As discussed in chapter 1, Mormon as a writer and thinker was a man thoroughly at home in the ancient sacral world. He demonstrates nothing of the objective, mechanistic view of the world that has typified the modern worldview since Newton. First and foremost, he viewed the things of God as of the utmost importance. As I noted previously, the ancients were relatively unconcerned about what we would call secular life: what was purely secular was purely trivial. But because the sacred impinged on all aspects of life, little or nothing could be thought of as purely secular. The hand of deity could always be perceived as present to some degree.

It should also be pointed out that a key component of Mormon’s worldview is that the cosmos consists of a moral order. The Egyptians, as we discussed in chapter 2, named the moral order of the world maat, while the Mesopotamians called it me. The Israelites did not have such a label, but they clearly perceived a pervasive order at the heart of the cosmos and interpreted their own history in light of that order. In their view, because only one God exists, the sacral order equates with the system of order imposed on the world by God, in particular the system of right and wrong. Such an idea clearly permeates the Book of Mormon. It is at the heart of Mormon’s (as well as Nephi’s) major theme that one who keeps the commandments of God will prosper in the land. It is true that the promise was originally a specific promise made by God to Nephi in the form of a personal covenant (1 Nephi 20–22). But for the Nephites more generally, the promise is based on the eternal order of the universe—namely, that the people who obey God’s commands will prosper, even apart from any specific covenant.

This concept of a moral order is important to mention because while it is typical of the archaic world, it is definitively not part of the modern scientific view of the world. As the philosopher W. T. Stace argued, the idea that an objective sense of morality, right and wrong, is an implicit aspect of the cosmos in which we live is one of the ideas that distinguishes the archaic from the modern world:

The ultimately moral character of the universe, whether it is personified in the form of a righteous and transcendent God or is conceived as immanent in the world-process itself, has been a part of all advanced religious cultures. It has been, until recent times in the West, a universal belief of civilized humanity. The opposite conception, that of a blind universe which is perfectly indifferent to good or evil . . . is characteristic only of the western world during the last three centuries, and is the product of the seventeenth century scientific revolution.[1]

It is not unreasonable, I believe, to state that the idea of morality was more fundamental to the Nephite worldview than to that of any other people in history. For them, as for their Israelite ancestors, the moral order is explicitly connected with the belief in a single monarchical God who created and rules the entire universe and has a specific plan or program for all of humanity. For this reason, the moral order is not merely an implicit part of the cosmos, as it was and is in many other religious belief systems, including the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Hindus, and others. Thus we see again and again the assumption played out in Mormon’s history that when disorder or contention threaten the well-being of the people or the state, the natural response of many of the community leaders, whether priest, king, or judge, is to preach the word of God with greater intensity. The widely held belief was that adherence to God’s order would in itself bring about greater political and social order. This close connection between the sacred and the secular is typical of the archaic sacral worldview.

Themes of Sacral Historiography in Mormon’s History

We have previously considered how well a handful of sacral themes apply to the historiographical writings of the ancient Near East and the Old Testament. Let us now examine how they apply to Mormon’s record.

Divine intervention

It should be obvious even to the most casual reader that Mormon’s record portrays God as being intimately involved in human affairs. Yet compared to the stories found in the Old Testament—particularly in the books of Genesis through Numbers and Joshua—there are relatively few instances in the Book of Mormon in which God is portrayed as directly acting in events as an overt participant, causing specific events to come about. As a general matter, accounts of direct divine interventions and express miracles are less common than the casual reader might assume. Most of the time, the activities narrated are presented on a human level, although the themes center around the commandments of God and the people’s obedience thereto. In the majority of instances, mention of the Lord’s involvement is described in general terms as the Lord’s “strengthening” or “prospering” the people. As Eric Olson has stated, “God’s influence is seen not in a collection of overtly miraculous or indisputably divine events, but in a string of individually mundane occurrences which cumulatively witness divine involvement in mortal affairs.”[2]

In other words, Mormon rarely portrays God as directly participating in battles or other events. More typical of the narration are references to God’s strengthening those he favored, as in these examples:

And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. (Words of Mormon 1:14)

And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and . . . we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle. (Mosiah 10:10; compare 9:18; 23:2; Alma 2:18, 28; 31:38)

The Lord did visit them and prosper them, and they became a large and wealthy people. (Mosiah 27:7)

These passages are not unlike what we previously saw from the Mesopotamian historiographical writings in chapter 2. Among the few times that the Lord is described as acting directly on events to bring something about is Mosiah 24:19:

And in the morning the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their task-masters were in a profound sleep.

Subsequently the Lord promised Alma that he would prevent the Lamanites from pursuing the people outside the valley they were living in (v. 23).

Divine miracles

Mormon includes several accounts of explicit miracles, but again they can hardly be described as frequent:

Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood. (Mosiah 27:11)

And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. (Alma 8:20; compare 10:7–9)

The power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood up on their feet. And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth. (Alma 14:25–27)

But the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows. (Helaman 16:2)

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned. (Helaman 5:23)

Divine communication

There are somewhat more frequent examples of direct communications by the Lord and his angels to various individuals.

