CHAPTER 8
The Lamanites seek out and destroy the Nephites—The
Book of Mormon shall come forth by the power of God—Woes pronounced upon those who breathe
out wrath and strife against the work of the Lord—The Nephite record shall come forth in
a day of wickedness, degeneracy, and apostasy. About A.D. 400–421
1 BEHOLD I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few
things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold,
the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites,
until they were all destroyed.
3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of
the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment
of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it
mattereth not.
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And
behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore
I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk,
and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may
live I know not.
6 Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior.
7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city
and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall;
yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites
are at war one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of
murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.
9 And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none save it be the
Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the land.
10 And there are none that do know the true God save it be the disciples of Jesus, who did
tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would
not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the
land no man knoweth.
11 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.
12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections
which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni;
and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.
13 Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, and
my father was a descendant of Nephi.
14 And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of
no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall
have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring
it to light, him will the Lord bless.
15 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills
that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient
and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord.
16 And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of
darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the
earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the
people; and it shall be done by the power of God.
17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault;
nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware
lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.
18 And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten—let him beware lest he
commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord.
19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according
to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again,
of the Lord.
20 Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for
judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.
21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and
against the covenant people of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say:
We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant
which he hath made unto the house of Israel—the same is in danger to be hewn down
and cast into the fire;
22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be
fulfilled.
23 Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto
you, that those saints who have gone before me, who have possessed this land, shall
cry, yea, even from the dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he
will remember the covenant which he hath made with them.
24 And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he
knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name
could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause
prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them,
neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word.
25 And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to
bring these things forth.
26 And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath
spoken it; for out of the earth shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none
can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done
away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because
of secret combinations and the works of darkness.
28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become
defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders
of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying
of them who belong to their churches.
29 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and
vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
30 And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers
places.
31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the
earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms,
and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do
that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto
such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.
32 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come
unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins.
33 O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto
yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might
bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for
behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.
34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which
must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus
Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few
only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of
very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted
because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the
adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the
afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will
canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon
you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless
happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry,
and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice
them not?
40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows
should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the
blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for
vengeance upon your heads?
41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he
avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any
longer.
CHAPTER 9
Moroni calls upon those who do not believe in Christ
to repent—He proclaims a God of miracles, who gives revelations and pours out gifts and
signs upon the faithful—Miracles cease because of unbelief—Signs follow those who
believe—Men are exhorted to be wise and keep the commandments. About A.D. 401–421
1 AND now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come,
yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought
to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?
3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that
ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could
be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness
of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?
4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God,
under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the
damned souls in hell.
5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the
glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable
fire upon you.
6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name
of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.
7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done
away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking
with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues;
8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ;
yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.
9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there
is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there
is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God
of miracles.
11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens
and the earth, and all things that in them are.
12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of
man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came
the redemption of man.
13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back
into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the
death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption
from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God
when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all
shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death,
which death is a temporal death.
14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that
he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous
still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy
still.
15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles,
I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end
come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can
comprehend the marvelous works of God?
17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth
should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth;
and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were
many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles
and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so
he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that
they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom
they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he
shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is
unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should
tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall
be damned;
24 And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall
recover;
25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all
my words, even unto the ends of the earth.
26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings?
Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of
the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of
the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the
Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not,
but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your
heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.
28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not,
that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will
yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.
29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of
Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end,
ye will in nowise be cast out.
30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall
have
my words.
31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his
imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God
that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise
than we have been.
|
Chapter 8
About A.D. 400–421
1 BEHOLD I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few
things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold,
the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites,
until they were all destroyed.
3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of
the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment
of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it
mattereth not.
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And
behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore
I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk,
and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may
live I know not.
6 Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior.
7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city
and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall;
yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites
are at war one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of
murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.
9 And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none save it be the
Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the land.
10 And there are none that do know the true God save it be the disciples of Jesus, who did
tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would
not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the
land no man knoweth.
