|
|
|
|
CHAPTER 3Mormon cries repentance unto the Nephites—They gain a great victory and glory in their own strength—Mormon refuses to lead them, and his prayers for them are without faith—The Book of Mormon invites the twelve tribes of Israel to believe the gospel. [Between A.D. 350 and 362] |
||
~ 350 -360 A.D. ~ |
||
|
1 AND it came to pass that the Lamanites
did not come to battle again *until ten years
more had passed away. And behold, I had employed my people, the Nephites, in
preparing their lands and their arms against the time of battle.
2 And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be aspared. 3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was ain vain; and they did bnot realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentancea. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God.
|
3a granted unto them a chance for repentance Along the path of rippening unto destruction there is always that 'last chance' which goes unheeded. The Lord had already once forbid Mormon from preaching unto the Nephites, but that was in the land of Zarahemla some 20-30 years prior. And now Zarahemla had been lost. Would the Nephites north of the narrow neck also be so hardened, would they repent or was this just their 'last chance' prior to destruction? Such 'last chance' efforts are had in the scriptures. Noah's call unto repentance was the Lord giving the people one last chance, which the Lord knew would go unheeded, yet the 'chance' or opportunity was given. So it was with Ether and the Jardites. The Lord knew that Ether's appeals would go unheeded, but still the opportunity was given. And not it was with Mormon and the last chance of the Nephites. It must be supposed that the Lord gives such 'last chances' to men so that the wicked entrenched in their wickedness might not say they were not given such a 'last chance'. Consider the 'last change' of the Tower of Babel. The Bible does not record any who took that chance before the language was confounded into all the languages of the earth that the people might have to desperse upon the land as the Lord had commanded. But there was one group which took the 'last chance' in that respect. Consider the 'last chance' of the people of king Zedekiah. The Bible records that all of the sons of the king were killed and that Jerusalem was destoryed. Was there any who took the 'last chance'? Yes, there was Lehi and his family, Ishmael and his family, Zoram and even there was one of the sons of the king, Mulek who were saved by the hand of the Lord. Even Lot might be considered to have received such a 'last chance' reprive, but Lot's wife failed in it. What more can be said concerning the Lord and his mercies and the fact that the Lord gives warnings upon warnings unto the children of men, even to the 'last chance' and for any who do truly repent, even another day beyond the destruction which follows it. |
1a
* [A.D. 360] 2a Hel. 15:17 (16-17); Morm. 6:11 (11-15) 3a Morm. 4:18 b TG Hardheartedness; TG Ingratitude
|
|
4 And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed
away, making, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from
the coming of Christ, the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle
unto me, which gave unto me to know that they were preparing to
come again to battle against us.
5 And it came to pass that I did cause my peoplea that they should gather themselves together at the land aDesolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land bsouthwardb. 6 And there we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands; therefore we did fortify against them with all our force.
|
5a I did cause my people Now
one must consider what is meant by 'Mormon's people'. If Mormon is protecting
all the lands of the Nephites north, then certainly Mormon is not speaking of
vacating all those lands by all the people. It looses the intent of the
purpose of defending them. Mormon has rejoined the military. Mormon must
therefore be considered to be speaking of his people so associated to the
armies of the Nephites and not the whole of the general population of the
Nephites. Unlike modern armies, the ancient armies and which is particularly
true considering the Book of Mormon armies, is that the men of the army did
so travel with their families in their stands of defense. The defensive cities
of the great captain Moroni was not merely populated with soldiers only. They
were also occupied by the wives and the children of the soldiers and by such
towns people who had to be in order to support that army. This are they to
whom Mormon refers to as 'his people'. And 'his people' are not the whole of
the population of all the Nephites upon all the face of the land, less who
are of the cities and towns and villages so passed by and destroyed of which
the Book of Mormon so often speaks concerning? Yes Mormon places all of 'his
force' at the site of Desolation and its city, but his force in but the
armies of the Nephites.
