The fluctuations or oscillations between humility and pride, righteousness and wickedness, repentance and iniquity continued and accelerated until the coming of Jesus Christ. Mormon could only write a small part of what he knew from the vast records of his people, but his purpose in writing grows in clarity as he records the events that directly preceded the coming of Jesus Christ among the Nephites.
We come to know Mormon more intimately in the fifth chapter of Third Nephi. Furthermore, we come to better understand Mormon’s purpose for creating his records, namely, to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and to lead souls unto salvation. Thus Mormon’s voice - his abridgment of Nephite history and the major events in the first few decades after the birth of Christ - leads beautifully toward the voice of Whom the entire Book of Mormon testifies. We discover the voice of the Lord in Mormon’s voice and the voice of the prophets who preceded Mormon, but that voice grows ever clearer even as the commotion and the chaos in Nephite society reaches calamitous proportions.
The Nephites repented for a time and no one doubted the prophets at all. They rounded up the Gadianton robbers, imprisoned them, preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them, and punished those who refused to repent of their wickedness and murders. They knew that Christ would soon come. Because they knew that Christ would soon come, they forsook all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and served God with all diligence day and night. Because they knew that Christ would soon come, they destroyed secret combinations among them. All of these things occurred in the first couple of decades, even 25 years after the signs of Christ’s birth.
At this point in the narrative, Mormon interjects with his own commentary in a way that is as personal as his book the Words of Mormon and his own later book, the Book of Mormon within the larger Book of Mormon. I would like to record these words verbatim to let Mormon’s voice shine through my own abridgment and commentary of his abridgment and commentary:
And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a ahundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years;
But behold there are arecords which do contain ball the proceedings of this people; and a cshorter but true account was given by Nephi.
Therefore I have made my arecord of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the bplates of Nephi.
And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with mine own hands.
And behold, I am called aMormon, being called after the bland of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression.
Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been acalled of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.
And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God, that the prayers of those who have gone hence, who were the holy ones, should be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a arecord of these things which have been done—
Yea, a asmall record of that which hath taken place from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, even down until the present time.
Therefore I do make my record from the accounts which have been given by those who were before me, until the commencement of my day;
And then I do make a arecord of the things which I have seen with mine own eyes.
And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record; nevertheless there are many things which, according to our alanguage, we are not able to bwrite.
And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and proceed to give my account of the things which have been before me.
I am Mormon, and a pure adescendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and bno one knew it save it were himself and those whom he brought out of that land) and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls.
Surely he hath ablessed the house of bJacob, and hath been cmerciful unto the seed of Joseph.
And ainsomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word.
Yea, and surely shall he again bring a aremnant of the seed of Joseph to the bknowledge of the Lord their God.
And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he agather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the bseed of Jacob, who are scattered abroad upon all the face of the earth.
And as he hath acovenanted with all the house of Jacob, even so shall the covenant wherewith he hath covenanted with the house of Jacob be fulfilled in his own due time, unto the brestoring all the house of Jacob unto the knowledge of the covenant that he hath covenanted with them.
And then shall they aknow their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen. (3 Nephi 5:8-26)
There are many more Nephite, and Lamanite records. There are many more records besides these as well. Mormon could not write the hundredth part of the things that had transpired in the 25 years since the birth of Christ. Therefore, we are continually led to ask ourselves: why did Mormon choose to include these passages, or what was the purpose of Mormon’s editorial choices in recounting these particular events or portions of Nephite history?
Mormon reminds us of the many records to which he had access, and that Nephi gave a shorter but true account. It seems to me that Mormon here refers to Nephi’s large plates, and not Nephi’s small plates, because even Nephi’s large plates were shorter than the many records that had been made. Maybe I’m wrong about this. I don’t know. But when Mormon writes that he made his arecord of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the bplates of Nephi, what does he mean? I take this to mean that Mormon instead of using the various other plates that contained the history of the Nephites, Mormon focused specifically on Nephi’s plates, large and small, and that Mormon abridged and built upon the record of Nephi, specifically the large plates of Nephi, that had been handed down from generation to generation, from prophet to prophet, until he received them.
But in the next verse Mormon informs us that he made this record on plates that he made with his own hands. Recall that Nephi also made plates with his own hands. This suggests to me that although Mormon inserted the small plates of Nephi and his Words of Mormon directly into the record, and although Mormon included many verbatim quotations from sermons, proclamations, letters, and so forth, Mormon was not inscribing upon the plates that Nephi had made. If I remember correctly, those plates were full, or filling up quite early on in Nephite history:
And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. And I am about to lie down in my grave; and athese plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking. (Omni 1:30)
Obviously other prophets wrote after Amaleki. But it seems as though the original plates that Nephi had made with his own hands didn’t have much space. Nephi himself wrote:
And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father, for they cannot be written upon athese plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God. (1 Nephi 6:3)
In a similar way, it did not matter to Mormon that he was particular to give a full account of everything that happened among the Nephites, because they could not be written upon his plates, which were plates that he also made with his own hands, and because he too desired room to write the things of God.
Thus by the time that Mormon had received all of the plates and studied them thoroughly, he created his own plates by hand and painstakingly inscribed the things of God that were most important for his latter-day audience to receive. As I understand it, besides the small plates of Nephi, Mormon’s book is his, meaning that he inscribed it all. This is a particularly impressive feat for someone in the midst of a civil war and living in a society on the brink of utter destruction.