11 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.
12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections
which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni;
and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.
13 Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, and
my father was a descendant of Nephi.
14 And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of
no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall
have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring
it to light, him will the Lord bless.
15 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills
that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient
and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord.
16 And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of
darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the
earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the
people; and it shall be done by the power of God.
17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault;
nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware
lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.
18 And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten—let him beware lest he
commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord.
19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according
to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again,
of the Lord.
20 Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for
judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.
21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and
against the covenant people of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say:
We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant
which he hath made unto the house of Israel—the same is in danger to be hewn down
and cast into the fire;
22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be
fulfilled.
23 Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto
you, that those saints who have gone before me, who have possessed this land, shall
cry, yea, even from the dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he
will remember the covenant which he hath made with them.
24 And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he
knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name
could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause
prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them,
neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word.
25 And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to
bring these things forth.
26 And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath
spoken it; for out of the earth shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none
can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done
away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because
of secret combinations and the works of darkness.
28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become
defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders
of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying
of them who belong to their churches.
29 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and
vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
30 And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers
places.
31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the
earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms,
and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do
that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto
such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.
32 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come
unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins.
33 O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto
yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might
bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for
behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.
34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which
must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus
Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few
only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of
very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted
because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the
adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the
afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will
canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon
you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless
happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry,
and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice
them not?
40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows
should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the
blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for
vengeance upon your heads?
41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he
avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any
longer.
Chapter 9
About A.D. 401–421
1 AND now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come,
yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought
to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?
3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that
ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could
be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness
of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?
4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God,
under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the
damned souls in hell.
5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the
glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable
fire upon you.
6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name
of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.
7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done
away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking
with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues;
8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ;
yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.
9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there
is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there
is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God
of miracles.
11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens
and the earth, and all things that in them are.
12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of
man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came
the redemption of man.
13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back
into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the
death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption
from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God
when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all
shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death,
which death is a temporal death.
14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that
he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous
still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy
still.
15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles,
I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end
come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can
comprehend the marvelous works of God?
17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth
should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth;
and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were
many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles
and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so
he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that
they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom
they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he
shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is
unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should
tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall
be damned;
24 And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall
recover;
25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all
my words, even unto the ends of the earth.
26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings?
Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of
the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of
the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the
Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not,
but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your
heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.
28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not,
that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will
yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.
29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of
Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end,
ye will in nowise be cast out.
30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall
hear my words.
31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his
imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God
that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise
than we have been.
|
Chapter 8,9/4.
8:1 Chapter 4 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of
my father Mormon. Behold, I have but a few things to write, which
things I have been commanded of my father.
8:2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous
battle at Camorah, behold, the Nephites which had escaped into
the country southward, were hunted by the Lamanites, until they
were all destroyed;
8:3 and my father was also killed by them; and I, even I remaineth
alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But
behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father.
And whether they will slay me, I know not;
8:4 therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth:
and whither I go it mattereth not.
8:5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written
the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also. if I had
room upon the plates; but I have not; and ore I have none, for
I am alone: my father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk,
and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long that the
Lord will suffer that I may live, I know not.
8:6 Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming
of our Lord and Saviour.
8:7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites,
down from city to city, and from place to place, even until they
are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvellous
is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
8:8 and behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it.
And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; and
the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and
bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.
8:9 And now behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are
none, save it be Lamanites and robbers, that do exist upon the
face of the land;
8:10 and there are none that do know the true God, save it be
the disciples of Jesus, which did tarry in the land until the
wickedness of the people were so great, that the Lord would not
suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be upon
the face of the land, no man knoweth.
8:11 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have
ministered unto us.
8:12 And whoso receiveth this record and shall not condemn it
because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know
of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it
possible, I would make all things known unto you.
8:13 Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people.
I am the son of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi;
8:14 and I am the same which hideth up this record unto the Lord;
the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment
of the Lord. For he truly saith, That no one shall have them to
get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso
shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless.