5b Desolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward Now the treaty had given the Lamanites all of the land southward which would be the entire nation of Zarahemla which included the land of Bountiful which came up into and occupied the narrow neck even unto the border between desolation and Bountiful which was a day and a half journey for a Nephi from sea to sea alonge that border line (See Commentary Alma 22:32). The city Bountiful was along a defensive line which Moronihah had defended at the base of the narrow neck which was only a day's journey for a Nephi (Helaman 4:7). The nearest recorded city to the city of Bountiful was Mulek (See Alma 52). Now the 'narrow pass' would have ran from near the city Bountiful to near the city Desolation, which would be the most commonly used pass, the eastern pass (Alma 50:34 ~ See alos map below). |
5a
Alma 50:34;
Alma 4:3 (1-3) b Ether 9:31-32; Ether 10:21 (20-27)
To flush the Lamanites out, Moroni had Teancum take a portion of the Nephite army and camp down upon the sea shore from the city of Mulek. When the Lamanite scouts discovered them, the Lamanites determined this was the Nephite army and they decided to go out to war as they were but a small army. When the Lamanites came out, Teancum took his small army and ran away up along the sea shore towards Bountiful. The rest of the story is quite exciting, but for our purposes this places both Mulek and Bountiful upon the east coast near the east coast sea shore of the narrow neck of land. Next the narrow neck was a neck with a base of the neck at Bountiful and the top of the neck up upon the border between the Land Desolation and the land Bountiful which extended up into the neck until it reached that land of Desolation, they border upon each other on a line from sea to sea. And this is were it is considered that the city of Desolation was built at the top of the neck guarding the eastern coastal passage of choice on the border of the narrow neck. This is also where the Jaredites did build their great city of commerce (Ether 10:20-22) that lead into the land Southward. It is considered that that city and the city of Desolation were located about the same location. The fact that this was all located upon the sea coast seems to be confirmed by verse 8 of this chapter which reports that the dead bodies of the Lamanites from their battles were cast into the sea. That would suggest a nearness to the sea for the battlegrounds about the city of Desolation and Teancum, place them upon the east sea shore as well (see map below). Another consideration, is that in the days of the Jaredites, that top area of the neck and has a discriptive phrase that it said 'the place where the sea divides the land' (Ether 10:20). This could suggest that in the days of the Jaredites that the land 'bridge' between the north and south lands the narrow neck was quite narrow even to the possiblitiy that in a strong 'El Nino' year the sea might even be cast up enough to actually 'divide' the land. This might suggest that in part the Andean uplift effect and those land raising events which carried on since the days of the Jaredites, even to when the great destruction at the death of Christ and so forth, did tend to raise the land further up including the 'raising of the land bridge' to where it was or is no longer as narrow as in the days of the Jaredites. A single species of shell fish is unique in the world and is only located on the east and west coast of the narrow neck of the Isthmus of Darien, as if that the Pacific and Atlantic once did share the waters in which they bred. Science also speaks of the sea passage between the two continents, but of course science speaks of it terms of millions of years as they don't accept Noah's univeral flood nor the land division in the days of Peleg. |
50 Year Old Mormon Delivers Nephites a Third Time |
||
|
7 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first
year the Lamanites did come down to the acity of Desolation
to battle against us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them,
insomuch that they did return to their own lands again.
8 And in the *three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down aagain to battle. And we did beat them again, and did slay a great number of them, and their dead were cast into the seaa.
|
Narrow Pass= Ran from City Bountiful on the South to City Desolation on the
North near the sea within the Narrow Neck. |
|
| 8a their dead were cast into the sea In a direct confirmation of the location of the narrow passage which ran 'by the seashore' in the narrow neck of land, here it is clearly seen that the Nephite defensive city of that narrow passage defense, was so near by the sea that it was the easiest and quickest means of disposal of the dead from the battle to just cast them into that sea east. Thus is the picture of the city of Bountiful upon the eastern coast at the south end of the narrow passage and narrow neck with the city of Desolation at the north end of that narrow passage by the sea. The Book of Mormon record is thus so consistant in its geographic presentation of the location of the city of Bountiful, the narrow neck, the narrow passage and the city of Desolation. And further, the city of Teancum which was near the city of Desolation was also upon that eastern shoreline. |
7a
3 Ne. 3:23;
Morm. 4:2, 19 8* [A.D. 362] a Morm. 2:26; Morm. 3:13
|
|
|
9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites,
had done, they began to aboast in their own strength, and
began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the
blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
10 And they did aswear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they bwould go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land. 11 And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly arefuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.
|
9a
Prov. 14:16;
2 Ne. 4:34;
Morm. 4:8 10a TG Swearing b Alma 43:46-47; Alma 48:14; 3 Ne. 3:21 (20-21); Morm. 4:4 11a Morm. 5:1
|
|
Mormon Refuses to Lead the Nephites in Wickedness |
||
|
12 Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led
them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the
alove of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my
soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them;
nevertheless, it was bwithout faith, because of the
chardness of their hearts.
