Exact Word Count appointed by the voice of the people to be chief judge and a governor over the people of Nephi. exceedingly wroth; therefore, he wass=hlblue>as about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their brethren. he wass=hlblue>as about to do this, behold, he wass=hlblue>as taken, and wass=hlblue>as tried according to the voice of the people, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of the people. condemned unto death, therefore they were angry, and behold, they sent forth one Kishkumen, even to the judgment-seat of Pahoran, and murdered Pahoran ass=hlgree>as he sat upon the judgment-seat. pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, so speedy wass=hlblue>as the flight of Kishkumen that no man could overtake him. not known among the people of Nephi, for he wass=hlblue>as in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran. And Kishkumen and his band, who had covenanted with him, did mingle themselves among the people, in a manner that they all could not be found; but ass=hlgree>as many ass=hlgree>as were found were condemned unto death. appointed, according to the voice of the people, to be a chief judge and a governor over the people, to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it wass=hlblue>as according to his right. And all this wass=hlblue>as done in the fortieth year of the reign of the judges; and it had an end. Coriantumr; and he wass=hlblue>as a descendant of Zarahemla; and he wass=hlblue>as a dissenter from among the Nephites; and he wass=hlblue>as a large and a mighty man. Tubaloth, who wass=hlblue>as the son of Ammoron, supposing that Coriantumr, being a mighty man, could stand against the Nephites, with his strength and also with his great wisdom, insomuch that by sending him forth he should gain power over the Nephites-- with such exceedingly great speed that there wass=hlblue>as no time for the Nephites to gather together their armies. the chief judge, did flee before Coriantumr, even to the walls of the city. And it came to pass that Coriantumr did smite him against the wall, insomuch that he died. And thus ended the days of Pacumeni. in possession of the city of Zarahemla, and saw that the Nephites had fled before them, and were slain, and were taken, and were cast into prison, and that he had obtained the possession of the strongest hold in all the land, his heart took courage insomuch that he wass=hlblue>as about to go forth against all the land. his determination to go forth and cut his way through with the sword, that he might obtain the north parts of the land. in the center of the land, therefore he did march forth, giving them no time to ass=hlblue>assemble themselves together save it were in small bodies; and in this manner they did fall upon them and cut them down to the earth. they had hitherto done; therefore Moronihah had caused that their strong armies should maintain those parts round about by the borders. the city of Zarahemla, and were marching through the most capital parts of the land, slaying the people with a great slaughter, both men, women, and children, taking possession of many cities and of many strongholds. also found. slain, and the Lamanites did yield themselves into the hands of the Nephites. no one to fill the judgment-seat; therefore there began to be a contention again among the people concerning who should fill the judgment-seat. the son of Helaman, wass=hlblue>as appointed to fill the judgment-seat, by the voice of the people. upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness. one Gadianton, who wass=hlblue>as exceedingly expert in many words, and also in his craft, to carry on the secret work of murder and of robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen. he went forth towards the judgment-seat to destroy Helaman, behold one of the servants of Helaman, having been out by night, and having obtained, through disguise, a knowledge of those plans which had been laid by this band to destroy Helaman-- his object to murder, and also that it wass=hlblue>as the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to rob, and to gain power, (and this wass=hlblue>as their secret plan, and their combination) the servant of Helaman said unto Kishkumen: Let us go forth unto the judgment-seat. they were going forth unto the judgment-seat, did stab Kishkumen even to the heart, that he fell dead without a groan. And he ran and told Helaman all the things which he had seen, and heard, and done. no contention among the people of Nephi save it were a little pride which wass=hlblue>as in the church, which did cause some little dissensions among the people, which affairs were settled in the ending of the forty and third year. no contention among the people in the forty and fourth year; neither wass=hlblue>as there much contention in the forty and fifth year. much contention and many dissensions; in the which there were an exceedingly great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land. desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited the land it wass=hlblue>as called desolate. timber wass=hlblue>as exceedingly scarce in the land northward, they did send forth much by the way of shipping. still great contention in the land, yea, even in the forty and seventh year, and also in the forty and eighth year. right in the sight of God continually; and he did walk after the ways of his father, insomuch that he did prosper in the land. continual peace established in the land, all save it were the secret combinations which Gadianton the robber had established in the more settled parts of the land, which at that time were not known unto those who were at the head of government; therefore they were not destroyed out of the land. exceedingly great prosperity in the church, insomuch that there were thousands who did join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance. the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves ass=hlblue>astonished beyond measure. under all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked-- continual rejoicing in the land of Zarahemla, and in all the regions round about, even in all the land which wass=hlblue>as possessed by the Nephites. peace and exceedingly great joy in the remainder of the forty and ninth year; yea, and also there wass=hlblue>as continual peace and great joy in the fiftieth year of the reign of the judges. peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church-- not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God-- a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land; and it did grow upon them from day to day. also a contention among the people, insomuch that there wass=hlblue>as much bloodshed. near the land Bountiful. in the land southward. And all this wass=hlblue>as done in the fifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges. among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which wass=hlblue>as among them; yea, and it wass=hlblue>as among those also who professed to belong to the church of God. because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it wass=hlblue>as because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which wass=hlblue>as sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites-- they did repent they did begin to prosper. ass=hlgree>as great ass=hlgree>as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years. Cezoram. their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted. not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction. it hass=hlblue>as been said and written of them. tonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers. if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were ass=hlgree>as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned. if they were struck dumb with amazement. shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us. if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall. And behold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters. if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. not a voice of thunder, neither wass=hlblue>as it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it wass=hlblue>as a still voice of perfect mildness, ass=hlgree>as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul-- if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse-- if it were about to divide ass=hlblue>asunder. one among them who wass=hlblue>as a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them. the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude ass=hlgree>as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld. power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi. Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God. taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you. dispersed. dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire. if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words. if it were a whisper, saying: from the foundation of the world. if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them. many ass=hlgree>as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers. peace in all the land, insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. called Lehi, and the land north wass=hlblue>as called Mulek, which wass=hlblue>as after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and thus they did become rich. to come. And thus passed away the sixty and fifth year. murdered by an unknown hand ass=hlgree>as he sat upon the judgment-seat. And it came to pass that in the same year, that his son, who had been appointed by the people in his stead, wass=hlblue>as also murdered. And thus ended the sixty and sixth year. they who did murder the chief judge Cezoram, and his son, while in the judgment-seat; and behold, they were not found. that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell. brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time. he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men. utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites. ide the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men; swollen with sorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul: upon a tower, which wass=hlblue>as in the garden of Nephi, which wass=hlblue>as by the highway which led to the chief market, which wass=hlblue>as in the city of Zarahemla; therefore, Nephi had bowed himself upon the tower which wass=hlblue>as in his garden, which tower wass=hlblue>as also near unto the garden gate by which led the highway. he wass=hlblue>as pouring out his soul unto God upon the tower; and they ran and told the people what they had seen, and the people came together in multitudes that they might know the cause of so great mourning for the wickedness of the people. got so great hold upon your hearts. he forsaken you? delivered you? he hass=hlblue>as hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies. come among you; and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band which wass=hlblue>as established by Gadianton! lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches! made them known unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be. done? contrary to the commandments of God. testified unto us; for we know that he hass=hlblue>as testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he knoweth ass=hlgree>as well all things which shall befall us ass=hlgree>as he knoweth of our iniquities; constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up? he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come. many ass=hlgree>as should look upon that serpent should live, even so ass=hlgree>as many ass=hlgree>as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal. filled with gladness and did rejoice. slain. , and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem wass=hlblue>as destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all-- driven out of Jerusalem because he testified of these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the coming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his day which is to come. a witness that they are true. they went: said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he hass=hlblue>as spoken are true. tonished exceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth; for they had not believed the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge. tonishment they saw those five men who had fallen to the earth. smitten them that they could not flee from us. a proclamation sent abroad that the judge wass=hlblue>as slain, and that the murderers had been taken and were cast into prison. semble themselves together to mourn and to fast, at the burial of the great chief judge who had been slain. dead? And they answered and said: Concerning this five whom ye say ye have sent, we know not; but there are five who are the murderers, whom we have cast into prison. Nephi had testified, we were ass=hlblue>astonished insomuch that we fell to the earth; and when we were recovered from our ass=hlblue>astonishment, behold they cast us into prison. for the murder of this man, we know not who hass=hlblue>as done it; and only this much we know, we ran and came according ass=hlgree>as ye desired, and behold he wass=hlblue>as dead, according to the words of Nephi. Nephi, the pretended prophet, who doth prophesy so much evil concerning this people, agreed with thee, in the which ye have murdered Seezoram, who is your brother? if he were ass=hlblue>astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent. if death had come upon him. come upon your face, behold, we know that thou art guilty. done this murder. Nephi had said unto them. And behold, the words which he had said were true; for according to the words he did deny; and also according to the words he did confess. brought to prove that he himself wass=hlblue>as the very murderer, insomuch that the five were set at liberty, and also wass=hlblue>as Nephi. a prophet. a god he could not know of all things. For behold, he hass=hlblue>as told us the thoughts of our hearts, and also hass=hlblue>as told us things; and even he hass=hlblue>as brought unto our knowledge the true murderer of our chief judge. he wass=hlblue>as standing in the midst of them. he wass=hlblue>as thus pondering-- being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities-- and it came to pass ass=hlgree>as he wass=hlblue>as thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying: k that which is contrary to my will. with him, and they could not take him to cast him into prison, for he wass=hlblue>as taken by the Spirit and conveyed away out of the midst of them. this secret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness. And this war did last all that year; and in the seventy and third year it did also last. done, according to the words of Nephi. And there wass=hlblue>as a great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi. And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of destruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine. smitten that it wass=hlblue>as dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth wass=hlblue>as smitten, even among the Lamanites ass=hlgree>as well ass=hlgree>as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land. come unto them. filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him ass=hlgree>as a great prophet, and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God. not a whit behind him ass=hlgree>as to things pertaining to righteousness. there were dissenters that went forth unto them. expedient that there should be a stop put to this work of destruction; therefore they sent an army of strong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out this band of robbers, and to destroy them. under, at the command of our great and everlasting God. one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he wass=hlblue>as about to return to his own land. sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would not receive me. arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even ass=hlgree>as they did of old time. the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil. if it wass=hlblue>as day. if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born. ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you. dead, both ass=hlgree>as to things temporal and to things spiritual. to things pertaining to righteousness. I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead. many of them ass=hlgree>as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them-- many ass=hlgree>as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free. surely ass=hlgree>as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord. many ass=hlgree>as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the Lord. many ass=hlgree>as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him ass=hlgree>as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord wass=hlblue>as with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows. baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must shortly come-- many ass=hlgree>as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins. they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people. never heard of more among the Nephites; and thus were the affairs of the people. but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which wass=hlblue>as contrary to the commandments of God, in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges. been spoken. a Christ shall come; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, ass=hlgree>as it hass=hlblue>as been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us ass=hlgree>as well ass=hlgree>as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem? well ass=hlgree>as in the land of Jerusalem? been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes that they are true. good and against that which should come. |