8:15 For none can have power to bring it to light, save it be
given him of God: for God will that it shall be done with and
eye singled to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long
dispersed covenant people of the Lord.
8:16 And blessed be him that shall bring this thing to light:
for it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according
to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth,
and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge
of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God:
8:17 and if there be faults, they be the faults of a man. But
behold, we know no fault. Nevertheless, God knoweth all things;
therefore he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be
in danger of hell fire.
8:18 And he that sayeth, Shew unto me, or ye shall be smitten,
let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the
Lord.
8:19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly, shall be judged
rashly again: for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore,
he that smiteth, shall be smitten again of the Lord.
8:20 Behold what the Scriptures saith: Man shall not smite, neither
shall he judge: for judgment is mine, saith the Lord; and vengeance
is mine also, and I will repay.
8:21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the
work of the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord,
which is the house of Israel, and shall say, We will destroy the
work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant
which he hath made unto the house of Israel, the same is in danger
to be hewn down and cast into the fire:
8:22 for the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until
all his promises shall be fulfilled.
8:23 Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them.
Yea, behold I say unto you, That those saints which have gone
before me, which have possessed this land, shall cry; yea, even
from the dust will they cry unto the Lord; and the Lord liveth,
he will remember the covenant which he hath made with them.
8:24 And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in the behalf
of their brethren. And he knoweth their faith: for in his name
could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause
the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause
prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could
not harm them; neither wild beasts, nor poisonous serpents, because
of the power of his word.
8:25 And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that
the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth.
8:26 And no one need not say, They shall not come, for they surely
shall, for the Lord hath spoken it: for out of the earth shall
they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and
it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are
done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from
the dead.
8:27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall
cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works
of darkness;
8:28 yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be
denied, and churches become defiled, and shall be lifted up in
the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of
churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, even to
the envying of them who belong to their churches;
8:29 yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of
fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
8:30 and there shall also be heard of wars, and rumors of wars,
and earthquakes in diverse places;
8:31 yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions
upon the face of the earth: there shall be murders, and robbing,
and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations;
when there shall be many which will say, Do this, or do that,
and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last
day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness,
and in the bonds of iniquity.
8:32 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches
built up that shall say, Come unto me, and for your money you
shall be forgiven of your sins.
8:33 O ye wicked and perverse, and stiffnecked people, why have
ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye
transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation
upon your souls? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God.
For behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things
must be fulfilled.
8:34 Behold, the Lord hath shewn unto me great and marvellous
things concerning that which must shortly come at that day when
these things shall come forth among you.
8:35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye
are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shewn you unto me, and
I know your doings;
8:36 and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and
there are none, save a few only, which do not lift themselves
up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine
apparel, unto envyings, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions,
and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every
one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
8:37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substances, and your
fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye
love the poor and the needy, the sick and afflicted.
8:38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, which sell yourselves
for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church
of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?
Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness,
than that misery which never dies, because of the praise of the
world?
8:39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life,
and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the
sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?
8:40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain,
and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans
to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of their fathers
and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance
upon your heads?
8:41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the
time cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you,
for he will not suffer their cries any longer.
9:1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe
in Christ.
9:2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold,
when the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth
shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought
to stand before the Lamb of God, then will ye say that there is
no God?
9:3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the
Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under
a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be
happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked
with a consciousness of your guilt that ye have ever abused his
laws?
9:4 Behold I say unto you, that ye would be more miserable to
dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your
filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned
souls in hell?
9:5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness
before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus
Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.
9:6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily
unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found
spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood
of the Lamb, at that great and last day.
9:7 And again I speak unto you, who deny the revelations of God,
and say that they are done away, that there is no revelations,
nor prophecies, and the interpretation of tongues.
9:8 Behold I say unto you, He that denieth these things, knoweth
not the Gospel of Christ; yea, they have not read the Scriptures;
if so, they do not understand them.
