tHE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI
HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY
An account of Lehi, his wife Sariah, and his four sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns Lehi to leave the land of Jerusalem, and because he prophesies to the people about their iniquity, and they try to kill him. He journeys three days into the wilderness with his family. Nephi returns with his brothers to Jerusalem to get the record of the Jews. They marry the daughters of Ishmael. They take their families into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness. They come to large waters, a place called Bountiful. Nephi’s brethren rebel against him. He stops them and builds a ship. They cross the large waters to the promised land.
CHAPTER 1
Nephi begins the record of his people—In vision Lehi sees a pillar of fire and reads from a book of prophecy—He foretells the coming of the Messiah, and prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem—He is persecuted by the Jews. About 600 B.C.
1 I am Nephi, born of good parents. I was taught in all the learning of my father and have seen many afflictions in my life. But I’ve been highly favored of the Lord all my life, having a great knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God, so I make a record of my life’s works.
2 I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
3 I know this record is true, which I make myself and according to my knowledge.
4 My father, Lehi, lived in Jerusalem all his days, and in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, many prophets came, prophesying to the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem would be destroyed.
5 So my father prayed to the Lord with all his heart on behalf of his people.
6 As he prayed, a pillar of fire came and stood on a rock, where he saw and heard much, and because of the things he saw and heard he shook and trembled exceedingly.
7 He returned to his house at Jerusalem and lay on his bed, overcome with the Spirit and the things he had seen.
8 While overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, where he saw the heavens open and thought he saw God sitting on his throne, surrounded with numberless groups of angels singing and praising their God.
9 He saw One descending out of heaven, and he saw that his brightness was greater than the sun at noon.
10 He also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness was greater than the stars in the sky.
11 They came down and went out over the earth, and the first stood before my father and gave him a book, and told him to read.
12 As he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
13 He read, saying, Curses to Jerusalem, because I have seen your abominations! My father read many things about Jerusalem—that it would be destroyed with its people, and many would die by the sword, and many would be carried away captive to Babylon.
14 When my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he exclaimed many things to the Lord, like, Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God Almighty! Your throne is high in the heavens, and your power, goodness, and mercy are over all the people of the earth, and because you are merciful, you will not allow those who come to you to be destroyed!
15 This was the language of my father in praising his God, because his soul rejoiced, and his whole heart was filled because of the things the Lord had shown him.
16 I do not make a full record of the things my father has written, because he has written many things he saw in visions and dreams, and that he prophesied and spoke to his children, which I will not fully record.
17 I make an abridgment of the record of my father, on plates I have made with my own hands, and then I will make an account of my own life.
18 After the Lord had shown so many marvelous things to my father, Lehi, about the destruction of Jerusalem, he went out among the people and began to prophesy and tell them about the things he had seen and heard.
19 The Jews mocked him because of the things he testified about them, because he testified of their wickedness and abominations; and he testified that the things he saw, heard, and read in the book plainly showed the coming of a Messiah and the redemption of the world.
20 When the Jews heard these things they were angry with him, just like with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, stoned, and killed. They also tried to find and kill him. But I, Nephi, will show you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those he has chosen because of their faith, which makes them mighty even to the power of deliverance.
CHAPTER 2
Lehi takes his family into the wilderness, leaving their property—Lehi offers a sacrifice to the Lord and teaches his sons to keep the commandments—Laman and Lemuel complained against their father—Nephi is obedient and prays in faith; the Lord speaks to him and chooses him to rule over his brothers. About 600 B.C.
1 The Lord spoke to my father in a dream, saying, Lehi, you are blessed because of the things you have done, and they try to kill you because you have been faithful and declared to this people the things I commanded you.
2 The Lord commanded my father in a dream to take his family and depart into the wilderness.
3 He was obedient and did what the Lord commanded him.
4 He left his house, the land of his inheritance, his gold, his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him except for his family, provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.
5 He traveled in the wilderness near the Red Sea with his family, with my mother, Sariah, and my older brothers, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.
6 When he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley next to a river.
7 He built an altar of stones, made an offering to the Lord, and gave thanks to the Lord our God.
8 He named the river Laman, which emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was near the mouth of the river.
9 When my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the Red Sea, he spoke to Laman, saying, O that you would be like this river, continually running into the sea of all righteousness!
10 He also spoke to Lemuel: O that you would be like this valley, firm, steady, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!
11 He said this because of the stubborn pride of Laman and Lemuel, because they complained against their father about many things: because he was a visionary man and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave their home, gold, silver, and precious things, to die in the wilderness. They said he had done this because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.
12 This is how Laman and Lemuel, the oldest sons, complained against their father. And they complained because they did not know the workings of that God who had created them.
13 Nor did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. They were like the Jews at Jerusalem who tried to kill my father.
14 With power my father spoke to them in the valley of Lemuel, being filled with the Spirit until their bodies shook. And he stopped them, so they dared not speak against him, so they did as he commanded them.
15 My father lived in a tent.
16 Although I, Nephi, was very young, I was large and also had great desires to know the mysteries of God, so I cried to the Lord, and he visited me and softened my heart so I believed all the words of my father. So I did not rebel against him like my brothers.
7 I spoke to Sam, telling him what the Lord had shown me by his Holy Spirit, and he believed me.
18 But Laman and Lemuel would not listen to me, so I cried to the Lord for them, grieved because of the hardness of their hearts.
19 The Lord said to me, Nephi, you are blessed because of your faith, because you have searched for me diligently and with humility.
20 And if you keep my commandments, you will prosper and be led to a land of promise, a land I have prepared for you, a land choice above all other lands.
21 If your brothers rebel against you, they will be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
22 If you keep my commandments, you will be made a ruler and teacher over your brothers.
23 In the day they rebel against me, I will curse them with a sore curse, and they will have no power over your descendants unless they rebel against me also.
24 And if they rebel against me, your brothers’ seed will punish your seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.
CHAPTER 3
Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass—Laban refuses to give up the plates—Nephi appeals to and encourages his brothers—Laban steals their property and tries to kill them—Laman and Lemuel hit Nephi and Sam and are stopped by an angel. About 600–592 B.C.
1 I returned from speaking with the Lord to the tent of my father.
2 My father spoke to me: I have dreamed a dream, where the Lord commanded me that you and your brothers will return to Jerusalem.
3 Laban has the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, which are engraved on plates of brass.
4 The Lord has commanded me that you and your brothers should go to the house of Laban, find the records, and bring them here into the wilderness.
5 Your brothers complain, saying this is a hard thing I have required of them, but I have not required it; it is a commandment of the Lord.
6 So go, my son, and you will be favored of the Lord because you have not complained.
7 I said to my father, I will go and do the things the Lord commands, because I know that the Lord gives no commandments to men unless he prepares a way for them to accomplish the thing he commands them.
8 When my father heard these words he was very glad because he knew the Lord had blessed me.
9 My brothers and I journeyed in the wilderness toward the land of Jerusalem.
10 When we had reached Jerusalem, my brothers and I consulted together.
11 We cast lots for who would go to the house of Laban. The lot fell on Laman, so he went to the house of Laban and talked with him in his house.
12 He asked Laban for the records engraved on the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father.
13 But Laban was angry, refused the request for the records, and threw him out. And he said, You are a robber, and I will kill you.
14 But Laman fled and told us the things Laban had done. We became very sorrowful, and my brothers were about to return to my father in the wilderness.
15 But I said, As the Lord lives, and as we live, we will not go to our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing the Lord commanded us.
16 So let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Let’s travel to our father’s house, outside the city, because he left gold, silver, and all kinds of riches because of the commandments of the Lord. He had to flee from the land because he knew that Jerusalem would be destroyed because of the wickedness of the people.
18 They rejected the words of the prophets, so if my father had stayed in the land after he had been commanded to flee, he would have been destroyed too.
19 It is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, so we may preserve for our children the language of our fathers,
20 And also that we may preserve for them the words spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been given to them by the Spirit and power of God since the world began, to this present time.
21 With these words I persuaded my brothers to be faithful in keeping the commandments of God.
22 We went to my father’s house and gathered our gold, silver, and precious things.
23 Then we went to the house of Laban again.
24 We asked Laban to give us the records engraved on the plates of brass, and we would give him our gold, silver, and all our precious things.
25 When Laban saw the greatness of our property, he lusted after it, so he threw us out and sent his servants to kill us so he could take our property.
26 We fled from the servants of Laban, so we had to leave our property behind, and Laban took it.
27 We fled into the wilderness, so the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock.
28 Laman was angry with me and my father, and so was Lemuel because he listened to Laman. Laman and Lemuel spoke many harsh words to us, their younger brothers, and hit us with a rod.
29 As they hit us with a rod, an angel of the Lord came and stood in front of them, and he said, Why do you hit your younger brother with a rod? Do you not know that the Lord has chosen him to be a ruler over you because of your iniquities? You will go to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban to you.
30 After the angel had spoken to us, he departed.
31 When the angel had left, Laman and Lemuel began to complain again, saying: How can the Lord deliver Laban to us? He is a mighty man, who can command fifty, even kill fifty, so why not kill us?
CHAPTER 4
Nephi slays Laban at the Lord’s command and then secures the plates of brass by strategy—Zoram chooses to join Lehi’s family in the wilderness. About 600–592 B.C.
