Hello my friends welcome back I am thrilled to join you for scripture study today as always so thank you for that privilege

Now this week we are barreling into the book of Mormon now we've been in the book of Mormon all year

But this this time this week and next week, it's

Mormon's actual book. Okay? We've been seeing him, oh, poke through the narrative every once in a

while with an occasional thus we see statement.

Now if you have the eyes to see, you can start to see his editorial fingerprints

all over the text.

But today he is actually here, alive, and present.

We get to meet him. We see his ministry begin to unfold.

Well, what ministry it is. Sometimes it's a ministry of the word.

More often, it's a ministry of the sword as he is forced to take up that sword against

the Lamanites. His is a difficult time period. One of the worst in the Book of Mormon's history because

he lives at the end of it.

Last week when we studied fourth Nephi, that was the best of times and the worst of times.

The highest of the high, as far as the coming of Christ, the conclusion of Christ's ministry and then this

mini millennium there among the Nephites. But then this decline 200 years

later to the point that by the end of fourth Nephi the Lord is removing his

prophets. That prophet is removing the records and hiding them up to the Lord.

And we really wonder is is God closing up shop?

Has he given up on his people because those people

have given up on him?

It's in that moment that Mormon enters the story.

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