4 And whether they will slay me, I know not; therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth, and whither I go it mattereth not.
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof.
6 And behold, I would write it also, if I had room upon the plates; but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone; my father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolks, and I have not friends, nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live, I know not.
7 Behold, four hundred years have passed since the coming of our Lord and Savior.
8 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city, and from place to place, even until they are no more, and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
9 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it.
10 And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.
11 And now behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none, save it be the Lamanites and robbers, that do exist upon the face of the land;
12 And there are none that do know the true God, save it be the disciples of Jesus, who did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land, no man knoweth.
13 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.
14 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these.
