Mormon was trusted by Ammaron. There is no information on the age of Ammaron or on his immediate kinship relations to the young Mormon, though they both descended from Nephi. However, this older man knew that this 10-year-old boy was very precocious, and he trusted him. Being trusted with some major assignment can be very influential in the development of confidence in the formation of the character of a young person, and indeed Mormon remembered that description. Being told that he was trustworthy likely made Mormon even more so. He was, even at that age, a very responsible person.
In Mormon 1:2, Ammaron said plainly to Mormon that he was a “sober” child. Likewise, Alma, when speaking to his sons Helaman and Shiblon, had ended his blessings and instructions by encouraging them to “be sober” (Alma 37:47; 38:15), and Nephi, Jacob, Benjamin, and Alma spoke words with “soberness” (1 Nephi 18:10; Jacob 2:2; 6:5) or with “truth and soberness” (Mosiah 4:15; Alma 42:31; 53:21). So, this word, in Nephite vocabulary, carried high praise and honor.
Today the word “sober” is used almost always to mean not influenced by drugs or alcohol, but according to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, the word “sober” described much more, including the following:
A person who is sober is calm, not under the influence of passion, without intemperate passion. He is cool, calm, moderate, freedom from inordinate passions, freedom from the heat of passion, calmness, coolness, habitual freedom from enthusiasm, inordinate passion or over-heated imagination. Gravity without sadness or melancholy.
The word “sober” comes from the Latin “sobrius” which also meant much more than simply “not intoxicated.” It also meant being “moderate, frugal, continent, reasonable, and sensible.” Mormon was by nature all of these things. His disposition was calm and level-headed in the worst of situations. See Mormon 3:16–22 in which he calmly steps down and becomes an “idle witness.” As readers, we can see these qualities coming through in Mormon’s statements and descriptions throughout the Book of Mormon, which are characteristically thoughtful, restrained, sensible, and wise. It reinforces my confidence in Mormon as an accurate and appropriate transmitter of the records of his people to know that his character, from a young age, disposed him toward leaving us with an accurate, perceptive, and carefully stated documentary.
Ammaron also referred to Mormon as being “quick to observe” (1:2), implying perhaps that he was good at accurately perceiving his surroundings, and maybe also quick to learn and obey. In Mormon 1:3, Ammaron counseled him to remember the things that “ye have observed concerning this people” in order to prepare to “take [particularly] the plates of Nephi unto yourself,” at the age of 24 (1:3–4).
The Nephites were not living their religion very well at this time, and they were making poor choices. An observant person sees his surroundings, considers them, and decides to do something better. Mormon continued in this vein, even stepping down as the commander when the behavior of the Nephites fell below his standard.
Mormon was also patient and obedient, and remembered his duty, all of which he attributed to his being a descendant of Nephi. At the age of ten years, he was asked to take stewardship of the records when he reached the age of twenty-four, in AD 334. More patient than many young people, he waited until the appropriate time to obtain the records. In recent years, research has shown that a knowledge of family history and origins have a beneficial effect on the choices that young people make.
Speaking about himself, Mormon commented that at the age of ten, he was “learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people,” using a phrase that is similar to the words Nephi used to describe himself (1 Nephi 1:1–2). One may suppose that Mormon was a diligent young student, considering the high quality of his later writing and editing. However, there had to be a time of preparation.
In Mormon 1:6, Mormon recorded that when he was eleven years old, his father took him south to Zarahemla. In AD 322, a war began by the borders of Zarahemla about the time that Mormon’s father took him to Zarahemla. They traveled southward, so they probably came from near Bountiful or the narrow neck of land where Mormon ended up at the end of his life. He found that the land was very over-populated: “The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea” (Mormon 1:7). As a young boy likely from a smaller, rural area, he seems to have been astounded by the big city.
Mormon’s father was probably involved in some way as a military leader, and the young Mormon went along to be exposed to military operations. This seems apparent because Mormon began at that time observing military details. He described the composition of the two sides, the numbers of soldiers, and the fact that there were several battles before the Lamanites capitulated and peace reigned for about four years.
Mormon’s calling as a prophet and religious leader occurred when he was fifteen years old, in AD 325–326. In Mormon 1:15, he described, “And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.” The similarity here to Joseph Smith’s life is obvious and worth noting. Joseph was visited by the Father and the Son around that same time in his life.
Mormon then went through a period of growth and preparation for the fulfillment of his calling. Having been visited by Jesus Christ, he immediately desired to begin teaching what he had learned, but was forbidden for a time because of the unrighteousness of the people. And, instead, the next year, at the age of sixteen, Mormon was acclaimed the military leader of the Nephite forces.
Mormon marked that date by stating both his age and the date in Mormon 2:2, which reads, “in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away.” This one link allows us to say that Mormon was 15 years old (in his 16th year), and that 326 years from the birth of Christ then ended. This means that he was born either in 310 or 311, depending on the month in which he was born. For convenience, we can say he was born in 311.
Based on Mormon’s evident precociousness, spirituality, lineage, and physical stature, Ammaron was thus certainly inspired five years earlier as he confidently selected Mormon at such a young age as the next record-keeper. Ammaron himself was no doubt quite old. He received the plates from his brother Amos, and they were both sons and grandsons of another Amos, who was a son or a grandson of leaders named Nephi in 4 Nephi. Although the chronological record is not explicit here, one can well imagine that Ammaron had searched and waited long, during the deteriorating years between AD 250–321 when Ammaron spoke to Mormon when he was “about ten years of age” (Mormon 1:2). Ammaron needed someone reliable and able to make and edit records. It is likely that his positive statements about Mormon’s strengths encouraged Mormon to develop those strengths further. An adult’s trust often proves to be invaluable to the development of young people. It is worthwhile to consider how and when we may want to provide positive reinforcement to young people.
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, “Mormon, the Man and the Message,” in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi Through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 1995), 117–131.
Book of Mormon Central, “What Do We Know about Mormon’s Upbringing? (Mormon 1:2),” KnoWhy 226 (November 8, 2016).