{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_17/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_17","id":"gutenberg_17","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity","Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Sacred books","Latter Day Saint churches -- Sacred books","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"THE BOOK OF MORMON\n\nAn Account Written\n BY THE HAND OF MORMON\n\nUPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI\n\n\nWherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi,\nand also of the Lamanites\u2014Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant\nof the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile\u2014Written by way of\ncommandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of\nrevelation\u2014Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they\nmight not be destroyed\u2014To come forth by the gift and power of God unto\nthe interpretation thereof\u2014Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up\nunto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile\u2014The\ninterpretation thereof by the gift of God.\n\nAn abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of\nthe people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded\nthe language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to\nheaven\u2014Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what\ngreat things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may\nknow the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever\u2014And\nalso to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST,\nthe ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations\u2014And now, if there\nare faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the\nthings of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of\nChrist.\n\n\n TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.\n THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES\n\nBe it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom\nthis work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father, and\nour Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record,\nwhich is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites,\ntheir brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the\ntower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been\ntranslated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it\nunto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we\nalso testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the\nplates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not\nof man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God\ncame down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we\nbeheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that\nit is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that\nwe beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is\nmarvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us\nthat we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the\ncommandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know\nthat if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the\nblood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of\nChrist, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the\nhonor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is\none God. Amen.\n\nOLIVER COWDERY\nDAVID WHITMER\nMARTIN HARRIS\n\n\n THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES\n\nBe it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom\nthis work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this\nwork, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which\nhave the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said\nSmith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the\nengravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work,\nand of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of\nsoberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and\nhefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of\nwhich we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness\nunto the world that which we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing\nwitness of it.\n\nCHRISTIAN WHITMER\nJACOB WHITMER\nPETER WHITMER, JUN.\nJOHN WHITMER\nHIRAM PAGE\nJOSEPH SMITH, SEN.\nHYRUM SMITH\nSAMUEL H. SMITH\n\n\nContents\n\n THE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY\n THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI\n THE BOOK OF JACOB\n THE BOOK OF ENOS\n THE BOOK OF JAROM\n THE BOOK OF OMNI\n THE WORDS OF MORMON\n THE BOOK OF MOSIAH\n THE BOOK OF ALMA\n THE BOOK OF HELAMAN\n THIRD BOOK OF NEPHI\n FOURTH NEPHI\n THE BOOK OF MORMON\n THE BOOK OF ETHER\n THE BOOK OF MORONI\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY (1 Nephi)\n\n\nAn account of Lehi and his wife Sariah and his four sons, being called,\n(beginning at the eldest) Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns\nLehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth\nunto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his\nlife. He taketh three days\u2019 journey into the wilderness with his\nfamily. Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of\nJerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their\nsufferings. They take the daughters of Ishmael to wife. They take their\nfamilies and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and\nafflictions in the wilderness. The course of their travels. They come\nto the large waters. Nephi\u2019s brethren rebel against him. He confoundeth\nthem, and buildeth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful.\nThey cross the large waters into the promised land, and so forth. This\nis according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi,\nwrote this record.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 1\n\n1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was\ntaught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many\nafflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly\nfavored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge\nof the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of\nmy proceedings in my days.\n\n1:2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists\nof the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.\n\n1:3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with\nmine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.\n\n1:4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the\nreign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at\nJerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many\nprophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the\ngreat city Jerusalem must be destroyed.\n\n1:5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth\nprayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his\npeople.\n\n1:6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar\nof fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much;\nand because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and\ntremble exceedingly.\n\n1:7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem;\nand he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and\nthe things which he had seen.\n\n1:8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a\nvision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God\nsitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of\nangels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.\n\n1:9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of\nheaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at\nnoon-day.\n\n1:10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness\ndid exceed that of the stars in the firmament.\n\n1:11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and\nthe first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book,\nand bade him that he should read.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit\nof the Lord.\n\n1:13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine\nabominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning\nJerusalem\u2014that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof;\nmany should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away\ncaptive into Babylon.\n\n1:14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many\ngreat and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord;\nsuch as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy\nthrone is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy\nare over all the inhabitants of the earth, and, because thou art\nmerciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall\nperish!\n\n1:15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the\npraising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was\nfilled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord\nhad shown unto him.\n\n1:16 And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which\nmy father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in\nvisions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he\nprophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a\nfull account.\n\n1:17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold,\nI make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I\nhave made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the\nrecord of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.\n\n1:18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had\nshown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning\nthe destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people,\nand began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things\nwhich he had both seen and heard.\n\n1:19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the\nthings which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their\nwickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things\nwhich he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book,\nmanifested plainly of the coming of the Messiah, and also the\nredemption of the world.\n\n1:20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him;\nyea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and\nstoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take\nit away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender\nmercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of\ntheir faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 2\n\n2:1 For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father,\nyea, even in a dream, and said unto him: Blessed art thou Lehi, because\nof the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful\nand declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee,\nbehold, they seek to take away thy life.\n\n2:2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a\ndream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness.\n\n2:3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord,\nwherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.\n\n2:4 And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he\nleft his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his\nsilver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it\nwere his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the\nwilderness.\n\n2:5 And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and\nhe traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red\nSea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which\nconsisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman,\nLemuel, and Sam.\n\n2:6 And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the\nwilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of\nwater.\n\n2:7 And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an\noffering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.\n\n2:8 And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman,\nand it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in the borders near\nthe mouth thereof.\n\n2:9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into\nthe fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou\nmightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain\nof all righteousness!\n\n2:10 And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto\nthis valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the\ncommandments of the Lord!\n\n2:11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and\nLemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father,\nbecause he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of\nJerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and\ntheir silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness.\nAnd this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of\nhis heart.\n\n2:12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against\ntheir father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of\nthat God who had created them. 2:13 Neither did they believe that\nJerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words\nof the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at\nJerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.\n\n2:14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the\nvalley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their\nframes did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst\nnot utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.\n\n2:15 And my father dwelt in a tent.\n\n2:16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young,\nnevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to\nknow of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and\nbehold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all\nthe words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not\nrebel against him like unto my brothers.\n\n2:17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the\nLord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass\nthat he believed in my words.\n\n2:18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and\nbeing grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the\nLord for them.\n\n2:19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed\nart thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me\ndiligently, with lowliness of heart.\n\n2:20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper,\nand shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have\nprepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.\n\n2:21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall\nbe cut off from the presence of the Lord.\n\n2:22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be\nmade a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.\n\n2:23 For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will\ncurse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over\nthy seed except they shall rebel against me also.\n\n2:24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a\nscourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the\nLord, to the tent of my father.\n\n3:2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have\ndreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and\nthy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.\n\n3:3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy\nof my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.\n\n3:4 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers\nshould go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them\ndown hither into the wilderness.\n\n3:5 And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing\nwhich I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of\nthem, but it is a commandment of the Lord.\n\n3:6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord,\nbecause thou hast not murmured.\n\n3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go\nand do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the\nLord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall\nprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he\ncommandeth them.\n\n3:8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he\nwas exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord.\n\n3:9 And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness,\nwith our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.\n\n3:10 And it came to pass that when we had gone up to the land of\nJerusalem, I and my brethren did consult one with another.\n\n3:11 And we cast lots\u2014who of us should go in unto the house of Laban.\nAnd it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; and Laman went in\nunto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house.\n\n3:12 And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the\nplates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father.\n\n3:13 And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him\nout from his presence; and he would not that he should have the\nrecords. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I\nwill slay thee.\n\n3:14 But Laman fled out of his presence, and told the things which\nLaban had done, unto us. And we began to be exceedingly sorrowful, and\nmy brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness.\n\n3:15 But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we\nlive, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we\nhave accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.\n\n3:16 Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the\nLord; therefore let us go down to the land of our father\u2019s inheritance,\nfor behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches. And all\nthis he hath done because of the commandments of the Lord.\n\n3:17 For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the\nwickedness of the people.\n\n3:18 For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets.\nWherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after he hath been\ncommanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish.\nWherefore, it must needs be that he flee out of the land.\n\n3:19 And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these\nrecords, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our\nfathers;\n\n3:20 And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been\nspoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered\nunto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even\ndown unto this present time.\n\n3:21 And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I\npersuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the\ncommandments of God.\n\n3:22 And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our\ninheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and\nour precious things.\n\n3:23 And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again\nunto the house of Laban.\n\n3:24 And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him\nthat he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the\nplates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our\nsilver, and all our precious things.\n\n3:25 And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it\nwas exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us\nout, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our\nproperty.\n\n3:26 And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban,\nand we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the\nhands of Laban.\n\n3:27 And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the\nservants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the\ncavity of a rock.\n\n3:28 And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my\nfather; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman.\nWherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their\nyounger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.\n\n3:29 And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel\nof the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying:\nWhy do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the\nLord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your\niniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will\ndeliver Laban into your hands.\n\n3:30 And after the angel had spoken unto us, he departed.\n\n3:31 And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to\nmurmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban\ninto our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty,\nyea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us\ngo up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the\ncommandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth,\nthen why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his\ntens of thousands?\n\n4:2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he\ntruly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and\nthither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground,\nand the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of\nthe Red Sea.\n\n4:3 Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an\nangel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the\nLord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban,\neven as the Egyptians.\n\n4:4 Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did\nstill continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we\ncame without the walls of Jerusalem.\n\n4:5 And it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves\nwithout the walls. And after they had hid themselves, I, Nephi, crept\ninto the city and went forth towards the house of Laban.\n\n4:6 And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things\nwhich I should do.\n\n4:7 Nevertheless I went forth, and as I came near unto the house of\nLaban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the earth before me, for he\nwas drunken with wine.\n\n4:8 And when I came to him I found that it was Laban.\n\n4:9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath\nthereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship\nthereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of\nthe most precious steel.\n\n4:10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I\nshould kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I\nshed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay\nhim.\n\n4:11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered\nhim into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take\naway mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments\nof the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.\n\n4:12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him,\nfor the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;\n\n4:13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous\npurposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation\nshould dwindle and perish in unbelief.\n\n4:14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the\nwords of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying\nthat: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall\nprosper in the land of promise.\n\n4:15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments\nof the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the\nlaw.\n\n4:16 And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of\nbrass.\n\n4:17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands\nfor this cause\u2014that I might obtain the records according to his\ncommandments.\n\n4:18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by\nthe hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.\n\n4:19 And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took\nthe garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every\nwhit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.\n\n4:20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of\nLaban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw\nthe servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded\nhim in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.\n\n4:21 And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the\ngarments and also the sword girded about my loins.\n\n4:22 And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing\nthat his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.\n\n4:23 And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban.\n\n4:24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings,\nwhich were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were\nwithout the walls.\n\n4:25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.\n\n4:26 And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and\nthat I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow\nme.\n\n4:27 And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews,\nas I went forth unto my brethren, who were without the walls.\n\n4:28 And it came to pass that when Laman saw me he was exceedingly\nfrightened, and also Lemuel and Sam. And they fled from before my\npresence; for they supposed it was Laban, and that he had slain me and\nhad sought to take away their lives also.\n\n4:29 And it came to pass that I called after them, and they did hear\nme; wherefore they did cease to flee from my presence.\n\n4:30 And it came to pass that when the servant of Laban beheld my\nbrethren he began to tremble, and was about to flee from before me and\nreturn to the city of Jerusalem.\n\n4:31 And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having\nreceived much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the\nservant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee.\n\n4:32 And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would\nhearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that\nif he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life.\n\n4:33 And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear;\nthat he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the\nwilderness with us.\n\n4:34 And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded\nus to do this thing; and shall we not be diligent in keeping the\ncommandments of the Lord? Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the\nwilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us.\n\n4:35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which\nI spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he\nwould go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also\nmade an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth.\n\n4:36 Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for this cause,\nthat the Jews might not know concerning our flight into the wilderness,\nlest they should pursue us and destroy us.\n\n4:37 And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our\nfears did cease concerning him.\n\n4:38 And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass and the\nservant of Laban, and departed into the wilderness, and journeyed unto\nthe tent of our father.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And it came to pass that after we had come down into the wilderness\nunto our father, behold, he was filled with joy, and also my mother,\nSariah, was exceedingly glad, for she truly had mourned because of us.\n\n5:2 For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and\nshe also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a\nvisionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of\nour inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the\nwilderness.\n\n5:3 And after this manner of language had my mother complained against\nmy father.\n\n5:4 And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I\nknow that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God\nin a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had\ntarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren.\n\n5:5 But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things\nI do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of\nthe hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the\nwilderness.\n\n5:6 And after this manner of language did my father, Lehi, comfort my\nmother, Sariah, concerning us, while we journeyed in the wilderness up\nto the land of Jerusalem, to obtain the record of the Jews.\n\n5:7 And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy\nwas full, and my mother was comforted.\n\n5:8 And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath\ncommanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know\nof a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them\nout of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could\naccomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this\nmanner of language did she speak.\n\n5:9 And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did\noffer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks\nunto the God of Israel.\n\n5:10 And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father,\nLehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass,\nand he did search them from the beginning.\n\n5:11 And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which\ngave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve,\nwho were our first parents;\n\n5:12 And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the\ncommencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;\n\n5:13 And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning,\neven down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many\nprophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah.\n\n5:14 And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the\nplates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he\nwas a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of\nJacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of\nthe Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his\nhousehold from perishing with famine.\n\n5:15 And they were also led out of captivity and out of the land of\nEgypt, by that same God who had preserved them.\n\n5:16 And thus my father, Lehi, did discover the genealogy of his\nfathers. And Laban also was a descendant of Joseph, wherefore he and\nhis fathers had kept the records.\n\n5:17 And now when my father saw all these things, he was filled with\nthe Spirit, and began to prophesy concerning his seed\u2014\n\n5:18 That these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations,\nkindreds, tongues, and people who were of his seed.\n\n5:19 Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish;\nneither should they be dimmed any more by time. And he prophesied many\nthings concerning his seed.\n\n5:20 And it came to pass that thus far I and my father had kept the\ncommandments wherewith the Lord had commanded us.\n\n5:21 And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us,\nand searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of\ngreat worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments\nof the Lord unto our children.\n\n5:22 Wherefore, it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them\nwith us, as we journeyed in the wilderness towards the land of promise.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this\npart of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these\nplates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been\nkept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work.\n\n6:2 For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph.\n\n6:3 And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full\naccount of all the things of my father, for they cannot be written upon\nthese plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of\nGod.\n\n6:4 For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come\nunto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,\nand be saved.\n\n6:5 Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not\nwrite, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who\nare not of the world.\n\n6:6 Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall\nnot occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the\nchildren of men.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had\nmade an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that\nthe Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him,\nLehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but\nthat his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up\nseed unto the Lord in the land of promise.\n\n7:2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and\nmy brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring\ndown Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.\n\n7:3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go\nforth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.\n\n7:4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and\nwe did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak\nunto him the words of the Lord.\n\n7:5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael,\nand also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us\ndown into the wilderness to the tent of our father.\n\n7:6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold\nLaman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons\nof Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me,\nNephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three\nother daughters.\n\n7:7 And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to\nreturn unto the land of Jerusalem.\n\n7:8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,\ntherefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto\nLemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so\nhard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that\nI, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example\nfor you?\n\n7:9 How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?\n\n7:10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the\nLord?\n\n7:11 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the\nLord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and\nalso that we should obtain the record?\n\n7:12 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to\ndo all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so\nbe that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to\nhim.\n\n7:13 And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the\nland of promise; and ye shall know at some future period that the word\nof the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem;\nfor all things which the Lord hath spoken concerning the destruction of\nJerusalem must be fulfilled.\n\n7:14 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with\nthem; for behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have\nthey cast into prison. And they have sought to take away the life of my\nfather, insomuch that they have driven him out of the land.\n\n7:15 Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem\nye shall also perish with them. And now, if ye have choice, go up to\nthe land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go\nye will also perish; for thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me\nthat I should speak.\n\n7:16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words\nunto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that\nthey did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly\nwroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my\nlife, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild\nbeasts.\n\n7:17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord,\naccording to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the\nhands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these\nbands with which I am bound.\n\n7:18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the\nbands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my\nbrethren, and I spake unto them again.\n\n7:19 And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought\nto lay hands upon me; but behold, one of the daughters of Ishmael, yea,\nand also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my\nbrethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did\ncease striving to take away my life.\n\n7:20 And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their\nwickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead\nwith me that I would forgive them of the thing that they had done\nagainst me.\n\n7:21 And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they\nhad done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord\ntheir God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And\nafter they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our\njourney towards the tent of our father.\n\n7:22 And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our\nfather. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had\ncome down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the\nLord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto\nhim.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of\nseeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds\nof fruit of every kind.\n\n8:2 And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness\nhe spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other\nwords, I have seen a vision.\n\n8:3 And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason\nto rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and also of Sam; for I have\nreason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be\nsaved.\n\n8:4 But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you;\nfor behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness.\n\n8:5 And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white\nrobe; and he came and stood before me.\n\n8:6 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.\n\n8:7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I\nwas in a dark and dreary waste.\n\n8:8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I\nbegan to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according\nto the multitude of his tender mercies.\n\n8:9 And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a\nlarge and spacious field.\n\n8:10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was\ndesirable to make one happy.\n\n8:11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit\nthereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever\nbefore tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to\nexceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.\n\n8:12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with\nexceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family\nshould partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all\nother fruit.\n\n8:13 And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover\nmy family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was\nnear the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.\n\n8:14 And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head\nthereof a little way off; and at the head thereof I beheld your mother\nSariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither\nthey should go.\n\n8:15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say\nunto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake\nof the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.\n\n8:16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the\nfruit also.\n\n8:17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel\nshould come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes\ntowards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.\n\n8:18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto\nme and partake of the fruit.\n\n8:19 And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the\nriver, and led to the tree by which I stood.\n\n8:20 And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by\nthe rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by\nthe head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had\nbeen a world.\n\n8:21 And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were\npressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the\ntree by which I stood.\n\n8:22 And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the\npath which led to the tree.\n\n8:23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even\nan exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had\ncommenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and\nwere lost.\n\n8:24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and\nthey came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they\ndid press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of\niron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the\ntree.\n\n8:25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast\ntheir eyes about as if they were ashamed.\n\n8:26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side\nof the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as\nit were in the air, high above the earth.\n\n8:27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and\nfemale; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were\nin the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who\nhad come at and were partaking of the fruit.\n\n8:28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because\nof those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden\npaths and were lost.\n\n8:29 And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father.\n\n8:30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes\npressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod\nof iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast\nto the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of\nthe fruit of the tree.\n\n8:31 And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that\ngreat and spacious building.\n\n8:32 And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the\nfountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.\n\n8:33 And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange\nbuilding. And after they did enter into that building they did point\nthe finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit\nalso; but we heeded them not.\n\n8:34 These are the words of my father: For as many as heeded them, had\nfallen away.\n\n8:35 And Laman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit, said my father.\n\n8:36 And it came to pass after my father had spoken all the words of\nhis dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us, because of these\nthings which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for Laman and\nLemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence\nof the Lord.\n\n8:37 And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender\nparent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord\nwould be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did\npreach unto them.\n\n8:38 And after he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them\nof many things, he bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and\nhe did cease speaking unto them.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he\ndwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more\nthings, which cannot be written upon these plates.\n\n9:2 And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are\nnot the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my\npeople; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I\nhave given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of\nNephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates\nof Nephi.\n\n9:3 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I\nshould make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be\nan account engraven of the ministry of my people.\n\n9:4 Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of\nthe kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these\nplates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are\nfor the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and\ncontentions of my people.\n\n9:5 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a\nwise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.\n\n9:6 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he\nprepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men;\nfor behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And\nthus it is. Amen.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And now I, Nephi, proceed to give an account upon these plates of\nmy proceedings, and my reign and ministry; wherefore, to proceed with\nmine account, I must speak somewhat of the things of my father, and\nalso of my brethren.\n\n10:2 For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of\nspeaking the words of his dream, and also of exhorting them to all\ndiligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews\u2014\n\n10:3 That after they should be destroyed, even that great city\nJerusalem, and many be carried away captive into Babylon, according to\nthe own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be\nbrought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back\nout of captivity they should possess again the land of their\ninheritance.\n\n10:4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left\nJerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews\u2014even a\nMessiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.\n\n10:5 And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had\ntestified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had\nspoken, or this Redeemer of the world.\n\n10:6 Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and\never would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.\n\n10:7 And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the\nMessiah, to prepare the way of the Lord\u2014\n\n10:8 Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye\nthe way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth\none among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe\u2019s\nlatchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning\nthis thing.\n\n10:9 And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan;\nand he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should\nbaptize the Messiah with water.\n\n10:10 And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should\nbehold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should\ntake away the sins of the world.\n\n10:11 And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he\nspake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached\namong the Jews, and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in\nunbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and\nafter he had been slain he should rise from the dead, and should make\nhimself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.\n\n10:12 Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also\nconcerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto\nan olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be\nscattered upon all the face of the earth.\n\n10:13 Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with\none accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of\nthe Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.\n\n10:14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be\ngathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received\nthe fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or\nthe remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to\nthe knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.\n\n10:15 And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and\nspeak unto my brethren, and also many more things which I do not write\nin this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for\nme in mine other book.\n\n10:16 And all these things, of which I have spoken, were done as my\nfather dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel.\n\n10:17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of\nmy father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the\nthings which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he\nreceived by faith on the Son of God\u2014and the Son of God was the Messiah\nwho should come\u2014I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear,\nand know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the\ngift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of\nold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of\nmen.\n\n10:18 For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is\nprepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that\nthey repent and come unto him.\n\n10:19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of\nGod shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as\nwell in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as\nin times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal\nround.\n\n10:20 Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be\nbrought into judgment.\n\n10:21 Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your\nprobation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God;\nand no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off\nforever.\n\n10:22 And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these\nthings, and deny them not.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 11\n\n11:1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my\nfather had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them\nknown unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in\nthe Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I\nnever had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.\n\n11:2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?\n\n11:3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.\n\n11:4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw\nthe tree of which he hath spoken?\n\n11:5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my\nfather.\n\n11:6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud\nvoice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God\nover all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi,\nbecause thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou\nshalt behold the things which thou hast desired.\n\n11:7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that\nafter thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father\ntasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him\nshall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record\nthat it is the Son of God.\n\n11:8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I\nlooked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father\nhad seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all\nbeauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the\ndriven snow.\n\n11:9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the\nSpirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious\nabove all.\n\n11:10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?\n\n11:11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof\u2014for I\nspake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form\nof a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord;\nand he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.\n\n11:12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as\nif to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my\npresence.\n\n11:13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of\nJerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth;\nand in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly\nfair and white.\n\n11:14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel\ncame down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what\nbeholdest thou?\n\n11:15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all\nother virgins.\n\n11:16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?\n\n11:17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children;\nnevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.\n\n11:18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the\nmother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.\n\n11:19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in\nthe Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the\nspace of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!\n\n11:20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her\narms.\n\n11:21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the\nSon of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which\nthy father saw?\n\n11:22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which\nsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore,\nit is the most desirable above all things.\n\n11:23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the\nsoul.\n\n11:24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I\nlooked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of\nmen; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.\n\n11:25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my\nfather had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of\nliving waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a\nrepresentation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of\nlife was a representation of the love of God.\n\n11:26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the\ncondescension of God!\n\n11:27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my\nfather had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the\nway before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him;\nand after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy\nGhost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.\n\n11:28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in\npower and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to\nhear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.\n\n11:29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to\npass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and\nI saw them not.\n\n11:30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying:\nLook! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw\nangels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto\nthem.\n\n11:31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I\nbeheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I\nbeheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with\nall manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the\nangel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed\nby the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits\nwere cast out.\n\n11:32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying:\nLook! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the\npeople; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world;\nand I saw and bear record.\n\n11:33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain\nfor the sins of the world.\n\n11:34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that\nthey were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb;\nfor thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.\n\n11:35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I\nbeheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the\nbuilding which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me\nagain, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the\nhouse of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve\napostles of the Lamb.\n\n11:36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great\nand spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the\nfall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake\nunto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations,\nkindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve\napostles of the Lamb.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 12\n\n12:1 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold\nthy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld\nthe land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it\nwere in number as many as the sand of the sea.\n\n12:2 And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to\nbattle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars,\nand great slaughters with the sword among my people.\n\n12:3 And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away,\nafter the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many\ncities, yea, even that I did not number them.\n\n12:4 And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of\nthe land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and\nearthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth\nand the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into\npieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up;\nand I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they\nwere burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth,\nbecause of the quaking thereof.\n\n12:5 And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of\ndarkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I\nsaw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible\njudgments of the Lord.\n\n12:6 And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of\nheaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.\n\n12:7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon\ntwelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.\n\n12:8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples\nof the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.\n\n12:9 And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the\nLamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel;\nwherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them;\nfor ye are of the house of Israel.\n\n12:10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy\nseed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their\nfaith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.\n\n12:11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three\ngenerations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white\neven like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are\nmade white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.\n\n12:12 And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed\naway in righteousness.\n\n12:13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth\ngathered together.\n\n12:14 And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of\nthy brethren.\n\n12:15 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my\nseed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren;\nand they were gathered together to battle.\n\n12:16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of\nfilthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he\nspake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.\n\n12:17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which\nblindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and\nleadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.\n\n12:18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is\nvain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and\na terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the\nEternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy\nGhost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time,\nand from this time henceforth and forever.\n\n12:19 And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the\nseed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word\nof the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations\nof the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the\npeople of my seed.\n\n12:20 And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed\nof my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in\nmultitudes upon the face of the land.\n\n12:21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars\nand rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw\nmany generations pass away.\n\n12:22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in\nunbelief.\n\n12:23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in\nunbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full\nof idleness and all manner of abominations.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 13\n\n13:1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!\nAnd I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.\n\n13:2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I\nbehold many nations and kingdoms.\n\n13:3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the\nGentiles.\n\n13:4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles\nthe formation of a great church.\n\n13:5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which\nis most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints\nof God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them\nwith a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.\n\n13:6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable\nchurch; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.\n\n13:7 And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and\nfine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many\nharlots.\n\n13:8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the\nsilver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and\nthe precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great\nand abominable church.\n\n13:9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of\nGod, and bring them down into captivity.\n\n13:10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and\nthey divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.\n\n13:11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath\nof God is upon the seed of thy brethren.\n\n13:12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was\nseparated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld\nthe Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he\nwent forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who\nwere in the promised land.\n\n13:13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it\nwrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon\nthe many waters.\n\n13:14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles\nupon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was\nupon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the\nGentiles and were smitten.\n\n13:15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the\nGentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their\ninheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair\nand beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.\n\n13:16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who\nhad gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord;\nand the power of the Lord was with them.\n\n13:17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together\nupon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.\n\n13:18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that\nthe wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against\nthem to battle.\n\n13:19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of\ncaptivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all\nother nations.\n\n13:20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper\nin the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.\n\n13:21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?\n\n13:22 And I said unto him: I know not.\n\n13:23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And\nI, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest\nis a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord,\nwhich he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth\nmany of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like\nunto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are\nnot so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord,\nwhich he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of\ngreat worth unto the Gentiles.\n\n13:24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the\nbook proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded\nforth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of\nthe Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record\naccording to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.\n\n13:25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the\nGentiles, according to the truth which is in God.\n\n13:26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the\nLamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of a\ngreat and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other\nchurches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb\nmany parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants\nof the Lord have they taken away.\n\n13:27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right\nways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts\nof the children of men.\n\n13:28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through\nthe hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain\nand precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the\nLamb of God.\n\n13:29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it\ngoeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth\nforth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many\nwaters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out\nof captivity, thou seest\u2014because of the many plain and precious things\nwhich have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the\nunderstanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which\nis in the Lamb of God\u2014because of these things which are taken away out\nof the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea,\ninsomuch that Satan hath great power over them.\n\n13:30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone\nforth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God\nabove all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice\nabove all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath\ncovenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of\ntheir inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not\nsuffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed,\nwhich are among thy brethren.\n\n13:31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed\nof thy brethren.\n\n13:32 Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever\nremain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are\nin, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the\nLamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose\nformation thou hast seen.\n\n13:33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the\nGentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in\ngreat judgment.\n\n13:34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me,\nsaying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant\nof the house of Israel\u2014and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of\nthy father\u2014wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and\nsmitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do\nstumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of\nthe gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable\nchurch, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb\u2014I will be\nmerciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring\nforth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be\nplain and precious, saith the Lamb.\n\n13:35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy\nseed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto\nthem, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be\ndestroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren,\nbehold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles,\nby the gift and power of the Lamb.