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CHAPTER 37The plates of brass and other scriptures are preserved to bring souls to salvation—The Jaredites were destroyed because of their wickedness—Their secret oaths and covenants must be kept from the people—Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings—As the Liahona guided the Nephites, so the word of Christ leads men to eternal life. [About 73 B.C.] |
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1 AND now, my son Helaman, I command you
that ye take the arecords which have been
bentrusted with me;
2 And I also command you that ye keep a arecord of this people, according as I have done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these things sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for a bwise purpose that they are kept. 3 And these aplates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the bgenealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—
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1a
Alma 45:2-8;
Alma 50:38;
Alma 63:1 b Mosiah 28:20 2a TG Record Keeping b Enos 1:13-18; W of M 1:7 (6-11); Alma 37:12; TG Restoraton of the Gospel 3a Mosiah 28:20; Alma 63:12 (1, 11-14) b 1 Ne. 5:14
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4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be
kept and ahanded down from one generation to another, and
be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto
every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of
the bmysteries contained
thereona.
5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.
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4a
1 Ne. 5:19 (16-19);
Alma 63:13;
Hel. 3:16 b TG Mysteries of Godliness
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6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in
me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple
things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances
doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord doth cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
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6a
1 Cor. 2:14 b 1 Ne. 16:29; D&C 64:33; D&C 123:16 7a Isa. 55:8-9; Hel. 24:27 b 2 Kings 5:13; Alma 37:41 c 1 Cor. 1:27; D&C 133:58-59
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8 And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things
should be preserved; for behold, athey have
benlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced
many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the
cknowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.
9 Yea, I say unto you, awere it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have bconvinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their cwords brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. 10 And who knoweth but what they will be the ameans of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our bstiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?
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8a
Mosiah 2:34;
Alma 33:2 b Mosiah 1:3-5 c TG Education; TG Scriptures, Value of 9a Mosiah 1:5 b Alma 18:36; Alma 22:12 c TG Gospel 10a 2 Ne. 3:15 b TG Stiffneckedness
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11 Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me;
therefore I shall forbear.
12 And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a awise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth bcounsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is cone eternal round.
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12a
Alma 37:2 b Prov. 15:22; 2 Ne. 9:28; Jacob 4:10 c 1 Ne. 10:19; Alma 7:20
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13 O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how
astrict are the commandments of God. And he said:
bIf ye will keep my commandments ye shall
cprosper in the land—but if ye keep not his
commandments ye shall be cut off from his
presencea.
14 And now remember, my son, that God has aentrusted you with these things, which are bsacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and cpreserve for a dwise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.
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13a if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence In the book of Abrham, it states the purposes of our probations, 'we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them' (Abraham 3:25). And if we keep this second estate we 'shall have glory added upon our heads for ever and ever' (Abraham 3:26). But as it states here, if we do not keep his commandments which he commands us, then we shall be cut off from God's presence. It is rather simple in perspective, either one lives as God prescribes and obtains heaven or they do not so live and they do not obtain God's glory. |
13a
Luke 13:24 (22-30) b Alma 9:13-14; 3 Ne. 5:22 c Ps. 122:6; Mosiah 1:7; Alma 36:30; Alma 50:20 14a D&C 3:5 b TG Scared c TG Scriptures, Preservatin of d 1 Ne. 9:5 (3-6)
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15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if
ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which
are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and
ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as
chaff before the wind.
16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can atake them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.
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16a
JS-H 1:59
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17 For he will fulfil all his apromises which he
shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto
our fathers.
18 For he promised unto them that he would apreserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that he might show forth his power unto future generations.
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17a
2 Kings 10:10;
TG
Promise 18a D&C 5:9
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19 And now behold, one
purposea hath he fulfilled, even to
the restoration ofa
amany thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledge of
the trutha; and he hath shown forth
his power in them, and he will also still show forth his power in them unto
bfuture generations; therefore they shall be preserved.
20 Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written.
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19a one purpose ... the restoration of ... the Lamanties tot he knowledge of the truth Now this purpose was fulfilled in part during the ministration of the sons of Mosiah during their mission to the Lamanites, but the greater fulfillment which Lehi was promised and which was looked forward to in the future was when the record should come forth during the restoration of the gospel in the latter days. |
19a
Alma 23:5-13 b 2 Ne. 3:15; Enos 1:13 (12-18); Morm. 7:9 (8-10)
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21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those
atwenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the
bmysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret
works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be
made cmanifest unto this people; yea, all their murders,
and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and
abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye
preserve these dinterpreters.
22 For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the earth. 23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a astone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may bdiscover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
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21a
Mosiah 8:9;
Mosiah 21:27;
Mosiah 28:11; Ether 1:2 (1-5); Ether 15:33 b TG Secret Combinations c Prov. 26:26; Alma 14:3 (2-3) d TG Urim and Thummim 23a Mosiah 8:13 b IE reveal, make known
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24 And now, my son, these ainterpreters were
prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:
25 I will abring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they repent I will bdestroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land. 26 And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they have been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has been fulfilled; yea, their asecret abominations have been brought out of darkness and made known unto us.
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24a
TG
Urim and Thummim 25a Ps. 64:5 (4-6); D&C 88:108-9 b Mosiah 21:26 26a 2 Ne. 10:15
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27 And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths, and
their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations; yea, and
all their asigns and their wonders ye shall
bkeep from this people, that they know them not, lest
peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed.
28 For behold, there is a acurse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God, when they are fully ripea; therefore I desire that this people might not be destroyed.
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28a there is a curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness according to the power of God, when thy are fully ripe |
27a
Hel. 6:22;
TG
Signs b Alma 63:12 28a Ether 2:8 (7-12)
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29 Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their
aoaths and their covenants from this people, and only their
wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto
them; and ye shall teach them to babhor such wickedness and
abominations and murders; and ye shall also teach them that these people were
destroyed on account of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.
30 For behold, they amurdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities; and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for vengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments of God did come upon these workers of darkness and secret bcombinations. 31 Yea, and acursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they repent before they are fully bripe.
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29a
Hel. 6:25 b Deut. 32:19; Alma 13:12; TG Hate 30a TG Prophets, Rejection of b TG Secret Combinations 31a Alma 45:16; TG Earth, Curse of b Gen. 15:16; Hel. 13:14; D&C 61:31; D&C 101:11
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32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you;
trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting
ahatred against sin and iniquity.
33 aPreach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be bmeek and lowly in heart; teach them to cwithstand every dtemptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. 34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find arest to their souls.
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32a
Prov. 3:5-6;
2 Ne. 4:31;
Alma 43:7 33a TG Mission of Early Saints; TG Preaching b TG Meekness c TG Perserverance; TG Self-mastery d TG Temptation 34a Matt. 11:29 (28-30)
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35 O, remember, my son, and alearn
bwisdom in thy cyouth; yea, learn in thy
youth to keep the commandments of God.
36 Yea, and acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. 37 aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
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35a
TG
Education;
TG
Learning b TG Wisdom; c Eccl. 12:1; Lam. 3:27 36a TG Prayer b Ps. 37:5 (4-7) c TG Motivations 37a Josh. 9:14; Ps. 34:4, 6, 10; Lam. 3:25; Heb. 11:16; Jacob 4:10; D&C 3:4 b TG Abundant Life b Ps. 5:3; 1 Chr. 16:8 (7-36); Ether 6:9; D&C 46:32
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38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which
our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it
aLiahonaa, which is,
being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness. 40 And it did work for them according to their afaith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
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38a our fathers called it Liahona Alma tells somewhat of the trials and workings of the Liahona in the wilderness travels of Lehi. It becomes apparent that Alma is referencing mainly those travels in the old world from the valley of Lemuel to that first bountiful and then also the journey upon the sea as he states that 'it did work for them according to their faith' (verse 40), that when they 'forgot to exercise faith and diligence they did not progress in their journey' (verses 41-42), and that when properly used it did 'point them a straight course to the promised land' (verse 44). This seems to be a major reason that the valley of Lemuel to the first Bountiful did take them 8 years to complete and then that the sea voyage had nearly ended in disaster. And though surely Nephi and Lehi did use it in the promised land to journey from the sight of their landing to that first land of inheritance and then Nephi would have surely used it in guiding him to that first land of Nephi in escaping his murderous brethren as warned by the Lord, those latter occassions seem to have gone much smoother according ot Nephi's faith and less time was spent in covering direct and greater distances becuase of that faith. voyage to the second Bountiful did s |
38a
1 Ne. 16:10, 16, 26;
1 Ne. 18:12, 21; 2 Ne. 5:12; D&C 17:1 40a 1 Ne. 16:28
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41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by
asmall means it did show unto them marvelous works. They
were bslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and
diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in
their journey;
42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did anot travel a direct coursea, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.
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42a Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course Now one may well ask why it was that it took the party of Lehi 8 years to so travel in the wilderness before they did come to the seashore of that first Bountiful where a ship was built to cross the great deep. Here what Nephi's abridged small plate record did not so stipulate is in part devulged. They did not always travel in a direct course, but they did tarry and wander in that wilderness for great spaces of time because they did fail to exhort faith and righteousnes in the paying heed unto the Liahona. And when the Liahona did fail to operate according to the lack of faith and heed, they did wander and not progress in their journey in the wilderness even to the extent that it did take 8 years to travel from the valley of Lemuel unto that site of the first Bountiful where the ship was built according to the command of God. |
41a
1 Ne. 16:29;
Alma 37:7 (6-8) b TG Apathy; TG Laziness 42a 1 Ne. 16:28
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43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these
things are not without a ashadow; for as our fathers were
slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they
did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.
44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compassa, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land. 45 And now I say, is there not a atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.
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44a it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass Now we do not have a Liahona as did Lehi and Nephi, but we do have the scriptures, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and other scriptures and also the words of the prophets and apostles, given unto us from time to time as to that course that we must need walk in unto eternal life. Yea, we are to seek after these things, for they are they which will lead us in the ways of God unto eternal life and exaltation. |
43a
Col. 2:17;
Heb. 8:5;
Mosiah 3:15 44a Ps. 119:105 45a TG Jesus Christ, Types of, in Anticipation
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46 O my son, do not let us be aslothful because of
the beasiness of the cway; for so was it
with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would
dlook they might elive; even so it is
with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.
47 And now, my son, see that ye take acare of these sacred things, yea, see that ye blook to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.
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46a
Luke 6:46-49;
1 Ne. 17:41 (40-41) b Matt. 11:30 c Ex. 33:13 (12-13); 2 Ne. 9:41; 2 Ne. 31:21 (17-21); D&C 132:22, 25 d Alma 25:16; Alma 33:22 (19-23) e John 11:25; Hel. 8:15; 3 Ne. 15:19 47a TG Scriptures, Preservation of b Amos 5:6; Ether 12:41
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