9:9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, to-day,
and forever: and in him there is no variableness, neither shadow
of changing.
9:10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god which
doth vary, and in him there is shadow of changing, then have ye
imagined up unto yourselves a god which is not a God of miracles.
But behold, I will shew unto you a God of miracles,
9:11 even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob; and it is that same God which created the heavens and
the earth, and all things that in them is.
9:12 Behold, he crated Adam; and by Adam came the fall of man.
And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father
and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ, came the redemption
of man.
9:13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus
Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea,
this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ
bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption
from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke
by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall
come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his
bar, being redeemed and loosed from their eternal band of death,
which death is a temporal death;
9:14 and then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and
then cometh the time that he that is filthy, shall be filthy still;
and he that is righteous, shall be righteous still: he that is
happy, shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy, shall be
unhappy still.
9:15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a
god which can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these
things past, of which I have spoken? Has, the end come yet? Behold
I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
9:16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought, marvellous
in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvellous works
of God?
9:17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle, that by his word
the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word,
man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of
his word, hath miracles been wrought?
9:18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many miracles?
And there was many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the
apostles.
9:19 And if there was miracles wrought, then why has God ceased
to be God of miracles, and yet be an unchangeable being. And behold
I say unto you, He changeth not: if so, he would cease to be God;
and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
9:20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children
of men, is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from
the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
9:21 Behold I say unto you, That whoso believeth in Christ, doubting
nothing what so ever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ,
it shall be granted them: and this promise is unto all, even unto
the ends of the earth.
9:22 For behold, thus saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto
his disciples which should tarry; yea, and also to all his disciples,
in the hearing of the multitude, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature;
9:23 and he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but
he that believeth not, shall be damned.
9:24 And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name
shall they cast out Devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover;
9:25 and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing,
unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the
earth.
9:26 And now behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord?
Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty
power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who
will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye that are despisers
of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
9:27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the
words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for
what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but believing
and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all
your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
before him.
9:28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of
all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts,
but ask with firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation,
but that ye will serve the true and living God.
9:29 See that ye are baptized unworthily; see that ye partake
not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do
all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ,
the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the
end, ye will in no wise be cast out.--
9:30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead:
for I know that ye shall hear my words.
9:31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection; neither my father,
because of his imperfection; neither them which have written before
him, but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest
unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise
than that which we have been.
|
Chapter 4.
BEHOLD I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father Mormon. Behold, I have but few
things to write, which things I have been commanded of my father. And now it came to pass that
after the great and tremendous battle at Camorah, behold, the Nephites which had escaped into
the country southward, were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed; and my
father also was killed by them; and I, even I remaineth alone to write the sad tale of the
destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father.
And whether they will slay me, I know not; therefore I will write and hide up the records in the
earth: and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath
written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also, if I had room upon the plates; but I
have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone: my father hath been slain in battle, and all my
kinsfolks, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long that the Lord will suffer that I
may live, I know not. Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our
Lord and Saviour. And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from
city to city, and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall;
yea, great and marvellous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And behold, it is the
hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with
another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no
one knoweth the end of the war. And now behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are
none, save it be Lamanites and robbers, that do exist upon the face of the land; and there are
none that do know the true God, save it be the disciples of Jesus, which did tarry in the land
until the wickedness of the people were so great, that the Lord would not suffer them to remain
with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land, no man knoweth. But behold,
my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us. And whoso receiveth this
record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall
know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all
things known unto you. Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son
of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi; and I am the same which hideth up this
record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the
Lord. For he truly saith, That no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great
worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless. For none can have power to
bring it to light, save it be given him of God: for God will that it shall be done with an eye
singled to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the
Lord. And blessed be him that shall bring this thing to light: for it shall be brought out of
darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it
shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be
done by the power of God: and if there be faults, they be the faults of a man. But behold, we
know no fault. Nevertheless, God knoweth all things; therefore he that condemneth, let him be
aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire. And he that sayeth, Shew unto me, or ye shall be
smitten, let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord. For behold, the
same that judgeth rashly, shall be judged rashly again: for according to his works shall his wages
be; therefore, he that smiteth, shall be smitten again of the Lord. Behold what the Scripture saith:
Man shall not smite, neither shall he judge: for judgement is mine, saith the Lord; and vengeance