\n\n13:36 And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my\nrock and my salvation.\n\n13:37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at\nthat day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost;\nand if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last\nday, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and\nwhoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful\nupon the mountains shall they be.\n\n13:38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my\nbrethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded\nforth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles\nunto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.\n\n13:39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which\ncame forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto\nthe convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my\nbrethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the\nearth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of\nthe Lamb are true.\n\n13:40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which\nthou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the\nfirst, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make\nknown the plain and precious things which have been taken away from\nthem; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that\nthe Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the\nworld; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.\n\n13:41 And they must come according to the words which shall be\nestablished by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall\nbe made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of\nthe twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be\nestablished in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the\nearth.\n\n13:42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all\nnations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he\nhas manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then\nhe shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and\nthe last shall be first, and the first shall be last.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto\nthe Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in\nword, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their\nstumbling blocks\u2014\n\n14:2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be\nnumbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered\namong the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the\npromised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into\ncaptivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.\n\n14:3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great\nand abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children,\nthat he might lead away the souls of men down to hell\u2014yea, that great\npit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled\nby those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of\nGod; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into\nthat hell which hath no end.\n\n14:4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and\nalso according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work\nwickedness and abomination before him.\n\n14:5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying:\nThou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with\nthem; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto\nthe house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not\nmust perish.\n\n14:6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden\ntheir hearts against the Lamb of God.\n\n14:7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a\ngreat and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which\nshall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other\u2014either to\nthe convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the\ndeliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness\nof their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also\ninto destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the\ncaptivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.\n\n14:8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he\nsaid unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the\nhouse of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.\n\n14:9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that\ngreat and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose\nfounder is the devil.\n\n14:10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the\none is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of\nthe devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of\nGod belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of\nabominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.\n\n14:11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the\nearth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the\nearth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.\n\n14:12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God,\nand its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of\nthe whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the\nchurch of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the\nface of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were\nsmall, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.\n\n14:13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of\nabominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the\nearth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb\nof God.\n\n14:14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb\nof God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb,\nand upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all\nthe face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with\nthe power of God in great glory.\n\n14:15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was\npoured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there\nwere wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the\nearth.\n\n14:16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the\nnations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake\nunto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of\nharlots; and behold, thou seest all these things\u2014\n\n14:17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon\nthe mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all\nthe earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of\nthe Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of\nhis covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of\nIsrael.\n\n14:18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!\n\n14:19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white\nrobe.\n\n14:20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of\nthe Lamb.\n\n14:21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things;\nyea, and also many things which have been.\n\n14:22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.\n\n14:23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and\nbehold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of\nthe mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth\nof the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the\nJew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most\nprecious and easy to the understanding of all men.\n\n14:24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write\nare many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt\nthou see.\n\n14:25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not\nwrite; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God\nthat he should write them.\n\n14:26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things,\nand they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in\ntheir purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own\ndue time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.\n\n14:27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle\nof the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel.\n\n14:28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the\nremainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things\nwhich I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part\nof the things which I saw.\n\n14:29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and\nthe angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.\n\n14:30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I\nsaw while I was carried away in the spirit; and if all the things which\nI saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And\nthus it is. Amen.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in\nthe spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my\nfather.\n\n15:2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were\ndisputing one with another concerning the things my father had spoken\nunto them.\n\n15:3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to\nbe understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being\nhard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they\nought.\n\n15:4 And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their\nhearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and knew they\nmust unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the\nchildren of men.\n\n15:5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions,\nfor I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of\nthe destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.\n\n15:6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake\nunto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their\ndisputations.\n\n15:7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our\nfather hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree,\nand also concerning the Gentiles.\n\n15:8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?\n\n15:9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such\nthing known unto us.\n\n15:10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the\ncommandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the\nhardness of your hearts?\n\n15:11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?\u2014If ye\nwill not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye\nshall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these\nthings shall be made known unto you.\n\n15:12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared\nunto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father;\nand behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we\nnot a branch of the house of Israel?\n\n15:13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the\ngrafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the\nGentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have\ndwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many\ngenerations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the\nchildren of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah\ncome unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our\nseed\u2014\n\n15:14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are\nof the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the\nLord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their\nforefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer,\nwhich was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall\ncome to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his\ndoctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.\n\n15:15 And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto\ntheir everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that\nday, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true\nvine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?\n\n15:16 Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among\nthe house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch\nof the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree.\n\n15:17 And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will\nnot come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he\nmeaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may\nshow his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be\nrejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.\n\n15:18 Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also\nof all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be\nfulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our\nfather Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth\nbe blessed.\n\n15:19 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them\nconcerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the\nrestoration of the Jews in the latter days.\n\n15:20 And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake\nconcerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and\nafter they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither\nshould they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak\nmany words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did humble\nthemselves before the Lord.\n\n15:21 And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying:\nWhat meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth\nthe tree which he saw?\n\n15:22 And I said unto them: It was a representation of the tree of\nlife.\n\n15:23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our\nfather saw, that led to the tree?\n\n15:24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God, and whoso would\nhearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would\nnever perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the\nadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to\ndestruction.\n\n15:25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word\nof the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul,\nand with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed\nto the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all\nthings.\n\n15:26 And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our\nfather saw?\n\n15:27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was\nfilthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that\nhe beheld not the filthiness of the water.\n\n15:28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated\nthe wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.\n\n15:29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful\nhell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.\n\n15:30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of\nGod did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness\nthereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth\nup unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.\n\n15:31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the\nbody in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the\nsoul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the\nthings which are temporal?\n\n15:32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a\nrepresentation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day\nshould come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the\nworks which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.\n\n15:33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be\ncast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are\npertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand\nbefore God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been\nfilthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must\nneeds be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the\nkingdom of God must be filthy also.\n\n15:34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and\nthere cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore\nthere must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is\nfilthy.\n\n15:35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which\nI have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the\nfinal state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or\nto be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.\n\n15:36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also\nfrom that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable\nabove all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of\nGod. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 16\n\n16:1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of\nspeaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared\nunto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.\n\n16:2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had\nspoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the\nrighteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up\nat the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for\nit cutteth them to the very center.\n\n16:3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to\nhearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk\nuprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth,\nand say: Thou speakest hard things against us.\n\n16:4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with\nall diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.\n\n16:5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the\nLord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would\nwalk in the paths of righteousness.\n\n16:6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a\ntent in the valley which he called Lemuel.\n\n16:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of\nIshmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael\nto wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.\n\n16:8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord\nwhich had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of\nthe Lord exceedingly.\n\n16:9 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my\nfather by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take\nhis journey into the wilderness.\n\n16:10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and\nwent forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon\nthe ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine\nbrass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the\nway whither we should go into the wilderness.\n\n16:11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things\nwe should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our\nprovisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of\nevery kind that we might carry into the wilderness.\n\n16:12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into\nthe wilderness, across the river Laman.\n\n16:13 And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days,\nnearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again;\nand we did call the name of the place Shazer.\n\n16:14 And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and\ngo forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after\nwe had slain food for our families we did return again to our families\nin the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in\nthe wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most\nfertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red\nSea.\n\n16:15 And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many\ndays, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our\nstones and our slings.\n\n16:16 And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the\nmore fertile parts of the wilderness.\n\n16:17 And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did\npitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest\nourselves and obtain food for our families.\n\n16:18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food,\nbehold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I\ndid break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the\nloss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.\n\n16:19 And it came to pass that we did return without food to our\nfamilies, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they\ndid suffer much for the want of food.\n\n16:20 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael\ndid begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and\nafflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur\nagainst the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful,\neven that they did murmur against the Lord.\n\n16:21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my\nbrethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost\ntheir springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that\nwe could obtain no food.\n\n16:22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my\nbrethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto\ncomplaining against the Lord their God.\n\n16:23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow,\nand out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with\na bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my\nfather: Whither shall I go to obtain food?\n\n16:24 And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had\nhumbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto\nthem in the energy of my soul.\n\n16:25 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my\nfather; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the\nLord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.\n\n16:26 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him:\nLook upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.\n\n16:27 And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which\nwere written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and\nalso my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.\n\n16:28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were\nin the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence\nand heed which we did give unto them.\n\n16:29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was\nplain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways\nof the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time,\naccording to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we\nsee that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.\n\n16:30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top\nof the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the\nball.\n\n16:31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I\ndid obtain food for our families.\n\n16:32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the\nbeasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained\nfood, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble\nthemselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.\n\n16:33 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling\nnearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled\nfor the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might\ntarry for the space of a time.\n\n16:34 And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the\nplace which was called Nahom.\n\n16:35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn\nexceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their\nafflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father,\nbecause he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our\nfather is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and\nwe have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and\nafter all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with\nhunger.\n\n16:36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me;\nand they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.\n\n16:37 And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael:\nBehold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has\ntaken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder\nbrethren.\n\n16:38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that\nangels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto\nus; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his\ncunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he\nmay lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us\naway, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that\nhe may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this\nmanner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.\n\n16:39 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the\nvoice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did\nchasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of\nthe Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins,\ninsomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not\nperish.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 17\n\n17:1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the\nwilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And\nwe did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and\nour women did bear children in the wilderness.\n\n17:2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we\ndid live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of\nsuck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men;\nand they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.\n\n17:3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled.\nAnd if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God\nhe doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby\nthey can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore,\nhe did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.\n\n17:4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight\nyears in the wilderness.\n\n17:5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of\nits much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared\nof the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we\ncalled Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.\n\n17:6 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore;\nand notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much\ndifficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were\nexceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the\nplace Bountiful, because of its much fruit.\n\n17:7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of\nBountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto\nme, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass\nthat I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.\n\n17:8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou\nshalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that\nI may carry thy people across these waters.\n\n17:9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to\nmolten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner\nwhich thou hast shown unto me?\n\n17:10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to\nfind ore, that I might make tools.\n\n17:11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith\nto blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a\nbellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two\nstones together that I might make fire.\n\n17:12 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much\nfire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy\nfood become sweet, that ye cook it not;\n\n17:13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will\nprepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my\ncommandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye\nshall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by\nme that ye are led.\n\n17:14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the\npromised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the\nLord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out\nof the land of Jerusalem.\n\n17:15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the\nLord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.\n\n17:16 And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did\nmolten out of the rock.\n\n17:17 And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they\nbegan to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he\nthinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he\ncan cross these great waters.\n\n17:18 And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous\nthat they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build\na ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.\n\n17:19 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful\nbecause of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I\nbegan to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that\nthey did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a\nship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou\ncanst not accomplish so great a work.\n\n17:20 And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish\nimaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of the land of\nJerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years;\nand our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne\nchildren in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death;\nand it would have been better that they had died before they came out\nof Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.\n\n17:21 Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness,\nwhich time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our\ninheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.\n\n17:22 And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem\nwere a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of\nthe Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses;\nwherefore, we know that they are a righteous people; and our father\nhath judged them, and hath led us away because we would hearken unto\nhis words; yea, and our brother is like unto him. And after this manner\nof language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.\n\n17:23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake unto them, saying: Do ye\nbelieve that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have\nbeen led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not\nhearkened unto the words of the Lord?\n\n17:24 Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage,\nif the Lord had not commanded Moses that he should lead them out of\nbondage?\n\n17:25 Now ye know that the children of Israel were in bondage; and ye\nknow that they were laden with tasks, which were grievous to be borne;\nwherefore, ye know that it must needs be a good thing for them, that\nthey should be brought out of bondage.\n\n17:26 Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great\nwork; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were\ndivided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.\n\n17:27 But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who\nwere the armies of Pharaoh.\n\n17:28 And ye also know that they were fed with manna in the wilderness.\n\n17:29 Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the\npower of God which was in him, smote the rock, and there came forth\nwater, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst.\n\n17:30 And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their\nRedeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto\nthem by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for\nman to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and\nreviled against Moses and against the true and living God.\n\n17:31 And it came to pass that according to his word he did destroy\nthem; and according to his word he did lead them; and according to his\nword he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done\nsave it were by his word.\n\n17:32 And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them\nmighty unto the driving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the\nscattering them to destruction.\n\n17:33 And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were\nin the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye\nsuppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.\n\n17:34 Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than\nthey if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.\n\n17:35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous\nis favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of\nGod, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of\nGod was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and\nbless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their\ndestruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining\npower over it.\n\n17:36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be\ninhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess\nit.\n\n17:37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations\nof the wicked.\n\n17:38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the\nwicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.\n\n17:39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this\nearth is his footstool.\n\n17:40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he\nloved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made;\nwherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.\n\n17:41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they\nhardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them\nbecause of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them;\nand after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed;\nand the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the\nsimpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who\nperished.\n\n17:42 And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did\nrevile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that\nthey were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.\n\n17:43 And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have\nbecome wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but they are\nat this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely\ncome that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led\naway into captivity.\n\n17:44 Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart\ninto the wilderness; and the Jews also sought to take away his life;\nyea, and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are\nmurderers in your hearts and ye are like unto them.\n\n17:45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your\nGod. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard\nhis voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still\nsmall voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his\nwords; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of\nthunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide\nasunder.\n\n17:46 And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can\ncause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his\nword he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places\nshall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your\nhearts?\n\n17:47 Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart\nis pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am full\nof the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.\n\n17:48 And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words, they\nwere angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of\nthe sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto\nthem, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye\ntouch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the\nconsuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall\nwither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power\nof God, for God shall smite him.\n\n17:49 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they\nshould murmur no more against their father; neither should they\nwithhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should\nbuild a ship.\n\n17:50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I\ncould do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this\nwater, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it\nwould be done.\n\n17:51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so\nmany miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot\ninstruct me, that I should build a ship?\n\n17:52 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my\nbrethren, insomuch that they were confounded and could not contend\nagainst me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me\nwith their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not\ndo this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit\nof God; and thus it had wrought upon them.\n\n17:53 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth\nthine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before\nthee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that\nthey may know that I am the Lord their God.\n\n17:54 And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my\nbrethren, and they did not wither before me; but the Lord did shake\nthem, even according to the word which he had spoken.\n\n17:55 And now, they said: We know of a surety that the Lord is with\nthee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us.\nAnd they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would\nnot suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger\nbrother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and\nthy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy\nGod shall give thee.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 18\n\n18:1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go\nforth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the\nLord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the\ntimbers of the ship.\n\n18:2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was\nlearned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men;\nbut I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me;\nwherefore, it was not after the manner of men.\n\n18:3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto\nthe Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.\n\n18:4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according\nto the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that\nthe workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did\nhumble themselves again before the Lord.\n\n18:5 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my\nfather, that we should arise and go down into the ship.\n\n18:6 And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all\nthings, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in\nabundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had\ncommanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and\nour seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one\naccording to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with\nour wives and our children.\n\n18:7 And now, my father had begat two sons in the wilderness; the elder\nwas called Jacob and the younger Joseph.\n\n18:8 And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and\nhad taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded\nus, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind\ntowards the promised land.\n\n18:9 And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space\nof many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also\ntheir wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to\ndance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that\nthey did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they\nwere lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.\n\n18:10 And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be\nangry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be\nswallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to\nspeak to them with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me,\nsaying: We will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us.\n\n18:11 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me\nwith cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless,\nthe Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the\nfulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.\n\n18:12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I\ncould not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did\ncease to work.\n\n18:13 Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship,\ninsomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible\ntempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three\ndays; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be\ndrowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.\n\n18:14 And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest\nbegan to be exceedingly sore.\n\n18:15 And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the\ndepths of the sea. And after we had been driven back upon the waters\nfor the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments\nof God were upon them, and that they must perish save that they should\nrepent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed\nthe bands which were upon my wrist, and behold they had swollen\nexceedingly; and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the\nsoreness thereof.\n\n18:16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all\nthe day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine\nafflictions.\n\n18:17 Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them, and also\nunto the sons of Ishmael; but, behold, they did breathe out much\nthreatenings against anyone that should speak for me; and my parents\nbeing stricken in years, and having suffered much grief because of\ntheir children, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds.\n\n18:18 Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my\nbrethren, they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to\nmeet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to\nlie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow\ninto a watery grave.\n\n18:19 And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much\nnourishment, were grieved because of the afflictions of their mother;\nand also my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did\nnot soften the hearts of my brethren that they would loose me.\n\n18:20 And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which\nthreatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore,\nwhen they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of\nthe sea they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that\nthey loosed me.\n\n18:21 And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the\ncompass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that\nI prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and\nthe storm did cease, and there was a great calm.\n\n18:22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we\nsailed again towards the promised land.\n\n18:23 And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of\nmany days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon\nthe land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised\nland.\n\n18:24 And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we\nbegan to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth,\nwhich we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass\nthat they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in\nabundance.\n\n18:25 And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as\nwe journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests\nof every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and\nthe goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were\nfor the use of men. And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold,\nand of silver, and of copper.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 19\n\n19:1 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did\nmake plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my\npeople. And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of\nmy father, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the\nprophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I\nengraven upon them.\n\n19:2 And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be\ncommanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore, the record of my\nfather, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our\nproceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of\nwhich I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I\nmade these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon\nthe first plates.\n\n19:3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi,\nreceived a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more\nplain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates;\nand that the things which were written should be kept for the\ninstruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for\nother wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.\n\n19:4 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the other plates,\nwhich gives an account, or which gives a greater account of the wars\nand contentions and destructions of my people. And this have I done,\nand commanded my people what they should do after I was gone; and that\nthese plates should be handed down from one generation to another, or\nfrom one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.\n\n19:5 And an account of my making these plates shall be given hereafter;\nand then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and\nthis I do that the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of\nmy people.\n\n19:6 Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that\nI think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old;\nnot that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the\nweakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.\n\n19:7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to\nthe body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet.\nYea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I\nsay, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words\u2014they set\nhim at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.\n\n19:8 And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six\nhundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.\n\n19:9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a\nthing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and\nthey smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he\nsuffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering\ntowards the children of men.\n\n19:10 And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of\nbondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God\nof Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself,\naccording to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked\nmen, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be\ncrucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a\nsepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning\nthe three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death\nunto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially\ngiven unto those who are of the house of Israel.\n\n19:11 For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all\nthe house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their\nrighteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the\nthunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and\nby smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and\nby mountains which shall be carried up.\n\n19:12 And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos.\nAnd the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of\nthe earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought\nupon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.\n\n19:13 And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they\nshall be scourged by all people, because they crucify the God of\nIsrael, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and\nthe power and glory of the God of Israel.\n\n19:14 And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and\nhave despised the Holy One of Israel, they shall wander in the flesh,\nand perish, and become a hiss and a byword, and be hated among all\nnations.\n\n19:15 Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they\nno more turn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then\nwill he remember the covenants which he made to their fathers.\n\n19:16 Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the\npeople who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the\nLord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four\nquarters of the earth.\n\n19:17 Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith\nthe prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.\n\n19:18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that\nperhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their\nRedeemer.\n\n19:19 Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that\nthey should obtain these things.\n\n19:20 For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me\neven that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for\nhad not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even\nas he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.\n\n19:21 And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things\nconcerning them; and also he did show unto many concerning us;\nwherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are\nwritten upon the plates of brass.\n\n19:22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these\nthings; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which\nwere engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning\nthe doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.\n\n19:23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the\nbooks of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in\nthe Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by\nthe prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it\nmight be for our profit and learning.\n\n19:24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the\nprophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have\nbeen broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written\nunto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye\nmay have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken\noff; for after this manner has the prophet written.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 20\n\n20:1 Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the\nname of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out\nof the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make\nmention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in\nrighteousness.\n\n20:2 Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do\nnot stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts;\nyea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.\n\n20:3 Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and\nthey went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them\nsuddenly.\n\n20:4 And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck\nis an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;\n\n20:5 And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it\ncame to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou\nshouldst say\u2014mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my\nmolten image hath commanded them.\n\n20:6 Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them?\nAnd that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden\nthings, and thou didst not know them.\n\n20:7 They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the\nday when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou\nshouldst say\u2014Behold I knew them.\n\n20:8 Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that\ntime thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very\ntreacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.\n\n20:9 Nevertheless, for my name\u2019s sake will I defer mine anger, and for\nmy praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.\n\n20:10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the\nfurnace of affliction.\n\n20:11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I\nwill not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory\nunto another.\n\n20:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am\nthe first, and I am also the last.\n\n20:13 Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my\nright hand hath spanned the heavens. I call unto them and they stand up\ntogether.\n\n20:14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath\ndeclared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he\nwill fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do\nhis pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.\n\n20:15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have\ncalled him to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way\nprosperous.\n\n20:16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the\nbeginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the\nLord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.\n\n20:17 And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I\nhave sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who\nleadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.\n\n20:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments\u2014then had thy peace\nbeen as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.\n\n20:19 Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels\nlike the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor\ndestroyed from before me.\n\n20:20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice\nof singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say\nye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.\n\n20:21 And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused\nthe waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and\nthe waters gushed out.\n\n20:22 And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also,\nthere is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 21\n\n21:1 And again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken\noff and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my\npeople; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who\nare of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O isles, unto me, and\nhearken ye people from far; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from\nthe bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.\n\n21:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his\nhand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath\nhe hid me;\n\n21:3 And said unto me: Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be\nglorified.\n\n21:4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for\nnaught and in vain; surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work\nwith my God.\n\n21:5 And now, saith the Lord\u2014that formed me from the womb that I should\nbe his servant, to bring Jacob again to him\u2014though Israel be not\ngathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God\nshall be my strength.\n\n21:6 And he said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant\nto raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of\nIsrael. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou\nmayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth.\n\n21:7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him\nwhom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to servant of\nrulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because\nof the Lord that is faithful.\n\n21:8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O\nisles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I\nwill preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the\npeople, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate\nheritages;\n\n21:9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit\nin darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their\npastures shall be in all high places.\n\n21:10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the\nsun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by\nthe springs of water shall he guide them.\n\n21:11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be\nexalted.\n\n21:12 And then, O house of Israel, behold, these shall come from far;\nand lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land\nof Sinim.\n\n21:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those\nwho are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing,\nO mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath\ncomforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.\n\n21:14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my\nLord hath forgotten me\u2014but he will show that he hath not.\n\n21:15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not\nhave compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will\nI not forget thee, O house of Israel.\n\n21:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls\nare continually before me.\n\n21:17 Thy children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they\nthat made thee waste shall go forth of thee.\n\n21:18 Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these gather\nthemselves together, and they shall come to thee. And as I live, saith\nthe Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an\nornament, and bind them on even as a bride.\n\n21:19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy\ndestruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants;\nand they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.\n\n21:20 The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the\nfirst, shall again in thine ears say: The place is too strait for me;\ngive place to me that I may dwell.\n\n21:21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these,\nseeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and\nremoving to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left\nalone; these, where have they been?\n\n21:22 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the\nGentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring\nthy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their\nshoulders.\n\n21:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy\nnursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards\nthe earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I\nam the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.\n\n21:24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful\ncaptives delivered?\n\n21:25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be\ntaken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will\ncontend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy\nchildren.\n\n21:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they\nshall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh\nshall know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty\nOne of Jacob.\n\n1 Nephi Chapter 22\n\n22:1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things\nwhich were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me\nand said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold,\nare they to be understood according to things which are spiritual,\nwhich shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?\n\n22:2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the\nprophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things\nmade known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men\naccording to the flesh.\n\n22:3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining\nto things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of\nIsrael, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the\nearth, and also among all nations.\n\n22:4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge\nof those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the tribes\nhave been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of\nthe sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know\nthat they have been led away.\n\n22:5 And since they have been led away, these things have been\nprophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall\nhereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of\nIsrael; for against him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they\nshall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men.\n\n22:6 Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the\nLord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a\nstandard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their\ndaughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things\nof which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the\nLord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also\nall our brethren who are of the house of Israel.\n\n22:7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of\nIsrael have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise\nup a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this\nland; and by them shall our seed be scattered.\n\n22:8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a\nmarvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto\nour seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the\nGentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.\n\n22:9 And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto\nthe Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of\nthe covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed\nshall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.\n\n22:10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the\nkindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his\narm in the eyes of the nations.\n\n22:11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the\neyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel\nunto those who are of the house of Israel.\n\n22:12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they\nshall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they\nshall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall\nknow that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One\nof Israel.\n\n22:13 And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the\nwhore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall\nwar among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon\ntheir own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.\n\n22:14 And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel,\nshall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit\nwhich they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight\nagainst Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath\nperverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable\nchurch, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.\n\n22:15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that\nSatan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men;\nfor the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly\nshall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.\n\n22:16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God\nshall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not\nsuffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.\n\n22:17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if\nit so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be\npreserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire.\nWherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet,\nthey shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.\n\n22:18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must\nshortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come;\nand it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto\nmen according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their\nhearts against the Holy One of Israel.\n\n22:19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely\nmust come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.\n\n22:20 And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the\nfulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet\nshall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye\nhear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come\nto pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off\nfrom among the people.\n\n22:21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom\nMoses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute\njudgment in righteousness.\n\n22:22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not\nbe confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built\nup among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them\nwhich are in the flesh\u2014\n\n22:23 For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are\nbuilt up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over\nthe flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of\nthe world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of\nthe world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those\nwho belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and\ntremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust;\nthey are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according\nto the words of the prophet.\n\n22:24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as\ncalves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion,\nand might, and power, and great glory.\n\n22:25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the\nearth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall\nbe one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him\nthey shall find pasture.\n\n22:26 And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no\npower; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for\nhe hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in\nrighteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.\n\n22:27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must\ncome according to the flesh.\n\n22:28 But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall\ndwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will\nrepent.\n\n22:29 And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as\nyet concerning these things.\n\n22:30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the\nthings which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and\nthey testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.\n\n22:31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only\nones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall\nbe obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be\nsaved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI\n\n\nAn account of the death of Lehi. Nephi\u2019s brethren rebel against him.\nThe Lord warns Nephi to depart into the wilderness. His journeyings in\nthe wilderness, and so forth.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 1\n\n1:1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of\nteaching my brethren, our father, Lehi, also spake many things unto\nthem, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for\nthem in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.\n\n1:2 And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters,\nand the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not\nswallowed up in the sea.\n\n1:3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which\nthey had obtained\u2014how merciful the Lord had been in warning us that we\nshould flee out of the land of Jerusalem.\n\n1:4 For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that\nJerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also\nhave perished.\n\n1:5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a\nland of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land\nwhich the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the\ninheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto\nme, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led\nout of other countries by the hand of the Lord.\n\n1:6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the\nSpirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save\nthey shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.\n\n1:7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring.\nAnd if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments\nwhich he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them;\nwherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it\nshall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall\nbe the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed\nforever.\n\n1:8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from\nthe knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun\nthe land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.\n\n1:9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those\nwhom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep\nhis commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and\nthey shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this\nland unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his\ncommandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and\nthere shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their\ninheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.\n\n1:10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in\nunbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of\nthe Lord\u2014having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men,\nknowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of\nthe world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having\nall the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his\ninfinite goodness into this precious land of promise\u2014behold, I say, if\nthe day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the\ntrue Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of\nhim that is just shall rest upon them.\n\n1:11 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto\nthem power, and he will take away from them the lands of their\npossessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.\n\n1:12 Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be\nbloodsheds, and great visitations among them; wherefore, my sons, I\nwould that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto\nmy words.\n\n1:13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the\nsleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound,\nwhich are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are\ncarried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.\n\n1:14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling\nparent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave,\nfrom whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of\nall the earth.\n\n1:15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have\nbeheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his\nlove.\n\n1:16 And I desire that ye should remember to observe the statutes and\nthe judgments of the Lord; behold, this hath been the anxiety of my\nsoul from the beginning.\n\n1:17 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for\nI have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God\nshould come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut\noff and destroyed forever;\n\n1:18 Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many\ngenerations; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated,\nand are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.\n\n1:19 O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye\nmight be a choice and a favored people of the Lord. But behold, his\nwill be done; for his ways are righteousness forever.\n\n1:20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments\nye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my\ncommandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.\n\n1:21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart\nmight leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not\nbe brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the\ndust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one\nheart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;\n\n1:22 That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye\nmay not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the\ndestruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.\n\n1:23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the\nchains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and\narise from the dust.\n\n1:24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been\nglorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left\nJerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in\nbringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we\nmust have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye\nsought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow\nbecause of you.\n\n1:25 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall\nsuffer again; for behold, ye have accused him that he sought power and\nauthority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor\nauthority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own\neternal welfare.\n\n1:26 And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you. Ye say\nthat he hath used sharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you;\nbut behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of\nGod, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth,\naccording to that which is in God, which he could not restrain,\nmanifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.\n\n1:27 And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even\nunto his commanding you that ye must obey. But behold, it was not he,\nbut it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his\nmouth to utterance that he could not shut it.\n\n1:28 And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons\nwho are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if ye will hearken unto the voice\nof Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave\nunto you a blessing, yea, even my first blessing.\n\n1:29 But if ye will not hearken unto him I take away my first blessing,\nyea, even my blessing, and it shall rest upon him.\n\n1:30 And now Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of\nLaban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of\nJerusalem, and I know that thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi,\nforever.\n\n1:31 Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy seed shall be\nblessed with his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face\nof this land; and nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall\nharm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land forever.\n\n1:32 Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord\nhath consecrated this land for the security of thy seed with the seed\nof my son.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And now, Jacob, I speak unto you: Thou art my first-born in the\ndays of my tribulation in the wilderness. And behold, in thy childhood\nthou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness\nof thy brethren.\n\n2:2 Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest\nthe greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy\ngain.\n\n2:3 Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely\nwith thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of\nthy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the\nrighteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness\nof time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.\n\n2:4 And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art\nblessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the\nSpirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is\nprepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.\n\n2:5 And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.\nAnd the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified;\nor, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut\noff; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is\ngood, and become miserable forever.\n\n2:6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for\nhe is full of grace and truth.\n\n2:7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends\nof the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite\nspirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.\n\n2:8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto\nthe inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh\nthat can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits,\nand mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life\naccording to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit,\nthat he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first\nthat should rise.\n\n2:9 Wherefore, he is the first-fruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall\nmake intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in\nhim shall be saved.\n\n2:10 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;\nwherefore, they stand in the presence of him to be judged of him\naccording to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the\nends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of\nthe punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in\nopposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the\nends of the atonement\u2014\n\n2:11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.\nIf not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be\nbrought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery,\nneither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in\none; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead,\nhaving no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption,\nhappiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.\n\n2:12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught;\nwherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation.\nWherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his\neternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of\nGod.\n\n2:13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no\nsin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no\nrighteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness.\nAnd if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment\nnor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there\nis no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no\ncreation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all\nthings must have vanished away.\n\n2:14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit\nand learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both\nthe heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things\nto act and things to be acted upon.\n\n2:15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after\nhe had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the\nfowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must\nneeds be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in\nopposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other\nbitter.\n\n2:16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for\nhimself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be\nthat he was enticed by the one or the other.\n\n2:17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs\nsuppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had\nfallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that\nwhich was evil before God.\n\n2:18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable\nforever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said\nunto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the\nfather of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit,\nand ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.\n\n2:19 And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they\nwere driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.\n\n2:20 And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all\nthe earth.\n\n2:21 And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to\nthe will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore,\ntheir state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened,\naccording to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children\nof men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed\nunto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their\nparents.\n\n2:22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have\nfallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all\nthings which were created must have remained in the same state in which\nthey were after they were created; and they must have remained forever,\nand had no end.\n\n2:23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have\nremained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no\nmisery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.\n\n2:24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who\nknoweth all things.\n\n2:25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have\njoy.\n\n2:26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem\nthe children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed\nfrom the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to\nact for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the\npunishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the\ncommandments which God hath given.\n\n2:27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are\ngiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose\nliberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to\nchoose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the\ndevil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto\nhimself.\n\n2:28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great\nMediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto\nhis words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy\nSpirit;\n\n2:29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh\nand the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil\npower to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over\nyou in his own kingdom.\n\n2:30 I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last\ndays of my probation; and I have chosen the good part, according to the\nwords of the prophet. And I have none other object save it be the\neverlasting welfare of your souls. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my last-born. Thou wast born in\nthe wilderness of mine afflictions; yea, in the days of my greatest\nsorrow did thy mother bear thee.\n\n3:2 And may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land, which is a\nmost precious land, for thine inheritance and the inheritance of thy\nseed with thy brethren, for thy security forever, if it so be that ye\nshall keep the commandments of the Holy One of Israel.\n\n3:3 And now, Joseph, my last-born, whom I have brought out of the\nwilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord bless thee forever, for\nthy seed shall not utterly be destroyed.\n\n3:4 For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant\nof Joseph who was carried captive into Egypt. And great were the\ncovenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph.\n\n3:5 Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of\nthe Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise\nup a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a\nbranch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in\nthe covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto\nthem in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of\nthem out of darkness unto light\u2014yea, out of hidden darkness and out of\ncaptivity unto freedom.\n\n3:6 For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God\nraise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.\n\n3:7 Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer\nwill I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed\nhighly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give\ncommandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his\nbrethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing\nof them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy\nfathers.\n\n3:8 And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do none other\nwork, save the work which I shall command him. And I will make him\ngreat in mine eyes; for he shall do my work.\n\n3:9 And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would\nraise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel.\n\n3:10 And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land\nof Egypt.\n\n3:11 But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto\nhim will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy\nloins\u2014and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but\nto the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth\namong them.\n\n3:12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of\nthe loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the\nfruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit\nof the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of\nfalse doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace\namong the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of\ntheir fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my\ncovenants, saith the Lord.\n\n3:13 And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my\nwork shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O\nhouse of Israel, saith the Lord.\n\n3:14 And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will the\nLord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for\nthis promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my\nloins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this\npromise;\n\n3:15 And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the\nname of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which\nthe Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall\nbring my people unto salvation.\n\n3:16 Yea, thus prophesied Joseph: I am sure of this thing, even as I am\nsure of the promise of Moses; for the Lord hath said unto me, I will\npreserve thy seed forever.\n\n3:17 And the Lord hath said: I will raise up a Moses; and I will give\npower unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing.\nYet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much, for I will\nnot make him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by\nthe finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.\n\n3:18 And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of\nthy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will\ngive unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy\nloins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins\nshall declare it.\n\n3:19 And the words which he shall write shall be the words which are\nexpedient in my wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins. And\nit shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the\ndust; for I know their faith.\n\n3:20 And they shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their\nbrethren, even after many generations have gone by them. And it shall\ncome to pass that their cry shall go, even according to the simpleness\nof their words.\n\n3:21 Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my\nmouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of thy loins; and the\nweakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the\nremembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.\n\n3:22 And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of\nold prophesy.\n\n3:23 Wherefore, because of this covenant thou art blessed; for thy seed\nshall not be destroyed, for they shall hearken unto the words of the\nbook.\n\n3:24 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much\ngood, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of\nGod, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing\nwhich is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much\nrestoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy\nbrethren.\n\n3:25 And now, blessed art thou, Joseph. Behold, thou art little;\nwherefore hearken unto the words of thy brother, Nephi, and it shall be\ndone unto thee even according to the words which I have spoken.\nRemember the words of thy dying father. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my\nfather hath spoken, concerning Joseph, who was carried into Egypt.\n\n4:2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the\nprophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater. And he\nprophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are\nwritten upon the plates of brass.\n\n4:3 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning\nthe prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons,\nand his daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my\ndaughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my first-born, I would\nthat ye should give ear unto my words.\n\n4:4 For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my\ncommandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not\nkeep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.\n\n4:5 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave\nsave I should leave a blessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye\nare brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it.\n\n4:6 Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you,\nthat the cursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the heads\nof your parents.\n\n4:7 Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will not suffer that\nye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto your\nseed forever.\n\n4:8 And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of\nspeaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he caused the sons and\ndaughters of Lemuel to be brought before him.\n\n4:9 And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters,\nwho are the sons and the daughters of my second son; behold I leave\nunto you the same blessing which I left unto the sons and daughters of\nLaman; wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end\nthy seed shall be blessed.\n\n4:10 And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of\nspeaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the sons of Ishmael, yea, and\neven all his household.\n\n4:11 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto\nSam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy seed; for thou shall inherit the\nland like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with\nhis seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed\nlike unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days.\n\n4:12 And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had spoken unto all his\nhousehold, according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the\nLord which was in him, he waxed old. And it came to pass that he died,\nand was buried.\n\n4:13 And it came to pass that not many days after his death, Laman and\nLemuel and the sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the\nadmonitions of the Lord.\n\n4:14 For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his\nword; for I had spoken many things unto them, and also my father,\nbefore his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine other\nplates; for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.\n\n4:15 And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the\nscriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul\ndelighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth\nthem for the learning and the profit of my children.\n\n4:16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart\npondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.\n\n4:17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in\nshowing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O\nwretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my\nsoul grieveth because of mine iniquities.\n\n4:18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins\nwhich do so easily beset me.\n\n4:19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my\nsins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.\n\n4:20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine\nafflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters\nof the great deep.\n\n4:21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my\nflesh.\n\n4:22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake\nbefore me.\n\n4:23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me\nknowledge by visions in the nighttime.\n\n4:24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my\nvoice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto\nme.\n\n4:25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away\nupon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great\nthings, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I\nshould not write them.\n\n4:26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his\ncondescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much\nmercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of\nsorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of\nmine afflictions?\n\n4:27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why\nshould I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my\nheart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because\nof mine enemy?\n\n4:28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and\ngive place no more for the enemy of my soul.\n\n4:29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my\nstrength because of mine afflictions.\n\n4:30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I\nwill praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God,\nand the rock of my salvation.\n\n4:31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the\nhands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the\nappearance of sin?\n\n4:32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that\nmy heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not\nshut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the\npath of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!\n\n4:33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy\nrighteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine\nenemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place\na stumbling block in my way\u2014but that thou wouldst clear my way before\nme, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.\n\n4:34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.\nI will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is\nhe that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that\nputteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.\n\n4:35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea,\nmy God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my\nvoice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my\nrighteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my\nrock and mine everlasting God. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 5\n\n5:1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord\nmy God, because of the anger of my brethren.\n\n5:2 But behold, their anger did increase against me, insomuch that they\ndid seek to take away my life.\n\n5:3 Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinks\nto rule over us; and we have had much trial because of him; wherefore,\nnow let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his\nwords. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs\nunto us, who are the elder brethren, to rule over this people.\n\n5:4 Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they\nmurmured against me. But it sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to\ntake away my life.\n\n5:5 And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi,\nshould depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who\nwould go with me.\n\n5:6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and\nalso Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family,\nand Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all\nthose who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were\nthose who believed in the warnings and the revelations of God;\nwherefore, they did hearken unto my words.\n\n5:7 And we did take our tents and whatsoever things were possible for\nus, and did journey in the wilderness for the space of many days. And\nafter we had journeyed for the space of many days we did pitch our\ntents.\n\n5:8 And my people would that we should call the name of the place\nNephi; wherefore, we did call it Nephi.\n\n5:9 And all those who were with me did take upon them to call\nthemselves the people of Nephi.\n\n5:10 And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and\nthe commandments of the Lord in all things according to the law of\nMoses.\n\n5:11 And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we\ndid sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise\nflocks, and herds, and animals of every kind.\n\n5:12 And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven\nupon the plates of brass; and also the ball, or compass, which was\nprepared for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which\nis written.\n\n5:13 And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to\nmultiply in the land.\n\n5:14 And I, Nephi, did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of\nit did make many swords, lest by any means the people who were now\ncalled Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their\nhatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people.\n\n5:15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all\nmanner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel,\nand of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great\nabundance.\n\n5:16 And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the\nmanner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many\nprecious things; for they were not to be found upon the land,\nwherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon\u2019s temple. But the\nmanner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the\nworkmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.\n\n5:17 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be\nindustrious, and to labor with their hands.\n\n5:18 And it came to pass that they would that I should be their king.\nBut I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless,\nI did for them according to that which was in my power.\n\n5:19 And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my\nbrethren, which he spake concerning them, that I should be their ruler\nand their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their teacher,\naccording to the commandments of the Lord, until the time they sought\nto take away my life.\n\n5:20 Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto\nme, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they\nshall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were\ncut off from his presence.\n\n5:21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore\ncursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their\nhearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore,\nas they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they\nmight not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of\nblackness to come upon them.\n\n5:22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be\nloathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.\n\n5:23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed;\nfor they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake\nit, and it was done.\n\n5:24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become\nan idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the\nwilderness for beasts of prey.\n\n5:25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy\nseed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will\nnot remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them\neven unto destruction.\n\n5:26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and\nJoseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my\npeople.\n\n5:27 And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.\n\n5:28 And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem.\n\n5:29 And I, Nephi, had kept the records upon my plates, which I had\nmade, of my people thus far.\n\n5:30 And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other\nplates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in\nmy sight, for the profit of thy people.\n\n5:31 Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the\nLord, went and made these plates upon which I have engraven these\nthings.\n\n5:32 And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people\nare pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine\nengravings which are upon these plates.\n\n5:33 And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the\nhistory of my people they must search mine other plates.\n\n5:34 And it sufficeth me to say that forty years had passed away, and\nwe had already had wars and contentions with our brethren.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 6\n\n6:1 The words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spake unto the\npeople of Nephi:\n\n6:2 Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, having been called of God,\nand ordained after the manner of his holy order, and having been\nconsecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a\nprotector, and on whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have\nspoken unto you exceedingly many things.\n\n6:3 Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the\nwelfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye\nyourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all\ndiligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have\nspoken unto you concerning all things which are written, from the\ncreation of the world.\n\n6:4 And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which\nare, and which are to come; wherefore, I will read you the words of\nIsaiah. And they are the words which my brother has desired that I\nshould speak unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may\nlearn and glorify the name of your God.\n\n6:5 And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake\nconcerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be likened unto\nyou, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which\nhave been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye\nare of the house of Israel.\n\n6:6 And now these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I\nwill lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the\npeople; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters\nshall be carried upon their shoulders.\n\n6:7 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy\nnursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards\nthe earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I\nam the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.\n\n6:8 And now I, Jacob, would speak somewhat concerning these words. For\nbehold, the Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from\nwhence we came, have been slain and carried away captive.\n\n6:9 Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should return\nagain. And he also has shown unto me that the Lord God, the Holy One of\nIsrael, should manifest himself unto them in the flesh; and after he\nshould manifest himself they should scourge him and crucify him,\naccording to the words of the angel who spake it unto me.\n\n6:10 And after they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their\nnecks against the Holy One of Israel, behold the judgments of the Holy\nOne of Israel shall come upon them. And the day cometh that they shall\nbe smitten and afflicted.\n\n6:11 Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the\nangel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered\nto perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be\nscattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be\nmerciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their\nRedeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their\ninheritance.\n\n6:12 And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has\nwritten; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not\nagainst Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable\nchurch, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants\nwhich he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has\nwritten these things.\n\n6:13 Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of\nthe Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the\nLord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait\nfor him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.\n\n6:14 And behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah\nwill set himself again the second time to recover them; wherefore, he\nwill manifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the\ndestruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall\nbelieve in him; and none will he destroy that believe in him.\n\n6:15 And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire,\nand by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by\npestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God,\nthe Holy One of Israel.\n\n6:16 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive\ndelivered?\n\n6:17 But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be\ntaken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for the\nMighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord:\nI will contend with them that contendeth with thee\u2014\n\n6:18 And I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh; and\nthey shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all\nflesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the\nMighty One of Jacob.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 7\n\n7:1 Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast\nthee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your\nmother\u2019s divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my\ncreditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for\nyour iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is\nyour mother put away.\n\n7:2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there\nwas none to answer. O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that\nit cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I\ndry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to\nstink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst.\n\n7:3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their\ncovering.\n\n7:4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should\nknow how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When\nye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear\nas the learned.\n\n7:5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious,\nneither turned away back.\n\n7:6 I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked\noff the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting.\n\n7:7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded.\nTherefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not\nbe ashamed.\n\n7:8 And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with\nme? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me,\nand I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.\n\n7:9 For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me,\nbehold, all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat\nthem up.\n\n7:10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of\nhis servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light?\n\n7:11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with\nsparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have\nkindled. This shall ye have of mine hand\u2014ye shall lie down in sorrow.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 8\n\n8:1 Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the\nrock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye\nare digged.\n\n8:2 Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you;\nfor I called him alone, and blessed him.\n\n8:3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste\nplaces; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like\nthe garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein,\nthanksgiving and the voice of melody.\n\n8:4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for\na law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a\nlight for the people.\n\n8:5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm\nshall judge the people. The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm\nshall they trust.\n\n8:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath;\nfor the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax\nold like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like\nmanner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall\nnot be abolished.\n\n8:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose\nheart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither\nbe ye afraid of their revilings.\n\n8:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall\neat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever, and my\nsalvation from generation to generation.\n\n8:9 Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the\nancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the\ndragon?\n\n8:10 Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great\ndeep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to\npass over?\n\n8:11 Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with\nsinging unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their\nheads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning\nshall flee away.\n\n8:12 I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou,\nthat thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of\nman, who shall be made like unto grass?\n\n8:13 And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the\nheavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared\ncontinually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he\nwere ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?\n\n8:14 The captive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he\nshould not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.\n\n8:15 But I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts\nis my name.\n\n8:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the\nshadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the\nfoundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my\npeople.\n\n8:17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand\nof the Lord the cup of his fury\u2014thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup\nof trembling wrung out\u2014\n\n8:18 And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth;\nneither that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons she hath brought\nup.\n\n8:19 These two sons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for thee\u2014thy\ndesolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword\u2014and by whom\nshall I comfort thee?\n\n8:20 Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all\nthe streets; as a wild bull in a net, they are full of the fury of the\nLord, the rebuke of thy God.\n\n8:21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, and not with\nwine:\n\n8:22 Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God pleadeth the cause of\nhis people; behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of\ntrembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it\nagain.\n\n8:23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who\nhave said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over\u2014and thou hast laid\nthy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.\n\n8:24 Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful\ngarments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no\nmore come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.\n\n8:25 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose\nthyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye\nmight know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has covenanted\nwith all the house of Israel\u2014\n\n9:2 That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy\nprophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation,\nuntil the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and\nfold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their\ninheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise.\n\n9:3 Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye\nmay rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings\nwhich the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.\n\n9:4 For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of\nthings to come; wherefore I know that ye know that our flesh must waste\naway and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God.\n\n9:5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself\nunto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that\nit should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he\nsuffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for\nall men, that all men might become subject unto him.\n\n9:6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan\nof the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and\nthe resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and\nthe fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen\nthey were cut off from the presence of the Lord.\n\n9:7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement\u2014save it should be\nan infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption.\nWherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have\nremained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid\ndown to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.\n\n9:8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh\nshould rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who\nfell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil,\nto rise no more.\n\n9:9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become\ndevils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God,\nand to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself;\nyea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth\nhimself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of\nmen unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works\nof darkness.\n\n9:10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our\nescape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death\nand hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the\nspirit.\n\n9:11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of\nIsrael, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal,\nshall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.\n\n9:12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual\ndeath, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell;\nwherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must\ndeliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its\ncaptive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored\none to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the\nHoly One of Israel.\n\n9:13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the\nparadise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the\ngrave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body\nis restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and\nimmortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like\nunto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.\n\n9:14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and\nour uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a\nperfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being\nclothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.\n\n9:15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from\nthis first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they\nmust appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and\nthen cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the\nholy judgment of God.\n\n9:16 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken\nit, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who\nare righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall\nbe filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his\nangels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire; prepared for\nthem; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame\nascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.\n\n9:17 O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all\nhis words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must\nbe fulfilled.\n\n9:18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel,\nthey who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured\nthe crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall\ninherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the\nfoundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.\n\n9:19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!\nFor he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and\ndeath, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless\ntorment.\n\n9:20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things,\nand there is not anything save he knows it.\n\n9:21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will\nhearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men,\nyea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children,\nwho belong to the family of Adam.\n\n9:22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all\nmen, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.\n\n9:23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized\nin his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they\ncannot be saved in the kingdom of God.\n\n9:24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be\nbaptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for\nthe Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.\n\n9:25 Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given\nthere is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no\ncondemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the\nHoly One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for\nthey are delivered by the power of him.\n\n9:26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all\nthose who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from\nthat awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire\nand brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that\nGod who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel.\n\n9:27 But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the\ncommandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and\nthat wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!\n\n9:28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the\nfrailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think\nthey are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they\nset it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their\nwisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.\n\n9:29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of\nGod.\n\n9:30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world.\nFor because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the\nmeek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their\ntreasure is their God. And behold, their treasure shall perish with\nthem also.\n\n9:31 And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish.\n\n9:32 Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.\n\n9:33 Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their\niniquities shall smite them at the last day.\n\n9:34 Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.\n\n9:35 Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth, for he shall die.\n\n9:36 Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down\nto hell.\n\n9:37 Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils\ndelighteth in them.\n\n9:38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they\nshall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.\n\n9:39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing\nagainst that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the\nenticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is\ndeath, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.\n\n9:40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the\ngreatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard\nthings against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for\nI have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth\nare hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for\nthey love the truth and are not shaken.\n\n9:41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One.\nRemember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is\nnarrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of\nthe gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there;\nand there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be\ndeceived, for the Lord God is his name.\n\n9:42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the\nlearned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their\nlearning, and their wisdom, and their riches\u2014yea, they are they whom he\ndespiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider\nthemselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility,\nhe will not open unto them.\n\n9:43 But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them\nforever\u2014yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints.\n\n9:44 O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my\ngarments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation\nthat he view me with his all-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at\nthe last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God\nof Israel did witness that I shook your iniquities from my soul, and\nthat I stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood.\n\n9:45 O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the\nchains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the\nrock of your salvation.\n\n9:46 Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be\nadministered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may\nnot shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt\nin perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy\njudgments, O Lord God Almighty\u2014but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy\nlaw, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me,\nthat I am a prey to his awful misery.\n\n9:47 But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you\nto an awful reality of these things? Would I harrow up your souls if\nyour minds were pure? Would I be plain unto you according to the\nplainness of the truth if ye were freed from sin?\n\n9:48 Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as\nye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a teacher, it must needs be\nexpedient that I teach you the consequences of sin.\n\n9:49 Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in\nrighteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.\n\n9:50 Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the\nwaters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine\nand milk without money and without price.\n\n9:51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor\nyour labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me,\nand remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One\nof Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be\ncorrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.\n\n9:52 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray\nunto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by\nnight. Let your hearts rejoice.\n\n9:53 And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his\ncondescensions unto the children of men; and because of his greatness,\nand his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall\nnot utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would\npreserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous\nbranch unto the house of Israel.\n\n9:54 And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the\nmorrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved brethren,\nconcerning this righteous branch of which I have spoken.\n\n10:2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto\nus according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that\nmany of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief,\nnevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be\nrestored, that they may come to that which will give them the true\nknowledge of their Redeemer.\n\n10:3 Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that\nChrist\u2014for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should\nbe his name\u2014should come among the Jews, among those who are the more\nwicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him\u2014for thus it\nbehooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would\ncrucify their God.\n\n10:4 For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they\nwould repent, and know that he be their God.\n\n10:5 But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will\nstiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified.\n\n10:6 Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines,\npestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not\nbe destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.\n\n10:7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they\nshall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with\ntheir fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth,\nunto the lands of their inheritance.\n\n10:8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from\ntheir long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four\nparts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in\nthe eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their\ninheritance.\n\n10:9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them,\nand their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises\nof the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who\ncan dispute?\n\n10:10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine\ninheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.\n\n10:11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and\nthere shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the\nGentiles.\n\n10:12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.\n\n10:13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.\n\n10:14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the\nLord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light\nunto them forever, that hear my words.\n\n10:15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled\nwhich I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them\nwhile they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of\ndarkness, and of murders, and of abominations.\n\n10:16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile,\nboth bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are\nthey who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me\nare against me, saith our God.\n\n10:17 For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children\nof men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh\u2014\n\n10:18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will\nafflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will\nsoften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a\nfather to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered\namong the house of Israel.\n\n10:19 Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them\nwho shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their\ninheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all\nother lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they\nshall worship me, saith God.\n\n10:20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has\ngiven us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember\nhim, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are\nnot cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our\ninheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has\nmade the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.\n\n10:21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the\nisles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more\nthan this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.\n\n10:22 For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the\nhouse of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold,\nthe Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he\nremembereth us also.\n\n10:23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to\nact for yourselves\u2014to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of\neternal life.\n\n10:24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will\nof God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember,\nafter ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the\ngrace of God that ye are saved.\n\n10:25 Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the\nresurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the\natonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God,\nthat ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 11\n\n11:1 And now, Jacob spake many more things to my people at that time;\nnevertheless only these things have I caused to be written, for the\nthings which I have written sufficeth me.\n\n11:2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul\ndelighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and\nI will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my\nRedeemer, even as I have seen him.\n\n11:3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him;\nwherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto\nthem that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath\nsaid, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more\nwitnesses, and he proveth all his words.\n\n11:4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of\nthe coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been\ngiven; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning\nof the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.\n\n11:5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he\nhath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in\nhis justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of\ndeliverance from death.\n\n11:6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ\nshould come all men must perish.\n\n11:7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God\nwe are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God,\nand he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.\n\n11:8 And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my\npeople shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for\nall men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and\nunto all men.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 12\n\n12:1 The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and\nJerusalem:\n\n12:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of\nthe Lord\u2019s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and\nshall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.\n\n12:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the\nmountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will\nteach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion\nshall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.\n\n12:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many\npeople: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their\nspears into pruning-hooks\u2014nation shall not lift up sword against\nnation, neither shall they learn war any more.\n\n12:5 O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the\nLord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked\nways.\n\n12:6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of\nJacob, because they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto\nsoothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the\nchildren of strangers.\n\n12:7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any\nend of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is\nthere any end of their chariots.\n\n12:8 Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their\nown hands, that which their own fingers have made.\n\n12:9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth\nhimself not, therefore, forgive him not.\n\n12:10 O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust,\nfor the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.\n\n12:11 And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be\nhumbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord\nalone shall be exalted in that day.\n\n12:12 For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations,\nyea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one\nwho is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.\n\n12:13 Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of\nLebanon, for they are high and lifted up; and upon all the oaks of\nBashan;\n\n12:14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, and upon\nall the nations which are lifted up, and upon every people;\n\n12:15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall;\n\n12:16 And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of\nTarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.\n\n12:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness\nof men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that\nday.\n\n12:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.\n\n12:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves\nof the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the\nglory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake\nterribly the earth.\n\n12:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols\nof gold, which he hath made for himself to worship, to the moles and to\nthe bats;\n\n12:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the\nragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the\nmajesty of his glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake\nterribly the earth.