlasting hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore if they

Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling for your welfare, because of your

firmness in that which ye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle.

Therefore I write unto you, desiring that ye would yield up unto this my people, your cities, your lands, and

your possessions, rather than that they should visit you with the sword and that destruction should come upon

Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret

works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto usnot our slaves, but our brethren and partners of

And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do

this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come

down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall

And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and

the works thereof I know to be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us.

And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your

possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government,

who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of

And now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he was exceedingly astonished, because of the

boldness of Giddianhi demanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of threatening the

people and avenging the wrongs of those that had received no wrong, save it were they had wronged

Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and

the threatenings of a robber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the

robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the

Yea, he sent a proclamation among all the people, that they should gather together their women, and their

children, their flocks and their herds, and all their substance, save it were their land, unto one place.

And he caused that fortifications should be built round about them, and the strength thereof should be

exceedingly great. And he caused that armies, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites, or of all them who

were numbered among the Nephites, should be placed as guards round about to watch them, and to guard

Yea, he said unto them: As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye

And so great and marvelous were the words and prophecies of Lachoneus that they did cause fear to come

upon all the people; and they did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus.

And it came to pass that Lachoneus did appoint chief captains over all the armies of the Nephites, to

command them at the time that the robbers should come down out of the wilderness against them.

Now the chiefest among all the chief captains and the great commander of the armies of the Nephites was

Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their chief captains, (save it were in their times

of wickedness) some one that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy; therefore, this Gidgiddoni was a

Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the

wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.

But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver

us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our

armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as

And it came to pass in the seventeenth year, in the latter end of the year, the proclamation of Lachoneus had

gone forth throughout all the face of the land, and they had taken their horses, and their chariots, and their

cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and their grain, and all their substance, and did march forth by

thousands and by tens of thousands, until they had all gone forth to the place which had been appointed that

they should gather themselves together, to defend themselves against their enemies.

And the land which was appointed was the land of Zarahemla, and the land which was between the land

Zarahemla and the land Bountiful, yea, to the line which was between the land Bountiful and the land

And there were a great many thousand people who were called Nephites, who did gather themselves together

in this land. Now Lachoneus did cause that they should gather themselves together in the land southward,

And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and

they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins;

and they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them in the time that their

And Gidgiddoni did cause that they should make weapons of war of every kind, and they should be strong

with armor, and with shields, and with bucklers, after the manner of his instruction.

And it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year those armies of robbers had prepared for

battle, and began to come down and to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains, and the

wilderness, and their strongholds, and their secret places, and began to take possession of the lands, both

which were in the land south and which were in the land north, and began to take possession of all the lands

which had been deserted by the Nephites, and the cities which had been left desolate.

But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and

And the robbers could not exist save it were in the wilderness, for the want of food; for the Nephites had left

their lands desolate, and had gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one

Therefore, there was no chance for the robbers to plunder and to obtain food, save it were to come up in open

battle against the Nephites; and the Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having

reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for

the space of seven years, in the which time they did hope to destroy the robbers from off the face of the land;

And it came to pass that in the nineteenth year Giddianhi found that it was expedient that he should go up to

battle against the Nephites, for there was no way that they could subsist save it were to plunder and rob and

And they durst not spread themselves upon the face of the land insomuch that they could raise grain, lest the

Nephites should come upon them and slay them; therefore Giddianhi gave commandment unto his armies

And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; and it was in the sixth month; and behold, great and

terrible was the day that they did come up to battle; and they were girded about after the manner of robbers;

and they had a lambskin about their loins, and they were dyed in blood, and their heads were shorn, and

they had headplates upon them; and great and terrible was the appearance of the armies of Giddianhi,

And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi,

had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver

And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice,

because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their

But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and

did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were

And the battle commenced in this the sixth month; and great and terrible was the battle thereof, yea, great and

terrible was the slaughter thereof, insomuch that there never was known so great a slaughter among all the

And notwithstanding the threatenings and the oaths which Giddianhi had made, behold, the Nephites did beat

And it came to pass that Gidgiddoni commanded that his armies should pursue them as far as the borders of

the wilderness, and that they should not spare any that should fall into their hands by the way; and thus they

did pursue them and did slay them, to the borders of the wilderness, even until they had fulfilled the

And it came to pass that Giddianhi, who had stood and fought with boldness, was pursued as he fled; and

being weary because of his much fighting he was overtaken and slain. And thus was the end of Giddianhi the

And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites did return again to their place of security. And it came to

pass that this nineteenth year did pass away, and the robbers did not come again to battle; neither did they

And in the twenty and first year they did not come up to battle, but they came up on all sides to lay siege

round about the people of Nephi; for they did suppose that if they should cut off the people of Nephi from

their lands, and should hem them in on every side, and if they should cut them off from all their outward

privileges, that they could cause them to yield themselves up according to their wishes.

Now they had appointed unto themselves another leader, whose name was Zemnarihah; therefore it was

But behold, this was an advantage to the Nephites; for it was impossible for the robbers to lay siege

sufficiently long to have any effect upon the Nephites, because of their much provision which they had laid

And because of the scantiness of provisions among the robbersfor behold, they had nothing save it were

And it came to pass that the wild game became scarce in the wildernessinsomuch that the robbers were

And the Nephites were continually marching out by day and by night, and falling upon their armies, and

And thus it became the desire of the people of Zemnarihah to withdraw from their design, because of the

And it came to pass that Zemnarihah did give command unto his people that they should withdraw

themselves from the siege, and march into the furthermost parts of the land northward.

And now, Gidgiddoni being aware of their design, and knowing of their weakness because of the want of

food, and the great slaughter which had been made among them, therefore he did send out his armies in the

nighttime, and did cut off the way of their retreat, and did place his armies in the way of their retreat.

And this did they do in the nighttime, and got on their march beyond the robbers, so that on the morrow,

when the robbers began their march, they were met by the armies of the Nephites both in their front and in

And the robbers who were on the south were also cut off in their places of retreat. And all these things were

And there were many thousands who did yield themselves up prisoners unto the Nephites, and the remainder

And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was

dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a

May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to

the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath

And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God

And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing

which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.

Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God

And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of

God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance

and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.

And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least

the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be

And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been

given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they

knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken.

Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God

And now it came to pass that when they had taken all the robbers prisoners, insomuch that none did escape

who were not slain, they did cast their prisoners into prison, and did cause the word of God to be preached

unto them; and as many as would repent of their sins and enter into a covenant that they would murder no

But as many as there were who did not enter into a covenant, and who did still continue to have those secret

murders in their hearts, yea, as many as were found breathing out threatenings against their brethren were

And thus they did put an end to all those wicked, and secret, and abominable combinations, in the which

And thus had the twenty and second year passed away, and the twenty and third year also, and the twenty and

fourth, and the twenty and fifth; and thus had twenty and five years passed away.

And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous;

nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of

But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings of this people; and a shorter but true

Therefore I have made my record of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on

And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with mine own hands.

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did

establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among

And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God, that the prayers of those who have gone

hence, who were the holy ones, should be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a record of these

Yea, a small record of that which hath taken place from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, even down until the

Therefore I do make my record from the accounts which have been given by those who were before me, until

And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record; nevertheless there are many things which,

And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and proceed to give my account of the things

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

Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph.

And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them

Yea, and surely shall he again bring a remnant of the seed of Joseph to the knowledge of the Lord their God.

