Book of Mormon Commentary - 1 Nephi 13

by Don R. Hender


Often we fancy that we would like to see the 'Vision of All' which the brother of Jared did see. Yet here Nephi does reveal much of it to us. For Nephi did see that same vision, which was seen by the brother of Jared, John the Revelator, and many of the Prohets of God from Adam down to and including the prophet Joseph Smith. Nephi here writes and reveals such things which the Lord allows him to write which relate to us in our day. But do not mistake, it is a part of that greater vision of all which is had in the sealed portion of the plates in its fulness, but here is given us a part. And we are to come to understand this part of it as it does specifically apply unto us and our day.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
            CHAPTER 13

Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles; the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of the gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. [Between 600 and 592 B.C.]

[About 592 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many anations and kingdoms.
3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.

 2a TG Kings, Earthly; TG Nations

Great and Abomimable Church of the Devil

Now we ought not to shy away from just what the beginning of this Great and Abominable Church was. Indeed, it began with the apostasy of those early false Christians who evolved into the Great and Abomiable 'Universal Church' and its falsely developed creeds of men. Of which Jesus Christ himself spoke stating that 'their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corupt; that 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'" (JSH 1:19) Of the early church apostates, Bishop Eusebius spoke of such as 'those who through love of innovation have run into the greatest errors . . . proclaiming themselves discovers of knowledge falsely . . . have like fierce wolves unmercifully devastated the flock of Christ." (Eccesiastical History of the Church, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, Book 1, Chapter 1, Paragraph 2.)

But through the evolusion of time, this is not just in reference to one single orgainization as many have evolved from the one and even parted from it to form other such based organization who are so founded upon Satan's opposition to the true doctrines and the true saints of Christ. Thus today it is any and all such institutions, nations, churches, organization, groups, establishments, societies, institutes, parties or factions legal or illegal which have as a center of their purpose to thwart, slay, yoke, bring down or bind down the saints of God into captivity in keeping them from coming unto Christ and receiving of His true gospel. At the initial time of the persecutions of the saints of the Church of Christ, it included the great pagen religious beliefs of the Roman Empire which had their religious corrupts in the hundreds of decades past. And they did so torture, bind, yoke and slay the saints of God. Eventually that same Roman or Pagan influence would be adopted into corruptions of the true doctrines and transform the church and preserve it as the 'Universal Church' known today and which most all 'reformists' clearly see as such.

Today this captive binding of they who would be true saints of Christ is done under any number of structured entities. All of which are more centered upon the things of this world and the things of Satan than they are on the gospel and truth of Jesus Christ. Even such seemingly 'innocent' institutions as the ivory towers of higher education and scientific learning, when they are bent upon denying God in favor of the 'self-made wisdom and learning of men', do fit in this grouping of the Great and Abominable Church of the Devil.

And there are many other such groups whose design is to thwart the work of God among men. Much of today's modern entertainment and music industries which seeks the riches of the world at the expense destorying faith and righteousness in Christ by promoting the pleasures and sins of the world. From the Roman Empire and even the halls of the corrupted Sanhedrin, to all the various paganizations, corruptions and polutions of the true word of God, which took the true early Church of Jesus Christ into apostasy and to every organization, denomination or group which fights against the restored true Chruch of Jesus Christ today; they all fit in their evil designs bent upon the destruction of the true church and the true saints of Christ and are to be considered to such extent as being used by the Devil and in confederation with the 'Great and Abominable Church'.

4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the aGentiles the formation of a bgreat churcha.
5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a achurch which is most abominable above all other churches, which bslayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a cyoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
6 And it came to pass that I beheld this agreat and babominable church; and I saw the cdevil that he was the founder of it.

 4a among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church This 'church' is among the 'nations' of the gentiles. And as for the most part all the nations of the earth are considered as the nations of the Gentiles, then this great church of the devil which is being defined is to be found in all the nations of the earth in some form or another. It is not just one single identifyable entity, but it is more of an 'anti-ideology', that is it can take on any form and structure and its central purpose is the destruction of the truth of the Gospel of Christ and Christ's saints. And the motivation is those things which are of this world and of the devil.  4a TG Gentiles
   b 1 Ne. 13:26, 34; 1 Ne. 14:10 (3, 9-17)
 5a 2 Ne. 10:16
   b Rev. 17:6 (3-6); Rev. 18:24; 1 Ne. 14:13
   c Jer. 28:14 (10-14); TG Bondage, Spiritual
 6a D&C 88:94
   b TG Devil, Church of
   c 1 Ne. 22:23 (22-23); TG Devil

