Change or Face Destruction
My dear brothers, I tell you this: Unless you change, your homes will be left empty. Unless you change, your women will cry when they have babies. You will try to run away. There will be no safe place. It will be terrible for pregnant women. They will be too heavy to run. So they will be trampled and left to die.
The Lord Loves the Nephites
It will be terrible for these people called the Nephites! This is if they don’t change when they see all those signs and wonderful things. They have been the Lord’s chosen people. The Lord has loved the Nephites. He has taught them hard lessons. When they did wrong, he taught them lessons. He did this because he loves them.
The Lamanites Are Doing Right
But my brothers, he hated the Lamanites. This is because they kept doing evil. This happened because their ancestors taught them wrong things. But now they can be saved. This came through the Nephites teaching them. This is why the Lord has let them live longer. Most of them are now doing what they should. They walk carefully before God. They keep his rules and laws. They follow the law of Moses. I tell you, most of them are doing this. They work hard without getting tired. They want to help the rest of their brothers learn the truth. So many people join them every day.
You know this yourselves. You have seen it. When they learn the truth, things change. They learn about their fathers’ evil traditions. They believe the Holy Scriptures. They believe the prophecies the holy prophets wrote. This leads them to believe in the Lord. It leads them to change. This faith and change makes their hearts different. You know that those who reach this point are strong and steady. They are strong in their faith. They are strong in the freedom they have received.
They Won’t Fight Because of Their Faith
You also know they have buried their weapons. They are afraid to pick them up. They don’t want to sin. You can see they are afraid to sin. They will let their enemies walk on them and kill them. They won’t fight back with swords. This is because they believe in Christ.
They are steady when they believe something. They are firm once they understand the truth. Because of this, the Lord will bless them. He will let them live longer. This is true even when they do wrong.
Future Promises for the Lamanites
Even if they stop believing, the Lord will let them live longer. This will last until the time our fathers spoke about. The prophet Zenos spoke about it. Many other prophets did too. They told about our Lamanite brothers coming back to know the truth. I tell you, in the future, the Lord’s promises reach out to our Lamanite brothers. They will have many hard times. They will be pushed around the earth. They will be hunted. They will be attacked and scattered everywhere. They will have no safe place. But the Lord will be kind to them. This follows the prophecy. They will learn the true knowledge again. They will know their Savior. They will know their great and true Shepherd. They will be counted among his sheep.
It Will Be Better for Them
So I tell you: Things will be better for them than for you. Unless you change. Think about this: What if they had seen the great miracles you have seen? They stopped believing because their fathers taught them wrong things. You can see for yourselves they would never stop believing again.
So the Lord says: I will not completely destroy them. When the time is right, they will return to me, says the Lord. The Lord says this about the Nephites: If they won’t change and do what I want, I will completely destroy them, says the Lord. This is because they don’t believe. I have done many great miracles among them. But as the Lord lives, these things will happen, says the Lord.