Mother Stories from the Book of Mormon

I am going to tell you this evening about a great prophet who lived on this continent in the days of the Nephites. His name was Samuel. He was a Lamanite, but, because of his holy life, he was beloved of God, and was chosen to be a prophet unto His people.

Through the blessings of the Lord and their own industry the Nephites in Zarahemla became exceedingly wealthy. Then, like many others, before and since, they allowed pride and other corrupt feelings to enter into their hearts and to drive out the love for God and His rightousness which had held place there for years.

As their good works had won for them the favor and blessings of God, so their wickedness was fast bringing upon them His condemnation and punishment. In order to save them from destruction, the Lord sent Samuel the Lamanite to plead with them to repent of their sins and to turn again into the way of righteousness from which they had wandered.

Day after day the voice of the prophet was heard among the Nephites crying repentance, and prophesying concerning great and wonderful things which would take place in the future. I am going to tell you about a remarkable prophecy which he uttered at that time, and which was fulfilled to the very letter.

Standing upon the top of a high wall, so that many of the people could see and hear him, Samuel prophesied of a wonderful event which he said would take place five years from that time. It would be the greatest event in history—the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

It was to take place in another country, near the city in which Lehi and his family lived before they set out for the promised land. The prophet told them of certain signs which would be given at the time of the Savior's birth. When they saw the signs they might know that the Son of God had come into the world to redeem mankind from sin and death.

These were some of the signs: the night before the Lord would be born there would be no darkness at all; the night would be just as bright and clear as the day had been; a new star, one that had never been seen before, would make its appearance in the heavens. The prophet said that when these signs would be given many of the people would be so astonished and overcome that they would fall to the earth.

Then Samuel the Lamanite prophesied concerning the Savior's life—that He would be despised and rejected of men—and also concerning His death and resurrection. He told the people that at the time the Savior would be put to death, neither the sun, moon, nor stars would give any light, so that on this continent there would be continuous darkness for three days and nights. There would also be terrible tempests, and earthquakes which would shake the earth, cause the mountains to fall, and many cities to be destroyed.

Then the warning voice of the prophet was heard again, calling upon the Nephites to repent of their sins, that they might escape the judgments of God.

You will be glad to hear that many of the people who heard Samuel believed his words. They repented sincerely of their wickedness and were baptized for the remission of their sins. Others, however, became angry, and tried to take the prophet's life by throwing stones and shooting arrows at him as he stood upon the wall.

Strange to tell, the servant of the Lord was not hit once, although rocks and arrows flew round him in great numbers. On seeing how Samuel was protected by the power of God, many more of the Nephites were converted, and, through repentance and baptism, were restored to the Church of Christ.

Then the cry went up from the ungodly ones, "Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him, we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him."

They began to climb the wall, but before they had reached the top, Samuel had jumped down on the other side and made his escape. He was never seen again by the Nephites.

Five years passed by. The time had now come for the fulfillment of the first part of Samuel the Lamanite's prophecy—the time of the Savior's birth. Then the wicked and unbelieving among the Nephites arose and said that the time was past, that the signs had not appeared, that Samuel was a false prophet, and that all who believed on him should be put to death. They decided, however, before carrying out their threat, to name a certain day on which the signs should appear. If that day should pass without the signs being given, then the believers among the Nephites might prepare for the fate which had been decreed against them.

Among the faithful was a man named Nephi. He believed every word that Samuel the Lamanite had spoken. The day before the one set apart by the unbelievers Nephi went out and prayed for hours unto the Lord in behalf of his people. Then the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, "Be of good cheer, for behold the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world."

His heart filled with joy and gladness, Nephi returned and told the good news to his brethren and sisters, and they rejoiced and praised the Lord.

To the great astonishment of all the unbelievers, that night the signs were given—there was no darkness, but the night was just as bright as the midday before. The new star appeared, and then, just as the prophet had predicted, many of the wicked fell to the earth, being overcome with fear because of their iniquities. The spirit of repentance took possession of the great majority of the unbelievers; they were converted, baptized, and made members of the Church.

About thirty-four years later some terrible things took place in this land. For three days and nights the whole country was enveloped in darkness. So great was the darkness that it was impossible for the people to strike a light or kindle a fire. Then a frightful storm burst forth, the like of which had never been seen in all the land. The thunders of heaven shook the earth and lightning set fire to many cities, among them the great city of Zarahemla. Mountains fell, cities were buried, and others sank in the depths of the sea.

