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CHAPTER 30Converted gentiles shall be numbered with the covenant people—Many Lamanites and Jews shall believe the word and become a delightsome people—Israel shall be retored and the wicked destoryed. [Between 559 and 545 B.C.] |
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1 AND now behold, my beloved brethren, I
would speak unto you; for I,
Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous
than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the
commandments of God ye shall all likewise aperish; and
because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the
Gentiles are utterly destroyed.
2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the acovenant people of the Lorda; and as many of the bJews as will not repent shall be ccast offa; for the Lord dcovenanteth with none save it be with them that erepent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.
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2a as many of the Gentiles as will
repent are the covenant people of the Lord Even of these stones
can God raise up children of Abraham is what John the Baptist told the
Pharisees. Descendantcy is not of significance expect in that by whom the
responsibilities of performance do come and in whom the covenant is preserved.
Beyong that covenant responsibility, all are alike unto God, and all who do
repent and enter in at the strait gate are the covenant people of the Lord.
2a as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off Nephi here uses the term 'Jews' to mean the covenant race of God, the whole of the House of Israel, even the seed of Abraham. One must remember that by Nephi's day only the kingdom of Judah did remain and all of Israel and all of the known descendants of Abraham were of that kingdom of Judah and were therefore included in the term 'Jews'. Thus Nephi is stating in effect the same message as was that of John the Baptist. And that is, being one of the covenant sons of Abraham by descent is no free ticket to being the covenant people of the Lord, for even of the stones, that is the Gentiles and the nations thereof, can and will God raise up seed unto Abraham. Only those who do repent and enter in at the strait gate, which is baptism in the proper form and by the authorized power, will be considered the covenant people of the Lord, that 'Israel' which means in the more general and universal meaning of the word, 'they who do prevail with and in the Lord'. |
1a
Luke 13:3 (1-5) 2a Gal. 3:29 (26-29); Abr. 2:10 (9-11) b Matt. 8:12; TG Israel, Judah, People of c Luke 3:9 (3-9); Rom. 9:6; Jacob 5:6 d Rom. 3:29 e TG Repentance
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3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the
Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be
written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be
many which shall abelieve the words which are written; and
bthey shall carry them forth unto the
cremnant of our seed.
4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. 5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among athem; wherefore, bthey shall be restored unto the cknowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. 6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall aknow that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their bscales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and cdelightsome people.
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3a
2 Ne. 28:2;
3 Ne. 16:6-13 b 1 Ne. 22:9 (5-10); 3 Ne. 5:25 (20-26) c 2 Ne. 4:7-11; Jacob 1:5; TG Israel, Remnant of 5a 3 Ne. 21:5 (3-7, 24-26); Morm. 5:15 b D&C 3:20 c 1 Ne. 15:14; 2 Ne. 3:12; Morm. 7:9 (1, 9-10) 6a Alma 3:14 b TG Darkness, Spiritual; TG Spiritual Blindness c W of M 1:8; D&C 49:24; D&C 109:65
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7 And it shall come to pass that the aJews which
are scattered also shall bbegin to believe in Christ; and
they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall
believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.
8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the arestoration of his people upon the earth. 9 And with righteousness shall the aLord God bjudge the poor, and reprove with equity for the cmeek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
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7a
2 Ne. 29:14 (13-14);
3 Ne. 5:25 (23-26); TG Israel, Judah, People of b 2 Ne. 25:16-17 8a TG Israel, Restoration of; TG Millennium, Preparing a People for 9a Isa. 11:4-9 b Ps. 19:9; 2 Ne. 9:15 c TG Meekness
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10 For the atime speedily cometh that the Lord God
shall cause a great bdivision among the people, and the
wicked will he cdestroy; and he will
dspare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must
edestroy the wicked by fire.
11 And arighteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
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10a
Jacob 5:29;
Jacob 6:2;
TG
Last Days b D&C 63:54 c Ps. 73:17 (3-17); D&C 29:17; JS-H 1:55 d 1 Ne. 22:17 (15-22); 3 Ne. 22:13-17; Moses 7:61 e 1 Ne. 22:23 (15-17, 23); Jacob 5:69; TG Earth, Cleansing of 11a Isa. 11:5-9; TG Righteousness
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12 And then shall the wolf adwell with the lamb;
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young
lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.
13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. 15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy amountain; for the earth shall be full of the bknowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
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12a
Isa. 65:25;
TG
Earth, Renewal of 15a Joel 2:1 b TG God, Knowledge about
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16 Wherefore, the things of aall nations shall be
made known; yea, all things shall be made bknown unto the
children of men.
17 There is nothing which is secret save it shall be arevealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed. 18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that aday be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men bno more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.
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16a
D&C 101:32-35;
D&C 121:28 (26-32) b Ether 4:7 (6-7, 13-17) 17a Luke 12:2-3; D&C 1:3 (1-3) 18a Acts 3:21 b Rev. 20:2-3; Ether 8:26
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