Mormon and Genesis

Mormon, the primary editor of the Nephite record, lived in a time of great wickedness and sorrow. He witnessed the disintegration of the moral fabric of Nephite society and their final destruction as a people. His own book in the record that carries his name is "a small abridgment, daring not to give a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the commandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people" (Mormon 5:9).

Wickedness and the Flood

Mormon's longer account on the large plates of Nephi contains a more detailed account of the wickedness he witnessed, leading up to the final destruction of the Nephites as a people (Mormon 2:18; 4:11). While Mormon does not provide great detail about the wickedness of his people, he does underscore the fallen state of his people by alluding to one of the most wicked points in biblical history: the time preceding the Flood in the days of Noah.

At the time of wickedness before the Flood, Noah and his family were blessed by God. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). Mormon lamented the wickedness of his unrepentant people and wrote, "I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually" (Mormon 2:15). Unlike Noah and his family, the Nephites would not be spared destruction, because of their unwillingness to repent and return to God.

In Genesis, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5) and "the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11, 13). Mormon wrote, "And there never had been so great wickedness, among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people" (Mormon 4:12). Mormon also notes the violence that pervaded his own society (Mormon 4:11).

The wickedness before the Flood enveloped all aspects of society and man and "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"" (Genesis 6:5). Mormon describes the Nephites in similar terms. His people "repented not of the evil they had done but persisted in their wickedness continually"" (Mormon 4:10), and "every heart was hardened, so that they delighted in the shedding of blood continually" (Mormon 4:11).

Before the Flood, the Lord warned, "My spirit shall not always strive with man" (Genesis 6:3). When the Spirit ceased to strive with those in Noah’s day, they were destroyed. Mormon pointedly evokes that earlier period when he wrote, "the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive with their fathers" (Mormon 5:16), language that highlights the wickedness that prevailed among the Nephites in his time.

When mankind refused to repent, the Lord told Noah, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth" (Genesis 6:7). After the Nephites refused to repent and swore in vengeance to utterly destroy the Lamanites, the Lord said the Nephites "shall be cut off from the face of the earth" (Mormon 3:15).

Personal application

By alluding to the language of the account preceding the destruction by flood, Mormon skillfully highlights the gross wickedness of his people for the reader, without having to go into awful detail. While both the Lamanites and the Nephites were wicked, the wickedness of the Nephites far exceeded that of the Lamanites (Moroni 9:20) and was similar, as witnessed by Mormon, to the wickedness of man in the days of Noah.

Mormon’s words can be a warning to us today of the dangers of pervasive and continual wickedness. As you read, consider what you can do to keep yourself safe from the tide of wickedness.

Side-by-side Verses

Genesis	Mormon
But Noah found grace* in the eyes of the Lord* (Genesis 6:8).	I saw that the day of grace* was past with them, both temporally and spiritually* (Mormon 2:15).
God saw that the wickedness* of man was great in the earth* (Genesis 6:11, 13).	And there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people (Mormon 4:12).
Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). And the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:11).	Repented not of the evil they had done but persisted in their wickedness continually (Mormon 4:10). Every heart was hardened so that they delighted in the shedding of blood continually (Mormon 4:11).
*My spirit shall not always strive with man* (Genesis 6:5).	The Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive* with their fathers* (Mormon 5:16).
I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:7).	Because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth (Mormon 3:15).