Mormon’s Letter to Moroni
My dear son, I write to you again. This way you will know that I am still alive. But I write about some very sad things. We had a terrible battle with the Lamanites. We did not win. Archeantus was killed by the sword. Luram and Emron were also killed. We lost many of our best men.
My son, I am afraid the Lamanites will destroy our people. Our people do not turn away from their sins. Satan keeps making them angry at each other. I keep working with them. When I speak God’s word strongly, they shake with anger at me. When I speak softly, they make their hearts hard against it. I am afraid the Spirit of the Lord has stopped trying to reach them. They get so angry that it seems they have no fear of death. They have lost their love for one another. They always want blood and revenge.
My dear son, even though their hearts are hard, let us work hard. If we stop working, we will be judged guilty. We have work to do while we are in these bodies. We must fight the enemy of all goodness. Then we can rest in the kingdom of God.
Terrible Things Done by Both Sides
I want to write about the suffering of our people. I got news from Amoron. The Lamanites have many prisoners. They took them from the tower of Sherrizah. There were men, women, and children. They killed the husbands and fathers of those women and children. They made the women eat the flesh of their husbands. They made the children eat the flesh of their fathers. They gave them almost no water. This terrible thing the Lamanites did is awful. But it does not compare to what our people did in Moriantum. They took many Lamanite daughters as prisoners. They took away from them what was most dear and precious above all things. That is their purity. After they did this, they killed them in a very cruel way. They hurt their bodies until they died. After they did this, they ate their flesh like wild animals. Their hearts were so hard. They did it to show how brave they were.
My dear son, how can people like this live without any goodness? Only a few years have passed. They were once kind and good people. But my son, how can people like this be happy doing such terrible things? How can we expect God not to judge us? My heart cries out for these people. Come and judge, God! Hide their sins and wickedness and terrible actions from your sight.
The People Suffer
There are many widows and their daughters left in Sherrizah. The Lamanites took most of the food. Then the army of Zenephi took what was left. They left them to look for food wherever they could. Many old women get weak along the way and die. The army with me is weak. The Lamanite armies are between Sherrizah and me. Many people ran to the army of Aaron. But they were killed in terrible ways.
Our people are so wicked! They have no order and no mercy. I am just a man. I only have the strength of a man. I cannot make them obey my commands anymore. They have become strong in their evil ways. They are all very cruel. They do not spare anyone. Not old people or young people. They are happy doing everything that is bad. The suffering of our women and children everywhere is worse than anything. You cannot say or write how bad it is.
My son, I will not write any more about this terrible scene. You know how wicked these people are. They have no good in them. They do not feel anymore. Their wickedness is worse than the Lamanites. My son, I cannot ask God to bless them. He might punish me if I did.
Mormon’s Hope for Moroni
But my son, I ask God to bless you. I trust in Christ that you will be saved. I pray to God that he will keep you alive. I hope you will see his people turn back to him. Or you will see them completely destroyed. I know they will die if they do not turn away from their sins and return to him. If they die, it will be like the Jaredites. They wanted to do whatever they wanted. They wanted blood and revenge. If they do die, we know that many of our people have joined the Lamanites. Many more will also join them. So write down a few things if you stay alive. I may die and not see you. But I trust that I will see you soon. I have sacred records that I want to give to you. My son, be faithful in Christ. Do not let the things I have written make you so sad that you die. Let Christ lift you up. Think about his suffering and death. Think about how he showed his body to our fathers. Think about his mercy and patience. Think about the hope of his glory and eternal life. Keep these things in your mind forever. May the grace of God the Father be with you. His throne is high in the heavens. May our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. He sits on the right hand of God’s power. He will sit there until all things obey him. May they be with you forever. Amen.