All that terrible destruction took place at the time the Savior was put to death on the cross outside of Jerusalem. It had come upon the people just as Samuel the Lamanite had predicted, as a punishment for their sins.

Then followed a time of weeping and mourning among those whose lives had been spared. In anguish of soul they cried, "O, that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed the prophets and cast them out. Then none of these things would have come upon us."

In the midst of their heart-rending lamentations a voice was heard from heaven. It was the voice of Jesus. "Behold," said He, "I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are." The Savior told them that He had finished the mission which His Father had given Him. He called upon them to repent and to be baptized, promising them, if they would do so, a remission of their sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The words of the blessed Redeemer brought peace and consolation to their souls. They willingly yielded obedience to His Divine commands, and the blessings of the Lord were bestowed upon them in rich abundance.

The Lamanites throughout the land who had not been converted preserved in their hearts a deadly hatred towards the Nephites. Time after time the Lamanites made war upon the Nephites, and tens of thousands of lives were sacrificed on both sides.

If I were to begin to tell you the terrible results of their wars, before I had proceeded far you would put your fingers in your ears and cry, "Stop! stop! stop!"

I am going to tell you of two of their battles. A remarkable thing happened in connection with one of them which, when you have heard it, will show you some of the wonderful things which can be accomplished through faith.

The Lamanites who were converted through the preaching of the sons of Mosiah were afterwards known as the people of Ammon. They left their own lands and went to reside in a place called Jershon, not far from Zarahemla. They entered into a covenant with the Lord that they would never take up arms against their Lamanite brethren.

Now, there were a great many of the Nephites who had broken the commandments of God. Because of that, they had lost their membership in the Church, and were not numbered among the people of the Lord. That was a terrible thing. But their condition became much worse when they turned traitors, joined themselves to the Lamanites, and began to fight against their Nephite brethren.

The chief captain over the armies of the Nephites at that time was a young man named Moroni. He Avas a God-fearing man, and a prophet. He was also a great general. In time of peace he prepared for war. He provided his soldiers with thick clothing, with breast-plates, head-plates and arm-plates, as protection against the deadly weapons of the Lamanites.

The Lamanite armies had at their head a man named Zarahemna. He was a great soldier, too. But he had not thought of protecting his men as Moroni had protected his. The Lamanite soldiers were naked, except for a girdle of skin, which they wore about their loins.

Moroni heard that the Lamanites were coming to make war upon his people. He, therefore, got his armies ready to meet them. Feeling confident of an easy victory, the Lamanites marched towards the land of Jershon. As they drew near it they saw Moroni's army prepared to oppose them. Seeing how well the Nephite soldiers were protected, the Lamanites changed their minds, and instead of attacking Jershon they turned and proceeded towards the land of Manti.

Moroni did not know where the Lamanites were going, so he sent out spies to watch them. He also sent a messenger to Alma to request the prophet to ask the Lord to reveal to him the movements of the Lamanites. The Lord told Alma they were marching towards the land of Manti.

On hearing that, Moroni left part of his army in Jershon, to protect that place, and with the rest he hastened to Manti, arriving there some time ahead of the Lamanites. He called to his assistance all the men in Manti who could bear arms, and when the Lamanites again appeared Moroni was ready to give them battle.

The war commenced. Both sides fought with all the courage and fierceness they could command. Several times the Lamanites were driven back, and each time they returned to the conflict. The slaughter which took place is terrible to read about. Before the war was half over, thousands of lives had been sacrificed.

At one time the Nephites showed signs of weakening. Then the voice of General Moroni rang out, reminding his men of that for which they were fighting—their religion, their liberty, their wives and children, their houses and lands. His words filled their hearts with renewed courage, and with a cry to the Lord to help them, the Nephites rushed upon the Lamanites and slew them in great numbers. Seeing that his enemies were beaten, Moroni commanded his men to stop slaying them.

Addressing Zerahemna, Moroni said, "You see now that you are in our power. It would be easy for us to slay you, but we do not desire to shed your blood. I, therefore, call upon you and your followers to deliver unto us your weapons of war, and to enter into a covenant that you will never again take up arms against us. If you refuse to do this, I will command my men to attack you again and utterly destroy you."

When Moroni had finished speaking, Zerahemna stepped forward and handed him his sword, cimeter and bow. "We are willing," he said, "to surrender to your our weapons, but we will not enter into a covenant never to go to war with you again, because we know we would not keep our promise."

