All It Takes

By Fourth Nephi, all of the Nephites and Lamanites are converted to the Church of Christ.  It took a great deal of time, effort, and teaching for their conversions to come to pass. Once converted, though, the Nephites and the Lamanites had become truly united. Because of their righteousness, their was no contention in the land, only love. The 16th verse reads, "and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God."  To me, that seems like quite a strong statement--which tells us just how righteous and united this group of people was at that time.

However, in the 201st year after the birth of Christ, after the passing of the second generation, there became a small group who became prideful and placing importance on the fine things of the world.  After hardly any time at all, more and more people became more and more unrighteous, as they sought to get gain and actively denied Christ. Not long after this, all groups were wicked except for the disciples of Jesus Christ.

If we are not careful, a relatively small transgression can easily become a large one. It's much like a slippery slope--the first few steps we are fine, but before we know it we experience a loss of control. We must adhere closely to the commandments of the Lord, as they are there to protect us. We truly become free and the happiest people when we follow the gospel of Jesus Christ.