· Late Nephite prophet
· Historian
· General of armies from youth until old age. He was obviously able to influence people.
· Abridger of the Nephite records
· Descendant of Nephi
· Named after his father, Mormon and land of Mormon where Alma established the Church
· “Mormon is the ancient prophet to whom modern readers are of The Book of Mormon are perhaps most indebted.”
· Mormon’s life spanned the final tragic era in The Book of Mormon.
· Mormon grieved deeply as he watched his people ripen fully in iniquity.
· It was so bad that the Lord took his beloved disciples and spiritual gifts were withdrawn. What does this tell us about prerequisites to spiritual gifts?
· Satan’s influence was manifest in every conceivable evil, including practices of idolatry, witchcraft, sorcery, whoredoms, murder, thievery, and cannibalism.
· All his days were wickedness and war
· In the end, he witnessed the total Nephite annihilation.
· “It is nothing short of a miracle that a child born and reared in a society glutted with iniquity could remain spiritual, loving and tenderhearted.”
· “The sweetness in Mormon’s nature is evident in his anguish over the wickedness and suffering of his people, in his decision at the end to serve them again on the battlefield, and in his prayers for them even after they were beyond hope. It is also evident in his tender, fatherly words to his son Moroni”
· When Mormon was only 10, Ammaron, the keeper of the sacred Nephite records, informed Mormon he would someday have charge over them.
· Age 15 visited of the Lord perhaps similar to how Joseph Smith would be many centuries later.
· Forbidden to preach to hard hearted Nephites
· At age 16 was appointed to lead the Nephite armies. He modestly attributed this appointment to his imposing physical stature. His first recorded encounter in the field of battle proved disheartening as his frightened troops “would not fight”. They fled from city to city until some four years later they beat the Lamanites giving Mormon his first victory.
· When Mormon was in his mid-30s (AD 346) the Nephites rallied under his inspired leadership and met some success. A treaty was signed and ten years of relative peace ensured. The Lord, in an attempt to bless the Nephites, instructed Mormon to urge them to repent and promised that if they did, they would be spared.
· Nephite record-keeper
· A war general in battle from the age of 16-old age
· An apostle and prophet
· A loving and devoted father
· Mormon lived at the close of Nephite history (AD 310–385)
· He also wrote the Words of Mormon, abridged the first seven chapters of his own record, the book of Mormon in the Book of Mormon, and occasionally interpolated comments into the text he was abridging. He include interpretive commentary throughout the compilation.
· He followed the Spirit.
· An examination of the editorial devices used by Mormon shows his sincere concern for credibility and editorial honesty, and a sense of humility while undertaking the prophetic task of preparing another witness of Jesus Christ.
· He was an unpretentious man and, in many cases, too modest and concise (scarcely twelve printed pages of text deal directly with his own life).
· He tells us he was a pure descendant of Lehi through Nephi (see 3 Nephi 5:20; Mormon 1:5).
· He was named after his father, who was named after the land of Mormon (Mormon 1:5; 3 Nephi 5:12). Joseph Smith indicated that Mormon means “more good.
· Mormon was “a sober child” and one “quick to observe”.
· As a young boy only ten years of age, Mormon received a charge from Ammaron that some 14 years later he should “go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim” and there obtain the ancient and faithfully recorded history of his people (v. 3).
· He loyally fulfilled Ammaron’s charge.
· Under the guidance of his father, young Mormon moved to the land of Zarahemla when he was 11 years of age and continued to prepare for his prophetic role.
· He lived in difficult times. Wickedness continued unchecked upon the whole of the land until even the disciples of Jesus stopped communing with the Nephites. This loss included the curtailment of the gifts of the Spirit among the people. Mormon added, “There were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief” (Mormon 1:13–14).
· In spite of the wicked state of affairs among the Nephites, Mormon was able to maintain his beliefs and stand on holy ground—apart from those depraved souls.
· As a teenager, he was “visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (Mormon 1:15).
· Still in his teens, he tried valiantly to preach the gospel of repentance to the Nephites in an effort to turn them from wickedness: “And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but I was forbidden; for behold they had willfully rebelled against their God” (v. 16).
· Like his ancestor Nephi, he was “large in stature” (Mormon 2:1).
· Destruction became so enormous and extensive that the bodies of the dead were “heaped up as dung upon the face of the land”. In the midst of this kind of public and personal destruction, Mormon made his way to the hill Shim and obtained the plates of Nephi as he fulfilled Ammaron’s commandment.
