THE BOOK OF MORMON
CHAPTER 3
Mormon cries repentance unto the Nephites—They gain a great victory and
glory in their own strength—Mormon refuses to lead them, and his
prayers for them are without faith—The Book of Mormon invites the
twelve tribes of Israel to believe the gospel. [Between A.D. 350 and 362]
1 AND it came to pass that the Lamanites did not come to battle again *until ten years more had passed away. [ In approximately AD 350, the Lamanites, the Gadianton Robbers, and the Nephites made a serious, inviolate peace treaty that lasted ten years (Mormon 3:1). One should note the monumental timing of the peace treaty. If, as scholars believe, it coincided with a great sabbatical celebration of peace and jubilee, what better time for a prophet like Mormon to have given his magnum opus—the most important words that he could give to his people.
The occasion must have been very solemn, as everyone on both sides of the war was willing to take a sabbatical from the killing and violence. At the end of the period, the king of the Lamanites wrote and announced that the treaty had ended (Mormon 3:4). This peaceful decade may have been the only time in Mormon’s life when he could sit still long enough to work on his abridgement of the records. In addition, Mormon had recently been commanded to call people to repentance and to build up the Church again (Mormon 3:2). It seems likely that Mormon’s speech was written at the beginning of this ten-year time of peace, a period when he was again given permission to preach (see Mormon 1:16; 3:2). The occasion was in a synagogue that the people had built. Perhaps it was at some kind of “dedication” of that synagogue. The Nephites had been driven north (Mormon 2:20) and had been granted the right to settle in a land northward (Mormon 2:29), where they lived during the ten-year peace. It would make sense for them to have built a new synagogue there, and that Mormon would have been the most appropriate candidate to have spoken on that occasion, as people tried to reclaim their faith, rebuild their hope, and try especially to love everyone, even their enemies. ] And behold, I had employed my people,
the Nephites, in preparing their lands and their arms against the time
of battle.
2 And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry
unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and
build up again my
church, [ Mine elect, my people are those that
hear my voice and harden not their hearts D&C 29:7 that my people may gird up their loins, and be
looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle,
and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem. Moses 7:62 - among my people
who do repent and are baptized in my name - 3 Nephi 18:16 it is my church,
if it so be that they are built upon my gospel - 3 Nephi 27:8 for the
works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do 3 Nephi 27:21 ] and ye
shall be spared.
3 And
I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not
realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto
them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts
against the Lord their God.
4 And it
came to pass that after this tenth year had passed away, making, in the
whole, three hundred and sixty years from the coming of Christ, the
king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me, which gave unto me to
know that they were preparing to come again to battle against us.
5 And it
came to pass that I did cause my people that they should gather
themselves together at the land Desolation, to a city which was in the
borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward.
6 And there
we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of the
Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands;
therefore we did fortify against them with all our force.
7 And it
came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the
Lamanites did come down to the city of Desolation to battle against us;
and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that
they did return to their own lands again.
8 And in
the *three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down again
to battle. And we did beat them again, and did slay a great number of
them, and their dead were cast into the sea.
9 And now, because of this great thing [ Which was what exactly?
That they had defeated the Laminites in battle the last two times that
they had come up against them. So they started to feel pretty good
about themselves. ] which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, [ What is wrong with have a good deal of self confidence? Does Satan ever use the opposite approach with us?
Yes sometimes he will make us feel that we cannot do anything right so
why even try. either way he kind of wins - that is why it is important
to stay humble and to trust God. ] and began to swear
before the heavens that they would avenge themselves [ What is the Lord's position on war? You do it to ONLY to defend not avenge. ] of the blood of
their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
10 And
they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they
would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off
from the face of the land.
11 And it
came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to
be a commander [ Why does Mormon drop out of being a military leader? Because the position of the people has changed. When he was defending his people he knew that God would bless them, but when they decide to go take what they can then the Lord will not longer be with them. ] and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness
and abomination.
12 Behold,
I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many
times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which
was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer
unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was without
faith, because of the hardness of their hearts.
13 And thrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and they have repented not of their sins.
14 And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:
15 Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.
16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.
17 Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance;
18 Yea,
behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve
tribes of Israel, who shall be judged according to your works by the
twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem.
19 And I
write also unto the remnant of this people, who shall also be judged by
the twelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by
the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
20 And
these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto
you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye
must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who
belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be
judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
21 And
also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall
have among you; and also that the Jews, the covenant people of the
Lord, shall have other witness besides him whom they saw and heard,
that Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God.
22 And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and
prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. [ Worldly sorrow:
“There are different kinds of sorrow. Thieves, robbers, murderers, adulterers, etc., are frequently sorrowful because they have been detected in the crimes they have committed. They are not sorrowful because they have sinned against God or because they have injured others; but they are sorry because their crimes have been exposed or that they have been prevented from a realization of the happiness which they anticipated. This is the sorrow of the world; and it is of the same nature as the sorrowing of the evil spirits in hell: they are sorry when they fail to accomplish their malicious designs against God and His people. This kind of sorrow worketh death."
Godly sorrow: "This kind of sorrow will lead us to obey every commandment of God; it will make us humble and childlike in our dispositions; it will impart unto us meekness and lowliness of mind; it will cause our hearts to be broken and our spirits to be contrite; it will cause us to watch, with great carefulness, every word, thought, and deed; it will call up our past dealings with mankind, and we will feel most anxious to make restitution to all whom we may have, in any way, injured. . . . These, and many other good things, are the results of godly sorrow for sin. This is repentance not in word, but in deed: this is the sorrow with which the heavens are pleased." Mormon hoped the people would feel godly sorrow, and his hope extends to us today. ]
* Verse 1 [A.D. 360]; Verse 8 [A.D. 362].