Mormon hides all the records in Cumorah, save the abridged ones, which he gives to Moroni. The final battle, in which all but twenty-four Nephites are killed, and a few who escape to the south. Mormon closes his record. 385 985 Moroni records the death of his father and the extinction of his people, also the Lamanites are at war with each other all over the land. 400 1000 Moroni closes his record. 421 1021 APPENDIX. THE COMING FORTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON IN THE LATTER DAYS. In the course of nature, Moroni died, and in the Lord's due time he was resurrected.[36] The sacred records, with the other holy things that he had buried in Cumorah, still remained in his care. On him the duty fell to watch that no unsanctified hands disturbed their rest. When the time set in the councils of heaven for their translation came, he delivered them to the instrument chosen by the Holy Ones on high. He, having accomplished his work, returned them to Moroni, who still keeps ward and watch over these treasures. But was there any fear that the records would be disturbed by unholy hands? We believe there was. It must not be forgotten that the Lamanites of the days of Moroni were not the benighted savages of earlier centuries. They were not the pure blood of Laman and his associates. They were dissenters from the Nephites, apostates from the true church; and they were as well acquainted with the fact that the records existed as the prophet himself. In the days of Mormon he removed the plates from the hill Shim, for the very reason that he feared the Lamanites would get hold of and destroy them. There were the same reasons for fear should they discover their resting place in Cumorah. The tradition of the existence of these records remained for long ages with the Lamanites; undoubtedly growing fainter and fainter and more confused as the centuries rolled by, but still not entirely extinguished. Indeed the remembrance is not utterly obliterated in the minds of some of Lehi's children to this very day. So strong was this recollection in earlier days, that we are told of a time when a council of wise men, with royal consent, made an attempt to rewrite them. How successful they were we have no means of telling; but this we know, that when the Spaniards conquered Mexico the land was full of sacred books. These so much resembled the Bible of the Christians that the Catholic priests came to the conclusion that it was a trick of the devil to imitate the holy scriptures, and in this way lead the souls of the Indians to perdition. In their bigoted zeal they burned every copy of these books or charts that they could find, and inflicted abominably cruel punishments upon those who were found concealing them. In this way almost every copy of these valuable works were destroyed.