King Benjamin declares: “And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God.” (see Mosiah 3:2–23; 12:2)

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me. (Mosiah 24:13)

As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord. (Alma 10:7)

And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon, saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi. (Alma 20:2)

And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma. (Alma 43:24)

And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto to you to declare good tidings. (Helaman 5:29)

Behold, a voice came unto him saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word. (Helaman 10:3–11; see Ether 13:20; Moroni 8:7–8)

Dual causation

The same tendency that we saw in the Old Testament to ascribe causation to human beings and at the same time to the Lord is present also in the Book of Mormon. For example, regarding the report in Mosiah 21 of the Lamanite overlords maltreating the people of Limhi, Mormon states that this came to pass so “that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled” (v. 4). Similarly, the city of Ammonihah is destroyed by Lamanite armies, but it is clear that the Lord is ultimately behind this disaster, as Alma had prophesied to them that “the Lamanites shall be sent upon you . . . and ye shall be visited with utter destruction” (Alma 9:18; 16:3, 9). Nevertheless, Mormon’s worldview in general dictates that humankind is responsible for its own sins and thus for the consequences as well, even when the Lord is, in some sense, behind those consequences. A climactic example is seen in Moroni’s sobering observation upon witnessing his people’s utter destruction: “Behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it” (Mormon 8:8). [ed: good addition]

Morality

I will hold off discussing the element of moralizing content for the time being since it will receive full consideration in the following sections treating the major themes that Mormon emphasizes throughout his history.

Salvation history

Finally, we should consider briefly whether Mormon’s record includes any type of salvation history (Heilsgeschichte). Nephi’s writings in the small plates are replete with notions of God’s long-term plans for his people and for the world in general (Gentiles). Lehi prophesies in detail (although Nephi only gives a brief summary in 1 Nephi 10) regarding the Babylonian captivity and return of the Jews, the coming of the Messiah, the age of the Gentiles, and the scattering of the house of Israel. In the ensuing chapters, Nephi discourses at great length on all these subjects, in connection with his lengthy vision and subsequently with his extensive quotations from Isaiah in 1 Nephi 19–22 and 2 Nephi 10–30.

To what extent does Mormon include salvation history in his record? Is Mormon concerned with the idea that God is guiding history toward a particular end? Prophecies and discussions about the coming of Christ are ubiquitous throughout Mormon’s record, but he takes much less interest than Nephi does in the longer-term history of God’s people. The term gentile does not appear at all in Mormon’s writing until the visit of Christ, who deals with this issue at length (e.g., 3 Nephi 16:4–13; 21:2–14). In Mormon’s own book (5:9–22), however, he does engage the idea that the Lamanites will be scattered and that his words will go to the Gentiles, who will one day possess the land and scatter the Lamanites but who will nevertheless “have care for the house of Israel” (vv. 9–10).[3]

Historiographical Themes

When we refer to themes in a work of historiography, we are entering the realm of the author’s philosophy of history, the principal ideas he or she is trying to communicate through historical narrative and analysis, and the criteria used to choose among the sources and the various details of those sources.[4] Mormon states repeatedly that he cannot include even the hundredth part of the material available to him (Words of Mormon 1:5; Helaman 3:14; 3 Nephi 5:8; 26:6). In 3 Nephi 5:8 he says he cannot include even a hundredth part of what took place in a twenty-five-year period, while in 26:6 he is unable to record even the hundredth part of everything that Jesus taught the Nephites. This is clearly a standard trope, which need not be taken strictly literally and which even Moroni echoes (Ether 15:33). Nevertheless, it clearly reflects Mormon’s awareness of how much he was omitting from his record. And it also exemplifiess what was discussed earlier about historiography in general. Every historian is faced with the question of what to include and what to exclude from the available sources. The criteria that historians use to make such selections are related to their interests, biases, and purposes in writing, as well as to their general philosophy of history.

Mormon, like most historiographers from antiquity, was writing sacral history. That means, of course, that he was not as interested in secular causation as a modern-day historian would be, but neither does it imply that he was completely uninterested in such things—or that he was completely oblivious to them. Like the histories found in the Old Testament (and elsewhere), Mormon does not try to place all the blame or credit for what happened on God or Satan. In fact, as we have seen, he rarely depicts God acting directly in this world at all. Moreover, he is all too aware that the evil found in the world is the work of humankind, and he does not deny that people can also effect good in the world. What he does claim (much like the Deuteronomic historian) is that God is behind the visible world and that the extent to which men and women keep God’s commandments generally determines whether they will prosper in their activities or not. Human activities are mostly caused by humans. God himself does not become the actor causing events but is behind human actions and indirectly blesses or punishes the human participants.

It is easy to think of Mormon’s history of the Nephites as merely a kind of chronicle—in particular if one reads it piecemeal, a couple of chapters at a time over the course of a year.[5] It mentions a wide variety of events, including political developments, wars, sermons, theological and moral discourses, and so on. Should we view the Book of Mormon as a disjointed mass of historical details, held together only by the historical chronology and Mormon’s occasional commentaries? I have deliberately referred here to the “Book of Mormon” instead of “Mormon’s record” because I think the style and organization of the small plates contribute to the impression that the book is nothing more than a more or less random record of Nephite history. Nephi tells us clearly that his second set of plates was specifically designed not as a history but as a medium in which to record the most sacred items, such as visions, prophecies (including Isaiah’s), and sermons. Mormon’s inclusion of sermons here and there throughout his record also slows down the narration and distracts the reader from the broader continuities of the actual historical account. Also worth noting are the lengthy digressions from the main narration—for example, the accounts of the people of Limhi (Mosiah 7–24) and the mission to the Lamanites (Alma 17–26). In reality, many of these passages make important contributions to the main historical narrative, as we will discuss below, but they do involve significant chronological flashbacks that confuse the picture for the typical reader.

