Out of Darkness

“And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God.” (Mormon 8:16)

Fifteen years after the fall of the Nephite nation, Moroni boldly prophesied of a coming day when “this thing,” meaning the gold plates which contained a spiritual and historical record of his people, would be “brought out of darkness” by a young Joseph Smith. The specific language of Moroni’s prophecy was fulfilled in multiple ways. Joseph Smith literally unearthed the plates from a box in the ground and brought them into the light by translating them, publishing them as the Book of Mormon, and sending the book throughout the world. After reviewing Mormon’s life, I have realized that in using the language “brought out of darkness,” Moroni might also be highlighting how his father Mormon compiled this sacred book during the darkest chapter of Nephite history.

In his own record, Mormon opted to mostly spare the readers the awful details of the final years of the Nephite nation, instead writing that “it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people (Mormon 4:11-12). While he does write about the slaughter of men and the sacrificial offerings of prisoners to “idol Gods” (Mormon 4:14), the majority of what we know of the wickedness of that time comes from a personal epistle Moroni received and later included in the plates. In that epistle, Mormon writes “somewhat of the sufferings of this people” (Moroni 9:7) and describes how the Lamanites kill many of the men they’ve captured and “and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers” (Moroni 9:8). Yet after describing this abomination, Mormon decries his own people’s atrocities including rape, murder, stealing from widows, and consuming Lamanite flesh to prove their bravery (Moroni 9: 9-10; 16). Though a review of these details can be disturbing, more fully grasping the depravities that Mormon witnessed is crucial to fully appreciating his miraculous compilation.

We know that Mormon dedicated a significant portion of his life to reading, abridging, and compiling the record that eventually became the Book of Mormon, but when exactly did he do this? Earlier in his life, Mormon had visited the hill called Shim and “taken the plates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron” (Mormon 2:17). Mormon continues by including what he wrote and where he wrote it: “And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations” (2:18). However, Mormon does not tell us that he took any records from the hill. Instead, it appears he wrote his history up to that point specifically on the large plates of Nephi.¹ It is important to note that Mormon specifically tells us that his abridgment was recorded “on plates which I have made with mine own hands” (3 Nephi 5:11). Thus, whatever Mormon wrote down on the plates of Nephi is not what he wrote down in his compilation. He confirmed this by telling us that while the large plates of Nephi contained “a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations” (Mormon 2:18).

Later, perceiving that the Lamanites would soon overtake the Nephite lands, Mormon “did go to the hill Shim, and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord” (Mormon 4:23). The key word in this verse is all. Though Mormon might have withdrawn a portion of the plates when he first visited the site, only now does Mormon have all the records at his disposal. The implication of this statement is that Mormon compiled his record during the final years of his life as he fled for his life and prepared the Nephites for their inevitable destruction at the Hill Cumorah. Wouldn’t it have been easier to compile the record during the earlier ten years of peace the Nephites experienced (Mormon 3:1)? Or perhaps during the thirteen years wherein Mormon refused to lead the Nephites (Mormon 3:8-11; 4:16, 5:1)? Perhaps Mormon did spend some time on the abridgement during these years, but it would be incredibly challenging to accomplish without having all the records!

Instead, it appears that Mormon began his abridgment sometime after his final visit to the hill Shim (4:23) and completed it before the final conflict at Cumorah. In fact, Mormon says he made “a record out of the plates of Nephi” while awaiting “the last struggle of my people” (Mormon 6:6). Mormon confirmed that timeline elsewhere, writing that he was “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” (Words of Mormon 1:1). His use of the present perfect “have been making” rather than the present perfect “have made” implies that he is still working on his record right before Moroni received the plates at Cumorah.

The point? Mormon did not abridge and write the Book of Mormon during the easier years of his life. Rather, he completed this sacred work during the most challenging and darkest moments he would experience. He read about Alma’s miraculous change of heart as he mournfully observed the increasingly hardening hearts of Lehi’s descendants. He described Helaman’s expulsion of Gadianton’s band at the very time the Nephite nation re-discovered and re-adopted secret combinations. Perhaps the saddest contrast of all might be Mormon recording Christ’s plea to avoid contention at the very moment he watched his people “thirst after blood and revenge continually” (Moroni 9:5). As I consider the breadth of detail, intimate spiritual messages, and powerful themes of peace, love, and discipleship in the Book of Mormon, I am amazed that such a spiritually profound record was created as the Nephite nation cursed God and faced annihilation.

Let’s consider a few other scriptural examples of this phenomenon of righteous learning and works emerging from challenging times. Moses learned of the true nature of God at the very same time that the devil appeared to him (Moses 1). Jesus’s exhortation to love one another, His promise of the Holy Ghost’s comfort, and so many other teachings we cling to during hard times were given in the very moments preceding His suffering in Gethsemane. Joseph Smith received some of the most intimate and powerful revelations as he suffered unjustly in a basement prison during one of the coldest winters Missouri had experienced (Doctrine and Covenants 121-123). In commenting on that awful experience in Liberty Jail, President Jeffrey R. Holland testified, “You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced.” Surely, Mormon’s successful effort to create a powerful witness of Christ during the harrowing destruction of his people is yet another testament to God’s ability to make all things work for our good (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7).

Mormon himself frequently testifies of the goodness of God even as his world crumbles around him. During his abridgement, Mormon powerfully interjects that “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. . . I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem. . . and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls” (3 Nephi 5:13, 20). Even as he faced his own violent demise, Mormon confidently testified of a coming day when the righteous shall “dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end” (Mormon 7:7). Indeed, as he concluded his aforementioned epistle to Moroni, Mormon prayed that the bleak things he described would not weigh his son “down to death” but rather that “Christ [would] Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever” (Moroni 9:25).

The life of Mormon is a witness to all that He who descended below all things (Doctrine and Covenants 122:8) has the power to bring forth great works out of the darkness of our lives. The Book of Mormon truly was a light to Mormon, and it can be the same for us today. President Henry B. Eyring’s recent invitation echoes Mormon’s words to Moroni: “When life seems like ‘a dark and dreary wilderness’ (1 Nephi 8:4), we also may need to find the Savior in the dark. I testify that the Book of Mormon, with its witness ‘that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God,’ will lead us to Him.” May each of us treasure this book not only as a witness of goodness coming “out of darkness,” but also as a divine gift that helps us to find God’s light in our own dark days.

Joe Cochran is an adjunct professor in the Brigham Young University College of Religious Education and received a PhD in Education from Utah State University. He served a mission in Mexico City and graduated from BYU in 2013. While at BYU, Joe discovered how much he loved helping youth and young adults to become their best selves. He began his career as a Social Studies teacher in a middle school and often laments leaving there as he fit in height wise a little better there. When Joe isn’t working, he loves to spend quality time outdoors on long walks, runs, and paddleboarding.

Art by Jorge Cocco.

1. From a personal conversation with Dr. Joseph Spencer of the Ancient Scripture department at Brigham Young University.  It is also worth noting that the Book of Mormon as we have it today only contains the small plates of Nephi and Mormon’s abridged compilation from King Benjamin through Moroni’s final editions. Thus, what Mormon wrote in the large plates of Nephi isn’t likely what he included in his abridgement as his record is quite short and mostly avoids the specific details of the state of the Nephite nation.