13 And athrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemiesa, and they have repented not of their sins.
|
13a thrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their enemies FIRST at age 19 Mormon led the Nephites in the Land of Zarahemla to victory in defeating the army of King Aaron of the Lamanites. The peace which followed that victory lasted some 14 years, during which time Mormon married, had children (Moroni), and carried out the command of Ammaron to write the record of the Nephites. Then at age 38, after rallying the retreating Nephites in the land of Shem, Mormon led the Nephites a SECOND time back into the lands south where they regained the lands of their inheritance. But wisdom prevailed in that a 'maintainable' treaty of land division might be instigated whereby the Nephites could more easily maintain and control their lands against their enemy. Finally after another period of a 10 year peace, at age 50, Mormon by using that defense of the narrow neck of land did deliver the Nephites a THRID and final time from their enemies, proving the wisdom of the land treaty to be in the favor of the Nephites in enabling them to defend their lands north of the narrow neck of land. Thrice had he delivered them in 330 A.D. at age 19, in 349 A.D. at age 38 and lastly in 361-2 A.D. at age 50 did Mormon deliver the Nephites from destruction. |
12a
TG
God, Love of b James 1:6; Morm. 5:2 c Neh. 9:16-17 13a Morm. 2:26; Morm. 3:8 (7-8)
|
|
14 And when they had sworn by all that had been
aforbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that
they would go up unto
their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of
their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me saying:
15 aVengeance is mine, and I will brepay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth. 16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded mea; and I did stand as an idle witnessb to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.
|
16a I did even as the Lord had commanded
me When the Lord stated to Mormon that vengence was the Lord, the
commandment to Mormon was that he should not go into the land of Zarahemla
to battle. Thus Mormon's refusal to lead the Nephite armies was as much as a
commandment of God as it was a determination by Mormon. And he would not
rejoin that battle until the Nephites were in perpetual retreat without any
means of going up against the Lamanties unto vengence as the Lord had so
commanded him.
16b I did stand as an idle witness The prophet Ether was called upon to be just such an idle witness of the destruction of his people the Jaredites. But Ether was a prophet by nature. Mormon had been a leader of the military. And thus we will find that when the Nephites are being pursued unto destruction, Mormon will again attempt to come to the aid of the Nephites and fight against the oppression of the Lamanites rather than to sit idlely by. It was not Mormon's nature to just give up and give in without such an effort. |
14a
3 Ne. 12:34 15a Isa. 35:4; Rom. 12:19; TG Vengeance b 2 Sam. 16:12 (9-12); D&C 82:23; TG God, Justice of
|
Mormon Speaks Unto the Gentiles |
||
|
17 Therefore I write aunto you, Gentiles, and also
unto you, house of Israela, when
the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to
the land of your inheritanceb;
18 Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israela, who shall be ajudged according to your works by the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem. 19 And I write also unto the remnant of this peoplea, who shall also be judged by the atwelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
|
17, 18 , 19a I write unto you, Gentiles,
and unto you, house of Israel ... I write unto all the ends of the earth;
yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel ... I write also unto the remnant of
this people Mormon is he who was of the fruit of the loins of Lehi
who as to write unto the fruit of the loins of Lehi, which Lehi did prophesy
concerning to his son Joseph in that blessing of instruction given to him
(See 2 Nephi 3:18-21). And Moroni, also of the fruit of the loins of Lehi,
was his father's spokesman to declare the Book of Mormon, the everlasting
gospel to the ends of the earth. Yes, Moroni is that angel flying in the
midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to proclaim unto the world
(See Revelations 14:6-7). Joseph Smith DID NOT write the Book of Mormon. For
the most part, Mormon did, as its compiler and abridger with the assistance
of his spokesman, his son Moroni.
17b about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance Now wherein is the land of the Gentile inheritance and wherein is the land America the land of Joseph, the land of Joseph's inheritance, a land of inheritance unto the house of Israel? To so consider this matter one must assume a broader perspective. First the house of Israel is not merely the seed of Jacob. All who ever have lived may be of Isreal. Israel is but the name given by God unto Jacob because he DID PREVAIL WITH THE LORD. Before Jacob the name Israel did reference any and all who did so prevail with God. Thus is Israel any and all, past, present and future who do prevail with God. As John the Baptist stated, even of these stones can God raise up children of Abraham, so even of the Gentiles does God raise up children of Israel. And who are the Gentiles but the seed of Adam, Adam's children. And where is the land of inheritance of Adam unto Adam's children but America? And who is Joseph, but he who was scattered among the nations of the Gentiles, and the sons of Joseph who were given the name of Israel upon them by the hand of Jacob, and Ephraim who is to bring the blessings of the covenant which was before the foundation of the earth even down unto Abraham and from thence of Abraham and his promised seed, even the sons of Ephraim unto all the world, the people and nations thereof, to every people and every tongue, not excluded. Is not America, this land of Joseph, this land of Israel, this land of Joseph, is not this America the promised land unto all people, yea the very land of inheritance of all the children of Adam, of all the children of God who do prevail in the Lord? |
17a
2 Ne. 30:3-8;
3 Ne. 29:1 18a Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30 (29-30); D&C 29:12 19a 1 Ne. 12:10 (9-10); 3 Ne. 27:27
|
|
20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I
write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know
that ye must all stand before the ajudgment-seat of Christ,
yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human bfamily of
Adama; and ye must
stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
21 And also that ye may abelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall bhave among you; and also that the cJews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other dwitness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the every Christ and the very Goda. 22 And I would that I could persuade aall ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.
