28 Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed because of their wickedness? I say unto you, If ye have supposed this, ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, There are many who have fallen by the sword;
29 And behold, it is to your condemnation; for the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain, that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.
30 And now behold, I say unto you, I fear exceedingly that the judgments of God will come upon this people, because of their exceeding slothfulness; yea, even the slothfulness of our government, and their exceeding great neglect towards their brethren, yea, towards those who have been slain:
31 For were it not for the wickedness which first commenced at our head, we could have withstood our enemies, that they could have gained no power over us; yea, had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves;
32 Yea, were it not for those king-men, who caused so much bloodshed among ourselves; yea, at the time we were contending among ourselves, if we had united our strength as we hitherto have done;
33 Yea, had it not been for the desire of power and authority which those king-men had over us; had they been true to the cause of our freedom, and united with us, and gone forth against our enemies, instead of taking up their swords against us, which was the cause of so much bloodshed among ourselves;
34 Yea, if we had gone forth against them, in the strength of the Lord, we should have dispersed our enemies; for it would have been done according to the fulfilling of his word.
35 But behold, now the Lamanites are coming upon us, and they are murdering our people with the sword; yea, our women and our children; taking possession of our lands, and also carrying them away captive; causing them that they should suffer all manner of afflictions; and this because of the great wickedness of those who are seeking for power and authority; yea, even those king-men.
36 But why should I say much concerning this matter, for we know not but what ye yourselves are seeking for authority? We know not but what ye are also traitors to your country?
37 Or is it that ye have neglected us because ye are in the heart of our country, and ye are surrounded by security, that ye do not cause food to be sent unto us, and also men to strengthen our armies?
38 Have ye forgot the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have ye forgot the captivity of our fathers?