7 And I also saw agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the adesires of this great and abominable churcha.
9 And also for the apraise of the world do they bdestroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

Praise~Pride~Power~Pleasure 
Within the 'Ps' of downfall are many snares and traps, some seeming quite inocent, such as that of 'intellectualism' and 'sophistry'. To be accepted and a part of the world as one with those who are of the worldly nature is the presure of the day. The philosophies of men which tend to call evil good and good evil, which turn everything upside down and sideways and which deceive and blind even the very elite into conforming to the societal norm rather than to maintain such standards as honesty, integrity and morality. We live in a wicked world full of wicked ways. What might seem insignificant and of little importance to one's eternal salvation in the gospel can become the very stumbling block which keeps one from the Kingdom of God. Even sports has become a religion to many of its followers to the extent that it dominates one's life and takes one from the pursuit of God's Kingdom. Anything of the world which is become more central to one's life than that of the gospel of Christ can be used by the devil against the process of one pursuing and obtaining the Kingdom of God. Anything in excess which draws one away from God though likely good in moderation with the gospel of Christ being the guide, can thwart one's progress in the gospel of Christ. To be learned is good if one is still humble and meek and is led by the Spirit of God rather than the entrapments of the theories and dissection and wisdom of man over and above the things of God.
 8a Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church. For the riches, lusts and the things of this world men will sell their souls to the devil and become his servants, serving him in attacking and destorying the Kingdom of God.  7a Morm. 8:37 (36-38)
   b Ether 10:24
 8a Rev. 18:19 (10-24); Morm. 8:37 (36-41)
 9a Morm. 8:38
   b Rev. 13:7 (4-7)

10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethrena.

 11a Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethern The the Spirit of God would rest upon such as Christopher Columbus and others in bring them to the Americas and that such would bring the 'wrath of God' upon the 'Lamanites', may seem inconsistant to some, especially when they consider all that the American Indian has suffered at the hands of the European Gentiles. But this was the plan and retribution of God upon the Lamanites, for they had received of the Gospel at the time of Christ and had also fallen into that gross state of wickedness and pagan worship which was to be found and practiced among them. And though the Europeans were no 'Saints of God', themselves being in their own state of 'captivity' in that Abominable Church of the Devil, the Lord did bring them to the Americas and did use them to fulfill his wrath upon the Lamanites.

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and awrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
14 And it came to pass that I beheld many amultitudes of the Gentiles upon the bland of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were cscattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

 12a TG Guidance, Divine
 14a 2 Ne. 1:11; Morm. 5:19-20
     b TG Promised Lands
     c 1 Ne. 22:7; TG Israel, Scattering of

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and aobtain the bland for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and cbeautiful, like unto my people before they were dslain.
16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was awith them.
17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.

 15a Morm. 5:19
     b 2 Ne. 10:19
     c 2 Ne. 5:21; 4 Ne. 1:10; Morm. 9:6
     d Morm. 6:19 (17-22)
 16a D&C 101:80

18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together aagainst them to battle.
19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were adelivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.

 18a 1 Ne. 17:35
 19a 2 Ne. 10:10-14; 3 Ne. 21:4; Ether 2:12

20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a abook, and it was carried forth among them.
21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
22 And I said unto him: I know not.

 20a 1 Ne. 13:41 (3-41); 1 Ne. 14:23

23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The abook that thou beholdest is a brecord of the cJewsa, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the dplates of brass, save there are not so manyb; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

 23a a record of the Jews The Bible we have today is very much a record preserved by the Jews from a very Jewish perspective. And as in the day of Lehi in Jerusalem, the attitude of the Jews was set against the prophets who spoke of and prophecied of the comming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God, even the Son of God. It will be interesting one day to compare the plates of brass record with the Bible, for though they are 'like unto each other' in the Book of Mormon we have evidence that such prophets who made not the Bible and were in the plates of brass did speak of the coming of the Messiah, even Jesus Christ such as Zenos and Zenoch, etc.
 23b save there are not so many When it states that there are 'not so many' of the prophecies of the holy prophets in that one record as there are in the other record in reference to the brass plates and the Bible, it ought to be further clarified just which of the two records contain the more part of the prophecies of the prophets. One might suppose that since the Bible had the additional prophets beyond and past the days of Jeremiah, that the Bible had more prophets and thus more prophecies of the prophets. This would be a false presumption. For as chapter thirteen of 1 Nephi will continue to explained, many of the plain and most precious parts of the writings of those Biblical prophets will be taken away from that book. Many of these were even still a part of those records as late as the days of the apostles of the Lord. For example, it was Philip who did declare unto Nathanael, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:45) Now where in all of the Old Testament is it found today where Moses and the Prophets did prophesy of 'Jesus of Nazareth', that he would be of that city? And where in all the Old Testament is it found that Jesus was to be 'the son of Joseph'? It is not there. Many of they plain and precious prophecies concerning the coming forth of Jesus the Messiah that were once in the Old Testament have been removed and taken out. The very Jewish perspective has removed them. They were once there and many of them are in the brass plates which speak plainly of Jesus to come. Even as late as the days of the apostles many were still there. Perhaps even as late as the days of Bishop Eusebius and the great library at Caesarea, there were such records and versions of such still existant. But no longer as they have been removed. And thus when it states that 'there are not so many' upon the one record as there are on the other, we must understand that the brass plates contain the greater number of the prophecies of the holy prophets concerning the testimony of Jesus Christ an even the covenants of the Lord.
 23a 1 Ne. 13:38; 2 Ne. 29:6 (4-12)
     b TG Scriptures, Preservation of
     c 2 Ne. 3:12
     d 1 Ne. 5:10-22; 1 Ne. 19:22

24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the abook proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the aJews in purity unto the bGentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
26 And after they go forth by the ahand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews bunto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of a cgreat and abominable dchurch, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have etaken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are fplain and most preciousa; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken awayb.

 26a taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious Though there are many such things lost, mistranslated and taken away, I will but endeavor here to give one precise example. One of the most important and most precious things to understand of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the nature of and relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. The plain and precious truth of that relationship has been taken away, though it is simple enough to be understood intuitively. In the 'Greek translation of the early scriptures performed at Alexandria, which housed such as Bishop Alexander and Athanasius his successor student, a 'incorrect' translation was contrived to embed the pagan Greek philosophical nature of God into the Hebrew/Jewish scriptures. The transliterated translation of the Hebrew word "re'em" was purposefully innovated to be 'one-horned' or 'Unicorn'. The true translation can be studied and found to actually be 'wild-ox', which just happens to be the symbol of the tribe of Ephraim. 'We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.' That WAS NOT translated correctly. It was postulated purposefully to embed the concept of God as the 'one horned beast' of Greek Mythology so as to teach that God is but a combination of three expressions combined but into 'one' entity, thus the 'one horned' Unicorn is a representation of God, the God of the Trinity. And what was lost and hidden by that purposefully false and incorrect translation has not been recovered from and Christ still remains hidden from us in the totality of who he really is because of that philosophically imagined and innovated false and incorrect translation today. First by leading the saints of God into the false dogma of the 'Trinity' and second, that which is yet to be recovered from, that Christ was legally the rightful heir of the covenant birthright of the firstborn, which Jacob bestowed upon Ephraim, son of Joseph, in the stead of the unworthy Reuben (JST Genesis 49 — See: Messiah ben David ~ Messian ben Joseph).

 26b many covenants of the Lord have they taken away Now since these 'covenants' are taken away, that is also by way of distortion and corruption and interpretation; they have become unknown unto mainstream Christianity. An example of one lost or taken away of which there is some evidence of it though it is not taught as such, it the ordinance of the baptism of the dead. That the church was practicing it is known as it is still record in 1 Corinthians 15:29 in an argument in defense of the resurrection. Another would be the endowment ordinance which today is only evident in its corrupted form as what is still held somewhat secret in the performances of the Masons. And then there must have been that of eternal marriage, but likely due to the pagan adoptions such as the nunnery and the monks and 'unmarried' priests, such extended enphasis on such a sacred covenant as eternal marriage has long been corrupted and lost by that adoption into Christianity to devalue and actually defame the institution of marriage between a man and a women as being so essentual to the Gospel Plan as the institudion of the family and eternal marriage are in God's design. To understand just how much it has crept in and changed the order of things as was once according to the actual teaching, one need only consider that by 'Jewish Law' a Rabbi not only had to be of a proper age to begin his ministry, but he also had to be married. In teaching that Christ was not married and that priests are not to be married, nor monks or nuns, the marriage laws have been removed and corrupted.

 24a 2 Ne. 29:3
 25a 2 Ne. 29:4-6; D&C 3:16;
       TG Israel, Judah, People of
     b TG Gentiless
 26a Luke 1:1-4; 1 Tim. 4:13
     b Matt. 21:43
     c 1 Ne. 13:4-6; 1 Ne. 14:10 (3, 9-17)
     d TG Apostasy, of the
       Early Christian Church
     e Morm. 8:33; Moses 1:41;
       TG False Doctrine; TG Scriptures Lost
     f 1 Ne. 14:21 (20-26); A of F 8

27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.
28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and aprecious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
29 And after these plain and precious things were ataken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.

 28a 1 Ne. 14:23
 29a 2 Pet. 3:16

30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the aland of their inheritancea; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the bmixture of thy cseed, which are among thy brethren.
31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall adestroy the seed of thy brethren.
32 Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that aabominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.

 30a the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance The Lord had made great promises unto Lehi and though we are reading from Nephi's record, these promises to the seed of Lehi are preserved in Nephi's writings. Here we see that this promised land of Joseph (Ether 13:6-8) was also covenanted to be the land which Lehi's seed after him would posses for a land of inheritance as they were of Joseph also. This correclates with what Lehi states in 2 Nephi 3, that the Lord had said unto Lehi that he would so preserve his seed forever in this land (2 Nephi 3:16).  30a TG Lands of Inheritance;
       TG Promised Lands
     b 2 Ne. 29:12-13; Alma 45:14 (10-14)
     c 2 Ne. 3:3
 31a 2 Ne. 4:7; 2 Ne. 10:18-19;
       Jacob 3:6 (5-9); Hel. 15:12 (10-17);
       3 Ne. 16:8 (4-13); Morm. 5:20-21
 32a TG Devil, Church of

33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be amerciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment.
34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have avisited the bremnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do cstumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the dgospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the eGentiles in that day, insomuch that I will fbring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my ggospela, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

 34a much of my gospel What has thus far been brought forth in the restoration is 'much' of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet as the article of faith states, 'We believe all that he has revealed, all that he does now revealed, and we believe that he has yet to reveal many plain and important things pertaining unto the gospel'. Some of what is yet to be revealed is the 'lost' scriptures withheld such as the full record of the Jaredites with the vision of all in it, the brass plates, all the other unabridged records of the Nephites, other scriptures of other people and lands, such as the ordinance of the resurrection, a fuller knowledge and understanding pertaining unto the days and operation of the millennium and even all the rest of the knowledge and understanding as to the things of God. Yes, he is yet to reveal many important things pertaining unto the gospel. And what we do have today by comparison is but 'much', "a" fulness, but not yet all.  33a Isa. 42:1, 3-4
 34a D&C 124:8; Abr. 1:17
     b TG Israel, Joseph, People of
     c 1 Ne. 14:1-3; 2 Ne. 26:20
     d TG Gospel
     e TG Millennium, Preparing a People for
     f TG Scriptures Lost
     g D&C 10:62;
       TG Restoration of the Gospel

35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and preciousa; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, athese things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentilesa, by the gift and power of the Lamb.
36 And in them shall be written my agospel, saith the Lamb, and my brock and my salvation.
37 And ablessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my bZion at that day, for they shall have the cgift and the dpower of the Holy Ghost; and if they eendure unto the end they shall be flifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting gkingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall hpublish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they bea.

 35a thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious ... these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles The promise that the seed of Nephi would write and that such record would come forth to the Gentiles is the same promise the Lord made to Lehi that one of his seed would write, namely Mormon, and that such record would come forth (2 Nephi 3:18). That Mormon, the abridger and writer of the Book of Mormon was the descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi makes it such that the Lord did promise such to both Lehi and Nephi, Nephi being Lehi's line through whom the promises did remain.
 37a how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be Here Nephi's reference to 'how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be', he speaks generally concerning all such as should bear witness and publish the peace of the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb of God. It is not just specific to the prophets formally, but unto all who do speak by that spirit of revelation and testimony as to the witness of Jesus Chirst. Thus when Abinadi stands before the wicked priests of Noah, we ought to keep this is mind. Those wicked priests will ask Abinadi what is meant by Isaiah as he speaks of those who are beautiful upon the mountains ( See Mosiah 12:20-24 & Isaiah 52:7-10). Later Abinadi will give them their answer that it is all who so publish the gospel to the world as this perspective ought to so be maintained, from the saints of God, to the Apostles and the Prophets and even Jesus Christ himself (Mosiah 15:10-19). This seems to correlate well with the perspective given Isaiah 11 and in D&C 113 as to who is included in the carrying forth of the restoration of the gospel to its fulfilment of the covenant blessings of the fathers in blessing the nations of the world by the seed of Abraham, even Ephraim.
 35a 1 Ne. 14:7; 1 Ne. 22:8;
       2 Ne. 27:26 (6-26); 2 Ne. 29:1-7;
       TG Book of Mormon
 36a 3 Ne. 27:21
     b 3 Ne. 11:39 (38-39); TG Rock
 37a Jacob 5:75 (70-76); D&C 21:9;
       TG Mission of Israel;
       TG Mission of Latter-day Saints
     b TG Zion
     c TG Holy Ghost, Gift of
     d Luke 24:49; 1 Ne. 14:14;
       D&C 38:38 (32-38)
     e 3 Ne. 27:16; TG Endure;
       TG Perseverance; TG Steadfastness
     f James 4:10
     g TG Kingdom of God in Heaven
     h Isa. 52:7-10; Mark 13:10; 3 Ne. 20:30

