The Lamanites Become Good
When the sixty-second year of the judges’ rule ended, all these things had happened. Most of the Lamanites had become good people. They were even better than the Nephites because they were strong and steady in their faith. Many Nephites had become hard, unsorry for their sins, and very evil. They rejected God’s word. They rejected all the preaching and messages from God that came to them.
But the church people had great joy because the Lamanites had changed. They were happy about God’s church that had been set up among the Lamanites. They were friends with each other. They were happy with each other. They had great joy. Many Lamanites came down to Zarahemla. They told the Nephites how they had changed. They urged them to have faith and stop sinning. Many preached with great power. They helped many people become humble followers of God and the Lamb.
Many Lamanites went to the north land. Nephi and Lehi also went to the north land to preach to the people. This was the end of the sixty-third year.
Peace and Trade
There was peace in all the land. The Nephites could go anywhere they wanted, whether to Nephite or Lamanite lands. The Lamanites could also go wherever they wanted, whether to Lamanite or Nephite lands. They traded freely with each other. They bought and sold things to make money as they wanted. They became very rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites. They had lots of gold, silver, and all kinds of precious metals. This was true in both the south land and the north land.
The south land was called Lehi. The north land was called Mulek, after Zedekiah’s sons. The Lord brought Mulek to the north land and Lehi to the south land. There was all kinds of gold in both lands. There was silver and precious metal of every kind. There were skilled workers who worked with all kinds of metal and made it pure. This is how they became rich. They grew lots of grain in both the north and south. They did very well in both the north and south. They had many children and became very strong in the land. They raised many flocks and herds of fat animals.
Their women worked hard and made thread. They made all kinds of cloth and fine linen. They made cloth of every kind to make clothes. The sixty-fourth year passed in peace. In the sixty-fifth year, they also had great joy and peace. There was much preaching and many messages about what would happen. The sixty-fifth year passed.
Murders Begin
In the sixty-sixth year of the judges’ rule, Cezoram was murdered by someone unknown while sitting on the judgment seat. In the same year, his son who had been chosen to replace him was also murdered. The sixty-sixth year ended. At the start of the sixty-seventh year, the people began to become very evil again. The Lord had blessed them with riches for so long that they had not been angry or fought wars or killed. So they began to love their riches. They began to try to get money so they could be better than others. So they began to murder secretly, rob, and steal to get money.
Gadianton’s Robbers
These murderers and robbers were the group started by Kishkumen and Gadianton. There were many in Gadianton’s group, even among the Nephites. But there were more among the evil Lamanites. They were called Gadianton’s robbers and murderers. They were the ones who murdered Chief Judge Cezoram and his son while they sat on the judgment seat. They were not found.
When the Lamanites found out there were robbers among them, they were very sad. They did everything they could to destroy them from the earth. But Satan stirred up the hearts of most of the Nephites. They joined these robber groups. They made promises to protect each other no matter what. They promised not to be punished for their murders, robberies, and stealing.
They had secret signs and secret words. This way they could know who was in their group. If a member did something evil, his group members would not hurt him. The people in his group who had made this promise would not hurt him. This way they could murder, rob, steal, and do all kinds of evil things. They broke the laws of their country and God’s laws. If anyone in their group told others about their evil deeds, they would be punished. But not by their country’s laws. They would be punished by their evil group’s laws that Gadianton and Kishkumen had made.
Satan’s Secret Plans
These were the secret promises that Alma told his son not to share with the world. He was afraid they would destroy the people. These secret promises did not come to Gadianton from the records given to Helaman. The same being who got our first parents to eat the forbidden fruit put them in Gadianton’s heart. This was the same being who worked with Cain. He told Cain that if he murdered his brother Abel, no one would know. He worked with Cain and his followers from then on. This same being made people want to build a tower tall enough to reach Heaven. He led the people from that tower to this land. He spread evil and terrible deeds all over the land. He dragged the people down to complete destruction and endless punishment.
This same being put it in Gadianton’s heart to continue the work of darkness and secret murder. He has done this from the beginning of people until now. He causes all sin. He continues his work of darkness and secret murder. He passes down evil plans, promises, and agreements from parents to children. He does this whenever he can control people’s hearts.
The Nephites Become Evil
He had great control over the Nephites’ hearts. They had become very evil. Most of them had turned away from doing right. They ignored God’s rules. They went their own ways. They made idols from their gold and silver. All these sins came to them in just a few years. Most of it happened in the sixty-seventh year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites. Their sins grew worse in the sixty-eighth year too. This made the good people very sad.
Nephites Fall, Lamanites Rise
So we see that the Nephites began to stop believing. They grew in evil and terrible deeds. At the same time, the Lamanites began to know their God very well. They began to keep his rules and walk in truth before him. So we see that the Lord’s Spirit began to leave the Nephites because of their evil and hard hearts. We see that the Lord began to give his Spirit to the Lamanites because they were ready and willing to believe his word.
The Lamanites hunted Gadianton’s robber group. They preached God’s word to the most evil ones. This robber group was completely destroyed from among the Lamanites. But the Nephites built up and supported the robbers. They started with the most evil Nephites. The robbers spread through all Nephite lands. They tricked most of the good people. The good people began to believe in the robbers’ work. They shared the stolen goods. They joined in the secret murders and groups. The robbers took over the whole government. They stepped on, hit, tore apart, and turned away from the poor and humble followers of God.
So we see they were in a terrible state. They were getting ready for endless destruction. This was the end of the sixty-eighth year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites.