The Short-Lived Nephite Zion and Mormon's Mirror for Our Own Society
Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, April 4 2024, 4 Nephi 1
Ah, Fourth Nephi… the utopian society of which all “Mormons” (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) dream, but are so far from achieving. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Forth Nephi? For me it is this verse:
And it came to pass that there was no acontention in the land, because of the blove of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. (4 Nephi 1:15)
Many of us may have noticed that modern America appears to be the exact opposite of this Zion society that is described in Fourth Nephi. If there were a verse to describe modern American society it might be this:
And it came to pass that there was much contention in the land, because of the lack of the love of God which hardened the hearts of the people.
For this reason, President Nelson (along with many others) has issued pleas such as “Peacemakers Needed.”
The Lord’s visit to the Nephites in Bountiful was so influential and His ministering to the people was so powerful that the people of that generation were entirely converted to the Lord and His Church. The disciples of Christ formed the Church of Christ on such a solid foundation, because Jesus Christ had recently ministered to them. Many of the wicked had already been destroyed in the great calamities that preceded Christ’s coming. The disciples of Christ formed the Church of Christ, and many people sincerely repented of their sins, were baptized, and received the Holy Ghost. It was a great time to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
In fact, the conversion of the people was so great and widespread - “the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites” - that “there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.”
Can you imagine that? No contentions? No disputations? Every man dealt justly? Again, it sounds like the exact opposite of the society in which we now live. How could such a thing be possible?
One thing is certain, this Zion society was not built up by human beings with utopian ambitions who championed Marxist ideologies. There was no ancient John Lennon among the Nephites who sang “Imagine” in Reformed Egyptian to the people, inspiring them to join hands in a great Nephite Kumbaya. No. This Zion society was erected upon the foundation that the Lord Himself established and because of the repentance, faith in Christ, and conversion to Christ of the people. John Lennon’s imagined abolition of greed and hunger and his hoped for brotherhood of man were not brought about by rejecting religion, property, or a denying the realities of heaven and hell. A true Zion society emerged directly from Christ’s doctrine, ministry, healing, teaching, and ordinances. Even Yoko Ono would have been impressed by the peace and justice in the Nephite Zion:
And they had aall things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly bgift. (4 Nephi 1:3)
We are so far from such peace and justice that our longing for Zion may cause us to forget what it took to establish a society like that of these ancient Nephites. First, the Lord utterly destroyed many cities and the majority of the wicked. There was vast destruction, by fire, by flood, by earthquake, by tempest, and by the upheavals of nature. Then the Lord visited the survivors, ministered to them, healed them, taught His doctrine, and established His Church among them. He called apostles and endowed them with power to conduct the affairs of His Church. Then, even a couple of years after the Lord’s ministry, people continued to repent of their sins and flock to the Church. They received baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Zion society that emerged was the fruit of all these efforts, not an imagined utopia superimposed upon an unwilling and unprepared population.
The members of the Nephite Zion enjoyed peace and other fruits of the Spirit, including miracles - the healing of the sick, the dead being raised, the lame caused to walk, the blind receiving their sight, and the deaf hearing - because they were converted unto the Lord. The disciples of Jesus worked these miracles in the name of Jesus, and as Mormon taught just prior to recounting the destruction of the wicked in ancient America “there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity.” (3 Nephi 8:1)
For many years, the Lord caused the people to prosper, to rebuild cities that had been destroyed, to multiply, and to grow strong. Not only this, but the people also became beautiful. Because of the Lord’s influence, they became “a fair and delightsome people.” Perhaps because they were so beautiful, it was easier for them to be married and given in marriage. The Lord blessed them just as He had promised. The Lord made all things new:
And they did not walk any more after the aperformances and bordinances of the claw of Moses; but they did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in dfasting and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord. (4 Nephi 1:12)
Mormon mentions a second time that there was no contention in the land. Then he mentions this fact a third time, and a fourth time. Four times in his account of the Nephite Zion, Mormon notes that there was no contention. Surrounded as he was by constant war and bloodshed from his youth to the end of his life, Mormon must have longed to be part of such a society. But Mormon’s lot was to live during a time of great wickedness:
And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon athese plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man. (Mormon 2:18)
And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they adelighted in the shedding of blood continually.
And there never had been so great awickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people. (Mormon 4:11-12)
Thus Mormon noticed the contrast between his own society and his own experience on the one hand and that of the converted Nephites in Bountiful on the other hand. He also noticed the miracles that were performed because of the faith and righteousness of the people, in contrast to the lack of faith and miracles in his own time.
After seventy-two years, all of Christ’s chosen disciples except the three translated Nephites went the way of all the earth. New disciples were ordained in their stead, and still there was no contention in all the land, because of the love of God which dwelled in the hearts of the people. The love of God not only abolished contention, it prevented all other kinds of wickedness that lead to contention:
And there were no aenvyings, nor bstrifes, nor ctumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of dlasciviousness; and surely there could not be a ehappier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. (4 Nephi 1:16)
Again, the contrast between the Nephite Zion and the misery of Mormon’s society was stark. Except for a good relationship with God, and with his son Moroni (and perhaps a few others), Mormon encountered constant envy, strife, tumults, whoredoms, lyings, murders, lasciviousness and worse. Unlike Mormon’s miserable society, the Nephite Zion had no robbers, murderers, or warring factions. The people of the Nephite Zion were united as children of Christ and heirs to the kingdom of God. No wonder Mormon rejoiced and marveled at the blessed and happy state of those in the Nephite Zion:
And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land. (4 Nephi 1:18)
Before his death, Nephi conferred the plates of Nephi upon his son Amos. Amos kept the records for eighty-four years during which time the people continued to prosper and enjoy peace, except for a small part of the people who revolted from the Church and took upon themselves the name of Lamanites. It sounds absurd. It sounds unreasonable. Why would such good and happy people suddenly revolt against the Church? I don’t know. Almost two hundred years had elapsed since Christ’s ministry among them. Those who revolted were not present during the Lord’s visit or the establishment of the Church among them. They were a couple of generations removed from these great events, and like the rising generation after King Benjamin’s generation, perhaps they simply forgot or grew complacent. Perhaps the small part of the people who revolted from the Church and took upon themselves the name of Lamanites had been offended in some way. Whatever the case, there began to be aLamanites again in the land.
