Mormon 2

#Mormon Chapter 2

1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.

2 Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away.

verse 2 “three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away” Time is still being reckoned by the birth of the Savior.

It is truly remarkable that at the age of fifteen, Mormon possessed all the prowess—physical, intellectual, and spiritual—to so inspire the confidence of his people.

3 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and they began to retreat towards the north countries.

4 And it came to pass that we did come to the city of Angola, and we did take possession of the city, and make preparations to defend ourselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did fortify the city with our might; but notwithstanding all our fortifications the Lamanites did come upon us and did drive us out of the city.

#5 And they did also drive us forth out of the land of David.

6 And we marched forth and came to the land of Joshua, which was in the borders west by the seashore.

verses 3-6 We do not know the locations of Angola, the land of David, and the land of Joshua, though it seems likely they were in the land Desolation north of the narrow neck of land.

7 And it came to pass that we did gather in our people as fast as it were possible, that we might get them together in one body.

8 But behold, the land was filled with robbers and with Lamanites; and notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people, they did not repent of their evil doings; therefore there was blood and carnage spread throughout all the face of the land, both on the part of the Nephites and also on the part of the Lamanites; and it was one complete revolution throughout all the face of the land.

verse 8 “it was one complete revolution throughout all the face of the land” The entire land was embroiled in war and carnage.

9 And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was Aaron; and he came against us with an army of forty and four thousand. And behold, I withstood him with forty and two thousand. And it came to pass that I beat him with my army that he fled before me. And behold, all this was done, and three hundred and thirty years had passed away.

verse 8 “and his name was Aaron” This victory over the forces of Aaron was apparently Mormon’s first victory as a young Nephite commander. Some years later the two sides will enter into a treaty ceding the land northward to the Nephites and the land southward to the Lamanites (Mormon 2:28-29). After ten years of peace, this same Aaron will send an epistle to Mormon, warning of Lamanite preparations for battle (Mormon 3:4). In a letter to his son Moroni, Mormon will speak of the “awful brutality” of Aaron’s army (Moroni 9:17).

10 And it came to pass that the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity, and began to cry even as had been prophesied by Samuel the prophet; for behold no man could keep that which was his own, for the thieves, and the robbers, and the murderers, and the magic art, and the witchcraft which was in the land.

11 Thus there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more especially among the people of Nephi.

12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people.

13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.

verse 13 “it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin” This intriguing phenomenon is exemplified today by the widespread anguish over the disease AIDS in the gay communities of the world. There is no thought to repent of the sexual misconduct that lies at the base of the disease, as that would interfere with their individual “freedoms.” The apostle Paul wrote of a “godly sorrow [which] worketh repentance.” He also described “the sorrow of the world [which] worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). The sorrow of the damned comes from hopelessness and despair, which “cometh because of iniquity” (Moroni 10:22), and not from broken and contrite hearts. Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit and is a first step in repentance. For a discussion of the concept of godly sorrow, see the commentary for Mosiah 26:29.

14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives.

verse 14 Note here the awful and pitiful ambivalence of the wicked. There is no desire to continue to live, yet they are fearful of death because of the judgment which follows.

15 And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away.

verse 15 “the day of grace was passed with them” Mormon perceived that it was too late for the people of Nephi to repent. They were past feeling. The die was cast. They had sinned to the point where they had no desire or power to avail themselves of the grace of Christ. They would surely be destroyed spiritually. President Spencer W. Kimball wrote, “Sin is intensely habit-forming and sometimes moves men to the tragic point of no return” (Miracle of Forgiveness, 117).

16 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth year the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; and they were pursued until they came even to the land of Jashon, before it was possible to stop them in their retreat.

17 And now, the city of Jashon was near the land where Ammaron had deposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed. And behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the plates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron.

verse 17 Mormon had actually gone for the first time to retrieve the plates some ten years earlier at age 24 (AD 335). He is now, therefore, about 34 years old.

18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.

verse 18 Here it is clearly stated that on the large plates of Nephi, Mormon engraved a full and unabridged account of the history of his people. But on the plates of

Mormon (“these plates”) he recorded only an abridged telling—“I did forbear to make a full account.” In other words, he did not record a full account on the plates of Mormon.

“ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man” The meaning of this charming phrase is evident.