David Honey suggests that the principal criterion for Mormon’s selection of historical facts has to do with testimonies of Christ. The title page states that a major concern of the book was “the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.” “Hence,” argues Honey, “ancient and contemporary testimonies of Christ—his appearance, attributes, his veneration and worship, how he may best be served, his influence and historical illustrations of his influence and the like—are the main historical data for inclusion in Mormon’s abridgment and Moroni’s supplementary writings.”[6]

This claim sounds plausible at first, and to be sure, many events in the book can be fitted under such a rubric. The missionary stories of the sons of Mosiah and Alma and the account of Christ’s visit to the Nephites are the most obvious. But there are many incidents that Mormon includes that problematize that claim. What about the countless chapters having to do with war, rebellion, politics, and murders and contentions? One commentator estimates that out of the 239 chapters in the Book of Mormon, 174 (73 percent) “deal with war, terrorism, murder, political conspiracies, secret combinations, threats, family collusions, and other hostilities.”[7] What does all this unpleasant content have to do with “convincing . . . the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ”? The fact that no comprehensive explanation has ever been offered for those substantial sections of the book suggests that perhaps we have not yet fully grasped the overall point of Mormon’s history.

It is also easy for the unassuming reader to think of the focus of the book as the righteous Nephites, who at times became mildly wicked and repented. Occasionally they became involved in wars, mostly defensive wars against the Lamanites. There were great natural disasters that destroyed the wicked and preserved the righteous, who received Christ’s visit. Christ taught them a variety of instructions and commandments, at which point they became exceptionally righteous for two centuries. Then, fairly suddenly, the Nephites became extremely wicked and were destroyed by the Lord.

This view of the Book of Mormon—and specifically, of Mormon’s record—is highly misleading. Although Mormon’s record may not conform to our idea of what a tightly organized history should look like, it is in fact a fully coherent interpretation of Nephite civilization from a spiritual and moralistic perspective. In other words, Mormon had a clear historical thesis that he stuck to throughout his work.

At first blush, it seems that the lessons that Mormon wished his readers to learn are laid out clearly in plain sight. No reader can miss his repeated use of such phraseology as “and thus we see” or “thus we can plainly discern.” This easily leads the reader to the conclusion that Mormon is laying out his conclusions in plain sight.

In truth, however, the sight is not quite as plain as it first seems. In many cases the phrase “and thus we see” is used to explain a purely theological point regarding God’s behavior rather than human behavior. For example, “Now . . . we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in” (Alma 26:37); “and thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent” (42:4); “ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him” (44:4); and “thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all” (Helaman 3:28). These passages extract doctrines about the gospel, the nature of God, and salvation but are at best only indirectly related to any historiographical themes of the book. That is, they do not lead to any conclusions about the consequences of people’s actions in history.

Contrast these with the following passages, where Mormon uses this phraseology to pinpoint a specific historical lesson:

Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions. (Alma 50:20–21)

And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him. Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, . . . yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. (Helaman 12:1–3; see Alma 24:30; 46:8–10; Helaman 4:11–13; 6:34)

In these instances Mormon is drawing a moral lesson from history. Even when he is commenting on the nature of God, as in the second passage above when he states “and thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions,” he is not drawing a timeless lesson about the nature of God but commenting on human nature, specifically as it manifests itself in Nephite history. These passages clearly demonstrate that he had a more specific intention in mind in composing his history than merely recording events chronologically. He had distinct moral lessons that he hoped to communicate to his future readers.

Deuteronomic Themes in Mormon’s Record

Many of the themes found in Mormon’s record are direct or close parallels of those we have already discussed in connection with the book of Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic History. One of the overarching themes of those books was the idea of covenant. This is certainly also true for the Book of Mormon. Although we cannot state with certainty that these parallels prove that Mormon possessed the book of Deuteronomy, they do provide substantial evidence that something very close to our modern book of Deuteronomy was included in the brass plates that Nephi brought with him to the New World. It also suggests that Mormon may have had a version of the DH, although probably not the final version, which most likely was written or completed after the conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC (see chapter 7 herein).

There is substantial evidence that Nephi, in composing the story of his family’s departure from Jerusalem, was consciously imitating themes from the book of Exodus, depicting his family’s travels as though they were reenacting the miraculous departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. Like the Israelites, they depart into the wilderness; they are delivered from destruction (1 Nephi 17:14) and are given directions through divine guidance (i.e., the Liahona). As in the Pentateuch, the theme of murmuring against the Lord is ubiquitous in Nephi’s account; for example, when there is murmuring due to lack of food, food is obtained through miraculous means (1 Nephi 16:18–32). The Lord tells Nephi, “I will also be your light in the wilderness” (17:13), reminding one of the pillar of light that guided the children of Israel through the desert. In case these allusions are missed, Nephi brings the story of the Exodus directly to the reader’s mind by calling it to the attention of his brothers (4:2; 17:23–31). George Tate also suggests that Nephi’s repeated references to the “Lamb” have typological reference to the Passover lamb.[8]

Nephi’s scriptural allusions are not limited to the Exodus story. He also refers to the children of Israel crossing over the Jordan and driving the inhabitants out of the land, always emphasizing, like Deuteronomy, the importance of righteousness. Also note that in 2 Nephi 5:25 the Lord declares that the Lamanites will be a “scourge” to the Nephites, much like the Canaanites in Joshua 23:13 and Judges 2:3 (compare Numbers 33:55). This could be evidence that the brass plates contained part of the DH, although the term is used in the Pentateuch as well.

