Mother Stories from the Book of Mormon

by William A. Morton

THE REIGN OF PEACE.

I am going to tell you this evening of some of the great blessings which came to the Nephites, after the visit of the Savior to them. The twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen established the true Church in all parts of the land. It was called the Church of Christ. The Lord told His disciples that that was to be the name of the Church.

In order to become a member of the Church, a person had to repent of his sins. He had to confess to the Lord that he had broken His commandments, that he felt sorry for having done so, and that in future he would live a good life.

Then he would be ready for baptism. A man, who had authority to baptize, would take him down into a pond or river. He would call the person by name, and repeat the words which the Lord had told His servants to use: "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then he would immerse him in the water and bring him up again out of the water.

By obedience to these commandments of the Lord, the person was cleansed from all his sins, and became pure and holy in the sight of God. Then the elders of the Church would place their hands upon his head and confirm him a member of the Church, and say, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

The Lord was highly pleased with His people. They all loved each other, and took delight in helping one another. The elders of the Church had great power. They were able, through the help of the Lord, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, and even raise the dead.

The Lamanites were converted also, and became members of the Church of Christ. All the ill-feeling which they had towards the Nephites was taken out of their hearts and the love of God took its place. Instead of going to war with the Nephites, they went to Church with them, and united in praising God for the great blessings which He had given them.

Those were the happiest days the Nephites and Lamanites had ever known. All the people were just like the members of one family. There were no rich nor poor among them, but all were equal. I will tell you how they came to be in that condition.

When the Church was established, all the members who had money brought it to the authorities and had it put into a common fund. All that was made after that was put into the same fund, and each family received from time to time the amount needed for its support. So, you see, that made the people equal in temporal things as well as in spiritual things.

Through keeping the commandments of God, the Nephites became very strong and very beautiful. They married and raised families. They scattered all over the land and built up many fine cities. The farms yielded abundance of food for man and beast and the orchards were laden with fruit in the season thereof.