War Among the Nephites
In the seventy-second year the judges ruled, the fighting got worse. There were wars all over the land. All the Nephites were fighting. The secret gang of robbers caused all this death and evil. This war lasted all that year. It also lasted through the seventy-third year.
Nephi Prays for a Famine
During this year, Nephi cried out to the Lord. He said: “O Lord, don’t let these people die by the sword. Instead, let there be hunger in the land. This will make them remember the Lord their God. Maybe they will change and turn to you.”
It happened just like Nephi asked. A great hunger came to the land. It hit all the Nephites. So in the seventy-fourth year, the hunger continued. The killing by the sword stopped. But many people died from hunger. This death continued in the seventy-fifth year. The earth became dry. It did not grow grain when it was supposed to. The whole earth was hit with this. It affected the Lamanites and the Nephites. Thousands of people died in the most evil parts of the land.
The People Remember God
The people saw they were about to die from hunger. They began to remember the Lord their God. They began to remember Nephi’s words. The people begged their chief judges and leaders. They wanted them to say to Nephi: “We know you are a man of God. Please cry out to the Lord our God. Ask him to take away this hunger. If you don’t, everything you said about our destruction will come true.”
Nephi Prays for Rain
The judges said this to Nephi, just like the people wanted. When Nephi saw that the people had changed, he noticed something. They made themselves humble by wearing rough cloth. So he cried out to the Lord again. He said: “O Lord, these people have changed! They have gotten rid of Gadianton’s gang. The gang is gone now. They have buried their secret plans in the ground. Lord, because they are humble now, will you turn away your anger? You already destroyed those evil men. Let that be enough. O Lord, will you turn away your anger? Will you stop being so angry? Please make this hunger stop in our land. O Lord, will you listen to me? Let it happen the way I ask. Send rain on the earth. Let it grow fruit and grain when it’s supposed to. O Lord, you listened to my words before. I said: Let there be hunger so the killing will stop. I know you will listen to me now too. You said: If these people change, I will save them. Lord, you can see they have changed. The hunger, sickness, and death made them change. Lord, will you turn away your anger? Will you try again to see if they will serve you? If they do, Lord, you can bless them like you promised.”
God Sends Rain
In the seventy-sixth year, the Lord turned away his anger. He made rain fall on the earth. The earth grew fruit when it was supposed to. It also grew grain when it was supposed to.
The people were very happy. They praised God. The whole land was filled with joy. They stopped trying to destroy Nephi. Instead, they saw him as a great prophet. He was a man of God. God had given him great power. Lehi was Nephi’s brother. He was just as good at doing what was right.
Peace and Growth
The Nephites started doing well again in the land. They rebuilt the places that had been destroyed. They had more and more children. They spread out until they covered the whole land. They lived in the north and the south. They lived from the west sea to the east sea. The seventy-sixth year ended in peace. The seventy-seventh year began in peace. The church grew all over the land. Most of the people joined the church. This included both Nephites and Lamanites. They had great peace in the land. That’s how the seventy-seventh year ended.
They also had peace in the seventy-eighth year. There were just a few arguments. These were about teachings the prophets had given. In the seventy-ninth year, much fighting started. But Nephi and Lehi knew the true teachings. So did many of their brothers. They received messages from God every day. So they preached to the people. They stopped the fighting that same year.
The Gadianton Robbers Return
In the eightieth year the judges ruled over the Nephites, something happened. Some Nephites had left their people years before. They had joined the Lamanites. They took the name Lamanite. These people got some real Lamanites angry. So the Lamanites started a war against their own people. They murdered people and stole things. Then they would run back to the mountains. They hid in the wild places and secret spots. No one could find them. More people joined them every day. Nephites who left their people would go to them. In just a few years, they became a huge gang of robbers. They learned all of Gadianton’s secret plans. So they became Gadianton robbers.
These robbers caused great damage. They destroyed many Nephites and many Lamanites. This destruction had to be stopped. So they sent a strong army into the wild places and mountains. The army was supposed to find these robbers and destroy them. But that same year, the army was pushed back to their own lands. That’s how the eightieth year ended.
At the start of the eighty-first year, they went out again. They fought the robbers and killed many. But the army also lost many soldiers. They had to leave the wild places and mountains again. They had to go back to their own lands. There were just too many robbers in the mountains and wild places.
That’s how this year ended. The robbers kept getting stronger and stronger. They challenged the whole Nephite army. They challenged the Lamanite army too. They made all the people in the land very scared. They went to many parts of the land. They destroyed a lot. They killed many people. They took others away to the wild places as prisoners. They especially took women and children.
This great evil happened because of the people’s sins. It made them remember the Lord their God again.
That’s how the eighty-first year ended.
The People Forget God Again
In the eighty-second year, they began to forget the Lord their God again. In the eighty-third year, they got worse at doing evil. In the eighty-fourth year, they did not get better. In the eighty-fifth year, they got more and more proud. They got more and more evil. So they were getting ready for destruction again. That’s how the eighty-fifth year ended.