\n\n12:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein\nis he to be accounted of?\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 13\n\n13:1 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, doth take away from\nJerusalem, and from Judah, the stay and the staff, the whole staff of\nbread, and the whole stay of water\u2014\n\n13:2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet,\nand the prudent, and the ancient;\n\n13:3 The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor,\nand the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.\n\n13:4 And I will give children unto them to be their princes, and babes\nshall rule over them.\n\n13:5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every\none by his neighbor; the child shall behave himself proudly against the\nancient, and the base against the honorable.\n\n13:6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his\nfather, and shall say: Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let\nnot this ruin come under thy hand\u2014\n\n13:7 In that day shall he swear, saying: I will not be a healer; for in\nmy house there is neither bread nor clothing; make me not a ruler of\nthe people.\n\n13:8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their\ntongues and their doings have been against the Lord, to provoke the\neyes of his glory.\n\n13:9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and doth\ndeclare their sin to be even as Sodom, and they cannot hide it. Wo unto\ntheir souls, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves!\n\n13:10 Say unto the righteous that it is well with them; for they shall\neat the fruit of their doings.\n\n13:11 Wo unto the wicked, for they shall perish; for the reward of\ntheir hands shall be upon them!\n\n13:12 And my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over\nthem. O my people, they who lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the\nway of thy paths.\n\n13:13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.\n\n13:14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people\nand the princes thereof; for ye have eaten up the vineyard and the\nspoil of the poor in your houses.\n\n13:15 What mean ye? Ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of\nthe poor, saith the Lord God of Hosts.\n\n13:16 Moreover, the Lord saith: Because the daughters of Zion are\nhaughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking\nand mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet\u2014\n\n13:17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head\nof the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret\nparts.\n\n13:18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling\nornaments, and cauls, and round tires like the moon;\n\n13:19 The chains and the bracelets, and the mufflers;\n\n13:20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands,\nand the tablets, and the ear-rings;\n\n13:21 The rings, and nose jewels;\n\n13:22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the\nwimples, and the crisping-pins;\n\n13:23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and hoods, and the veils.\n\n13:24 And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there shall be\nstink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set hair,\nbaldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; burning\ninstead of beauty.\n\n13:25 Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war.\n\n13:26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate,\nand shall sit upon the ground.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying:\nWe will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be\ncalled by thy name to take away our reproach.\n\n14:2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and\nglorious; the fruit of the earth excellent and comely to them that are\nescaped of Israel.\n\n14:3 And it shall come to pass, they that are left in Zion and remain\nin Jerusalem shall be called holy, every one that is written among the\nliving in Jerusalem\u2014\n\n14:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of\nZion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst\nthereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.\n\n14:5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion,\nand upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a\nflaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a\ndefence.\n\n14:6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from\nthe heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from storm and from\nrain.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And then will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved,\ntouching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very\nfruitful hill.\n\n15:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted\nit with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and\nalso made a wine-press therein; and he looked that it should bring\nforth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.\n\n15:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I\npray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.\n\n15:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done\nin it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it\nbrought forth wild grapes.\n\n15:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard\u2014I\nwill take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and I will\nbreak down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down;\n\n15:6 And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but\nthere shall come up briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds\nthat they rain no rain upon it.\n\n15:7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and\nthe men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for judgment, and\nbehold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.\n\n15:8 Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place,\nthat they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!\n\n15:9 In mine ears, said the Lord of Hosts, of a truth many houses shall\nbe desolate, and great and fair cities without inhabitant.\n\n15:10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of\na homer shall yield an ephah.\n\n15:11 Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may\nfollow strong drink, that continue until night, and wine inflame them!\n\n15:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in\ntheir feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither\nconsider the operation of his hands.\n\n15:13 Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have\nno knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude\ndried up with thirst.\n\n15:14 Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth\nwithout measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp,\nand he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.\n\n15:15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall\nbe humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.\n\n15:16 But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that\nis holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.\n\n15:17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste\nplaces of the fat ones shall strangers eat.\n\n15:18 Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as\nit were with a cart rope;\n\n15:19 That say: Let him make speed, hasten his work, that we may see\nit; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come,\nthat we may know it.\n\n15:20 Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put\ndarkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet,\nand sweet for bitter!\n\n15:21 Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own\nsight!\n\n15:22 Wo unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle\nstrong drink;\n\n15:23 Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the\nrighteousness of the righteous from him!\n\n15:24 Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame\nconsumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness, and their blossoms\nshall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of\nHosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.\n\n15:25 Therefore, is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people,\nand he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten\nthem; and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the\nmidst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but\nhis hand is stretched out still.\n\n15:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will\nhiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come\nwith speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them.\n\n15:27 None shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their\nloins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken;\n\n15:28 Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all their bows bent, and their\nhorses\u2019 hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a\nwhirlwind, their roaring like a lion.\n\n15:29 They shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay\nhold of the prey, and shall carry away safe, and none shall deliver.\n\n15:30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of\nthe sea; and if they look unto the land, behold, darkness and sorrow,\nand the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 16\n\n16:1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting\nupon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.\n\n16:2 Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he\ncovered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he\ndid fly.\n\n16:3 And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the\nLord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.\n\n16:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried,\nand the house was filled with smoke.\n\n16:5 Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of\nunclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for\nmine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.\n\n16:6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his\nhand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;\n\n16:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy\nlips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.\n\n16:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and\nwho will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.\n\n16:9 And he said: Go and tell this people\u2014Hear ye indeed, but they\nunderstood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not.\n\n16:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and\nshut their eyes\u2014lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their\nears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.\n\n16:11 Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be\nwasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be\nutterly desolate;\n\n16:12 And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a\ngreat forsaking in the midst of the land.\n\n16:13 But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall\nbe eaten, as a teil-tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when\nthey cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance\nthereof.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 17\n\n17:1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son\nof Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah the son\nof Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against\nit, but could not prevail against it.\n\n17:2 And it was told the house of David, saying: Syria is confederate\nwith Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as\nthe trees of the wood are moved with the wind.\n\n17:3 Then said the Lord unto Isaiah: Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou\nand Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in\nthe highway of the fuller\u2019s field;\n\n17:4 And say unto him: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be\nfaint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the\nfierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.\n\n17:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil\ncounsel against thee, saying:\n\n17:6 Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us make a breach\ntherein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, yea, the son of\nTabeal.\n\n17:7 Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither shall it come\nto pass.\n\n17:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus,\nRezin; and within three score and five years shall Ephraim be broken\nthat it be not a people.\n\n17:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is\nRemaliah\u2019s son. If ye will not believe surely ye shall not be\nestablished.\n\n17:10 Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying:\n\n17:11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths,\nor in the heights above.\n\n17:12 But Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.\n\n17:13 And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing\nfor you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?\n\n17:14 Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign\u2014Behold, a\nvirgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name\nImmanuel.\n\n17:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the\nevil and to choose the good.\n\n17:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the\ngood, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.\n\n17:17 The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy\nfather\u2019s house, days that have not come from the day that Ephraim\ndeparted from Judah, the king of Assyria.\n\n17:18 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss\nfor the fly that is in the uttermost part of Egypt, and for the bee\nthat is in the land of Assyria.\n\n17:19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate\nvalleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon\nall bushes.\n\n17:20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired,\nby them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the\nhair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.\n\n17:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, a man shall nourish a\nyoung cow and two sheep;\n\n17:22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk they shall\ngive he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat that\nis left in the land.\n\n17:23 And it shall come to pass in that day, every place shall be,\nwhere there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, which\nshall be for briers and thorns.\n\n17:24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither, because all the\nland shall become briers and thorns.\n\n17:25 And all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall\nnot come thither the fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the\nsending forth of oxen, and the treading of lesser cattle.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 18\n\n18:1 Moreover, the word of the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great\nroll, and write in it with a man\u2019s pen, concerning\nMaher-shalal-hash-baz.\n\n18:2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest,\nand Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.\n\n18:3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son.\nThen said the Lord to me: Call his name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.\n\n18:4 For behold, the child shall not have knowledge to cry, My father,\nand my mother, before the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria\nshall be taken away before the king of Assyria.\n\n18:5 The Lord spake also unto me again, saying:\n\n18:6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go\nsoftly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah\u2019s son;\n\n18:7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters\nof the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his\nglory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his\nbanks.\n\n18:8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he\nshall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall\nfill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.\n\n18:9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in\npieces; and give ear all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye\nshall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in\npieces.\n\n18:10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the\nword, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.\n\n18:11 For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed\nme that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:\n\n18:12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say,\nA confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.\n\n18:13 Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and\nlet him be your dread.\n\n18:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling,\nand for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and a\nsnare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.\n\n18:15 And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be\nsnared, and be taken.\n\n18:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.\n\n18:17 And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the\nhouse of Jacob, and I will look for him.\n\n18:18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for\nsigns and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, which dwelleth\nin Mount Zion.\n\n18:19 And when they shall say unto you: Seek unto them that have\nfamiliar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter\u2014should not a\npeople seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead?\n\n18:20 To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according\nto this word, it is because there is no light in them.\n\n18:21 And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry; and it\nshall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret\nthemselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.\n\n18:22 And they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble, and\ndarkness, dimness of anguish, and shall be driven to darkness.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 19\n\n19:1 Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her\nvexation, when at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and\nthe land of Naphtali, and afterwards did more grievously afflict by the\nway of the Red Sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations.\n\n19:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they\nthat dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light\nshined.\n\n19:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy\u2014they joy\nbefore thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when\nthey divide the spoil.\n\n19:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his\nshoulder, the rod of his oppressor.\n\n19:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and\ngarments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of\nfire.\n\n19:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the\ngovernment shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called,\nWonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The\nPrince of Peace.\n\n19:7 Of the increase of government and peace there is no end, upon the\nthrone of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it\nwith judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal\nof the Lord of Hosts will perform this.\n\n19:8 The Lord sent his word unto Jacob and it hath lighted upon Israel.\n\n19:9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of\nSamaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart:\n\n19:10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones;\nthe sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.\n\n19:11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against\nhim, and join his enemies together;\n\n19:12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall\ndevour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned\naway, but his hand is stretched out still.\n\n19:13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do\nthey seek the Lord of Hosts.\n\n19:14 Therefore will the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, branch\nand rush in one day.\n\n19:15 The ancient, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies,\nhe is the tail.\n\n19:16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that\nare led of them are destroyed.\n\n19:17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither\nshall have mercy on their fatherless and widows; for every one of them\nis a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all\nthis his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.\n\n19:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire; it shall devour the briers\nand thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they\nshall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.\n\n19:19 Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts is the land darkened, and\nthe people shall be as the fuel of the fire; no man shall spare his\nbrother.\n\n19:20 And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry; and he shall\neat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat\nevery man the flesh of his own arm\u2014\n\n19:21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be\nagainst Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand\nis stretched out still.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 20\n\n20:1 Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write\ngrievousness which they have prescribed;\n\n20:2 To turn away the needy from judgment, and to take away the right\nfrom the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that\nthey may rob the fatherless!\n\n20:3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the\ndesolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help?\nand where will ye leave your glory?\n\n20:4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall\nfall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but\nhis hand is stretched out still.\n\n20:5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is\ntheir indignation.\n\n20:6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the\npeople of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to\ntake the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.\n\n20:7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but in\nhis heart it is to destroy and cut off nations not a few.\n\n20:8 For he saith: Are not my princes altogether kings?\n\n20:9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria\nas Damascus?\n\n20:10 As my hand hath founded the kingdoms of the idols, and whose\ngraven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;\n\n20:11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to\nJerusalem and to her idols?\n\n20:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed\nhis whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will punish the\nfruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his\nhigh looks.\n\n20:13 For he saith: By the strength of my hand and by my wisdom I have\ndone these things; for I am prudent; and I have moved the borders of\nthe people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the\ninhabitants like a valiant man;\n\n20:14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; and as\none gathereth eggs that are left have I gathered all the earth; and\nthere was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.\n\n20:15 Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith?\nShall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod\nshould shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff\nshould lift up itself as if it were no wood!\n\n20:16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, send among his fat\nones, leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the\nburning of a fire.\n\n20:17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for\na flame, and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in\none day;\n\n20:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful\nfield, both soul and body; and they shall be as when a standard-bearer\nfainteth.\n\n20:19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a\nchild may write them.\n\n20:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of\nIsrael, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more\nagain stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the\nHoly One of Israel, in truth.\n\n20:21 The remnant shall return, yea, even the remnant of Jacob, unto\nthe mighty God.\n\n20:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a\nremnant of them shall return; the consumption decreed shall overflow\nwith righteousness.\n\n20:23 For the Lord God of Hosts shall make a consumption, even\ndetermined in all the land.\n\n20:24 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: O my people that\ndwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite thee\nwith a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner\nof Egypt.\n\n20:25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and\nmine anger in their destruction.\n\n20:26 And the Lord of Hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according\nto the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as his rod was upon\nthe sea so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.\n\n20:27 And it shall come to pass in that day that his burden shall be\ntaken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and\nthe yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.\n\n20:28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath\nlaid up his carriages.\n\n20:29 They are gone over the passage; they have taken up their lodging\nat Geba; Ramath is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.\n\n20:30 Lift up the voice, O daughter of Gallim; cause it to be heard\nunto Laish, O poor Anathoth.\n\n20:31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves\nto flee.\n\n20:32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day; he shall shake his hand\nagainst the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.\n\n20:33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts shall lop the bough with\nterror; and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down; and the\nhaughty shall be humbled.\n\n20:34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and\nLebanon shall fall by a mighty one.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 21\n\n21:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a\nbranch shall grow out of his roots.\n\n21:2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of\nwisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit\nof knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;\n\n21:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord;\nand he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove\nafter the hearing of his ears.\n\n21:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with\nequity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the\nrod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the\nwicked.\n\n21:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and\nfaithfulness the girdle of his reins.\n\n21:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie\ndown with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling\ntogether; and a little child shall lead them.\n\n21:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie\ndown together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.\n\n21:8 And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the\nweaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice\u2019s den.\n\n21:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the\nearth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover\nthe sea.\n\n21:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand\nfor an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his\nrest shall be glorious.\n\n21:11 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his\nhand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which\nshall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from\nCush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the\nislands of the sea.\n\n21:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble\nthe outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from\nthe four corners of the earth.\n\n21:13 The envy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of\nJudah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall\nnot vex Ephraim.\n\n21:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards\nthe west; they shall spoil them of the east together; they shall lay\ntheir hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey\nthem.\n\n21:15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian\nsea; and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river,\nand shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod.\n\n21:16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which\nshall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that\nhe came up out of the land of Egypt.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 22\n\n22:1 And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though\nthou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou\ncomfortedst me.\n\n22:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for\nthe Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my\nsalvation.\n\n22:3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of\nsalvation.\n\n22:4 And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name,\ndeclare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is\nexalted.\n\n22:5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is\nknown in all the earth.\n\n22:6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy\nOne of Israel in the midst of thee.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 23\n\n23:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.\n\n23:2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto\nthem, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.\n\n23:3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty\nones, for mine anger is not upon them that rejoice in my highness.\n\n23:4 The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great\npeople, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered\ntogether, the Lord of Hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle.\n\n23:5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the\nLord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.\n\n23:6 Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a\ndestruction from the Almighty.\n\n23:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man\u2019s heart shall melt;\n\n23:8 And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of\nthem; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as\nflames.\n\n23:9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and\nfierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the\nsinners thereof out of it.\n\n23:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not\ngive their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the\nmoon shall not cause her light to shine.\n\n23:11 And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their\niniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will\nlay down the haughtiness of the terrible.\n\n23:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than\nthe golden wedge of Ophir.\n\n23:13 Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove\nout of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of\nhis fierce anger.\n\n23:14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man\ntaketh up; and they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee\nevery one into his own land.\n\n23:15 Every one that is proud shall be thrust through; yea, and every\none that is joined to the wicked shall fall by the sword.\n\n23:16 Their children, also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes;\ntheir houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished.\n\n23:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not\nregard silver and gold, nor shall they delight in it.\n\n23:18 Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces, and they\nshall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare\nchildren.\n\n23:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees\u2019\nexcellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.\n\n23:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from\ngeneration to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there;\nneither shall the shepherds make their fold there.\n\n23:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses\nshall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and\nsatyrs shall dance there.\n\n23:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate\nhouses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to\ncome, and her day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy her\nspeedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked\nshall perish.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 24\n\n24:1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel,\nand set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with\nthem, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.\n\n24:2 And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea,\nfrom far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their\nlands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them, and the\nland of the Lord shall be for servants and handmaids; and they shall\ntake them captives unto whom they were captives; and they shall rule\nover their oppressors.\n\n24:3 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give\nthee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard\nbondage wherein thou wast made to serve.\n\n24:4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that thou shalt take up\nthis proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the\noppressor ceased, the golden city ceased!\n\n24:5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepters of the\nrulers.\n\n24:6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that\nruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.\n\n24:7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into\nsinging.\n\n24:8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and also the cedars of\nLebanon, saying: Since thou art laid down no feller is come up against\nus.\n\n24:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it\nstirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it\nhath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.\n\n24:10 All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak\nas we? Art thou become like unto us?\n\n24:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is\nnot heard; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.\n\n24:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!\nArt thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!\n\n24:13 For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I\nwill exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the\nmount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;\n\n24:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the\nMost High.\n\n24:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.\n\n24:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall\nconsider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to\ntremble, that did shake kingdoms?\n\n24:17 And made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities\nthereof, and opened not the house of his prisoners?\n\n24:18 All the kings of the nations, yea, all of them, lie in glory,\nevery one of them in his own house.\n\n24:19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and\nthe remnant of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that\ngo down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.\n\n24:20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast\ndestroyed thy land and slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall\nnever be renowned.\n\n24:21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquities of their\nfathers, that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face\nof the world with cities.\n\n24:22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts, and cut\noff from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the\nLord.\n\n24:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of\nwater; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the\nLord of Hosts.\n\n24:24 The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought,\nso shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand\u2014\n\n24:25 That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains\ntread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his\nburden depart from off their shoulders.\n\n24:26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and\nthis is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.\n\n24:27 For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul? And\nhis hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?\n\n24:28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.\n\n24:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that\nsmote thee is broken; for out of the serpent\u2019s root shall come forth a\ncockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.\n\n24:30 And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall\nlie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall\nslay thy remnant.\n\n24:31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved;\nfor there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in\nhis appointed times.\n\n24:32 What shall then answer the messengers of the nations? That the\nLord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 25\n\n25:1 Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have\nwritten, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. For behold,\nIsaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to\nunderstand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying\namong the Jews.\n\n25:2 For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the\nmanner of the Jews; for their works were works of darkness, and their\ndoings were doings of abominations.\n\n25:3 Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall\nreceive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the\njudgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the\nword which he hath spoken.\n\n25:4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel,\nand give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not\nplain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are\nfilled with the spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy,\naccording to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy\naccording to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I\ncame out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth\nin plainness unto my people, that they may learn.\n\n25:5 Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah, for I came out\nfrom Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I\nknow that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there\nis none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto\nthe Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the\nmanner of the things of the Jews.\n\n25:6 But behold, I, Nephi, have not taught my children after the manner\nof the Jews; but behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem,\nwherefore I know concerning the regions round about; and I have made\nmention unto my children concerning the judgments of God, which hath\ncome to pass among the Jews, unto my children, according to all that\nwhich Isaiah hath spoken, and I do not write them.\n\n25:7 But behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my\nplainness; in the which I know that no man can err; nevertheless, in\nthe days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall\nknow of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass.\n\n25:8 Wherefore, they are of worth unto the children of men, and he that\nsupposeth that they are not, unto them will I speak particularly, and\nconfine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be\nof great worth unto them in the last days; for in that day shall they\nunderstand them; wherefore, for their good have I written them.\n\n25:9 And as one generation hath been destroyed among the Jews because\nof iniquity, even so have they been destroyed from generation to\ngeneration according to their iniquities; and never hath any of them\nbeen destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord.\n\n25:10 Wherefore, it hath been told them concerning the destruction\nwhich should come upon them, immediately after my father left\nJerusalem; nevertheless, they hardened their hearts; and according to\nmy prophecy they have been destroyed, save it be those which are\ncarried away captive into Babylon.\n\n25:11 And now this I speak because of the spirit which is in me. And\nnotwithstanding they have been carried away they shall return again,\nand possess the land of Jerusalem; wherefore, they shall be restored\nagain to the land of their inheritance.\n\n25:12 But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars; and when\nthe day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the\nFather of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the\nflesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and\nthe hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.\n\n25:13 Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a\nsepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with\nhealing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall\nbe saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to\nprophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth\nmagnify his holy name.\n\n25:14 And behold it shall come to pass that after the Messiah hath\nrisen from the dead, and hath manifested himself unto his people, unto\nas many as will believe on his name, behold, Jerusalem shall be\ndestroyed again; for wo unto them that fight against God and the people\nof his church.\n\n25:15 Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea,\nand also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be\nscattered by other nations.\n\n25:16 And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath\nscourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea,\neven down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded\nto believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is\ninfinite for all mankind\u2014and when that day shall come that they shall\nbelieve in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts\nand clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah,\nthen, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient\nthat they should believe these things.\n\n25:17 And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore\nhis people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed\nto do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.\n\n25:18 Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words\nshall judge them at the last day, for they shall be given them for the\npurpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by\nthem; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward\nany more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it\nshould be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is\nsave one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who\nshould be rejected of the Jews.\n\n25:19 For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in\nsix hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and\naccording to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel\nof God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.\n\n25:20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err.\nAnd as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of\nEgypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after\nthey had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast\ntheir eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also\ngave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come\nforth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and\nas the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven\nsave it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can\nbe saved.\n\n25:21 Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that\nthese things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down\nunto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be\nfulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the\nearth should stand.\n\n25:22 Wherefore, these things shall go from generation to generation as\nlong as the earth shall stand; and they shall go according to the will\nand pleasure of God; and the nations who shall possess them shall be\njudged of them according to the words which are written.\n\n25:23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and\nalso our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God;\nfor we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.\n\n25:24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of\nMoses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law\nshall be fulfilled.\n\n25:25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath\nbecome dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our\nfaith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.\n\n25:26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ,\nwe prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that\nour children may know to what source they may look for a remission of\ntheir sins.\n\n25:27 Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know\nthe deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law,\nmay look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what\nend the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that\nthey need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be\ndone away.\n\n25:28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people;\nwherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot\nmisunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a\ntestimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the\nright way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not;\nfor by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.\n\n25:29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe\nin Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel;\nwherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your\nmight, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye\nshall in nowise be cast out.\n\n25:30 And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep the\nperformances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled\nwhich was given unto Moses.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 26\n\n26:1 And after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show\nhimself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words\nwhich he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.\n\n26:2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many\ngenerations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and\ncontentions among my people.\n\n26:3 And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto\nmy people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and\ngreat and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall\nperish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the\nsaints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood\nof the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.\n\n26:4 Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day\nthat cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall\nbe as stubble.\n\n26:5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the\nearth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains\nshall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings\nshall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.\n\n26:6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and\nearthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger\nof the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as\nstubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of\nHosts.\n\n26:7 O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain\nof my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me\nbefore the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways\nare just.\n\n26:8 But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the\nprophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with\nsteadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all\npersecution\u2014behold, they are they which shall not perish.\n\n26:9 But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall\nheal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations\nshall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have\npassed away in righteousness.\n\n26:10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction\ncometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I\nhave seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they\nsell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and\ntheir foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield\nunto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light,\ntherefore they must go down to hell.\n\n26:11 For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And\nwhen the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy\ndestruction, and this grieveth my soul.\n\n26:12 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus\nis the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced\nalso that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God;\n\n26:13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in\nhim, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred,\ntongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among\nthe children of men according to their faith.\n\n26:14 But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days;\nconcerning the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth\nunto the children of men.\n\n26:15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in\nunbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the\nLord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have\nlaid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them;\nand after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that\nthey are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the\nprayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled\nin unbelief shall not be forgotten.\n\n26:16 For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the\nground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice\nshall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give\nunto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were\nout of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.\n\n26:17 For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which\nshall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a\nbook, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for\nthey seek to destroy the things of God.\n\n26:18 Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed\nspeedily; and the multitude of their terrible ones shall be as chaff\nthat passeth away\u2014yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an\ninstant, suddenly\u2014\n\n26:19 And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in\nunbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles.\n\n26:20 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and\nhave stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that\nthey have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power\nand miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and\ntheir own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of\nthe poor.\n\n26:21 And there are many churches built up which cause envyings, and\nstrifes, and malice.\n\n26:22 And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old,\naccording to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of\nall these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness;\nyea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he\nbindeth them with his strong cords forever.\n\n26:23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God\nworketh not in darkness.\n\n26:24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world;\nfor he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he\nmay draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they\nshall not partake of his salvation.\n\n26:25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I\nsay unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth,\nbuy milk and honey, without money and without price.\n\n26:26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the\nsynagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you,\nNay.\n\n26:27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his\nsalvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for\nall men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all\nmen to repentance.\n\n26:28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake\nof his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged\nthe one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.\n\n26:29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold\npriestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto\nthe world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they\nseek not the welfare of Zion.\n\n26:30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord\nGod hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which\ncharity is love, and except they should have charity they were nothing.\nWherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the\nlaborer in Zion to perish.\n\n26:31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor\nfor money they shall perish.\n\n26:32 And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not\nmurder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they\nshould not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they\nshould not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not\ncontend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and\nthat they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall\nperish.\n\n26:33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that\nwhich is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it\nbe plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come\nunto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come\nunto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he\nremembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and\nGentile.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 27\n\n27:1 But, behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles\u2014yea,\nbehold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both those\nwho shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands,\nyea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken\nwith iniquity and all manner of abominations\u2014\n\n27:2 And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of\nHosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and\nwith storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.\n\n27:3 And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress\nher, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them,\neven as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he\nawaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which\ndreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint,\nand his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the\nnations be that fight against Mount Zion.\n\n27:4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and\nwonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not\nwith wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.\n\n27:5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep\nsleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the\nprophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of\nyour iniquity.\n\n27:6 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto\nyou the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have\nslumbered.\n\n27:7 And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a\nrevelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending\nthereof.\n\n27:8 Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up, the things\nwhich are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the wickedness\nand abominations of the people. Wherefore the book shall be kept from\nthem.\n\n27:9 But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver\nthe words of the book, which are the words of those who have slumbered\nin the dust, and he shall deliver these words unto another;\n\n27:10 But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver, neither\nshall he deliver the book. For the book shall be sealed by the power of\nGod, and the revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book\nuntil the own due time of the Lord, that they may come forth; for\nbehold, they reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto\nthe end thereof.\n\n27:11 And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed\nshall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power\nof Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men\nwhich ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be\neven unto the end of the earth.\n\n27:12 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the\nman of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the\nworld, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three\nwitnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the\nbook shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the\nbook and the things therein.\n\n27:13 And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few\naccording to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the\nchildren of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the\nfaithful should speak as if it were from the dead.\n\n27:14 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of\nthe book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good\nwill he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word\nof God!\n\n27:15 But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say\nunto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take these words which are\nnot sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the\nlearned, saying: Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say:\nBring hither the book, and I will read them.\n\n27:16 And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will\nthey say this, and not for the glory of God.\n\n27:17 And the man shall say: I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.\n\n27:18 Then shall the learned say: I cannot read it.\n\n27:19 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver\nagain the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and\nthe man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.\n\n27:20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read\nthem, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work;\nwherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.\n\n27:21 Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them\nforth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men\nthat I am able to do mine own work.\n\n27:22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded\nthee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then\nshalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may\npreserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in\nmine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men.\n\n27:23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show\nunto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I\nwork not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.\n\n27:24 And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him\nthat shall read the words that shall be delivered him:\n\n27:25 Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and\nwith their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me,\nand their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men\u2014\n\n27:26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this\npeople, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their\nwise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent\nshall be hid.\n\n27:27 And wo unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the\nLord! And their works are in the dark; and they say: Who seeth us, and\nwho knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things\nupside down shall be esteemed as the potter\u2019s clay. But behold, I will\nshow unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I know all their works.\nFor shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall\nthe thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?\n\n27:28 But behold, saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the\nchildren of men that it is yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be\nturned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed\nas a forest.\n\n27:29 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and\nthe eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.\n\n27:30 And the meek also shall increase, and their joy shall be in the\nLord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.\n\n27:31 For assuredly as the Lord liveth they shall see that the terrible\none is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that\nwatch for iniquity are cut off;\n\n27:32 And they that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare\nfor him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing\nof naught.\n\n27:33 Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning\nthe house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his\nface now wax pale.\n\n27:34 But when he seeth his children, the work of my hands, in the\nmidst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of\nJacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.\n\n27:35 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and\nthey that murmured shall learn doctrine.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 28\n\n28:1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as\nthe Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely\ncome to pass.\n\n28:2 And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of\ngreat worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed,\nwhich is a remnant of the house of Israel.\n\n28:3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are\nbuilt up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other:\nBehold, I, I am the Lord\u2019s; and the others shall say: I, I am the\nLord\u2019s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and\nnot unto the Lord\u2014\n\n28:4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall\ncontend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and\ndeny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.\n\n28:5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they\nsay unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for\nbehold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done\nhis work, and he hath given his power unto men;\n\n28:6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a\nmiracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day\nhe is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.\n\n28:7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be\nmerry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.\n\n28:8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be\nmerry; nevertheless, fear God\u2014he will justify in committing a little\nsin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words,\ndig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these\nthings, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God\nwill beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the\nkingdom of God.\n\n28:9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner,\nfalse and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their\nhearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and\ntheir works shall be in the dark.\n\n28:10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against\nthem.\n\n28:11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become\ncorrupted.\n\n28:12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false\ndoctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are\nlifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.\n\n28:13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the\npoor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and\nthe poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.\n\n28:14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride,\nand wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone\nastray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ;\nnevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because\nthey are taught by the precepts of men.\n\n28:15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in\nthe pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines,\nand all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the\nLord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they\nshall be thrust down to hell!\n\n28:16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and\nrevile against that which is good, and say that is of no worth! For the\nday shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of\nthe earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they\nshall perish.\n\n28:17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their\nwickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord\nof Hosts.\n\n28:18 But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all\nthe earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall\nthereof.\n\n28:19 For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to\nit must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp\nthem with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and\nperish;\n\n28:20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the\nchildren of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.\n\n28:21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal\nsecurity, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion\nprospereth, all is well\u2014and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and\nleadeth them away carefully down to hell.\n\n28:22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is\nno hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none\u2014and\nthus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful\nchains, from whence there is no deliverance.\n\n28:23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell,\nand the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand\nbefore the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from\nwhence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of\nfire and brimstone, which is endless torment.\n\n28:24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!\n\n28:25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!\n\n28:26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and\ndenieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!\n\n28:27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no\nmore!\n\n28:28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because\nof the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock\nreceiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy\nfoundation trembleth lest he shall fall.\n\n28:29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God,\nand we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!\n\n28:30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the\nchildren of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and\nthere a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and\nlend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him\nthat receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have\nenough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.\n\n28:31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his\narm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts\nshall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.\n\n28:32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For\nnotwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to\nday, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them,\nsaith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm\nis lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 29\n\n29:1 But behold, there shall be many\u2014at that day when I shall proceed\nto do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants\nwhich I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand\nagain the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of\nIsrael;\n\n29:2 And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto\nthee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed;\nand that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth\nunto your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the\nearth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;\n\n29:3 And because my words shall hiss forth\u2014many of the Gentiles shall\nsay: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any\nmore Bible.\n\n29:4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and\nit shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And\nwhat thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?\nYea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the\nlabors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in\nbringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?\n\n29:5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant\npeople? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not\nsought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon\nyour own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.\n\n29:6 Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we\nneed no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?\n\n29:7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that\nI, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those\nwho are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above\nand in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children\nof men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?\n\n29:8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my\nword? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto\nyou that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?\nWherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another.\nAnd when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two\nnations shall run together also.\n\n29:9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same\nyesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words\naccording to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word\nye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet\nfinished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that\ntime henceforth and forever.\n\n29:10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that\nit contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not\ncaused more to be written.\n\n29:11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in\nthe north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they\nshall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books\nwhich shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to\ntheir works, according to that which is written.\n\n29:12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it;\nand I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I\nshall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I\nhave led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all\nnations of the earth and they shall write it.\n\n29:13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of\nthe Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and\nthe Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of\nIsrael; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the\nNephites and the Jews.\n\n29:14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house\nof Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions;\nand my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them\nthat fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house\nof Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I\nwould remember his seed forever.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 30\n\n30:1 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for\nI, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more\nrighteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep\nthe commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; and because of\nthe words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles\nare utterly destroyed.\n\n30:2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will\nrepent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as\nwill not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none\nsave it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the\nHoly One of Israel.\n\n30:3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and\nthe Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come\nforth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the\nLord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are\nwritten; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.\n\n30:4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how\nthat we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the\nJews.\n\n30:5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them;\nwherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers,\nand also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their\nfathers.\n\n30:6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a\nblessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness\nshall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not\npass away among them, save they shall be a pure and delightsome people.\n\n30:7 And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also\nshall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in\nupon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall\nalso become a delightsome people.\n\n30:8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his\nwork among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about\nthe restoration of his people upon the earth.\n\n30:9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and\nreprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the\nearth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall\nhe slay the wicked.\n\n30:10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a\ngreat division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he\nwill spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the\nwicked by fire.\n\n30:11 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and\nfaithfulness the girdle of his reins.\n\n30:12 And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard\nshall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the\nfatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.\n\n30:13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie\ndown together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.\n\n30:14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the\nweaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice\u2019s den.\n\n30:15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the\nearth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover\nthe sea.\n\n30:16 Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea,\nall things shall be made known unto the children of men.\n\n30:17 There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there\nis no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and\nthere is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be\nloosed.\n\n30:18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children\nof men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over\nthe hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my\nbeloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 31\n\n31:1 And now I, Nephi, make an end of my prophesying unto you, my\nbeloved brethren. And I cannot write but a few things, which I know\nmust surely come to pass; neither can I write but a few of the words of\nmy brother Jacob.\n\n31:2 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it\nbe a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ;\nwherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness\nof my prophesying.\n\n31:3 For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth\nthe Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth\nlight unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to\ntheir language, unto their understanding.\n\n31:4 Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto\nyou concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should\nbaptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.\n\n31:5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be\nbaptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more\nneed have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!\n\n31:6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb\nof God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?\n\n31:7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy,\nhe showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he\nhumbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that\nhe would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.\n\n31:8 Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost\ndescended upon him in the form of a dove.\n\n31:9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straightness of\nthe path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter,\nhe having set the example before them.\n\n31:10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore,\nmy beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to\nkeep the commandments of the Father?\n\n31:11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the\nname of my Beloved Son.\n\n31:12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is\nbaptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like\nunto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me\ndo.\n\n31:13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow\nthe Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no\ndeception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins,\nwitnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the\nname of Christ, by baptism\u2014yea, by following your Lord and your Savior\ndown into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye\nreceive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the\nHoly Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout\npraises unto the Holy One of Israel.\n\n31:14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son\nunto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed\nunto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the\nbaptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy\nGhost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of\nangels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for\nyou that ye had not known me.\n\n31:15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my\nBeloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same\nshall be saved.\n\n31:16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man\nshall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the\nliving God, he cannot be saved.\n\n31:17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that\nyour Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they\nbeen shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should\nenter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism\nby water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the\nHoly Ghost.\n\n31:18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to\neternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done\naccording to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have\nreceived the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son,\nunto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye\nentered in by the way ye should receive.\n\n31:19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this\nstrait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto\nyou, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of\nChrist with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of\nhim who is mighty to save.\n\n31:20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,\nhaving a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.\nWherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ,\nand endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have\neternal life.\n\n31:21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there\nis none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved\nin the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ,\nand the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of\nthe Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 32\n\n32:1 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder\nsomewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye\nhave entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things\nin your hearts?\n\n32:2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received\nthe Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how\ncould ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy\nGhost?\n\n32:3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak\nthe words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words\nof Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things\nwhat ye should do.\n\n32:4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot\nunderstand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock;\nwherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the\ndark.\n\n32:5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the\nway, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what\nye should do.\n\n32:6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more\ndoctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the\nflesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the\nthings which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.\n\n32:7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine\nutterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the\nwickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they\nwill not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is\ngiven unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.\n\n32:8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in\nyour hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this\nthing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to\npray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not\na man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.\n\n32:9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not\nfaint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the\nfirst place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that\nhe will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may\nbe for the welfare of thy soul.\n\n2 Nephi Chapter 33\n\n33:1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught\namong my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking;\nfor when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the\nHoly Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.\n\n33:2 But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the\nHoly Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many\nthings away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.\n\n33:3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as\nof great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually\nfor them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of\nthem; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my\ncry.\n\n33:4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the\ngain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will\nbe made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh\nknown unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and\npersuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is\nlife eternal.\n\n33:5 And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of\nthe truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have\nwritten save he shall be of the spirit of the devil.\n\n33:6 I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for\nhe hath redeemed my soul from hell.\n\n33:7 I have charity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I\nshall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.\n\n33:8 I have charity for the Jew\u2014I say Jew, because I mean them from\nwhence I came.\n\n33:9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of\nthese can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter\ninto the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life,\nand continue in the path until the end of the day of probation.\n\n33:10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of\nthe earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye\nbelieve not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe\nin Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of\nChrist, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that\nthey should do good.\n\n33:11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye\u2014for Christ will\nshow unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at\nthe last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar;\nand ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these\nthings, notwithstanding my weakness.\n\n33:12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if\nnot all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.\n\n33:13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of\nIsrael, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of\none crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.\n\n33:14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect\nthe words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall\nproceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an\neverlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last\nday.\n\n33:15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the\njudgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey.\nAmen.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF JACOB\n\nTHE BROTHER OF NEPHI\n\nThe words of his preaching unto his brethren. He confoundeth a man who\nseeketh to overthrow the doctrine of Christ. A few words concerning the\nhistory of the people of Nephi.\n\nJacob Chapter 1\n\n1:1 For behold, it came to pass that fifty and five years had passed\naway from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; wherefore, Nephi gave me,\nJacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these\nthings are engraven.\n\n1:2 And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these\nplates a few of the things which I consider to be most precious; that I\nshould not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this\npeople which are called the people of Nephi.\n\n1:3 For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon\nhis other plates, and that I should preserve these plates and hand them\ndown unto my seed, from generation to generation.\n\n1:4 And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which\nwas great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them\nupon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for\nChrist\u2019s sake, and for the sake of our people.\n\n1:5 For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made\nmanifest unto us concerning our people, what things should happen unto\nthem.\n\n1:6 And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy;\nwherefore, we knew of Christ and his kingdom, which should come.\n\n1:7 Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might\npersuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God,\nthat they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear\nin his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the\ndays of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.\n\n1:8 Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to\nrebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would\nbelieve in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear\nthe shame of the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil\nthe commandment of my brother Nephi.\n\n1:9 Now Nephi began to be old, and he saw that he must soon die;\nwherefore, he anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people\nnow, according to the reigns of the kings.\n\n1:10 The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great\nprotector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence,\nand having labored in all his days for their welfare\u2014\n\n1:11 Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his\nname. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people,\nsecond Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the\nkings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever\nname they would.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that Nephi died.\n\n1:13 Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites;\nnevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites,\nZoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites.\n\n1:14 But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names,\nbut I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of\nNephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or\nthe people of Nephi, according to the reigns of the kings.\n\n1:15 And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign\nof the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge\nthemselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old\ndesiring many wives and concubines, and also Solomon, his son.\n\n1:16 Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began\nto be lifted up somewhat in pride.\n\n1:17 Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in\nthe temple, having first obtained mine errand from the Lord.\n\n1:18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests\nand teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.\n\n1:19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the\nresponsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if\nwe did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by\nlaboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments;\notherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be\nfound spotless at the last day.\n\nJacob Chapter 2\n\n2:1 The words which Jacob, the brother of Nephi, spake unto the people\nof Nephi, after the death of Nephi:\n\n2:2 Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to the responsibility\nwhich I am under to God, to magnify mine office with soberness, and\nthat I might rid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple\nthis day that I might declare unto you the word of God.\n\n2:3 And ye yourselves know that I have hitherto been diligent in the\noffice of my calling; but I this day am weighed down with much more\ndesire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto\nbeen.\n\n2:4 For behold, as yet, ye have been obedient unto the word of the\nLord, which I have given unto you.\n\n2:5 But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the\nall-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your\nthoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin\nappeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God.\n\n2:6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before\nthe presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the\nwickedness of your hearts.\n\n2:7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech\nconcerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose\nfeelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God,\nwhich thing is pleasing unto God;\n\n2:8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the\npleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.\n\n2:9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained,\nbecause of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to\nadmonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those\nwho are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds;\nand those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the\npleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and\nwound their delicate minds.\n\n2:10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do\naccording to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your\nwickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and\nthe broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye of the\nAlmighty God.\n\n2:11 Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of\nthe word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the\nword unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow,\nand declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people.\n\n2:12 And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto\nyou, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver,\nand for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a\nland of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most\nplentifully.\n\n2:13 And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly,\nthat you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have\nobtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in\nthe pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because\nof the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because\nye suppose that ye are better than they.\n\n2:14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in\nthis thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he condemneth you, and if\nye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.\n\n2:15 O that he would show you that he can pierce you, and with one\nglance of his eye he can smite you to the dust!\n\n2:16 O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination. And, O\nthat ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this\npride of your hearts destroy your souls!\n\n2:17 Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with\nall and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.\n\n2:18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.\n\n2:19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain\nriches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do\ngood\u2014to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the\ncaptive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.\n\n2:20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and\nthose of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him\nbecause ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath\ngiven you, what say ye of it?\n\n2:21 Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who\ncreated all flesh? And the one being is as precious in his sight as the\nother. And all flesh is of the dust; and for the selfsame end hath he\ncreated them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him\nforever.\n\n2:22 And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride.\nAnd were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime,\nmy heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you.\n\n2:23 But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For\nbehold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they\nunderstand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in\ncommitting whoredoms, because of the things which were written\nconcerning David, and Solomon his son.\n\n2:24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines,\nwhich thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.\n\n2:25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out\nof the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise\nup unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.\n\n2:26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall\ndo like unto them of old.\n\n2:27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the\nLord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife;\nand concubines he shall have none;\n\n2:28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And\nwhoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.\n\n2:29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord\nof Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.\n\n2:30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I\nwill command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.\n\n2:31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the\nmourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea,\nand in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and\nabominations of their husbands.\n\n2:32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of\nthe fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of\nJerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith\nthe Lord of Hosts.\n\n2:33 For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people\nbecause of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse,\neven unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto\nthem of old, saith the Lord of Hosts.\n\n2:34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were\ngiven to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye\nhave come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which\nye ought not to have done.\n\n2:35 Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our\nbrethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the\nconfidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them;\nand the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And\nbecause of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against\nyou, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.\n\nJacob Chapter 3\n\n3:1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart.\nLook unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding\nfaith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead\nyour cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.\n\n3:2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the\npleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your\nminds are firm, forever.\n\n3:3 But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy\nthis day before God; for except ye repent the land is cursed for your\nsakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you,\nnevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you\neven unto destruction.\n\n3:4 And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they shall\npossess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away\nthe righteous out from among you.\n\n3:5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their\nfilthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more\nrighteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the\nLord, which was given unto our father\u2014that they should have save it\nwere one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should\nnot be whoredoms committed among them.\n\n3:6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because\nof this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not\ndestroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall\nbecome a blessed people.\n\n3:7 Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their\nhusbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and\ntheir unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity\nof their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the\nsight of your great Creator?\n\n3:8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that\ntheir skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with\nthem before the throne of God.\n\n3:9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God,\nthat ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their\nskins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their\nfilthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember\nthat their filthiness came because of their fathers.\n\n3:10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have\ngrieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set before\nthem; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring\nyour children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your\nheads at the last day.\n\n3:11 O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your\nsouls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death;\nand loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become\nangels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone\nwhich is the second death.\n\n3:12 And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi,\nwarning them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of\nsin, telling them the awful consequences of them.\n\n3:13 And a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, which now\nbegan to be numerous, cannot be written upon these plates; but many of\ntheir proceedings are written upon the larger plates, and their wars,\nand their contentions, and the reigns of their kings.\n\n3:14 These plates are called the plates of Jacob, and they were made by\nthe hand of Nephi. And I make an end of speaking these words.\n\nJacob Chapter 4\n\n4:1 Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much\nunto my people in word, (and I cannot write but a little of my words,\nbecause of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we\nknow that the things which we write upon plates must remain;\n\n4:2 But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates\nmust perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates,\nwhich will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small\ndegree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers\u2014\n\n4:3 Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to\nengraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and\nour children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them\nthat they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with\ncontempt, concerning their first parents.\n\n4:4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may\nknow that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many\nhundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope\nof his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.\n\n4:5 Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his\nname, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent\nwe keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this\ncause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was\naccounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the\ncommands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of\nGod and his Only Begotten Son.\n\n4:6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and\nthe spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a\nhope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can\ncommand in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the\nmountains, or the waves of the sea.\n\n4:7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know\nthat it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children\nof men, that we have power to do these things.\n\n4:8 Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How\nunsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is\nimpossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of\nhis ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not\nthe revelations of God.\n\n4:9 For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the\nearth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if\nGod being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was\ncreated, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship\nof his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?\n\n4:10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take\ncounsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he\ncounseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his\nworks.\n\n4:11 Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the\natonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a\nresurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in\nChrist, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having\nfaith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth\nhimself in the flesh.\n\n4:12 And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why\nnot speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge\nof him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world\nto come?\n\n4:13 Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the\nunderstanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not.\nWherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as\nthey really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us\nplainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not\nwitnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets\nof old.\n\n4:14 But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised\nthe words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things\nthat they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness,\nwhich blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall;\nfor God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto\nthem many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it.\nAnd because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.\n\n4:15 And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I\nperceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the\nstumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might\nbuild and have safe foundation.\n\n4:16 But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become\nthe great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the\nJews can build.\n\n4:17 And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having\nrejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may\nbecome the head of their corner?\n\n4:18 Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you;\nif I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit,\nand stumble because of my over anxiety for you.\n\nJacob Chapter 5\n\n5:1 Behold, my brethren, do ye not remember to have read the words of\nthe prophet Zenos, which he spake unto the house of Israel, saying:\n\n5:2 Hearken, O ye house of Israel, and hear the words of me, a prophet\nof the Lord.\n\n5:3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of\nIsrael, like unto a tame olive-tree, which a man took and nourished in\nhis vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay.\n\n5:4 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard went forth, and\nhe saw that his olive-tree began to decay; and he said: I will prune\nit, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth\nyoung and tender branches, and it perish not.\n\n5:5 And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and\nnourished it according to his word.\n\n5:6 And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth\nsomewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main top\nthereof began to perish.\n\n5:7 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he\nsaid unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree;\nwherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olive-tree, and bring\nthem hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which\nare beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that\nthey may be burned.\n\n5:8 And behold, saith the Lord of the vineyard, I take away many of\nthese young and tender branches, and I will graft them whithersoever I\nwill; and it mattereth not that if it so be that the root of this tree\nwill perish, I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself; wherefore, I\nwill take these young and tender branches, and I will graft them\nwhithersoever I will.\n\n5:9 Take thou the branches of the wild olive-tree, and graft them in,\nin the stead thereof; and these which I have plucked off I will cast\ninto the fire and burn them, that they may not cumber the ground of my\nvineyard.\n\n5:10 And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard\ndid according to the word of the Lord of the vineyard, and grafted in\nthe branches of the wild olive-tree.\n\n5:11 And the Lord of the vineyard caused that it should be digged\nabout, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto his servant: It grieveth\nme that I should lose this tree; wherefore, that perhaps I might\npreserve the roots thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve\nthem unto myself, I have done this thing.\n\n5:12 Wherefore, go thy way; watch the tree, and nourish it, according\nto my words.\n\n5:13 And these will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard,\nwhithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee; and I do it that I\nmay preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree; and also,\nthat I may lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself; for it\ngrieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.\n\n5:14 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way,\nand hid the natural branches of the tame olive-tree in the nethermost\nparts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another, according to\nhis will and pleasure.\n\n5:15 And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Lord of\nthe vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the\nvineyard, that we may labor in the vineyard.\n\n5:16 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard, and also the\nservant, went down into the vineyard to labor. And it came to pass that\nthe servant said unto his master: Behold, look here; behold the tree.\n\n5:17 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and\nbeheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted;\nand it had sprung forth and begun to bear fruit. And he beheld that it\nwas good; and the fruit thereof was like unto the natural fruit.\n\n5:18 And he said unto the servant: Behold, the branches of the wild\ntree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root\nthereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much\nstrength of the root thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame\nfruit. Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree thereof\nwould have perished. And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which\nthe tree thereof hath brought forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay\nup against the season, unto mine own self.\n\n5:19 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the\nservant: Come, let us go to the nethermost part of the vineyard, and\nbehold if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much\nfruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof against the season,\nunto mine own self.\n\n5:20 And it came to pass that they went forth whither the master had\nhid the natural branches of the tree, and he said unto the servant:\nBehold these; and he beheld the first that it had brought forth much\nfruit; and he beheld also that it was good. And he said unto the\nservant: Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season,\nthat I may preserve it unto mine own self; for behold, said he, this\nlong time have I nourished it, and it hath brought forth much fruit.\n\n5:21 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How\ncomest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For\nbehold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.\n\n5:22 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew\nthat it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have\nnourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought\nforth much fruit.\n\n5:23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his\nservant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree\nalso; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the\nfirst. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it\nhath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up\nagainst the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.\n\n5:24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto\nhis servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have\nplanted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought\nforth fruit.\n\n5:25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last.\nBehold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have\nnourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought\nforth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth\nwild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.\n\n5:26 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the\nservant: Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit,\nand cast them into the fire.\n\n5:27 But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig\nabout it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring\nforth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the\nseason.\n\n5:28 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant\nof the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all the fruit of the vineyard.\n\n5:29 And it came to pass that a long time had passed away, and the Lord\nof the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the\nvineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard. For behold, the time\ndraweth near, and the end soon cometh; wherefore, I must lay up fruit\nagainst the season, unto mine own self.\n\n5:30 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant\nwent down into the vineyard; and they came to the tree whose natural\nbranches had been broken off, and the wild branches had been grafted\nin; and behold all sorts of fruit did cumber the tree.\n\n5:31 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard did taste of the\nfruit, every sort according to its number. And the Lord of the vineyard\nsaid: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have\nlaid up unto myself against the season much fruit.\n\n5:32 But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there\nis none of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad\nfruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and\nnow it grieveth me that I should lose this tree.\n\n5:33 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: What shall we\ndo unto the tree, that I may preserve again good fruit thereof unto\nmine own self?\n\n5:34 And the servant said unto his master: Behold, because thou didst\ngraft in the branches of the wild olive-tree they have nourished the\nroots, that they are alive and they have not perished; wherefore thou\nbeholdest that they are yet good.\n\n5:35 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his\nservant: The tree profiteth me nothing, and the roots thereof profit me\nnothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit.\n\n5:36 Nevertheless, I know that the roots are good, and for mine own\npurpose I have preserved them; and because of their much strength they\nhave hitherto brought forth, from the wild branches, good fruit.\n\n5:37 But behold, the wild branches have grown and have overrun the\nroots thereof; and because that the wild branches have overcome the\nroots thereof it hath brought forth much evil fruit; and because that\nit hath brought forth so much evil fruit thou beholdest that it\nbeginneth to perish; and it will soon become ripened, that it may be\ncast into the fire, except we should do something for it to preserve\nit.\n\n5:38 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his\nservant: Let us go down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard, and\nbehold if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit.\n\n5:39 And it came to pass that they went down into the nethermost parts\nof the vineyard. And it came to pass that they beheld that the fruit of\nthe natural branches had become corrupt also; yea, the first and the\nsecond and also the last; and they had all become corrupt.\n\n5:40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree\nwhich brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away\nand died.\n\n5:41 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said\nunto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?\n\n5:42 Behold, I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard, save it were\nthese, had become corrupted. And now these which have once brought\nforth good fruit have also become corrupted; and now all the trees of\nmy vineyard are good for nothing save it be to be hewn down and cast\ninto the fire.\n\n5:43 And behold this last, whose branch hath withered away, I did plant\nin a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above\nall other parts of the land of my vineyard.\n\n5:44 And thou beheldest that I also cut down that which cumbered this\nspot of ground, that I might plant this tree in the stead thereof.\n\n5:45 And thou beheldest that a part thereof brought forth good fruit,\nand a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and because I plucked not\nthe branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have\novercome the good branch that it hath withered away.\n\n5:46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken\nof my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they\nbring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have\nlaid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But,\nbehold, they have become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of\nno worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me\nthat I should lose them.\n\n5:47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened\nmine hand, that I have not nourished it, Nay, I have nourished it, and\nI have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and\nI have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end\ndraweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees\nof my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned.\nWho is it that has corrupted my vineyard?\n\n5:48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it\nnot the loftiness of thy vineyard\u2014have not the branches thereof\novercome the roots which are good? And because the branches have\novercome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength\nof the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not\nthis the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?\n\n5:49 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the\nservant: Let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard and cast\nthem into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my\nvineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my\nvineyard?\n\n5:50 But, behold, the servant said unto the Lord of the vineyard: Spare\nit a little longer.\n\n5:51 And the Lord said: Yea, I will spare it a little longer, for it\ngrieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard.\n\n5:52 Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have\nplanted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard, and let us graft them\ninto the tree from whence they came; and let us pluck from the tree\nthose branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural\nbranches of the tree in the stead thereof.\n\n5:53 And this will I do that the tree may not perish, that, perhaps, I\nmay preserve unto myself the roots thereof for mine own purpose.\n\n5:54 And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I\nplanted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may\npreserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of\nthis tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in\nunto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the\nroots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently\nstrong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet\nhave glory in the fruit of my vineyard.\n\n5:55 And it came to pass that they took from the natural tree which had\nbecome wild, and grafted in unto the natural trees, which also had\nbecome wild.\n\n5:56 And they also took of the natural trees which had become wild, and\ngrafted into their mother tree.\n\n5:57 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the\nwild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter;\nand in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.\n\n5:58 And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will\ntrim up the branches thereof; and we will pluck from the trees those\nbranches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the\nfire.\n\n5:59 And this I do that, perhaps, the roots thereof may take strength\nbecause of their goodness; and because of the change of the branches,\nthat the good may overcome the evil.\n\n5:60 And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the\nroots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again\ninto their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother\ntree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again\ngood fruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard,\nand, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the\nroots and the branches of the first fruit\u2014\n\n5:61 Wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently\nwith our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may\nbring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and\nthe most precious above all other fruit.\n\n5:62 Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time,\nfor behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I\nshall prune my vineyard.\n\n5:63 Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first,\nand that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and\nyoung, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may\nbe nourished once again for the last time.\n\n5:64 Wherefore, dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once\nmore, for the last time, for the end draweth nigh. And if it be so that\nthese last grafts shall grow, and bring forth the natural fruit, then\nshall ye prepare the way for them, that they may grow.\n\n5:65 And as they begin to grow ye shall clear away the branches which\nbring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the\nsize thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once,\nlest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the\ngraft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard.\n\n5:66 For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard;\nwherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow,\nthat the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good\nshall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the\nfire, that they cumber not the ground of my vineyard; and thus will I\nsweep away the bad out of my vineyard.\n\n5:67 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into\nthe natural tree;\n\n5:68 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural\nbranches of the tree; and thus will I bring them together again, that\nthey shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one.\n\n5:69 And the bad shall be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of\nmy vineyard; for behold, only this once will I prune my vineyard.\n\n5:70 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his\nservant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him,\nand brought other servants; and they were few.\n\n5:71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in\nthe vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I\nshall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season\nspeedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have\njoy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time\nwhich will soon come.\n\n5:72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their\nmights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they\ndid obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.\n\n5:73 And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and\nthe natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild\nbranches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep\nthe root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.\n\n5:74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the\ncommandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been\ncast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself\nthat the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like\nunto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard\nhad preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious\nunto him from the beginning.\n\n5:75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that\nhis fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he\ncalled up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time\nhave we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done\naccording to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it\nis good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou;\nfor because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard,\nand have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the\nnatural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is\ncast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my\nvineyard.\n\n5:76 For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my\nvineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh;\nand for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and\ndug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self\nof the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken.\n\n5:77 And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my\nvineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and\nthe good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into\nits own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard\nwill I cause to be burned with fire.\n\nJacob Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I would\nprophesy, behold, this is my prophecy\u2014that the things which this\nprophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he\nlikened them unto a tame olive-tree, must surely come to pass.\n\n6:2 And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to\nrecover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the\nservants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune\nhis vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.\n\n6:3 And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his\nvineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own\nplace! And the world shall be burned with fire.\n\n6:4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house\nof Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands\nunto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying\npeople; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in\nthe kingdom of God.\n\n6:5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of\nsoberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart,\nand cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy\nis extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your\nhearts.\n\n6:6 Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for\nwhy will ye die?\n\n6:7 For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God\nall the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn\ndown and cast into the fire?\n\n6:8 Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the\nprophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken\nconcerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny\nthe good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy\nGhost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of\nredemption, which hath been laid for you?\n\n6:9 Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the\nredemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to\nstand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?\n\n6:10 And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be\ndenied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose\nflames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever,\nwhich lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.\n\n6:11 O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait\ngate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain\neternal life.\n\n6:12 O be wise; what can I say more?\n\n6:13 Finally, I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before the\npleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and\nfear. Amen.\n\nJacob Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And now it came to pass after some years had passed away, there\ncame a man among the people of Nephi, whose name was Sherem.\n\n7:2 And it came to pass that he began to preach among the people, and\nto declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he preached\nmany things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that\nhe might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.\n\n7:3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the\npeople, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts; and he knowing that\nI, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much\nopportunity that he might come unto me.\n\n7:4 And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language\nof the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of\nspeech, according to the power of the devil.\n\n7:5 And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the\nmany revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these\nthings; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me.\nAnd also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very\nword, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken.\n\n7:6 And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he\nspeak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity\nthat I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou\ngoest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the\ndoctrine of Christ.\n\n7:7 And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the\nright way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way;\nand convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say\nshall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare\nunto you that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for\nhe cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem\ncontend against me.\n\n7:8 But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul,\ninsomuch that I did confound him in all his words.\n\n7:9 And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come? And he\nsaid: If there should be a Christ, I would not deny him; but I know\nthat there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.\n\n7:10 And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said,\nYea.\n\n7:11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they\ntruly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the\nprophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning\nthis Christ.\n\n7:12 And this is not all\u2014it has been made manifest unto me, for I have\nheard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power\nof the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement\nmade all mankind must be lost.\n\n7:13 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Show me a sign by this\npower of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much.\n\n7:14 And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show\nunto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet thou\nwilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will\nbe done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that\nhe has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall\ncome. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine.\n\n7:15 And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words,\nthe power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the\nearth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many\ndays.\n\n7:16 And it came to pass that he said unto the people: Gather together\non the morrow, for I shall die; wherefore, I desire to speak unto the\npeople before I shall die.\n\n7:17 And it came to pass that on the morrow the multitude were gathered\ntogether; and he spake plainly unto them and denied the things which he\nhad taught them, and confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy\nGhost, and the ministering of angels.\n\n7:18 And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the\npower of the devil. And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of\neternal punishment.\n\n7:19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin,\nfor I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I\nbelieved the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. And because I\nhave thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but\nI confess unto God.\n\n7:20 And it came to pass that when he had said these words he could say\nno more, and he gave up the ghost.\n\n7:21 And when the multitude had witnessed that he spake these things as\nhe was about to give up the ghost, they were astonished exceedingly;\ninsomuch that the power of God came down upon them, and they were\novercome that they fell to the earth.\n\n7:22 Now, this thing was pleasing unto me, Jacob, for I had requested\nit of my Father who was in heaven; for he had heard my cry and answered\nmy prayer.\n\n7:23 And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored\nagain among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened\nno more to the words of this wicked man.\n\n7:24 And it came to pass that many means were devised to reclaim and\nrestore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was\nvain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal\nhatred against us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of\ntheir arms to destroy us continually.\n\n7:25 Wherefore, the people of Nephi did fortify against them with their\narms, and with all their might, trusting in the God and rock of their\nsalvation; wherefore, they became as yet, conquerors of their enemies.\n\n7:26 And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record\nof this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I\nconclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the\nbest of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and\nalso our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a\nlonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born\nin tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which\ncaused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.\n\n7:27 And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore,\nI said unto my son Enos: Take these plates. And I told him the things\nwhich my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto\nthe commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which\nwriting has been small; and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that\nmany of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF ENOS\n\n\n1:1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was\na just man\u2014for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture\nand admonition of the Lord\u2014and blessed be the name of my God for it\u2014\n\n1:2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I\nreceived a remission of my sins.\n\n1:3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I\nhad often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of\nthe saints, sunk deep into my heart.\n\n1:4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I\ncried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and\nall the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did\nstill raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.\n\n1:5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven\nthee, and thou shalt be blessed.\n\n1:6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was\nswept away.\n\n1:7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?\n\n1:8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast\nnever before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall\nmanifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made\nthee whole.\n\n1:9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to\nfeel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore,\nI did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.\n\n1:10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice\nof the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren\naccording to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given\nunto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it\nbe for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren\naccording as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down\nwith sorrow upon their own heads.\n\n1:11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be\nunshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings\nfor my brethren, the Lamanites.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all\ndiligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to\nthy desires, because of thy faith.\n\n1:13 And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of him\u2014that if\nit should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into\ntransgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should\nnot be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my\npeople, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm,\nthat it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites,\nthat, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation\u2014\n\n1:14 For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to\nthe true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were\npossible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the\ntraditions of our fathers.\n\n1:15 Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our\nrecords, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me:\nWhatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive\nin the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.\n\n1:16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the\nrecords; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto\nthe Lamanites in his own due time.\n\n1:17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he\nhad made; wherefore my soul did rest.\n\n1:18 And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me\nthis thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith;\nfor their faith was like unto thine.\n\n1:19 And now it came to pass that I, Enos, went about among the people\nof Nephi, prophesying of things to come, and testifying of the things\nwhich I had heard and seen.\n\n1:20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to\nrestore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were\nvain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature\nthat they became wild, and ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people, full\nof idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in\ntents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle\nabout their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the\nbow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing\nsave it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.\n\n1:21 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land,\nand raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and\nflocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild\ngoats, and also many horses.\n\n1:22 And there were exceedingly many prophets among us. And the people\nwere a stiffnecked people, hard to understand.\n\n1:23 And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching\nand prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and\ncontinually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and\nthe judgments and the power of God, and all these things\u2014stirring them\nup continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was\nnothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of\nspeech, would keep them from going down speedily to destruction. And\nafter this manner do I write concerning them.\n\n1:24 And I saw wars between the Nephites and Lamanites in the course of\nmy days.\n\n1:25 And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and\nseventy and nine years had passed away from the time that our father\nLehi left Jerusalem.\n\n1:26 And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been\nwrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto\nthis people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in\nChrist. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it\nabove that of the world.\n\n1:27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer;\nfor I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my\nmortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall\nI see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye\nblessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my\nFather. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF JAROM\n\n\n1:1 Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the\ncommandment of my father, Enos, that our genealogy may be kept.\n\n1:2 And as these plates are small, and as these things are written for\nthe intent of the benefit of our brethren the Lamanites, wherefore, it\nmust needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things\nof my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more\nthan my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of\nsalvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.\n\n1:3 Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people,\nbecause of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their\nears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their\nnecks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not\nas yet swept them off from the face of the land.\n\n1:4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are\nnot all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith,\nhave communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the\nchildren of men, according to their faith.\n\n1:5 And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people\nof Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of\nMoses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not;\nneither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly\nstrict.\n\n1:6 And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the\nLamanites also. And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they\nof the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of\nbeasts.\n\n1:7 And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the\nNephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in\nthe faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord;\nwherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our\nlands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our\ninheritance.\n\n1:8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the\nland, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in\nprecious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in\nmachinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all\nmanner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of\nwar\u2014yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the\njavelin, and all preparations for war.\n\n1:9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper\nagainst us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto\nour fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye\nshall prosper in the land.\n\n1:10 And it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the\npeople of Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not\nkeep the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should\nbe destroyed from off the face of the land.\n\n1:11 Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did\nlabor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to\ndiligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was\ngiven; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in\nhim to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they\nteach them.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being\ndestroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts\nwith the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.\n\n1:13 And it came to pass that two hundred and thirty and eight years\nhad passed away\u2014after the manner of wars, and contentions, and\ndissensions, for the space of much of the time.\n\n1:14 And I, Jarom, do not write more, for the plates are small. But\nbehold, my brethren, ye can go to the other plates of Nephi; for\nbehold, upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to\nthe writings of the kings, or those which they caused to be written.\n\n1:15 And I deliver these plates into the hands of my son Omni, that\nthey may be kept according to the commandments of my fathers.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF OMNI\n\n\n1:1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father,\nJarom, that I should write somewhat upon these plates, to preserve our\ngenealogy\u2014\n\n1:2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought\nmuch with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling\ninto the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself\nam a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments\nof the Lord as I ought to have done.\n\n1:3 And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had\npassed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many seasons\nof serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty\nand two years had passed away, and I had kept these plates according to\nthe commandments of my fathers; and I conferred them upon my son\nAmaron. And I make an end.\n\n1:4 And now I, Amaron, write the things whatsoever I write, which are\nfew, in the book of my father.\n\n1:5 Behold, it came to pass that three hundred and twenty years had\npassed away, and the more wicked part of the Nephites were destroyed.\n\n1:6 For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led them out of the\nland of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them from falling into the\nhands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should\nnot be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch\nas ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.\n\n1:7 Wherefore, the Lord did visit them in great judgment; nevertheless,\nhe did spare the righteous that they should not perish, but did deliver\nthem out of the hands of their enemies.\n\n1:8 And it came to pass that I did deliver the plates unto my brother\nChemish.\n\n1:9 Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book\nwith my brother; for behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he\nwrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he\ndelivered them unto me. And after this manner we keep the records, for\nit is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I make an end.\n\n1:10 Behold, I, Abinadom, am the son of Chemish. Behold, it came to\npass that I saw much war and contention between my people, the\nNephites, and the Lamanites; and I, with my own sword, have taken the\nlives of many of the Lamanites in the defence of my brethren.\n\n1:11 And behold, the record of this people is engraven upon plates\nwhich is had by the kings, according to the generations; and I know of\nno revelation save that which has been written, neither prophecy;\nwherefore, that which is sufficient is written. And I make an end.\n\n1:12 Behold, I am Amaleki, the son of Abinadom. Behold, I will speak\nunto you somewhat concerning Mosiah, who was made king over the land of\nZarahemla; for behold, he being warned of the Lord that he should flee\nout of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice\nof the Lord should also depart out of the land with him, into the\nwilderness\u2014\n\n1:13 And it came to pass that he did according as the Lord had\ncommanded him. And they departed out of the land into the wilderness,\nas many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord; and they were led\nby many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished\ncontinually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his\narm, through the wilderness, until they came down into the land which\nis called the land of Zarahemla.\n\n1:14 And they discovered a people, who were called the people of\nZarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of\nZarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord\nhad sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained\nthe record of the Jews.\n\n1:15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of\nZarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of\nJudah, was carried away captive into Babylon.\n\n1:16 And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand\nof the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah\ndiscovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.\n\n1:17 And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become\nexceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious\ncontentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their\nlanguage had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with\nthem; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the\npeople of Mosiah, could understand them.\n\n1:18 But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught\nin his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the\nlanguage of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers,\naccording to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates.\n\n1:19 And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah,\ndid unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to be their king.\n\n1:20 And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone\nbrought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the\nengravings by the gift and power of God.\n\n1:21 And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his\npeople. And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and\nhe dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.\n\n1:22 It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first\nparents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the\nlanguage of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them\naccording to his judgments, which are just; and their bones lay\nscattered in the land northward.\n\n1:23 Behold, I, Amaleki, was born in the days of Mosiah; and I have\nlived to see his death; and Benjamin, his son, reigneth in his stead.\n\n1:24 And behold, I have seen, in the days of king Benjamin, a serious\nwar and much bloodshed between the Nephites and the Lamanites. But\nbehold, the Nephites did obtain much advantage over them; yea, insomuch\nthat king Benjamin did drive them out of the land of Zarahemla.\n\n1:25 And it came to pass that I began to be old; and, having no seed,\nand knowing king Benjamin to be a just man before the Lord, wherefore,\nI shall deliver up these plates unto him, exhorting all men to come\nunto God, the Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in\nrevelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the gift of\nspeaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and\nin all things which are good; for there is nothing which is good save\nit comes from the Lord; and that which is evil cometh from the devil.\n\n1:26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto\nChrist, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation,\nand the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your\nwhole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and\npraying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be\nsaved.\n\n1:27 And now I would speak somewhat concerning a certain number who\nwent up into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi; for there\nwas a large number who were desirous to possess the land of their\ninheritance.\n\n1:28 Wherefore, they went up into the wilderness. And their leader\nbeing a strong and mighty man, and a stiffnecked man, wherefore he\ncaused a contention among them; and they were all slain, save fifty, in\nthe wilderness, and they returned again to the land of Zarahemla.\n\n1:29 And it came to pass that they also took others to a considerable\nnumber, and took their journey again into the wilderness.\n\n1:30 And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have\nnot since known concerning them. And I am about to lie down in my\ngrave; and these plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking.\n\n\n\n\n THE WORDS OF MORMON\n\n\n1:1 And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I\nhave been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have\nwitnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.\n\n1:2 And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ that I\ndeliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me\nthat he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God\ngrant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning\nthem, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may\nprofit them.\n\n1:3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for\nafter I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the\nreign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among\nthe records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these\nplates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob\ndown to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of\nNephi.\n\n1:4 And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of\nthe prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that\nmany of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many\nthings as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been\nfulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass\u2014\n\n1:5 Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them,\nwhich remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and\nI cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.\n\n1:6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these\nprophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my\nrecord, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice\nunto my brethren.\n\n1:7 And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me,\naccording to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And\nnow, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which\nare to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.\n\n1:8 And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once\nagain come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that\nthey may once again be a delightsome people.\n\n1:9 And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take\nfrom the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and\nthe understanding which God has given me.\n\n1:10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up\nthese plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them\nwith the other plates, which contained records which had been handed\ndown by the kings, from generation to generation until the days of king\nBenjamin.\n\n1:11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to\ngeneration until they have fallen into my hands. And I, Mormon, pray to\nGod that they may be preserved from this time henceforth. And I know\nthat they will be preserved; for there are great things written upon\nthem, out of which my people and their brethren shall be judged at the\ngreat and last day, according to the word of God which is written.\n\n1:12 And now, concerning this king Benjamin\u2014he had somewhat of\ncontentions among his own people.\n\n1:13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came\ndown out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But\nbehold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand\nagainst them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with\nthe sword of Laban.\n\n1:14 And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their\nenemies, until they had slain many thousands of the Lamanites. And it\ncame to pass that they did contend against the Lamanites until they had\ndriven them out of all the lands of their inheritance.\n\n1:15 And it came to pass that after there had been false Christs, and\ntheir mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their\ncrimes;\n\n1:16 And after there had been false prophets, and false preachers and\nteachers among the people, and all these having been punished according\nto their crimes; and after there having been much contention and many\ndissensions away unto the Lamanites, behold, it came to pass that king\nBenjamin, with the assistance of the holy prophets who were among his\npeople\u2014\n\n1:17 For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over\nhis people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land,\nand they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and\nthey did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the\npeople\u2014\n\n1:18 Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with\nall the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also\nthe prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF MOSIAH\n\nMosiah Chapter 1\n\n1:1 And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla,\namong all the people who belonged to king Benjamin, so that king\nBenjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.\n\n1:2 And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their\nnames Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should\nbe taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might\nbecome men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the\nprophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which\nwere delivered them by the hand of the Lord.\n\n1:3 And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven\non the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should\nremember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records\nand these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at\nthis present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.\n\n1:4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have\nremembered all these things, to have taught them to his children,\nexcept it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught\nin the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these\nengravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could\nteach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of\nGod, even down to this present time.\n\n1:5 I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have\nbeen kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and\nunderstand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before\nour eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we\nshould have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know\nnothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they\nare taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are\nnot correct.\n\n1:6 O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are\ntrue, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates\nof Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from\nthe time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can\nknow of their surety because we have them before our eyes.\n\n1:7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them\ndiligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep\nthe commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to\nthe promises which the Lord made unto our fathers.\n\n1:8 And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, which are\nnot written in this book.\n\n1:9 And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of\nteaching his sons, that he waxed old, and he saw that he must very soon\ngo the way of all the earth; therefore, he thought it expedient that he\nshould confer the kingdom upon one of his sons.\n\n1:10 Therefore, he had Mosiah brought before him; and these are the\nwords which he spake unto him, saying: My son, I would that ye should\nmake a proclamation throughout all this land among all this people, or\nthe people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the\nland, that thereby they may be gathered together; for on the morrow I\nshall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth that thou art\na king and a ruler over this people, whom the Lord our God hath given\nus.\n\n1:11 And moreover, I shall give this people a name, that thereby they\nmay be distinguished above all the people which the Lord God hath\nbrought out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I do because they have\nbeen a diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord.\n\n1:12 And I give unto them a name that never shall be blotted out,\nexcept it be through transgression.\n\n1:13 Yea, and moreover I say unto you, that if this highly favored\npeople of the Lord should fall into transgression, and become a wicked\nand an adulterous people, that the Lord will deliver them up, that\nthereby they become weak like unto their brethren; and he will no more\npreserve them by his matchless and marvelous power, as he has hitherto\npreserved our fathers.\n\n1:14 For I say unto you, that if he had not extended his arm in the\npreservation of our fathers they must have fallen into the hands of the\nLamanites, and become victims to their hatred.\n\n1:15 And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of\nthese sayings to his son, that he gave him charge concerning all the\naffairs of the kingdom.\n\n1:16 And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which\nwere engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and\nalso, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our\nfathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the\nLord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed\nand diligence which they gave unto him.\n\n1:17 Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor\nprogress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the\ndispleasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with\nfamine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their\nduty.\n\n1:18 And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his father\nhad commanded him, and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the\nland of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together,\nto go up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak\nunto them.\n\nMosiah Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had\ncommanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the land,\nthat the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land,\nthat they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king\nBenjamin should speak unto them.\n\n2:2 And there were a great number, even so many that they did not\nnumber them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the\nland.\n\n2:3 And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they\nmight offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of\nMoses;\n\n2:4 And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had\nbrought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them\nout of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be\ntheir teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had\nestablished peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to\nkeep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled\nwith love towards God and all men.\n\n2:5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they\npitched their tents round about, every man according to his family,\nconsisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their\nsons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every\nfamily being separate one from another.\n\n2:6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man\nhaving his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby\nthey might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin\nshould speak unto them;\n\n2:7 For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach\nthem all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to\nbe erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he\nshould speak unto them.\n\n2:8 And it came to pass that he began to speak to his people from the\ntower; and they could not all hear his words because of the greatness\nof the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake\nshould be written and sent forth among those that were not under the\nsound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.\n\n2:9 And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written,\nsaying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together,\nyou that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I\nhave not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which\nI shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears\nthat ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your\nminds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.\n\n2:10 I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me,\nor that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.\n\n2:11 But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities\nin body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and\nconsecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that\nI should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and\npreserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind\nand strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.\n\n2:12 I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in\nyour service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver\nnor any manner of riches of you;\n\n2:13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons,\nnor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should\nmurder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I\nsuffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have\ntaught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all\nthings which he hath commanded you\u2014\n\n2:14 And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might\nserve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there\nshould nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne\u2014and of all\nthese things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.\n\n2:15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast,\nneither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I\ntell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear\nconscience before God this day.\n\n2:16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had\nspent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have\nonly been in the service of God.\n\n2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that\nye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye\nare only in the service of your God.\n\n2:18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your\nking, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one\nanother?\n\n2:19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his\ndays in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit\nany thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!\n\n2:20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the\nthanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that\nGod who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused\nthat ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace\none with another\u2014\n\n2:21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you\nfrom the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending\nyou breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own\nwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another\u2014I say, if ye\nshould serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable\nservants.\n\n2:22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his\ncommandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his\ncommandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from\nthat which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he\ndoth bless you and prosper you.\n\n2:23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto\nyou your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.\n\n2:24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath\ncommanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and\ntherefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and\nare, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to\nboast?\n\n2:25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay.\nYe cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye\nwere created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him\nwho created you.\n\n2:26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye\nyourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye behold that I am old,\nand am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.\n\n2:27 Therefore, as I said unto you that I had served you, walking with\na clear conscience before God, even so I at this time have caused that\nye should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found\nblameless, and that your blood should not come upon me, when I shall\nstand to be judged of God of the things whereof he hath commanded me\nconcerning you.\n\n2:28 I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble\nyourselves together that I might rid my garments of your blood, at this\nperiod of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go\ndown in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above in\nsinging the praises of a just God.\n\n2:29 And moreover, I say unto you that I have caused that ye should\nassemble yourselves together, that I might declare unto you that I can\nno longer be your teacher, nor your king;\n\n2:30 For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly\nwhile attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me,\nand hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded\nme that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a\nking and a ruler over you.\n\n2:31 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have\nhitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the\ncommandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from\nfalling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the\ncommandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be\ndelivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your\nenemies shall have no power over you.\n\n2:32 But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among\nyou, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my\nfather Mosiah.\n\n2:33 For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey\nthat spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in\nhis sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth\nfor his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of\nGod contrary to his own knowledge.\n\n2:34 I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be\nyour little children that have not been taught concerning these things,\nbut what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly\nFather, to render to him all that you have and are; and also have been\ntaught concerning the records which contain the prophecies which have\nbeen spoken by the holy prophets, even down to the time our father,\nLehi, left Jerusalem;\n\n2:35 And also, all that has been spoken by our fathers until now. And\nbehold, also, they spake that which was commanded them of the Lord;\ntherefore, they are just and true.\n\n2:36 And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and\nhave been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go\ncontrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves\nfrom the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide\nyou in wisdom\u2019s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved\u2014\n\n2:37 I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out\nin open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil\nspirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord\nhas no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.\n\n2:38 Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an\nenemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul\nto a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from\nthe presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and\npain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame\nascendeth up forever and ever.\n\n2:39 And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man;\ntherefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment.\n\n2:40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children\nwho can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye\nmight understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the\nawful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.\n\n2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the\nblessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For\nbehold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual;\nand if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven,\nthat thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending\nhappiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the\nLord God hath spoken it.\n\nMosiah Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And again my brethren, I would call your attention, for I have\nsomewhat more to speak unto you; for behold, I have things to tell you\nconcerning that which is to come.\n\n3:2 And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an\nangel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he\nstood before me.\n\n3:3 And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell\nthee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of\ngreat joy.\n\n3:4 For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy\nrighteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest\nrejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may\nalso be filled with joy.\n\n3:5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with\npower, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all\neternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the\nchildren of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go\nforth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick,\nraising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their\nsight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.\n\n3:6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in\nthe hearts of the children of men.\n\n3:7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger,\nthirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto\ndeath; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his\nanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.\n\n3:8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of\nheaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his\nmother shall be called Mary.\n\n3:9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the\nchildren of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this\nthey shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall\nscourge him, and shall crucify him.\n\n3:10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he\nstandeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that\na righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.\n\n3:11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who\nhave fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the\nwill of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.\n\n3:12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For\nsalvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith\non the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n3:13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the\nchildren of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and\ntongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come,\nthe same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with\nexceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.\n\n3:14 Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people,\nand he appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses.\n\n3:15 And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto\nthem, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them\nconcerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and\nunderstood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were\nthrough the atonement of his blood.\n\n3:16 And even if it were possible that little children could sin they\ncould not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as\nin Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth\nfor their sins.\n\n3:17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name\ngiven nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the\nchildren of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord\nOmnipotent.\n\n3:18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant\nperisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to\ntheir own souls except they humble themselves and become as little\nchildren, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in\nand through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.\n\n3:19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall\nof Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the\nenticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and\nbecometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh\nas a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to\nsubmit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even\nas a child doth submit to his father.\n\n3:20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the\nknowledge of the Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred,\ntongue, and people.\n\n3:21 And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless\nbefore God, except it be little children, only through repentance and\nfaith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent.\n\n3:22 And even at this time, when thou shalt have taught thy people the\nthings which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, even then are they\nfound no more blameless in the sight of God, only according to the\nwords which I have spoken unto thee.\n\n3:23 And now I have spoken the words which the Lord God hath commanded\nme.\n\n3:24 And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony\nagainst this people, at the judgment day; whereof they shall be judged,\nevery man according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they\nbe evil.\n\n3:25 And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their\nown guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the\npresence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from\nwhence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to\ntheir own souls.\n\n3:26 Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God,\nwhich justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam\nshould fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore,\nmercy could have claim on them no more forever.\n\n3:27 And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames\nare unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever. Thus\nhath the Lord commanded me. Amen.\n\nMosiah Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of\nspeaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of\nthe Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and\nbehold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come\nupon them.\n\n4:2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less\nthan the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice,\nsaying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may\nreceive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we\nbelieve in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth,\nand all things; who shall come down among the children of men.\n\n4:3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the\nSpirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy,\nhaving received a remission of their sins, and having peace of\nconscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus\nChrist who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had\nspoken unto them.\n\n4:4 And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto\nthem, saying: My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I\nwould again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the\nremainder of my words which I shall speak unto you.\n\n4:5 For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time\nhas awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and\nfallen state\u2014\n\n4:6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of\nGod, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his\nlong-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement\nwhich has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby\nsalvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and\nshould be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the\nfaith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal\nbody\u2014\n\n4:7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the\natonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all\nmankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who\never shall be, even unto the end of the world.\n\n4:8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none\nother salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there\nany conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I\nhave told you.\n\n4:9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things,\nboth in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all\npower, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not\ncomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.\n\n4:10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake\nthem, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart\nthat he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see\nthat ye do them.\n\n4:11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have\ncome to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his\ngoodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of\nyour sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even\nso I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance,\nthe greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and\nlong-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves\neven in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily,\nand standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which\nwas spoken by the mouth of the angel.\n\n4:12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always\nrejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a\nremission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory\nof him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and\ntrue.\n\n4:13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live\npeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his\ndue.\n\n4:14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or\nnaked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and\nfight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the\nmaster of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by\nour fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.\n\n4:15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness;\nye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.\n\n4:16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of\nyour succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that\nstandeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his\npetition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.\n\n4:17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his\nmisery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my\nfood, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for\nhis punishments are just\u2014\n\n4:18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath\ngreat cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath\ndone he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.\n\n4:19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the\nsame Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both\nfood and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches\nwhich we have of every kind?\n\n4:20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name,\nand begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye\nhave begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and\nhas caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused\nthat your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so\nexceedingly great was your joy.\n\n4:21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent\nfor your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you\nwhatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall\nreceive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have\none to another.\n\n4:22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for\nyour substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just\nwill be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth\nnot belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet\nye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.\n\n4:23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall\nperish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as\npertaining to the things of this world.\n\n4:24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have\nsufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the\nbeggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I\ngive not because I have not, but if I had I would give.\n\n4:25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless,\notherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet\nthat which ye have not received.\n\n4:26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto\nyou\u2014that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from\nday to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God\u2014I would that ye\nshould impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to\nthat which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,\nvisiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually\nand temporally, according to their wants.\n\n4:27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it\nis not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And\nagain, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he\nmight win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.\n\n4:28 And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you\nborroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth,\naccording as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps\nthou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also.\n\n4:29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may\ncommit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I\ncannot number them.\n\n4:30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves,\nand your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the\ncommandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard\nconcerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye\nmust perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.\n\nMosiah Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to\nhis people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they\nbelieved the words which he had spoken unto them.\n\n5:2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the\nwords which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety\nand truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has\nwrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more\ndisposition to do evil, but to do good continually.\n\n5:3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and\nthe manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to\ncome; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.\n\n5:4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king\nhas spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby\nwe do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.\n\n5:5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his\nwill, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he\nshall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring\nupon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel,\nthat we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.\n\n5:6 And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them;\nand therefore he said unto them: Ye have spoken the words that I\ndesired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant.\n\n5:7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be\ncalled the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold,\nthis day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts\nare changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him\nand have become his sons and his daughters.\n\n5:8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head\nwhereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby\nsalvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the\nname of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God\nthat ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.\n\n5:9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found\nat the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is\ncalled; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.\n\n5:10 And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon\nhim the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he\nfindeth himself on the left hand of God.\n\n5:11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name\nthat I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out,\nexcept it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not\ntransgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.\n\n5:12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name\nwritten always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand\nof God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be\ncalled, and also, the name by which he shall call you.\n\n5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who\nis a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his\nheart?\n\n5:14 And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor,\nand keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he\nshall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out.\nI say unto you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the\nname by which ye are called.\n\n5:15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable,\nalways abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent,\nmay seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have\neverlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power,\nand justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in\nearth, who is God above all. Amen.\n\nMosiah Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now, king Benjamin thought it was expedient, after having\nfinished speaking to the people, that he should take the names of all\nthose who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his\ncommandments.\n\n6:2 And it came to pass that there was not one soul, except it were\nlittle children, but who had entered into the covenant and had taken\nupon them the name of Christ.\n\n6:3 And again, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end\nof all these things, and had consecrated his son Mosiah to be a ruler\nand a king over his people, and had given him all the charges\nconcerning the kingdom, and also had appointed priests to teach the\npeople, that thereby they might hear and know the commandments of God,\nand to stir them up in remembrance of the oath which they had made, he\ndismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to\ntheir families, to their own houses.\n\n6:4 And Mosiah began to reign in his father\u2019s stead. And he began to\nreign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole, about four\nhundred and seventy-six years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.\n\n6:5 And king Benjamin lived three years and he died.\n\n6:6 And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the\nLord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his\ncommandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him.\n\n6:7 And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the\nearth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might\nnot become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that\nwhich his father had done in all things. And there was no contention\namong all his people for the space of three years.\n\nMosiah Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And now, it came to pass that after king Mosiah had had continual\npeace for the space of three years, he was desirous to know concerning\nthe people who went up to dwell in the land of Lehi-Nephi, or in the\ncity of Lehi-Nephi; for his people had heard nothing from them from the\ntime they left the land of Zarahemla; therefore, they wearied him with\ntheir teasings.\n\n7:2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted that sixteen of their\nstrong men might go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi to inquire concerning\ntheir brethren.\n\n7:3 And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up,\nhaving with them one Ammon, he being a strong and mighty man, and a\ndescendant of Zarahemla; and he was also their leader.\n\n7:4 And now, they knew not the course they should travel in the\nwilderness to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi; therefore they wandered\nmany days in the wilderness, even forty days did they wander.\n\n7:5 And when they had wandered forty days they came to a hill, which is\nnorth of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents.\n\n7:6 And Ammon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki,\nHelem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of Nephi.\n\n7:7 And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of\nNephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the\nking\u2019s guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to\nprison.\n\n7:8 And it came to pass when they had been in prison two days they were\nagain brought before the king, and their bands were loosed; and they\nstood before the king, and were permitted, or rather commanded, that\nthey should answer the questions which he should ask them.\n\n7:9 And he said unto them: Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was\nthe son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit\nthis land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by\nthe voice of the people.\n\n7:10 And now, I desire to know the cause whereby ye were so bold as to\ncome near the walls of the city, when I, myself, was with my guards\nwithout the gate?\n\n7:11 And now, for this cause have I suffered that ye should be\npreserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I should have caused\nthat my guards should have put you to death. Ye are permitted to speak.\n\n7:12 And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went\nforth and bowed himself before the king; and rising again he said: O\nking, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and\nam permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with boldness;\n\n7:13 For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have\nsuffered that I should have worn these bands. For I am Ammon, and am a\ndescendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla\nto inquire concerning our brethren, whom Zeniff brought up out of that\nland.\n\n7:14 And now, it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of\nAmmon, he was exceedingly glad, and said: Now, I know of a surety that\nmy brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are yet alive. And now, I\nwill rejoice; and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall\nrejoice also.\n\n7:15 For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are taxed with\na tax which is grievous to be borne. And now, behold, our brethren will\ndeliver us out of our bondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites,\nand we will be their slaves; for it is better that we be slaves to the\nNephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.\n\n7:16 And now, king Limhi commanded his guards that they should no more\nbind Ammon nor his brethren, but caused that they should go to the hill\nwhich was north of Shilom, and bring their brethren into the city, that\nthereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors\nof their journey; for they had suffered many things; they had suffered\nhunger, thirst, and fatigue.\n\n7:17 And now, it came to pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a\nproclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather\nthemselves together to the temple to hear the words which he should\nspeak unto them.\n\n7:18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves\ntogether that he spake unto them in this wise, saying: O ye, my people,\nlift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand,\nor is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our\nenemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings, which have been in vain;\nyet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.\n\n7:19 Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in\nGod, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and\nalso, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of\nEgypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry\nground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the\nwilderness; and many more things did he do for them.\n\n7:20 And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land\nof Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and\nbehold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has\nbrought us into bondage.\n\n7:21 And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king\nover this people, he being over-zealous to inherit the land of his\nfathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king\nLaman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having\nyielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or\neven the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round\nabout\u2014\n\n7:22 And all this he did, for the sole purpose of bringing this people\ninto subjection or into bondage. And behold, we at this time do pay\ntribute to the king of the Lamanites, to the amount of one half of our\ncorn, and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one\nhalf of the increase of our flocks and our herds; and even one half of\nall we have or possess the king of the Lamanites doth exact of us, or\nour lives.\n\n7:23 And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our\naffliction, great? Now behold, how great reason we have to mourn.\n\n7:24 Yea, I say unto you, great are the reasons which we have to mourn;\nfor behold how many of our brethren have been slain, and their blood\nhas been spilt in vain, and all because of iniquity.\n\n7:25 For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord\nwould not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them. But\nbehold, they would not hearken unto his words; but there arose\ncontentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among\nthemselves.\n\n7:26 And a prophet of the Lord have they slain; yea, a chosen man of\nGod, who told them of their wickedness and abominations, and prophesied\nof many things which are to come, yea, even the coming of Christ.\n\n7:27 And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father\nof all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man,\nand it should be the image after which man was created in the\nbeginning; or in other words, he said that man was created after the\nimage of God, and that God should come down among the children of men,\nand take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the\nearth\u2014\n\n7:28 And now, because he said this, they did put him to death; and many\nmore things did they do which brought down the wrath of God upon them.\nTherefore, who wondereth that they are in bondage, and that they are\nsmitten with sore afflictions?\n\n7:29 For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the\nday of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they\nprosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before\nthem.\n\n7:30 And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall\nreap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is\npoison.\n\n7:31 And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall\nreap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.\n\n7:32 And now, behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are\nsmitten and afflicted.\n\n7:33 But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and\nput your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye\ndo this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you\nout of bondage.\n\nMosiah Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And it came to pass that after king Limhi had made an end of\nspeaking to his people, for he spake many things unto them and only a\nfew of them have I written in this book, he told his people all the\nthings concerning their brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla.\n\n8:2 And he caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and\nrehearse unto them all that had happened unto their brethren from the\ntime that Zeniff went up out of the land even until the time that he\nhimself came up out of the land.\n\n8:3 And he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin\nhad taught them, and explained them to the people of king Limhi, so\nthat they might understand all the words which he spake.\n\n8:4 And it came to pass that after he had done all this, that king\nLimhi dismissed the multitude, and caused that they should return every\none unto his own house.