“The Words ONE and ALL etc. in 3 Nephi 17” by grego

The Words ONE and ALL etc. in 3 Nephi 17

(c) grego
2010

There are a few more interesting uses of the words ONE, ALL, etc., this time in 3 Nephi 17:

9 And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, ALL the multitude, with ONE ACCORD, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with ALL THEM that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal THEM EVERY ONE as they were brought forth unto him.
10 And they did ALL, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.
11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.
12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till THEY had ALL been brought unto him.
13 And it came to pass that when THEY had ALL been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.
14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.
15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after this manner do they bear record: THE EYE hath never seen, neither hath THE EAR heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And NO TONGUE can speak, neither can there be written by ANY MAN, neither can THE HEARTS OF MEN conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and NO ONE can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.
20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold MY JOY IS FULL.
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, ONE BY ONE, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
22 And when he had done this he wept again;
23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
25 And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for THEY ALL OF THEM did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.

“Book of Mormon: Was King Mosiah King over the Nephites Previous to Being King over the Nephites and Mulekites?” by grego

Book of Mormon: Was King Mosiah King over the Nephites Previous to Being King over the Nephites and Mulekites?

grego
(c) 2010

I just noticed today, that the Book of Mormon does not say that Mosiah had been king over the Nephites before being appointed king over the Nephites and Mulekites. Here’s the introduction to Mosiah:

Omni 1:12 Behold, I am Amaleki, the son of Abinadom. Behold, I will speak unto you somewhat concerning Mosiah, who was made king over the land of Zarahemla; for behold, he being warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of the land with him, into the wilderness—
13 And it came to pass that he did according as the Lord had commanded him. And they departed out of the land into the wilderness, as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord; and they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness until they came down into the land which is called the land of Zarahemla.
14 And they discovered a people, who were called the people of Zarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews.
15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.
16 And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.
17 And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them.
18 But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates.
19 And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to be their king.
20 And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God.

Note there is nothing there that says Mosiah was king of the Nephites previous to that appointment over the united groups.

So why had I assumed that?

I guess there were a few things:

1. it seemed weird for me for Mosiah to become king over two peoples if he hadn’t first been a king over one;

2. Mosiah had brought “the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews” (v. 14).

3. Mosiah had brought the plates of the Nephite kings:
Words of Mormon 1:10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up these plates into the hands of *king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the kings, from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin*.

4. Mosiah had brought the sword of Laban:
Words of Mormon 1:13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the *sword of Laban*.

So had Mosiah been king over the Nephites, before being warned by the Lord and leading out a righteous remnant? The text doesn’t say, I don’t know; very likely, though. :)

UPDATE: So why had I wondered about this in the first place? Mainly because of this verse:
Jacob 1:11 Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would.

Then suddenly we have the name “Mosiah”. Did that tradition change sometime between the 544BC (of Jacob 1) to 279~130BC (when Mosiah? If so, ok, no problem. If not, then that would make it likely that Mosiah was not a proper Nephite king.

“Racism in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 5?” by grego

Racism in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 5?

grego
(c) 2010

Some would say that these verses show racism in the Book of Mormon:
2 Nephi 5:21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.
23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.
24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

Sorry to be a little technical, but technical is what it has to be…

Being that the leaders of the Lamanites and the Nephites were literal brothers, I’m not sure “race” is even a suitable term.

“Dark skin as a bad thing to God” is not appropriate, either, as it had to do with the Nephites, not God, and it was done as an appropriate physical representation of a metaphor the Nephites and Lamanites understood, and likely to additionally remind the Nephites (not the Lamanites) of the reason to not intermarry with the Lamanites.

“Creating a distinguishing mark that the Nephites would find non-enticing” would probably be most appropriate as a description of what’s going on.

Is that racist? I can’t see how, unless you were reading into it, as it clearly relies on cultural attraction of Nephites. Had the Nephites originally been dark, and darkness were a symbol or metaphor of righteousness in their culture, it is possible that the mark put on the Lamanites by God, would have been to have white skin…

It’s also essential to distinguish between the “mark” (dark skin) and the “curse/ cursing” (cut off from God, resulting in being an idle people, etc.) (see Alma 3 for this clearer discussion on mark and curse).

Well, the critic might say, what about this part?:
22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.
And that verse comes right after talking about the dark skin (verse 21)!

Correct, it does. However, it also comes right before the verse talking about the curse (not the mark/ dark skin) (verse 23).