On hearing that, Moroni handed Zerahemna back his weapons and the deadly conflict was resumed. The Lord gave great strength to the Nephites so that the Lamanites fell before them in large numbers. At last Zerahemna began to plead for mercy, so Moroni gave orders for the battle to cease. The conquered Lamanites laid down their arms at the feet of the Nephites, and after entering into the covenant proposed by Moroni, they were permitted to return to their own lands.

Peace reigned throughout the land for a number of years. Then the Lamanites broke the covenant they had made with the Nephites and a series of terrible wars followed.

Several times the people of Ammon (the Lamanites whom Ammon and his brethren had converted) were tempted to break their covenant with the Lord and to take up arms in defense of the Nephites. They refrained, however, from doing so.

But among the people of Ammon there were two thousand young men who were little boys when their fathers made covenant with the Lord that they would never fight against their Lamanite brethren. These young men had not made such a promise, so they came forward and offered their services to the Nephites—to help them preserve their religion, their liberty, their houses and lands.

Their kind offer was willingly accepted. They chose as their leader a man named Helaman. No father was ever more proud of his sons than was Helaman of his two thousand young soldiers. And well he might be, for no better army ever entered a field of battle. Besides their weapons of war, they were armed with a far greater thing—a perfect faith in God. That faith had been planted in their hearts through the teachings of their godly mothers. They had been taught from their childhood to have implicit faith in the Lord, and to tryst Him in every hour of trial.

One day these two thousand young soldiers found themselves engaged in battle with a large army of the Lamanites. The lighting was terrible on both sides. Helaman and his little army fought like dragons. Many of the Lamanites were slain, and finally the remainder threw down their arms and offered themselves as prisoners of war.

The battle ended, Helaman proceeded to call the roll of his army, and to his great astonishment every one of his two thousand young warriors answered "Present."

"Not one of them was killed!"

No, not a single one. Their faith had saved them.

One day a large number of Nephites were assembled at the temple in the land Bountiful. It was soon after the terrible destruction I told you about in a former story, and the people were talking about the great changes which had taken place.

Suddenly the whole multitude was startled by a strange voice speaking to them out of heaven. It was neither a loud nor a harsh voice, but it was so powerful that it thrilled the hearts of all who heard it. The voice was heard twice, but no one understood the words which were spoken.

As the people stood looking up towards heaven, the voice spoke to them again, and that time they understood the heavenly message. It was the voice of God. "Behold," said He, "my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name; hear ye him."

At that moment the heavens were opened and a glorious personage, clothed in a robe of spotless white, descended and stood in the midst of the people. Every eye was turned upon Him. He stretched forth His hand and there was perfect silence. Then He addressed the multitude, saying, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world."

They listened with almost breathless interest while He told them of the mission which He had performed and of the cruel death which He had suffered upon the cross. He showed them the wounds which the nails had made in His hands and feet and which the sword had made in His side. He invited them to come forward one by one and feel the prints of the nails and the mark of the sword.

They all did as He desired. Then with united voice they exclaimed, "Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God." And they fell down at the feet of Jesus and worshiped Him.

The Savior bade Nephi to come to Him. The faithful disciple went forward, and kneeling upon the ground, kissed the feet of his beloved Redeemer. The Lord gave Nephi authority to baptize, as He also did to a number of others whom He chose from among the assembly. He gave them instructions concerning the manner in which they were to baptize people, and told them the words they should use when performing the ordinance.

When repentant believers came to be baptized they were to be taken down into the water. Then, calling them by name, the person appointed to perform the ordinance should say, "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then," said Jesus, "ye shall immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water."

For a long time the Savior stood up in the midst of the Nephites teaching them the glorious principles of the everlasting Gospel. Then He told them to go to their homes, but to meet again on the morrow, when He would pay them another visit and give them further instructions.

But they had no desire to go away. They stood looking pleadingly at the Lord, wishing in their hearts that He would tarry with them a little longer. Tears were coursing down their cheeks, and on seeing His people weeping, the Savior was filled with compassion for them.

He asked them if there were any sick among them, and on being told there were many. He requested that they be brought to Him. At His Divine command the blind received their sight, the lame were made to walk, and the sick were restored to perfect health. So grateful were those who were healed that they knelt down before the Lord, kissed His feet and bathed them with their tears.

