Ammaron needed someone to take responsibility for the sacred records of his people, as his ancestors had done for nine generations. It was a time of war and wickedness. The Gadianton robbers were pervasive. Ammaron chose a 10-year-old boy named Mormon to fulfill this sacred trust.
Chapter Outline
- 10-year-old Mormon becomes responsible for the Nephite record (v. 1-5)
- War between the Nephites and the Lamanites (v. 6-12)
- Wickedness prevails (v. 13-19)
My Takeaways
- Be sober: assess your circumstances objectively and work conscientiously.
- Be careful with sacred things. Treat your spiritual experiences with reverence
- Our collective prosperity depends on our ability to trust one another.
- Be open to interactions with God, whether they come in the form of gifts, the Holy Ghost, or words of prophets.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Ammaron chooses Mormon to maintain the plates – Mormon 1:1-5
“Hid up unto the Lord” – Mormon 1:2, 4:23, 5:12
We don’t know much about Ammaron, the caretaker of the Nephite records who selected Mormon as his successor. We know that he was the brother of Amos, and therefore a descendant of Alma, who organized the church at the waters of Mormon about 450 years earlier. And we know that he was “constrained by the…
Awareness
An important theme in the Book of Mormon is the importance of awareness. Here are a few examples: At the age of 10, Mormon was selected to be responsible for the plates. the prior caretaker, Ammaron, chose him because he was “a sober child” and “quick to observe” (Mormon 1:2). For Ammaron to identify these…
What Does It Mean to Be Sober?
Throughout the Book of Mormon, people who are responsible, disciplined, and serious are referred to as “sober.” Nephi and Jacob both tell us that they taught the gospel with soberness (1 Nephi 18:10, Jacob 6:5). Jacob explains that God expected him to “magnify [his] office with soberness” (Jacob 2:2). King Benjamin urged his people to…
❖ Wickedness prevails – Mormon 1;13-19
I Was Visited of the Lord – Mormon 1:14-17
14 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.15 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.16 And…
Tasting
Mormon said that when he was 15, he “tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.” Why taste? With sight and hearing we detect things outside of ourselves, but taste relates to something inside of us, something we are internalizing.
Slippery – Helaman 13:31-36
Samuel the Lamanite warned the Nephites in Zarahemla that the time would come when they would have a hard time holding on to their possessions: The time cometh that [the Lord] curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them…. And then…
Old Testament Foundations
Letting Go
When I have met an immigrant tottering under a bundle which contained his all—looking like an enormous wen which had grown out of the nape of his neck—I have pitied him, not because that was his all, but because he had all that to carry. Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 163 It’s a good idea not…
Your Past Does Not Define You
I was struck this morning by something Elder S. Gifford Nielsen observed about Joshua: He was raised as a slave in Egypt. How did he become the successor of Moses, leading the children of Israel into the promised land? Certainly not by dwelling on his own weaknesses or lack of qualifications. Here is Elder Nielsen’s…
All Posts Referencing Mormon 1
- Mahaleel and Our Times of Awakening (9/25/2025)
- Tasting (10/30/2024)
- Letting Go (8/3/2022)
- Your Past Does Not Define You (5/24/2022)
- “No, Not One” – Moroni 10:25 (12/20/2020)
- “Hid up unto the Lord” – Mormon 1:2, 4:23, 5:12 (10/31/2020)
- Awareness (10/29/2020)
- Slippery – Helaman 13:31-36 (9/6/2020)
- The “Hundredth Part” – Mormon’s Prioritization of Events in the Book of Alma (6/7/2020)
- What Does It Mean to Be Sober? (4/20/2019)
- What Is the Book of Lehi? (1/22/2019)
- I Was Visited of the Lord – Mormon 1:14-17 (5/12/2017)
- I Perceive That Thou Art…Quick to Observe – Mormon 1:2-5 (11/14/2015)
- Mormon 1:15 Being Somewhat of a Sober Mind (12/13/2014)