is mine also, and I will repay. And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of
the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord, which is the house of Israel, and shall say,
We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he
hath made unto the house of Israel, the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire:
for the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled. Search
the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, That those
saints which have gone before me, which have possessed this land, shall cry; yea, even from the
dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth, he will remember the covenant which he
hath made with them. And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in the behalf of their
brethren. And he knoweth their faith: for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his
name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to
tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them; neither wild beasts, nor
poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word. And behold, their prayers were also in
behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth. And no one need not say,
They shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it: for out of the earth shall
they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall
be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret
combinations and the works of darkness; yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall
be denied, and churches become defiled, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea,
even in a day when leaders of churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, even to the
envying of them who belong to their churches; yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be
heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands; and there shall also be heard
of wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in diverse places; yea, it shall come in a day when
there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth: there shall be murders, and robbing, and
lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be
many which will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at
the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say, Come unto me,
and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins. O ye wicked, and perverse, and
stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye
transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look
ye unto the revelations of God. For behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things
must be fulfilled. Behold, the Lord hath shewn unto me great and marvellous things concerning
that which must shortly come at that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold,
I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shewn
you unto me, and I know your doing; and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and
there are none, save a few only, which do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto
the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of
the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye do love money, and your substances, and your fine
apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick
and the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, which sell yourselves for that which
will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon
you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness,
than that misery which never dies, because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn
yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked,
and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, why do ye build up
your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and
also orphans to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to
cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the sword of
vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints
upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer. And now, I speak also concerning those
who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold, when
the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to
stand before the Lamb of God, then will ye say that there is no God? Then will ye longer deny
the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under
a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy
Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of your guilt that ye have ever abused
his laws? Behold I say unto you, that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just
God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the
damned souls in hell? For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God,
and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable
fire upon you. O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the
name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed
by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. And again I speak unto you, who deny the
revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there is no revelations, nor prophecies,
nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say
unto you, He that denieth these things, knoweth not the Gospel of Christ; yea, they have not
read the Scriptures; if so, they do not understand them. For do we not read that God is the same
yesterday, to-day, and forever: and in him there is no variableness, neither shadow of changing.
And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god which doth vary, and in him there is
shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god which is not a God of
miracles. But behold, I will shew unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God which created the heavens and the
earth, and all things that in them is. Behold, he created Adam; and by Adam came the fall of
man. And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and
because of Jesus Christ, came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man,
which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is
wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection,
which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be
awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small
and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of
death, which death is a temporal death; and then cometh the judgement of the Holy One upon
them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy, shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous,
shall be righteous still: he that is happy, shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy, shall be
unhappy still. And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god which can do no
miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things past, of which I have spoken? Has the end
come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold,
are not the things that God hath wrought, marvellous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend
the marvellous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle, that by his word the
heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word, man was created of the dust of
the earth; and by the power of his word, hath miracles been wrought? And who shall say that
Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there was many mighty miracles wrought by
the hands of the apostles. And if there was miracles wrought, then why has God ceased to be
God of miracles, and yet be an unchangeable being. And behold I say unto you, He changeth
not: if so, he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men, is because that they
dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should
trust. Behold I say unto you, That whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he
shall ask the Father in the name of Christ, it shall be granted them: and this promise is unto all,
even unto the ends of the earth. For behold, thus saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his
disciples which should tarry; yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude, Go
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; and he that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe: In my name shall they cast out Devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover; and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting
nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth. And now behold,
who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up
against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will
despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye that are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye
shall wonder and perish. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the
Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need.
Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your
heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Be wise in the days
of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your
lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve
the true and living God. See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the
sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in no
wise be cast out.—Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead: for I know that ye
shall hear my words. Condemn me not because of mine imperfection; neither my father, because
of his imperfection; neither them which have written before him, but rather give thanks unto God
that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than
that which we have been.
|
Chapter 4.
BEHOLD I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father Mormon. Behold, I have but few
things to write, which things I have been commanded of my father. And now it came to pass that
after the great and tremendous battle at Camorah, behold, the Nephites which had escaped into
the country southward, were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed; and my
father also was killed by them; and I, even I remaineth alone to write the sad tale of the
destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father.
And whether they will slay me, I know not; therefore I will write and hide up the records in the
earth: and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath
written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also, if I had room upon the plates; but I
have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone: my father hath been slain in battle, and all my
kinsfolks, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long that the Lord will suffer that I
may live, I know not. Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our
Lord and Saviour. And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from
city to city, and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall;
yea, great and marvellous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And behold, it is the
hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with
another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no
one knoweth the end of the war. And now behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are
none, save it be Lamanites and robbers, that do exist upon the face of the land; and there are
none that do know the true God, save it be the disciples of Jesus, which did tarry in the land
until the wickedness of the people were so great, that the Lord would not suffer them to remain
with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land, no man knoweth. But behold,
my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us. And whoso receiveth this
record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall
know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all
things known unto you. Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son
of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi; and I am the same which hideth up this
record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the
Lord. For he truly saith, That no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great
worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless. For none can have power to
bring it to light, save it be given him of God: for God will that it shall be done with an eye
singled to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the
Lord. And blessed be him that shall bring this thing to light: for it shall be brought out of
darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it
shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be
done by the power of God: and if there be faults, they be the faults of a man. But behold, we
know no fault. Nevertheless, God knoweth all things; therefore he that condemneth, let him be
aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire. And he that sayeth, Shew unto me, or ye shall be
smitten, let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord. For behold, the
same that judgeth rashly, shall be judged rashly again: for according to his works shall his wages
be; therefore, he that smiteth, shall be smitten again of the Lord. Behold what the Scripture saith:
Man shall not smite, neither shall he judge: for judgement is mine, saith the Lord; and vengeance
is mine also, and I will repay. And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of
the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord, which is the house of Israel, and shall say,
We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he
hath made unto the house of Israel, the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire:
for the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled. Search
the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, That those
saints which have gone before me, which have possessed this land, shall cry; yea, even from the
dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth, he will remember the covenant which he
hath made with them. And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in the behalf of their
brethren. And he knoweth their faith: for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his
name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to
tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them; neither wild beasts, nor
poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word. And behold, their prayers were also in
behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth. And no one need not say,
They shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it: for out of the earth shall
they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall
be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret
combinations and the works of darkness; yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall
be denied, and churches become defiled, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea,
even in a day when leaders of churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, even to the
envying of them who belong to their churches; yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be
heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands; and there shall also be heard
of wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in diverse places; yea, it shall come in a day when
there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth: there shall be murders, and robbing, and
lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be
many which will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at
the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say, Come unto me,
and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins. O ye wicked, and perverse, and
stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye
transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look
ye unto the revelations of God. For behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things
must be fulfilled. Behold, the Lord hath shewn unto me great and marvellous things concerning
that which must shortly come at that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold,
I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shewn
you unto me, and I know your doing; and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and
there are none, save a few only, which do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto
the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of
the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye do love money, and your substances, and your fine
apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick
and the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, which sell yourselves for that which
will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon
you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness,
than that misery which never dies, because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn
yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked,
and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, why do ye build up
your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and
also orphans to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to
cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the sword of
vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints
upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer. And now, I speak also concerning those
who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold, when
the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to
stand before the Lamb of God, then will ye say that there is no God? Then will ye longer deny
the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under
a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy
Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of your guilt that ye have ever abused
his laws? Behold I say unto you, that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just
God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the
damned souls in hell? For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God,
and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable
fire upon you. O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the
name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed
by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. And again I speak unto you, who deny the
revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there is no revelations, nor prophecies,
nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say
unto you, He that denieth these things, knoweth not the Gospel of Christ; yea, they have not
read the Scriptures; if so, they do not understand them. For do we not read that God is the same
yesterday, to-day, and forever: and in him there is no variableness, neither shadow of changing.