And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the

And as he hath covenanted with all the house of Jacob, even so shall the covenant wherewith he hath

covenanted with the house of Jacob be fulfilled in his own due time, unto the restoring all the house of Jacob

And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be

gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed;

And now it came to pass that the people of the Nephites did all return to their own lands in the twenty and

sixth year, every man, with his family, his flocks and his herds, his horses and his cattle, and all things

And it came to pass that they had not eaten up all their provisions; therefore they did take with them all that

they had not devoured, of all their grain of every kind, and their gold, and their silver, and all their precious

things, and they did return to their own lands and their possessions, both on the north and on the south, both

And they granted unto those robbers who had entered into a covenant to keep the peace of the land, who were

desirous to remain Lamanites, lands, according to their numbers, that they might have, with their labors,

And they began again to prosper and to wax great; and the twenty and sixth and seventh years passed away,

and there was great order in the land; and they had formed their laws according to equity and justice.

And now there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from prospering continually, except they

And now it was Gidgiddoni, and the judge, Lachoneus, and those who had been appointed leaders, who had

And it came to pass that there were many cities built anew, and there were many old cities repaired.

And there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from city to city, and from land to

And thus passed away the twenty and eighth year, and the people had continual peace.

But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; and

some were lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto great

For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers, and many officers.

And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning,

yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their

Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while

others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile

And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea,

insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the

Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and

steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was thisSatan had great power, unto the stirring up of the

people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power,

And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity; therefore they had enjoyed

And thus, in the commencement of the thirtieth yearthe people having been delivered up for the space of a

long time to be carried about by the temptations of the devil whithersoever he desired to carry them, and to do

whatsoever iniquity he desired they shouldand thus in the commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they

Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto

And now it was in the days of Lachoneus, the son of Lachoneus, for Lachoneus did fill the seat of his father

And there began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth, standing among the people in all the land,

preaching and testifying boldly of the sins and iniquities of the people, and testifying unto them concerning

the redemption which the Lord would make for his people, or in other words, the resurrection of Christ; and

Now there were many of the people who were exceedingly angry because of those who testified of these

things; and those who were angry were chiefly the chief judges, and they who had been high priests and

lawyers; yea, all those who were lawyers were angry with those who testified of these things.

Now there was no lawyer nor judge nor high priest that could have power to condemn any one to death save

Now there were many of those who testified of the things pertaining to Christ who testified boldly, who were

taken and put to death secretly by the judges, that the knowledge of their death came not unto the governor of

Now behold, this was contrary to the laws of the land, that any man should be put to death except they had

Therefore a complaint came up unto the land of Zarahemla, to the governor of the land, against these judges

who had condemned the prophets of the Lord unto death, not according to the law.

Now it came to pass that they were taken and brought up before the judge to be judged of the crime which

Now it came to pass that those judges had many friends and kindreds; and the remainder, yea, even almost all

the lawyers and the high priests, did gather themselves together, and unite with the kindreds of those judges

And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea, even into that covenant which was given by them

of old, which covenant was given and administered by the devil, to combine against all righteousness.

Therefore they did combine against the people of the Lord, and enter into a covenant to destroy them, and to

deliver those who were guilty of murder from the grasp of justice, which was about to be administered

And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country; and they did covenant one with another to

destroy the governor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should no more be at liberty but

Now behold, I will show unto you that they did not establish a king over the land; but in this same year, yea,

the thirtieth year, they did destroy upon the judgment seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the land.

And the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, every

man according to his family and his kindred and friends; and thus they did destroy the government of the

And every tribe did appoint a chief or a leader over them; and thus they became tribes and leaders of tribes.

Now behold, there was no man among them save he had much family and many kindreds and friends;

Now all this was done, and there were no wars as yet among them; and all this iniquity had come upon the

And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of the secret combination of the friends and

And they did cause a great contention in the land, insomuch that the more righteous part of the people had

And thus six years had not passed away since the more part of the people had turned from their righteousness,

Now this secret combination, which had brought so great iniquity upon the people, did gather themselves

And they did call him their king; therefore he became a king over this wicked band; and he was one of the

And it came to pass that they were not so strong in number as the tribes of the people, who were united

together save it were their leaders did establish their laws, every one according to his tribe; nevertheless they

were enemies; notwithstanding they were not a righteous people, yet they were united in the hatred of those

Therefore, Jacob seeing that their enemies were more numerous than they, he being the king of the band,

therefore he commanded his people that they should take their flight into the northernmost part of the land,

and there build up unto themselves a kingdom, until they were joined by dissenters, (for he flattered them that

there would be many dissenters) and they become sufficiently strong to contend with the tribes of the people;

And so speedy was their march that it could not be impeded until they had gone forth out of the reach of the

people. And thus ended the thirtieth year; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass in the thirty and first year that they were divided into tribes, every man according to his

family, kindred and friends; nevertheless they had come to an agreement that they would not go to war one

with another; but they were not united as to their laws, and their manner of government, for they were

established according to the minds of those who were their chiefs and their leaders. But they did establish

very strict laws that one tribe should not trespass against another, insomuch that in some degree they had

peace in the land; nevertheless, their hearts were turned from the Lord their God, and they did stone the

And it came to pass that Nephihaving been visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord, therefore

having seen angels, and being eyewitness, and having had power given unto him that he might know

concerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eyewitness to their quick return from righteousness unto

Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their mindswent forth among

them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the

And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not

suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great

And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were

not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that

And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the

And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also

And it came to pass that the thirty and first year did pass away, and there were but few who were converted

unto the Lord; but as many as were converted did truly signify unto the people that they had been visited by

And as many as had devils cast out from them, and were healed of their sicknesses and their infirmities, did

truly manifest unto the people that they had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and had been healed;

Thus passed away the thirty and second year also. And Nephi did cry unto the people in the commencement

of the thirty and third year; and he did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins.

Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who were brought unto repentance who were

Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry, that all such as should come unto them

should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that

And there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the

And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a

just man who did keep the recordfor he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not

any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity

And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time, the thirty

And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet

Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face

And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had

And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there

And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the

And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.

And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah that in the place of the city there became a great

But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face

of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds and the thunderings and the lightnings,

And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.

And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the

buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left

And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were

And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save

And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the

And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch

that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.

And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the

quakings of the earth did ceasefor behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said

by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the

space of three hoursand then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants

And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be

fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so

And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great

mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the

people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day,

and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city

And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and

terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our

fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah.

And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of

Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the

devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it

Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.

And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants

And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their

iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not

And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the

Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof,

and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead

thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and

And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of

Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the

inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations

from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me

And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be

burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole

earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my

people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before

my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.

And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I

caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the

prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their

And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and

destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the

prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.

And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is

extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father

I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.

And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as

many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses

I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings

shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me

with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the

Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the

Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.

Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the

kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and

And now behold, it came to pass that all the people of the land did hear these sayings, and did witness of it.

And after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours;

For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of

their kindred which had been slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours.

And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear, and did witness

O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house

of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished

And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye

people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at

Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and

O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her

But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling

And now it came to pass that after the people had heard these words, behold, they began to weep and howl

And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness

dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and

And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of

the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations

And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.