A thorough study of the influence of Deuteronomy on the Book of Mormon would naturally include the writings from the small plates, particularly the writings of Nephi, whose thinking was much more oriented around the children of Israel as a whole and not merely the Nephites and Lamanites. But since our focus is strictly on the thinking and writings of Mormon, I have mostly ignored those possible connections. Consider the following parallels with the Deuteronomic themes discussed above:

The people should remember past blessings from God, especially their deliverance from bondage in Egypt

For the Nephites, this theme often translated into not only the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt but also the deliverance of Lehi and his family from Jerusalem, as just discussed.

For he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time. Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity. (Alma 36:28–29)

Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do you not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness? And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren? (Alma 9:9–10)

Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage. (Alma 29:11–12)

Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds. (Alma 62:50)

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. (Moroni 10:3; see Mosiah 25:16; 27:16; Alma 5:5)[9]

The people of Israel are a choice and favored people

For behold, they have been a chosen people of the Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also hath he chastened them; yea, in the days of their iniquities hath he chastened them because he loveth them. (Helaman 15:3; compare Mosiah 1:13)

The covenant involves granting the people of Israel a choice land (contingent on their obedience)

And there will I meet thee, and I will go before into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth. (Ether 1:42)

But he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people. (Ether 2:7; see 2:15; 9:20; 10:28; 13:2; 2 Nephi 1:5–9)

Remember the statutes and judgments

And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him. (Mosiah 6:6)

Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. (3 Nephi 25:4; compare Alma 25:14; 58:40; Helaman 3:20; 15:5)

Obedience will bring blessings, while disobedience will bring curses (discussed below)

Prosperity comes from keeping the commandments (discussed below)

There is a need to choose between good and evil, life and death

Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light? (Helaman 13:29)

The people must be watchful for pride and arrogance (discussed below)

If they do not keep the laws and ordinances of the covenant, they will be cursed, scattered, smitten

Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth. (Alma 9:12; see also 2 Nephi 1:17–18, 21–22)

And behold, instead of gathering you, except ye will repent, behold, he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts. (Helaman 7:19)

And also that a knowledge of these things must come unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should scatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught among them. (Mormon 5:9)

But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles. (Mormon 5:20)

Why would the Lord destroy his own people?

Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth. (Alma 9:12)

Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief. Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct. (Alma 45:10–11)

The sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people. Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people. (Helaman 13:5–6)

Because the Lord is a merciful God, he will not utterly forget the covenant

Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them. (Helaman 15:12)

And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel. (3 Nephi 16:11–12)

And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in my own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father. (3 Nephi 20:29)

And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel. (3 Nephi 29:3; compare Mormon 5:20; 8:21–23; 9:37)

I think it would be unjustified to conclude definitively that Mormon was drawing these themes from Deuteronomy and the DH, since most of them are not exclusive to those books. Many of them can be found, for example, in other books of the Pentateuch. But they are all among the emphatic themes that are typical of the Deuteronomic writings, and there is a strong likelihood that they were at least in the back of his mind as he wrote his account.[10] One could also mention less significant parallels, such as the repeated use of the term stiffnecked in Mormon’s record (Words of Mormon 1:17; Mosiah 3:14; 13:29; Alma 9:5, 31; 15:15; 20:30; 26:24; 37:10; Helaman 4:21; 5:3; 9:21; 13:29; 3 Nephi 15:18; Mormon 8:33). The term is used repeatedly in Deuteronomy (9:6, 13; 10:16), but it is also found in Exodus (32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9). And other common Deuteronomic phrases that we examined previously, which one might expect Mormon to use, he in fact does not use (e.g., turning aside neither to the left or right, or loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might).[11]

Key Themes of Mormon’s Record

Apart from the question of Deuteronomic influence, there are several themes that I would identify as the most fundamental to Mormon’s historical account. (There is, quite noticeably, considerable overlap between the two sets of themes.) These are the themes that I would contend are key to understanding Mormon’s historical message to his readers, and they are the themes that I have emphasize in my thematic reading of Mormon’s record in chapter12.

Keeping the commandments leads to prosperity

This is the clearest and most repeated principle in Mormon’s record (and the Book of Mormon as a whole):

Inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land. (Alma 36:1, 30; see Alma 9:13; 38:1; 50:20; Mosiah 1:7; 2:22, 31)

In other words, obedience leads to prosperity. This doctrine is stated most fully in Helaman 12:1–3:

And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him. Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and dotrample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

This maxim is repeated numerous times throughout the book, and the concept behind it is alluded to many more times. Notice that the prosperity being referred to in this saying is primarily temporal prosperity—increase in flocks, in crops, in gold and silver, in being delivered out of the hands of one’s enemies, in having one’s life spared, and so on. Mormon says little or nothing about spiritual blessings per se.

The cycle of pride and prosperity

As the above quotation from the book of Helaman illustrates, Mormon believed that prosperity granted by God as a result of obedience typically resulted in pride, manifesting itself in hardening one’s heart, forgetting the Lord, and even trampling him under one’s feet. This notion of pride as the result of prosperity is brought out first in the story of the Amlicite civil war.[12] Shortly after that war, Mormon tells us,

The people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things they were lifted up in the pride of their eyes. (Alma 4:6)

This extreme pride results in “great contentions among the people of the church . . . [and] envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God” (Alma 4:9). Mormon even notes that as a consequence “the church began to fail in its progress” (v. 10).

The classic exposition of this idea comes in Helaman 12:1–3, quoted above. Another key discussion occurs in Helaman 3. Note that this passage explains the concrete political and social consequences of pride:

And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church—not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God—and they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. . . . And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace also, save it were the exceedingly great pride which had gotten into the hearts of the people; and it was because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land; and it did grow upon them from day to day. (vv. 33–34, 36)

Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God. And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—and because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands. (Helaman 3:11–13)

One notable aspect of these passages is that, like the discussions of prosperity just mentioned, nearly all the manifestations of pride that Mormon mentions are temporal and social rather than spiritual. While he does mention “denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation,” the majority of the traits he is interested in have to do with persecution, oppression of the poor, ignoring the needs of the hungry and the naked, murdering, stealing, and so on. These characteristics relate to how the proud treat their fellow human beings. As we will see in the next section, contention is also a temporal result of pride rather than a spiritual one.[13] In other words, there is a direct connection between pride and contention.

Contention, war, and conflict

One of the oddities of Mormon’s record, as I pointed out in the Introduction, is how little it discusses the times of prosperity and happiness. Instead, it focuses to a surprising degree on the wars and contentions of the Nephites, both those with the Lamanites and internecine conflicts (and these two categories overlap, as we will see). In Alma 50:23, during a brief period of peace in the middle of their greatest war, Mormon tells the reader that “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi . . . than in the days of Moroni,” yet his description of this period comprises a total of twelve verses (vv. 13–24). Even the time of the Zion-like society described in 4 Nephi garners only nineteen verses, while the remaining thirty verses of the book describe the rapid decline of the people.[14]

To my mind, Mormon’s reasons for emphasizing war in his history of the Nephites have never been adequately explained. Commentators often note that Mormon acted as general of the Nephites and suggest that his personal interest in military matters is a major reason for his emphasis on wars and battles. While the inference of his interest in military affairs is reasonable, that does not begin to explain why Mormon would spend so much of his precious time at the end of his life, as his civilization was collapsing around him, narrating the earlier wars of his people unless those wars were key to his purposes in writing his account.

The most common explanation for the war chapters interprets military conflict as a metaphor for the spiritual warfare that Satan would conduct against the followers of Christ in the last days. While this application of the scripture to the modern situation may well be useful—for example, for encouraging youth to be courageous in their spiritual battles[15]—it is not the primary meaning of Mormon’s text. Nowhere throughout Mormon’s accounts of war does he give any indication that these passages were principally meant to be understood in a figurative sense as relating to spiritual warfare against the devil.[16]

Richard Dilworth Rust is one who views the wars in Mormon’s record as a metaphor for Christian action. For example, he notes that Mormon describes King Mosiah at his death as having “warred a good warfare, walking uprightly before God” (Alma 1:1). He also sees it as “typological,” as foreshadowing the conflicts of the last days between the devil and the church of the Lamb of God. Warfare is also a means of demonstrating faith, in that the Lord blesses those who exercise faith in him, granting them victory even against much larger forces.[17]

Brant Gardner has argued that Mormon focuses so much attention in the books of Alma and Helaman on the wars and contentions of the Nephites because he viewed them as signs of Christ’s visit to the Nephites. Because Mormon viewed these wars as a kind of messianic prophecy, he provided these accounts in his record as an indication that there would also be great wars before the Second Coming of Christ.[18] However, Gardner does not point to any clear indication in Mormon’s text of this connection between the wars and the coming of Christ, let alone any link between wars in the last days and Christ’s second coming.[19]

Other commentators have stressed the need to view war in the Book of Mormon in an ancient context. One analysis, for example, describes the Book of Mormon as “saturated with warfare” and notes that “the grim reality for ancient peoples was that religious, political, and cultural ideologies were frequently enforced through war.” Moreover, “warfare in the ancient world took on ideological importance for both sides of a conflict. The ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans all recorded or recounted tales of combat and war that took on nationalistic and mythic significance for them as a people.[20] John Welch has observed that “wars and the politics of war were an integral part of history in the Book of Mormon. . . . Most military events in the Book of Mormon have both religious and political importance. The Nephites did not dichotomize their world between church and state as we do. Ancient peoples generally viewed war as a contest between the gods of one people and the gods of another.”[21]

In the 534-page volume entitled Warfare in the Book of Mormon, R. Douglas Phillips devotes a bare three pages to the question, “Why Is So Much of the Book of Mormon Given Over to Military Accounts?” He touches on several important themes but oddly does not develop any of them. He mentions that Mormon “had a peculiarly theological or religious concept of history to which war was not a purely secular phenomenon but an instrument of divine purpose” that was to be explained in terms of “moral, spiritual, and social problems and unrighteousness.” As we have seen in the first half of this book, this attitude toward warfare was not in the least peculiar to Mormon but was typical of all ancient historians—certainly those of the ancient Near East, but also, to some extent, later Greek and Roman historians.

For Mormon, Phillips observes, wars were “viewed as occasions of divine punishment and retribution on the one hand and of divine deliverance on the other.” But what conclusions can we draw from such an observation? What is Mormon’s point? Phillips doesn’t elaborate. He does quote Alma 50:21, where Mormon concludes that the abominations of the Nephites brought down upon them their wars and destructions. But what abominations is Mormon referring to here? No historical context is provided to help us understand. Phillips does at least identify the final destruction of the Nephite people as a prime example of “divine retribution . . . in full operation” but then oddly insists that we should not “overstate Mormon’s preoccupation with war.”[22] He does not mention, for example, that war and bloodshed occupied approximately 43 years out of the 120 years of the judgeship, not to mention the many other years when there were contentions “but not unto bloodshed” (Alma 51:4).[23] And then, of course, there were the many years of warfare that Mormon himself personally endured, long after the era of the judges.