By the time Mormon began abridging onto the plates of Mormon scenes and events from his own time, his commentary had become terse and despairing. Exemplary of this is Mormon 2, which begins in the 326th year since Christ’s birth (Mormon 2:2) and passes quickly through the intervening years to the 350th (verse 28). The whole book of Mormon (chapters 1–6) covers a span of 64 years, including the entirety of Mormon’s adult life, in the space of approximately eleven pages in our modern printed Book of Mormon (averaging less than 0.25 pages per year).

The brevity of Mormon’s writings regarding his own time is surprising when compared to the depth of his coverage of the era of Alma, Helaman, and Captain Moroni in the book of Alma, which covers only 38 years in 161 pages (averaging 4.13 pages per year) (For details regarding the number of years covered per page of the Book of Mormon, see John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch, Charting the Book of Mormon, Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999, charts 22–24). After covering other eras, even times wrought by war and violence, such as the “War Chapters” of the book of Alma, in such exhaustive detail, why did Mormon write so briefly about his own time?

There are a few possible reasons:

Running out of time. First, he was probably running out of time. If Mormon began the abridgment of the Nephite records in about the year 350, when the period of peace began, then he probably didn’t get to his own record until the war with the Lamanites had recommenced in 360th year (Mormon 3:4) (See the commentary for Mormon 3:1). The destruction of the Nephite people would not be far away. Mormon was getting older—likely around 50 years old at this time—and was weary from war and preaching to his people in vain (Mormon 3:3). He may have been worried about how much longer he would live to finish his record. Based on Mormon 5:9, it is even possible that Mormon began his abridgment of the large plates of Nephi as late as AD 380, in which case, of course, he would really have been short on time.

Occupied with war. Furthermore, after the war recommenced in 360, Mormon was almost constantly involved in battles with the Lamanites until the end of his life. When he was active in the wars, he was often having to flee to new areas, build up fortifications and make other war preparations, and occupy himself with many other duties. He did have a hiatus of approximately 13 years when he refused to lead the Nephite armies due to their wickedness (Mormon 3:11; 5:1). While this no doubt afforded him some time to work on his record keeping duties, it is clear in his record that during those years he was weary and worn from all the warfare and wickedness that surrounded him.

Emotional difficulty. Most of all, though, it appears that Mormon was reluctant to write about the happenings of his own time because of the great pain and anguish he felt for the demise of the Nephite people. Mormon specifically stated that he was sparing readers some details as he abridges his own history on the plates because “a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes” and “my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days” (Mormon 2:18–19) (Despite this, Mormon had kept a more detailed record of all that happened to his people on the large plates of Nephi, as the prophet Ammaron had instructed (Mormon 1:4; 2:17; cf. 3 Nephi 5:8–20). The record of Mormon that has come down to us as part of the larger Book of Mormon was a later abridgment of the more detailed record he wrote upon the large plates of Nephi.).

Later, Mormon added that he was only writing “a small abridgment,” because he dared not “give a full account of the things which I have seen” because he was apparently commanded not to by the Lord, and “also that ye [the future Gentile readers] might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people” (Mormon 5:9). Mormon made it clear that he did “not desire to harrow up the souls of men” by describing in too much detail “the awful scene of blood and carnage” (Mormon 5:8) that played out as his people were swept from off the land. The “blood and carnage” was so rampant that he, perhaps even unconsciously, repeated that phrase multiple times in his record (Mormon 2:8; 4:11; 5:8; cf. 3 Nephi 2:11).

Not long before abridging his own record, Mormon had recently reached what must have been a spiritual pinnacle as he reviewed and abridged the account of the Savior’s ministry to the Nephite people (3 Nephi 11–26) and the two-century long era of peace that followed His visit (4 Nephi). To recount the subsequent fall of those happy and righteous people to the depths of depravity that he saw all around him in his day must have been utterly heartbreaking for Mormon. Mormon describes their abominations in greatest detail in his letter to his son, Moroni, recorded in Moroni 9. He recounts how the Nephites’ actions were worse than those of the Lamanites, including rape, murder, torture, and even the eating of human flesh (See Moroni 9:7–13).

When he saw so many of them fail to repent and turn to the Lord and then be killed by the thousands, he could not contain his sorrow. He noted that “my sorrow did return to me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them . . . for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land” (Mormon 2:15). He lamented that “my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days” (verse 19).