And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets

and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared

And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths

of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they

were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of

And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and

behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by

the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of

Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain

Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because

Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a

remnant of the seed of Joseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of

And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the

people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did

have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after

Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them; and an account of his ministry shall be given

And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round

about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another,

and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place. 3 Nephi 11:2

And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his

And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came

out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it

was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it

did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause

to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.

And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were

towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.

And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:

Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my namehear ye him.

And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a

Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst

of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths,

even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father

hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they

remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his

Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints

of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints

of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone

forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record,

And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did

And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him

And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet.

And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.

And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again

And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And

he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.

Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words and desireth to be baptized in my

name, on this wise shall ye baptize themBehold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name

And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:

Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the

And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.

And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the

Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.

And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among

you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is

the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my

And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the

Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I

bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso

believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit

And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock,

And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and

is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive

Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called,

(now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and

behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall

give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to

be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye

are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye

if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.

And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have

seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down

into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and

Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy

And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you

For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so

Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor

wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to

Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot

Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all

Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your

Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil;

For verily I say unto you, one jot nor tittle hath not passed away from the law, but in me it hath all been

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and

that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have

Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my

commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of

Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also written before you, that thou shalt not

But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And

whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou

Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hast

Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose

Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time he shall get thee, and

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost

senine. And while ye are in prison can ye pay even one senine? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Nay.

But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in

Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart;

For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye

It hath been written, that whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,

causeth her to commit adultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced committeth adultery.

And again it is written, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths;

But verily, verily, I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair black or white;

But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever cometh of more than these is evil.

But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him

And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also;

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away.

And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy;

But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for

That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on

Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled.

Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye do not your alms

before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.

Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as will hypocrites do in the

synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.

And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues

and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their

Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Moreover, when ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do

The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be

No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had

chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have

chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,

or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the

Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did

open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eyeand behold, a beam is in thine

Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them

Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who

Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the

Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the

Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast

And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not,

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man,

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he cast his eyes round about on the

multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my

Father; therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last

And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them

who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying

And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things

Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in

Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you,

And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken

For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given

Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that

Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he said unto those twelve whom he had

Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph.

And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.

And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at

Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other

That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and

And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded

But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated

from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.

And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of

And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold;

them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the

And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the

Gentiles should not at any time hear my voicethat I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by

But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among

And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are not of this land, neither of the land of

Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.

For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested

But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice,

and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show

And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at

Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that

they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of,

that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through

the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth

because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.

And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfill the covenant which

And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto

Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel,

in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known

But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentilesfor notwithstanding they have come forth

upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who

are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them;

And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my

people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my

people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from

among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them

And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against

my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above

all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of

deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of

secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold,

And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will

And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will

remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of

But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my

And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them

But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people,

O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt

that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot

Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded methat I should give unto this people this

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eye of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the

Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the

I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to

Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my

name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto

And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude,

and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little

And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.

Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or

maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them

hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem,

And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their

sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were

afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.

And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did

worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his

And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.

So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in

And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the

And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said:

Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.

And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the

Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.

And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so

And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so

great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was

And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold,

And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little

And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they

saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those

little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of

them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred

And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine

And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves

And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he

And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.

And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the disciples: Behold there shall one be

ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the

people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.

And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and

And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony

unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to

And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the

wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it.

And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and

And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done,

for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that

And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in

remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always

remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things

But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy

foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they

Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I

Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led

And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples, he turned again unto the

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan

And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it

Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.

And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall

But ye shall pray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if it so be that they come unto you oft ye shall

Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold

upthat which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have

And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye

should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he turned his eyes again upon the disciples

Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you another commandment, and then I must go unto my

And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly

For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul;

therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him

unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye

But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for

Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye

continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full

purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

Therefore, keep these sayings which I have commanded you that ye come not under condemnation; for wo

And I give you these commandments because of the disputations which have been among you. And blessed

And now I go unto the Father, because it is expedient that I should go unto the Father for your sakes.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples

whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched

And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record; but the disciples

bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost. And I will show unto you hereafter that this

And it came to pass that when Jesus had touched them all, there came a cloud and overshadowed the

And while they were overshadowed he departed from them, and ascended into heaven. And the disciples saw

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the multitude did disperse, and every

And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen

Jesus, and that he had ministered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the morrow unto the

Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus; and insomuch did they send forth unto the

people that there were many, yea, an exceedingly great number, did labor exceedingly all that night, that they

might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.

And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his

brother whom he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was

Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and

Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiahnow these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had

chosenand it came to pass that they went forth and stood in the midst of the multitude.

And behold, the multitude was so great that they did cause that they should be separated into twelve bodies.

And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should kneel down

upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus.

And the disciples did pray unto the Father also in the name of Jesus. And it came to pass that they arose and

And when they had ministered those same words which Jesus had spokennothing varying from the words

which Jesus had spokenbehold, they knelt again and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus.

And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given

And when they had thus prayed they went down unto the water's edge, and the multitude followed them.

And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.

And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall

And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude

did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them.

And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in

And it came to pass that he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down

again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth.

And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they

And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.

And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and

Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of

Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words.

Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in

me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them.

And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they

may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold,

they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was

And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon

them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the

countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness,

And he turned from them again, and went a little way off and bowed himself to the earth; and he prayed again

Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for

them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on

Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their

faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one,

And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray

steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even

And it came to pass that he went again a little way off and prayed unto the Father;

And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can be written by man the words which he

And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their

Nevertheless, so great and marvelous were the words which he prayed that they cannot be written, neither can

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto

them: So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great

Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they

And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples.

And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood

And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.

And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.

And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they

Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;

And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this

wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.

Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry

And it came to pass that when they had all given glory unto Jesus, he said unto them: Behold now I finish the

commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people, who are a remnant of the house

Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilledbehold they

And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which

And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from

the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge

And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance.

And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they

Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of

them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young

lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none

Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.

For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will

make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the

Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.

And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and

except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.

And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with

your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this

Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your

brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to

pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.

Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have

And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant

which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the

The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you

And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying:

In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessedunto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me

upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of

And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the

fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their

And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that

I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their

fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever,

And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;

And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my

Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see

Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their

Then shall they break forth into joySing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath

The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see

And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O

Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into

Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive

For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am

And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto

them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith

And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go

For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall

Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

As many were astonished at theehis visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the

So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told

Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me.

Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall

Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.

And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about

to take placethat I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall

And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a signfor verily I say unto you that when these

things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of

the Holy Ghost which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they

may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people

Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall

For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by

the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the

covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel;

Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth

from the Gentiles, unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;

For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his

power unto the Gentiles, for this cause that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may

repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they

And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these thingsit shall be a sign unto

them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the

And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not

been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work

among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it

But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be

marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the

Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the

Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them

forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who

And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion

among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth

Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.

Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I

will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;

And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;

Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no

And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.

And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and

For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my

And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church

among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob,

And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come,

And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the

And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst.

And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among

the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among

all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out

Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way

Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his

And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before

And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into

singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make

Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame; for

thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy youth, and shalt not

For thy maker, thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israelthe

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast

For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on

For this, the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the

For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither

shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and

And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from

Behold, they shall surely gather together against thee, not by me; whosoever shall gather together against thee

Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in

judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of

And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you

For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it

And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.

Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have told you; and according to the time and the

And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he said unto them again, after he had

expounded all the scriptures unto them which they had received, he said unto them: Behold, other scriptures I

And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept.