H. Dean Garrett, in a brief article discussing the wars beginning in Alma 43, helpfully points out that in the first portion of the book of Alma, Mormon emphasizes such “social problems” as “priestcraft, materialism, [and] social-economic inequality.” Garrett describes the latter part of Alma as being focused on “war and civil disruptions,” which in turn led to “a corruption of civil government” (in the book of Helaman) andto “the eventual collapse of the government.” Because Mormon was aware that “wars and chaos . . . would characterize the last days, he . . . emphasized the challenges created by war and social turmoil, along with the reaction of the righteous to those challenges.”[24]

One of the principal difficulties with all these responses to the overwhelming presence of war in the Book of Mormon, and particularly in Mormon’s record, is that they scarcely acknowledge the essential point that Mormon presents the wars not as clear-cut battles between the wicked and the righteous but rather as conflicts between wicked and wicked. This is especially true in the years preceding the visit of Christ and the years leading up to the final apocalyptic battle—in which, let us remember, it is the Nephites and not the Lamanites who are destroyed. According to Mormon, “It is by the wicked that the wicked are punished” (Mormon 4:5; compare Alma 50:21; Doctrine and Covenants 63:33).

It cannot be emphasized enough that Mormon’s record was not conceived ofas a simple narrative history of his people but rather was written as a powerful warning to his future readers. The ultimate outcome of his story—the complete destruction of the Nephites—was certainly key to his whole purpose in writing, but that conclusion should not be viewed as a solitary incident—a tragic finale to what was otherwise a mostly stellar record of righteousness. Rather, warfare, violence, and contention are one of the key themes of the work as a whole.

For Mormon, war was merely an outgrowth of contention, and contention was endemic to Nephite society. As I mentioned in the introduction, the words contention, contentions, and contend occur 147 times in the extant portion of his history. Other related words and expressions such as dissensions, dissenters, quarrelings, war, and bloodshed could be added to this number, and naturally we can only speculate how often Mormon might have used such vocabulary in the missing 116 pages. Mormon’s interest in contention is in keeping with his interest in the first two themes discussed above, which we saw were focused above all on the temporal and social aspects of wickedness and pride.

While it would be foolish to suggest that Mormon was not interested in matters of the eternities, it is nonetheless worthwhile to point out his focus on this-worldly aspects of Nephite religion. To take a small sample, we can briefly examine the speech of King Benjamin. Benjamin does refer to blessings “both temporal and spiritual” for those who keep the commandments of God, and he teaches that they will “dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness” (Mosiah 2:41; compare vv. 38–39). Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to consider the number of passages in his sermon that deal with such social matters as service and charity to one’s fellow human beings, seeking peace, and avoiding contention:

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God (v. 17).

[God] has granted that ye should live in peace one with another (v. 20).

Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth (v. 25; compare 4:2, 11).

But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you (v. 32).

And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due. (4:13)

And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. (v. 16)

Mormon’s keen interest in conflict and war does not begin with the great war against Zerahemnah in Alma 43 but rather with the account of the civil war in Alma 2–3. The instigator of the contention was Amlici, a follower of Nehor (Alma 2:1)[25] who attempted to restore the recently abolished kingship. The ensuing civil war lasted less than a year but resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands (3:26). This disastrous occurrence did not happen in a historical vacuum. Mormon clearly lays out the background—not only Nehor himself but also an extensive practice of persecuting members of the newly established church on the part of those who did not approve of the church. In retaliation, many church members “began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows” (1:22). This contention caused much distress among other church members, but in general the church remained steady and believers “began to be exceedingly rich.” They were generous with their abundance and “did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church” (vv. 29–31). The nonbelievers, in contrast, “did indulge themselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of wickedness” (v. 32).

Following the civil war, things became, in certain ways, even more critical. The members of the church became proud because of their excess of wealth and began to persecute those who did not accept their beliefs. As a result, “there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God” (Alma 4:9). Because of this extreme situation, Alma chose to step aside from his chief judgeship and began traveling from town to town preaching the gospel in an attempt to set the church in order.

Chapter 12 will provide a detailed narrative and commentary on all these matters. For the moment, let it suffice to point out Mormon’s own summaries of cause and effect in his sacral history of the Nephites during this period: “And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed” (Alma 28:10). The war and destruction, he says, are due to “the inequality of man,” which is due to “sin and transgression, and the power of the devil” by which he “ensnare[s] the hearts of men” (v. 13).

Then, beginning in the eighteenth year of the judges (only three years later), an even greater war (or series of wars) commences. The underlying causes of these tragedies, he insists, are the Nephites’ “quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, . . . which brought upon them their wars and their destructions” (50:21).

Wicked Nephites versus righteous Lamanites

Although the typical reader of the Book of Mormon thinks of the Nephites as the righteous nation and the Lamanites as the wicked nation, a recurring theme of Mormon’s book is that of the righteous Lamanites and wicked Nephites. Closely related to this are the prophecies that the Lamanites will ultimately be spared, while the Nephites will be destroyed.[26]

Because those who belonged to the church of God were more prideful than the nonmembers and the church was full of contention and malice (v. 9), Alma resigned from the chief judgeship and began preaching throughout all the land. To the city of Ammonihah he prophesied in brutal detail (keep in mind here that Mormon included these words in the full light of understanding that the Nephites of his own time were so wicked that they were at risk of being wiped out):

Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land. Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent. For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land. And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.

