Written by E

And It Came to Pass: It All Went to Hell Again

Day 10: Book of Mormon, Fourth Nephi & Mormon

Let’s begin with a meditation on the image below from the Latter-day Saint website. It describes a scene in 4 Nephi where the people become wicked again and split away from the Church. Notice who is wicked? Notice who they are plotting against? Do you see what I’m talking about here? The official images on the LDS website seem incapable of racial awareness. The Book of Mormon says the wicked are dark skinned, therefore, they are dark skinned! No nuance, no symbolism, no metaphor. It’s literal. I don’t even have to get on a soapbox about this. It’s right there.

Anyway, so in Fourth Nephi we find the people are pretty awesome. They’ve all converted and are happy, but soon enough, because people are people, they muck it all up. Satan has control and the people are readying for battle. This leads to the final climax of of the Book of Mormon in the, well, book of Mormon. Please open your Books of Mormon to the book of Mormon. Say it five times fast.

The briefly peaceful tribes of Nephites and Lamanties once again go to war. Thousands upon thousands of people are killed, even Mormon himself. Moroni, son of Mormon, is the only one to survive amongst the Nephites. He’s all that remains. The wicked Lamanites are victorious.

Moroni finishes the record of his people. He goes on a little self-conscious rant about not writing in Hebrew but instead Reformed Egyptian (which isn’t a real language). And then it ends. It feels like we’ve reached the end. Amen. The Book of Mormon is done. But wait…there’s more…two more books remain…

Things I Noticed in the Text

  1. 4 Nephi 1:2-3, Come on People Now. Everyone is happy. Universal brotherhood is a reality. All of the Nephites and Lamanites are converted to Christianity. It’s idyllic and perfect.
  2. 4 Nephi 1:44, Well That Was Quick. But then it all falls apart. A splinter group forms and sure enough, everyone is wicked again.
  3. Mormon 1:13-15, Convert the Jews! I struggle with this part. Mormon wants everyone, including the Jews, to become Christian. To repent and be baptized. I wonder how Jews feel about that?
  4. Mormon 6:8-11, Another Battle. A battle ensues because the people have become so wicked. Mormon is wounded and is dying, but he made sure he sent some letters to his son Moroni first.
  5. Mormon 8:2-3, Last of the Nephites. Moroni is the last of the Nephites and is finishing up writing the histories of his people. It’s kinda sad.

This post is part of a larger series where I read the entirety of Latter-day Saint scripture in 15 days. Take a look at the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.