2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.
3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.
In the book of Moses, we read about the city of Enoch, which was also called “the City of Holiness, even Zion (Moses 7:19). Moses describes the people in this city as having three characteristics: unity, righteousness and economic equality.
I see those same three characteristics in Mormon’s description above of the inhabitants of the Americas after the resurrected Savior visited them and taught them. Here are relevant phrases Moses used to describe the city of Enoch in Moses 7:18, alongside the phrases Mormon used to describe the Nephites and Lamanites in 4 Nephi 1:2-3.
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Characteristic
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Moses 7:18
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4 Nephi 1:2-3
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Unity
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They were of one heart and one mind,
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There were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.
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Righteousness
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And dwelt in righteousness;
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The people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land,
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Economic Equality
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And there was no poor among them.
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And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free.
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Today, I will strive for the ideal achieved by these two groups of people. I work to become more converted to the Lord, to avoid contention and encourage unity, and to be generous with the resources God has given me, so that I and the people around me can all “be partakers of the heavenly gift.”
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