The Government Collapses
They never did appoint a new king. Instead, in that same year—the thirtieth year—they murdered the chief judge who sat on the judgment seat. The people turned on each other. They split into tribes, each person siding with their own family, relatives, and close friends. The government collapsed. Every tribe appointed its own chief or leader. That’s how they organized themselves—into separate tribes with separate leaders. Everyone had large extended families and networks of relatives and friends, so these tribes grew massive.
All this happened without any wars breaking out—yet. But this evil had come upon the people because they’d given themselves over to Satan’s power. The government regulations were destroyed by the secret conspiracy of the friends and relatives of those who’d murdered the prophets. They caused so much conflict that even the more righteous part of the people—though nearly all had become wicked by now—there were only a few righteous left among them. In just six years, most of the people had abandoned their righteousness, like a dog returning to its vomit or a pig wallowing back into the mud.
Jacob’s Wicked Kingdom
This secret group that had brought so much evil upon the people gathered together and put a man named Jacob at their head. They called him their king. So he became king over this wicked band. He’d been one of the loudest voices speaking against the prophets who testified of Jesus.
Jacob’s group wasn’t as large as the united tribes. But even though the tribes had each set up their own laws, they were enemies of each other. They weren’t righteous people—yet they were united in their hatred of those who’d conspired to destroy the government. Jacob saw that his enemies outnumbered his band. As king, he commanded his people to flee north and build themselves a kingdom there. He promised them that many would defect and join them, and then they’d be strong enough to fight the tribes. They did exactly that. They moved so quickly that no one could stop them. They got completely out of reach. And that’s how the thirtieth year ended—that’s where things stood for the Nephites.
In the thirty-first year, they remained divided into tribes by family, relatives, and friends. They’d agreed not to go to war with each other, but they hadn’t unified their laws or government—each tribe followed whatever their chiefs and leaders decided. They did establish strict laws against one tribe attacking another, so there was some degree of peace in the land. Still, their hearts had turned away from the Lord their God, and they stoned the prophets and drove them out.
Nephi’s Powerful Ministry
Nephi had been visited by angels and had heard the Lord’s voice. He’d seen angels with his own eyes. He’d been given power to know about Christ’s ministry. And he’d witnessed with his own eyes how quickly the people had turned from righteousness back to wickedness and evil. His heart ached for their stubbornness and spiritual blindness. So that same year, he went out among them and began boldly preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught them many things—far more than could ever be written down. Even a portion wouldn’t fit in this book. Nephi served with power and great authority.
They grew angry with him because he had greater power than they did. They couldn’t disbelieve his words—it was impossible. His faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was so great that angels ministered to him daily. In Jesus’ name, he cast out demons and evil spirits. He even raised his own brother from the dead after the people had stoned him to death. The people saw it happen. They witnessed it themselves, yet they were angry with him because of his power. He performed many more miracles in front of the people, all in Jesus’ name.
The thirty-first year passed, and only a few were converted to the Lord. But those who were converted testified clearly to the people that they’d been touched by the power and Spirit of God—the Spirit that was in Jesus Christ, the one they believed in. Those who’d had demons cast out of them and were healed of their sicknesses and disabilities openly declared that they’d been acted upon by the Spirit of God and had been healed. They showed signs and performed miracles among the people too.
Baptism and Repentance
The thirty-second year also passed. At the start of the thirty-third year, Nephi cried out to the people again, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Remember this: everyone who was brought to repentance was baptized with water. Nephi ordained men to this ministry so that everyone who came to them would be baptized with water. This served as a witness and testimony before God and the people that they’d repented and received forgiveness of their sins. Many were baptized in repentance at the start of this year. And that’s how most of the year passed.