4TH NEPHI

Nephi and subsequent writers of the Small Plates covered about 470 years in about 143 pages of The Book of Mormon. Nephi plainly wrote that the Small Plates he was commanded to make were not to give readers historical information. Nevertheless, they include fascinating anecdotes and glimpses of Nephite individuals, society and customs, places, building projects, and travels—in addition to the central religious and spiritual focus for which they were intended.

Mormon’s abridgement of the Large Plates, from the book of Mosiah to the end of 3 Nephi, includes about 164 years—and covers about 174 pages, giving yet more details of both Nephite and Lamanite life throughout that period. Characters and events, both righteous and wicked, abound vividly across the pages; some information of places, migrations, as well as daily-life experiences is graphically described. 

However, 4 Nephi—four short pages and forty nine verses, Mormon summarized 320 years preceding his own birth until he was about ten years old. In extreme brevity he wrote of the rapid rise to righteousness following Christ’s appearance in the Promised Land. He merely mentioned the subsequent and almost ideal society that lasted for 200 years, and then he told of the tragic fall of the vast majority of people into wickedness during the next close to 120 years. 

Mormon abridged the account of this time from writings of four scribes who recorded the commentary of this most happy and most wretched people. These scribes were:

• Nephi, son of Christ’s chief Disciple in the Promised Land, 

• Amos, Nephi’s son, 

• Another Amos, Amos’s son, 

• Finally Ammaron, the second Amos’s brother.

Nephi, son of Nephi, the Disciple of Christ, wrote at a time when all of the people in the land lived in righteousness.

Christ promised that all of the generation living in the Promised Land during the time He appeared would be saved in His Kingdom because of their righteous living. This was not because He removed their agency. Partly because the most wicked had been destroyed at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, Christ foresaw that the rest of the people would accept the Gospel as the Disciples traveled throughout the land, bearing their strong testimonies with the Power of the Holy Ghost, and ministering to the people.

The righteous disciples proselyted and organized branch after branch of the Church. Converted people shared their testimonies and lived Christ teachings. Christ’s organized Church grew tremendously as multitudes throughout the hemisphere repented of their sins, were baptized in Christ’s holy name—and received the Holy Ghost.

By the next year, not only had the Church been formed, but people lived the Gospel in their everyday lives. They were honest with each other and were living with “all things in common,” perhaps one of the most successful examples of the Law of Consecration. There were no extremes in economic status, so no one looked with disdain on anyone else. They all had economic necessities and even luxuries. Also, all of them had spiritual blessings—with the most wonderful Heavenly gift—the gift of the Holy Ghost and they lived in peace. 

Miracles are manifest in the name of Jesus Christ through the Power of the Holy Ghost, who witnesses of the Father and the Son.  They happen through the force of faith in Jesus Christ. Because the years continued in peace, and the Holy Spirit’s Power was so strong among the faithful people, the Disciples were able to perform “great and marvelous works” in the name of Christ, healing the sick, even raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, and the blind to see, and the deaf to hear.

By the time the 59th year had passed in continual peace, the Lord had prospered His people, including blessing them to rebuild many of their burned cities. Mormon mentioned in particular the rebuilding of the city Zarahemla.

Although the population had been reduced with the destruction of the wicked, the Lord blessed the people of Nephi (and all of the people were called “the people of Nephi.”  We may safely say that the “fair and delightsome” was a metaphor that went far beyond skin color.  When people have discarded the “natural man” and not only welcome but cultivate the Spirit of Christ within themselves, they are bound to be “fair and delightsome.”)

That great purpose prepared by the Law of Moses, with its set performances and ordinances—namely the earthly mission of Christ—was completed. Now the people of Nephi were living higher laws and the commandments established by Jesus.

As the original nine disciples, who chose to go live with Christ after their normal mortal ministry, died, other Disciples were ordained to fill their places; others of that generation also died as they became old. The three Disciples who were translated continued to serve the people. The atmosphere in the land was a wonderful state of peace “because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.”

“…neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of “ites”; but all were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the Kingdom of God; and [wrote Mormon] surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the Hand of God. 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 away; there was not contention in the land.”