1 I said to my brothers, Let us go again to Jerusalem and be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord, because he is mightier than all the earth, so why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, or even than his tens of thousands?
2 So let us go and be strong like Moses, who spoke to the waters of the Red Sea, and they divided, and our fathers came through on dry ground out of captivity, and the armies of Pharaoh followed and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.
3 You know this is true, and you also know that an angel has spoken to you, so how can you doubt? Let us go. The Lord is able to deliver us like our fathers, and to destroy Laban like the Egyptians.
4 When I had said these words, they were still angry and continued to complain. But they did follow me until we came to the walls of Jerusalem.
5 It was night, so I directed them to hide outside the walls. Then I crept into the city and went toward the house of Laban.
6 I was led by the Spirit, not knowing what I should do.
7 But I went, and as I came near the house of Laban I saw a man who had fallen to the ground, drunk with wine.
8 As I came close, I discovered that it was Laban.
9 I saw his sword and took it from its sheath. The hilt was pure gold, and the workmanship was very fine, with a blade of the most precious steel.
10 The Spirit told me to kill Laban, but I said in my heart, I have never shed the blood of man. So I pulled back and desired not to kill him.
11 The Spirit said again, The Lord has delivered him to you. And I knew that he had tried to kill me, and would not listen to the commandments of the Lord, and had stolen our property.
12 Again the Spirit said: Kill him because the Lord has delivered him to you.
13 The Lord kills the wicked to accomplish his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should die than to allow a nation to weaken and die in unbelief.
14 When I had heard these words, I remembered the words the Lord spoke to me in the wilderness: If your seed will keep my commandments, they will prosper in the land of promise.
15 And I thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses unless they had the law.
16 And I knew that the law was engraved on the plates of brass.
17 I knew the Lord had delivered Laban to me for this reason—that I could obtain the records according to his commandments.
18 So I obeyed the voice of the Spirit, took Laban by the hair of the head, and struck off his head with his own sword.
19 Then I put on myself the clothing of Laban, and put his armor around my waist.
20 Then I went to the treasury of Laban, and as I went I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys. I commanded him in the voice of Laban to go with me to the treasury.
21 He thought I was his master, Laban, because he saw the clothing and the sword fastened to my waist.
22 He spoke to me about the elders of the Jews, knowing that his master had been out with them at night.
23 I spoke to him as if I were Laban.
24 I told him that I would carry the engravings on the plates of brass to my elder brethren, who were outside the walls.
25 I also requested that he follow me.
26 He thought I spoke of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly Laban, so he followed me.
27 He spoke to me many times about the elders of the Jews as I went to my brothers outside the walls.
28 When Laman saw me he was very afraid. So were Lemuel and Sam, so they fled from me, believing I was Laban, and that he had killed me and wanted to kill them too.
29 I called after them, and they heard me, so they stopped running away.
30 When the servant of Laban saw my brothers, he began to tremble and was about to flee from me and return to the city of Jerusalem.
31 I was a large man, and receiving much strength from the Lord, I seized the servant of Laban and held him so he could not flee.
32 I said to him that if he would listen to me, as the Lord lives and as I live, we would spare his life.
33 I spoke to him with an oath that he didn’t need to be afraid, that if he would go into the wilderness with us, he would be a free man like us.
34 And I said to him, Surely the Lord has commanded us to do this, and should we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of God? So if you go into the wilderness to my father, you can stay with us.
35 Zoram, the servant, took courage from the words I spoke, and he promised that he would go into the wilderness to our father. He also made an oath that he would stay with us from then on.
36 We wanted him to stay with us so the Jews would not know about our flight into the wilderness, so they would not pursue and destroy us.
37 When Zoram had made an oath to us, our fears about him ended.
38 We took the plates of brass and the servant of Laban, and journeyed into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
CHAPTER 5
Sariah complains against Lehi—Both rejoice over the return of their sons—They offer sacrifices—The plates of brass contain writings of Moses and the prophets—The plates identify Lehi as a descendant of Joseph—Lehi prophesies concerning his seed and the preservation of the plates. About 600–592 B.C.
1 After we had returned to our father in the wilderness, he was filled with joy, and my mother, Sariah, was very glad because she had mourned because of us.
2 She thought we had died in the wilderness, and she had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man. She said, You have led us from our home, and now my sons are gone, and we will die in the wilderness.
4 My father said, I know I’m a visionary man, but if I had not seen the things of God in a vision, I would not have known the goodness of God but would have stayed at Jerusalem and died with them.
5 But I have obtained a land of promise, for which I rejoice, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons from Laban and bring them to us in the wilderness.
6 This is how my father comforted my mother, Sariah, about us while we journeyed in the wilderness to the land of Jerusalem to obtain the record of the Jews.
7 When we had returned to the tent of my father, their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.
8 She said, Now I know for sure that the Lord has commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness, and I also know that the Lord has protected my sons and delivered them from Laban, and given them power so they could accomplish what the Lord commanded them.
9 They rejoiced greatly and offered sacrifice and burnt offerings to the Lord; and they gave thanks to the God of Israel.
10 Then my father, Lehi, searched all the records engraved on the plates of brass.
11 He found that they contained the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world and of Adam and Eve, our first parents;
12 Also a record of the Jews, from the beginning to the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;
13 And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning to the reign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies of Jeremiah.
14 My father also found on the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers, so he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph, who was the son of Jacob and was sold into Egypt, where he was preserved by the Lord so he could preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from dying from famine.
15 They were also led out of captivity in Egypt by that same God who had preserved them.
16 Laban also was a descendant of Joseph, so he and his fathers had kept the records.
17 When my father saw all these things, he was filled with the Spirit, and began to prophesy concerning his seed—
18 That these plates of brass would go out to all nations, cultures, tongues, and people who were of his seed.
19 He said that these plates of brass would never perish, nor would they decay with time. And he prophesied many things concerning his seed.
20 Thus far my father and I had kept the commandments the Lord had given us.
21 We had obtained the records the Lord commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable, even of great worth to us, so we could preserve the commandments of the Lord for our children.
22 It was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us as we journeyed in the wilderness toward the land of promise.
CHAPTER 6
Nephi writes the things of God—Nephi’s purpose is to persuade men to come to the God of Abraham and be saved. About 600–592 B.C.
1 I do not give the genealogy of my fathers now, nor will I give it on these plates I am writing because it is given in the record that has been kept by my father.
2 It is enough for me to say that we are descendants of Joseph.
3 It does not matter to me that I make a full record of all the things of my father because they cannot be written on these plates, where I need the space to write the things of God.
4 My full intent is to persuade men to come to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and be saved.
5 I do not write the things that are pleasing to the world but the things that are pleasing to God and to those who are not of the world.
6 So I command my seed not to occupy these plates with things that are not of worth to men.
CHAPTER 7
Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem and invite Ishmael and his household to join them in their journey—Laman and others rebel—Nephi calls his brethren to have faith in the Lord—They bind him with cords and plan his destruction—He is freed by the power of faith—His brethren ask forgiveness—Lehi and his company offer sacrifice and burnt offerings. About 600–592 B.C.
1 After my father had finished prophesying about his seed, the Lord spoke to him again, saying that it was not good for Lehi to take his family into the wilderness alone. His sons needed to take potential wives so they could raise up seed to the Lord in the land of promise.
2 The Lord commanded him that my brothers and I should return to Jerusalem, and bring Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.
3 So we went back into the wilderness toward Jerusalem.
4 We went to the house of Ishmael, where we made friends with Ishmael and told him the words of the Lord.
5 The Lord softened the heart of Ishmael and his household, so they journeyed with us into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
6 As we journeyed in the wilderness, Laman, Lemuel, two of Ishmael’s daughters, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, rebelled against me, Sam, Ishmael, his wife, and his three other daughters.
7 They rebelled by wanting to return to the land of Jerusalem.
8 I was grieved for the hardness of their hearts, so I spoke to them, saying to Laman and Lemuel, You are my older brothers, so how can you be so hard in your hearts and blind in your minds that you need me, your younger brother, to speak to you and set an example for you?
9 How have you not listened to the word of the Lord?
10 How have you forgotten that you have seen an angel of the Lord?
11 How have you forgotten what great things the Lord has done for us in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we obtained the record?
12 How have you forgotten that the Lord can do all things for men according to his will if they exercise faith in him? So let us be faithful to him.
13 If we are faithful to him, we will obtain the land of promise, and someday you will know that the word of the Lord will be fulfilled about the destruction of Jerusalem because his words about the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.
14 The Spirit of the Lord will soon stop working with them because they have rejected the prophets and put Jeremiah in prison. And they tried to kill my father, driving him out of the land.
15 If you choose to return to Jerusalem, remember my words, that you will die with them, because the Spirit of the Lord compels me to speak.
16 When I had spoken these words to my brothers, they were angry at me and tied me with rope because they wanted to kill me by leaving me in the wilderness to be eaten by wild beasts.
17 But I prayed to the Lord, saying, O Lord, by my faith in you, will you deliver me from my brothers, giving me strength to burst these bands that tie me?
18 When I had said this, the ropes fell off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brothers and spoke to them again.
19 They were angry with me again and tried to grab me, but one of the daughters of Ishmael, her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael pled with my brothers, so they softened their hearts and stopped trying to kill me.
20 They were sorrowed because of their wickedness, so they bowed down before me and pled with me to forgive them for what they had done against me.
21 I openly forgave them for all they had done, and I encouraged them to pray to the Lord their God for forgiveness. And they did. After they had prayed to the Lord, we continued our journey to the tent of our father.
22 After we all came to the tent of my father, they gave thanks to the Lord their God, and offered sacrifice and burnt offerings to him.
CHAPTER 8
Lehi sees a vision of the tree of life—He partakes of its fruit and desires his family to do the same—He sees a rod of iron, a strait and narrow path, and the mists of darkness that surround men—Sariah, Nephi, and Sam partake of the fruit, but Laman and Lemuel refuse. About 600–592 B.C.
1 We had gathered all kinds of seeds of grain and fruit.
2 While my father waited in the wilderness, he spoke to us, saying, I have dreamed a dream, or seen a vision.
3 And because of what I saw, I rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and Sam, because I have reason to believe that they and many of their seed will be saved.
4 But I fear greatly because of you, Laman and Lemuel, because I thought I saw a dark and dreary wilderness in my dream.
5 I saw a man dressed in a white robe, and he stood before me.
6 He spoke to me and asked me to follow him.
7 As I followed him, I saw that I was in a dark and dreary wasteland.
8 After I had traveled for many hours in darkness, I began to pray to the Lord that he would have mercy on me according to his many tender mercies.
9 After I had prayed to the Lord, I saw a large and spacious field.
10 I saw a tree whose fruit was desirable to make people happy.
11 I ate the fruit of the tree, and it was sweet above all that I had ever tasted. The fruit was white, greater than all the whiteness I had ever seen.
12 As I ate the fruit, it filled my soul with great joy, so I desired that my family would eat it too, because I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.
13 As I looked around for my family, I saw a river of water, which ran near the tree whose fruit I was eating.
14 I looked and saw that the river came from headwaters a little way off, and there I saw your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi, and they stood like they didn’t know where to go.
15 I signaled to them and said with a loud voice that they should come to me and eat the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.
16 And they came to me and ate the fruit.
17 I wanted Laman and Lemuel to come and eat the fruit too, so I looked toward the head of the river to find them.
18 I saw them, but they would not come to me and eat the fruit.
19 I saw a rod of iron, which extended along the bank of the river and led to the tree where I stood.
20 I also saw a narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron to the tree where I stood; and it also went by the head of the spring to a large and spacious field, which was like a world.
21 I saw numberless groups of people, many of whom were pressing forward to reach the path that led to the tree where I stood.
22 They came and began on the path that led to the tree.
23 A great mist of darkness arose, so that they who had begun on the path lost their way, so they wandered off and were lost.
24 I saw others moving forward, and they caught hold of the end of the rod of iron, and they moved forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron until they came and ate the fruit of the tree.
25 And after they had eaten the fruit of the tree, they looked around as if they were ashamed.
26 I looked around also, and on the other side of the river I saw a great and spacious building, which was so high that it appeared to be in the air.
27 It was filled with people, old and young, male and female, and they dressed very finely, and they were mocking and pointing their fingers toward those who were eating the fruit.
28 After they had tasted the fruit, they were ashamed because of those who were mocking them, and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
29 I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father, but to be short in writing, he saw other crowds pushing forward; and they caught hold of the end of the rod of iron and pushed forward, continually holding tightly to the rod of iron until they fell down and ate the fruit of the tree.
31 He also saw other crowds feeling their way toward that great and spacious building.
32 Many were drowned in the depths of the spring, and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.
33 The multitude that entered into that strange building was great. And after they entered into the building they pointed the finger of contempt at me and those who were eating the fruit; but we paid them no attention.
34 My father said, As many as listened to those in the great building, fell away.
35 My father said that Laman and Lemuel did not eat the fruit.
36 And after my father had spoken all the words of his vision, which were many, he said that he greatly feared for Laman and Lemuel, that they would be cast off from the presence of the Lord.
37 He invited them with all the feeling of a tender parent that they would listen to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them and not cast them off.
38 After he had preached to them and prophesied to them about many things, he invited them to keep the commandments of the Lord.
CHAPTER 9
Nephi makes two sets of records—Each is called the plates of Nephi—The larger plates contain a secular history; the smaller ones deal primarily with sacred things. About 600–592 B.C.
1 My father saw, heard, and spoke all these things as he lived in a tent in the valley of Lemuel, and a great many more things that cannot be written on these plates.
2 These plates, the smaller plates of Nephi, are not where I make a full record of the history of my people. The more complete account of my people is kept on other plates, also called the plates of Nephi.
3 The Lord commanded me to make these smaller plates, especially as an engraved account of the ministry of my people.
4 The other plates should be an engraved account of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people, while these plates are more about the ministry.
5 The Lord has commanded me to make these plates for his wise purpose, which purpose I do not know.
6 The Lord knows all things from the beginning, so he prepares a way to accomplish all his works among men. And he has all power to fulfill all his words. And thus it is. Amen.
CHAPTER 10
Lehi predicts that the Jews will be taken captive by the Babylonians—He tells of the coming among the Jews of a Messiah, a Savior, a Redeemer—Lehi tells of the coming of the one who would baptize the Lamb of God—He tells of the death and resurrection of the Messiah—He compares the scattering and gathering of Israel to an olive tree—Nephi speaks of the Son of God, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the need for righteousness. About 600–592 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, give an account on these plates of my actions, and my reign and ministry; so I must speak about the things of my father and my brethren.
2 After my father had finished speaking of his dream and encouraging them to be diligent, he spoke to them about the Jews.
3 He said that they would be destroyed, with the great city Jerusalem, and many would be carried captive into Babylon, and then, according to the Lord’s own time, they would return from captivity and would possess again the land of their inheritance.
4 Six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem, the Lord God would raise up a prophet among the Jews—a Messiah or Savior of the world.
5 He also spoke about the prophets, how great a number had testified about this Messiah or Redeemer of the world, of whom he had spoken.
6 All mankind were in a lost and fallen state, and would be forever unless they relied on this Redeemer.
7 And he spoke about a prophet who would come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord.
8 This prophet would cry in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, because there stands among you one you do not know, and he is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to fasten. My father spoke much about this thing.
9 My father said this prophet would baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, and he would baptize with water, and would baptize the Messiah with water.
10 And then he would testify that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world.
11 My father spoke to my brothers about the gospel that would be preached among the Jews, and about the weakening of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had killed the Messiah who would come, he would rise from the dead and show himself to the Gentiles by the Holy Ghost.
12 My father spoke much about the Gentiles, and about the house of Israel, who would be compared to an olive tree, whose branches would be broken off and scattered over all the earth.
13 He said we would be led to the land of promise to fulfill the word of the Lord, that we would be scattered over all the earth.
14 And after the house of Israel would be scattered, they would be gathered again; and after the Gentiles had received the fullness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree—the remnants of the house of Israel—would be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.
15 Thus, my father prophesied and spoke to my brothers, and also many more things that I do not write in this book because I have written as many of them as were useful in my other book.
16 All these things I have spoken about were done as my father lived in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel.
17 I heard all the words of my father about his vision and the things he spoke by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God, the Messiah who would come. Then I, Nephi, desired also to see, hear, and know these things by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God to all those who diligently seek him, in times past and in the time he would show himself to men.
18 Because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the way is prepared for all men from the beginning of the world if they repent and come to him.
19 Whoever diligently searches will find, and the mysteries of God will be opened to them by the power of the Holy Ghost, the same in old times as in times to come, so the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
20 So remember, O man, you will be brought to judgment for all your doings.
21 If you have tried to do wickedness in your life, when you are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God you must be cast off forever, because no unclean thing can live with God.
22 And the Holy Ghost gives authority that I should speak these things and not deny them.
CHAPTER 11
Nephi sees the Spirit of the Lord and is shown in vision the tree of life—He sees the mother of the Son of God and learns of the condescension of God—He sees the baptism, ministry, and crucifixion of the Lamb of God—He sees the call and ministry of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb. About 600–592 B.C.
1 I desired to know the things my father had seen, and I believed that the Lord was able to show them to me, so as I sat pondering in my heart, I was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord to a very high mountain, which I had never seen or visited before.
2 The Spirit said to me, what do you want?
3 And I said, I want to see the things my father saw.
4 The Spirit said, Do you believe that your father saw the tree he spoke of?
5 I said, You know that I believe all the words of my father.
6 Then the Spirit cried with a loud voice, Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God, because he is God over all the earth, above everything. And you are blessed, Nephi, because you believe in the Son of the most high God, so you will see the things you have desired.
7 I will give you this for a sign: After you have seen the tree with the fruit your father tasted, you will see a man descending from heaven, and you will testify that he is the Son of God.
8 The Spirit said, Look! And I saw a tree that was like the tree my father had seen, and its beauty was far beyond all beauty, and it was whiter than driven snow.
9 After I had seen the tree, I said, I see that you have shown me the tree that is precious above all.
10 He said, What do you want?
11 I said, To know the interpretation of it. I spoke to him as a man, because I saw that he was in the form of a man, even though I knew that he was the Spirit of the Lord, and he spoke to me like one man speaks with another.
12 He said, Look! But when I looked for him, I saw that he had gone.
13 I saw the great city Jerusalem and other cities. I saw the city of Nazareth, and in it I saw a virgin, who was very beautiful and white.
14 I saw the heavens open, and an angel came down, stood before me, and said, Nephi, what do you see?
15 I said, A virgin, most beautiful and unblemished above all other virgins.
16 He said, Do you understand the condescension of God?
17 I said, I know that he loves his children, but I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 He said, The virgin you see is the mother of the Son of God, after the way of the flesh.
19 I saw that she was carried away in the Spirit for a time, and then the angel said, Look!
20 I looked and saw the virgin again, holding a child in her arms.
21 The angel said, See the Lamb of God, the Son of the Eternal Father! Do you know the meaning of the tree your father saw?
22 I answered, Yes, it is the love of God, which spreads out into the hearts of men, and it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he said, Yes, and the most joyous to the soul.
24 Then he said, Look! And I looked and saw the Son of God going out among the people, and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.
25 I saw that the rod of iron that my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the spring of living waters, or to the tree of life, which waters represent the love of God. I also saw that the tree of life represented the love of God.
26 The angel said, Look and see the condescension of God!
27 I looked and saw the Redeemer of the world, who my father spoke of, and I saw the prophet who would prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God was baptized by him, and after he was baptized, I saw the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down from heaven and rest on him in the form of a dove.
28 And I saw that he went out ministering to the people in power and great glory, and the crowds were gathered to hear him; and I saw that they cast him out from among them.
29 I saw twelve others following him, and they were carried away in the Spirit, so I could not see them.
30 The angel said, Look! And I saw the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending on men and ministering to them.
31 Again he said, Look! And I saw the Lamb of God going out among the people. And I saw crowds of people who were sick and afflicted with all kinds of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spoke and showed all these things to me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God, and the devils and unclean spirits were cast out.
32 And again the angel said, Look! And I saw the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people. The Son of the everlasting God was judged by the world, and I testified of what I saw.
33 I saw that he was lifted up on the cross and killed for the sins of the world.
34 Then I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered to fight against the apostles of the Lamb, the name used by the angel for the twelve.
35 The multitude of the earth was gathered together, and I saw that they were in a large and spacious building, like the building my father saw. The angel of the Lord spoke again, saying, Look at the world and its wisdom. See how the house of Israel has gathered to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
36 I saw and testified that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world, and it fell, and its fall was very great. The angel said, Thus will be the destruction of all nations, cultures, tongues, and people who fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
CHAPTER 12
In vision, Nephi sees the land of promise, and the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its people; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the Twelve Disciples and the Twelve Apostles will judge Israel; and the disgusting and filthy state of those who weaken in unbelief. About 600–592 B.C.
1 The angel said, Look, and see your seed and the seed of your brethren. And I looked and saw the land of promise; and I saw multitudes of people, appearing to be as many as the sand of the sea.
2 I saw multitudes gathered to battle, and I saw wars, rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.
3 I saw many generations pass away, with wars and contentions in the land. And I saw so many cities that I could not count them.
4 I saw a mist of darkness on the land of promise, and I saw lightning and heard thunder, earthquakes, and all kinds of violent noises. I saw the earth and the rocks that they tore, and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that were sunk; and I saw many that were burned with fire; and I saw many tumble to the earth, because of the quaking.
5 Then I saw that the vapor of darkness passed from the earth, and I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.
6 I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending from heaven; and he came down and showed himself to them.
7 I also saw and testified that the Holy Ghost fell on twelve others, and they were chosen and ordained of God.
8 The angel said, See the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister to your seed.
9 He said, Do you remember the twelve apostles of the Lamb, who will judge the twelve tribes of Israel? The twelve ministers of your seed will be judged by them, because you are of the house of Israel.
10 These twelve ministers you see will judge your seed. They are righteous forever because their garments are made white in his blood because of their faith in the Lamb of God.
11 The angel said, Look! And I saw three generations pass away in righteousness, and their garments were white like the Lamb of God. And the angel said, These are made white in the blood of the Lamb because of their faith in him.
12 And I saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.
13 I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.
14 And the angel said, Look at your seed and the seed of your brothers.
15 I saw my seed gathered together in multitudes to battle against the seed of my brothers.
16 The angel said, Look at the spring of filthy water, the river your father saw, and the depths of it are the depths of hell.
17 The mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blind the eyes and harden the hearts of men, and lead them away into broad roads, so they are lost and perish.
18 And the large and spacious building your father saw is the pride and vain imaginations of men. And a great and a terrible abyss separates them from God, the abyss being the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost bears record from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time forward until forever.
19 While the angel spoke, I saw that the seed of my brothers fought against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed and the temptations of the devil, the seed of my brothers overpowered my seed and
spread over the land in multitudes.
21 I saw them gathered in multitudes, and I saw many generations pass away in wars and rumors of wars among them.
22 The angel said, See how these will weaken in unbelief.
23 And I saw that after they had weakened in unbelief, they became a dark, hated, and filthy people, full of idleness and all kinds of wickedness.
CHAPTER 13
In vision, Nephi sees the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles, the discovery and colonizing of America, the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible, the resultant state of gentile apostasy, the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. About 600–592 B.C.
1 The angel said, Look! And I saw many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said, What do you see? And I said, I see many nations and kingdoms.
3 He said, These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
4 And among the nations of the Gentiles I saw the formation of a great church.
5 The angel said, See the formation of a church that is most abominable among all other churches, which kills the saints of God and tortures them, binds them down, chains them, and brings them into captivity.
6 I saw this great and abominable church, and the devil was the founder of it.
7 I also saw gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine linen, all kinds of precious clothing, and many harlots.
8 The angel said, The gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine linen, precious clothing, and harlots are the desires of this great and abominable church.
9 They destroy the saints of God and bring them into captivity for the praise of the world.
10 I saw many waters, which divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brothers.
11 The angel said, See that the anger of God is on the seed of your brothers.
12 I saw a man among the Gentiles who was separated from the seed of my brothers by the many waters, and I saw the Spirit of God come down and work on the man so he went out on the many waters, reaching the seed of my brothers who were in the promised land.
13 I saw the Spirit of God work with other Gentiles, and they went out of captivity on the many waters.
14 I saw many multitudes of the Gentiles in the land of promise, and I saw the anger of God at the seed of my brothers, and they were beaten and scattered by the Gentiles.
15 I saw the Spirit of the Lord on the Gentiles, so they prospered and obtained the land for their inheritance; and I saw that they were white and very beautiful, like my people before they were killed.
16 I saw that the Gentiles who had escaped captivity humbled themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
17 And their mother Gentiles, gathered on the waters and the land to battle against them.
18 The power of God was with them, and the anger of God was on all those gathered against them to battle.
19 I saw that the Gentiles who had escaped captivity were delivered by the power of God from all other nations.
20 They prospered in the land, and I saw a book carried out among them.
21 The angel said, Do you know the meaning of the book?
22 And I said, I do not.
23 He said, It comes out of the mouth of a Jew. The book you see is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants the Lord has made with the house of Israel. It also contains many of the prophecies of the holy prophets, and it is a record like the engravings on the plates of brass, except there are not so many. But they contain the covenants of the Lord that he has made to the house of Israel, so they are of great worth to the Gentiles.
24 The angel said, You have seen the book coming from the mouth of a Jew, and when it was first written it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles testify according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 These things first go out from the Jews in purity to the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
26 But after they go out from the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews to the Gentiles, you see the formation of the great church that is most abominable among all others, and they take from the gospel of the Lamb many parts that are plain and most precious, along with many covenants of the Lord.
27 They have done all this so they can twist the right ways of the Lord, so they can blind the eyes and harden the hearts of men.
28 So after the book has gone out through the hands of the great and abominable church, many plain and precious things are taken from the book of the Lamb of God.
29 After the plain and precious things are taken away, the book goes out to all the nations of the Gentiles, even to this land where the Gentiles fled from captivity across the many waters. But because of the many precious things taken out of the book—which were plain to men according to the plainness in the Lamb of God—a great many do stumble, so that Satan has great power over them.
30 You see the Gentiles who have gone out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, on the land choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God covenanted with your father that his seed would have for the land of their inheritance. And you see that the Lord God will not allow the Gentiles to utterly destroy your seed or the seed of your brothers.
32 Nor will the Lord God allow the Gentiles to remain forever in that awful state of blindness you see them in because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb that have been kept back by that abominable church you have seen.
33 So the Lamb of God says, I will be merciful to the Gentiles by bringing great judgment to the remnant of the house of Israel in this land.
34 The angel said, The Lamb of God says, after I have brought great judgment on the remnant of the house of Israel—meaning the seed of your father—and afflicted them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles stumble exceedingly because of the plain and precious parts of the gospel kept back by the abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, then I will be merciful to the Gentiles in that day, so that in my power I will bring to them much of my gospel that will be plain and precious.
35 The Lamb says, I will show myself to your seed, so they will write many things I will minister to them that will be plain and precious; and after your seed are destroyed and weaken from unbelief, and also the seed of your brothers, these things will be hidden, to come to the Gentiles by the gift and power of the Lamb.
36 The Lamb says, My gospel will be written in them, and my rock and salvation.
37 Those who will work to build up my Zion at that day will be blessed, because they will have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they continue to the end they will be lifted up at the last day and will be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoever will spread peace and the news of the gospel, how beautiful on the mountains they will be.
38 I saw the book of the Lamb of God that had come from the mouth of the Jew, that it came out from the Gentiles to the remnant of the seed of my brothers.
39 And after it had come to them, I saw other books that came to them from the Gentiles by the power of the Lamb, to convince the Gentiles and the remnant of my brothers’ seed, and also the Jews who were scattered over all the earth, that the records of the prophets and the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.
40 The angel said, These last records, which you have seen among the Gentiles, will establish the truth of the first, which are from the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and will reveal the plain and precious things taken away from them; and will make known to all people that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come to him, or they cannot be saved.
41 They must come to him according to the words given by the mouth of the Lamb, which will be made known in the records of your seed and in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; so both records will be fixed as one, because there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
42 The time comes when he will show himself to all nations, both to the Jews and to the Gentiles; and then he will show himself to the Gentiles and to the Jews, so the last will be first, and the first will be last.
CHAPTER 14
An angel tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings to fall on the Gentiles—There are only two churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil—The Saints of God in all nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church—The Apostle John will write concerning the end of the world. About 600–592 B.C.
1 If the Gentiles listen to the Lamb of God when he will show himself to them in word, power, and deed to take away their stumbling blocks, and not harden their hearts against the Lamb of God, they will be numbered among the seed of your father and numbered among the house of Israel. They will be a blessed people in the promised land forever, they will never again be brought into captivity, and the house of Israel will never again be cast down.
3 The Lamb of God says, And that great pit that has been dug for them by the great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children to lead the souls of men to hell—that great pit dug for the destruction of men will be filled by those who dug it, to their utter destruction, not the destruction of the soul, just casting the soul into that hell that has no end.
4 This is according to the captivity of the devil, and according to the justice of God, to all those who work wickedness and abomination.
5 The angel said, You have seen that if the Gentiles repent it will be well with them, and you know about the covenants of the Lord with the house of Israel, and you have heard that whoever does not repent must be destroyed.
6 So misery to the Gentiles if they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.
7 The Lamb of God says, The time comes when I will do a great and marvelous work among men, which will be everlasting, either to persuade them to peace and life eternal, or to deliver them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds, so they are brought into captivity and destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil.
8 Then the angel said, Do you remember the covenants of the Father with the house of Israel? I said, Yes.
9 He said, Look and see that great and abominable church, which is the mother of wickedness, whose founder is the devil.
10 He said, There are only two churches: one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil, so whoever does not belong to the church of the Lamb of God belongs to that great church that is the mother of abominations, and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 I saw the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters, and she had power over all the people of the earth.
12 I saw the church of the Lamb of God, who were the saints of God, and their numbers were few and their powers on the earth were small because of the wickedness and abominations of the great whore.
13 I saw that the great mother of abominations gathered multitudes on all the earth, among all the Gentile nations, to fight against the Lamb of God.
14 And I saw the power of the Lamb of God, which descended on the saints of the church of the Lamb and on the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered over all the earth, and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.
15 I saw that the anger of God was poured out on that great and abominable church, so there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and people of the earth.
16 As there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations that belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel said, See how the anger of God is upon the mother of harlots.
17 And when the anger of God is poured out on the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church, whose founder is the devil, then the work of the Father will prepare the way to fulfill his covenants that he has made with his people of the house of Israel.
18 The angel said, Look!
19 And I saw a man who was dressed in a white robe.
20 The angel said, See one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
21 He will see and write the remainder of these things, and many things which have been.
22 He will write about the end of the world.
23 The things he will write are good and true; and they are written in the book that you saw coming out of the mouth of the Jew; and when this book came from the mouth of the Jew, the writings were plain and pure, and most precious and easy for all men to understand.
24 The things this apostle of the Lamb will write are many things you have seen; and you will see the rest.
25 But you will not write the things you will see after this, because the Lord God has ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God to write them.
26 He has shown all things to others in the past, and they have written them, and they are sealed up to come out in their purity to the house of Israel according to the truth in the Lamb, in the Lord’s own chosen time.
27 I, Nephi, testify that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the angel.
28 I am forbidden to write the remainder of the things I saw and heard, so what I have written is enough, and I have written only a small part of the things I saw.
29 I testify that I saw the things my father saw, and the angel of the Lord showed them to me.
30 Now I finish speaking about the things I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things I saw are not written, the things I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen.
CHAPTER 15
In the latter days, Lehi’s seed are to receive the gospel from the Gentiles—The gathering of Israel is compared to an olive tree whose natural branches will be grafted in again—Nephi interprets the vision of the tree of life and speaks of the justice of God in dividing the wicked from the righteous. About 600–592 B.C.
1 After I, Nephi, had been carried away in the Spirit and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father.
2 I saw my brothers, who were arguing with each other about the things my father had said to them.
3 He spoke many great things to them, which were hard to understand unless a man asked the Lord, but being hard in their hearts, they did not look to the Lord as they should.
4 I was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and because of the things I had seen and knew, which must unavoidably happen because of the great wickedness of men.
5 I was overcome because of my afflictions, which I considered to be great above all, because of the destruction of my people, whose fall I had seen.
6 After I had received strength, I spoke to my brothers, desiring to know the cause of their arguing.
7 They said, We cannot understand what our father has said about the natural branches of the olive tree, and about the Gentiles.
8 I said, Have you asked the Lord?
9 They said, We have not, because the Lord tells us no such thing.
10 I said, Why do you not keep the commandments of the Lord? Why will you fail because of the hardness of your hearts?
11 Do you not remember what the Lord has said?—If you will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that you will receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things will be shown to you.
12 I say that the Spirit of the Lord, which was in our father, compared the house of Israel to an olive tree. And are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
13 The thing our father means about the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is this: After the Messiah will be shown in the flesh to men, our seed will weaken from unbelief for many years and generations, and then in the latter days the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah will come to the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles to the remnant of our seed.
14 Then the remnant of our seed will know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord. Then they will come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered to their fathers by him. So they will come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the points of his doctrine, so they may know how to come to him and be saved.
15 At that day will they not rejoice and praise their everlasting God, their rock and salvation? At that day, will they not receive strength and nourishment from the true vine? Will they not come to the true fold of God?
16 Yes, they will be remembered again among the house of Israel. They, being a natural branch of the olive tree, will be grafted into the true olive tree.
17 This is what our father means, and that this will not happen until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and it will come from the Gentiles so the Lord may show his power to the Gentiles, because he will be rejected by the Jews, or by the house of Israel.
18 Our father has not spoken only about our seed, but also about all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant that would be fulfilled in the latter days, the covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In your seed all the people of the earth will be blessed.
19 I, Nephi, spoke much to them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days.
20 I recited to them the words of Isaiah, who spoke about the restoration of the Jews, or the house of Israel, that after they were restored, they would never again be put down or scattered. I spoke many words to my brothers, so they were calmed and humbled themselves before the Lord.
21 They spoke to me again, saying, What is the meaning of the tree our father saw in a dream?
22 I said, It represented the tree of life.
23 They said, What is the meaning of the rod of iron our father saw, that led to the tree?
24 I said that it was the word of God, and whoever would listen to the word of God, and would hold to it firmly, would never be destroyed, nor could the temptations and the fiery darts of the enemy overpower them to blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
25 So I encouraged them with all the energy and ability of my soul to focus on the word of the Lord, so they would follow the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.
26 They said, What is the meaning of the river of water that our father saw?
27 I said that the water my father saw was filthiness, but his mind was so occupied by other things that he did not see the filthiness of the water.
28 I said that it was an awful division, which separated the wicked from the tree of life and from the saints of God.
29 I said to them that it represented that awful hell that the angel told me was prepared for the wicked.
30 I said that our father saw that the justice of God also divided the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness of it was like a flaming fire, ascending to God forever and ever, without end.
31 They said, Does this mean the torment of the body in mortality, or does it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or does it mean the things that are earthly?
32 I said that it represented things both temporal and spiritual, because the day would come when they must be judged for their works that were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.
33 So if they died in their wickedness they must be cast off regarding things that are spiritual or belong to righteousness; so they must be brought to stand before God to be judged of their works, and if their works have been filthy they themselves must be filthy; and if they are filthy they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if they could, the kingdom of God would also be filthy.
34 I say, The kingdom of God is not filthy, and no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God; so there must be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.
35 And there is a place prepared, that awful hell I spoke of, and the devil is the founder of it; so the final state of the souls of men is to live in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice I spoke of.
36 So the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life whose fruit is most precious and desirable above all other fruits; and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. This is how I spoke to my brothers. Amen.
CHAPTER 16
The wicked take the truth to be hard—Lehi’s sons marry the daughters of Ishmael—The Liahona guides their course in the wilderness—Messages from the Lord are written on the Liahona from time to time—Ishmael dies; his family murmurs because of afflictions. About 600–592 B.C.
1 After I finished speaking to my brothers, they said, You have said hard things to us, more than we can bear.
2 I said that I knew I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth, but I have justified the righteous and testified that they would be lifted up at the last day. But the guilty take the truth to be hard, because it cuts them to the very center.
3 My brothers, if you were righteous and willing to listen to the truth and follow it, to walk uprightly before God, then you would not complain because of the truth and say, You speak hard things against us.
4 I appealed to my brothers with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.
5 They humbled themselves before the Lord, so I had joy and great hopes for them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.