And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and

Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people,

that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise

from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it

And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they

And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear

And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had expounded all the scriptures in one, which they had written, he

commanded them that they should teach the things which he had expounded unto them.

And it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given

unto Malachi, which he should tell unto them. And it came to pass that after they were written he expounded

them. And these are the words which he did tell unto them, saying: Thus said the Father unto

MalachiBehold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye

seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he

But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the

adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and

the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return

unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say: Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith,

saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall

your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of Hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?

Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we

And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of

remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them

Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and

For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall

be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them

But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall

And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall

Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he

And he saith: These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto

you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.

And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his gloryyea,

even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with

fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass

And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall

stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil

If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation;

being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the

And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach

But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.

And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have

written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the

And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if

it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them,

Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it,

Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon,

make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.

Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days;

and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them.

And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been

spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even

greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter.

And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaventhe second time that he showed himself unto

them, and had gone unto the Father, after having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of

their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised

a man from the dead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father

Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the multitude gathered themselves together, and they both saw

and heard these children; yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the things

And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to

teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the

And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.

And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man

And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.

And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ.

And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they

had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were

And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus

came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?

And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church;

And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and

Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name?

And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name;

and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be

Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my

Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in

my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil,

verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are

For their works do follow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember

Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto youthat I came

And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the

cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up

by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be

And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men

And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth

to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the

And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from

And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words

And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who

have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their

Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my

name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the

works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye

Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Write the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those which are forbidden.

Write the works of this people, which shall be, even as hath been written, of that which hath been.

For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be judged,

And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the

And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you,

Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my

Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and

And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even

the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are

Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of

But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away

captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that

which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them,

And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the

strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide

is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night

And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto

And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that

our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy

And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are seventy

and two years old ye shall come unto me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest.

And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I

And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the things which they desired.

And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my

beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.

Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of

the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father,

And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the

twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the

world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye

And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your

joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even

And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger

And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable

And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter

And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a

transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could

But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister

of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.

And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not;

But this much I know, according to the record which hath been giventhey did go forth upon the face of the

land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching;

And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold

And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by

his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to

And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a

And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of

Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto

the church of Christ, and thus the people of that generation were blessed, according to the word of Jesus.

Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade;

And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.

And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered

tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus

many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in

And they are as the angels of God, and if they shall pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus they can show

Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them, before the great and coming day when all

Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and marvelous work wrought by them, before that

And if ye had all the scriptures which give an account of all the marvelous works of Christ, ye would,

And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom he hath chosen

and sent among them; for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent

And it would be better for them if they had not been born. For do ye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice

of an offended God, who hath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might come?

And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught

up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were cleansed from mortality to immortality

But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must

needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;

Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a change wrought upon their bodies, that they might

Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought

upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and they were

sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them. 3 Nephi

And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a

greater change, and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell eternally in

And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall come

unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made

with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning

And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be

fulfilled; and ye need not say that the Lord delays his coming unto the children of Israel.

And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord

will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.

And when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then ye need not any longer spurn at the

doings of the Lord, for the sword of his justice is in his right hand; and behold, at that day, if ye shall spurn at

Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his

Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by

revelation, or by prophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost!

Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus

Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy,

Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the

house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them

Therefore ye need not suppose that ye can turn the right hand of the Lord unto the left, that he may not

execute judgment unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel.

Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath

commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write,

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings,

and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your

priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come

unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the

Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.

And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the

And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus;

And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face

of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and

And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they

And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed away also, and there still continued to be peace in

And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the

sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear;

and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles

And thus did the thirty and eighth year pass away, and also the thirty and ninth, and forty and first, and the

forty and second, yea, even until forty and nine years had passed away, and also the fifty and first, and the

And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; yea, insomuch that they did build cities again where

But there were many cities which had been sunk, and waters came up in the stead thereof; therefore these

And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast,

And they were married, and given in marriage, and were blessed according to the multitude of the promises

And they did not walk any more after the performances and ordinances of the law of Moses; but they did

walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in fasting

and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord.

And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty

And it came to pass that the seventy and first year passed away, and also the seventy and second year, yea,

and in fine, till the seventy and ninth year had passed away; yea, even an hundred years had passed away, and

the disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all gone to the paradise of God, save it were the three who

should tarry; and there were other disciples ordained in their stead; and also many of that generation had

And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any

manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been

There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of ites; but they were

And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and

prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed

And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last record, (and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died,

and his son Amos kept it in his stead; and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi also.

And he kept it eighty and four years, and there was still peace in the land, save it were a small part of the

people who had revolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began

And it came to pass that Amos died also, (and it was an hundred and ninety and four years from the coming

of Christ) and his son Amos kept the record in his stead; and he also kept it upon the plates of Nephi; and it

And it came to pass that two hundred years had passed away; and the second generation had all passed away

And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were

spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in

And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride,

such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.

And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.

And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain,

And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the

land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more

parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which

And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity, and because of the power of Satan who did get

And again, there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of

Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many

Therefore they did exercise power and authority over the disciples of Jesus who did tarry with them, and they

did cast them into prison; but by the power of the word of God, which was in them, the prisons were rent in

Nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these miracles, the people did harden their hearts, and did seek to kill

them, even as the Jews at Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word.

And they did cast them into furnaces of fire, and they came forth receiving no harm.

And they also cast them into dens of wild beasts, and they did play with the wild beasts even as a child with a

Nevertheless, the people did harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and false prophets to build

up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity. And they did smite upon the people of Jesus; but the

people of Jesus did not smite again. And thus they did dwindle in unbelief and wickedness, from year to year,

And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two hundred and thirty and first year, there was a great

And it came to pass that in this year there arose a people who were called the Nephites, and they were true

believers in Christ; and among them there were those who were called by the LamanitesJacobites, and

Therefore the true believers in Christ, and the true worshipers of Christ, (among whom were the three

disciples of Jesus who should tarry) were called Nephites, and Jacobites, and Josephites, and Zoramites.

And it came to pass that they who rejected the gospel were called Lamanites, and Lemuelites, and

Ishmaelites; and they did not dwindle in unbelief, but they did wilfully 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

And it was because of the wickedness and abomination of their fathers, even as it was in the beginning. And

they were taught to hate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the children of Nephi

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 more wicked part of the people did wax strong, and became exceedingly more numerous

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.

And it came to pass that the wicked part of the people began again to build up the secret oaths and

And also the people who were called the people of Nephi began to be proud in their hearts, because of their

And it came to pass that when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the

And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton 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

And it came to pass that after three hundred and five years had passed away, (and the people did still remain

in wickedness) Amos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead.

And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained

by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacredyea, even all the sacred records which had

been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacredeven until the three hundred and

And he did hide them up unto the Lord that they might come 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.

And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of

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 learning of my people) and

Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;

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

And behold, ye shall take the plates 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

And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father's name was Mormon) I remembered the things

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

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

And it came to pass in this year there began to be a war between the Nephites, who consisted of the Nephites

and the Jacobites and the Josephites and the Zoramites; and this war was between the Nephites, and the

Now the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites were called Lamanites, and the two parties were

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

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 battles, in

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.

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.

And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their

And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord,

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

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.

And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, 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

And it came to pass that there were sorceries, 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 Samuel the

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 young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I

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.

