- 1I Omni was commanded by my father Jarom to write a little on these plates in order to maintain our genealogy. 2Therefore I want you to know I fought a lot with the sword during my life to keep my people the Nephites from being defeated by their enemies the Lamanites. But I myself am a wicked man — I haven’t kept the Lord’s statutes and commandments as I should have.
- 3Now 276 years had elapsed; and we had many periods of peace and many periods of serious war and slaughter. Briefly, 282 years had come to an end; and I kept these plates, obeying my forefathers’ commandments. Then I conferred them on my son Amaron, and I end it there.
- 4Now I Amaron write the few things I add to my father’s book. 5320 years had come and gone, and most Nephites were killed. 6For the Lord — after He had led them out of the land of Jerusalem and protected and kept them from falling into their enemies’ hands — wouldn’t allow the words He told our forefathers fail to be proven true, having said that to the degree you don’t keep My commandments, you won’t prosper in the land. 7Therefore the Lord punished them according to His justice. Nevertheless, He spared the righteous, so they didn’t die, saving them from their enemies. 8And I handed the plates over to my brother Chemish.
- 9Now I Chemish will write the few things I add in the same book as my brother. Indeed, I watched the last things he wrote when he wrote them with his own hand; and he wrote them on the day he handed them over to me. This is how we keep the record — according to our forefathers’ commandments. And so I end.
- 10I Abinadom am Chemish’s son. I experienced many wars and conflicts between my people the Nephites, and the Lamanites. And I’ve taken many Lamanite lives with my own sword while defending my people. 11This people’s record is engraved on plates, which the kings hold from one generation to another. And I don’t know about any other revelation or prophecy besides what has been written. Therefore what’s written is adequate. And so I finish.
- 12I’m Amaleki, Abinadom’s son. I’ll tell you something about Mosiah, who was made king over Zarahemla. He was warned by the Lord to flee from the land of Nephi — and all those who were willing to respond to the Lord’s voice were also warned to go with him into the wilderness. 13And he did what the Lord commanded him, and all those who were willing to respond to the Lord’s voice went into the wilderness. They were led by continual preaching and prophesying and were constantly admonished by God’s word. They were led through the wilderness by His power, until they came down to the land called Zarahemla. 14There they discovered a people who were called Zarahemla’s people. Now Zarahemla’s people rejoiced greatly and so did Zarahemla, because the Lord had sent Mosiah’s people with the brass plates containing the record of the Jews.
- 15Mosiah discovered Zarahemla’s people left Jerusalem at the time Zedekiah, king of Judah, was taken away as a prisoner to Babylon. 16They traveled across the wilderness and were brought by the Lord’s hand across the sea to the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had lived there since their arrival. 17When Mosiah discovered them, they had become very numerous. Nevertheless, they had many wars and serious conflicts and had been killed by the sword from time to time. Their language had become corrupted, and they hadn’t brought any records with them. In addition, they denied their Creator’s existence, and Mosiah and his people couldn’t understand them. 18But Mosiah had them taught to understand his language. After they were taught Mosiah’s language, Zarahemla gave his ancestors’ genealogy from memory; and it’s written down, but not in these plates.
- 19Zarahemla’s people and Mosiah’s people united, and Mosiah was accepted as their king. 20During Mosiah’s rule, a large stone containing engravings was brought to him and he translated the engravings by God’s gift and power. 21They gave an account of a man named Coriantumr and his slaughtered people. This Coriantumr was discovered by Zarahemla’s people and he lived with them for nine months. 22The stone also mentioned Coriantumr’s ancestors — that the earliest ones had come from the tower when the Lord confused the people’s language. But the Lord’s justice resulted in severe judgments on them, and their bones lay scattered in the land northward.
- 23Now I was born in Mosiah’s days, and I’ve lived to see his death; and Benjamin his son now rules in his place. 24During king Benjamin’s time I’ve seen a serious war and tremendous slaughter between the Nephites and Lamanites. But the Nephites won a great victory over them, and king Benjamin drove them out of the land of Zarahemla.
- 25I got old. And since I don’t have any posterity and because I know king Benjamin is a righteous man before the Lord, therefore I’ll hand these plates over to him, urging all people to come to God, the Holy One of Israel, and to believe in prophesying, revelations, the ministering of angels, the gift of speaking with tongues and translating languages, and everything that’s good. Because everything that’s good comes from the Lord, and everything that’s evil comes from the accuser. 26Now, my dear people, I want you to come to Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and share in His salvation and the power of His redemption. Come to Him, offer your whole souls as an offering to Him, continue fasting and praying, and persevere to the end. And as the Lord lives, you will be saved.
- 27Now I would like to say a little about a large group of people who went into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi, since there were many who wanted to settle in their ancestral land. 28Therefore they traveled into the wilderness. And because their leader was a strong, powerful, stubborn man, he started a conflict among them. All but 50 of them were killed in the wilderness — the survivors returned to Zarahemla. 29Then they took a considerable number of others and once more departed into the wilderness. 30I had a brother who went with them as well, and I haven’t heard about them since they left. Now I’m about to die, and these plates are full, so I’m finished with this.
The Book of Omni