Jesus then told the Nephites to bring their little children to Him. They did so. He requested all present to kneel with Him upon the ground. Then the voice of the Lord was heard in prayer, and so marvelous were the words which He uttered that no one was permitted to make a record of them. After prayer, the Savior blessed each of the little ones, when immediately the heavens were opened and angels came down and ministered unto them.

Christ then instituted the sacrament among the Nephites, and, after giving them much good counsel, He dismissed them. That was the most glorious day in the history of the Nephites. When we read of the wonderful things which took place on that occasion the wish arises in our hearts that we had been there, to behold the face of our resurrected Lord, and to hear the glorious truths which fell from His libs.

After ministering to the Nephites, Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. Then the people went to their homes. The news of the Savior's visit, and of the wonderful things which He had done, was carried to all the Nephites. There were many of them who did not go to bed that night. They had to get ready for the next day, for the Lord had promised the Nephites that He would visit them again on the morrow.

The day following, when all the people had assembled together, there were so many that they had to be divided into twelve bodies. Jesus had chosen twelve disciples to preside over the Nephites and to teach them the Gospel. These ministers of the Lord knelt down with the people upon the ground and prayed with all their hearts to God for the gift of His Holy Spirit. Their prayers were answered. They not only received the Holy Spirit, but angels came down from heaven and ministered unto them.

Then, to the great joy of all the people, Jesus descended and stood in their midst. He requested them to kneel down upon the ground, and when they had done so the Lord and His disciples prayed for them. When their prayers were ended the people arose. Jesus brought forth bread and wine and they all partook of the sacrament. The Savior remained with them a long time, teaching them many glorious principles—things which you, my children, will learn as you grow in years.

One day the twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen met together to fast and pray. While thus engaged in worshiping God, the Lord appeared in their midst. He asked them what they would like Him to do for them after He had returned to His Father.

Nine of them said the desire of their hearts was that, after having fulfilled their mission on earth, they might be permitted to go to the Lord in His kingdom. Jesus was pleased with their request, and He told the nine that when they were seventy-two years old He would take them to heaven, to live in peace and happiness forever.

The Lord then turned to the three disciples who had not spoken. He asked them what they desired Him to do for them. They did not answer Him, for they were afraid to tell Him the desire that was in their hearts.

But Jesus knew their thoughts. He told them they desired to have power over death, that they might live till He would come in His glory, and spend their days in the service of God. The Lord blessed them, and promised them that they should never taste of death, neither would they have any more pain or sorrow.

Jesus touched the three Nephites with His finger, and then left them. Immediately the heavens were opened, and the three disciples were caught up into heaven, where they saw and heard many wonderful things. Later they appeared again on earth and began to teach the people the things which the Savior had commanded them.

These three men were the greatest of all the Nephites. They were filled with the Spirit and power of God, and death had no power over them. One time they were cast into prison. They commanded the prison to fall, and, to the astonishment of all the people, the prison fell, but the three Nephites walked forth unharmed.

On another occasion they were cast into a furnace, but the fire had no effect upon them; they came out unhurt. Then they were thrown into a den of wild beasts. Their persecutors expected to see them devoured immediately, but, to their great surprise, the beasts became as gentle as lambs and the three disciples played with them.

I suppose you would like to know what became of the three Nephites. I believe they are still on the earth. They are to minister among all nations, without being known, and shall perform great and mighty works before the Lord shall come.

I am going to tell you this evening of some of the great blessings which came to the Nephites, after the visit of the Savior to them. The twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen established the true Church in all parts of the land. It was called the Church of Christ. The Lord told His disciples that that was to be the name of the Church.

In order to become a member of the Church, a person had to repent of his sins. He had to confess to the Lord that he had broken His commandments, that he felt sorry for having done so, and that in future he would live a good life.

Then he would be ready for baptism. A man, who had authority to baptize, would take him down into a pond or river. He would call the person by name, and repeat the words which the Lord had told His servants to use: "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then he would immerse him in the water and bring him up again out of the water.

By obedience to these commandments of the Lord, the person was cleansed from all his sins, and became pure and holy in the sight of God. Then the elders of the Church would place their hands upon his head and confirm him a member of the Church, and say, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

The Lord was highly pleased with His people. They all loved each other, and took delight in helping one another. The elders of the Church had great power. They were able, through the help of the Lord, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, and even raise the dead.

The Lamanites were converted also, and became members of the Church of Christ. All the ill-feeling which they had towards the Nephites was taken out of their hearts and the love of God took its place. Instead of going to war with the Nephites, they went to Church with them, and united in praising God for the great blessings which He had given them.