6 All these things were said and done as my father lived in a tent in the valley he called Lemuel.
7 I married one of the daughters of Ishmael, and my brothers married daughters of Ishmael, and Zoram married the oldest daughter of Ishmael.
8 So my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord, and I had been blessed of the Lord greatly.
9 The voice of the Lord spoke to my father by night and commanded him that the next day he should journey into the wilderness.
10 When my father arose in the morning, to his great astonishment, he saw on the ground a round ball of unusual workmanship, made of fine brass. Within the ball were two spindles, and one pointed the way we should go into the wilderness.
11 We gathered whatever things we could carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our supplies that the Lord had given us, and we took seed of every kind that we could carry.
12 We took our tents and departed into the wilderness, across the river Laman.
13 We traveled for four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we pitched our tents again, calling the place Shazer.
14 Taking our bows and arrows, and went into the wilderness to kill food for our families; and after we had killed food, we returned to our families in Shazer. We traveled again, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness that were in the borders near the Red Sea.
15 We traveled for many days, killing food on the way with our bows, arrows, stones, and slings.
16 We followed the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.
17 After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents for a time, so we could rest ourselves and get food for our families.
18 When I went hunting, I broke my bow, which was made of fine steel, and after I broke my bow, my brothers were angry at me because we got no food.
19 We returned without food to our families, and they suffered much because of hunger and fatigue from their journeying.
20 Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael began to complain greatly because of their suffering in the wilderness; and my father began to complain against the Lord his God. They were all very sorrowful and complained against the Lord.
21 I too had been afflicted with my brothers because of the loss of my bow; and because their bows had lost their spring, it began to be very difficult because we could not get food.
22 I spoke much to my brothers because they had hardened their hearts again, even complaining against the Lord their God.
23 I made a bow from wood and an arrow from a straight stick. Armed with a bow, arrow, sling, and stones, I said to my father, Where should I go to get food?
24 He asked the Lord, because they had humbled themselves because of my words, because I said many things to them in the energy of my soul.
25 The voice of the Lord came to my father, and he was truly humbled because of his complaining against the Lord, so he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.
26 The voice of the Lord said to him, Look at the ball and see the things that are written.
27 When my father saw the things written on the ball, he feared and trembled greatly, as did my brothers, the sons of Ishmael, and our wives.
28 I saw the pointers in the ball, that they worked according to the faith, diligence, and attention we gave them.
29 A new writing was on them, which was plain to be read, which gave us understanding about the ways of the Lord; and the writing changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence we gave to it. So we see that by small things the Lord can cause great things.
30 I went to the top of the mountain, according to the directions given on the ball.
31 I killed wild beasts, so I obtained food for our families.
32 I returned to our tents, carrying the beasts I had killed. When they saw that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And they humbled themselves before the Lord and gave thanks to him.
33 We journeyed again, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning, and after traveling many days we pitched our tents again, so we could rest for a time.
34 Ishmael died and was buried in the place called Nahom.
35 The daughters of Ishmael mourned exceedingly because of the loss of their father and because of their afflictions in the wilderness. They complained against my father because he had brought them out of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead, and we have wandered much in the wilderness and suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and after all these sufferings, we will die in the wilderness from hunger.
36 Thus, they complained against my father and me, and they wanted to return to Jerusalem.
37 Laman said to Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael, Let us kill our father and our brother Nephi, who has made himself ruler and teacher over us, who are his older brothers.
38 He says that the Lord has talked with him and that angels have ministered to him. But we know that he lies to us, and tells us these things and works many things by his cunning so he can deceive us, perhaps thinking that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness. And after he has led us away, he thinks to make himself a king and ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. This is how my brother Laman stirred up their hearts to anger.
39 But the Lord was with us, and the voice of the Lord came and spoke many words to them, and chastised them exceedingly; and then they stopped their anger and repented of their sins, so the Lord blessed us again with food, so we did not die.
CHAPTER 17
Nephi is commanded to build a ship—His brethren oppose him—He exhorts them by recounting the history of God’s dealings with Israel—Nephi is filled with the power of God—His brethren are forbidden to touch him, lest they wither as a dried reed. About 592–591 B.C.
1 Again, we journeyed in the wilderness, traveling nearly eastward from that time on. We traveled and waded through much affliction in the wilderness, and our women bore children.
2 The blessings of the Lord were so great that while we lived on raw meat in the wilderness, our women had plenty of milk for their children, they were strong like the men, and they began to bear their journeys without complaining.
3 So we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled, and if men keep the commandments of God he nourishes them, strengthens them, and provides ways so they can accomplish the thing he has commanded them. So he provided means for us while we stayed in the wilderness.
4 We stayed in the wilderness for eight years.
5 We came to the land we called Bountiful because of its much fruit and wild honey, and all these things were prepared by the Lord so we would not die. And we saw the sea, which we called Irreantum, which translates as many waters.
6 We pitched our tents by the shore, and even though we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the sea.
7 After I had been in the land of Bountiful for many days, the voice of the Lord came to me, saying, Arise and go to the mountain. I arose, went to the mountain, and cried to the Lord.
8 The Lord spoke to me, saying, You will construct a ship after the manner I will show you, so I can carry your people across these waters.
9 I said, Lord, where can I go to find ore to melt, so I can make tools to construct the ship after the manner you have shown me?
10 The Lord told me where I should go to find ore, so I could make tools.
11 From the skins of beasts I made a bellows to blow the fire, and then I hit two stones together to make fire.
12 The Lord had not allowed us to make much fire as we journeyed in the wilderness because he said, I will make your food become sweet, so you don’t have to cook it.
13 I will be your light in the wilderness and prepare the way before you if you keep my commandments, so if you keep my commandments, you will be led toward the promised land, and you will know that I am the one leading you.
14 The Lord also said, After you have arrived in the promised land, you will know that I, the Lord, am God, and that I, the Lord, brought you out of Jerusalem and delivered you from destruction.
15 So I worked to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I encouraged my brothers to faithfulness and diligence.
16 I made tools of the metal I melted from the rock.
17 When my brothers saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to mock me, saying, Our brother is a fool, because he thinks he can build a ship and cross these great waters.
18 They refused to work because they did not believe I could build a ship, nor would they believe that I was instructed by the Lord.
19 I was very sad because of the hardness of their hearts, and when they saw my sadness, they were happy and mocked me more, saying, We knew you could not construct a ship because we knew that you were lacking judgment, so you cannot accomplish so great a work.
20 You are like our father, lost in the foolish imaginations of his heart. He has led us out of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years, and our women have worked, become pregnant, borne children in the wilderness, and suffered everything except death. It would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.
21 These many years we have suffered in the wilderness, when we could have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance. We could have been happy.
22 We know that the people of Jerusalem were a righteous people because they kept the Lord’s commandments according to the law of Moses. But our father has judged them and led us away because we listened to his words, and our brother is like him. In this way, they complained against us.
23 I spoke to them, saying, Do you believe that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have been led out from the hands of the Egyptians if they had not listened to the words of the Lord?
24 Do you suppose that they would have been led out of bondage if the Lord had not commanded Moses to lead them out?
25 You know that the children of Israel were in bondage, and you know that they were burdened with grievous tasks, so you know that it was a good thing for them to be brought out of bondage.
26 You know that Moses was commanded by the Lord to do that great work, and you know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided, and they passed through on dry ground.
27 You know that the Egyptian armies of Pharaoh were drowned in the Red Sea.
28 And you know that they were fed with manna in the wilderness.
29 You know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God that was in him, struck the rock, and water came out so that the children of Israel could quench their thirst.
30 They were led by the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them and leading them by day and giving light to them by night, and doing all things for them that were needed for men. But they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and spoke evil against Moses and against the true and living God.
31 So according to his word, he destroyed them, and according to his word he led them, and according to his word he did all things for them. Everything was done by his word.
32 When they crossed the river Jordan, he made them mighty so they drove out the people of the land, scattering them to destruction.
33 Do you suppose that those people were righteous, who were in the land of promise and driven out by our fathers? No.
34 Do you suppose that our fathers would have been more precious than those people driven out if those people had been righteous? No.
35 The Lord values all men the same but favors those who are righteous. But the people in the land of promise had rejected every word of God and were ripe in iniquity, so the fulness of God’s anger was upon them, and he cursed the land against them to their destruction, and blessed it for our fathers so they could possess it and have power over it.
36 The Lord created the earth so it would be inhabited, and he created his children to possess it.
37 He raises up a righteous nation and destroys the nations of the wicked.
38 He leads away the righteous to precious lands, while he destroys the wicked and curses the land to them.
39 He rules high in the heavens because it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.
40 He loves those who will have him as their God. He loved our fathers and covenanted with them—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and he remembered the covenants, so he brought them out of Egypt.
41 He corrected them in the wilderness with his power because they hardened their hearts like you have, and the Lord corrected them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them, and after they were bitten, he prepared a way so they could be healed, and the labor they had to perform was to look, and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, many died.
42 From time to time, they hardened their hearts and spoke evil against Moses, and also against God, but you know that they were led by his matchless power to the land of promise.
43 But after all these things, the Jews have become wicked nearly to ripeness. I don’t know whether right now they are about to be destroyed. I do know that the day must surely come that they will be destroyed, except only a few who will be led away into captivity.
44 So the Lord commanded my father to depart into the wilderness, and the Jews tried to kill him, and you also have tried to kill him, so you are murderers in your hearts, and you are like them.