\n\n8:5 And it came to pass that he caused that the plates which contained\nthe record of his people from the time that they left the land of\nZarahemla, should be brought before Ammon, that he might read them.\n\n8:6 Now, as soon as Ammon had read the record, the king inquired of him\nto know if he could interpret languages, and Ammon told him that he\ncould not.\n\n8:7 And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my\npeople, I caused that forty and three of my people should take a\njourney into the wilderness, that thereby they might find the land of\nZarahemla, that we might appeal unto our brethren to deliver us out of\nbondage.\n\n8:8 And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days,\nyet they were diligent, and found not the land of Zarahemla but\nreturned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters,\nhaving discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of\nbeasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind,\nhaving discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were\nas numerous as the hosts of Israel.\n\n8:9 And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true\nthey have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings,\nand they are of pure gold.\n\n8:10 And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large,\nand they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.\n\n8:11 And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have\nperished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust; and there is\nno one in the land that is able to interpret the language or the\nengravings that are on the plates. Therefore I said unto thee: Canst\nthou translate?\n\n8:12 And I say unto thee again: Knowest thou of any one that can\ntranslate? For I am desirous that these records should be translated\ninto our language; for, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of a\nremnant of the people who have been destroyed, from whence these\nrecords came; or, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of this very\npeople who have been destroyed; and I am desirous to know the cause of\ntheir destruction.\n\n8:13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a\nman that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can\nlook, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a\ngift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can\nlook in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he\nought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in\nthem, the same is called seer.\n\n8:14 And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of\nZarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has\nthis high gift from God.\n\n8:15 And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.\n\n8:16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and\na gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the\npower of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given\nhim from God.\n\n8:17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things\nwhich are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or,\nrather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall\ncome to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by\nthem, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could\nnot be known.\n\n8:18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work\nmighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow\nbeings.\n\n8:19 And now, when Ammon had made an end of speaking these words the\nking rejoiced exceedingly, and gave thanks to God, saying: Doubtless a\ngreat mystery is contained within these plates, and these interpreters\nwere doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries\nto the children of men.\n\n8:20 O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he\nsuffer with his people; yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the\nunderstandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom,\nneither do they desire that she should rule over them!\n\n8:21 Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and\nscattereth, and are driven, and are devoured by the beasts of the\nforest.\n\nMosiah Chapter 9\n\n9:1 I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites,\nand having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our\nfathers\u2019 first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the\nLamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come\nupon them and destroy them\u2014but when I saw that which was good among\nthem I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.\n\n9:2 Therefore, I contended with my brethren in the wilderness for I\nwould that our ruler should make a treaty with them; but he being an\naustere and a bloodthirsty man commanded that I should be slain; but I\nwas rescued by the shedding of much blood; for father fought against\nfather, and brother against brother, until the greater number of our\narmy was destroyed in the wilderness; and we returned, those of us that\nwere spared, to the land of Zarahemla, to relate that tale to their\nwives and their children.\n\n9:3 And yet, I being over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers,\ncollected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land, and\nstarted again on our journey into the wilderness to go up to the land;\nbut we were smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow\nto remember the Lord our God.\n\n9:4 Nevertheless, after many days\u2019 wandering in the wilderness we\npitched our tents in the place where our brethren were slain, which was\nnear to the land of our fathers.\n\n9:5 And it came to pass that I went again with four of my men into the\ncity, in unto the king, that I might know of the disposition of the\nking, and that I might know if I might go in with my people and possess\nthe land in peace.\n\n9:6 And I went in unto the king, and he covenanted with me that I might\npossess the land of Lehi-Nephi, and the land of Shilom.\n\n9:7 And he also commanded that his people should depart out of the\nland, and I and my people went into the land that we might possess it.\n\n9:8 And we began to build buildings, and to repair the walls of the\ncity, yea, even the walls of the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of\nShilom.\n\n9:9 And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of\nseeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas,\nand with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did\nbegin to multiply and prosper in the land.\n\n9:10 Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman, to bring\nmy people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might\npossess it.\n\n9:11 Therefore it came to pass, that after we had dwelt in the land for\nthe space of twelve years that king Laman began to grow uneasy, lest by\nany means my people should wax strong in the land, and that they could\nnot overpower them and bring them into bondage.\n\n9:12 Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were\ndesirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with\nthe labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the\nflocks of our fields.\n\n9:13 Therefore it came to pass that king Laman began to stir up his\npeople that they should contend with my people; therefore there began\nto be wars and contentions in the land.\n\n9:14 For, in the thirteenth year of my reign in the land of Nephi, away\non the south of the land of Shilom, when my people were watering and\nfeeding their flocks, and tilling their lands, a numerous host of\nLamanites came upon them and began to slay them, and to take off their\nflocks, and the corn of their fields.\n\n9:15 Yea, and it came to pass that they fled, all that were not\novertaken, even into the city of Nephi, and did call upon me for\nprotection.\n\n9:16 And it came to pass that I did arm them with bows, and with\narrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with\nslings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and\nmy people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle.\n\n9:17 Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against\nthe Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he\nwould deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened\nto a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers.\n\n9:18 And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did\ngo forth in his might; yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites, and\nin one day and a night we did slay three thousand and forty-three; we\ndid slay them even until we had driven them out of our land.\n\n9:19 And I, myself, with mine own hands, did help to bury their dead.\nAnd behold, to our great sorrow and lamentation, two hundred and\nseventy-nine of our brethren were slain.\n\nMosiah Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom\nand we again began to possess the land in peace. And I caused that\nthere should be weapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might\nhave weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come\nup again to war against my people.\n\n10:2 And I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might\nnot come upon us again unawares and destroy us; and thus I did guard my\npeople and my flocks, and keep them from falling into the hands of our\nenemies.\n\n10:3 And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers\nfor many years, yea, for the space of twenty and two years.\n\n10:4 And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all\nmanner of grain and all manner of fruit of every kind.\n\n10:5 And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work,\nand work all manner of fine linen, yea, and cloth of every kind, that\nwe might clothe our nakedness; and thus we did prosper in the land\u2014thus\nwe did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two\nyears.\n\n10:6 And it came to pass that king Laman died, and his son began to\nreign in his stead. And he began to stir his people up in rebellion\nagainst my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come\nup to battle against my people.\n\n10:7 But I had sent my spies out round about the land of Shemlon, that\nI might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them,\nthat they might not come upon my people and destroy them.\n\n10:8 And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land\nof Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men armed with bows, and with\narrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with\nslings; and they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they\nwere girded with a leathern girdle about their loins.\n\n10:9 And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of\nmy people should be hid in the wilderness; and I also caused that all\nmy old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were\nable to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle\nagainst the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man\naccording to his age.\n\n10:10 And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the\nLamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up to battle against\nthe Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of\nthe Lord to battle.\n\n10:11 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the\nstrength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength.\nYet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men.\n\n10:12 They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people,\nbelieving in the tradition of their fathers, which is this\u2014Believing\nthat they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the\niniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the\nwilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing\nthe sea;\n\n10:13 And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their\nfirst inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because\nthat Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the\nLord\u2014therefore he was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his\nprayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the\nwilderness.\n\n10:14 And his brethren were wroth with him because they understood not\nthe dealings of the Lord; they were also wroth with him upon the waters\nbecause they hardened their hearts against the Lord.\n\n10:15 And again, they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the\npromised land, because they said that he had taken the ruling of the\npeople out of their hands; and they sought to kill him.\n\n10:16 And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the\nwilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records which\nwere engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed\nthem.\n\n10:17 And thus they have taught their children that they should hate\nthem, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and\nplunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they\nhave an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.\n\n10:18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, and lying\ncraftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought\nthis my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and\nwe have suffered these many years in the land.\n\n10:19 And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my\npeople concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle\nwith their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did\ncontend with them, face to face.\n\n10:20 And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land;\nand we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not\nnumber them.\n\n10:21 And it came to pass that we returned again to our own land, and\nmy people again began to tend their flocks, and to till their ground.\n\n10:22 And now I, being old, did confer the kingdom upon one of my sons;\ntherefore, I say no more. And may the Lord bless my people. Amen.\n\nMosiah Chapter 11\n\n11:1 And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon\nNoah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and\nhe did not walk in the ways of his father.\n\n11:2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did\nwalk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and\nconcubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that\nwhich was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit\nwhoredoms and all manner of wickedness.\n\n11:3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth\npart of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff,\nand of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth\npart of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.\n\n11:4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his\nconcubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines;\nthus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.\n\n11:5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his\nfather, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up\nin the pride of their hearts.\n\n11:6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their\nidolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put\nupon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support\niniquity.\n\n11:7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived\nby the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did\nspeak flattering things unto them.\n\n11:8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious\nbuildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all\nmanner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of\nbrass, and of ziff, and of copper;\n\n11:9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst\nthereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and\nsilver and with precious things.\n\n11:10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of\nfine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper,\nand of brass.\n\n11:11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which\nwere above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he\ncaused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their\nbodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words\nto his people.\n\n11:12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a\nvery high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof\nand overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which\nwas possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the\nland round about.\n\n11:13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in\nthe land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill\nnorth of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of\nNephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with\nthe riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.\n\n11:14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and\nhe spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines;\nand so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.\n\n11:15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the\nland; and he built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance; and\ntherefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people.\n\n11:16 And it came to pass that the Lamanites began to come in upon his\npeople, upon small numbers, and to slay them in their fields, and while\nthey were tending their flocks.\n\n11:17 And king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off;\nbut he did not send a sufficient number, and the Lamanites came upon\nthem and killed them, and drove many of their flocks out of the land;\nthus the Lamanites began to destroy them, and to exercise their hatred\nupon them.\n\n11:18 And it came to pass that king Noah sent his armies against them,\nand they were driven back, or they drove them back for a time;\ntherefore, they returned rejoicing in their spoil.\n\n11:19 And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the\npride of their hearts; they did boast in their own strength, saying\nthat their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and\nthus they did boast, and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the\nblood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their\nking and priests.\n\n11:20 And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name\nwas Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy,\nsaying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me,\nsaying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord\u2014Wo be\nunto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their\nwickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit\nthem in mine anger.\n\n11:21 And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I\nwill deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall\nbe brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of\ntheir enemies.\n\n11:22 And it shall come to pass that they shall know that I am the Lord\ntheir God, and am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of my people.\n\n11:23 And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn\nunto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none\nshall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God.\n\n11:24 Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall cry unto me I\nwill be slow to hear their cries; yea, and I will suffer them that they\nbe smitten by their enemies.\n\n11:25 And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily\nto the Lord their God, I will not hear their prayers, neither will I\ndeliver them out of their afflictions; and thus saith the Lord, and\nthus hath he commanded me.\n\n11:26 Now it came to pass that when Abinadi had spoken these words unto\nthem they were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life; but\nthe Lord delivered him out of their hands.\n\n11:27 Now when king Noah had heard of the words which Abinadi had\nspoken unto the people, he was also wroth; and he said: Who is Abinadi,\nthat I and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord, that\nshall bring upon my people such great affliction?\n\n11:28 I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him, for\nhe has said these things that he might stir up my people to anger one\nwith another, and to raise contentions among my people; therefore I\nwill slay him.\n\n11:29 Now the eyes of the people were blinded; therefore they hardened\ntheir hearts against the words of Abinadi, and they sought from that\ntime forward to take him. And king Noah hardened his heart against the\nword of the Lord, and he did not repent of his evil doings.\n\nMosiah Chapter 12\n\n12:1 And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi\ncame among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to\nprophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me,\nsaying\u2014Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have\nhardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their\nevil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my\nfierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations.\n\n12:2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me:\nStretch forth thy hand and prophesy saying: Thus saith the Lord, it\nshall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities,\nshall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea,\nand shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the\nair, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.\n\n12:3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be\nvalued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he shall know that I am\nthe Lord.\n\n12:4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with\nsore afflictions, yea, with famine and with pestilence; and I will\ncause that they shall howl all the day long.\n\n12:5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon\ntheir backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.\n\n12:6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them,\nand it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the east\nwind; and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.\n\n12:7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence\u2014and all this\nwill I do because of their iniquities and abominations.\n\n12:8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly\ndestroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a\nrecord behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which\nshall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover\nthe abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did\nAbinadi prophesy against this people.\n\n12:9 And it came to pass that they were angry with him; and they took\nhim and carried him bound before the king, and said unto the king:\nBehold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil\nconcerning thy people, and saith that God will destroy them.\n\n12:10 And he also prophesieth evil concerning thy life, and saith that\nthy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of fire.\n\n12:11 And again, he saith that thou shalt be as a stalk, even as a dry\nstalk of the field, which is run over by the beasts and trodden under\nfoot.\n\n12:12 And again, he saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle,\nwhich, when it is fully ripe, if the wind bloweth, it is driven forth\nupon the face of the land. And he pretendeth the Lord hath spoken it.\nAnd he saith all this shall come upon thee except thou repent, and this\nbecause of thine iniquities.\n\n12:13 And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great\nsins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or\njudged of this man?\n\n12:14 And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast\nnot sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has\nprophesied in vain.\n\n12:15 And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be\ntaken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land,\nand thou shalt also prosper.\n\n12:16 Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou\nmayest do with him as seemeth thee good.\n\n12:17 And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be\ncast into prison; and he commanded that the priests should gather\nthemselves together that he might hold a council with them what he\nshould do with him.\n\n12:18 And it came to pass that they said unto the king: Bring him\nhither that we may question him; and the king commanded that he should\nbe brought before them.\n\n12:19 And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that\nthereby they might have wherewith to accuse him; but he answered them\nboldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment;\nfor he did withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them\nin all their words.\n\n12:20 And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: What meaneth\nthe words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers,\nsaying:\n\n12:21 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that\nbringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good\ntidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy\nGod reigneth;\n\n12:22 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together\nshall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall\nbring again Zion;\n\n12:23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem;\nfor the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;\n\n12:24 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the\nnations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our\nGod?\n\n12:25 And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you priests, and pretend to\nteach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet\ndesire to know of me what these things mean?\n\n12:26 I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the\nLord! For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them;\ntherefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord.\n\n12:27 Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye\nhave not been wise. Therefore, what teach ye this people?\n\n12:28 And they said: We teach the law of Moses.\n\n12:29 And again he said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses why do\nye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit\nwhoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this\npeople to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy\nagainst this people, yea, even a great evil against this people?\n\n12:30 Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye know that I speak the\ntruth; and you ought to tremble before God.\n\n12:31 And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your\niniquities, for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what\nknow ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of\nMoses? What say ye?\n\n12:32 And they answered and said that salvation did come by the law of\nMoses.\n\n12:33 But now Abinadi said unto them: I know if ye keep the\ncommandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments\nwhich the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying:\n\n12:34 I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of\nEgypt, out of the house of bondage.\n\n12:35 Thou shalt have no other God before me.\n\n12:36 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness\nof any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath.\n\n12:37 Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? I say unto\nyou, Nay, ye have not. And have ye taught this people that they should\ndo all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not.\n\nMosiah Chapter 13\n\n13:1 And now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his\npriests: Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do\nwith him, for he is mad.\n\n13:2 And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but\nhe withstood them, and said unto them:\n\n13:3 Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon\nme, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to\ndeliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should\ntell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this\ntime.\n\n13:4 But I must fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me;\nand because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me. And again,\nbecause I have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad.\n\n13:5 Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the\npeople of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of\nthe Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even\nas Moses\u2019 did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the\nLord.\n\n13:6 And he spake with power and authority from God; and he continued\nhis words, saying:\n\n13:7 Ye see that ye have not power to slay me, therefore I finish my\nmessage. Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts because I\ntell you the truth concerning your iniquities.\n\n13:8 Yea, and my words fill you with wonder and amazement, and with\nanger.\n\n13:9 But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if\nit so be that I am saved.\n\n13:10 But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall\nbe as a type and a shadow of things which are to come.\n\n13:11 And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God,\nfor I perceive that they are not written in your hearts; I perceive\nthat ye have studied and taught iniquity the most part of your lives.\n\n13:12 And now, ye remember that I said unto you: Thou shall not make\nunto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in\nheaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the\nwater under the earth.\n\n13:13 And again: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve\nthem; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities\nof the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations\nof them that hate me;\n\n13:14 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my\ncommandments.\n\n13:15 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the\nLord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.\n\n13:16 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.\n\n13:17 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;\n\n13:18 But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt\nnot do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant,\nnor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within\nthy gates;\n\n13:19 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and\nall that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and\nhallowed it.\n\n13:20 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon\nthe land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.\n\n13:21 Thou shalt not kill.\n\n13:22 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal.\n\n13:23 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.\n\n13:24 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor\u2019s house, thou shalt not covet\nthy neighbor\u2019s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his\nox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor\u2019s.\n\n13:25 And it came to pass that after Abinadi had made an end of these\nsayings that he said unto them: Have ye taught this people that they\nshould observe to do all these things for to keep these commandments?\n\n13:26 I say unto you, Nay; for if ye had, the Lord would not have\ncaused me to come forth and to prophesy evil concerning this people.\n\n13:27 And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I\nsay unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses\nas yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no\nmore be expedient to keep the law of Moses.\n\n13:28 And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the\nlaw alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall\nmake for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must\nunavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.\n\n13:29 And now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be\na law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for\nthey were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to\nremember the Lord their God;\n\n13:30 Therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances\nand of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day\nto day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him.\n\n13:31 But behold, I say unto you, that all these things were types of\nthings to come.\n\n13:32 And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they\ndid not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of\ntheir hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be\nsaved except it were through the redemption of God.\n\n13:33 For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the\ncoming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and\neven all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world\nbegan\u2014have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?\n\n13:34 Have they not said that God himself should come down among the\nchildren of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in\nmighty power upon the face of the earth?\n\n13:35 Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the\nresurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and\nafflicted?\n\nMosiah Chapter 14\n\n14:1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and\nto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?\n\n14:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root\nout of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall\nsee him there is no beauty that we should desire him.\n\n14:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and\nacquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was\ndespised, and we esteemed him not.\n\n14:4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we\ndid esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.\n\n14:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our\niniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his\nstripes we are healed.\n\n14:6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to\nhis own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.\n\n14:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his\nmouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before\nher shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.\n\n14:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare\nhis generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for\nthe transgressions of my people was he stricken.\n\n14:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his\ndeath; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his\nmouth.\n\n14:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief;\nwhen thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his\nseed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall\nprosper in his hand.\n\n14:11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by\nhis knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall\nbear their iniquities.\n\n14:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he\nshall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his\nsoul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he\nbore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.\n\nMosiah Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand\nthat God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall\nredeem his people.\n\n15:2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of\nGod, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being\nthe Father and the Son\u2014\n\n15:3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the\nSon, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son\u2014\n\n15:4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and\nof earth.\n\n15:5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to\nthe Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to\nthe temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and\ncast out, and disowned by his people.\n\n15:6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the\nchildren of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep\nbefore the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.\n\n15:7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh\nbecoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed\nup in the will of the Father.\n\n15:8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the\nvictory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the\nchildren of men\u2014\n\n15:9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being\nfilled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt\nthem and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself\ntheir iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and\nsatisfied the demands of justice.\n\n15:10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold,\nI say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he\nshall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?\n\n15:11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the\nprophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the\ncoming of the Lord\u2014I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened\nunto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people,\nand have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I\nsay unto you, that these are his seed, or they are heirs of the kingdom\nof God.\n\n15:12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for\nwhom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now,\nare they not his seed?\n\n15:13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his\nmouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all\nthe holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they\nare his seed.\n\n15:14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought\ngood tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion:\nThy God reigneth!\n\n15:15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!\n\n15:16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those\nthat are still publishing peace!\n\n15:17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those\nwho shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and\nforever!\n\n15:18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful\nupon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that\nis the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his\npeople; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;\n\n15:19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his\npeople, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto\nyou, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.\n\n15:20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son\nreigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass\nthe resurrection of the dead.\n\n15:21 And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea,\neven a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall\nbe, even until the resurrection of Christ\u2014for so shall he be called.\n\n15:22 And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that\nhave believed in their words, or all those that have kept the\ncommandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection;\ntherefore, they are the first resurrection.\n\n15:23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus\nthey have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of\ndeath.\n\n15:24 And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and\nthese are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance,\nnot having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth\nabout the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first\nresurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.\n\n15:25 And little children also have eternal life.\n\n15:26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to\ntremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and\ndie in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins\never since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God,\nthat have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these\nare they that have no part in the first resurrection.\n\n15:27 Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none\nsuch; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord\nredeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice\nwhen it has its claim.\n\n15:28 And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the\nsalvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred,\ntongue, and people.\n\n15:29 Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice\ntogether shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord\nshall bring again Zion.\n\n15:30 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of\nJerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed\nJerusalem.\n\n15:31 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the\nnations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our\nGod.\n\nMosiah Chapter 16\n\n16:1 And now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words\nhe stretched forth his hand and said: The time shall come when all\nshall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred,\ntongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God\nthat his judgments are just.\n\n16:2 And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause\nto howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because\nthey would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord\nredeemeth them not.\n\n16:3 For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over\nthem; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents,\nwhich was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind\nbecoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting\nthemselves to the devil.\n\n16:4 Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been\nendlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost\nand fallen state.\n\n16:5 But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and\ngoes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his\nfallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore, he is as\nthough there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is\nthe devil an enemy to God.\n\n16:6 And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things\nto come as though they had already come, there could have been no\nredemption.\n\n16:7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the\nbands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death\nshould have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.\n\n16:8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory,\nand the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.\n\n16:9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is\nendless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is\nendless, that there can be no more death.\n\n16:10 Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption\nshall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar\nof God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be\ngood or whether they be evil\u2014\n\n16:11 If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and\nhappiness; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of endless\ndamnation, being delivered up to the devil, who hath subjected them,\nwhich is damnation\u2014\n\n16:12 Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires;\nhaving never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended\ntowards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and\nthey would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they\nwould not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet\nthey would not repent.\n\n16:13 And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and\nremember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved?\n\n16:14 Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a\nshadow of those things which are to come\u2014\n\n16:15 Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is\nthe very Eternal Father. Amen.\n\nMosiah Chapter 17\n\n17:1 And now it came to pass that when Abinadi had finished these\nsayings, that the king commanded that the priests should take him and\ncause that he should be put to death.\n\n17:2 But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a\ndescendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words\nwhich Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which\nAbinadi has testified against them; therefore he began to plead with\nthe king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he\nmight depart in peace.\n\n17:3 But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast\nout from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might\nslay him.\n\n17:4 But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him\nnot. And he being concealed for many days did write all the words which\nAbinadi had spoken.\n\n17:5 And it came to pass that the king caused that his guards should\nsurround Abinadi and take him; and they bound him and cast him into\nprison.\n\n17:6 And after three days, having counseled with his priests, he caused\nthat he should again be brought before him.\n\n17:7 And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against\nthee, and thou art worthy of death.\n\n17:8 For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the\nchildren of men; and now, for this cause thou shalt be put to death\nunless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil\nconcerning me and my people.\n\n17:9 Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the\nwords which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are\ntrue; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that\nI have fallen into your hands.\n\n17:10 Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my\nwords, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay\nme ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a\ntestimony against you at the last day.\n\n17:11 And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his\nword; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.\n\n17:12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to\naccuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was\nstirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might\nbe slain.\n\n17:13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and\nscourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.\n\n17:14 And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them,\nsaying:\n\n17:15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass\nthat thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do\nsuffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe\nin the salvation of the Lord their God.\n\n17:16 And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all\nmanner of diseases because of your iniquities.\n\n17:17 Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven\nand scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and\nferocious beasts.\n\n17:18 And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the\nhand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains\nof death by fire.\n\n17:19 Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people.\nO God, receive my soul.\n\n17:20 And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having\nsuffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would\nnot deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words\nby his death.\n\nMosiah Chapter 18\n\n18:1 And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants\nof king Noah, repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about\nprivately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi\u2014\n\n18:2 Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the\nresurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was\nto be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of\nChrist, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.\n\n18:3 And as many as would hear his word he did teach. And he taught\nthem privately, that it might not come to the knowledge of the king.\nAnd many did believe his words.\n\n18:4 And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth\nto a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the\nking, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times\nor at seasons, by wild beasts.\n\n18:5 Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma\nresorted thither, there being near the water a thicket of small trees,\nwhere he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king.\n\n18:6 And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to\nhear his words.\n\n18:7 And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number\ngathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma.\nYea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him.\nAnd he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and\nredemption, and faith on the Lord.\n\n18:8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the\nwaters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are\ndesirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and\nare willing to bear one another\u2019s burdens, that they may be light;\n\n18:9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and\ncomfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses\nof God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be\nin, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered\nwith those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life\u2014\n\n18:10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what\nhave you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness\nbefore him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will\nserve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit\nmore abundantly upon you?\n\n18:11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their\nhands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.\n\n18:12 And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the\nfirst, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O\nLord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work\nwith holiness of heart.\n\n18:13 And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon\nhim, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the\nAlmighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to\nserve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit\nof the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal\nlife, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the\nfoundation of the world.\n\n18:14 And after Alma had said these words, both Alma and Helam were\nburied in the water; and they arose and came forth out of the water\nrejoicing, being filled with the Spirit.\n\n18:15 And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second time into\nthe water, and baptized him according to the first, only he did not\nbury himself again in the water.\n\n18:16 And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to\nthe place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four\nsouls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were\nfilled with the grace of God.\n\n18:17 And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ,\nfrom that time forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized\nby the power and authority of God was added to his church.\n\n18:18 And it came to pass that Alma, having authority from God,\nordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number did he\nordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things\npertaining to the kingdom of God.\n\n18:19 And he commanded them that they should teach nothing save it were\nthe things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth\nof the holy prophets.\n\n18:20 Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save\nit were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people.\n\n18:21 And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with\nanother, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one\nfaith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and\nin love one towards another.\n\n18:22 And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the\nchildren of God.\n\n18:23 And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day,\nand keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the\nLord their God.\n\n18:24 And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained\nshould labor with their own hands for their support.\n\n18:25 And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they\nshould gather themselves together to teach the people, and to worship\nthe Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in their power, to\nassemble themselves together.\n\n18:26 And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their\nsupport; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God,\nthat they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God,\nthat they might teach with power and authority from God.\n\n18:27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should\nimpart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if\nhe have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him\nthat had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had\nnot should be given.\n\n18:28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free\nwill and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in\nneed, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.\n\n18:29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and\nthey did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both\ntemporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.\n\n18:30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by\nthe waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon;\nyea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon,\nhow beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the\nknowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they\nshall sing to his praise forever.\n\n18:31 And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they\nmight not come to the knowledge of the king.\n\n18:32 But behold, it came to pass that the king, having discovered a\nmovement among the people, sent his servants to watch them. Therefore\non the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the\nword of the Lord they were discovered unto the king.\n\n18:33 And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to\nrebellion against him; therefore he sent his army to destroy them.\n\n18:34 And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were\napprised of the coming of the king\u2019s army; therefore they took their\ntents and their families and departed into the wilderness.\n\n18:35 And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls.\n\nMosiah Chapter 19\n\n19:1 And it came to pass that the army of the king returned, having\nsearched in vain for the people of the Lord.\n\n19:2 And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been\nreduced, and there began to be a division among the remainder of the\npeople.\n\n19:3 And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the\nking, and there began to be a great contention among them.\n\n19:4 And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he\nbeing a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his\nsword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.\n\n19:5 And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the\nking saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got\nupon the tower which was near the temple.\n\n19:6 And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower\nto slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the\nland of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the\nborders of the land.\n\n19:7 And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying:\nGideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy\nus; yea, they will destroy my people.\n\n19:8 And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he\nwas about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life.\n\n19:9 And the king commanded the people that they should flee before the\nLamanites, and he himself did go before them, and they did flee into\nthe wilderness, with their women and their children.\n\n19:10 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did\novertake them, and began to slay them.\n\n19:11 Now it came to pass that the king commanded them that all the men\nshould leave their wives and their children, and flee before the\nLamanites.\n\n19:12 Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather\nstay and perish with them. And the rest left their wives and their\nchildren and fled.\n\n19:13 And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and\ntheir children caused that their fair daughters should stand forth and\nplead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them.\n\n19:14 And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them,\nfor they were charmed with the beauty of their women.\n\n19:15 Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them\ncaptives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto\nthem that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they\nwould deliver up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver\nup their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of\ntheir gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus\nthey should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.\n\n19:16 And now there was one of the sons of the king among those that\nwere taken captive, whose name was Limhi.\n\n19:17 And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be\ndestroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of\nhis father, he himself being a just man.\n\n19:18 And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into the wilderness\nsecretly, to search for the king and those that were with him. And it\ncame to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the\nking and his priests.\n\n19:19 Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the\nland of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and\nalso those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge,\nand also perish with them.\n\n19:20 And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they\nwere angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto\ndeath by fire.\n\n19:21 And they were about to take the priests also and put them to\ndeath, and they fled before them.\n\n19:22 And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of\nNephi, and they met the men of Gideon. And the men of Gideon told them\nof all that had happened to their wives and their children; and that\nthe Lamanites had granted unto them that they might possess the land by\npaying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed.\n\n19:23 And the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the\nking, and his priests had fled from them farther into the wilderness.\n\n19:24 And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that\nthey returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and\ntheir children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done\nto the king.\n\n19:25 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made an oath\nunto them, that his people should not slay them.\n\n19:26 And also Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdom\nconferred upon him by the people, made oath unto the king of the\nLamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of\nall they possessed.\n\n19:27 And it came to pass that Limhi began to establish the kingdom and\nto establish peace among his people.\n\n19:28 And the king of the Lamanites set guards round about the land,\nthat he might keep the people of Limhi in the land, that they might not\ndepart into the wilderness; and he did support his guards out of the\ntribute which he did receive from the Nephites.\n\n19:29 And now king Limhi did have continual peace in his kingdom for\nthe space of two years, that the Lamanites did not molest them nor seek\nto destroy them.\n\nMosiah Chapter 20\n\n20:1 Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the\nLamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to\nmake themselves merry.\n\n20:2 And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them\ngathered together to sing and to dance.\n\n20:3 And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the\ncity of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them,\ntherefore they durst not return to their wives and their children.\n\n20:4 And having tarried in the wilderness, and having discovered the\ndaughters of the Lamanites, they laid and watched them;\n\n20:5 And when there were but few of them gathered together to dance,\nthey came forth out of their secret places and took them and carried\nthem into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the\nLamanites they carried into the wilderness.\n\n20:6 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that their\ndaughters had been missing, they were angry with the people of Limhi,\nfor they thought it was the people of Limhi.\n\n20:7 Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the king himself\nwent before his people; and they went up to the land of Nephi to\ndestroy the people of Limhi.\n\n20:8 And now Limhi had discovered them from the tower, even all their\npreparations for war did he discover; therefore he gathered his people\ntogether, and laid wait for them in the fields and in the forests.\n\n20:9 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had come up, that the\npeople of Limhi began to fall upon them from their waiting places, and\nbegan to slay them.\n\n20:10 And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for\nthey fought like lions for their prey.\n\n20:11 And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the\nLamanites before them; yet they were not half so numerous as the\nLamanites. But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and\nfor their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons\ndid they fight.\n\n20:12 And it came to pass that they found the king of the Lamanites\namong the number of their dead; yet he was not dead, having been\nwounded and left upon the ground, so speedy was the flight of his\npeople.\n\n20:13 And they took him and bound up his wounds, and brought him before\nLimhi, and said: Behold, here is the king of the Lamanites; he having\nreceived a wound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him;\nand behold, we have brought him before you; and now let us slay him.\n\n20:14 But Limhi said unto them: Ye shall not slay him, but bring him\nhither that I may see him. And they brought him. And Limhi said unto\nhim: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my\npeople have not broken the oath that I made unto you; therefore, why\nshould ye break the oath which ye made unto my people?\n\n20:15 And now the king said: I have broken the oath because thy people\ndid carry away the daughters of my people; therefore, in my anger I did\ncause my people to come up to war against thy people.\n\n20:16 And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning this matter; therefore\nhe said: I will search among my people and whosoever has done this\nthing shall perish. Therefore he caused a search to be made among his\npeople.\n\n20:17 Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king\u2019s\ncaptain, he went forth and said unto the king: I pray thee forbear, and\ndo not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge.\n\n20:18 For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this\npeople sought to destroy? And are they not in the wilderness? And are\nnot they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites?\n\n20:19 And now, behold, and tell the king of these things, that he may\ntell his people that they may be pacified towards us; for behold they\nare already preparing to come against us; and behold also there are but\nfew of us.\n\n20:20 And behold, they come with their numerous hosts; and except the\nking doth pacify them towards us we must perish.\n\n20:21 For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied\nagainst us\u2014and all this because we would not hearken unto the words of\nthe Lord, and turn from our iniquities?\n\n20:22 And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we\nhave made unto him; for it is better that we should be in bondage than\nthat we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the\nshedding of so much blood.\n\n20:23 And now Limhi told the king all the things concerning his father,\nand the priests that had fled into the wilderness, and attributed the\ncarrying away of their daughters to them.\n\n20:24 And it came to pass that the king was pacified towards his\npeople; and he said unto them: Let us go forth to meet my people,\nwithout arms; and I swear unto you with an oath that my people shall\nnot slay thy people.\n\n20:25 And it came to pass that they followed the king, and went forth\nwithout arms to meet the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did\nmeet the Lamanites; and the king of the Lamanites did bow himself down\nbefore them, and did plead in behalf of the people of Limhi.\n\n20:26 And when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were\nwithout arms, they had compassion on them and were pacified towards\nthem, and returned with their king in peace to their own land.\n\nMosiah Chapter 21\n\n21:1 And it came to pass that Limhi and his people returned to the city\nof Nephi, and began to dwell in the land again in peace.\n\n21:2 And it came to pass that after many days the Lamanites began again\nto be stirred up in anger against the Nephites, and they began to come\ninto the borders of the land round about.\n\n21:3 Now they durst not slay them, because of the oath which their king\nhad made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and\nexercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their\nbacks, and drive them as they would a dumb ass\u2014\n\n21:4 Yea, all this was done that the word of the Lord might be\nfulfilled.\n\n21:5 And now the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was\nno way that they could deliver themselves out of their hands, for the\nLamanites had surrounded them on every side.\n\n21:6 And it came to pass that the people began to murmur with the king\nbecause of their afflictions; and they began to be desirous to go\nagainst them to battle. And they did afflict the king sorely with their\ncomplaints; therefore he granted unto them that they should do\naccording to their desires.\n\n21:7 And they gathered themselves together again, and put on their\narmor, and went forth against the Lamanites to drive them out of their\nland.\n\n21:8 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did beat them, and drove\nthem back, and slew many of them.\n\n21:9 And now there was a great mourning and lamentation among the\npeople of Limhi, the widow mourning for her husband, the son and the\ndaughter mourning for their father, and the brothers for their\nbrethren.\n\n21:10 Now there were a great many widows in the land, and they did cry\nmightily from day to day, for a great fear of the Lamanites had come\nupon them.\n\n21:11 And it came to pass that their continual cries did stir up the\nremainder of the people of Limhi to anger against the Lamanites; and\nthey went again to battle, but they were driven back again, suffering\nmuch loss.\n\n21:12 Yea, they went again even the third time, and suffered in the\nlike manner; and those that were not slain returned again to the city\nof Nephi.