And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us

with exceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and

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 fortify the city with

our might; but notwithstanding all our fortifications the Lamanites did come upon us and did drive us out of

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

And it came to pass that we did gather in our people as fast as it were possible, that we might get them

But behold, the land was filled with robbers 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.

And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was Aaron; 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

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.

Thus there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more

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 longsuffering of the Lord,

therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people.

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

And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to

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

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

And now, the city of Jashon was near the land where Ammaron had deposited 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 plates

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

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 lifted up at the last day.

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.

And it came to pass that we did fortify the city of Shem, and we did gather in our people as much as it were

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

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 fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their

And my words did arouse them somewhat to vigor, insomuch that they did not flee from before the

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.

And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again,

and did beat them; nevertheless 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 like unto our brethren.

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

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

And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the

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

And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this peopleRepent ye, and come unto me, and

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

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

And it came to pass that I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together at the land

Desolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward.

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.

And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the city

of Desolation to battle against us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that they

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.

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

And they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they would go up to battle against

And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of

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

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

And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden 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

Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold,

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.

Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that

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.

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.

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 judgmentseat of Christ, yea, every soul who

belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be

And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among you; and also that the

Jews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other witness besides him whom they saw and heard, that

And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the

And now it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and third year the Nephites did go up with their

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 city Desolation, and did slay many of the Nephites,

And the remainder did flee and join the inhabitants of the city Teancum. Now the city Teancum lay in the

And it was because the armies of the Nephites went up unto the Lamanites that they began to be smitten; for

But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are

punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.

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

And it came to pass in the three hundred and sixty and fourth year the Lamanites did come against the city

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 boast of their own strength; and they went forth in their

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

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

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 delighted in the shedding of blood continually.

And there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did take possession of the city Desolation, and this because their

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 sacrifices unto their idol gods.

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.

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

And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all their powers; and they were not numbered

And from this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the Lamanites, but began to be swept off by

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come down against the city Desolation; and there was an

exceedingly sore battle fought in the land Desolation, in the which they did beat the Nephites.

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

And when they had come the second time, the Nephites were driven and slaughtered with an exceedingly

great slaughter; their women and their children were again sacrificed unto idols.

And it came to pass that the Nephites did again flee from before them, taking all the inhabitants with them,

And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill

And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the oath 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

But behold, I was without 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

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come against us as we had fled to the city of Jordan; but behold,

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 Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they could not get into the

And 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

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 great were their numbers that they

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.

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 housetops

And also that a knowledge of these things must come unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the

Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should scatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught

among themtherefore I write a small 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

And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel,

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

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

And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold, they shall come forth according to the

And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they gothat 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;

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

For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive with their fathers; and they are without Christ

They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God

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,

And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the

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

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

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

Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command

Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against youlest 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

And now I finish my record concerning the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And it came to pass that

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 land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah,

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

And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents around about

the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain

And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, we had gathered in all the remainder of

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

sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this

record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to

me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.

And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the

Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked,

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

And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow,

And it came to pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ten 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.

And when they had gone through and hewn down all 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

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

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.

And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea,

even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few 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

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

O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have

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

O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye

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

judgmentseat of Christ to be judged according to your works and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye

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 now, behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant 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,

Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take

Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and

believe 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 victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of

And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his

And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the

judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises

with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a

Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be

set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the

For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye 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

And ye will also know that ye are a remnant 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 with water, then

with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath

Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which

And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had

escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.

And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my

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

Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it

also if I had room upon the plates, 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 how long the Lord will

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

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 fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of

And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with

another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth

And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none save it be the Lamanites and robbers that

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

And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the

same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all

Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, and my father was a

And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the

commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is

For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills that it shall be done

with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord.

And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of darkness unto light,

according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness,

and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God.

And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth

all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.

And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smittenlet him beware lest he commandeth that which is

For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his

Behold what the scripture saysman shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the

And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and against the covenant people

of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say: We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord

will not remember his covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israelthe same is in danger to be

For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled.

Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, that those saints

who have gone before me, who have possessed this land, shall cry, yea, even from the dust will they cry unto

the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he will remember the covenant which he hath made with them.

And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he knoweth their faith, for in his

name could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of

his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them,

And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth.

And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it; for out of the

earth shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall

be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.

And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations

Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted

up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign

And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be

murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when

there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the

last day. But wo unto such for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your

O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain?

Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold,

look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be

Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come,

Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you

And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift

themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and

malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become

For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches,

O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye

polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not

think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never diesbecause of the

Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the

Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before

the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to

Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of

Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitationbehold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great

day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in

that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of Godthen will ye say that there is no

Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell

with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy

Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a

consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the

O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps

ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great

And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are

no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of

Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the

For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness

And now if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of

changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not God of miracles.

But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the

God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

Behold he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus

Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence

of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the

resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be

awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great,

and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a

And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy

shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he

And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you,

have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and

Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the

Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power

of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been

And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles

And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an

unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he

And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in

unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.

Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in

the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his

disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;

And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned;

And these signs shall follow them that believein my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with

new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall

And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto

Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the

works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of

O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name

of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of

old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling

Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on

your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true

See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see

that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye

Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.

Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them

who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our

And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called

among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been

altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our

But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our

language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the

And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the blood of our brethren, who have dwindled in

And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the

knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land.

And may the Lord Jesus Christ grant that their prayers may be answered according to their faith; and may

God the Father remember the covenant which he hath made with the house of Israel; and may he bless them

The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twentyfour plates found by the people of Limhi in the days of

And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand

And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is

And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also

of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the

Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; but they are had

upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account.

But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until they were

And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was Ether, and he was a descendant of

Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the

great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they

should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were

And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his

brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared;

therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.

Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their

And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he

will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And

who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be,

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken

And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto

Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of

every kind; and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends and their families,

And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And

there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.

And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and

they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise

up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye

And it came to pass that Jared and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his brother

and their families, went down into the valley which was northward, (and the name of the valley was Nimrod,

being called after the mighty hunter) with their flocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of

And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did

And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry

with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind.

And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked

with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not.

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into

that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did

talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel.

And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many

And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they

should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord

And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise,

from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off

And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever

nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come

upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve

God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity

And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of Godthat ye may repent, and not

continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from

captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus

And now I proceed with my record; for behold, it came to pass that the Lord did bring Jared and his brethren

forth even to that great sea which divideth the lands. And as they came to the sea they pitched their tents; and

they called the name of the place Moriancumer; and they dwelt in tents, and dwelt in tents upon the seashore

And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a

cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and

And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for

his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their

sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man;

wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are

my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all

And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it

came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner

which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light

And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like

unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish;

and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was

the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work

which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.

And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them

we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.

And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom;

and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water

come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as the Lord had commanded.

And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I

have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou

And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your

vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with

For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you.

Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against

the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what

will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was

eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and

did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he

did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be

angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in

the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil

continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from

Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many

years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us.

O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall

go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.

And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man;

therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness;

and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we

Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small

And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his

hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the

brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and

blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.

And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why

And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not

And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood;

and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not

And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou

knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore

Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus

Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall

And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou

hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning

Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of

my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written therefore it

sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the

And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know

that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.

And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil; and he saw

the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and

Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things

which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in

the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.

And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can

And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye

For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time

that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.

And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth

which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of

For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all

thingsit should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew

And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two stones which he had

received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of men.

And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord,

and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after

that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not

And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they

have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.

Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were

greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that

I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore

For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of

And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they

may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even

to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens

And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these

things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who

And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my

And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye;

But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit,

and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it

And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am

the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe methat I am; and

he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the

Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up

Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath

laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of

wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which

have been hid up from the foundation of the world from youyea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my

name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the

And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes

of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall

Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon

Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my

name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and

And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the

kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.

And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory; and I

have told you the things which I have sealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for

And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this

And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these

And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this

work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the

Son, and the Holy Ghost bear recordand all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.

And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the

And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye

For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the

mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels

which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels.

And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they

And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist upon the

water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and whatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry

with themand it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or

barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.

And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the

waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves

which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the

And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their

vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they

were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon

And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon

And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did

thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.

And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar

them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of

the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before

the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

And Jared had four sons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah, and Mahah, and Orihah.

And the friends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons

and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.

And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were also taught from on high.

And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth;

And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said

unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they

And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the

brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he

And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after that they had numbered them, they did desire

of them the things which they would that they should do before they went down to their graves.

And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should anoint one of their sons to be a king over

And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing

But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a king. And therefore he said unto them:

And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it

came to pass that he refused and would not be their king. And the people would that his father should

constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be

And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and they would not.

And it came to pass that neither would the sons of Jared, even all save it were one; and Orihah was anointed

And he began to reign, and the people began to prosper; and they became exceedingly rich.

And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the

Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.

And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days

And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons.

And it came to pass that he also begat Kib in his old age. And it came to pass that Kib reigned in his stead;

And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father, and went over and dwelt in the

land of Nehor; and he begat sons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor drew

And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of Moron where the king dwelt, and

took him captive, which brought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into

Now the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites.

And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in captivity, and his people under Corihor his son, until he became

exceedingly old; nevertheless Kib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity.

And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and Shule waxed strong, and became mighty as to

Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of steel for

those whom he had drawn away with him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city

Nehor and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto

And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father bestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he

And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness; and he did spread his kingdom upon all

And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom.

And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king, and also his father Corihor, and drew away

And he gave battle unto Shule the king, in which he did obtain the land of their first inheritance; and he

And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried

And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by

night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon

Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead; nevertheless they did not gain power any

more over Shule the king, and the people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper exceedingly

And the country was divided; and there were two kingdoms, the kingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of

And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat

And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod; and Nimrod gave up the kingdom of Cohor unto Shule,

and he did gain favor in the eyes of Shule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do

And also in the reign of Shule there came prophets among the people, who were sent from the Lord,

prophesying that the wickedness and idolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they

And it came to pass that the people did revile against the prophets, and did mock them. And it came to pass

that king Shule did execute judgment against all those who did revile against the prophets.

And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go

whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance.

And because the people did repent of their iniquities and idolatries the Lord did spare them, and they began to

prosper again in the land. And it came to pass that Shule begat sons and daughters in his old age.

And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had

done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute

And it came to pass that he begat Omer, and Omer reigned in his stead. And Omer begat Jared; and Jared

And Jared rebelled against his father, and came and dwelt in the land of Heth. And it came to pass that he did

flatter many people, because of his cunning words, until he had gained the half of the kingdom.

And when he had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto his father, and he did carry away his

And now, in the days of the reigns of Omer he was in captivity the half of his days. And it came to pass that

And they were exceedingly angry because of the doings of Jared their brother, insomuch that they did raise an

army and gave battle unto Jared. And it came to pass that they did give battle unto him by night.

And it came to pass that when they had slain the army of Jared they were about to slay him also; and he plead

with them that they would not slay him, and he would give up the kingdom unto his father. And it came to

And now Jared became exceedingly sorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had set his heart

Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a

Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and

said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the record which our fathers

brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an account concerning them of old, that they by their

And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of Kimnor; and behold, I am fair, and I will dance

before him, and I will please him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall desire of thee that ye

shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye say: I will give her if ye will bring unto me the head of my

And now Omer was a friend to Akish; wherefore, when Jared had sent for Akish, the daughter of Jared

danced before him that she pleased him, insomuch that he desired her to wife. And it came to pass that he

And Jared said unto him: I will give her unto you, if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king.

And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will

ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?

And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by

the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his

head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his

And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which

were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a

And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in

darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to

And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart to search up these things of old; and Jared put it into

the heart of Akish; wherefore, Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair

And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most

For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all

And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known

unto me that they are had among all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.

And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of

And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread

over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which

shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge

Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye

may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are

built up to get power and gainand the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even

the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall

Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to

a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto

it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and

countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father

of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to

commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the

Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time

may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be

persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.

And now I, Moroni, proceed with my record. Therefore, behold, it came to pass that because of the secret

combinations of Akish and his friends, behold, they did overthrow the kingdom of Omer.

Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful unto Omer, and also to his sons and to his daughters who did not seek

And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer departed out of

the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and came

over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which

was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all

And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over the people, by the hand of wickedness; and he gave

And it came to pass that Akish sought the life of his fatherinlaw; and he applied unto those whom he had

sworn by the oath of the ancients, and they obtained the head of his fatherinlaw, as he sat upon his throne,

For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society that it had corrupted the hearts of all the

people; therefore Jared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.

And it came to pass that Akish began to be jealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept

And now the brother of him that suffered death, (and his name was Nimrah) was angry with his father

And it came to pass that Nimrah gathered together a small number of men, and fled out of the land, and came

And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they

had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.

Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power; wherefore, the sons

of Akish did offer them money, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.

And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years,

yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people of the kingdom, yea, even all, save it were thirty souls, and

And it came to pass that Omer began to be old; nevertheless, in his old age he begat Emer; and he anointed

And after that he had anointed Emer to be king he saw peace in the land for the space of two years, and he

died, having seen exceedingly many days, which were full of sorrow. And it came to pass that Emer did reign

And the Lord began again to take the curse from off the land, and the house of Emer did prosper exceedingly

under the reign of Emer; and in the space of sixty and two years they had become exceedingly strong,

Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of

And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many

And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were

And thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this land, which was choice above all other lands; and he

commanded that whoso should possess the land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should be destroyed

when they were ripened in iniquity; for upon such, saith the Lord: I will pour out the fulness of my wrath.

And Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all his days, and he begat many sons and daughters; and he

And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead he lived four years, and he saw peace in the land;

yea, and he even saw the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in peace.

And it came to pass that Coriantum did walk in the steps of his father, and did build many mighty cities, and

did administer that which was good unto his people in all his days. And it came to pass that he had no

And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two years old. And it came to pass that

Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until

And it came to pass that he begat Com, and Com reigned in his stead; and he reigned forty and nine years,

And the people had spread again over all the face of the land, and there began again to be an exceedingly

great wickedness upon the face of the land, and Heth began to embrace the secret plans again of old, to

And it came to pass that he did dethrone his father, for he slew him with his own sword; and he did reign in

And there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto themthat they must prepare the way of

the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in

But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into

pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment

And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be

destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the earth.

And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it

came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which

And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some

And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they

should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the

And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them

which fell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must perish they

And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain

upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north

countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in

And it came to pass that Shez, who was a descendant of Hethfor Heth had perished by the famine, and all

his household save it were Shezwherefore, Shez began to build up again a broken people.