But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord. For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God; yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord. . . .

And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them. For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth? (Alma 9:13–17, 18–20, 23–24)

Throughout the rest of the record, there are repeated references to the amazing righteousness of the converted Lamanites, stressing (precisely as Jesus preached among the Jews) that one cannot rely on one’s birth into a chosen lineage for salvation unless one is willing to practice righteousness. One might compare the declaration of Jesus to the people of Judea, comparing them to their pagan (Phoenician) neighbors: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you” (Matthew 11:21–22, King James Version).

A key development of the book of Alma is the Nephite mission to the Lamanites and the ensuing conversion of many of them. As a result of that effort, thousands of Lamanites “were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites” and “became a righteous people” (Alma 23:5, 7)—in contrast to the Amalekites and Amulonites, who were descendants of Nephi rather than Laman and who, having “fallen away into sin and transgression, . . . bec[a]me more hardened, and thus their state [became] worse than though they had never known these things (Alma 24:29–30).

In Helaman 4 we are told that the ““great slaughter”” among the Nephites “would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them . . . [including those] who professed to belong to the church of God” (v. 11). As a result of the preaching of Moronihah, the Nephites began to realize

that they had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even like unto the Lamanites. And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face. And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish. (vv. 22–25)

The most striking reversal, of course, is when Samuel the Lamanite begins preaching repentance to the Nephites! See all of Helaman 15, especially the following excerpts:

And now, my beloved brethren, behold, I declare unto you that except ye shall repent your houses shall be left unto you desolate. . . . Yea, wo unto this people who are called the people of Nephi except they shall repent, when they shall see all these signs and wonders which shall be showed unto them; for behold, they have been a chosen people of the Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also hath he chastened them . . . because he loveth them. But behold my brethren, the Lamanites hath he hated because their deeds have been evil continually, and this because of the iniquity of the tradition of their fathers. But behold, salvation hath come unto them through the preaching of the Nephites; and for this intent hath the Lord prolonged their days. [In other words, the principal reason the Lord has spared the Nephites is to teach the gospel to the Lamanites!] (vv. 1, 3–4)

And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity—yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall prolong their days, untisl the time shall come which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets, concerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth—yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them. And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be brought to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep. Therefore I say unto you, it shall be better for them than for you except ye repent. For behold, had the mighty works been shown unto them which have been shown unto you, yea, unto them who have dwindled in unbelief because of the traditions of their fathers, ye can see of yourselves that they never would again have dwindled in unbelief. Therefore, saith the Lord: I will not utterly destroy them, but I will cause that in the day of my wisdom they shall return again unto me, saith the Lord. And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the Nephites: If they will not repent, and observe to do my will, I will utterly destroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief notwithstanding the many mighty works which I have done among them; and as surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord. (vv. 10–17)

After the time of the “great division” among the people as they decayed following the period of a Zion society, when the people “did not dwindle in unbelief, but . . . did wilfully rebel against the gospel of Christ . . . , both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another” (see 4 Nephi 1:35, 38, 45).

Repentance and forgiveness

Despite the direness of these predictions, Mormon emphasized throughout—up to the very end—that the opportunity to repent was still available. Toward this end, at one point he incorporates a prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite:

Therefore I say unto you, it shall be better for them than for you except ye repent. . . . Concerning the people of the Nephites: If they will not repent, and observe to do my will, I will utterly destroy them. (Helaman 15:14, 17)

In his own day, Mormon continued to stress the need (and opportunity!) for repentance:

And notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people, they did not repent of their evil doings. (Mormon 2:8)

And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared. And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. (Mormon 3:2–3)

The following chapter will draw all these themes together and lay out the entire story of Mormon’s record, pointing out the historical connections that tie the history together but are easily overlooked by the casual reader. Most importantly, I will demonstrate in detail just how thoroughly integrated the book is around the themes I have just discussed.

Notes

[1] W. T. Stace, Religion and the Modern Mind (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1960), 53 (see 33–53).

[2] Eric C. Olson, “The ‘Perfect Pattern’: The Book of Mormon as a Model for the Writing of Sacred History,” BYU Studies Quarterly 31, no. 2 (1991): 12.

[3] Moroni in the book of Ether also directs numerous remarks to his future gentile readers but does not go into their role in sacred history (see Ether 12).

[4] Thomas W. Mackay, “Mormon’s Philosophy of History: Helaman 12 in the Perspective of Mormon’s Editing Procedure,” in The Book of Mormon: Helaman through 3 Nephi 8, According to Thy Word, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992), 129–46.

[5] Susan Taber observes that “reading the Book of Mormon in Gospel Doctrine–sized chunks—five- to ten-page selections, each with its own motivational message”—makes it more difficult to discern the book’s overall message. “Mormon’s Literary Technique,” in Mormon Letters Annual (Salt Lake City: Association for Mormon Letters, 1983), 117.

[6] David B. Honey, “The Secular as Sacred: The Historiography of the Title Page,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3, no. 1 (1994): 97.

[7] David Brent Marsh, “How Disciples of Christ Live in Times of War and Violence,” Ensign, September 2012, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2012/09/how-disciples-of-christ-live-in-times-of-war-and-violence.

