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CHAPTER 4
Moroni is commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of
Jared— |
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1 AND the Lord commanded the brother of
Jared to go down out of the amount from the presence of the
Lord, and bwrite the things which he had seen; and they
were forbidden to come unto the children of men cuntil
after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause
did king Mosiah [Benjamin] keep them, that they should not come unto the
world until after Christ should show himself unto his
peoplea.
2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest. 3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is anone save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should bhide them up again in the earth. 
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1a for this cause did king Mosiah [Benjamin] keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people Now it was king Mosiah who did make a translation of the 24 plates of Ether (Mosiah 28:11-20), but the original 1830 Book of Mormon, as well as in the 1879 edition, stated that it was king Benjamin who did keep them 'NOT' to come forth until after Christ. Thus king Benjamin could have still been living when Ammon retured with Limhi's people (See Mosiah 21:28). This would explain why king Benjamin undertook no attempt himself to translate them, but his son Mosiah did, perhaps teased by his curiosity as well as 'the great anxiety of his people being desirous beyond measure to know concering them' (Mosiah 28:12) thus persuading him into requestiong of the the Lord to let him so translate them even when his father Benjamin would not. |
1a
Ether 3:1 b Ether 12:24; TG Record Keeping; TG Scriptures, Writing of c Ether 3:21 3a Morm. 8:3 (2-3) b Morm. 8:14; TG Scriptures, Preservation of
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4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the
avery things which the brother of Jared
sawa; and there never were
bgreater things made manifest than those which were made
manifest unto the brother of Jared.
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should aseal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereofa; wherefore I have sealed up the binterpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
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4a I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw Now Moroni states that he did 'rewrite' the vision of all which Mohonri Moriancumer had seen and was commanded by the Lord to write. Of course Moroni's writing of them would be according to his own language, that language which Joseph was skilled in translating. Now we do not know whether Joseph Smith did therefore read these things, but whether read of seen, the Prophet Joseph Smith would likely have known them. Now Moroni had two sources from which to draw the vision of all from, for Mosiah had translated it and written it, which translation was given to the Nephites after the time of the visit of Christ. Thus there would seem to be three or four writings of this vision among the records of the Nephites, the original of Mahonri Moriancumer we may suppose, the record of Ether's 24 gold plates, the translation of Mosiah of it in the language of his day (perhaps Hebrew), and Moroni's translation most likely in the latest altered and 'Reformed Egyptian' of the Nephites of Mormon's and Moroni's day. Thus when the records are all restore, there stands what will be a modern rosetta stone of the various languages, likely the original language of Adam, the Adamic, the language written by Mosiah, and the language written by Moroni. And perhaps this will be the great benefit thereof of have three or four such renditions of the account. |
4a
Ether 5:1 b 2 Ne. 27:7-8, 10-11; Mosiah 8:19; Ether 3:26 (21-28) 5a Dan. 12:9; 3 Ne. 26:9 (7-12, 18); Ether 5:1; D&C 17:6; D&C 35:18; JS-H 1:65 b Morm. 6:6; D&C 17:1; JS-H 1:52; TG Urim and Thummim
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The Lord Speaks As Recorded by Moroni |
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6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the
Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity,
and become clean before the Lord.
7 And in that day that they shall exercise afaith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become bsanctified in me, then will I cmanifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared sawa, even to the unfolding unto them all my drevelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eFather of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them area. 8 And he that will acontend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall bdeny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show cno greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.
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7a
D&C 5:28 b TG Sanctification c 2 Ne. 30:16; Alma 12:9; 3 Ne. 26:10 (6-11) d 2 Ne. 27:22 e Mosiah 3:8 8a Job 9:3 (1-4); 3 Ne. 29:5 (1-9); Morm. 8:17 b 2 Ne. 27:14; 2 Ne. 28:29-30, 34 c Alma 12:10-11; 3 Ne. 26:10 (9-10)
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9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are
ashut; and at my word the bearth shall
shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as
by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the alast day. 11 But he that abelieveth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall bknow and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall cknow that these things are dtrue; for it persuadeth men to do good.
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9a
1 Kings 8:35;
D&C 77:8 b Hel. 12:11 (8-18); Morm. 5:23 10a 2 Ne. 25:22; 2 Ne. 33:15 (10-15); 3 Ne. 27:25 (23-27) 11a D&C 5:16 b 2 Ne. 32:5; 3 Ne. 16:6 c TG Testimony b Alma 3:12; Ether 5:3 (1-4); Moro. 10:4 (1-5)
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12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for
agood cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that
leadeth men to all good; he that will bnot believe my words
will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not
believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am
the clight, and the dlife, and the
etruth of the worlda.
13 aCome unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. 14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made amanifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
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12a I am the Father, I am the light, I am the life, and the truth of the world When one reads this statement in full context, it become obvious unto what meaning Jesus speaks. The single prepositional phrase 'of the world' is to be applied to all sentence statements which preceeds it. That is, Jesus is the truth of the world. Jesus is the life of the world. Jesus is light of the world. And Jesus is the Father of the world. 'The world' has reference to this second estate in which we live. Thus Jesus is stating that He is the Father of this second estate. But He is not saying that He is the same person as the Father of Spirits, which is his Father as well as our Father of all spirits and his Father as to the flesh, Jesus Christ being the Only Begotten Son of the Father of Spirits. |
12a
Omni 1:25;
Alma 5:40;
Moro. 7:16 (12-17) b 3 Ne. 11:35; 3 Ne. 28:24 c TG Jesus Christ, Light of the World d Col. 3:4 e Alma 38:9 13a 3 Ne. 12:2-3 14a D&C 121:26-29
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15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause
you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and
blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been
ahid up from the foundation of the world from
you—yea, when ye shall bcall upon the Father in
my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that
the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your
fathersa, O house of Israel.
16 And then shall my arevelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.
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15a
2 Ne. 27:10 b Gen. 4:26; Moro. 2:2 16a Rev. 1:1; 1 Ne. 14:23 (18-27)
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17 Therefore, awhen ye shall receive this record ye
may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the
land.
18 Therefore, arepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be bbaptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and csigns shall follow them that believe in my name. 19 And blessed is he that is found afaithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be blifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him cfrom the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
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17a
3 Ne. 21:2 (1-11, 28) 18a 3 Ne. 27:20; Moro. 7:34 b John 3:5 (3-5); TG Baptism, Essential c TG Holy Ghost, Gift of 19a Ps. 31:23; Mosiah 2:41; D&C 6:13; D&C 63:47; TG Jesus Christ, Taking the Name of b Morm. 2:19 c 2 Ne. 9:18; Alma 42:26; Ether 3:14
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