Words of Mormon

Words of Mormon 1

I, Mormon, have watched the destruction of almost all my Nephite people and I am preparing to deliver this record to my son, Moroni. I think that he will see the complete destruction of our people. But, hopefully, he will survive long enough to complete this record concerning Jesus Christ for the benefit of the Lamanites’ descendants.

Hundreds of years have now passed since the coming of Jesus Christ and I want to talk about what I’ve written. I have found two sets of plates from which I’ve made abridgements — a set of small plates and a set of large plates. After completing the abridgement from the plates of Nephi, through the reign of King Benjamin, I found the small plates on which Jacob, Amaleki and other prophets including Nephi had briefly written. In particular, I’ve been pleased to read these small plates from Jacob through Benjamin, because they include many prophecies and revelations from our forefathers about the coming of Jesus Christ. The messages on these plates will be of great value to future Lamanites because they contain prophecies which have long since been fulfilled and other prophecies which will surely also be fulfilled.

After Amaleki gave the small plates to King Benjamin, they were combined with the other large plates which contained the records passed from king to king until the time of King Benjamin. All these plates were then passed down, from generation to generation, until they reached me. I pray that they will continue to be preserved from this day forward for there are many things written on them about the judgment of people, by God, in the last days.

The rest of my record is taken from the large plates, but will only be a brief account. My abridgement is perhaps a hundredth of what was originally written. I know that this is the wise and right thing to do, because the Spirit of God whispers to me, telling me what to do. I pray that someday the descendants of the Lamanites will come to the knowledge of God, and through the redemption of Jesus Christ will again become fair and righteous people. Now, I proceed to finish my record according to the knowledge and understanding that God has given to me.

During the time of King Benjamin, the people fought intensely among themselves, and the Lamanite armies came into Zarahemla to destroy them. But Benjamin gathered his armies and personally wielded the sword of Laban from Jerusalem. With the help of God, they fought mightily against the Lamanites, killing thousands of them and driving them out of the land.

False prophets pretending to be Jesus Christ came forward, creating dissension and defections to the Lamanites; but their mouths were sealed shut and they were punished for their crimes, because King Benjamin and his prophets were able discern their lies. King Benjamin was a holy king and reigned in righteousness over his people. With the help of many holy men who sharply spoke the word of God, with power and authority, he was able to keep the stubborn people in line and once again established peace in the land.