WORDS OF MORMON

Words of Mormon

Mormon was a great prophet, chosen to come to Earth at the final turbulent era of Book of Mormon history, about 500 years after Amaleki.  By the time Mormon was born (approximately A.D.310), Jesus Christ had lived on Earth. He had suffered the atoning Sacrifice for all mankind, including giving up His life on the cross so that we will all be resurrected, and He had visited His people on the Promised Land in the western hemisphere (3 Nephi).  

God called Mormon to study many centuries-worth of teachings and history written by Promised Land prophets and scribes, and then to abridge these, by etching them on metal plates. Surely we would think this would be his sole lifetime activity! But instead, he was also leader of the Nephite armies, defending the degenerate Nephite nation that was doomed to destruction—because of their evil choices. 

Near the time that he knew the debauched Nephite nation would perish and that he also would soon die, Mormon planned to turn his tremendous work of the abridgments over to his son Moroni.

Mormon knew that his corrupt people deserved the destruction, but he was still heart-broken. He had tried to get them to remember their God, but they had become so wicked that the Holy Spirit was taken from their midst. Mormon hoped Moroni would survive to add his testimony of Jesus Christ to the record and to tell about the end of the Nephite nation. 

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Instead of concerning himself about his own life, he wanted the writings of Christ and the lessons learned by the people to profit his people. He knew this Earthly life was not the final objective for either him or his son.

Notes:

The blood of all the sons of Lehi had been mixed throughout hundreds of years since Lehi and his family left Jerusalem—so Lamanites now included Nephites, Mulekites, and likely some scattered people from Coriantumr’s destroyed Jaredite civilization. 

Mormon loved his son Moroni and he knew that the task Moroni must complete would involve difficult work, danger, watchfulness, and heart-wrenching loneliness. Yet Mormon knew Moroni must endure, staying alone on Earth while his family and all his loved ones passed through the veil. Moroni was to write that it might profit others. These two righteous men were types of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ—who performed the ultimate Sacrifice that it might profit others.  

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How humbling for us, the recipients of Christ’s infinite love and who also receive priceless benefit from Moroni’s sacrifice, to know how much we are loved. What wonderful role-models Mormon and Moroni are for us; they followed their ultimate Role Model and ours, Jesus Christ.

After abridging Nephi’s writings and records of his successors from the Large Plates until the reign of king Benjamin (Mosiah, Chapters 1-6), Mormon searched through more mountains of records—possibly wondering what to work on next when, to his amazement, he found the Small Plates, of which he had known nothing.

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Mormon loved the sacred prophecies and teachings preserved on the wonderful Small Plates. Many of the prophecies had been fulfilled by Mormon’s time on Earth—and he knew those that hadn’t yet been fulfilled would be fulfilled.

Mormon wrote “The Words of Mormon” to bridge the Small Plates with his on-going abridgment of the Large Plates, knowing that his summary would only contain a minute fraction of the Large Plates themselves.

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Mormon knew revelations and prophecies on the Small Plates would be loved by future readers as they were by him.

Mormon knew there was a reason for keeping the Small Plates with his abridgment because the Holy Spirit told him so. He did not know the reason, but he acknowledged God—who knew what would happen in the future—had a purpose for them.