4 Nephi: The Book Of Mormon

One of the most beautiful parts of the Book of Mormon is found in 4 Nephi, which tells the story of the peoples in America after the coming of the resurrected Christ. It truly reflects Elder Holland’s words: “After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before” (1). Throughout the land, the people were all so fully converted to the Lord that there were no poor among them and no contentions. They were a delightsome people who prospered in the land and worked many miracles. The pride cycle that so continually plagued the peoples of the Book of Mormon seemed to stall in this time of prosperity and peace, as the people lived in righteousness. But as always, at the end of 4 Nephi and after nearly
As Elder Spencer J. Condie of the Seventy wrote, “If ever there lived a person who resisted and withstood the evil influence of a depraved world to become a worthy servant of the Lord, this person was Mormon” (2). At a very young age, Mormon was entrusted with the plates and he later became the prophet and record keeper of the Nephites. He was visited by the Lord himself, and also called to lead the people in a military capacity while he was just a young man. Mormon was described as being “large in stature,” but it was the size of his faith, love, and obedience that made him one of Christ’s choicest
In Mormon, whenever the Nephites experience a victory over their enemies, or whenever they are spared from destruction, they begin to “boast in their own strength” (3:9). Ever diligent in extending the invitation of Christ to his wayward countrymen, Mormon accounts that he “did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize it was the Lord that had spared them” (3:3). Again and again, the Lord delivered the Nephites from their destruction, and over and over they did not recognize His mercy, but chose to continue in iniquity and to boast of their own strength. Ultimately, the Lord declared unto Mormon that because the people would not repent even after He had delivered them, “behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth”