Literature: Mormon includes his personal reaction to his people’s abominations. This is not a required part of the narrative but the expression of a man who cares about his people and is witnessing the ending of his world. His lament takes the form of two parallel thoughts followed by a contrast:
And wo is me
because of their wickedness
for my heart has been filled with sorrow
because of their wickedness,
all my days;
nevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up
at the last day.
The parallels begin with Mormon’s sorrow for his people’s wickedness. While “all my days” feels somewhat strained in English, it is obviously required to match “at the last day” in the contrasting phrase. Mormon’s sorrow “all his days” (mortality) will be reversed when he is lifted up “at the last day” (resurrection). He contrasts his own faith to the people’s wickedness. Mormon and his people will share a mortal, but not an eternal, fate.