And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god which doth vary, and in him there is
shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god which is not a God of
miracles. But behold, I will shew unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God which created the heavens and the
earth, and all things that in them is. Behold, he created Adam; and by Adam came the fall of
man. And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and
because of Jesus Christ, came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man,
which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is
wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection,
which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be
awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small
and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of
death, which death is a temporal death; and then cometh the judgement of the Holy One upon
them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy, shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous,
shall be righteous still: he that is happy, shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy, shall be
unhappy still. And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god which can do no
miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things past, of which I have spoken? Has the end
come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold,
are not the things that God hath wrought, marvellous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend
the marvellous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle, that by his word the
heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word, man was created of the dust of
the earth; and by the power of his word, hath miracles been wrought? And who shall say that
Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there was many mighty miracles wrought by
the hands of the apostles. And if there was miracles wrought, then why has God ceased to be
God of miracles, and yet be an unchangeable being. And behold I say unto you, He changeth
not: if so, he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men, is because that they
dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should
trust. Behold I say unto you, That whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he
shall ask the Father in the name of Christ, it shall be granted them: and this promise is unto all,
even unto the ends of the earth. For behold, thus saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his
disciples which should tarry; yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude, Go
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; and he that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe: In my name shall they cast out Devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover; and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting
nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth. And now behold,
who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up
against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will
despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye that are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye
shall wonder and perish. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the
Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need.
Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your
heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Be wise in the days
of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your
lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve
the true and living God. See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the
sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in no
wise be cast out.—Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead: for I know that ye
shall hear my words. Condemn me not because of mine imperfection; neither my father, because
of his imperfection; neither them which have written before him, but rather give thanks unto God
that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than
that which we have been.
|
Chapter 4.
BEHOLD I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father Mormon. Behold, I have but few
things to write, which things I have been commanded of my father. And now it came to pass that
after the great and tremendous battle at Camorah, behold, the Nephites which had escaped into
the country southward, were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed; and my
father also was killed by them; and I, even I remaineth alone to write the sad tale of the
destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father.
And whether they will slay me, I know not; therefore I will write and hide up the records in the
earth: and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath
written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also, if I had room upon the plates; but I
have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone: my father hath been slain in battle, and all my
kinsfolks, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long that the Lord will suffer that I
may live, I know not. Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our
Lord and Saviour. And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from
city to city, and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall;
yea, great and marvellous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And behold, it is the
hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with
another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no
one knoweth the end of the war. And now behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are
none, save it be Lamanites and robbers, that do exist upon the face of the land; and there are
none that do know the true God, save it be the disciples of Jesus, which did tarry in the land
until the wickedness of the people were so great, that the Lord would not suffer them to remain
with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land, no man knoweth. But behold,
my father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us. And whoso receiveth this
record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall
know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all
things known unto you. Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son
of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi; and I am the same which hideth up this
record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the
Lord. For he truly saith, That no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great
worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless. For none can have power to
bring it to light, save it be given him of God: for God will that it shall be done with an eye
singled to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the
Lord. And blessed be him that shall bring this thing to light: for it shall be brought out of
darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it
shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be
done by the power of God: and if there be faults, they be the faults of a man. But behold, we
know no fault. Nevertheless, God knoweth all things; therefore he that condemneth, let him be
aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire. And he that sayeth, Shew unto me, or ye shall be
smitten, let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord. For behold, the
same that judgeth rashly, shall be judged rashly again: for according to his works shall his wages
be; therefore, he that smiteth, shall be smitten again of the Lord. Behold what the Scripture saith:
Man shall not smite, neither shall he judge: for judgement is mine, saith the Lord; and vengeance
is mine also, and I will repay. And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of
the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord, which is the house of Israel, and shall say,
We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he
hath made unto the house of Israel, the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire:
for the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled. Search
the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, That those
saints which have gone before me, which have possessed this land, shall cry; yea, even from the
dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth, he will remember the covenant which he
hath made with them. And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in the behalf of their
brethren. And he knoweth their faith: for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his
name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to
tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them; neither wild beasts, nor
poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word. And behold, their prayers were also in
behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth. And no one need not say,
They shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it: for out of the earth shall
they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall
be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret
combinations and the works of darkness; yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall
be denied, and churches become defiled, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea,
even in a day when leaders of churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, even to the
envying of them who belong to their churches; yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be
heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands; and there shall also be heard
of wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in diverse places; yea, it shall come in a day when
there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth: there shall be murders, and robbing, and
lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be
many which will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at
the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say, Come unto me,
and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins. O ye wicked, and perverse, and
stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye
transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look
ye unto the revelations of God. For behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things
must be fulfilled. Behold, the Lord hath shewn unto me great and marvellous things concerning
that which must shortly come at that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold,
I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shewn
you unto me, and I know your doing; and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and
there are none, save a few only, which do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto
the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of
the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye do love money, and your substances, and your fine
apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick
and the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, which sell yourselves for that which
will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon
you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness,
than that misery which never dies, because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn
yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked,
and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, why do ye build up
your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and
also orphans to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to
cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the sword of
vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints
upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer. And now, I speak also concerning those
who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold, when
the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to
stand before the Lamb of God, then will ye say that there is no God? Then will ye longer deny
the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under
a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy
Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of your guilt that ye have ever abused
his laws? Behold I say unto you, that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just
God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the
damned souls in hell? For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God,
and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable
fire upon you. O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the
name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed
by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. And again I speak unto you, who deny the
revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there is no revelations, nor prophecies,
nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say
unto you, He that denieth these things, knoweth not the Gospel of Christ; yea, they have not
read the Scriptures; if so, they do not understand them. For do we not read that God is the same
yesterday, to-day, and forever: and in him there is no variableness, neither shadow of changing.
And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god which doth vary, and in him there is
shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god which is not a God of
miracles. But behold, I will shew unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God which created the heavens and the
earth, and all things that in them is. Behold, he created Adam; and by Adam came the fall of
man. And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and
because of Jesus Christ, came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man,
which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is
wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection,
which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be
awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small
and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of
death, which death is a temporal death; and then cometh the judgement of the Holy One upon
them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy, shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous,
shall be righteous still: he that is happy, shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy, shall be
unhappy still. And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god which can do no
miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things past, of which I have spoken? Has the end
come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold,
are not the things that God hath wrought, marvellous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend
the marvellous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle, that by his word the
heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word, man was created of the dust of
the earth; and by the power of his word, hath miracles been wrought? And who shall say that
Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there was many mighty miracles wrought by
the hands of the apostles. And if there was miracles wrought, then why has God ceased to be
God of miracles, and yet be an unchangeable being. And behold I say unto you, He changeth
not: if so, he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men, is because that they
dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should
trust. Behold I say unto you, That whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he
shall ask the Father in the name of Christ, it shall be granted them: and this promise is unto all,
even unto the ends of the earth. For behold, thus saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his
disciples which should tarry; yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude, Go
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; and he that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe: In my name shall they cast out Devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover; and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting
nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth. And now behold,
who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up
against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will
despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye that are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye
shall wonder and perish. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the
Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need.
Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your
heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Be wise in the days
of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your
lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve
the true and living God. See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the
sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in no
wise be cast out.—Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead: for I know that ye
shall hear my words. Condemn me not because of mine imperfection; neither my father, because
of his imperfection; neither them which have written before him, but rather give thanks unto God
that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than
that which we have been.
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