After showing us that he had made his own record with his own hands, Mormon introduces himself again and provides greater insights into his purpose for making this record. I don’t think that it is coincidental that Mormon introduces himself by name and then informs us that he was named after the land of Mormon where Alma established the Church of Jesus Christ. Nor is it coincidental that immediately after share his name and the origin of his name, Mormon points us to the name that is greater than his own, that is, the name of our Savior. Mormon must have known and foreseen that his name would be remembered and even used to describe members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the last day. He must have known that his record, the Book of Mormon, would be read by millions of latter-day “Mormons,” and in these short passages it seems as though Mormon wanted to remind his modern readers, and specifically his modern “Mormon” readers, that whereas his own name was derived from a special place in the history of the Nephite Church, the name that he most desired for us to remember was the name of Him whose disciple he was, namely Jesus Christ.
Mormon was called Mormon, just like many of us who read the Book of Mormon have been called “Mormons”. We too are called “Mormon” in a way. But even Mormon, who was called “Mormon” knew that his true identity wasn’t only a matter of his connection to the Church that Alma founded - although that was certainly part of his identity. Mormon loved and appreciate his heritage and his name that came from that heritage, but he knew that his true identity and purpose was to point away from his own name and toward the name of our Savior. Thus Mormon was Mormon, but he was first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His name was Mormon, but his calling was to declare the word of God among his people that they mighty have everlasting life.
Naturally, these reflections remind me that Jesus Christ named His Church and that recent revelation has reiterated the importance of the name of the Lord’s Church:
And Jesus again ashowed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?
And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the aname whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.
And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?
Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the aname of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
And whoso taketh upon him my name, and aendureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
And how be it amy bchurch save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. (3 Nephi 27:2-8)
And,
And also unto my faithful servants who are of the high council of my achurch in Zion, for thus it shall be called, and unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world;
For thus shall amy bchurch be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day cSaints. (D&C 115:3-4)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church. It is not the Church of Mormon, of President Nelson, or of any other man. But President Nelson has reiterated, just as Mormon reiterated, that the correct name of the Lord’s Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thus it seems to me that Mormon may have foreseen the frequent use of his name, and while he appreciated the compliment and the origin of his name, he also wanted to make it clear that his true identity and purpose were first and foremost as a disciple of Christ. He was called Mormon, but he was a disciple of Jesus Christ. We too may be called “Mormons,” but our true identity and purpose are as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Interestingly, it seems that it wasn’t really Mormon’s idea to write his book in the first place. Mormon records that it became expedient, or necessary, for him, according to the will of God, and in answer to the prayers of those who preceded him, “holy ones,” according their faith, to make a arecord of the things which had been done from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem even down until the time that Mormon began to write. Mormon calls his record a asmall record, which may give us a sense of the library of records with which Mormon had been entrusted.
Mormon began his record by drawing from the accounts which had been given by those who were before him until the commencement of his day. This may remind us of how Nephi made his own record, beginning with the record of his father and the things that had preceded him, working up to the present, and then making an account of his own doings. After abridging an account of the past, Mormon made a arecord of the things that he saw with his own eyes. Past, then present. But all of these things that Mormon wrote pertained to the future, to us. They were written for a future audience, to shape future events, by a man to whom the Lord had revealed much regarding the future.
Also like Nephi before him, Mormon testifies that the record that he made was just and true, even though there were many things that they were not able to bwrite, according to their alanguage. This is a curious thing. What was it about their language that made it difficult to write? I don’t know. Perhaps there is a hint of an answer to this question by Mormon’s son Moroni later in the Book of Mormon:
And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the areformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.
And if our plates had been asufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no bimperfection in our record.
But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared ameans for the interpretation thereof. (Mormon 9:32-34)
After his brief interlude, Mormon returns to his account of past things, but not before sharing more about his lineage as a pure adescendant of Lehi, and not before sharing his testimony of, and his gratitude for his God and his Savior Jesus Christ. Mormon shares his gratitude that the Lord brought his fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, unbeknownst to the outside world, and his gratitude for the great knowledge that the Lord had given unto him and his people, and not just any kind of knowledge but knowledge unto the salvation of their souls, salvational knowledge, or knowledge of Jesus Christ. Mormon shares his gratitude for the Lord’s blessings to the house of bJacob, and His cmercy unto the seed of Joseph.
This is especially significant because Mormon writes directly to his future audience, the future remnant and seed of Lehi who will receive the Book of Mormon, reminding them that ainsomuch as the children of Lehi kept God’s commandments, he blessed them and prospered them according to his word. Mormon reiterates one of the main prophesies of the Book of Mormon that the Lord will again bring a aremnant of the seed of Joseph to the bknowledge of the Lord their God. This prophesy is still in process of fulfillment, as is the prophesy that Mormon next reiterates, namely that as surely as the Lord lives, He will agather scattered Israel, the remnant of the bseed of Jacob, and fulfill His covenant with all the house of Jacob in his own due time. The Lord is brestoring all the house of Jacob unto the knowledge of His covenant with them.
All of this leads up to Mormon’s main purpose for us all, for us to aknow our Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and to gather the House of Israel.