Mother Stories from the Book of Mormon

by William A. Morton

THE LAST OF THE NEPHITES.

For almost two hundred years after the Savior's appearance among them, the Nephites lived in a state of perfect peace and happiness. It seemed as if heaven and earth had been joined together. From time to time angels came down and ministered unto the people, bringing them glad tidings from the Lord.

Then certain of the Nephites began to do things which were displeasing in the sight of God. They did not attend to their prayers as they had done, neither did they go to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day to worship Him. They made mock of sacred things and persecuted those who remained true to the faith.

The Lord took His Holy Spirit out of the hearts of those wicked people. He also took the three Nephites away from them. He would not suffer His servants to preach to them, for they had become so bad that they could not be brought to repentance.

Then the Lamanites began to make war upon the Nephites. There was a young man among the Nephites whose name was Mormon. He had led an upright, godly life, and possessed great faith and courage. He was chosen to lead the Nephite army.

Mormon armed his men and got them in readiness to meet the Lamanites. The day of battle at last arrived. An army of fifty thousand Lamanites came down upon the Nephites. In Mormon's army there were only thirty thousand men. Before the battle commenced Mormon addressed his soldiers. "Men," said he, "be of good courage, the victory will be ours. Remember, it is for your wives and your children, your homes and your lands that you go out to fight this day."

On hearing those inspiring words the heart of every soldier in the Nephite ranks was filled with renewed courage. With swords unsheathed they marched forth boldly to meet the foe. The battle commenced. How long it raged I know not, but the Lamanites were finally beaten and driven back with considerable loss. The Nephites regained possession of their own lands, and lived in peace for a number of years.

Their victories over the Lamanites, instead of teaching the Nephites humility, caused them to become proud and boastful. They did not give any glory to God for the success which had come to them. They said it was by their own strength they had defeated their enemies, and declared they would fight the Lamanites till they had utterly destroyed them.

Mormon went among his people time after time and pleaded with them to turn from their evil ways. He knew that if they did not do so the judgments of God would come upon them. They paid no attention to his pleadings, so he told them they could get another man to take charge of their armies, as he would no longer act as their general.

The Lord saw that the Nephites did not appreciate the blessings which He had bestowed upon them, and that they had no desire to serve Him. He, therefore, turned away from them and left them to fight their own battles.

Again the Lamanites armed themselves and proclaimed war against the Nephites. Feeling confident of victory, the Nephites entered the field of battle. But the Lord was not on their side, so they met with a terrible defeat.

Other battles were fought, in which tens of thousands of Nephites were slain. I cannot describe the sorrow of Mormon when he saw the awful destruction which had been wrought among his people. He determined to make another effort to save them. He again took charge of their armies and went forth to meet the Lamanites. That was the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites. It was fought in the vicinity of the hill Cumorah, and ended in the entire destruction of the Nephites, save one.

That man was named Moroni. He was the son of Mormon, and, like his father, was a lover of righteousness. Moroni hid himself from the Lamanites. He finished the history of his people, and then he, at the command of the Lord, deposited it in the hill Cumorah.

There it lay for hundreds and hundreds of years. At last the time came for it to be brought forth. Then the Lord sent His servant Moroni to a young man named Joseph Smith, to tell him of the precious history which had been kept from the world so long.

Four years later, Joseph was given the sacred record. By the power of God he translated it into the English language. That record is the Book of Mormon, from which I have taken these stories. May our Heavenly Father sanctify them to your good, my children, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.