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Book of Mormon
Revelation

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Lyrics: Scene Two - Night

ALMA: (holding a book of metal plates)
God's word, and Abinadi's words to us
This is the light I desire, as I would know
That which God would say to me. How strange it seems,
That a book should contain my salvation:
A book heavy with the promise of future years,
Of prophecies to come, of prophets yet unborn.
Will God speak to me now?
Then let it be through these words!

(He opens the book)

Abinadi! Though he is dead, his words live;
They enter my heart, and I am born again.
That words could be so powerful, I might doubt,
Knew I not the power of this record.
I feel urged to write, but know not what to say.
Oh, God! Is this thy answer, that I be struck dumb,
And have not utterance before thee? How shall I console
Thy people? What hope can I give them?
(He reads aloud)
"Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places
Of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people,
He hath redeemed Jerusalem."

(He closes the book and places it on the ground)

Abinadi, did you also see our salvation?
My heart is heavy as the stormclouds
That cover this land. When will come the dawn?

(Exit. Enter PRIESTCRAFT)

PRIESTCRAFT:
Night is full upon us, and the waves of terror that we stirred
On a sea of rage, spread farther and reach their shore.
All things are in commotion, for men's hearts fail them,
And they fall. No light shines from barred shutters
To reveal a land filled with fear. The Prince of Night
Rides in his shadowy chariot, a scourge of darkness
To a world now dark.

(Exit. Enter AMULON, wearing a sword)

AMULON:
Is this where Alma worships? This the temple to his god?
Where is the pulpit? Where are the gold, the jewels,
The outward symbols of God's glory? I see nothing here
But an empty room. Then is his God also empty?

(He sees the plates and picks them up)

Is this his book of doctrine, his scripture?
Gold, most precious metal.
A book, nothing more.

(He reads aloud.)

"The words of Abinadi, which he spake before the king."
Abinadi: he returns to confront me once more,
And his words remain.

(He reads silently. Enter - as each voice sings - the CHORUS as VOICES OF NIGHT, standing behind AMULON; no one on stage sees them)

VOICES OF NIGHT:
Abinadi, prophet of God! Abinadi, doomed to fire!
The words of Abinadi, his words!
Abinadi, who still lives and speaks!
Slain by fire, he walks the earth!
His words remain when he is dust!
Prophet of God, slain for sin and iniquity!
Abinadi!

AMULON: (dropping the plates)
No, he is dead, he is dead!
I killed him, he lives no more!

VOICES:
Abinadi, Abinadi, prophet of God:
He speaks from the dust.

AMULON:
He is dead; why does he torment me?

VOICES:
His words, his prophecies remain.

AMULON:
I killed him, I burned him; his ashes are gone,
Scattered by the wind. He is no more.

VOICES:
Abinadi!

AMULON:
Yet the wind speaks: his ashes stir to life,
To words of power and punishment upon me;
He walks from the grave, to live again.

VOICES:
He speaks from the dust, and lives.

AMULON:
No, he is dead; let him die!
I could not kill him with fire;
Let me now kill him with my sword,
As I draw it on his spirit!

(Brandishes the sword)

I thrust, and he is slain!

VOICES:
Abinadi, Abinadi.

AMULON:
No; he is not here. I am alone.
He is gone; I sheathe my sword.

(Sheathes it)

VOICES:
He lives: Abinadi!

AMULON:
He is dead, but is with me still.
He roams the darkness of my mind,
To surprise me in my weakness,
And bring remorse at his death.
No, I will not yield to him. He will not
Have power over me, from this moment. I will
Control him, force him to my own strong will.
Abinadi! Hear me as I address you!


VOICES:
He will not hear you, nor answer your words.

AMULON:
He must listen when I speak! He shall not mock me
As does Alma, for I will forbid it!

VOICES:
No man can give you respect.

AMULON:
I will demand and receive it, for my word is law.
Now will Alma and his people tremble at my wrath!
This temple I will destroy, that they may have
No place to practice their mockery of religion.
I will work them; I will raise temples to the true God,
And praise his might. Though Alma shudders at my commands,
He will obey them, or I will slay him.

VOICES:
The wind rises, carrying cruel destruction with it,
And none shall stop its onward rush across this land,
Until it ravages all it meets, flesh and stone,
Crumbling all beneath its onslaught of judgment.

AMULON:
Earth too will rise, and sea, and fire, all things
Proclaim the might of him who rules above all!
I will cleanse this land with fire, purify it of all
Evil deeds and doctrines. None will dare stray
From the path I establish. Be with me, my people!
Together we will find a new world of hope,
Better than this one of sordid fear, and we will live
In those halls of light that beckon me onward,
Until I reach that end I have seen and desired
From the first. My people! I will lead you to your land
Of promise; not Zarahemla, but a land far better
Than an earthly one.
There is no one to stop me, save only Alma
Who is blind, and cannot see the truth I would give him.
He will not oppose me then; no one can oppose
That which all would have come to pass.

