In our family reading we came to the end of the fourth book of Nephi.

I find the last two verses interesting,

And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ.

And he did hide them up unto the Lord, that they might comeagain unto the remnant of the house of Jacob, according to the prophecies and the promises of the Lord. And thus is the end of the record of Ammaron.

When Ammaron closed up his record and hid it, it appears that he was fully expecting to be the end of the line. Can you see this old man, run down by the wickedness of everyone around him? The Spirit had instructed him to hide it away. What a weight, to put the pen down on the record and to think your done.

Perhaps it was for the safety of the record. Seldom was the record keeper just the observer. He probably was vocal and perhaps to keep the record safe he had to hide it and walk away. I don’t think it hard to fathom that perhaps there were many who were seeking the life of Ammaron and the gold upon his plates were written.

But there’s one hope. A boy, a sober boy, one who the Spirit whispers to Ammaron is worthy as a keeper of the plates. He intrusts him with a holy secret and charge to carry on as recorder, as witness to the end.  This boy, who by his 17th birthday will be the commander of the Nephite armies, will have to watch it all unravel.

The events that surround the end of the Book of Mormon are some of the saddest and tragic in all scripture, but so many of the messages are so hopeful and so full of light looking forward to our day. Like what Ammaron saw in Mormon, Mormon saw in us–the potential for good. The potential to take care and cherish the record.

Like Mormon we stand outnumbered in a world of unrest with very few moral anchors. Mormon and Moroni represent to me what it means to have a perfect brightness of hope in Christ. What lessons can we learn from this father and son?