Book of Mormon

THE WORDS OF MORMON
CHAPTER 1


   1 And now I, Mormon, being about to give up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my men and women, the Nephites.
   2 And it is hundred's years after the coming of Christ * that I give these records into the hands of my son ; and I take it a probably that he will witness the complete destruction of my followers. But may God give that he may live on after them, that he may write somewhat about them, and somewhat of Christ, that possibly some day it may profit them.
   3 And now, I say somewhat about that which I have written; for after I had made a short account from the plates of Nephi, down to the rule of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki said, I looked among the records which had been given into my hands, and I discovered these plates, which had this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the rule of this king Benjamin, and in addition a great number of the words of Nephi.
   4 And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ ; and my fathers having knowledge that a number of them have been completed ; yes, and in addition I am certain that as a great number of things as have been prophesied about us down to this day have been done, and as much more as come after this day will certainly come to be —
   5 For this reason, I made a selection of these things, to complete my record upon them, which more of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi ; and I am unable to write the smallest part of the things of my men and women.
   6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which have these sayings and revelations, and put them with the last of my record, for they are important to me ; and I am certain will be important to my brothers.
   7 And I do this for a wise purpose; for it said in a small voice to me by the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not have knowledge of all things; but the Lord has knowledge of all things which are to come; and so, he works in me to do as to his will.
   8 And my prayer to God is for my brothers, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yes, the salvation of Christ ; that they may once again be a pleasure-some number.
   9 And now I, Mormon,* do work to complete my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it in agreement to the knowledge which God has clearly given me.
   10 And so, it came to be that after Amaleki had given up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates, which had records which had been handed down by the kings, from father to son till the days of king Benjamin.
   11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from father to son till they have fallen into my hands. And I, Mormon, gave prayer to God that they may be kept safe from this time from now on. And I am certain that they will be kept safe; for there are great things written upon them, out of which my men and their brothers shall be judged at the great and last day, in to the word of God which is written.
   12 And now, about this king Benjamin — he had some of troubles among the persons of his country.
   13 And it came to be in addition that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to war against his masses. But behold, king Benjamin got together his armies, and he did put a stop to them; and he did fight with his strong arm, with the sword of Laban.
   14 And in the power of the Lord they did make war against the attackers, till they had put down thousands of the Lamanites. And it came to be that they did war against the Lamanites till they had driven them out of all the lands of their fathers.
   15 And it came to be that after there had been false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished by right to their crimes ;
   16 And after there had been false prophets, and false talkers in church and teachers among those living there, and all these having been punished by right to their crimes; and after there having been much trouble and more arguments away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to be that king Benjamin, with the help of the holy prophets who were among his numbers —
   17 For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did rule over his mean and women in righteousness ; and there were good number of holy men in the land, and they did make voice of the word of God with power and with authority; and they were sharp with them because of the fixed ways of the masses. —
   18 The outcome was, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by working with all the might of his body and the power of his complete soul, and again the prophets, did once more make peace in the land.
* verse 2 (about A.D. 385) ; Verse 9 (About A.D. 385).

< Title page     |     Readings     |     xxx >

Back to: Basic-English Institute
On to web version of this page -- http://www.basic-english.org/zines/lesson4.html
About this Page : MWords.html -- Basic English translation of The Words of Mormon
Last updated on May 7, 2007 . . . original
Contact us at
URL: http://ogden.basic-english.org/mWords.html 

1830 version
THE WORDS OF MORMON.

1:1 Chapter 1 And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making, into the hands of my son Moroni, behold, I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
1:2 And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ, that I deliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may profit them.
1:3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written: for after that I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of which Amaleki spake, I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates. which contained this small account of the Prophets, from Jacob, down to the reign of this king Benjamin; and also many of the words of Nephi.
1:4 And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled, yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day, has been fulfilled; and as many as go beyond this day. must surely come to pass;
1:5 wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write a hundredth part of the things of my people.
1:6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophecying and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.
1:7 And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which is to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.
1:8 And my prayer to God, is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God; yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.
1:9 And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and the understanding which God hath given me.
1:10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the kings, from generation to generation, until the days of king Benjamin;
1:11 and they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation, until they have fallen into my hands. And I, Mormon, pray to God that they may be preserved, from this time hence forth. And I know that they will be preserved: for there are great things written upon them out of which my people and their brethren, shall be judged at the great and last day, according to the word of God which is written.
1:12 And now, concerning this king Benjamin: He had somewhat contentions among his own people.
1:13 And it came to pass also, that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban;
1:14 and in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites, until they had driven them out of all the lands of their inheritance.
1:15 And it came to pass that after there had been a false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes;
1:16 and after there had been false prophets, and false preachers, and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contentions and many dissentions, away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the Holy Prophets which were among his people:
1:17 for behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness. And there were many holy men in the land; and they did speak the word of God, with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness, because of the stiffneckedness of the people;
1:18 wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul and also the prophets, wherefore, they did once more establish peace in the land.
http://zarahemla.awardspace.com/bom/
Provided and Thanks to ZbEnglish.net