(Draws the sword)

Come, sword, to my hand: by sword and fire shall I triumph,
In a new day of life,
Of unending rewards. And I will achieve it. I will!

VOICES:
Abinadi, Abinadi.

AMULON:
Abinadi, you also threaten my goal.
But I will stop you and will win.

VOICES:
His words remain. Abinadi!

AMULON:
Yes, his words, his words, these words; this record.
It is all that is left of you, Abinadi,
All that still lives. But I will destroy you
And your words. Nothing will exist when I finish,
Not a trace of your lies!

VOICES:
Stay your hand: he speaks from the dust, from the dust.

AMULON:
And his ashes too are dust. The dust of the earth
Moves in obedience to God's will; Abinadi sleeps,
And his tongue is now stilled. Why should I fear
A dead record? I have killed Abinadi; his words
Will die of themselves. Were I to destroy this record,
Worlds yet unborn would revere it as scripture.
I leave it to be passed on as scripture
And none will heed its message,
But will view it from afar, and say,
"It is too ordinary for God's word."
I leave the record for Alma.
Men cannot read a closed book;
They will not read an open one.

(Enter PRIESTCRAFT)

PRIESTCRAFT:
The night is dark, Amulon; what leads you here,
That you shed your light against the darkness?

AMULON:
I fear danger from this people, and arm myself.
If they rise they will be as a wave of the sea,
And I will be powerless to stop them, unless I prepare.

VOICES:
Abinadi!

AMULON:
What is that I hear?

PRIESTCRAFT:
Only the wind; no more.

AMULON:
The wind rises in the hearts of this people,
And they are moved to wrath against me.

PRIESTCRAFT:
You have the King's decree: if the people rise,
Let his armies judge them.

AMULON:
I too am judged, but not of the King.

PRIESTCRAFT:
Whose hand is raised against you, God's servant?

AMULON:
A dead hand, whose form is not swayed by the light
Of reason: even Abinadi, who is dead, who now walks
Before me, to my destruction.

PRIESTCRAFT:
A dead hand? Then let it die! Cease these fears,
These midnight groanings of your spirit,
And Abinadi will depart with the dawn.

(Exit)

VOICES:
Abinadi! The voices of night echo your words,
And your spirit stirs the wind of fear in men's souls.

AMULON:
And that which I feel is not from God or Satan.
My own soul is the source of this fear,
And I know not the depth of the night within me.
VOICES:
Such a night can have no dawn.

AMULON:
Nor can I ever know the extent of my fear:
For if I search it closely, I will know the agony
Of seeing myself mirrored there.

VOICES:
The sword of selfdoubt lodges in our hearts,
Killing what is good within us
Until death of spirit is the only reality.

AMULON: (stares at his sword)
My sword, herald of my own dark future!
I thought to be supreme, to rule over Alma.
Yet now I find life a burden, worth as little as the pain
Of selfslaughter.

(Points the sword at himself)

This sword, sharp as the word of God,
Would of itself seek to end my agony.

(Pushes the sword point away with his free hand)

I stay it with my hand; I feel compelled to live,
As if my life has still some unseen goal for my ambition,
That would bring all to the dust before it.

VOICES:
Abinadi speaks from the dust.

AMULON:
And where I once was dust, there shall I again be,
With no gain from the cycle. The kings of the earth
Are gone, and will go. My ambition is my better half,
For I have slain the inner soul that once was my heart.
My ends disappear, as too my glory; like a wave driven
Before the wind, I slip through the sea of life.
Abinadi, you have escaped me. I cannot see your shadow,
For it covers me, blinding me to the light
I no longer know. My sword, away from me!

(Casts it aside.)

I know it not! Vanity; it is vanity. My pride
Has brought me to this, that I stand alone
In a deserted temple, and commune with the night.
There is no solace here. Now is my path unsure,
For my wandering steps to explore. Abinadi!
I am dead, not you. Your flames were my pyre;
Your ashes have scattered, as my will.
The lightning I called upon you
Has struck me instead, and I knew it not,
But indulged my pity in selfdespair
For not knowing the truth about you.
Abinadi! My hand was not unsure when I threw the torch
On your pyre; how am I now palsied, unable to hold a torch
Aloft against the soaring darkness?

(He sinks to the ground. During the final chorus, the light shifts from him to the plates.)

VOICES:
The sun will rise, and we will see that which was hidden
Our souls will stand naked before heaven,
And no clouds will blot our sins
From before the face of God.

(Curtain)

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