Many years went by and Lehi’s family divided between the followers of Nephi and the followers of Lehi’s oldest son, Laman. So, the two main peoples of the Book of Mormon history were the Nephites and the Lamanites. Stories of faith and courage were played out before our eyes as we made our way through the history of the Book of Mormon people.
The most important part of the Book of Mormon was the visit of Jesus to the people in America shortly after his resurrection in Jerusalem. Members of the church use that account to explain what Jesus said in the New Testament in John 10:15: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and there will be one fold and one shepherd.” Nobody, not even Bible scholars, understood this scripture. But we did. We were just children, but we knew what Jesus meant, because our parents had gotten the Illustrated stories for us and used them to teach us about our religion.
It took several years before the last volume arrived. When we sat on the couch and listened to our parents read us the last stories, we were all more grown up than when we had started, of course. Most of us had moved off Mom or Dad’s lap and onto the couch. Other kids had come along and were taking their turns at being the baby of the family. But we still listened intently to the stories. We had learned a thousand years of spiritual history about people who used to live in America.
The last pages were about the final struggles of the Nephites as they were destroyed by the Lamanites. Their last prophet, Moroni, lived to write the end of his civilization and hid his record in the ground. It would be found fourteen hundred years later by Joseph Smith.
For us, that was the end of the sixteen volume set, but it was only the beginning of a beautiful world of learning about God and his dealings with men on the earth.
Coming Tomorrow: Practicing the Piano
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