# Mormon 1

*Simple English*

### Mormon Starts His Record

I, Mormon, am writing about the things I have seen and heard. I call it the Book of Mormon.

Around the time Ammaron hid the records, he came to me. I was about ten years old and had started learning the way my people learned. Ammaron said to me: I can see that you are a serious child. You pay attention to things. So when you are about twenty-four years old, I want you to remember what you have seen about these people. When you reach that age, go to the land of Antum. Go to a hill called Shim. I have put all the sacred writings about these people there for the Lord. Take the plates of Nephi for yourself. Leave the other records where they are. Write on the plates of Nephi all the things you have seen about these people.

I am a descendant of Nephi. My father’s name was Mormon. I remembered the things Ammaron told me to do.

### Moving to Zarahemla

When I was eleven years old, my father took me south to the land of Zarahemla. The whole land was covered with buildings. There were almost as many people as grains of sand by the sea.

### War Between the Nephites and Lamanites

That year a war started. On one side were the Nephites. This group included the Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites. On the other side were the Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites. The Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites were all called Lamanites. So the two groups were the Nephites and the Lamanites.

The war started near Zarahemla by the waters of Sidon. The Nephites brought together a large army of more than thirty thousand men. They had many battles that year. The Nephites beat the Lamanites and killed many of them. The Lamanites gave up their plans. Peace came to the land. There was no more killing for about four years.

### Wickedness Spreads

But sin was everywhere in the land. So the Lord took away his beloved disciples. The work of miracles and healing stopped because the people were so wicked. There were no more gifts from the Lord. The Holy Spirit did not come to anyone because of their sin and unbelief.

When I was fifteen years old, I was a serious person. The Lord visited me. I tasted and knew how good Jesus is. I tried to preach to these people. But I was not allowed to preach to them. They had chosen to rebel against God. The beloved disciples had been taken away from the land because of the people’s sin. I stayed among them. But I was not allowed to preach to them because their hearts were hard. Because their hearts were hard, the land was cursed.

The Gadianton robbers were among the Lamanites. They spread across the land. People began to hide their treasures in the ground. But the treasures became slippery. The Lord had cursed the land. People could not hold onto their treasures or keep them. There was magic and witchcraft everywhere. The power of the evil one was at work all across the land. Everything that Abinadi said would happen came true. Everything Samuel the Lamanite said also came true.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/simple/mormon/1)*
