after that he had established himself king, he did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of the people, and they did anoint him to be their king. And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself, because of his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord. And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became exceeding rich under his reign, both in buildings, and in gold, and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored unto them. And Morianton did live to an exceeding great age, and then he begat Kim; and Kim did reign in the stead of his father; and he did reign eight years, and his father died. And it came to pass that Kim did not reign in righteousness, wherefore he was not favored of the Lord. And his brother did raise

up in rebellion against him, by which he did bring him into captivity; and he did remain in captivity all his days; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity; and in his old age he begat Levi, and he died.

7. And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity after the death of his father, for the space of forty and two years. And he did make war against the king of the land, by which he did obtain unto himself the kingdom. And after he had obtained unto himself the kingdom, he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper in the land, and he did live to a good old age, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Corom, whom he anointed king in his stead. And it came to pass that Corom did that which was good in the sight of the Lord, all his days; and he begat many sons and daughters; and after he had seen many days, he did pass away, even like unto the rest of the earth; and Kish reigned in his stead. And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Lib reigned in his stead. And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed; wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter. And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants; and they were exceeding industrious, and they did buy and sell, and traffic one with another, that they might get gain.

And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work. And they did have silks, and fine twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they might clothe themselves from their nakedness. And they did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plough and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also to thrash. And they did make all manner of tools with which they did work their beasts. And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceeding curious workmanship. And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it. And it came to pass that Lib did live many years, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Hearthom. And it came to pass that Hearthom reigned in the stead of his father. And when Hearthom had reigned twenty and four years, behold the kingdom was taken away from him. And he served many years in captivity; yea, even all the remainder of his days. And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com. And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of the kingdom. And he reigned over the half of the kingdom forty and two years; and he went to battle against the king Amgid, and fought for the space of many years, during which time Com gained power over Amgid, and obtained power over the remainder of the kingdom. And in the days of Com there began to be robbers in the land: and they adopted the old plans, and administered oaths after the manner of the ancients, and sought again to destroy the kingdom. Now Com did fight against them much; nevertheless, he did not prevail against them. And there came also in the days of Com many prophets, and prophesied of the destruction of that great people, except they should repent and turn unto the Lord, and forsake their murders and wickedness.

8. And it came to pass that the prophets were rejected by the people, and they fled unto Com for protection, for the people sought to destroy them; and they prophesied unto

Com many things; and he was blessed in all the remainder of his days. And he lived to a good old age, and begat Shiblom; and Shiblom reigned in his stead. And the brother of Shiblom rebelled against him; and there began to be an exceeding great war in all the land.

9. And it came to pass that the brother of Shiblom caused that all the prophets who prophesied of the destruction of the people, should be put to death; and there was great calamity in all the land, for they had testified that a greater curse should come upon the land, and also upon the people, and that there should be a great destruction among them, such an one as never had been upon the face of the earth; and their bones should become as heaps of earth upon the face of the land, except they should repent of their wickedness. And they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord, because of their wicked combinations; wherefore there began to be wars and contentions in all the land, and also many famines and pestilences, insomuch that there was a great destruction, such an one as never had been known upon the face of the earth, and all this came to pass in the days of Shiblom. And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did, the Lord did have mercy on them.

10. And it came to pass that Shiblom was slain, and Seth was brought into captivity, and did dwell in captivity all his days. And it came to pass that Ahah, his son, did obtain the kingdom; and he did reign over the people all his days. And he did do all manner of iniquity in his days, by which he did cause the shedding of much blood; and few were his days. And Ethem, being a descendant of Ahah, did obtain the kingdom; and he also did do that which was wicked in his days. And it came to pass in the days of Ethem, there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea, they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth, except they repented of their iniquities. And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts, and would not hearken unto their words; and the prophets mourned and withdrew from among the people. 11. And it came to pass that Ethem did execute judgment in wickedness all his days; and he begat Moron. And it came to pass that Moron did reign in his stead: and Moron did that which was wicked before the Lord. And it came to pass that there arose a rebellion among the people, because of that secret combination which was built up to get power and gain; and there arose a mighty man among them in iniquity, and gave battle unto Moron, in which he did overthrow the

half of the kingdom; and he did maintain the half of the kingdom for many years. And it came to pass that Moron did overthrow him, and did obtain the kingdom again. And it came to pass that there arose another mighty man; and he was a descendant of the brother of Jared. And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron and obtain the kingdom; wherefore Moron dwelt in captivity all the remainder of his days and he begat Coriantor.

12. And it came to pass that Coriantor dwelt in captivity all his days. And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and prophesied of great and marvellous things, and cried repentance unto the people, and except they should repent, the Lord God would execute judgment against them to their utter destruction; and that the Lord God would send or bring forth another people to possess the land, by his power, after the manner which he brought their fathers. And they did reject all the words of the prophets, because of their secret society and wicked abominations. And it came to pass that Coriantor begat Ether, and he died, having dwelt in captivity all his days.

CHAPTER V.

1. AND it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of Coriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land. And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him; for he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance, lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them, that by faith all things are fulfilled; wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvellous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw them not. And now, I Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would shew unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not

because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith, for it was by faith that Christ shewed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead: and he shewed not himself unto them, until after they had faith in him; wherefore it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he shewed himself not unto the world. But because of the faith of men, he has shewn himself unto the world and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen; wherefore ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith. Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God; wherefore, by faith, was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son, hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled; for if there be no faith among the⇓ children of men, God can do no miracle among them; wherefore he shewed not himself until after their faith. Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth. Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi, that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren, which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites; yea, and even all they who wrought miracles, wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ, and also them who were after. And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith. And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God. 2. And there were many whose faith was so exceeding strong even before Christ came who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. And behold, we have seen in this record, that one of these was the brother of Jared: for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his finger, he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith. And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold any thing from his sight; wherefore he shewed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil. And it is