Mormon — Chapter 8
1 Now I, Moroni, am going to finish my father Mormon’s book. I have only a few things to write, but I will write them down as my father commanded me.
2 After the great and terrible war at Cumorah, the Nephites who escaped to the south lands were all hunted down and killed by the Lamanites.
3 They killed my father, too. Now I am the only one left to write about the sad end of my people. But they are dead, so I will do as my father told me to do. I do not know if the Lamanites are going to kill me,
4 So I will finish writing and then hide the records in the ground. After that, it does not matter where I go.
5 My father wrote this book, and he told you why. I would also tell you why, but there is no room on these plates, and right now I don’t have any metal to make more plates, because I am all alone. My father was killed in the war, along with all my family and friends, and I don’t have any place to go. I don’t know how long the Lord will let me live.
6 Four hundred years have gone by since our Lord and Savior came.
7 The Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, from city to city, and killed them all. The Nephites’ destruction has been terrible to see.
8 This is how the Lord punished the Nephites for their wickedness. But the Lamanites are also fighting with each other, and there are wars and murders in all the land, and no one knows when the killing will end.
9 I will not say anything more about this except that the only people in the land are Lamanites and robbers.
10 There are no people left who know about God except Jesus’ disciples, who stayed in the land until the people became too wicked; and then the Lord let them leave. No one knows if they are still in this land or not.
11 But my father and I saw them, and they taught and blessed us.
12 Whoever reads this record and does not reject it because of the mistakes in it will be able to learn even greater things than what is written here. My name is Moroni, and if I could, I would tell you all things.
13 Now I will stop talking about this people. I am Mormon’s son, and he was one of Nephi’s descendants.
14 I am the same man who will hide these records under God’s protection. These plates will not make anyone rich, because the Lord will protect them. But this history is very important, and the Lord will bless the person who finds these plates.
15 No one will be able to find these plates without God’s help, because God wants these plates to help his promised people scattered all over the world.
16 The person who finds these plates will be blessed. The things which are written on the plates will shine like a light in the darkness. People will learn about these things, and all this will be done by God’s power.
17 If there are any mistakes, it is because people wrote this. But we don’t know about any mistakes, so those who say there are mistakes had better be careful, because they may go to hell.
18 Those who say, “Show me the plates or you will get hurt” had better be careful, because they are trying to make someone do what the Lord has said not to do.
19 Whoever judges this an evil will be judged in the same way; and the Lord will judge them by what they do. Those who hurt others will be hurt themselves.
20 The scriptures tell us not to hurt or judge each other. The Lord says: “It is my job to judge, and I will pay people back.”
21 Those who say they will hurt the Lord’s work and people, and who say: “We will destroy the Lord’s work,” and “The Lord will not remember his promises to the House of Israel” are in danger of going to hell.
22 God’s eternal work will go on until he has done everything he has promised to do.
23 Study Isaiah’s prophecies — I cannot write them here. Yes, all the saints who have ever lived on this land will cry to the Lord from the dust, so he will remember the promise he made to them.
24 He knows that they prayed for the good of their brothers and sisters. He also knows what great faith they had, because they could move mountains, and make the earth shake, and break open prisons in his name. They could not be burned by fire, nor hurt by wild animals or snakes, because of God’s power in them.
25 They prayed to the Lord to let people know about this record when the time is right.
26 No one should say this will not happen, because the Lord has said it will. This book will come out of the earth as if read out loud by a dead person. God’s power will make it happen, and no one will be able to stop it. It will happen at a time when people will say there are no such things as miracles anymore.
27 It will happen at a time when the saints will pray to the Lord against all the secret combinations and wickedness [on earth].
28 It will happen at a time when people will not believe in God’s power. Churches will become polluted and proud. Church leaders and teachers will become proud and their church members will envy them.
29 It will happen at a time when there are many fires, and storms, and smoke in many lands.
30 There will be wars, and talk of war, and earthquakes.
31 It will happen at a time when much of the earth’s air and land and water is filthy. There will be murders and robberies and lying and sexual sin. Many people will say: “Do whatever you want, because the Lord will save you anyway.” Woe to those people, because they are trapped in the chains of wickedness and sin.
32 It will happen at a time when churches will say: “Give us your money and your sins will be forgiven.”
33 O you wicked and stubborn people, why have you built up churches so you can get rich? Why have you changed what God has said? Do you want to go to hell? Study God’s revelations, because this will be the time these things will happen.
34 The Lord has shown me many great and amazing things which will happen when this book comes to you.
35 I am talking to you as if you were here in front of me now, even though you are not. But Jesus Christ has shown you to me, and I know about you.
36 I know you are proud. There are only a few of you who don’t care about wearing fancy clothes, who don’t envy, and who don’t cause fights and arguments. Your churches have all become polluted because of your pride.
37 You all love money, and rich living, and fancy clothes, and nice church buildings more than you love poor and sick and sad people.
38 You hypocrites, you teachers who will do anything for money, why have you polluted God’s holy church? Why are you ashamed to take on yourselves the name of Christ? Why do you care about what the world says? Don’t you know that if you do what is right you will be happy forever, but if you do what is wrong, you will be sorry forever?
39 Why do you care so much about wearing rich clothes, instead of caring about the poor and sick and homeless people suffering around you?
40 Why do you do wicked things to get rich, so the widows and orphans and their murdered husbands and fathers cry to the Lord for him to punish you?
41 The sword of justice is hanging over you. The time will soon come when God will answer their prayers and punish you.
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