I read the entire account of Mormon and feel it is important to discuss the end of the Nephites with an epic thorough blog. Sit back, relax, and prepare yourself for the harrowing account of Nephite end of days.
First I wanted to backtrack 473 years to Alma and his prophesy concerning the wickedness of his people, the Nephites, and their ultimate end...
Alma 45:10-11
10 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 them, shall dwindle in unbelief.
11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct-
So keeping the prophesy in mind; we turn to Mormon (395 years after the prophesy) he is 10-years old and given the calling to remember all that he sees of the people and at 24 to go and retrieve the plates of Nephi that are hidden and to continue the record. At 15, Mormon wants to preach to the people, to save them, but God forbids him. He then goes on to lead the people, at 16, in many wars, for many years, despite their wickedness and his own knowledge of their prophesied demise.
*As an added note, keep in mind that whenever the Lamanites fell upon the Nephites they killed all the men and sacrificed all the women and children to their idols - brutal!
MORMON 1-9 (several verses)
1:16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had wilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were taken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.
2:18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.
...In other words, there was never a time when the people made an effort to reform and follow the teachings of Jesus. They were wicked continually and so abhorrently wicked that Mormon decided he could no longer be there military leader...
3:11 And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.
4:5 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.
...Mormon does eventually forsake his refusal to lead the Nephites in battle - he loves them too much despite their wickedness - and he does successfully repel the Lamanites in a few battles but the people never turn from their wickedness. Mormon leads them with a terminal knowledge of what is to come. He even writes a letter to the Lamanite king setting the place of their final battle. The battles are intense and Mormon continually laments the destuction but trudges on...
5:8 And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely be made known, and that all things which are hid must be revealed upon the house-tops-
...Mormon clearly does not want to relive the carnage that he witnessed by writing it in the record but understands how important it is, how vital a lesson it tells. He knows that it must be told despite the graphic nature and horror it possesses. After several versus listing general after general dead, along with each of their ten thousand men (13 generals in fact), he continues the butcher's bill...
6:15 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 upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.
...230,000 Nephites dead with only 24 survivors...this is a slaughter extreme to be sure! And that is just the Nephites! There may have been half a million plus dead if the Lamanite losses were included - yikes! Mormon too succumbs to injuries received at Cumorah and finally passes on (the man was in his eighties - possibly the greatest warrior ever). Moroni, son of Mormon, is the only one left and continues the record for the last couple of chapters...
8:2 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.
8:5 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 suffer that I may live I know not.
...400 years, exactly as predicted by Alma - exactly! The Nephites were hunted down and finally exterminated from the land. Moroni was the last - insane! An entire people gone save one? Prior to ending his record, Moroni reaches from the pages of the Book of Mormon and grasps the reader by his throat, constricts, and with a whisper his words burn from the pages and boil the blood - it's almost as if he defies the reader to doubt the devastation at Cumorah, to find it as fiction. He testifies with every fiber of his being of its truth and you can almost feel the blood drain from his fingers as he scribes these versus...
8:35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
8:41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.
...Makes my neck hairs stand at attention! He wants me, you, to believe and repent. Find our way back to our Savior! Have faith and move forward in righteousness so as not to reap the edge of that hanging sword of vengeance.
9:31 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 imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.
This record is for us...so that we can see the tremendous cost of wickedness and the everlasting blessings that come through righteousness! These stories are true, not just parables, TRUTH! They have been written and preserved for us; so that we might be more wise than those who have passed before us. It astounds me that I am 41 and know so little of these stories, been too busy with my life, my day - ridiculous! I truly felt the hand of Moroni shaking me when I read his plea. I will not starve myself of these truths again and pray that you soldiers, those of you that have made it through this lengthy blog, will do the same.
Five minutes of your day for a scripture can build up an eternity of blessings!
MAKE THE TIME!!
~Kipling
At the end of the Mormon's story, we encounter a lone Nephite. Moroni is the last disciple of Christ in the land. He is all alone. For many years of my life, I was never alone in my faith. Utah has a way of sheltering Latter-day Saints and helping them feel welcome and invited. As an adult when I left Utah, I was often in the presence of other Latter-days Saints, but there has been times in my travels where I was all alone. It is very difficult being alone with your faith. Moroni provides a sterling example of continuing in the faith against overwhelming odds on his own. We see him conduct himself honorably at the end of the Book of Mormon and also in his book the Book of Moroni. He not only continued after the end of the Book of Mormon, but he was determined to provide us with valuable ordinances and warnings for our day.
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