Having summarized accounts of the Lord’s visit among the
Nephites and the 200-year era of peace that followed, Mormon
reported that, starting in the 201st year, pride, disunity, and
wickedness took over (see 4 Nephi 1:24–47). In the book of
Mormon we read of events where he was an eyewitness. These
events include the demise of the Nephite civilization. In Mormon
1–6 we can empathize with Mormon’s sorrow over the destruction
of his people, a destruction which came upon them because of
their rejection of the Lord and His gospel. We can also resolve
to avoid such calamity in our own lives. The Prophet Joseph
Smith (1805–44) taught, “The word Mormon, means literally, more
good” (History of the Church, 5:400). In an overview of Mormon’s
life, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) referred to the
meaning associated with Mormon’s name, a name that has become a
reference to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
“May I remind you for a moment of the greatness and of the
goodness of this man Mormon. He li