In Mormon 3:2, Mormon tells us that he was specifically asked by the Lord to “Cry unto this people—Repent ye and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.” This was the last warning for his people.
Mormon recorded in Mormon 3:4 that he received this command from the Lord and began preaching in AD 360, at 50 years old. He recorded that the event occurred at the end of the ten-year peace treaty made with the Lamanites, maybe as long as ten years after his tabernacle speech recorded by his son in Moroni 7. The treaty came to an abrupt end when the King of the Lamanites wrote a letter of warning that the time for the period of peace was over.
Mormon began, as instructed, to teach about repentance. In his earlier sermon, recorded in Moroni 7, while speaking to a band of believers, he had taught the higher law from the Sermon in the Temple, but now, he focused on the first principle of the Gospel, faith, repentance, and baptism. The ten-year celebration would have been a great time for people to have regrouped and returned to Christ, but apparently, they had not done so. This was a season of repentance, and his teaching was a great deal more than just a nice topic in conference.
The Lord had said, “Repent ye!” The verb “repent”was used purposefully.They had been on the run for a while, followed by a long season of jubilee and celebration. Now it was time to go back to work to re-establish the church. Mormon used the verb again in the expression of his inner desire, “And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment–seat of Christ” (Mormon 3:22, emphasis added).
Mormon commented in Mormon 3:3 that he had done what he had been commanded to do. “I did cry unto the people,” but his efforts were in vain. His people did not recognize that the Lord had spared them and had granted them a time for repentance. However, “behold, they did harden their hearts against the Lord” (Mormon 3:3).