And it came to pass that Shez did remember the destruction of his fathers, and he did build up a righteous

kingdom; for he remembered what the Lord had done in bringing Jared and his brother across the deep; and

And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, did rebel against him; nevertheless, Shez was smitten by the hand

of a robber, because of his exceeding riches, which brought peace again unto his father.

And it came to pass that his father did build up many cities upon the face of the land, and the people began

again to spread over all the face of the land. And Shez did live to an exceedingly old age; and he begat

And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have

many wives and concubines, and did lay that upon men's shoulders which was grievous to be borne; yea, he

did tax them with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did build many spacious buildings.

And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne; and he did build many prisons, and whoso would not

be subject unto taxes he did cast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he did cast into prison; and

he did cause that they should labor continually for their support; and whoso refused to labor he did cause to

Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to be refined in prison, and all

manner of fine workmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass that he did afflict the

And when he had reigned for the space of forty and two years the people did rise up in rebellion against him;

and there began to be war again in the land, insomuch that Riplakish was killed, and his descendants were

And it came to pass after the space of many years, Morianton, (he being a descendant of Riplakish) gathered

together an army of outcasts, and went forth and gave battle unto the people; and he gained power over many

cities; and the war became exceedingly sore, and did last for the space of many years; and he did gain power

And after that he had established himself king he did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain

And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself because of his many whoredoms; wherefore he

And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became exceedingly rich under his

reign, both in buildings, and in gold and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things

And Morianton did live to an exceedingly great age, and then he begat Kim; and Kim did reign in the stead of

his father; and he did reign eight years, and his father died. And it came to pass that Kim did not reign in

And his brother did rise up in rebellion against him, by which he did bring him into captivity; and he did

remain in captivity all his days; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity, and in his old age he begat

And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity after the death of his father, for the space of forty and two

years. And he did make war against the king of the land, by which he did obtain unto himself the kingdom.

And after he had obtained unto himself the kingdom he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; and

the people did prosper in the land; and he did live to a good old age, and begat sons and daughters; and he

And it came to pass that Corom did that which was good in the sight of the Lord all his days; and he begat

many sons and daughters; and after he had seen many days he did pass away, even like unto the rest of the

And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the

poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the

people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great

And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.

And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land

And they were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and traffic one with another, that they

And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and all

manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get

ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work.

And they did have silks, and finetwined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they might clothe

And they did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also

And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceedingly

And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And

they were in a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it.

And it came to pass that Lib did live many years, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Hearthom.

And it came to pass that Hearthom reigned in the stead of his father. And when Hearthom had reigned twenty

and four years, behold, the kingdom was taken away from him. And he served many years in captivity, yea,

And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in

captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days; and he

begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com.

And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of the kingdom. And he reigned over the half of the

kingdom forty and two years; and he went to battle against the king, Amgid, and they fought for the space of

many years, during which time Com gained power over Amgid, and obtained power over the remainder of

And in the days of Com there began to be robbers in the land; and they adopted the old plans, and

administered oaths after the manner of the ancients, and sought again to destroy the kingdom.

Now Com did fight against them much; nevertheless, he did not prevail against them.

And there came also in the days of Com many prophets, and prophesied of the destruction of that great

people except they should repent, and turn unto the Lord, and forsake their murders and wickedness.

And it came to pass that the prophets were rejected by the people, and they fled unto Com for protection, for

And they prophesied unto Com many things; and he was blessed in all the remainder of his days.

And he lived to a good old age, and begat Shiblom; and Shiblom reigned in his stead. And the brother of

Shiblom rebelled against him, and there began to be an exceedingly great war in all the land.

And it came to pass that the brother of Shiblom caused that all the prophets who prophesied of the destruction

And there was great calamity in all the land, for they had testified that a great curse should come upon the

land, and also upon the people, and that there should be a great destruction among them, such an one as never

had been upon the face of the earth, and their bones should become as heaps of earth upon the face of the land

And they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord, because of their wicked combinations; wherefore, there

began to be wars and contentions in all the land, and also many famines and pestilences, insomuch that there

was a great destruction, such an one as never had been known upon the face of the earth; and all this came to

And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercy on them.

And it came to pass that Shiblom was slain, and Seth was brought into captivity, and did dwell in captivity all

And it came to pass that Ahah, his son, did obtain the kingdom; and he did reign over the people all his days.

And he did do all manner of iniquity in his days, by which he did cause the shedding of much blood; and few

And Ethem, being a descendant of Ahah, did obtain the kingdom; and he also did do that which was wicked

And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the

people; yea, they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth except

And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts, and would not hearken unto their words; and the

And it came to pass that Ethem did execute judgment in wickedness all his days; and he begat Moron. And it

came to pass that Moron did reign in his stead; and Moron did that which was wicked before the Lord.

And it came to pass that there arose a rebellion among the people, because of that secret combination which

was built up to get power and gain; and there arose a mighty man among them in iniquity, and gave battle

unto Moron, in which he did overthrow the half of the kingdom; and he did maintain the half of the kingdom

And it came to pass that Moron did overthrow him, and did obtain the kingdom again.

And it came to pass that there arose another mighty man; and he was a descendant of the brother of Jared.

And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron and obtain the kingdom; wherefore, Moron dwelt in

And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and prophesied of great and marvelous things,

and cried repentance unto the people, and except they should repent the Lord God would execute judgment

And that the Lord God would send or bring forth another people to possess the land, by his power, after the

And they did reject all the words of the prophets, because of their secret society and wicked abominations.

And it came to pass that Coriantor begat Ether, and he died, having dwelt in captivity all his days.

And it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of Coriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all

And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to

prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.

For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God

unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right

hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them

And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not

And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith

is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no

For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he

showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had

But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father,

and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those

Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God.

Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more

For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed

Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were

Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and

And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they

And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the

And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept

from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and

And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith

in God, that when God put forth his finger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because

And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of

Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him

And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that these things should come unto their brethren

through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.

And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for

Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast

made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;

And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou

hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which

he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.

Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we

write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles

And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is

I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble

themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak

Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity

And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I

For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Removeand it was removed. And if he had not had

For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name,

And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the

mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he

And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy

life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.

And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men

shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our

weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and

And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast

been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou

shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my

And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we

shall meet before the judgmentseat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted

And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me face to face, and that he told

me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things;

And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the

grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them,

And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have

For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of

man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all

other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who

And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy

Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.

And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should comeafter it

should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new

Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord;

And that a New Jerusalem should be built upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which

For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord

brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed

of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish

Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their

inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no

And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed

And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments

are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed

And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been

washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters

of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made

And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who

And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but

they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by

And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the remainder of his record, viewing the destructions which

And it came to pass that in that same year in which he was cast out from among the people there began to be

a great war among the people, for there were many who rose up, who were mighty men, and sought to

destroy Coriantumr by their secret plans of wickedness, of which hath been spoken.

And now Coriantumr, having studied, himself, in all the arts of war and all the cunning of the world,

But he repented not, neither his fair sons nor daughters; neither the fair sons and daughters of Cohor; neither

the fair sons and daughters of Corihor; and in fine, there were none of the fair sons and daughters upon the

Wherefore, it came to pass that in the first year that Ether dwelt in the cavity of a rock, there were many

people who were slain by the sword of those secret combinations, fighting against Coriantumr that they might

And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that he should go and prophesy unto Coriantumr

that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the

Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself. And he should only live to

see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving the land for

their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them; and every soul should be destroyed save it

And it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not, neither his household, neither the people; and the wars

ceased not; and they sought to kill Ether, but he fled from before them and hid again in the cavity of the rock.