45 You are quick to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. You have seen an angel, who spoke to you. You have heard his voice from time to time. He has spoken to you in a still, small voice, but you were past feeling, so you could not feel his words, so he has spoken to you like thunder, which caused the earth to shake like it would be split apart.
46 You know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth to be ended, and you know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places to be broken up. So how can you be so hard in your hearts?
47 My soul is torn with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained. I fear that you will be cast off forever. I am full of the Spirit of God, so that my body has no strength.
48 Then they were angry with me and wanted to throw me into the depths of the sea. As they came to grab me I spoke to them, saying, In the name of the Almighty God, I command you not to touch me because I am filled with the power of God to the point of consuming my flesh, and whoever will lay his hands on me will wither like a dried plant, and he will be like nothing before the power of God because God will strike him.
49 I told them that they should complain no more against their father, nor should they withhold their labor from me, because God had commanded me that I should build a ship.
50 I said, If God had commanded me to do all things, I could do them. If he commanded me to say to this water, Be earth, it would be earth. If I said it, it would be done.
51 So if the Lord has such great power and has worked so many miracles among men, why can he not instruct me to build a ship?
52 I said many things to my brothers, so they were confused and afraid and could not fight against me, nor did they dare lay their hands on me or touch me for many days. They dared not do this for fear that they would wither before me, because the Spirit of God had worked powerfully on them.
53 The Lord said to me, Reach out your hand to your brothers, and they will not wither, but I will shock them, and I will do this so they will know that I am the Lord their God.
54 I reached out my hand to my brothers, and they did not wither before me, but the Lord did shake them, just as he had said.
55 They said, We know surely that the Lord is with you, because we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us. They fell down before me and were about to worship me, but I would not allow them, saying, I am your brother, so worship the Lord your God and honor your father and mother so your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God will give you.
CHAPTER 18
The ship is finished—Jacob and Joseph are born—The group leaves for the promised land—The sons of Ishmael and their wives join in partying and rebellion—Nephi is bound, and the ship is driven back by a terrible tempest—Nephi is freed, and by his prayer the storm ceases—The people arrive in the promised land. About 591–589 B.C.
1 They worshiped the Lord, and we worked timbers of unusual workmanship. From time to time, the Lord showed me how I should work the timbers of the ship.
2 I did not work the timbers after the manner learned by men, nor did I build the ship after the manner of men, but I built it after the manner the Lord had shown me.
3 I went to the mountain often to pray to the Lord, so he showed me great things.
4 After I had finished the ship according to the word of the Lord, my brothers saw that it was good, and the workmanship was exceedingly fine, so they humbled themselves again before the Lord.
5 The voice of the Lord came to my father, that we should arise and go into the ship.
6 The next day, after we had prepared everything—much fruit and meat from the wilderness, honey in abundance, and supplies according to the Lord’s commands—we went into the ship, with all our materials and seeds and whatever we had brought with us, everyone according to his age. We all went into the ship with our wives and children.
7 My father had two sons in the wilderness, the elder called Jacob and the younger Joseph.
8 After we had all gone into the ship with all our provisions, we went out into the sea and were driven before the wind toward the promised land.
9 After we had been driven before the wind for many days, my brothers, the sons of Ishmael, and their wives began to dance, sing, and speak with exceeding rudeness, forgetting the power that had brought them.
10 I began to fear exceedingly that the Lord would be angry with us and afflict us because of our iniquity, that we would be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. So I began to speak to them with seriousness, but they were angry with me, saying, We don’t want our younger brother to tell us what to do.
11 Laman and Lemuel tied me with cords and treated me very harshly, but the Lord allowed it so he could show his power in fulfilling his word that he had spoken about the wicked.
12 After they had tied me so I could not move, the compass prepared by the Lord stopped working.
13 So they didn’t know where they should steer the ship, and a great and terrible storm arose, and we were driven back on the waters for three days. They began to be frightened that they might be drowned in the sea, but they did not free me.
14 On the fourth day of being driven back, the tempest became exceedingly sore.
15 We were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. After we had been driven back for four days, my brothers began to see that the judgments of God were upon them, and that they would die unless they repented of their iniquities. So they came to me and untied the bands on my wrists, which had swollen greatly, along with my ankles; and the soreness was great.
16 But I looked to my God and praised him all day, and I did not complain against the Lord because of my afflictions.
17 My father, Lehi, had said many things to them and to the sons of Ishmael, but they threatened anyone who would speak for me; and my parents lay on their sick-beds, being advanced in years and having suffered much grief because of their children.
18 Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they nearly died, to be cast into a watery grave.
19 Jacob and Joseph, being young and having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of the afflictions of their mother. And my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did not soften the hearts of my brothers so they would release me.
20 There was nothing but the power of God that threatened them with destruction, that could soften their hearts, so when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea, they repented of what they had done, and they released me.
21 After they released me, the compass worked again as I desired. I prayed to the Lord, and the winds stopped, as did the storm, and there was a great calm.
22 I guided the ship so we sailed again toward the promised land.
23 After we sailed for many days, we arrived at the promised land, where we pitched our tents and called it the promised land.
24 We began to till the earth and to plant all our seeds, which we had brought from Jerusalem. And they grew abundantly, so we were blessed.
25 As we journeyed in the wilderness in the land of promise, we found beasts in the forests of every kind: the cow and the ox, the ass and the horse, the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were useful to men. And we found all kinds of ore: gold, silver, and copper.
CHAPTER 19
Nephi makes metal plates and records the history of his people—The God of Israel will come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephi tells of His sufferings and crucifixion—The Jews will be despised and scattered until the latter days, when they will return to the Lord. About 588–570 B.C.
1 The Lord commanded me to make metal plates so I could engrave on them the record of my people. I engraved the record of my father, and our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father, and also many of my own prophecies.
2 At the time I made those larger plates, I did not know that the Lord would command me to make these plates, so the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the larger part of all our actions in the wilderness are engraved on those first plates I have described. So the things that happened before I made these plates are more fully described on the first plates.
3 After I had been commanded to make these second plates, I was commanded that I should write on them the more plain and precious parts of the ministry and the prophecies, and that these things should be kept for the instruction of my people who would possess the land, and also for other wise purposes known to the Lord.
4 On the other plates, I gave a greater account of the wars, contentions, and destructions of my people. I have commanded my people what they should do after I was gone, and that these plates should be handed down from one generation to another, or from one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.
5 Later, I will give an account of my making these second plates, so that the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of my people.
6 I do not write anything on these plates unless I think it is sacred. If I make mistakes, they did also in old times, not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but to excuse myself because of my weakness as a mortal man.
7 The things some men value to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others dismiss as nothing and trample under their feet. Men even trample the God of Israel under their feet—or, in other words, they value him as nothing and don’t listen to his words.
8 According to the words of the angel, the God of Israel comes in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.
9 Because of their iniquity, the world will judge him to be a thing of no worth, so they whip him, and he allows it; they strike him, and he allows it; they spit on him, and he allows it because of his loving kindness and patience toward men.
10 According to the words of the angel, the God of our fathers—who were led out of bondage in Egypt, and who were preserved in the wilderness by him—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gives himself as a man to wicked men to be lifted up according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos, which he spoke when describing the three days of darkness that would be a sign given of his death to the house of Israel, including those who lived in the far places of the earth.
11 The prophet said, The Lord God will visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice because of their righteousness, to their great joy and salvation, and others with the thundering and lightning of his power, and by tempest, fire, smoke, vapor of darkness, the opening of the earth, and by mountains that will be lifted up.
12 The prophet Zenos says, All these things must surely come. The rocks of the earth must tear, and because of the groaning of the earth, many of the kings of faraway lands will be worked upon by the Spirit of God to exclaim, The God of nature suffers.
13 The prophet says, those at Jerusalem will be punished by all people because they crucify the God of Israel and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs, wonders, and the power and glory of the God of Israel.
14 The prophet says, because they turn their hearts aside and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they will wander in the flesh and die, and become a thing to be despised and hated among all nations.
15 The prophet says, when that day comes that they stop turning their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then he will remember the covenants he made to their fathers.
16 According to the words of the prophet Zenos, then he will remember the faraway lands of the earth, and the Lord says, I will gather in all the people who are of the house of Israel from every corner of the earth.
17 The prophet says, All the earth will see the salvation of the Lord; every nation, culture, tongue, and people will be blessed.
18 I, Nephi, have written these things to my people so that perhaps I can persuade them to remember the Lord their Redeemer.
19 I speak to all the house of Israel if they will obtain these writings.
20 I have feelings in the spirit that exhaust me so that all my joints are weak on behalf of those who are at Jerusalem, because if the Lord had not been merciful, to show me about them even as he did with prophets of old, I would have been destroyed too.
21 He surely did show the prophets of old all things about them, and he showed to many of them things about us, and we know about them because they are written on the plates of brass.
22 I taught my brothers these things, and I read many things to them that were engraved on the plates of brass so they could know about the doings of the Lord in other lands among people of old.
23 I read many things to them that were written in the books of Moses, but so I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer, I read to them the writings of the prophet Isaiah. I compared all scriptures to us, for our benefit and learning.
24 I said to them, Hear the words of the prophet, you who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off. Hear the words of the prophet that were written to all the house of Israel, and compare them to yourselves, so you may have hope like your brethren did from whom you have been broken off, because this is why the prophet has written.