|
20a yea, every soul who belongs to the
whole human family of Adam Perhaps one of the most defining
characteristics of the restored gospel of Jesus Chirst is not only the
pretense of fulfilling of the Covenant of Abraham, that in his seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed, but the restored gospel does set forth
in detail just how that is accomplished even down to every gospel ordinance
and performance so required. Unlike all other Christain religions of
tradition, which fails to so provide such a universally applied actual means
of salvation, beyond dead works of null performance, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints performs all such vicarious ordiance of salvation
which allow those who have died to be judged according to men in the flesh
in accord with every such required holy ordinance unto salvation. It further
sets out such plans and designs by which this is to be accomplished in
harmony with the Biblical scriptures from baptism for the dead to the
preaching of the gospel to the spirits in prison and the loosing of that
prison confinement by the hand of the Lord. No other church but the true
church of God has such a universally applicable plan unto salvation. No other
church but the church as restored through the promised seed of the Firstborn,
the Firstborn being of Ephraim, so has such a design to fulfill the covenant
renewed in Abraham which we first given to Adam upon this earth and first
pronounced in the halls of heaven before the very foundation of the world.
21a Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God How is it that Jesus who came to earth and died as man so die, is the very God? Yes, Jesus is the One True God and beside him is none else. Such stipulation seem to fail to consider God the Father as being a separate being from Christ. And it tends to support a concept of the trinity of three gods in one. Yet we know that Jesus Christ had a Father who we know as God the Father, our Heavenly Father. Therefore, are there not two God. How then is there only One God? It is a matter of perspective and understanding. King David knew somewhat concerning the matter for he spoke of the Lord of his Lord, meaning the Jehovah of the Old Testament had a God above him. To comprehend one must understand that there is the Celestial Heaven of the Father of Spirits which is the Father of us all, that is the spirit of us all. Jehovah, who is the same as Jesus Chrsit is NOT, this God, the Father of Spirits. And yes in terms of the Godhead, which is three separate and distinct beings all of whom are Gods, our Gods, there is still a manner in which Christ stands alone, he being our 'One True God', not above but in concert with the Father and the Holy Ghost. To comprehend, one must understand that this earthly creation and the heavens thereof is but a 'temporal creation' constituting the realm of the second estate of man. This Second Estate has both a beginning and an end where eternity does not. Jehovah is our Alpha and Omega in respect to this second temporal estate. He stands at it head and at its end. He was the Firstborn of the spirit children of God the Father of Spirits, who was his as well as our father of all of the spirits of men of this second estate, including Jehovah. This God the Father of our Spirits is an advanced Celestial being who stands beyond the realm of any such temporal estate of which we are currently a part of. As pertaining unto this estate, the Father of Spirit did appoint unto us a Mediator, an Advocate, and Intercessor, a Ministering God who would be of this estate with us. Only those who pertain unto this temporal estate does minister unto it (D&C 130:5). Thus the Father selected his rightful heir, his Firstborn spirit son Jehovah to be the anointed God of this second temporal estate. And he gave unto this Jehovah all the power and authority pertaining unto the father that he Jehovah might act in the stead of the Father in all things in ministering unto this second temporal estate. From it very creation to the very final judgment and end thereof. From its beginning unto its end was Jehovah made the ministering God, the One True God thereof, though giving all glory unto the Father. As the creator of this second temporaly realm of man, he also became its redeemer and savior, and salvation come by none other, there is no other way but in Christ unto the advanced kingdom of God the Father of Spirit, that Celestial realm which is beyond this temporal existance. Thus Jesus Christ is the very God, the very God of this second estate, this temporal creation of heaven and earth and all things the in it is. He is the Only One True God of it. And he is that One true God that we worship in respect unto it. Yet as such, as Jehovah and as Jesus Christ, being our mediator, advocate and intercessor, He does introduce us who have fall back into the presence of the Father of Spirits, into that Godly realm beyond this temporal creation, and into that eternity which stand both before and after this temporary exisitance of the maturation of man where it we are left to chose for ourselves to be even as God is in righteousness, or even as Satan unto wickedness, to stand in the light of truth or in the darkness of lies and deception, smoke and mirrors.. |
20a
TG
Jesus Christ, Judge; TG Judgment, The Last b D&C 27:11 21a D&C 3:20 b 1 Ne. 13:23 (20-29, 36, 41) c TG Israel, Judah, People of d 2 Ne. 25:18 e 2 Ne. 26:12; Mosiah 7:27 22a Alma 29:1
|
| * Verse 1 [A.D. 360]; Verse 8 [A.D. 362]. | ||
| This BM Book | Previous BM Chapter | Next BM Chapter | Commentary Page | Home Page |