# Mosiah 28

*Paraphrase*

### A Mission to the Lamanites

After all that had happened, Mosiah’s sons gathered a small group of companions and came back to their father, the king. They had a request: they wanted permission to go up to the land of Nephi and preach to the Lamanites—to share everything they’d heard and learned about God. Maybe, just maybe, they could help the Lamanites come to know the Lord. Maybe they could help them see the wrongs their ancestors had committed. Maybe they could heal the hatred between the two peoples, so both could celebrate God together and finally live as friends. No more violence. No more war. Just peace in the land God had given them.

They longed for everyone to hear about salvation. The thought of any person being lost was unbearable to them. Just imagining someone facing endless suffering made them shake with grief. This was how the Spirit of the Lord worked in them. They’d once been terrible sinners—the worst kind—and God in his endless mercy had spared them. Even so, they’d suffered deeply for what they’d done. They’d lived in constant fear that God might cast them away forever. They knew what that terror felt like.

For days they pleaded with their father. They had to go to Nephi. They had to preach. Finally, King Mosiah went to the Lord and asked whether he should let his sons go among the Lamanites to preach. The Lord answered: “Let them go. Many will believe their message and receive eternal life. And I’ll keep your sons safe. I’ll deliver them from the Lamanites.” So Mosiah gave them permission to go. They set out into the wilderness to preach among the Lamanites. I’ll tell you what happened to them later.

### The Translation of Ancient Records

Now King Mosiah had no one to pass the kingdom to. None of his sons would accept it. So he gathered all the sacred records—the brass plates, the plates of Nephi, everything he’d protected and preserved according to God’s commands. He’d also finished translating the gold plates that Limhi’s people had discovered and brought to him. He’d done this because his people were desperate to know about the destroyed civilization those plates described.

He’d translated them using two stones set in the rims of a bow. These sacred tools had existed from ancient times and had been passed down through generations for interpreting languages. The Lord had preserved them so he could reveal to every people who lived in this land the sins and evils of those who came before. Anyone who possessed these interpreting stones was called a seer, just as in ancient days.

When Mosiah finished the translation, the record told the story of a destroyed people. It traced their history backward from their destruction all the way to the tower of Babel, when God confused human language and scattered people across the earth—and even back to the creation of Adam. The account devastated Mosiah’s people. They were overwhelmed with sorrow. Yet it also filled them with knowledge, and that brought them joy. This record will be written down later. Everyone needs to know what it contains.

After Mosiah finished translating, he took the brass plates and all the sacred things he’d guarded and gave them to Alma, son of Alma. He handed over all the records and the interpreters, commanding him to protect and preserve them. He told him to keep a record of the people and pass everything down from generation to generation, just as it had been passed down since Lehi left Jerusalem.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/mosiah/28)*