CHAPTER 20
The Lord reveals His purposes to Israel—Israel has been chosen in the furnace of affliction and is to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. About 588–570 B.C.
1 Listen, O house of Israel, who have come out of the waters of baptism, who speak about the Lord and make covenants by the name of the God of Israel, yet they speak without truth or righteousness.
2 They call themselves inhabitants of the holy city, but they do not rely on the God of Israel, who is the Lord of All.
3 I have prophesied to you from the beginning, and then I showed you the fulfillment to your surprise.
4 I did this because I knew that you are stubborn and unteachable.
5 From the beginning, I have prophesied things to you before they happened, so you could not say that they happened because of your idols or other creations.
6 You have seen and heard all this prophesying and fulfilling, so will you not now admit them? And that I have showed you new things and hidden things, but you didn’t know them?
7 The fulfillments are happening now, long after the prophecies, so you cannot say, I knew they would happen.
8 You didn’t listen to the prophecies, and I knew you would be deceitful from the womb.
9 But for the glory of my name, I will put off my anger and not destroy you.
10 I have refined you and chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my glory I will do this, because I will not allow my name to be polluted, nor give my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, my precious Israel, because I am he, the first and the last.
13 My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spanned the heavens. I call to them of Israel, and they stand up together.
14 All of you, assemble yourselves and listen: what man among Israel has declared these prophecies? Only the Lord has loved Israel, and the Lord will fulfil his word which he hath spoken to them; and he will bring his power down on Babylon.
15 I, the Lord, have spoken; I have called him to declare, I have brought him, and he will make his way prosperous.
16 Come near to me. I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, I have spoken, and the Lord God, and his Spirit, have sent me.
17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I have sent him, the Lord your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who leads you by the way you should go. I have done it.
18 O that you had listened to my commandments—then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your seed would have been like the sand, and Israel’s name would never have been cut off or destroyed from before me.
20 Go out of Babylon, and with a voice of singing declare this to the ends of the earth. Say, the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 They were not thirsty; he led them through the deserts, he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them, he divided the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 And even though he has done all this, and greater, there can be no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked.
CHAPTER 21
The Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles and will free the prisoners—Israel will be gathered with power in the last days—Kings will be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49. About 588–570 B.C.
1 Listen, house of Israel, all you who are broken off and driven out because of the wickedness of the leaders of my people. Listen to me, you scattered ones. From the womb, the Lord has called me and revealed my name.
2 He has made my words like a sharp sword; he has taken care of me with his own hand and made me a polished arrow to accomplish his hidden purposes.
3 The Lord said, You are my servant, O Israel, and I will be glorified in you.
4 I said, I have labored in vain, I have used my strength for nothing; but surely it is for the Lord to judge me, and I trust God for my reward.
5 Now, says the Lord—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Israel back to him—though Israel is not yet gathered, still I will be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God will be my strength.
6 He said, It is a small thing that you are my servant only to raise up and restore the tribes of Israel, because I will also give you to be a light to the Gentiles, so you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth.
7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him hated by men and despised by nations, to servants of rulers: Kings will see you and stand up, princes will worship, because of the Lord who is faithful, because of the Holy One who has chosen you.
8 The Lord says, In the right time I have heard you, scattered ones, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will preserve you and give you my servant for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth with lands of inheritance;
9 So you can say to the prisoners, Go free; and to them that sit in darkness, Show yourselves. They will eat as they journey, and their pastures will be in the best places.
10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the heat or sun afflict them because he who has mercy on them will lead them and guide them by springs of water.
11 And I will make all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.
12 And then, O house of Israel, they will come from far, from every direction, and from foreign lands.
13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, because the feet of Israel will be established in the east. Break forth into singing, O mountains, because they will not be afflicted anymore, because the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on his afflicted.
14 But Zion has said, The Lord has abandoned and forgotten me. But he will show that he has not.
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even if that were possible, I will not forget you, O house of Israel.
16 I have written your name on the palms of my hands; your house is always with me.
17 Your children will hurry their return against your enemies, and those who hurt you will flee from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around: all your children will gather and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you will be clothed with all of them, like with precious jewels, like the ornaments of a bride.
19 Your abandoned and desolate places, and your lands of destruction, will now be filled to overflowing with those who will come; and those who devoured you in the past will be far away.
20 After losing your children before, the children you will have will say, Give us more room, because this land is too small.
21 Then you will say in your heart, Who has borne me all these children, remembering that I lost my children, and was alone and captive, and wandering here and there? So who has brought these? Before I was alone, where have these been?
22 The Lord God says, I will give my power to the Gentiles, and raise my banner to the people, and they will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your nursing fathers, and queens your nursing mothers; they will bow down to you with their face on the ground and lick the dust of your feet; and you will know that I am the Lord, and those who wait for me will not be ashamed.
24 Will the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?
25 But the Lord says, Yes, the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered because I will fight with him who fights with you, and I will save your children.
26 And I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, they will be drunk with their own blood like with sweet wine, and all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
CHAPTER 22
Israel will be scattered over all the earth—The Gentiles will nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days—Israel will be gathered and saved, and the wicked will burn as stubble—The kingdom of the devil will be destroyed, and Satan will be bound. About 588–570 B.C.
1 After I, Nephi, had read these things from the plates of brass, my brothers came to me and said, What do these things mean? Are they things that will happen according to the spirit but not the flesh?
2 I said, They were shown to the prophet by the voice of the Spirit, because all things are revealed to the prophets by the Spirit, even things that will come upon men according to the flesh.
3 So the things I have read are both physical and spiritual, because it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered over all the earth and among all nations.
4 There are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those in Jerusalem. The more part of all the tribes have been led away, and they are scattered to and fro around the world, and none of us know where.
5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied about them, and about all those who will be scattered and lost because of the Holy One of Israel; because they will harden their hearts against him, so they will be scattered among all nations and will be hated by all men.
6 But after they will be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted his hand on the Gentiles and set them up for a banner, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried on their shoulders, these things are temporal because these are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it means us in the days to come, and also all our brothers of the house of Israel.
7 And it means that the time comes when after all the house of Israel have been scattered and lost, the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles on this land, and by them our seed will be scattered.
8 And after our seed is scattered, the Lord God will do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which will be of great worth to our seed. So it is compared to their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and on their shoulders.
9 It will also be of worth to the Gentiles, and also to all the house of Israel, to make known the covenants of the Father of heaven with Abraham, who said, In your seed all the people of the earth will be blessed.
10 I desire, my brothers, that you would know that all the people of the earth cannot be blessed unless he will show his power in the eyes of the nations.
11 So the Lord God will show his power in the eyes of all the nations in bringing his covenants and his gospel to those who are of the house of Israel.
12 So he will bring them again out of captivity, and they will be gathered to the lands of their inheritance, and they will be brought out of darkness, and they will know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
13 The blood of that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, will turn on their own heads because they will war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands will fall on their own heads, and they will be drunk with their own blood.
14 And every nation that will war against you, O house of Israel, will be turned against each other, and they will fall into the pit which they dug to trap the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion will be destroyed, and that great whore, who has perverted the right ways of the Lord, that great and abominable church, will tumble to the dust, and the fall of it will be great.
15 The prophet says, the time comes speedily that Satan will have no more power over the hearts of the children of men because the day soon comes when all the proud and wicked will be like wheat straw, to be burned.
16 The time soon comes when the fulness of the anger of God will be poured out upon all men because he will not suffer the wicked to destroy the righteous.
17 He will preserve the righteous by his power, even if the fulness of his anger must come and destroy their enemies by fire. So the righteous need not fear, because the prophet says they will be saved, even if by fire.
18 My brothers, I say to you that these things must soon come, even blood, fire, and vapor of smoke, and it must come to men according to the flesh if they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.
19 The righteous will not fall because the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion will be cut off.
20 The Lord will surely prepare a way for his people to fulfill the words of Moses, where he said, The Lord your God will raise up a prophet to you, who is like me. You will hear him, whatever he will say to you, and all those who will not hear that prophet will be cut off from among the people.
21 I, Nephi, declare that this prophet of whom Moses spoke was the Holy One of Israel, who will execute judgment in righteousness.
22 The righteous need not fear, because they will not be confused. But it is the kingdom of the devil that will fall. The devil’s kingdom will be built up among men.
23 The time speedily comes that all churches built up to get gain, and all those who try to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; in summary, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need to fear, tremble, and quake. They are those who must be brought low in the dust and who must be consumed by fire like wheat straw. And all this is according to the words of the prophet.
24 The time speedily comes when the righteous must be protected and fed, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in control, might, power, and great glory.
25 And he gathers his children from all the earth, and numbers his sheep, and they know him. And there will be one fold and one shepherd, and he will feed his sheep, and in him they will find pasture.
26 And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power, so he cannot be released for many years, because he has no power over the hearts of the people, because they live in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigns.
27 I, Nephi, say to you that all these things must happen according to the flesh.
28 But all nations, cultures, tongues, and people will live safely in the Holy One of Israel if they will repent.
29 Now I, Nephi, finish, because I dare not speak further about these things.
30 So, my brethren, I want you to consider that the things that have been written on the plates of brass are true, and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.
31 So you need not suppose that my father and I are the only ones who have testified and taught these things. If you will be obedient to the commandments and continue to the end, you will be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.