Mormon Becomes the Army Leader
That same year, a war started again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. I was young, but I was large and strong. So the Nephite people chose me to lead their armies. So when I was sixteen years old, I led a Nephite army against the Lamanites. By this time, 326 years had passed.
In the 327th year, the Lamanites came at us with great power. They scared my armies. My men would not fight. They started running away toward the north. We came to the city of Angelah. We took over the city. We got ready to defend ourselves against the Lamanites. We made the city as strong as we could. But even with all we did, the Lamanites came and forced us out of the city. They also forced us out of the land of David. We marched out and came to the land of Joshua. It was in the west by the seashore. We gathered our people as fast as we could. We wanted to get them together in one place.
The Land Filled with Evil
But the land was filled with robbers and Lamanites. Even though my people were in great danger, they did not turn away from their evil ways. So there was blood and killing all over the land. This happened among the Nephites and the Lamanites. It was a complete disaster all over the land. The Lamanites had a king named Aaron. He came against us with an army of 44,000 men. I fought against him with 42,000 men. I beat him with my army. He ran away from me. All this happened by the time 330 years had passed.
Then the Nephites started to turn away from their sin. They started to cry just like Samuel the prophet had said they would. No one could keep what belonged to them because of the thieves, robbers, killers, magic, and witchcraft in the land. So there was sadness and crying all over the land because of these things. This was especially true among the Nephites.
Mormon’s False Hope
When I, Mormon, saw them crying and being sad before the Lord, my heart started to feel happy. I knew the Lord was kind and patient. So I thought he would show them mercy. I thought they would become a good people again.
But my happiness did not last. They were not really sorry. They were not sad because of God’s goodness. They were sad like people who are going to be punished. They were sad because the Lord would not let them be happy while doing wrong. They did not come to Jesus with broken hearts. Instead, they cursed God and wished they were dead. But they still fought with swords to stay alive.
My sadness came back. I saw that their time for God’s kindness was over. This was true both in this life and in the next. I saw thousands of them cut down while fighting against God. They were piled up like dirt on the ground. By this time, 344 years had passed.
Running to Jashon
In the 345th year, the Nephites started running away from the Lamanites. They ran until they came to the land of Jashon. That was the first place we could stop them. The city of Jashon was near the place where Ammaron had hidden the records. He hid them so they would not be destroyed. I did what Ammaron told me to do. I took the plates of Nephi. I wrote a record just like Ammaron said.
On the plates of Nephi, I wrote a full account of all the evil and terrible things. But on these plates, I chose not to write a full account of all the evil and terrible things. This is because I have seen evil and terrible things my whole life since I was old enough to understand people’s ways. How sad I am because of their evil! My heart has been filled with sadness because of their evil all my life. But I know I will be raised up on the last day.
Defending the City of Shem
That same year, the Nephite people were hunted and pushed out again. We ran until we came north to the land called Shem. We made the city of Shem strong. We gathered as many of our people as we could. We hoped we could save them from being destroyed. In the 346th year, the Lamanites started coming after us again.
I spoke to my people. I strongly asked them to stand bravely against the Lamanites. I told them to fight for their wives, children, and homes. My words gave them some strength. So they did not run from the Lamanites. They stood bravely against them. We fought with an army of 30,000 men against an army of 50,000. We stood so strongly against them that they ran away from us.
When they ran, we chased them with our armies. We met them again and beat them. But the Lord’s strength was not with us. We were left on our own. The Spirit did not stay with us. So we had become weak, just like our enemies. My heart was sad because of this great disaster for my people. It happened because of their evil and terrible things. But we went out against the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton. We took back the lands that belonged to us.
A Treaty with the Lamanites
The 349th year passed. In the 350th year, we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton. In it, we divided up the lands that belonged to us. The Lamanites gave us the land to the north. This went all the way to the narrow path that led to the land in the south. We gave the Lamanites all the land to the south.