Lesson 43: How Could Ye Have Departed from the Ways of the Lord?

Purpose:

To help class members see the importance of living according to gospel principles despite the increasing wickedness in the world.

Reading:

• Mormon 1-6

Additional reading: 

• A Mighty Change of Heart - Pres. Ezra Taft Benson
• With All the Feeling of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope to Families - Elder Robert D. Hales
• “Behold, the Enemy Is Combined” (D&C 38:12) - Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Overview:

1. Mormon is given responsibility for the sacred records.

• How old was Mormon when he was given responsibility for the sacred records? (See Mormon 1:2–3;) What did Ammaron instruct Mormon to do with the plates? (See Mormon 1:3–4.) What characteristics did young Mormon possess that prepared him for his role in preserving and abridging the sacred records?
• When Mormon was 15 years old, he “was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (Mormon 1:15). How can we come to know of the goodness of Jesus?
• Why did the Lord forbid Mormon to preach to the Nephites? (See Mormon 1:16–17.) What other losses did the Nephites experience because of the hardness of their hearts? (See Mormon 1:13–18 & 3 Nephi 28:1–9.) What losses might we experience if we harden our hearts against the Lord and His servants?

2. Mormon becomes the leader of the Nephite armies. The Nephites suffer in battle because of their wickedness.

• What conditions existed in Nephite society during Mormon’s lifetime? (See Mormon 1:19; 2:1, 8, 10, 18.) How did these conditions fulfill the words of earlier prophets? (See Mormon 1:19; Mosiah 12:4–8; Helaman 13:5–10.) Even though we, like Mormon, live in a time of much wickedness, what can we do to maintain our faith and personal righteousness? (see Alma 17:2–3; Helaman 3:35; D&C 121:45–46.)
• Why did Mormon rejoice when he saw the people mourning? (See Mormon 2:10–12.) Why was his rejoicing in vain? (See Mormon 2:13–14.) What is the difference between “sorrowing … unto repentance” and “the sorrowing of the damned?” (See 2 Corinthians 7:9–10.)
• What does it mean to “come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits”? (Mormon 2:14; see also 3 Nephi 9:20; D&C 59:8).
• What gave Mormon hope and peace even when he viewed the wickedness of his people? (See Mormon 2:19.) How can we maintain hope and peace amid the wickedness of the world today?
• Mormon said that when his people defeated the Lamanites in battle, “they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them” (Mormon 3:3). Why is it important that we recognize that the blessings we receive are from the Lord?
• After more than 30 years of leading the Nephite armies, Mormon refused to lead them because of their wickedness and their desire to seek revenge (Mormon 3:9–13). The Lord had commanded them not to seek revenge, and He declared, “Vengeance is mine” (Mormon 3:14–15). What are the consequences when people seek vengeance? How can we overcome feelings of vengeance if they arise in our hearts?
• What can we learn from Mormon about responding to people who are hard-hearted? (See Mormon 3:12.) How can we develop greater love for such people? Why is it important to continue to pray for the hard-hearted?

3. Mormon explains the purposes for the records he has abridged and written.

• For whom was Mormon’s record intended? (See Mormon 3:17–19; 5:9–10, 14)
• For what purposes was the record kept and preserved? (See Mormon 3:20–22; 5:14–15) How have Mormon’s writings helped fulfill these purposes in your life?
  1. “That ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ … to be judged of your works” (Mormon 3:20).
  2. “That ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mormon 3:21; see also Mormon 5:15).
  3. To provide a witness “that Jesus [is] the very Christ and the very God” (Mormon 3:21; see also Mormon 5:14).
  4. To “persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent” (Mormon 3:22).

4. In a final great battle, all but 24 of the Nephites are killed.

• In commenting on the Nephites’ losses against the Lamanites, Mormon explained that “it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished” (Mormon 4:5). What do you think this means? How do you see this happening in the world today?
• How did Mormon feel when he agreed to lead the armies again? (See Mormon 5:2.) What did Mormon understand about who could bring the Nephites victory in battle? How did this differ from the Nephites’ belief about how they could be victorious? (See Mormon 5:1.)
• Why did Mormon take the plates from the Hill Shim? (See Mormon 4:23; see also Mormon 1:3–4.) Why did he hide them in the Hill Cumorah? (See Mormon 6:6.) Why was it important to protect the plates?
• What was the result of the final battle at Cumorah? (See Mormon 6:7–15.)
• After the battle of Cumorah, the Lamanites hunted down the remaining 24 Nephites and killed all but Moroni (Mormon 8:2–3). The Nephite nation was thus completely destroyed. Why did such “great calamity” come upon the Nephites? (See Mormon 1:13, 16; 2:26–27; 3:2–3; 4:12; 5:2, 16–19; Moroni 9:3–5, 18–20.)
• We also live among much wickedness. How can individual righteousness make a difference in an unrighteous society?Elder Neal A. Maxwell warned: “Only reform and self-restraint, institutional and individual, can finally rescue society! Only a sufficient number of sin-resistant souls can change the marketplace. As Church members we should be part of that sin-resistant counterculture” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1993, 96; or Ensign, May 1993, 77).