# Mormon 2

*Paraphrase*

### A Young Commander Takes Charge

That same year, war broke out again between the Nephites and Lamanites. Even though I was young, I was big for my age, so the Nephites made me their military commander. So at sixteen, I led a Nephite army into battle against the Lamanites. It was the year 326.

The next year the Lamanites came at us with such overwhelming force that my armies panicked. They refused to fight and started retreating north. We fell back to the city of Angelah, occupied it, and prepared to defend ourselves. We fortified the city as best we could, but even with all our defenses, the Lamanites attacked and drove us out. They pushed us out of the land of David too.

We marched west to the land of Joshua, near the coast. We worked as fast as we could to gather our scattered people into one place.

### A Land Filled with Violence

But the whole land was crawling with bandits and Lamanites. Despite the disaster hanging over them, my people refused to turn from their evil. Blood and slaughter covered the land—Nephites and Lamanites alike. It was total chaos everywhere.

The Lamanites had a king named Aaron. He came at us with forty-four thousand men. I faced him with forty-two thousand. I defeated his army and sent him running. All this happened by the year 330.

### Empty Sorrow

Then the Nephites started feeling sorry and crying out to God—just like the prophet Samuel had said they would. No one could hold onto anything anymore because of all the thieves, robbers, murderers, sorcerers, and witches in the land. Grief and mourning spread everywhere, especially among the Nephites.

When I saw their tears and heard them crying out to the Lord, my heart started to lift. I knew how merciful and patient God is, so I hoped he would forgive them and they’d become good people again. But my hope was empty. Their sorrow wasn’t real repentance over how they’d rejected God’s goodness. It was the desperate grief of people who are damned—bitter because the Lord wouldn’t let them enjoy their sin anymore. They didn’t come to Jesus with humble, broken hearts. Instead they cursed God and wished they were dead. Yet they still fought desperately to stay alive. My grief came flooding back. I could see that their time of grace was over—both in this life and the next. I watched thousands of them cut down in open rebellion against God, their bodies piled up like garbage across the land. By then it was the year 344.

### Retreat to Jashon

The next year the Nephites started running from the Lamanites. They chased us all the way to the land of Jashon before we could finally stop the retreat.

The city of Jashon was close to where Ammaron had hidden the sacred records to keep them safe. I’d done what Ammaron told me—I’d retrieved the plates of Nephi and started keeping a record. On the plates of Nephi I wrote a full account of all the evil and corruption. But on these plates I’m holding back from writing everything, because I’ve watched nothing but wickedness and depravity my whole life, ever since I was old enough to understand what people do. Their evil breaks my heart. I’ve carried this sorrow every day of my life. But I know that in the end, I’ll be raised up.

### Defending Shem

That year the Nephites were hunted and driven again. We were pushed north all the way to the land of Shem. We fortified the city of Shem and gathered as many of our people as we could, hoping we might save them from destruction.

In the year 346, the Lamanites attacked us again. I rallied my people with everything I had, urging them to stand and fight bravely for their wives, children, and homes. My words stirred up some courage in them. They stopped running and stood their ground. Our thirty thousand faced their fifty thousand. We held our position so firmly that they retreated.

When they ran, we chased them with our armies, caught up to them, and beat them again. But the Lord’s strength wasn’t with us—we were on our own. The Spirit didn’t stay with us, so we’d become as weak as our enemies. My heart ached over the terrible disaster that had come to my people because of their wickedness and corruption. Still, we kept fighting the Lamanites and the Gadianton robbers until we’d taken back our lands.

### A Treaty to Divide the Land

The year 349 came and went. In 350 we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the Gadianton robbers, dividing up the land between us. The Lamanites gave us everything north of the narrow pass that led south. We gave them everything south of it.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/mormon/2)*