Also, note in that verse that the “loathsome”ness would be there unless the Lamanites repented; and in the Book of Mormon, in more than one place, the Lamanites *do* repent, they become industrious instead of idle, but their skin color does not change; so that “loathsome”ness is talking about the curse, not the mark/ dark skin.

There are a few other places in the Book of Mormon that other things are said:
Jacob 3:5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you…
6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people.
7 Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?
8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.
9 Wherefore, *a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers*.
10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day.

Jacob is clear here talking about the dark-skinned Lamanites: don’t treat people negatively because of their skin color; the part that matters when we stand before God is the purity of our hearts, and why/ why not.

Other prophets (Alma in Alma 9, Nephi in Helaman 7, and Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 15) all talk about the decadent state of the Lamanites being their fathers’ fault, and that the Lord will preserve them and bless them later.

These promises are for the Lamanites before Jesus Christ’s coming, and the Lamanites afterwards (these were two different groups).

Note that there were always Nephites who left, went over to, and at least sometimes married the Lamanites, and from the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi on, some converted and/ or peaceful Lamanites among the Nephites.

Take care!

“Book of Mormon: A Critique of ‘The Living Scriptures’ Video ‘Samuel and the Sign'” by grego

“Book of Mormon: A Critique of ‘The Living Scriptures’ Video ‘Samuel and the Sign'”

grego
(c) 2010

When it comes to “scriptures”, nothing kills faster than leaving the script… and that is what happens a few times in The Living Scriptures video, “Samuel and the Sign”.

I understand ‘artistic license’, etc. I don’t believe it should be used so liberally with the scriptures, though. However, that’s not the problem I have here. Here’s what rubs me: my daughters watch, and think “that’s in the Book of Mormon”–only to find out during FHE, or Primary, or whenever, that it’s not; and not only that, but a few parts are plain-out *wrong*.

That’s a nice gift for a child, don’t ya think?

Ok, so Brian Nissen’s [corrected by Anonymous; before incorrectly “Scott Orson Card’s”] (I’m assuming the script was all his idea) getting a way to kill the believers is artistic license, and it’s a good possibility. Kudos. It took some thought and imagination, and it works.

There are a few parts that don’t, however. So, what are they, and how do they conflict with the Book of Mormon?

1. After much prayer, Nephi is told by the Lord that the sign will come that night (3 Nephi 1:11-15).
In the video, Nephi is in the dark as to whether the sign will come or not, and no one else knows, either. He doesn’t seem to have prayed much, either.

2. There is no darkness at the going down of the sun (Helaman 14:3-4; 3 Nephi 1:15, 19).
In the video, it does turn dark at the going down of the sun–if only for a moment or two.

3. The wicked are so amazed and fearful, they fall down at the sign, in fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecy (Helaman 14:7, 3 Nephi 1:16).
In the video, only the bad leader trembles and runs away; for everyone else, hey, it’s all ok, been there done that, it’s over, let’s shake and get on.

4. Jesus will be born the next day (Helaman 14:3; 3 Nephi 1:13, 19).
In the video, Nephi–at the time the sign is given–says that Jesus has been born.

Related scriptures:
Helaman 14:
2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.
3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.
4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.
7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.

3 Nephi 1:11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.
12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.
15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.
16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.
17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.
18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.
19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.
20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

“Book of Mormon: ‘Married and Given in Marriage'” by grego

“Book of Mormon: ‘Married and Given in Marriage'”

grego
(c) 2010

Some (especially those who refer to themselves as “feminists”) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not agree with the man marrying and the woman being given in marriage.

Is this wording cultural-based, or principle-based?

More to consider, from the Book of Mormon:
4 Nephi 1:11 And they were married, and given in marriage, and were blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them.

Other verses from the Book of Mormon regarding “taking a wife”:
1 Ne. 7: 1, 6
1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.

1 Ne. 16: 7
7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

Mosiah 25: 12
12 And it came to pass that those who were the children of Amulon and his brethren, who had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no longer be called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might be called the children of Nephi and be numbered among those who were called Nephites.

Alma 17: 24
24 And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon, and caused that his bands should be loosed; and he would that Ammon should take one of his daughters to wife.

Alma 47: 35
35 And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time.

Ether 8: 10-11
10 And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of Kimnor; and behold, I am fair, and I will dance before him, and I will please him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall desire of thee that ye shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye say: I will give her if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king.
11 And now Omer was a friend to Akish; wherefore, when Jared had sent for Akish, the daughter of Jared danced before him that she pleased him, insomuch that he desired her to wife. And it came to pass that he said unto Jared: Give her unto me to wife.