[8] George S. Tate, “The Typology of the Exodus Pattern in the Book of Mormon,” in Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience, ed. Neal E. Lambert (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1981), 245–62; compare Terry L. Szink, “Nephi and the Exodus,” in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, ed. John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1991), 38–51. Noel Reynolds, “Lehi as Moses,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/2 (2000): 26–35, contains an excellent discussion of how Lehi invoked numerous themes from Deuteronomy in his final sermon as recorded in 2 Nephi 1.

[9] Louis Midgley discusses in broader terms the importance of remembrance in Nephite society. See “The Ways of Remembrance,” in Sorenson and Thorne, Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, 168–76. See also Steven L. Olsen, “Memory and Identity in the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 22, no. 2 (2013): 40–51.

[10] Note that Deuteronomy is also prominent among Old Testament quotations in the New Testament.

[11] See discussion in chapter 7 herein. For additional parallel Deuteronomic passages in the Book of Mormon, see “How Is the Use of Deuteronomy in the Book of Mormon Evidence for Its Authenticity?,” KnoWhy #428, https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/how-is-the-use-of-deuteronomy-in-the-book-of-mormon-evidence-for-its-authenticity. The authors of this piece claim that they have compiled at least fifty-two different phrases from Deuteronomy that appear in the Book of Mormon, but unfortunately they refer only to an unpublished paper in their possession. Noel Reynolds, in “Lehi as Moses,” also refers to unpublished research. See also Ellis T. Rasmussen, “Deuteronomy,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1:378–79.

[12] Hence I would argue that Grant Hardy’s suggestion that this notion of the pride cycle was a new theme that Mormon introduced (replacing the theme of prospering in the land) in the book of Helaman is unjustified. See Grant Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 114.

[13] Brigham Young similarly emphasized the temporal aspects of the gospel: “I want present salvation. I preach, comparatively, but little about the eternities and Gods, and their wonderful works in eternity; and do not tell who first made them, nor how they were made; for I know nothing about that. Life is for us, and it is for us to receive it to-day, and not wait for the millenium [sic]. Let us take a course to be saved to-day, and, when evening comes, review the acts of the day, repent of our sins, if we have any to repent of, and say our prayers; then we can lie down and sleep in peace until the morning, arise with gratitude to God, commence the labours of another day, and strive to live the whole day to God and nobody else.” Journal of Discourses (Liverpool: George Q. Cannon, 1861), 8:124–25.

[14] The headnotes for the books of Alma and Helaman emphasize wars and contentions. The one in Alma states, “An account of the reign of the judges, and the wars and contentions among the people. And also an account of a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, according to the record of Alma.” The one Helaman begins, “An account of the Nephites. Their wars and contentions, and their dissensions.” It then goes on to mention more spiritual subjects like prophecies and the conversion of the Lamanites, but the topic of wars and contentions takes place of prominence. This pattern follows the example set by Nephi, who emphasized from the beginning that his main set of plates was devoted to “the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people” (1 Nephi 9:4).

[15] See Kathleen S. McConkie, “Defending Against Evil,” Ensign, January 1992; see also David A. Bednar, “‘Exceedingly Valiant for Courage’ (Alma 53:20),” Brigham Young University–Idaho commencement, August 22, 2003, https://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Graduation/2003_08_22_Bednar.htm.

[16] It is true, as Richard Rust points out, that Nephi in his great vision refers in metaphorical terms to a spiritual war between “the Lamb of God” and “the great mother of abominations” together with many nations of the Gentiles (1 Nephi 14:13–14). See his study “Purpose of the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon,” in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1990), 29–32. But neither Nephi nor Mormon makes any kind of correlation between this part of the vision and the literal wars of the Nephites (which Nephi already dealt with in vision in 1 Nephi 12). Those were wars with real bloodshed and the literal destruction of his people (1 Nephi 12:2–3, 13–15, 19–21).

[17] Richard Dilworth Rust, Feasting on the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 214–16: “Warfare is a scriptural metaphor for Christian action.” Yet the only examples he gives refer to armor and weapons rather than warfare, and most of his references come from scriptures other than the Book of Mormon (see, e.g., 1 Nephi 21:2, quoting Isaiah; 2 Nephi 1:23, referring to the “armor of righteousness”; Alma 26:19 and 60:29, referring to the sword of God’s justice).

[18] Brant Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford, 2007), 5:7–10.

[19] Christ’s second coming is not a major theme in the Book of Mormon. The only direct reference to it I have been able to identify is in 3 Nephi 26:3–4, in conjunction with the final judgment and Malachi’s prophecy in chapter 25. It also may be alluded to in Jacob 1:6.

[20] “Why Are There So Many War Chapters in the Book of Mormon?,” KnoWhy #157, https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-are-there-so-many-war-chapters-in-the-book-of-mormon.

[21] John W. Welch, “Why Study Warfare in the Book of Mormon?,” in Ricks and Hamblin, Warfare in the Book of Mormon, 4.

[22] R. Douglas Phillips, “Why Is So Much of the Book of Mormon Given Over to Military Accounts?,” in Ricks and Hamblin, Warfare in the Book of Mormon, 25–28.

[23] See the discussion in Gregory Steven Dundas, “Kingship, Democracy, and the Message of the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies Quarterly 56, no. 2 (2017): 41–52.

[24] H. Dean Garrett, “Inspired by a Better Cause,” Studies in Scripture: Alma 30 to Moroni, ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988), 69–79.

[25] For further discussion of the Amlicite civil war, see Dundas, “Kingship, Democracy, and the Message,” 45-48.

[26] For discussion of these prophecies, see chapter 10 herein under the subheading “Mormon’s Purpose in Writing His Record.”