- 1I Mormon, in preparing to hand over the record I’ve been making to my son Moroni, wish to make clear that I’ve witnessed almost the complete destruction of my people the Nephites. 2It’s hundreds of years after Christ’s coming when I’m entrusting these records to my son. I expect he’ll see my people’s complete destruction. But may God allow him to survive so he can write a little about them and about Christ, to perhaps benefit them some day.
- 3Now I’ll speak a little about this record. After I had made a summary from the plates of Nephi down to the rule of this king Benjamin whom Amaleki mentioned, I searched among the records entrusted to me and found these plates containing this short account of the prophets from Jacob down to king Benjamin’s rule, and also Nephi’s message. 4Since the things on these plates are impressive to me, because of the prophecies about Christ’s coming, and since my forefathers know many of them have happened — indeed, I too know that all the prophecies about us until now have happened, and that all of them about the future will certainly happen — 5therefore I choose to finish my record by adding this record from the plates of Nephi. I can’t write one percent of my people’s activities.
- 6I’ll take these plates containing these prophecies and revelations and put them with the rest of my record because they’re especially valuable to me, and I know they’ll be very valuable to my people. 7I do this for a wise purpose since the influence of the Spirit of the Lord persuades me they need to be added. Now I don’t know all things, but the Lord knows everything that will happen, and so He impresses me to act according to His will. 8My prayer to God is about my relatives the Lamanites, so they can once again come to the knowledge of God and Christ’s redemption and be a delightful people again.
- 9Now I’ll go on to finish the record I’m taking from the plates of Nephi, making it according to the knowledge and understanding God has given me. 10After Amaleki handed these plates over to king Benjamin, the king took them and put them with the other plates, containing records handed down by the kings from generation to generation until the time of king Benjamin. 11They were then handed down from king Benjamin from one generation to the next until they came into my possession. I pray to God they can be preserved from now on. I know they’ll be kept safe, because there are great things written on them from which my people and their Lamanite relatives will be judged on the great and last day, according to God’s written word.
- 12As for king Benjamin, he had some conflicts among his own people. 13In addition, Lamanite armies came down from the land of Nephi and attacked his people. But king Benjamin assembled an army and opposed them, personally joining the fight and using Laban’s sword. 14They fought their enemies with the Lord’s strength until they had killed many thousands of Lamanites. They fought them until they had driven them from their lands.
- 15And after there had been false christs — who had been silenced and who had been punished according to their crimes. 16After false prophets, preachers, and teachers among the people — who had also been punished consistent with their crimes — and after many conflicts and disputes, resulting in some joining the Lamanites, king Benjamin, joined by holy prophets, taught his people repentance. 17Now because king Benjamin was a holy man and ruled over his people in righteousness, and was joined by many holy men in the land who spoke God’s word with power and authority, rebuking the people because of their stubbornness, 18with their help, king Benjamin again established peace. It required him to exert all his physical strength, and all his soul. He was helped by the prophets as well.
The Words of Mormon