· As the Nephite general, Mormon tried to maintain what military defense he could. Even as he recorded the inevitable demise of his people, he urged the Nephites to “stand boldly” and defend “their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes” (Mormon 2:23). Although there was an occasional temporary gain, Mormon faced the most hopeless of all military tasks—fighting when “the strength of the Lord was not with us.” He recorded in his history, “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”
· In moments of despair and frustration, Mormon’s compassion and charity manifested themselves. He could not abandon his own people. Notwithstanding their ugly wickedness, he once more stood as their general in defense of their very lives, and this in spite of the fact that he knew their ultimate destiny was total annihilation (Mormon 5:1–2).
· Mormon’s indomitable spirit prevailed. He wrote in a letter to Moroni, “And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently . . . for we have a labor to perform” (Moroni 9:6).
· Aware of what the eventual outcome of the conflict would be, Mormon requested that the Lamanite leaders let him gather his people and armies in the land of Cumorah to wage one “last struggle” (6:2–6). Here at Cumorah Mormon hid the plates of the Nephites, except the brief, abridged record that he gave to his son, Moroni, and then went to battle. Mormon watched as his army of over 230,000 people was reduced to fewer than 25.
· As Mormon arrived at the age of spiritual, physical, and emotional maturity, he embarked upon his sacred errand for his people
· He was a disciple of Jesus, that is, as an apostle of Jesus:And behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life. (3 Nephi 5:10–13; emphasis added)
· He was an apostle, a special witness of Jesus Christ (D&C 107:23). “And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (Mormon 1:15). It is obvious that Mormon stands as one who knew the Lord and testified of his reality.
· Unlike the New Testament disciples, most of Mormon’s efforts are directed to the modern reader. Actually, Mormon had two audiences in mind when he wrote. While it is certain that all scripture was applicable to his current setting, Mormon focused on our day. For certain, he was concerned with those among whom he lived, patiently pleading with them to repent and return to God. Yet, he also spoke to unborn generations.
· Mormon, as the Lord’s apostle and prophet, called his people to repentance, but it was his son who preserved some of his apostolic teachings. In the end a team effort that allowed the modern reader to have the sacred record at all. The pattern set by Lehi and Nephi at the beginning of the record is followed and repeated at the end of the book by a righteous son following his father. Mormon and Moroni’s love, respect and tenderness towards each other is made all the more poignant by the fact that they lived in such a brutal and wicked society. The legacy of this father-and-son relationship is shown by a careful reading of the closing pages of the sacred record they were so instrumental in preserving and preparing to come forth in our day. Upon careful examination of Moroni’s introduction to his own writing found in Mormon 8, we discover a son longing for his father. Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father. And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed. And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. (Mormon 8:1–3; emphasis added). Mormon and Moroni’s combined efforts in preserving and preparing the record for us are no better evidenced than in the Jaredite record. In abridging the entire of Nephite history up through his own day, Mormon promises that an account of the earlier inhabitants would be “written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account” (Mosiah 28:19). Mormon’s death prevented him from fulfilling this promise, but his son faithfully filled in for him and abridged the book of Ether. Moroni seems to exhibit a deep sense of love and admiration for his father. The inclusion of two letters and a sermon by his father in his own record shows this respect and admiration. He is also fiercely loyal to the charge his father gave him concerning the record, as already noted. Mormon honors his son by addressing him, “my beloved son” (see Moroni 8:1, 9). In this letter, Mormon addresses Moroni six times as “my son” (see vv. 6, 24, 27–30). In a second letter, Mormon again addresses Moroni as “my beloved son” three times (Moroni 9:1, 6, 11). In this last letter, he encourages his son to “be faithful in Christ, and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever” (Moroni 9:25). Mormon’s teachings and example inspired his son to be faithful to the end. Each was entrusted with sacred plates. Each was called by the Lord to be the spiritual and temporal leader of their people. Each wrote important doctrinal and historical pieces themselves and each bore witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
· As an apostle of the Lord, Mormon is capable of putting the Savior’s ministry among the Nephites in proper perspective. He has an intimacy with the resurrected Lord that few have experienced. He stands as a witness of Jesus and therefore is an example of discipleship in the truest sense.
· The brilliance and precision of his mind led him to utilize an extensive system of internal source references. Thus the Book of Mormon stands as a witness to Mormon’s prophetic call to complete the record for us today. It stands on its own—an ancient record for a modern world, a record that can bring us closer to God than any other book. Through its pages we meet the man Mormon, whom the Lord chose to create the “marvelous work and wonder.” By reading it, we can learn the message he preserved for us today.
