Fair Ones
FAIR ONES:
This song comes from Mormon's lament over the destruction of the Nephites found in Mormon 6-7. After Jesus visited the Nephites, they had 200 years of peace, a true utopia society. But eventually that love and goodness faded into greed and even hate. The people started to separate themselves again and the last remaining faithful ones (still known as Nephites) sink into darkness.
Lamanites want control of the land and the Nephites are pulled into another war. Mormon was a commander of the Nephite armies and fought against the Lamanites. When he saw that the people would not turn to God, he forsook the armies in protest and endeavored to preach the word of God. But the Nephites had rejected God and Mormon's preaching was in vain.
Because they were no longer supported by the hand of God, they began to lose their battles. Seeking revenge they attacked more and more and kept losing. Mormon saw that his people were about to be destroyed and offered to take command once more. It was his last sacrifice for the love of his people, because they were eventually destroyed.
At the end of the last battle, there were 24 Nephites left, including Mormon and his son Moroni. Before giving Moroni the assignment to protect and preserve the plates, he lamented the loss of his people and wrote his last words to the people of the future. This is a beautiful tribute to his fallen people and deserves to be made into song.
I chose a traditional blues style song with the guitar riffs and a mournful call of the singer. I wanted it to be slow and heavy, but not depressingly so or boring. I felt that blues would best convey the feelings in Mormon's heart while providing a feeling of warning to us today.
Today, religions of all sorts are under attack, both rhetorically and literally. And people's hearts are turned against one another. This is what happens when Christ is taken out of the picture, when we choose to change the truth and teach lies, just so we "don't offend" certain minority groups. But we end up offending anyway (probably worse) and our communities have moved from personal to online, making way for wolves in sheep's clothing.
I see a lot of parallels here with what Mormon is lamenting. His people were destroyed, not because they were hated by the Lamanites, but because they had knowingly turned away from God and chose not to believe so they could live their wicked lives. The warning here is to not turn from God, and to embrace Christ before it's too late. We live in fear when we should be living in hope and love.