Before he died, Amos handed down the Nephite records to his son Amos. Two hundred years had elapsed and most of the second generation after Christ’s ministry had passed away. Mormon reminds us that faith in Christ is not handed down in the bloodstream, and that it is no easy task to transmit faith in Christ from one generation to another. What did Mormon want us to know about this new generation and these new circumstances?
And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly arich, because of their prosperity in Christ.
And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in apride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.
(4 Nephi 1:23-24)
Mormon wanted us to know that these ancient Nephites about two centuries after Christ were a lot like us in modern America about two centuries after the Founding and the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon knew that the source of their prosperity, and our prosperity, is Jesus Christ. He knew that the blessings and riches that they enjoyed, and that we enjoy, come from Jesus Christ. With the advantage of hindsight and prophetic foresight, Mormon holds up the mirror of this ancient Nephite civilization to us. It’s the classic pride-cycle:
Somehow it is very difficult for us mortals to comprehend and to remember that peace, prosperity, and riches are blessings from the Lord that are meant for His purposes. Forgetfulness and ingratitude usually set in when we mortals grow rich and begin to set our hearts on material possessions. In our afflictions and poverty we more easily recognize our complete dependence upon the Lord for every blessing, including the very air that we breathe. In our prosperity and ease we somehow start to think that we ourselves are the source of all our blessings.
It’s fascinating to me that Mormon so often mentions costly apparel as an outgrowth of the pride of the people. What did Mormon and the other Nephite prophets see in vision regarding the last days that may have impelled them to write so frequently about clothing? Consider this recent news article title: “Kim Kardashian Wears 50,000 Pearls in Schiaparelli Chain Dress at Met Gala 2023.” Did Mormon see Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Armani, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Versace? You betcha.
Don’t get me wrong. I like a good pair of Nike or Adidas shoes for sports, and it’s nice to dress up for special occasions. The Lord wants us to be neat and comely. (see Alma 1:27) Problems arise, however, when we become obsessed with our appearance and the clothes that we wear, and when we wear costly apparel, pearls, and the fine things of the world in order to demonstrate our supposed superiority over others. Mormon notes that this is when the problems began among the formerly united Nephites:
And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more acommon among them.
And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up achurches unto themselves to get bgain, and began to deny the true church of Christ. (4 Nephi 1:25-26)
This sounds a lot more like the fractured society in which we now live: rampant selfishness, division into classes, and a proliferation of businesses whose sole purpose is to accumulate filthy lucre, often at the expense of the health and welfare of customers and even employees. Mormon shows us that things only went downhill from there:
And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did adeny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been bforbidden because of unworthiness.
And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity, and because of the power of aSatan who did get hold upon their bhearts.
And again, there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did apersecute the true bchurch of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among them. (4 Nephi 1:27-29)
The opposition against the few meek and humble followers of Jesus Christ became fierce. The devil and his minions even tried to eliminate the three chosen disciples of the Lord. They tried prisons, furnaces of fire, dens of wild beasts, and every imaginable method to get rid of the three Nephites, but the three Nephites were unstoppable. After only two hundred and forty-four years, the divisions within the Nephite society became so great, and the persecutions became so fierce, that the amore wicked part of the people became strong and exceedingly more numerous than were the people of God.
Because the wicked continually seek more power and riches in order to dominate and oppress others, they also seek subtler and more wicked ways to accomplish their evil ends. Thus the wicked part of the people began again to build up the secret oaths and acombinations of Gadianton. The wickedness became so widespread and so entrenched that even the people of Nephi began to be proud in their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, and they became avain like unto their brethren, the Lamanites. This sounds a lot more like the society in which we now live.
Mormon informs us that from this time “the disciples began to sorrow for the asins of the world.” (4 Nephi 1:44) Even though the Lord’s chosen disciples, the three unstoppable Nephites, were immune from physical suffering by persecutions, dungeons, furnaces, and wild beasts, their hearts were broken because of their sorrow for the sins of the world.
Mormon abridges major portions of the record, moving quickly through time. After only three hundred years “both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another.” (4 Nephi 1:45) The robbers of aGadianton spread over all the face of the land, and almost everyone hoarded their material possessions and precious metals. Business was booming. The economy was thriving. But none were righteous except the disciples of Jesus. Mormon’s mirror of our society is almost too perfect.
Before the second Amos died, he conferred the Nephite plates upon his brother Ammaron. The Lord made sure that the main record keepers did not apostatize like the rest of the Nephite society. Finally, after three hundred and twenty years, things got so bad that the Holy Ghost constrained aAmmaron to “bhide up the crecords which were dsacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ.” (4 Nephi 1:48) Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord.
I get the sense that Ammaron may have thought that his civilization was already doomed, and that he hid up all of the Nephite records for good. He may have considered himself to be the last record keeper of the Nephites. It would be very interesting to read the end of his own record. But we also know that because Ammaron perceived that the ten year old Mormon was a sober child, and quick to observe, he instructed Mormon to make his own record as well.