Throughout this time, righteous record keepers continued to write on the Large Plates of Nephi. Nephi, the disciple of Christ, turned the Plates over to his son, Nephi; that Nephi, in turn, toward the end of his life, turned them over to his son, Amos.

During the time of Amos, Satan was able to get a relatively few, or “a small part of the people,” to follow him. These dissenters rebelled against the Church and adopted the name “Lamanites.” So   again there began to be “-ites” in the land.

Amos kept the records for eighty-four years before turning them over to his son, who was also named Amos. Then he died—194 years “after the coming of Christ.”

Although many people lived a long time, after 200 years, only a few of the second generation were yet alive. God blessed the people with much posterity and greatly prospered them because they were living so righteously.

Discouragingly, as in earlier Book of Mormon times, there were many who were selfish, and did not gratefully deal with the Lord’s gift of prosperity. Listening to the devil, they assumed credit for their affluence and in their pride, they sought riches of the world in exclusion to the Heavenly riches. With this kind of thinking, the sacred Law of Consecration was no longer workable.

The people divided into separate economic classes, but more seriously, wicked people began using religion for personal gain, carving out churches for themselves and thus denying the true Church of Christ that had been established for 200 years.

Within the next ten years, wicked people established more false churches. The leaders, professing to believe in Christ, yet denied many parts of His Gospel. They mocked the sacrament, one of His most sacred ordinances, indiscriminately giving it to the unworthy; they also embraced all manner of wickedness.

Corrupt people built up false churches and denied Christ, determined to justify their own evil. These churches were actually one church—under Satan’s, they were branches of the great and abominable church.

The great and abominable church grew in number; they assumed authority and began to persecute those who still belonged to the true Church of Christ. The devil and his followers did not tolerate righteous people who still believed in Christ and still maintained their humility.

We are not told how many disciples yet administered over the true Church, but we know that at least the three translated Disciples were among the members Mormon wrote of “the disciples of Jesus who did tarry with them” working miracles.

Miracles and the faith of humble righteous members stirred up anger among those wicked members of the false church who had assumed control over the laws of the land. They tried to kill the three good Disciples, but soon learned their “control” did not in any way match to authority of God’s chosen. Wicked people persecuted the righteous in the following ways:

Cast them in prison

By the power of the word of God, which was in them, the prisons were rent in twain, and they went forth doing mighty miracles among them.

Cast them into furnaces of fire

They came forth receiving no harm.

Cast them into dens of wild beasts

And they did play with the wild beasts even as a child with a lamb; and they did come forth from among them, receiving no harm.

After witnessing these many miracles, common sense should have told the persecutors that it would be logical to reevaluate the loss of their core values. But just as the people in Jerusalem ignored the wonderful miracles—right before their eyes—that Christ performed among them, most Nephites continued to persecute Christ’s followers.

After 200 years of righteousness, a rapidly growing number of people chose twickedness and its attendant consequences.

A complete throwback took place during the 231st year.  During a great division, all of the people broke up into “-ites,” both the believers and non-believers.

Those who rejected and rebelled against the Gospel tragically compounded the results of their insurgency. These rebels passed a heritage of hate to their descendants. “They were taught to hate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the children of Nephi from the beginning.” The wicked grew until they far exceeded the righteous.

Gadianton robbers began to infest the land. When the Gadianton robbers are at their strongest because of the wickedness of the people, they are a murderous army.

Had the people of Nephi remained strong in the true faith, God would have continued to protect them and righteousness would have abounded. But they succumbed to the spiritual disease of pride, “and they became vain like unto their brethren, the Lamanites.” 

Mormon wrote that by the 300th year, only Christ’s disciples remained righteous. By disciples, he meant those who followed Christ. Mormon himself was likely born into a righteous home and married a righteous woman. Also, Mormon later preached great sermons to “peaceable followers of Christ” worshiping in the synagogue. But the people of Nephi, in general, had become just as wicked as the Lamanites. 

After the 305th year, when the second Amos died, his brother, Ammaron, became the last scribe before Mormon to keep writing on the Large Plates of Nephi. He kept the records for fifteen years. Then, after centuries of record keeping since the time of Lehi, Ammaron was the first scribe commanded to cease writing. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, the Lord told Ammaron to stop recording and to hide the Plates away—along with all the complete array of records and the sacred artifacts that had been handed down for generations.