'Growing Up' - A testimony of the Book of Mormon

Mormon Bids Farewell to a Once Great Nation, by Arnold Friberg

By David Patrick

What do ten-year-old boys know anyway?

Now, this story starts with an old man who was told by a very old and very Holy Ghost to bury a sacred treasure.  The treasure was given to the old man by his brother, because he knew the old man would keep it safe no matter what. You see, their country was going through a tough time. In fact, the time they lived in was one of the worst ever here on the American continent.

One day, shortly after the old man buried the treasure, he came upon a ten-year-old boy.  He knew there was something special about this boy, so he watched him. He considered his character. The boy was hard-working and studious. He was a fast learner. And he wasn't wild – like most young boys. Instead, this boy was calm. He had sound reasoning. The old man thought, "This boy is good inside and out! Yes! He will do!"

So the old man approached the boy and said, "When you are twenty and four years old…remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people…and go the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim…I have deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people. Ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are: and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people."

The old man, whose name was Ammaron, left a deep impression on the boy. The boy promised to do as Ammaron said. And the boy was committed to keeping his promise. But a lot can happen in fourteen years.

The next year, at age eleven, the boy traveled south with his father to a large and busy city. There were huge numbers of buildings and so many people he couldn't count them. And a war had started. Such a lot of change for a young boy. Luckily, the war ended that same year.

Except four years later, wicked men began to war again. This made the boy sad, but not as sad as what happened next. Because the people were so wicked, the three Disciples of Jesus Christ (who were heroes of the faith) left the great city. The great Holy Ghost did not come to anyone anymore either. The work of miracles and healings stopped in one day.

The boy was fifteen now. He was growing up, but he remembered Ammoron's words. He had continued to study hard. He knew the beloved disciples and their works. One day, after the Disciples were gone, he wondered what would happen to him. He was surprised and honored when he got a visit from the greatest teacher to ever live. He met Jesus the Messiah face to face. He became a witness of the goodness of Jesus.

The boy wanted to share the goodness of Jesus with the people. However, the people were entrenched in such dark ways that the boy was forbidden to open his mouth and preach. He couldn't tell his people the good news about their Savior.

By age sixteen, the boy had grown to the size of a mighty man.  And his spiritual and mental abilities were considerable as well. The people, who were called Nephites, recognized this and chose him to lead all their armies. They were hopeful he could help them crush the Lamanites, who were their enemies. Oh, the battles were bloody. They fought for years. When the boy was nineteen, his army of forty-two thousand defeated an enemy of forty-four thousand. This awoke something in his people, and the young man's heart began to rejoice that the Nephites were seeing the error of forsaking their faith in the Lord.  But his joy was dashed. The people would not repent. 

In this portrait of General Mormon, Friberg has depicted an older Mormon,
during his second campaign as the supreme commander
of the doomed Nephite forces.

Years of fighting became decades of battles. This young man turned middle age as he continued to lead the armies through his thirties and forties. Despite the terrible battles and being driven to and fro upon the land, the man kept his promise to Ammoron. He went to the hill Shim, took the plates of Nephi, and made a record.  

He wrote of the decline of his nation. He told of the wars, the wickedness, and that there was no good to be found. Yet there was more he would record in coming years. 

At age forty-nine, Jesus told the mighty man to open his mouth and preach. He was to cry repentance and baptism to the people. Finally, he would be able to tell them about the goodness of Jesus and that He would save them if they would turn their hearts to Him. The people, however, didn't listen. They squandered their chance to be spared.

Within a few years, they invaded the Lamanites. This sealed their fate, as the Lord had decreed they should not attack their enemies - only defend their wives, children, and land. The Lord told the man, "There never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel."

At age fifty-seven, the boy was now a prophet of God. He was inspired to go again to the hill Shim and pick up all the records of Ammoron and take them with him. Just before age 70, this humble prophet writes for us a short version of these perilous and Godless times as a warning. His record and words to us are amplified, 

"I SPEAK UNTO THEIR SEED, AND ALSO TO THE GENTILES WHO HAVE CARE FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL...NOW THESE THINGS ARE WRITTEN...AND THEY ARE TO BE HID UP UNTO THE LORD THAT THEY MAY COME FORTH IN HIS OWN DUE TIME…BEHOLD, THEY SHALL GO UNTO THE UNBELIEVING OF THE JEWS; AND FOR HIS INTENT SHALL THEY GO—THAT THEY MAY BE PERSUADED THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST."

In his old age, the great boy general finally gathered all his Nephite people to the land Cumorah - to the very hill Cumorah - like the Jaredites a millennia before, for the final battle. He presented his final two acts as a sacrifice sealed with his blood.  First, he hid away the nation's most sacred treasures in the hill Cumorah. Then he gave battle one last time. His soul was in agony over the loss of 230,000 Nephite men, women, and children. Only twenty-four remained, among them a beloved and righteous son. The prophet gave his son a short record of his people to finish and to hide away. This record would come forth in due time by way of the Gentile.

This 10-year-old boy kept an oath with an old man. He bravely put on the armor of man and God. As a scholar he wrote the vast story of his civilization's spiritual rise and utter destruction. This prophet speaks from hard and bloody days of the blessed goodness of Jesus and his ways. He was a righteous man, and he was a wise man. A book was named after him. It is The Book of Mormon.

David Patrick is a big fan of the Book of Mormon. He believes more people would believe in Jesus if they would only read and follow the saving principles in this one book. He believes it’s a book that changes lives for good. David can be reached for further discussion at david.patrick@latterdayzion.org.

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