A People Transformed
Not a single person among the Nephites doubted the prophets’ words anymore. They knew every prophecy had to come true. All the signs they’d witnessed proved that Christ had come, just as the prophets said he would. Everything that had already happened showed them that everything else the prophets spoke about would happen too. So they abandoned their sins—their wickedness, their unfaithfulness to God—and served him faithfully day and night.
After capturing all the robbers—killing some, taking the rest alive—they threw the prisoners in jail and had God’s word preached to them. Anyone who repented and promised never to murder again was set free. But those who refused to make that promise, who still harbored plans for secret murder in their hearts, who kept threatening their neighbors—they were condemned and punished by law. That’s how they finally destroyed those wicked secret societies that had been responsible for so much bloodshed.
Mormon Introduces Himself
The twenty-second year passed, then the twenty-third, the twenty-fourth, and the twenty-fifth—twenty-five years in all.
Many remarkable things happened during those years. But this book can’t hold them all—not even a hundredth of what took place among so many people over twenty-five years. There are other records that contain the full story. Nephi gave a shorter but accurate account. I’ve based my record on Nephi’s account, which was engraved on the plates called the plates of Nephi. I’m making this record on plates I crafted with my own hands.
My name is Mormon. I’m named after the land of Mormon, where Alma first established the church after the people had fallen away from God. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He’s called me to share his message with his people so they can have eternal life.
God wants me to fulfill the faithful prayers of those who have died—the holy ones who prayed that this record would be made. A condensed history, really, from the time Lehi left Jerusalem right up to now. So I’m compiling my record from the accounts of those who came before me, up until my own lifetime. Then I’m writing down what I’ve seen with my own eyes.
I know my record is honest and true. Still, there are many things our language can’t capture on these plates. That’s all I’ll say about myself. Now I’ll get on with the story that came before me.
Mormon’s Testimony
I’m Mormon, a direct descendant of Lehi. I have every reason to praise God and my Savior Jesus Christ for bringing our ancestors out of Jerusalem—no one knew about it except God and those he led away—and for giving me and my people the knowledge we need for our salvation. He’s blessed the house of Jacob and shown mercy to Joseph’s family line. Whenever Lehi’s children have kept God’s commandments, he’s blessed them and helped them thrive, just as he promised.
And he’ll bring a remnant of Joseph’s descendants back to know the Lord their God. As surely as the Lord lives, he’ll gather all the scattered remnants of Jacob’s family from the four corners of the earth. The promise he made to the house of Jacob will be fulfilled in his own time—he’ll bring all of Jacob’s family back to understand the covenant he made with them. Then they’ll know their Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They’ll be gathered from the four corners of the earth and brought home to their own lands, where they’ve been scattered from. As the Lord lives, it will happen. Amen.