The Book of Omni… is the sixth book in the Book of Mormon….
Omni opens up with Omni confessing that he fought many battles to keep his people, the Nephities from falling into the hands of their enemy the Lamanites. However, he confesses that he has failed to follow all the commandments of God, calling himself a wicked man. He passes the plates down to his son Amaron.
Because of the wickedness, explains Amaron; “…the Lord did visit them in great judgment; nevertheless, he did spare the righteous that they should not perish…” (Omni 1:7) This shows that even during great wickedness in the world, God does spare the righteous. Amaron passes the plates down to his brother Chemish, who only writes one verse testifying of what his brother had wrote to be true.
The plates are then transferred to the son of Chemish, Adinadom. Abinadom opens up by explaining that he has, with his; “…own sword, have taken the lives of many of the Lamanites in the defence of my brethren.” (Omni 1:10) Here we learn that killing another human being in defense of yourself or others IS justified, even under God’s wrath. Abinadom goes on to testify of the writing that has been added to the plates so far, and makes note that he has no prophecy to add, but that he would continue to preserve them by passing them down to the next generation.
Amaleki, the son of Abinadom continues to write on the plates, opening up by testifying of Mosiah, who was the king of Zarahemla. Amaleki explains that when Mosiah discovered the people of Zarahemla, he knew that they came out of Jerusalem; “…Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out of Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah was carried away captive into Babylon. 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.” (Omni 1:15-16)
This is where things get very interesting, if we read in the Bible, in Jeremiah we learn that King Zedekiah was overtaken by the Chaldeans’ army in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah is forced to watch his sons be murdered before his eyes, then having his own eyes removed and being bound in chains and sent to Babylon. (See Jeremiah 39:4-8). However, we learn from the Book of Mormon that one of the sons of Zedekiah escaped. Nephi testifies before corrupt judges who sought to incite the people against him, but Nephi testifies that Abraham, Moses, Zenock, Zenos, Ezias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lehi all testified of Christ. Nephi questions the judges; “… will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yeah, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem…?” (Helaman 8:21) This and other instances throughout the Book of Mormon show how much it meshes with the stories of the Bible. The reason for this is simple, they are all interconnected. The people of the Book of Mormon have ancestral ties with the people of the “Old World” found in the Bible.
Mulek and his people traveled across the ocean to the “New World”, where they became numerous. However, with most civilization, eventually the prosperity ends. The people of Zarahemla had fallen away from the Gospel and denied that there was a Creator. Because of this they had many wars and contentions amongst themselves, they lost the record of their people and they even lost their own language. Mosiah taught the people of Zarahemla his own language and caused that a genealogy being written up based on his own memory. The people loved Mosiah and caused that he be there king. The people gave Mosiah a large stone that had engraving upon it, by the power of God he was able to translate these engravings.
The engravings gave an account of Coriantumr and the slaying of his people. It also held a genealogy of his fathers, who came out from the tower, at the “…. time the Lord confounded the language of the people…” (Omni 1:22) Here we learn that more people going back thousands of years were living in the Americas that we know of today. Coriantumr’s father came from the Tower of Babel, when the Lord not only confounded the languages, but scattered the people around the World.
Amaleki continues to write that he was born in the days of Mosiah, after his death, his son Benjamin ruled in his placed. Amaleki, knowing that King Benjamin was a just and good man decides to pass the plates onto him upon his death. Amaleki explains that “…there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil.” (Omni 1:25) How simple of principle is that? If it is good, it comes from God. If it is bad, it comes from the devil. Before his death, Amaleki exhorts anyone reading his testimony to; “…come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.” (Omni 1:26) Again, another simple principle. To be “saved” and return to the presence of God, we must come unto Him. It is NOT enough to simply confess that He is your savior. Coming unto Him means that you offer your whole soul unto him, continuing in fasting, prayer and enduring to the end. This is a process and something that is ongoing throughout your life. We must always follow in the footsteps of Jesus and do as He would do. Remember, faith without works is dead.
Zach's Scripture Study 