Mormon writes a letter to the king of the Lamanites, requesting the opportunity to gather all of his people at a place called Cumorah. The king grants his request, and Mormon gathers twenty-three thousand soldiers, with their wives and children. At the end of one day of battle, they were all dead except Mormon, his son Moroni, and twenty-two other people.
Mormon cries out to his people in sorrow: “O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!” But even his lamentation ends on a note of hope, with a recognition of God’s love for His children: “The Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.”
Chapter Outline
- The battle of Cumorah (v. 1-15)
- Mormon’s lament (v. 16-22)
My Takeaways
- Faith means trusting God in good times and bad.
- God loves all of His children, even those who seem hardened and unlovable. He wants His children to be successful and happy.
- When we are not well-grounded spiritually, we may experience debilitating fear in the face of danger or uncertainty.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Cumorah – Mormon 6:1-15
Cumorah
Mormon was 73 years old when he gathered his people for their final battle (Mormon 6:5). He had begun leading Nephite armies nearly 60 years earlier, at the age of 15 (Mormon 2:2). He had seen a lifetime of battles, and he knew the likely outcome of this conflict, but he believed that his people’s…
That Awful Fear of Death – Mormon 6:7
7 And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them. (Mormon 6:7) When we are not well-grounded spiritually,…
❖ Mormon’s Lament – Mormon 6:16-22
Uzziah and the Boundaries of Stewardship
Uzziah enjoyed great success as king of Judah. Unfortunately, he let the success go to his head. When he burned incense in the place of the priests, God struck him with leprosy. We need to stay in our lanes, recognize our limitations, and allow others to fulfill their responsibilities.
Hezekiah’s Passover
Hezekiah cared about ritual cleanliness, but he also understood that its purpose was to prepare people’s hearts to seek God. He instructed the priests and Levites to purify the temple and themselves, but when people arrived at his Passover from Israel without cleansing themselves, he prayed that God would have mercy because of their hearts.
No Shepherd
Moses used the metaphor of shepherdless sheep as he pleaded with God to call a successor to lead Israel. Subsequent prophets, and the Savior Himself, used the same metaphor to lament the absence or negligence of leaders. But Alma points out that sheep can be shepherdless by choice, if they refuse to hear their shepherd.
Old Testament Foundations
Investing for the Future in Troubled Times
Jeremiah bought land. If you’re wondering about the significance of that transaction, consider the following: After all of that, and about nine years after Lehi and his family fled from Jerusalem to build a new home on the American continent, Jeremiah bought land for himself and for his descendants: And Jeremiah said, The word of…
All Posts Referencing Mormon 6
- He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel (7/13/2026)
- Moroni’s Collaborative Conclusion (12/18/2024)
- “I Judge Better Things of You” (12/12/2024)
- Investing for the Future in Troubled Times (10/23/2022)
- Cumorah (11/1/2020)
- Just and Merciful (7/31/2020)
- Justice and Mercy (4/4/2020)
- How Can I Recognize the Hand of the Lord in My Life? (10/27/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Add to Our Understanding of the Resurrection? (10/4/2019)
- According to His Justice and Mercy – Mormon 6:21-22 (4/28/2018)
- With Open Arms – Mormon 6:17-20 (5/17/2017)
- That Awful Fear of Death – Mormon 6:7 (11/23/2015)
- Mormon 6:17 That Jesus, Who Stood With Open Arms to Receive You (12/15/2014)