Those were the happiest days the Nephites and Lamanites had ever known. All the people were just like the members of one family. There were no rich nor poor among them, but all were equal. I will tell you how they came to be in that condition.

When the Church was established, all the members who had money brought it to the authorities and had it put into a common fund. All that was made after that was put into the same fund, and each family received from time to time the amount needed for its support. So, you see, that made the people equal in temporal things as well as in spiritual things.

Through keeping the commandments of God, the Nephites became very strong and very beautiful. They married and raised families. They scattered all over the land and built up many fine cities. The farms yielded abundance of food for man and beast and the orchards were laden with fruit in the season thereof.

Every man dealt honestly with his neighbor. There was neither lying, nor stealing, nor murdering, nor any kind of wickedness known among the people. They loved the Lord and kept His commandments, and the Lord loved them and poured down His blessings upon them without measure. In that blessed state the Nephites lived for over one hundred and eighty years.

Soon after that time a terrible change took place, which I will tell you about in my next—my last—story.

For almost two hundred years after the Savior's appearance among them, the Nephites lived in a state of perfect peace and happiness. It seemed as if heaven and earth had been joined together. From time to time angels came down and ministered unto the people, bringing them glad tidings from the Lord.

Then certain of the Nephites began to do things which were displeasing in the sight of God. They did not attend to their prayers as they had done, neither did they go to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day to worship Him. They made mock of sacred things and persecuted those who remained true to the faith.

The Lord took His Holy Spirit out of the hearts of those wicked people. He also took the three Nephites away from them. He would not suffer His servants to preach to them, for they had become so bad that they could not be brought to repentance.

Then the Lamanites began to make war upon the Nephites. There was a young man among the Nephites whose name was Mormon. He had led an upright, godly life, and possessed great faith and courage. He was chosen to lead the Nephite army.

Mormon armed his men and got them in readiness to meet the Lamanites. The day of battle at last arrived. An army of fifty thousand Lamanites came down upon the Nephites. In Mormon's army there were only thirty thousand men. Before the battle commenced Mormon addressed his soldiers. "Men," said he, "be of good courage, the victory will be ours. Remember, it is for your wives and your children, your homes and your lands that you go out to fight this day."

On hearing those inspiring words the heart of every soldier in the Nephite ranks was filled with renewed courage. With swords unsheathed they marched forth boldly to meet the foe. The battle commenced. How long it raged I know not, but the Lamanites were finally beaten and driven back with considerable loss. The Nephites regained possession of their own lands, and lived in peace for a number of years.

Their victories over the Lamanites, instead of teaching the Nephites humility, caused them to become proud and boastful. They did not give any glory to God for the success which had come to them. They said it was by their own strength they had defeated their enemies, and declared they would fight the Lamanites till they had utterly destroyed them.

Mormon went among his people time after time and pleaded with them to turn from their evil ways. He knew that if they did not do so the judgments of God would come upon them. They paid no attention to his pleadings, so he told them they could get another man to take charge of their armies, as he would no longer act as their general.

The Lord saw that the Nephites did not appreciate the blessings which He had bestowed upon them, and that they had no desire to serve Him. He, therefore, turned away from them and left them to fight their own battles.

Again the Lamanites armed themselves and proclaimed war against the Nephites. Feeling confident of victory, the Nephites entered the field of battle. But the Lord was not on their side, so they met with a terrible defeat.

Other battles were fought, in which tens of thousands of Nephites were slain. I cannot describe the sorrow of Mormon when he saw the awful destruction which had been wrought among his people. He determined to make another effort to save them. He again took charge of their armies and went forth to meet the Lamanites. That was the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites. It was fought in the vicinity of the hill Cumorah, and ended in the entire destruction of the Nephites, save one.

That man was named Moroni. He was the son of Mormon, and, like his father, was a lover of righteousness. Moroni hid himself from the Lamanites. He finished the history of his people, and then he, at the command of the Lord, deposited it in the hill Cumorah.

There it lay for hundreds and hundreds of years. At last the time came for it to be brought forth. Then the Lord sent His servant Moroni to a young man named Joseph Smith, to tell him of the precious history which had been kept from the world so long.

Four years later, Joseph was given the sacred record. By the power of God he translated it into the English language. That record is the Book of Mormon, from which I have taken these stories. May our Heavenly Father sanctify them to your good, my children, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.