Mormon was a righteous individual in a wicked society, a “sober” man (Mormon 1:2, 15), sensitive to the Spirit and the ways of the Lord. He knew the blessings that could come from keeping the covenants of the Lord and walking in His ways. When he was only 15 years old he had been “visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (Mormon 1:15) (See the commentary for Mormon 1:2).

He spent most of his life honoring the commandment of the Lord to write the history of his people. Mormon was careful to follow the instructions given to him by God regarding what the message of his record should be. He put enough detail into his book that future generations would be well aware of the lessons to be learned from the destruction of his people, without submerging them in the profound anguish that he experienced at the loss of the “fair ones” whose history he recorded.

19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.

verse 19 “I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day” Mormon has been blessed with the gift of hope. Further, he is blessed to know he will be exalted. He has been blessed to have had his calling and election made sure, to receive the “more sure word of prophecy” (D&C 131:5). For a discussion of the concept of having one’s calling and election made sure, see the commentary for Helaman 10:4-7 and also Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, chapter 16, Calling and Election Made Sure.

20 And it came to pass that in this year the people of Nephi again were hunted and driven. And it came to pass that we were driven forth until we had come northward to the land which was called Shem.

21 And it came to pass that we did fortify the city of Shem, and we did gather in our people as much as it were possible, that perhaps we might save them from destruction.

22 And it came to pass in the three hundred and forty and sixth year they began to come upon us again.

23 And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge them with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.

24 And my words did arouse them somewhat to vigor, insomuch that they did not flee from before the Lamanites, but did stand with boldness against them.

25 And it came to pass that we did contend with an army of thirty thousand against an army of fifty thousand. And it came to pass that we did stand before them with such firmness that they did flee from before us.

26 And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again, and did beat them; nevertheless the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.

verse 26 “we had become weak like unto our brethren” The Nephites were without the Spirit of God because of their rampant iniquity. They had nothing left of the strength of the Lord given to the righteous by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. The converted Lamanite king Lamoni previously had said to Ammon, one of the sons of Mosiah, “I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things” (Alma 20:4).

27 And my heart did sorrow because of this the great calamity of my people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. But behold, we did go forth against the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, until we had again taken possession of the lands of our inheritance.

28 And the three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away. And in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, in which we did get the lands of our inheritance divided. 29 And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward.

verse 29 In the treaty the Nephites received all land north of the narrow neck of land, and the Lamanites receive all land south. Keep in mind that the “narrow passage” is not synonymous with the narrow neck of land. Rather the narrow passage is the same as the “narrow pass” mentioned in Alma 50:34. For the convenience of the reader, the explanation of that geographical feature is repeated here.

Just exactly what is this “narrow pass” referred to here and elsewhere in the Book of Mormon (Alma 52:9, Mormon 2:29, and Mormon 3:5)? It is apparent from these verses of scripture, that the pass is not the same as the narrow neck of land itself. Rather it is some kind of specific feature of and within the neck itself. It is clear that parties passed near the city of Bountiful to gain access to this pass from the eastern seashore area. Here a Nephite army led by Teancum intercepted Morianton’s fleeing group just as both groups arrived at a very specific point: “the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.” John L. Sorenson has provided a compelling solution to this puzzle. He suggests that the answer lies in a careful study of the specific geographic details of the isthmus of Tehuantepec (see the map, Book of Mormon Lands, a Proposed Setting, and the article Book of Mormon Geography). Dr. Sorenson observed: “An irregular sandstone and gravel formation appears as a ridge averaging a couple of miles wide and rising 150 to 200 feet above the surrounding country running west from the lower Coatzacoalcos River.” This formation provides the only reliable year-round route from the east coast area of the land Bountiful “northward” into the land Desolation or to what is now Veracruz. “A great deal of land on either side of this ridge is flooded periodically, as much as twelve feet in the rainy season. At times during that season this ridge pass would indeed lead ‘by the sea, on the west and on the east’ for the water in the flooded basins would be on both sides of the ridge and would have barred travel as effectively as the sea with which the flood waters were continuous. Even in the dry season, the lower terrain is choked with thorny brush, laced with lagoons, and rendered impractical as a customary route. This formation runs from near Minatitlan, the modern city on the Coatzacoalcos, west about twenty miles to the city of Acayucan (An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, 43).