Ether 9: 4, 24
4 And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over the people, by the hand of wickedness; and he gave unto Akish his daughter to wife.
24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two years old. And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old.

“Book of Mormon: ‘Putting Up’ in Storage in 3 Nephi 3 and 4” by grego

“Book of Mormon: ‘Putting Up’ in Storage in 3 Nephi 3 and 4”

grego
(c) 2010

There’s an interesting part in the Book of Mormon regarding storage, and its parallel with regards to spiritual things:

3 Nephi 3:
13 Yea, he sent a proclamation among all the people, that they should gather together their women, and their children, their flocks and their herds, and all their substance, save it were their land, unto one place.
22 … they had taken their horses, and their chariots, and their cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and their grain, and all their substance, and did march forth by thousands and by tens of thousands, until they had all gone forth to the place which had been appointed that they should gather themselves together, to defend themselves against their enemies.
26 …And Gidgiddoni did cause that they should make weapons of war of every kind, and they should be strong with armor, and with shields, and with bucklers, after the manner of his instruction.

And, in 3 Nephi4:
3 …the Nephites had left their lands desolate, and had gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one body.
4 …the Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space of seven years…

3 Nephi 3:
12 Now behold, this Lachoneus, … *did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them*.
25 And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins; and *they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them in the time that their 3 Nephi enemies should come down against them to battle*.

Contrast this putting up of prayers unto the Lord against their enemies versus praying unto the Lord to be able to go up themselves to fight them:
3 Nephi 3:20 Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: *Pray unto the Lord, and *let us* *go up* upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.
21 But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if *we* should *go up* against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands.
While they put up their food in storage, they also put up their prayers in storage, too, in preparation for the day they would be needed. One more thing to add to your preparedness and self-reliance inventory! (By the way, prayers never have an expiration date–they can be stored for years!)

“Book of Mormon: Positive Double-Meaning Ambiguity of ‘Extend’ in Alma 9” by grego

“Book of Mormon: Positive Double Meaning Ambiguity of ‘Extend’ in Alma 9”

grego
(c) 2010

There is a double meaning ambiguity of “extend” in Alma 9, and it works really well both ways:

Alma 9:16 For there are *many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land*.
17 And *at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word*, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.
24 For behold, *the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites*, but they are not unto you if ye transgress…

Does that mean “extend” as in “to extend an invitation”, or “extend” as in “to prolong or make available at a later time”?

Similarly here:
Helaman 15:12 Yea, I say unto you, that *in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites*; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them.

Alma 19:36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is *extended* to all people who will repent and believe on his name.

“Book of Mormon: The Prayers of the Righteous Save the Wicked” by grego

Book of Mormon: The Prayers of the Righteous Save the Wicked

grego
(c) 2006-2010

There are a few places in the Book of Mormon where we learn a principle of saving and destruction. It’s that the prayers of the righteous save the wicked, and that when the wicked cast out the righteous from among them, and there are no more souls to save, then the wicked are ripe for destruction and the Lord’s hand is not stayed.

Here are a few verses relating to this:

1 Nephi 1:20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
(The wicked in Jerusalem were killing the prophets, jailing them, and drove/ cast Lehi out (2 Nephi 10:20); Jerusalem was destroyed a few years later.)

Mosiah 15:5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people. (Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed about forty years later.)

Mosiah 17:3 But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him.
5 And it came to pass that the king caused that his guards should surround Abinadi and take him; and they bound him and cast him into prison.
(The Noahites killed Abinadi and cast out Alma; then they drove out Alma and his people; the Lamanites attacked, killed many, and put the rest in servitude.)

Alma 10:22 Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the sword.
23 But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye repent.
(The wicked in Ammonihah killed and drove out the righteous (Alma 14, 15:1); they were destroyed about three months later.)

Alma 62:40 And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the righteous’ sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared.

Helaman 13:14 But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared. But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction; yea, wo be unto this great city, because of the wickedness and abominations which are in her.

3 Nephi 9:11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.

Ether 13:13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people. (The Jaredites shortly destroyed themselves.)

And other similar ones, from the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and the Doctrine and Covenants:

Genesis 18:23-33; 19:12-13 (Abraham)

Prov. 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

2 Nephi 26:15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

Mormon 5:21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

Doctrine and Covenants 25:12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.