Words of Mormon (7th Grade)

Words of Mormon 1

Verse	Original	7th Grade
Words of Mormon 1:1	And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.	I’m Mormon. I’m about to give the record I’ve been keeping to my son Moroni. I’ve seen almost all of my people, the Nephites, destroyed.
Words of Mormon 1:2	And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ that I deliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may profit them.	It’s been several hundred years since Christ came, and I am now giving these records to my son. I think he will see the total destruction of our people. But I pray that God will let him live through it, so he can write about them and about Christ, hoping it might help them someday.
Words of Mormon 1:3	And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.	Now, I want to talk a bit about what I’ve written. After I summarized the records from the plates of Nephi up to the reign of King Benjamin, who Amaleki mentioned, I looked through the records given to me and found these plates. They contained a short account of the prophets from Jacob to King Benjamin’s reign, and also many words from Nephi.
Words of Mormon 1:4	And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass—	I am pleased with what is written on these plates because they talk about the prophecies of Christ’s coming. My ancestors saw many of these prophecies come true, and I know that everything that has been predicted about us up to now has happened, and everything predicted for the future will definitely happen too.
Words of Mormon 1:5	Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.	So, I’ve chosen to use these things to finish my record. For the rest of my record, I’ll take it from the plates of Nephi. I can’t write even a small fraction of what happened to my people.
Words of Mormon 1:6	But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.	But look, I’m going to take these plates, which have these prophecies and revelations, and add them to the rest of my records because they are very special to me. And I know they will be very special to my people too.
Words of Mormon 1:7	And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.	I am doing this for a wise purpose because the Spirit of the Lord tells me to. I don’t know everything, but the Lord knows everything that will happen. He works through me to accomplish His will.
Words of Mormon 1:8	And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.	My prayer to God is for my brothers, that they may come back to knowing God and the redemption of Christ, and that they may once again be a delightful people.
Words of Mormon 1:9	And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and the understanding which God has given me.	Now I’m Mormon, and I’m finishing up my record, which I’m taking from Nephi’s plates. I’m doing this with the knowledge and understanding that God has given me.
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.	So, after Amaleki gave these plates to King Benjamin, he added them to the other plates, which were records passed down by the kings from generation to generation until King Benjamin’s time.
Words of Mormon 1:11	And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into my hands. And I, Mormon, pray to God that they may be preserved from this time henceforth. And I know that they will be preserved; for there are great things written upon them, out of which my people and their brethren shall be judged at the great and last day, according to the word of God which is written.	These records were passed down from King Benjamin through the generations until they ended up with me. I, Mormon, pray to God that they will be preserved from now on. And I believe they will be preserved because they contain important writings. My people and their relatives will be judged by them on the last day, according to God’s word written on them.
Words of Mormon 1:12	And now, concerning this king Benjamin—he had somewhat of contentions among his own people.	Now, about King Benjamin—he had some disputes among his own people.
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.	The Lamanite armies came down from the land of Nephi to fight against his people. But King Benjamin gathered his armies and stood against them, fighting with his own strength and the sword of Laban.
Words of Mormon 1:14	And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had driven them out of all the lands of their inheritance.	With the Lord’s strength, they fought against their enemies and killed many thousands of the Lamanites. They kept fighting until they had driven the Lamanites out of all their inherited lands.
Words of Mormon 1:15	And it came to pass that after there had been false Christs, and their mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes;	After there had been false Christs, their mouths were shut, and they were punished for their crimes.
Words of Mormon 1:16	And after there had been false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many dissensions away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king Benjamin, with the assistance of the holy prophets who were among his people—	After there were false prophets and false teachers among the people, and they were punished for their crimes; and after much fighting and many people leaving to join the Lamanites, King Benjamin, with the help of the holy prophets among his people…
Words of Mormon 1:17	For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people—	King Benjamin was a holy man, and he ruled his people righteously. There were many holy men in the land who spoke God’s word powerfully and with authority. They were very direct because the people were so stubborn.
Words of Mormon 1:18	Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.	So, with their help, King Benjamin worked really hard with all his strength and soul, along with the prophets, to bring peace to the land again.