Mormon 5

Mormon 5

Mormon 5:1–3

1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions.

2 But behold, I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.

3 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come against us as we had fled to the city of Jordan; but behold, they were driven back that they did not take the city at that time.

Comments

Mormon did not regain faith in his people. He no longer believed (though perhaps he hoped) that they would repent and return to the Lord. Nevertheless, in spite of what he saw as a hopeless situation, he allowed the people to convince him to return as the head of the armies. The conditions that had caused him to leave that position had not changed, but Mormon perhaps saw that they needed what hope they could muster. He returned.

The first mentioned action in which he led the armies was as the Nephites fled to the city of Jordan. There they were able to hold off the Lamanite advance and earn some respite.

Mormon 5:4–5

4 And it came to pass that they came against us again, and we did maintain the city. And there were also other cities which were maintained by the Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land.

5 But it came to pass that whatsoever lands we had passed by, and the inhabitants thereof were not gathered in, were destroyed by the Lamanites, and their towns, and villages, and cities were burned with fire; and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away.

Comments

This war is different from any that had previously been fought. It was no longer the aim of the enemy to conquer; it was to destroy. This type of warfare is expensive, and there must be sufficient reason to justify the costs.

In a Mesoamerican context, the Nephites had controlled access through the narrow neck of land, thus potentially controlling trade that would go between the lands northward and the lands southward. The major populations at the time of this war of destruction were Teotihuacan in the north and the various Maya nations in the south. This was a time where trade was increasing, something that we begin to see in Mormon’s record: “And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic” (4 Nephi 1:46).

The increased trade suggests the need for stable trade routes from north to south, and the Nephites were apparently either hindering that trade, or in a position to do so. That would be unacceptable to the powers in the north and the south. Hence, the Gadiantons (north) and the Lamanites (south) were combined in this final war. It was economically beneficial to both to eliminate the threat that the Nephites posed or could pose.

Mormon’s Message to the Remnant and the Gentiles

Mormon 5:6–9

6 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly; but it was all in vain, for so great were their numbers that they did tread the people of the Nephites under their feet.

7 And it came to pass that we did again take to flight, and those whose flight was swifter than the Lamanites’ did escape, and those whose flight did not exceed the Lamanites’ were swept down and destroyed.

8 And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely be made known, and that all things which are hid must be revealed upon the house-tops—

9 And also that a knowledge of these things must come unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should scatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught among them—therefore I write a small abridgment, daring not to give a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the commandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people.

Comments

Verses 6 and 7 continue the litany of losses. The combined forces against them are overwhelming, and the Nephites cannot resist. They are continually fleeing, and for those who could not flee, the result was in living under a conquering nation and destruction.

Verse 8 begins a transition into Mormon’s expression of his feelings about this final war. It is terrible, but he does not desire to dwell on the destruction. What he wants to do is use this story as a warning for the future, to declare that “all things which are hid must be revealed upon the house-tops.” The “things which are hid” are the sins of the Nephites in abandoning their God.

To expose these things on the house-tops means to write them in a message for the future. That begins in verse 9. Mormon is writing so that “a knowledge of these things must come unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles.” He is writing “a small abridgment,” which is the Book of Mormon.

Mormon 5:10–12

10 And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel, that realize and know from whence their blessings come.

11 For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus.

12 Now these things are written unto the remnant of the house of Jacob; and they are written after this manner, because it is known of God that wickedness will not bring them forth unto them; and they are to be hid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time.

Comments

Mormon is very clear that he is writing for a future audience. He addresses his work, this Book of Mormon, to the seed of the house of Jacob in the New World. By this time, he understands that this will be those he has called Lamanites. He also writes to “the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel.” This phrase recalls Isaiah’s prophecy: “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders” (Isaiah 49:22).

Mormon 5:13–14

13 And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold, they shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom.

14 And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant;

Comments

Mormon continues his description of the text that he is writing. Though it will not come to his current people, God has promised that it “shall come forth . . . when he shall see fit, in his wisdom.” That occurred with the printing of the Book of Mormon in 1830.

The purpose of the Book of Mormon is that future readers “may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That statement is very similar to the one that Moroni provided for the Title Page: “And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.”

Mormon 5:15–18

15 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.

16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as chaff before the wind.

17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.

18 But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.

Comments

Verses 15 and 17 renew the discussion of invoking a curse in terms of dark and white. Where Nephi₁ had spoken of a “skin of blackness” (2 Nephi 5:21), the curse has moved away from blackness and skin, and has simply become having a dark personality. It is no longer even skin, but “this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people.” That is the definition of those who reject God and is not a statement of hygiene, let alone pigmentation.

That is contrasted with a previous state: “they were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd.” What has changed? “Now, behold, they are led about by Satan.”

There is no discussion of skin color. The contrast between dark and white represents unrighteousness (following Satan) and righteousness (following Christ). The change from white to dark was occasioned by leaving God, and it happened to Nephites as well as Lamanites.

Mormon 5:19

19 And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the Gentiles who shall possess the land.

Comments

Lehi₁ had obtained a promise, a covenant, that went with the land. They would prosper if they lived according to the commandments. During Mormon’s time, they failed so utterly that they invoked the negative aspect of the covenant. If they did not follow the commandments, they would be destroyed.

Mormon declares that, even though the negative promise of destruction is being enacted upon the Nephites, God has not removed the covenant. The “Lord hath reserved their blessings.” Those blessings have been transferred to “the Gentiles who shall possess the land.”

That divine process is alluded to in Luke 19:26: “For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”

Mormon 5:20–24

20 But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord remember the covenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.

21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

22 And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?

23 Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?

24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

Comments

After telling the Gentiles that they inherit the promise of the land, he reminds them that they inherit both the positive and negative aspects of the curse. They too will be blessed if they follow God but cursed if they do not. Therefore, Mormon calls the Gentiles to repentance in verse 22.

Verse 23 echoes Isaiah 34:4. Verse 24 refers to Micah 5:8, but in the form quoted in 3 Nephi 20:16. The point of those two verses is to note that the Gentiles must also repent, lest they invoke the negative promise, and they too would be destroyed; “lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among [them] as a lion.” Ironically, Mormon prophecies that God’s instrument of their possible destruction would be the remnant of the seed of Jacob, a phrase referring to the seed of Lehi₁. In other words, the Lamanites would be that instrument.

This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.