Mother Stories from the Book of Mormon

by William A. Morton

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.