38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the abook of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles bunto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.
39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld aother bbooks, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the cconvincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are dtrue.

 38a 1 Ne. 13:23; 2 Ne. 29:6 (4-6)
     b Morm. 5:15; Morm. 7:8-9
 39a D&C 9:2
     b TG Scriptures to Come Forth
     c Ezek. 37:17 (15-20); 1 Ne. 14:2 (1-5)
     d 1 Ne. 14:30

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These alast records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall bestablish the truth of the cfirst, which are of the dtwelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from thema; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the eSavior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.
41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the arecords of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in bone; for there is cone God and one dShepherd over all the earth.

 40a the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them Now many things have been taken away out of the scriptures per the editing and compiling of the scriptures. And the 'copying' of them according to the preferred interpretation and translations of man. Even in the days of Jesus it was made clear that certain versions of the written records were more correct and upright than others. Consider which rendition the Saducees would give in comparison to the Pharasees. The Saducees did not believe in the literal resurrection, that man would raised up from the dead to once again take upon himself this tabernacle of flesh and bone to be so housed forever more. Like many of the traditional Christians of today, they did not believe in the resurrection. Nor did they believe that the Messiah was or would be the literal Son of God. And they made it blasphemy for any to so claim to be, for they believed it not according to their own wisdom and interpretation and version of the Bible. It would seem that the apostles and Christ had access to a more upright version than that which has survived to day, for various scriptures are not found which they qouted and others are so changes as to not disclose the full truth of the matters of God. Thus one is left to consider that when the various versions of the scriptures were determined, what was acceptable and what was not to the 'wisdom of man', that such versions as held by such as the Sadudcees prevailed over the more upright and correct versions. Thus part by the Jews and part by the particular selection by the 'Gentiles' who were but scattered Israel despersed amid the nations of the earth, they did so select versions which were not as correct and as accurate as what there was available to those who would have been more inspired to so select.  40a 2 Ne. 26:17 (16-17); 2 Ne. 27:6-26
       2 Ne. 29:12; TG Book of Mormon
     b TG Scriptures, Value of
     c See the title page of the Book of Mormon
       TG Bible
     d 1 Ne. 11:29; 1 Ne. 12:9
     e Moses 1:6
 41a 1 Ne. 13:20-28
     b Ezek. 37:17
     c Deut. 6:4; 2 Ne. 31:21
     d TG Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd

Lost Samples 
From the very truths of the nature of Godhead to the gross practice of infant baptism, and from the lost practice of baptism for the dead to the exclusion of most all of mankind from salvation does the gamit of what has been lost extent. Specifically both in Matthew and John it was understood from the then available upright records that the Messiah would come out of Nazareth. The prophets also clearly taught and wrote that he would not only be the Son of God, but that he would be of the House of Joseph of Egypt. Philip so stated it and the Pharsees did so reference it when they challenged him with the accusation, 'Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan'. Christ never disputed that, only that he was accused as being possessed of a devil. The Samaritans knew he to be the Messiah from Joseph and many of them accepted him as such in even being of the House of David (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph). Even various scriptures as quoted by the Savior showed that certain concepts were being so edited out in many of the scriptural version of his day. Consider that in the great commandment as recorded in the Old Testament it fails to give the precept that man must worship God with all their 'mind'. And as the Savior so taught, 'thoughts' and intents of the mind are as much to judge a person upon as are actual actions. Various Jewish sects of the day had moved it into merely outward performances and thus they were free to be within themselves whatever manner of man they would prefer to so be.
42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the aJews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the blast shall be first, and the cfirst shall be last.

 42a D&C 18:6, 26; D&C 19:27;
       D&C 21:12; D&C 90:9 (8-9);
       D&C 107:33; D&C 112:4
     b Jacob 5:63; Ether 13:12
     c Luke 13:30; 1 Ne. 10:14;
       1 Ne. 15:13-20; D&C 14:10


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