And it came to pass that there arose up Shared, and he also gave battle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him,

And the sons of Coriantumr, in the fourth year, did beat Shared, and did obtain the kingdom again unto their

Now there began to be a war upon all the face of the land, every man with his band fighting for that which he

And there were robbers, and in fine, all manner of wickedness upon all the face of the land.

And it came to pass that Coriantumr was exceedingly angry with Shared, and he went against him with his

armies to battle; and they did meet in great anger, and they did meet in the valley of Gilgal; and the battle

And it came to pass that Shared fought against him for the space of three days. And it came to pass that

And it came to pass that Shared gave him battle again upon the plains; and behold, he did beat Coriantumr,

And Coriantumr gave Shared battle again in the valley of Gilgal, in which he beat Shared and slew him.

And Shared wounded Coriantumr in his thigh, that he did not go to battle again for the space of two years, in

which time all the people upon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to restrain them.

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

Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither

would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and

And now, after the space of two years, and after the death of Shared, behold, there arose the brother of Shared

and he gave battle unto Coriantumr, in which Coriantumr did beat him and did pursue him to the wilderness

And it came to pass that the brother of Shared did give battle unto him in the wilderness of Akish; and the

And it came to pass that Coriantumr did lay siege to the wilderness; and the brother of Shared did march forth

out of the wilderness by night, and slew a part of the army of Coriantumr, as they were drunken.

And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed himself upon the throne of Coriantumr.

And it came to pass that Coriantumr dwelt with his army in the wilderness for the space of two years, in

Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of

And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat upon his throne.

And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered him in a secret pass, and obtained unto

himself the kingdom; and his name was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other man

And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle

And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded;

nevertheless, the army of Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the

And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore.

And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of Coriantumr, that they fled again to the wilderness of

And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he came to the plains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken

all the people with him as he fled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled.

And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died;

nevertheless, the brother of Lib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the battle became

exceedingly sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the army of the brother of Lib.

Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And it came to pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr,

and he did overthrow many cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities.

And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry went forth throughout the landWho can

And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in armies, throughout all the face of the land.

And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of

And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the

And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from

the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed

And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the

Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr

of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that

And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and

And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there

And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz that the people began to be frightened, and

began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the

And they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor; and Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr.

Now the valley of Shurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore, Coriantumr did gather his armies together

upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the armies of Shiz to invite them forth to battle.

And it came to pass that they came forth, but were driven again; and they came the second time, and they

were driven again the second time. And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the battle

And it came to pass that Shiz smote upon Coriantumr that he gave him many deep wounds; and Coriantumr,

Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great that Shiz commanded his people that

they should not pursue the armies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp.

And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which

He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to

sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their

He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken

by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul

And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he

And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he wrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he

would give himself up, that he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the lives of the

And it came to pass that the people repented not of their iniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred

up to anger against the people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of

Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.

And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again before the people of Shiz.

And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed

all; wherefore, when they came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near

And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again,

And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz that they beat them, that

they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which

And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same

hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.

And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people upon all the face of the land, who had not

And it came to pass that Ether did behold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who

were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz

Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who

were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they

And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with

their wives and their childrenboth men women and children being armed with weapons of war, having

shields, and breastplates, and headplates, and being clothed after the manner of warthey did march forth

And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had

retired to their camps they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so

great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.

And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day;

nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and

And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again

to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.

And behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of

the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they

And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords.

And when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they

And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were

fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.

And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and

they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.

And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people

And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and

And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.

And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk,

they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that

Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the

sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz,

And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the

And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell;

And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.

And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of

the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he

Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I

suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God.

Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not

to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they

For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death

And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own

Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have

written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the

The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands

And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye

have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy

Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but

the disciples heard it; and on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost.

The manner which the disciples, who were called the elders of the church, ordained priests and teachers

After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands upon them, and said:

In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest, (or, if he be a teacher) I ordain you to be a teacher, to

preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the

And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God unto

The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they

administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the

And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to

the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness

unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always

remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to

the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was

shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember

And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not

Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and

And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the

Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that

they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep

them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the

And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the

And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.

And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them; and whoso was found to

commit iniquity, and three witnesses of the church did condemn them before the elders, and if they repented

not, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not numbered among the people of

But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.

And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the

power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to

And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope,

and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which

And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the grace of God the Father, and our

Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his calling unto me, that I am permitted to speak

Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that

have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until

And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men.

For I remember the word of God, which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good,

For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth

For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the

And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it

Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.

For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter

water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot

Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil

is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that

But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which

inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to

judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show

unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is

sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God,

then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he

persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves

And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of

Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be

Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know

good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child

And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?

And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay

For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister

unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come

And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good;

and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing

Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God,

men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it

And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God.

And as sure as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the

Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath

sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children

For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have

faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and

And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay;

For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing

themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the

covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children

of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of

And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the

Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to

And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in

And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have

And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you,

and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true

Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost

from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the

Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear

and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is

For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore,

if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though

But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because

of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his

And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto

And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of

Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him

Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of

If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a

man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he

must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not

easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things,

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore,

But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with

this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may

become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we

An epistle of my father Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after my calling to

My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and

I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy

Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on

And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that

For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little

And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from

For immediately after I had learned these things of you I inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And the

Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to

call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore,

little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken

from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.

And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I

know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.

Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teachrepentance and baptism unto those who are accountable

and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble

themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the

But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God,

and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without

Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell.

Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in

the bonds of iniquity, for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the

For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must

Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they

repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect

And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I

love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation.

For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity

Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them,

And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the

Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath

commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgmentseat of Christ.

For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power

of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under

But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting

Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and

And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the

And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness

of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which

love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if I go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the pride of

this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction except they should repent.

Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased

striving with them; and in this part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and authority

And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies

My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am yet alive; but I write somewhat of that

For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer; and Archeantus has

fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice men.

And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan

Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble

and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest

For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their

And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; 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, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I

have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of

And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon

the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they

And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in

Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after

depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue

And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even

unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the

(And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)

But O my son, how can a people like this, whose delight is in so much abomination

Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and

And again, my son, there are many widows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah; and that part of the

provisions which the Lamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left

them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many old women do faint by the way and die.

And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the Lamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and

as many as have fled to the army of Aaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.

O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have

And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor

young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our

children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be

And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene. Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this

people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth exceed that

But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved; and I pray unto

God that he will spare thy life, to witness the return of his people unto him, or their utter destruction; for I

And if they perish it will be like unto the Jaredites, because of the wilfulness of their hearts, seeking for blood

And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have deserted over unto the Lamanites,

and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared

and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would

My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down

unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our

fathers, and his mercy and longsuffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind

And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who

sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you

Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the Lamanites; and I

would that they should know that more than four hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign

And I seal up these records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read

them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation

of Adam even down unto the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the

name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having

faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but

And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not

the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and

And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come

And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all;

and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;

And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.

And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he

And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.

And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and

forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as

long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.

Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope

And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the

And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

And now I speak unto all the ends of the earththat if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall

And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no

not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.

And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved

in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for

ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you,

which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?

And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall hiss forth

And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch

And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion;

and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the

covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny

yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient

for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in

Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the

And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again

reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great