These books comprise the most tragic portion of the Book of Mormon. In them we read of the demise and destruction of two major civilizations: the Jaredites in Ether and the Nephites in Mormon. The book "Mormon" begins about 322 years after Christ's birth and re-introduces us to the editor of the entire book which bears his name, a prophet-historian named Mormon. It was he who, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, selected, edited, and commented on the writings which would eventually comprise most of the Book of Mormon (Mormon's son Moroni would add to the writings after his death).
During Mormon's life the people were quickly descending into self-destruction because "wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land." (Mormon 1:13) Wars raged constantly, and late in his life Mormon knew that his people (the Nephites) would soon be completely destroyed. However, he also knew that the record he was working on would be preserved and brought to light at some point in the future. In chapters 3, 5, and especially 7 Mormon tells the purposes of the Book of Mormon: to persuade all "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God," (5:14) to call us to repentance, (7:3, 5, 8) to tell the descendants of the Lamanites about their ancestors, (7:1, 5) to persuade us to believe in the Bible, which Mormon knew would come forth, (7:8-10) and to impress upon us the fact that we will all stand before Christ one day to be judged of our works. (3:22) (see also the Title Page to the Book of Mormon)
Mormon's people were eventually defeated in a colossal battle in 384 A.D. Hundreds of thousands of his people were killed, and only Mormon, Moroni, and twenty-three other people survived. (6:15) Mormon mourned for the loss of his people, writing "O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! . . . O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy." (6:17, 22)
In time, Mormon was also killed by the Lamanites, but before he died he entrusted the record to his son Moroni. All alone for at least 21 years, Moroni wandered where he could to avoid being killed. His writing comes to several "finales," as if he was expecting to die at any time, but his enemies never catch him, so he continued to write. (see Mormon 9:33-37, Ether 5, Ether 12: 38-41, Moroni 1:1, Moroni 10) As he wandered he wrote a brief history of the "Jaredites," a group of people which came from Babel when the tower of Babel was being built. (Ether 1, see also Genesis 11) Moroni wrote the history based on a collection of records that had been found many centuries earlier. These records tell of a man whom we know by the title "the brother of Jared." He was a righteous prophet and received many revelations from God, including a personal visitation of Jesus Christ. (Ether 3) God guided these people from the Middle East to the Americas, and there they lived for many generations. Ultimately, however, the people became prideful and greedy and killed one another in a massive war. In addition to 3, notable chapters include 2, 4, 8, and 12.
Moroni finished this history and then included a few chapters on priesthood ordinances (that is, special religious acts done by persons who hold the authority to act in God's name) and church governance. (Moroni 2-6) He also wrote down some letters which he had received from his father earlier in life. (Moroni 7-9) Lastly, he included a promise about how someone could know if the record he was keeping, the Book of Mormon, was a true book. He wrote:
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:3-5)
I encourage the reader to follow Moroni's invitation. I have read the Book of Mormon, pondered it in my heart, and asked God if it was true. God answered my prayers by the Holy Ghost, giving me a calm, peaceful assurance that the Book of Mormon is a book of scripture, written by prophets of God.
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