“He Will Cause Them to Be Scattered and Smitten”

K. Douglas Bassett

1 Ne. 22:7-8; 3 Ne. 16:8-9; 3 Ne. 20:27-28; refer in this text to 1 Ne. 13:14; 1 Ne.13:34-38

“The fulfillment of this prophecy turned out to be rather fantastic. In the 1500’s Hernando Cortez (with only 11 ships, 400 Europeans, 200 natives, 16 horses and 14 guns ) attacked, plundered and massacred into subjugation the whole Aztec empire of several million natives. Francisco Pizarro’s experience in South America was equally amazing. With a starved and desperate band of 168 Spaniards, he subverted and conquered the entire domain of several million Incas. The conquest of both the Aztecs and Incas was largely the result of their confusion in thinking that the Spaniards might be the returning Fair God who had visited their ancestors in ancient times, established a golden age of prosperity and peace, and then said he would come again at a later time. The expectation of a coming Messiah who would be fair-skinned and have a beard was one of the most universal cultural characteristics to be found among the millions of Indians whom the Spanish conquered. Unfortunately, these benighted descendants of Lehi had lost the records which we are now reading, so they did not know that before their Fair God returned to earth, the Gentiles would come and scatter them to the four winds. They also did not know that after they were conquered it would be another group of GENTILES who would bring them the Gospel and prepare them for the return of the Fair God, Jesus Christ. All this the descendants of Lehi were going to have to find out the hard way.” (Cleon Skousen, Treasures From The Book Of Mormon, 1:1186-1187)

Latter-Day Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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