\n\n21:13 And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting\nthemselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten,\nand to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of\ntheir enemies.\n\n21:14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility;\nand they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they\ncry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.\n\n21:15 And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their\niniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to\nsoften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their\nburdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.\n\n21:16 And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degrees in the\nland, and began to raise grain more abundantly, and flocks, and herds,\nthat they did not suffer with hunger.\n\n21:17 Now there was a great number of women, more than there was of\nmen; therefore king Limhi commanded that every man should impart to the\nsupport of the widows and their children, that they might not perish\nwith hunger; and this they did because of the greatness of their number\nthat had been slain.\n\n21:18 Now the people of Limhi kept together in a body as much as it was\npossible, and secured their grain and their flocks;\n\n21:19 And the king himself did not trust his person without the walls\nof the city, unless he took his guards with him, fearing that he might\nby some means fall into the hands of the Lamanites.\n\n21:20 And he caused that his people should watch the land round about,\nthat by some means they might take those priests that fled into the\nwilderness, who had stolen the daughters of the Lamanites, and that had\ncaused such a great destruction to come upon them.\n\n21:21 For they were desirous to take them that they might punish them;\nfor they had come into the land of Nephi by night, and carried off\ntheir grain and many of their precious things; therefore they laid wait\nfor them.\n\n21:22 And it came to pass that there was no more disturbance between\nthe Lamanites and the people of Limhi, even until the time that Ammon\nand his brethren came into the land.\n\n21:23 And the king having been without the gates of the city with his\nguard, discovered Ammon and his brethren; and supposing them to be\npriests of Noah therefore he caused that they should be taken, and\nbound, and cast into prison. And had they been the priests of Noah he\nwould have caused that they should be put to death.\n\n21:24 But when he found that they were not, but that they were his\nbrethren, and had come from the land of Zarahemla, he was filled with\nexceedingly great joy.\n\n21:25 Now king Limhi had sent, previous to the coming of Ammon, a small\nnumber of men to search for the land of Zarahemla; but they could not\nfind it, and they were lost in the wilderness.\n\n21:26 Nevertheless, they did find a land which had been peopled; yea, a\nland which was covered with dry bones; yea, a land which had been\npeopled and which had been destroyed; and they, having supposed it to\nbe the land of Zarahemla, returned to the land of Nephi, having arrived\nin the borders of the land not many days before the coming of Ammon.\n\n21:27 And they brought a record with them, even a record of the people\nwhose bones they had found; and it was engraven on plates of ore.\n\n21:28 And now Limhi was again filled with joy in learning from the\nmouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift from God, whereby he could\ninterpret such engravings; yea, and Ammon also did rejoice.\n\n21:29 Yet Ammon and his brethren were filled with sorrow because so\nmany of their brethren had been slain;\n\n21:30 And also that king Noah and his priests had caused the people to\ncommit so many sins and iniquities against God; and they also did mourn\nfor the death of Abinadi; and also for the departure of Alma and the\npeople that went with him, who had formed a church of God through the\nstrength and power of God, and faith on the words which had been spoken\nby Abinadi.\n\n21:31 Yea, they did mourn for their departure, for they knew not\nwhither they had fled. Now they would have gladly joined with them, for\nthey themselves had entered into a covenant with God to serve him and\nkeep his commandments.\n\n21:32 And now since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered\ninto a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him and\nkeep his commandments.\n\n21:33 And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were\ndesirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had\nauthority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering\nhimself an unworthy servant.\n\n21:34 Therefore they did not at that time form themselves into a\nchurch, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now they were desirous to\nbecome even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness.\n\n21:35 They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony\nthat they were willing to serve God with all their hearts; nevertheless\nthey did prolong the time; and an account of their baptism shall be\ngiven hereafter.\n\n21:36 And now all the study of Ammon and his people, and king Limhi and\nhis people, was to deliver themselves out of the hands of the Lamanites\nand from bondage.\n\nMosiah Chapter 22\n\n22:1 And now it came to pass that Ammon and king Limhi began to consult\nwith the people how they should deliver themselves out of bondage; and\neven they did cause that all the people should gather themselves\ntogether; and this they did that they might have the voice of the\npeople concerning the matter.\n\n22:2 And it came to pass that they could find no way to deliver\nthemselves out of bondage, except it were to take their women and\nchildren, and their flocks, and their herds, and their tents, and\ndepart into the wilderness; for the Lamanites being so numerous, it was\nimpossible for the people of Limhi to contend with them, thinking to\ndeliver themselves out of bondage by the sword.\n\n22:3 Now it came to pass that Gideon went forth and stood before the\nking, and said unto him: Now O king, thou hast hitherto hearkened unto\nmy words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the\nLamanites.\n\n22:4 And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an unprofitable\nservant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to my words in any degree,\nand they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou\nwouldst listen to my words at this time, and I will be thy servant and\ndeliver this people out of bondage.\n\n22:5 And the king granted unto him that he might speak. And Gideon said\nunto him:\n\n22:6 Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of\nthe city. The Lamanites, or the guards of the Lamanites, by night are\ndrunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people\nthat they gather together their flocks and herds, that they may drive\nthem into the wilderness by night.\n\n22:7 And I will go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of\nwine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass\nthrough the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken\nand asleep.\n\n22:8 Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our flocks,\nand our herds into the wilderness; and we will travel around the land\nof Shilom.\n\n22:9 And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the words of\nGideon.\n\n22:10 And king Limhi caused that his people should gather their flocks\ntogether; and he sent the tribute of wine to the Lamanites; and he also\nsent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of\nthe wine which king Limhi did send unto them.\n\n22:11 And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did depart by\nnight into the wilderness with their flocks and their herds, and they\nwent round about the land of Shilom in the wilderness, and bent their\ncourse towards the land of Zarahemla, being led by Ammon and his\nbrethren.\n\n22:12 And they had taken all their gold, and silver, and their precious\nthings, which they could carry, and also their provisions with them,\ninto the wilderness; and they pursued their journey.\n\n22:13 And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the\nland of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah\u2019s people, and became his subjects.\n\n22:14 And it came to pass that Mosiah received them with joy; and he\nalso received their records, and also the records which had been found\nby the people of Limhi.\n\n22:15 And now it came to pass when the Lamanites had found that the\npeople of Limhi had departed out of the land by night, that they sent\nan army into the wilderness to pursue them;\n\n22:16 And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer\nfollow their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness.\n\nMosiah Chapter 23\n\n23:1 Now Alma, having been warned of the Lord that the armies of king\nNoah would come upon them, and having made it known to his people,\ntherefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain,\nand departed into the wilderness before the armies of king Noah.\n\n23:2 And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah\ncould not overtake them to destroy them.\n\n23:3 And they fled eight days\u2019 journey into the wilderness.\n\n23:4 And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant\nland, a land of pure water.\n\n23:5 And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and\nbegan to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor\nexceedingly.\n\n23:6 And the people were desirous that Alma should be their king, for\nhe was beloved by his people.\n\n23:7 But he said unto them: Behold, it is not expedient that we should\nhave a king; for thus saith the Lord: Ye shall not esteem one flesh\nabove another, or one man shall not think himself above another;\ntherefore I say unto you it is not expedient that ye should have a\nking.\n\n23:8 Nevertheless, if it were possible that ye could always have just\nmen to be your kings it would be well for you to have a king.\n\n23:9 But remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests; and I\nmyself was caught in a snare, and did many things which were abominable\nin the sight of the Lord, which caused me sore repentance;\n\n23:10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries,\nand did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands\nin bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.\n\n23:11 Nevertheless, in this I do not glory, for I am unworthy to glory\nof myself.\n\n23:12 And now I say unto you, ye have been oppressed by king Noah, and\nhave been in bondage to him and his priests, and have been brought into\niniquity by them; therefore ye were bound with the bands of iniquity.\n\n23:13 And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of\nthese bonds; yea, even out of the hands of king Noah and his people,\nand also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should\nstand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that\nye trust no man to be a king over you.\n\n23:14 And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister,\nexcept he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his\ncommandments.\n\n23:15 Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his\nneighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them.\n\n23:16 And now, Alma was their high priest, he being the founder of\ntheir church.\n\n23:17 And it came to pass that none received authority to preach or to\nteach except it were by him from God. Therefore he consecrated all\ntheir priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except\nthey were just men.\n\n23:18 Therefore they did watch over their people, and did nourish them\nwith things pertaining to righteousness.\n\n23:19 And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the\nland; and they called the land Helam.\n\n23:20 And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper\nexceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city, which they\ncalled the city of Helam.\n\n23:21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he\ntrieth their patience and their faith.\n\n23:22 Nevertheless\u2014whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be\nlifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.\n\n23:23 For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into\nbondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea, even\nthe God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob.\n\n23:24 And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show\nforth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings.\n\n23:25 For behold, it came to pass that while they were in the land of\nHelam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land round about,\nbehold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the land.\n\n23:26 Now it came to pass that the brethren of Alma fled from their\nfields, and gathered themselves together in the city of Helam; and they\nwere much frightened because of the appearance of the Lamanites.\n\n23:27 But Alma went forth and stood among them, and exhorted them that\nthey should not be frightened, but that they should remember the Lord\ntheir God and he would deliver them.\n\n23:28 Therefore they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord\nthat he would soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they would spare\nthem, and their wives, and their children.\n\n23:29 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the hearts of the\nLamanites. And Alma and his brethren went forth and delivered\nthemselves up into their hands; and the Lamanites took possession of\nthe land of Helam.\n\n23:30 Now the armies of the Lamanites, which had followed after the\npeople of king Limhi, had been lost in the wilderness for many days.\n\n23:31 And behold, they had found those priests of king Noah, in a place\nwhich they called Amulon; and they had begun to possess the land of\nAmulon and had begun to till the ground.\n\n23:32 Now the name of the leader of those priests was Amulon.\n\n23:33 And it came to pass that Amulon did plead with the Lamanites; and\nhe also sent forth their wives, who were the daughters of the\nLamanites, to plead with their brethren, that they should not destroy\ntheir husbands.\n\n23:34 And the Lamanites had compassion on Amulon and his brethren, and\ndid not destroy them, because of their wives.\n\n23:35 And Amulon and his brethren did join the Lamanites, and they were\ntraveling in the wilderness in search of the land of Nephi when they\ndiscovered the land of Helam, which was possessed by Alma and his\nbrethren.\n\n23:36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his\nbrethren, that if they would show them the way which led to the land of\nNephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty.\n\n23:37 But after Alma had shown them the way that led to the land of\nNephi the Lamanites would not keep their promise; but they set guards\nround about the land of Helam, over Alma and his brethren.\n\n23:38 And the remainder of them went to the land of Nephi; and a part\nof them returned to the land of Helam, and also brought with them the\nwives and the children of the guards who had been left in the land.\n\n23:39 And the king of the Lamanites had granted unto Amulon that he\nshould be a king and a ruler over his people, who were in the land of\nHelam; nevertheless he should have no power to do anything contrary to\nthe will of the king of the Lamanites.\n\nMosiah Chapter 24\n\n24:1 And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the\nking of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted\nunto him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over\nhis people, yea, even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon,\nand in the land of Shilom, and in the land of Amulon.\n\n24:2 For the Lamanites had taken possession of all these lands;\ntherefore, the king of the Lamanites had appointed kings over all these\nlands.\n\n24:3 And now the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, being\ncalled after the name of his father; and therefore he was called king\nLaman. And he was king over a numerous people.\n\n24:4 And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land\nwhich was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began\nto be taught among all the people of the Lamanites.\n\n24:5 And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless\nthey knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them\nanything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor\ndid they teach them the words of Abinadi;\n\n24:6 But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that\nthey might write one to another.\n\n24:7 And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to\ntrade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a\nwise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people,\ndelighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were\namong their own brethren.\n\n24:8 And now it came to pass that Amulon began to exercise authority\nover Alma and his brethren, and began to persecute him, and cause that\nhis children should persecute their children.\n\n24:9 For Amulon knew Alma, that he had been one of the king\u2019s priests,\nand that it was he that believed the words of Abinadi and was driven\nout before the king, and therefore he was wroth with him; for he was\nsubject to king Laman, yet he exercised authority over them, and put\ntasks upon them, and put task-masters over them.\n\n24:10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that\nthey began to cry mightily to God.\n\n24:11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and\nhe put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found\ncalling upon God should be put to death.\n\n24:12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord\ntheir God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the\nthoughts of their hearts.\n\n24:13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in\ntheir afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort,\nfor I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will\ncovenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.\n\n24:14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your\nshoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while\nyou are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses\nfor me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord\nGod, do visit my people in their afflictions.\n\n24:15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon\nAlma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen\nthem that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did\nsubmit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.\n\n24:16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their\npatience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of\ngood comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.\n\n24:17 And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I\nwill go with thee and deliver this people out of bondage.\n\n24:18 Now it came to pass that Alma and his people in the night-time\ngathered their flocks together, and also of their grain; yea, even all\nthe night-time were they gathering the flocks together.\n\n24:19 And in the morning the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the\nLamanites, yea, and all their task-masters were in a profound sleep.\n\n24:20 And Alma and his people departed into the wilderness; and when\nthey had traveled all day they pitched their tents in a valley, and\nthey called the valley Alma, because he led their way in the\nwilderness.\n\n24:21 Yea, and in the valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to\nGod because he had been merciful unto them, and eased their burdens,\nand had delivered them out of bondage; for they were in bondage, and\nnone could deliver them except it were the Lord their God.\n\n24:22 And they gave thanks to God, yea, all their men and all their\nwomen and all their children that could speak lifted their voices in\nthe praises of their God.\n\n24:23 And now the Lord said unto Alma: Haste thee and get thou and this\npeople out of this land, for the Lamanites have awakened and do pursue\nthee; therefore get thee out of this land, and I will stop the\nLamanites in this valley that they come no further in pursuit of this\npeople.\n\n24:24 And it came to pass that they departed out of the valley, and\ntook their journey into the wilderness.\n\n24:25 And after they had been in the wilderness twelve days they\narrived in the land of Zarahemla; and king Mosiah did also receive them\nwith joy.\n\nMosiah Chapter 25\n\n25:1 And now king Mosiah caused that all the people should be gathered\ntogether.\n\n25:2 Now there were not so many of the children of Nephi, or so many of\nthose who were descendants of Nephi, as there were of the people of\nZarahemla, who was a descendant of Mulek, and those who came with him\ninto the wilderness.\n\n25:3 And there were not so many of the people of Nephi and of the\npeople of Zarahemla as there were of the Lamanites; yea, they were not\nhalf so numerous.\n\n25:4 And now all the people of Nephi were assembled together, and also\nall the people of Zarahemla, and they were gathered together in two\nbodies.\n\n25:5 And it came to pass that Mosiah did read, and caused to be read,\nthe records of Zeniff to his people; yea, he read the records of the\npeople of Zeniff, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until\nthey returned again.\n\n25:6 And he also read the account of Alma and his brethren, and all\ntheir afflictions, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until\nthe time they returned again.\n\n25:7 And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his\npeople who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement.\n\n25:8 For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that\nhad been delivered out of bondage they were filled with exceedingly\ngreat joy.\n\n25:9 And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been slain\nby the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears\nof sorrow.\n\n25:10 And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God,\nand his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of\nthe Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give\nthanks to God.\n\n25:11 And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their\nbrethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with\npain and anguish for the welfare of their souls.\n\n25:12 And it came to pass that those who were the children of Amulon\nand his brethren, who had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites,\nwere displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no\nlonger be called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took\nupon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might be called the\nchildren of Nephi and be numbered among those who were called Nephites.\n\n25:13 And now all the people of Zarahemla were numbered with the\nNephites, and this because the kingdom had been conferred upon none but\nthose who were descendants of Nephi.\n\n25:14 And now it came to pass that when Mosiah had made an end of\nspeaking and reading to the people, he desired that Alma should also\nspeak to the people.\n\n25:15 And Alma did speak unto them, when they were assembled together\nin large bodies, and he went from one body to another, preaching unto\nthe people repentance and faith on the Lord.\n\n25:16 And he did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those\nthat had been delivered out of bondage, that they should remember that\nit was the Lord that did deliver them.\n\n25:17 And it came to pass that after Alma had taught the people many\nthings, and had made an end of speaking to them, that king Limhi was\ndesirous that he might be baptized; and all his people were desirous\nthat they might be baptized also.\n\n25:18 Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and did baptize them;\nyea, he did baptize them after the manner he did his brethren in the\nwaters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize did belong to the\nchurch of God; and this because of their belief on the words of Alma.\n\n25:19 And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he\nmight establish churches throughout all the land of Zarahemla; and gave\nhim power to ordain priests and teachers over every church.\n\n25:20 Now this was done because there were so many people that they\ncould not all be governed by one teacher; neither could they all hear\nthe word of God in one assembly;\n\n25:21 Therefore they did assemble themselves together in different\nbodies, being called churches; every church having their priests and\ntheir teachers, and every priest preaching the word according as it was\ndelivered to him by the mouth of Alma.\n\n25:22 And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches they were all\none church, yea, even the church of God; for there was nothing preached\nin all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God.\n\n25:23 And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And\nit came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name\nof Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;\n\n25:24 And they were called the people of God. And the Lord did pour out\nhis Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land.\n\nMosiah Chapter 26\n\n26:1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation\nthat could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little\nchildren at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe\nthe tradition of their fathers.\n\n26:2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the\nresurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the\ncoming of Christ.\n\n26:3 And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the\nword of God; and their hearts were hardened.\n\n26:4 And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the\nchurch. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained\nso ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for they would\nnot call upon the Lord their God.\n\n26:5 And now in the reign of Mosiah they were not half so numerous as\nthe people of God; but because of the dissensions among the brethren\nthey became more numerous.\n\n26:6 For it came to pass that they did deceive many with their\nflattering words, who were in the church, and did cause them to commit\nmany sins; therefore it became expedient that those who committed sin,\nthat were in the church, should be admonished by the church.\n\n26:7 And it came to pass that they were brought before the priests, and\ndelivered up unto the priests by the teachers; and the priests brought\nthem before Alma, who was the high priest.\n\n26:8 Now king Mosiah had given Alma the authority over the church.\n\n26:9 And it came to pass that Alma did not know concerning them; but\nthere were many witnesses against them; yea, the people stood and\ntestified of their iniquity in abundance.\n\n26:10 Now there had not any such thing happened before in the church;\ntherefore Alma was troubled in his spirit, and he caused that they\nshould be brought before the king.\n\n26:11 And he said unto the king: Behold, here are many whom we have\nbrought before thee, who are accused of their brethren; yea, and they\nhave been taken in divers iniquities. And they do not repent of their\niniquities; therefore we have brought them before thee, that thou\nmayest judge them according to their crimes.\n\n26:12 But king Mosiah said unto Alma: Behold, I judge them not;\ntherefore I deliver them into thy hands to be judged.\n\n26:13 And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and\ninquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he\nfeared that he should do wrong in the sight of God.\n\n26:14 And it came to pass that after he had poured out his whole soul\nto God, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying:\n\n26:15 Blessed art thou, Alma, and blessed are they who were baptized in\nthe waters of Mormon. Thou art blessed because of thy exceeding faith\nin the words alone of my servant Abinadi.\n\n26:16 And blessed are they because of their exceeding faith in the\nwords alone which thou hast spoken unto them.\n\n26:17 And blessed art thou because thou hast established a church among\nthis people; and they shall be established, and they shall be my\npeople.\n\n26:18 Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for\nin my name shall they be called; and they are mine.\n\n26:19 And because thou hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor,\nthou art blessed.\n\n26:20 Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt\nhave eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and\nshalt gather together my sheep.\n\n26:21 And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall\nye receive into the church, and him will I also receive.\n\n26:22 For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be\nbaptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my\nname; and him will I freely forgive.\n\n26:23 For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is\nI that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that\nbelieveth unto the end a place at my right hand.\n\n26:24 For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they\nshall come forth, and shall have a place eternally at my right hand.\n\n26:25 And it shall come to pass that when the second trump shall sound\nthen shall they that never knew me come forth and shall stand before\nme.\n\n26:26 And then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am\ntheir Redeemer; but they would not be redeemed.\n\n26:27 And then I will confess unto them that I never knew them; and\nthey shall depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his\nangels.\n\n26:28 Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice,\nthe same shall ye not receive into my church, for him I will not\nreceive at the last day.\n\n26:29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against\nme, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed;\nand if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the\nsincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him\nalso.\n\n26:30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their\ntrespasses against me.\n\n26:31 And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily\nI say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor\u2019s trespasses when he\nsays that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation.\n\n26:32 Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins\nthe same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be\nobserved from this time forward.\n\n26:33 And it came to pass when Alma had heard these words he wrote them\ndown that he might have them, and that he might judge the people of\nthat church according to the commandments of God.\n\n26:34 And it came to pass that Alma went and judged those that had been\ntaken in iniquity, according to the word of the Lord.\n\n26:35 And whosoever repented of their sins and did confess them, them\nhe did number among the people of the church;\n\n26:36 And those that would not confess their sins and repent of their\niniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the church,\nand their names were blotted out.\n\n26:37 And it came to pass that Alma did regulate all the affairs of the\nchurch; and they began again to have peace and to prosper exceedingly\nin the affairs of the church, walking circumspectly before God,\nreceiving many, and baptizing many.\n\n26:38 And now all these things did Alma and his fellow laborers do who\nwere over the church, walking in all diligence, teaching the word of\nGod in all things, suffering all manner of afflictions, being\npersecuted by all those who did not belong to the church of God.\n\n26:39 And they did admonish their brethren; and they were also\nadmonished, every one by the word of God, according to his sins, or to\nthe sins which he had committed, being commanded of God to pray without\nceasing, and to give thanks in all things.\n\nMosiah Chapter 27\n\n27:1 And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted\non the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began\nto murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and\nthey did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king,\nMosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.\n\n27:2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah sent a proclamation\nthroughout the land round about that there should not any unbeliever\npersecute any of those who belonged to the church of God.\n\n27:3 And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that\nthere should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an\nequality among all men;\n\n27:4 That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace;\nthat every man should esteem his neighbor as himself, laboring with\ntheir own hands for their support.\n\n27:5 Yea, and all their priests and teachers should labor with their\nown hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or\nin much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of\nGod.\n\n27:6 And there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people\nbegan to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of\nthe earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the\nwest, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land.\n\n27:7 And the Lord did visit them and prosper them, and they became a\nlarge and wealthy people.\n\n27:8 Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and\nalso one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called\nAlma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an\nidolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much\nflattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after\nthe manner of his iniquities.\n\n27:9 And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church\nof God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension\namong the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his\npower over them.\n\n27:10 And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy\nthe church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah\nseeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the\nLord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king\u2014\n\n27:11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling\nagainst God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he\ndescended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice\nof thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;\n\n27:12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth,\nand understood not the words which he spake unto them.\n\n27:13 Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth,\nfor why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said:\nThis is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow\nit, save it is the transgression of my people.\n\n27:14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the\nprayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who\nis thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that\nthou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for\nthis purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of\nGod, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to\ntheir faith.\n\n27:15 And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth\nnot my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you?\nAnd I am sent from God.\n\n27:16 Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy\nfathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember\nhow great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he\nhas delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek\nto destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and\nthis even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.\n\n27:17 And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the\nangel spake unto Alma, and he departed.\n\n27:18 And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the\nearth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they\nhad beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which\nshook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of\nGod that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it\nwould part asunder.\n\n27:19 And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became\ndumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even\nthat he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that\nwere with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his\nfather.\n\n27:20 And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto\nthem; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of\nGod.\n\n27:21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that\nthey might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for\nthose that were with him.\n\n27:22 And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves\ntogether; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God\nthat he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also\nthat his limbs might receive their strength\u2014that the eyes of the people\nmight be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.\n\n27:23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the\nspace of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their\nstrength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to\nbe of good comfort:\n\n27:24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed\nof the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.\n\n27:25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men\nand women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born\nagain; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to\na state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and\ndaughters;\n\n27:26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they\ncan in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.\n\n27:27 I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off;\nand this I know, because I was like to be cast off.\n\n27:28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulations, repenting\nnigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an\neverlasting burning, and I am born of God.\n\n27:29 My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds\nof iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous\nlight of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am\nsnatched, and my soul is pained no more.\n\n27:30 I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of\nby our fathers; but now that they may foresee that he will come, and\nthat he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make\nhimself manifest unto all.\n\n27:31 Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him.\nYea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of\nhim, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess,\nwho live without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting\npunishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and\nshrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye.\n\n27:32 And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to\nteach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel\nappeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land,\npublishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen,\nand preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly\npersecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of\nthem.\n\n27:33 But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to\nthe church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with\nlong-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.\n\n27:34 And four of them were the sons of Mosiah; and their names were\nAmmon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni; these were the names of the\nsons of Mosiah.\n\n27:35 And they traveled throughout all the lands of Zarahemla, and\namong all the people who were under the reign of king Mosiah, zealously\nstriving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church,\nconfessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had\nseen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who\ndesired to hear them.\n\n27:36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing\nmany to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their\nRedeemer.\n\n27:37 And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did\npublish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that\nthe Lord reigneth.\n\nMosiah Chapter 28\n\n28:1 Now it came to pass that after the sons of Mosiah had done all\nthese things, they took a small number with them and returned to their\nfather, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that\nthey might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of\nNephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that\nthey might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites\u2014\n\n28:2 That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord\ntheir God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that\nperhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that\nthey might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they\nmight become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more\ncontentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them.\n\n28:3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every\ncreature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish;\nyea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment\ndid cause them to quake and tremble.\n\n28:4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were\nthe very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy\nto spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because\nof their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be\ncast off forever.\n\n28:5 And it came to pass that they did plead with their father many\ndays that they might go up to the land of Nephi.\n\n28:6 And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his\nsons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word.\n\n28:7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall\nbelieve on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will\ndeliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.\n\n28:8 And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do\naccording to their request.\n\n28:9 And they took their journey into the wilderness to go up to preach\nthe word among the Lamanites; and I shall give an account of their\nproceedings hereafter.\n\n28:10 Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there\nwas not any of his sons who would accept of the kingdom.\n\n28:11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates\nof brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had\nkept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having\ntranslated and caused to be written the records which were on the\nplates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were\ndelivered to him by the hand of Limhi;\n\n28:12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for\nthey were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people who\nhad been destroyed.\n\n28:13 And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which\nwere fastened into the two rims of a bow.\n\n28:14 Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were\nhanded down from generation to generation, for the purpose of\ninterpreting languages;\n\n28:15 And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord,\nthat he should discover to every creature who should possess the land\nthe iniquities and abominations of his people;\n\n28:16 And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner\nof old times.\n\n28:17 Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold,\nit gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that\nthey were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the\ntime the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were\nscattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from\nthat time back until the creation of Adam.\n\n28:18 Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn\nexceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave\nthem much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice.\n\n28:19 And this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is\nexpedient that all people should know the things which are written in\nthis account.\n\n28:20 And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done\nthese things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he\nhad kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea,\nall the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon\nhim, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also\nkeep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to\nanother, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left\nJerusalem.\n\nMosiah Chapter 29\n\n29:1 Now when Mosiah had done this he sent out throughout all the land,\namong all the people, desiring to know their will concerning who should\nbe their king.\n\n29:2 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: We\nare desirous that Aaron thy son should be our king and our ruler.\n\n29:3 Now Aaron had gone up to the land of Nephi, therefore the king\ncould not confer the kingdom upon him; neither would Aaron take upon\nhim the kingdom; neither were any of the sons of Mosiah willing to take\nupon them the kingdom.\n\n29:4 Therefore king Mosiah sent again among the people; yea, even a\nwritten word sent he among the people. And these were the words that\nwere written, saying:\n\n29:5 Behold, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such,\nI desire that ye should consider the cause which ye are called to\nconsider\u2014for ye are desirous to have a king.\n\n29:6 Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly\nbelong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.\n\n29:7 And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold\nI fear there would rise contentions among you. And who knoweth but what\nmy son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and\ndraw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and\ncontentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood\nand perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many\npeople.\n\n29:8 Now I say unto you let us be wise and consider these things, for\nwe have no right to destroy my son, neither should we have any right to\ndestroy another if he should be appointed in his stead.\n\n29:9 And if my son should turn again to his pride and vain things he\nwould recall the things which he had said, and claim his right to the\nkingdom, which would cause him and also this people to commit much sin.\n\n29:10 And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do\nthat which will make for the peace of this people.\n\n29:11 Therefore I will be your king the remainder of my days;\nnevertheless, let us appoint judges, to judge this people according to\nour law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we\nwill appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people\naccording to the commandments of God.\n\n29:12 Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man,\nfor the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are\nnot always just.\n\n29:13 Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be\nyour kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge this people\naccording to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings\nwho would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people\u2014I say unto\nyou, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that\nye should always have kings to rule over you.\n\n29:14 And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties\nwhich I have possessed, to teach you the commandments of God, and to\nestablish peace throughout the land, that there should be no wars nor\ncontentions, no stealing, nor plundering, nor murdering, nor any manner\nof iniquity;\n\n29:15 And whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I punished\naccording to the crime which he has committed, according to the law\nwhich has been given to us by our fathers.\n\n29:16 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not\nexpedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you.\n\n29:17 For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be\ncommitted, yea, and what great destruction!\n\n29:18 Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and\nalso the wickedness and abominations of his people. Behold what great\ndestruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities\nthey were brought into bondage.\n\n29:19 And were it not for the interposition of their all-wise Creator,\nand this because of their sincere repentance, they must unavoidably\nremain in bondage until now.\n\n29:20 But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble\nthemselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did\ndeliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power\nin all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy\ntowards them that put their trust in him.\n\n29:21 And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous\nking save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much\nblood.\n\n29:22 For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his\nguards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned\nin righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the\ncommandments of God;\n\n29:23 And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people,\nyea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth\nnot obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel\nagainst him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can\nhe will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the\nways of all righteousness.\n\n29:24 And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such\nabominations should come upon you.\n\n29:25 Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that\nye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our\nfathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of\nthe Lord.\n\n29:26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth\nanything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the\nlesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore\nthis shall ye observe and make it your law\u2014to do your business by the\nvoice of the people.\n\n29:27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose\niniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon\nyou; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction\neven as he has hitherto visited this land.\n\n29:28 And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you according to\nthe law which has been given, ye can cause that they may be judged of a\nhigher judge.\n\n29:29 If your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, ye shall\ncause that a small number of your lower judges should be gathered\ntogether, and they shall judge your higher judges, according to the\nvoice of the people.\n\n29:30 And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord; and\nI command you to do these things, and that ye have no king; that if\nthese people commit sins and iniquities they shall be answered upon\ntheir own heads.\n\n29:31 For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been\ncaused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are\nanswered upon the heads of their kings.\n\n29:32 And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this\nland, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a\nland of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges\nalike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the\nland, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face\nof the land.\n\n29:33 And many more things did king Mosiah write unto them, unfolding\nunto them all the trials and troubles of a righteous king, yea, all the\ntravails of soul for their people, and also all the murmurings of the\npeople to their king; and he explained it all unto them.\n\n29:34 And he told them that these things ought not to be; but that the\nburden should come upon all the people, that every man might bear his\npart.\n\n29:35 And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored\nunder, by having an unrighteous king to rule over them;\n\n29:36 Yea, all his iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and\ncontentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering, and\nthe committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot\nbe enumerated\u2014telling them that these things ought not to be, that they\nwere expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.\n\n29:37 And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things\nforth among the people they were convinced of the truth of his words.\n\n29:38 Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became\nexceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance\nthroughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to\nanswer for his own sins.\n\n29:39 Therefore, it came to pass that they assembled themselves\ntogether in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their voices\nconcerning who should be their judges, to judge them according to the\nlaw which had been given them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced\nbecause of the liberty which had been granted unto them.\n\n29:40 And they did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did\nesteem him more than any other man; for they did not look upon him as a\ntyrant who was seeking for gain, yea, for that lucre which doth corrupt\nthe soul; for he had not exacted riches of them, neither had he\ndelighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established peace in the\nland, and he had granted unto his people that they should be delivered\nfrom all manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea,\nexceedingly, beyond measure.\n\n29:41 And it came to pass that they did appoint judges to rule over\nthem, or to judge them according to the law; and this they did\nthroughout all the land.\n\n29:42 And it came to pass that Alma was appointed to be the first chief\njudge, he being also the high priest, his father having conferred the\noffice upon him, and having given him the charge concerning all the\naffairs of the church.\n\n29:43 And now it came to pass that Alma did walk in the ways of the\nLord, and he did keep his commandments, and he did judge righteous\njudgments; and there was continual peace through the land.\n\n29:44 And thus commenced the reign of the judges throughout all the\nland of Zarahemla, among all the people who were called the Nephites;\nand Alma was the first and chief judge.\n\n29:45 And now it came to pass that his father died, being eighty and\ntwo years old, having lived to fulfil the commandments of God.\n\n29:46 And it came to pass that Mosiah died also, in the thirty and\nthird year of his reign, being sixty and three years old; making in the\nwhole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem.\n\n29:47 And thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi;\nand thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF ALMA\n\nTHE SON OF ALMA\n\nThe account of Alma, who was the son of Alma the first, and chief judge\nover the people of Nephi, and also the high priest over the Church. An\naccount of the reign of the judges, and the wars and contentions among\nthe people. And also an account of a war between the Nephites and the\nLamanites, according to the record of Alma, the first and chief judge.\n\nAlma Chapter 1\n\n1:1 Now it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi, from this time forward, king Mosiah\nhaving gone the way of all the earth, having warred a good warfare,\nwalking uprightly before God, leaving none to reign in his stead;\nnevertheless he had established laws, and they were acknowledged by the\npeople; therefore they were obliged to abide by the laws which he had\nmade.\n\n1:2 And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in\nthe judgment-seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged, a\nman who was large, and was noted for his much strength.\n\n1:3 And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that\nwhich he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the church;\ndeclaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become\npopular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they\nought to be supported by the people.\n\n1:4 And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be\nsaved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but\nthat they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had\ncreated all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all\nmen should have eternal life.\n\n1:5 And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that\nmany did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support\nhim and give him money.\n\n1:6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear\nvery costly apparel, yea, and even began to establish a church after\nthe manner of his preaching.\n\n1:7 And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who\nbelieved on his word, he met a man who belonged to the church of God,\nyea, even one of their teachers; and he began to contend with him\nsharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man\nwithstood him, admonishing him with the words of God.\n\n1:8 Now the name of the man was Gideon; and it was he who was an\ninstrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of\nbondage.\n\n1:9 Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was\nwroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now\nGideon being stricken with many years, therefore he was not able to\nwithstand his blows, therefore he was slain by the sword.\n\n1:10 And the man who slew him was taken by the people of the church,\nand was brought before Alma, to be judged according to the crimes which\nhe had committed.\n\n1:11 And it came to pass that he stood before Alma and pleaded for\nhimself with much boldness.\n\n1:12 But Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that\npriestcraft has been introduced among this people. And behold, thou art\nnot only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by\nthe sword; and were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it\nwould prove their entire destruction.\n\n1:13 And thou hast shed the blood of a righteous man, yea, a man who\nhas done much good among this people; and were we to spare thee his\nblood would come upon us for vengeance.\n\n1:14 Therefore thou art condemned to die, according to the law which\nhas been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been\nacknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the\nlaw.\n\n1:15 And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor;\nand they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was\ncaused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth,\nthat what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God;\nand there he suffered an ignominious death.\n\n1:16 Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of\npriestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain\nthings of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines; and\nthis they did for the sake of riches and honor.\n\n1:17 Nevertheless, they durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of\nthe law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach\naccording to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any\nman for his belief.\n\n1:18 And they durst not steal, for fear of the law, for such were\npunished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he that murdered was\npunished unto death.\n\n1:19 But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of\nGod began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God, and\nhad taken upon them the name of Christ.\n\n1:20 Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of\nwords, and this because of their humility; because they were not proud\nin their own eyes, and because they did impart the word of God, one\nwith another, without money and without price.\n\n1:21 Now there was a strict law among the people of the church that\nthere should not any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute\nthose that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no\npersecution among themselves.\n\n1:22 Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud,\nand began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows;\nyea, they would smite one another with their fists.\n\n1:23 Now this was in the second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a\ncause of much affliction to the church; yea, it was the cause of much\ntrial with the church.\n\n1:24 For the hearts of many were hardened, and their names were blotted\nout, that they were remembered no more among the people of God. And\nalso many withdrew themselves from among them.\n\n1:25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the\nfaith; nevertheless, they were steadfast and immovable in keeping the\ncommandments of God, and they bore with patience the persecution which\nwas heaped upon them.\n\n1:26 And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God\nunto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of\nGod. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they\nall returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not\nesteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better\nthan the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner;\nand thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man\naccording to his strength.\n\n1:27 And they did impart of their substance, every man according to\nthat which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the\nafflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and\ncomely.\n\n1:28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus\nthey began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their\npersecutions.\n\n1:29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be\nexceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood\nin need\u2014an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind,\nand also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of\nprecious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all\nmanner of good homely cloth.\n\n1:30 And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send\naway any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or\nthat were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set\ntheir hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old\nand young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the\nchurch or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who\nstood in need.\n\n1:31 And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those\nwho did not belong to their church.\n\n1:32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge\nthemselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings,\nand in envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in\nthe pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing,\ncommitting whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of wickedness;\nnevertheless, the law was put in force upon all those who did\ntransgress it, inasmuch as it was possible.\n\n1:33 And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them,\nevery man suffering according to that which he had done, they became\nmore still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known;\ntherefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the\nfifth year of the reign of the judges.\n\nAlma Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their\nreign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain\nman, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man\nas to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that\nslew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law\u2014\n\n2:2 Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after\nhim; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began\nto endeavor to establish Amlici to be king over the people.\n\n2:3 Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all\nthose who had not been drawn away after the persuasions of Amlici; for\nthey knew that according to their law that such things must be\nestablished by the voice of the people.\n\n2:4 Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of\nthe people, he, being a wicked man, would deprive them of their rights\nand privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the\nchurch of God.\n\n2:5 And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together\nthroughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it\nwere for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and\nwonderful contentions one with another.\n\n2:6 And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their\nvoices concerning the matter; and they were laid before the judges.\n\n2:7 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came against\nAmlici, that he was not made king over the people.\n\n2:8 Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against\nhim; but Amlici did stir up those who were in his favor to anger\nagainst those who were not in his favor.\n\n2:9 And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did\nconsecrate Amlici to be their king.\n\n2:10 Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that\nthey should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that\nhe might subject them to him.\n\n2:11 Now the people of Amlici were distinguished by the name of Amlici,\nbeing called Amlicites; and the remainder were called Nephites, or the\npeople of God.\n\n2:12 Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of\nthe Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they\ndid arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and\nwith arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of\nweapons of war, of every kind.\n\n2:13 And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of\ntheir coming. And there were appointed captains, and higher captains,\nand chief captains, according to their numbers.\n\n2:14 And it came to pass that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of\nweapons of war of every kind; and he also appointed rulers and leaders\nover his people, to lead them to war against their brethren.\n\n2:15 And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu,\nwhich was east of the river Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla,\nand there they began to make war with the Nephites.\n\n2:16 Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of\nNephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains,\nand chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the\nAmlicites to battle.\n\n2:17 And they began to slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon.\nAnd the Amlicites did contend with the Nephites with great strength,\ninsomuch that many of the Nephites did fall before the Amlicites.\n\n2:18 Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites,\nthat they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to\nflee before them.\n\n2:19 And it came to pass that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all\nthat day, and did slay them with much slaughter, insomuch that there\nwere slain of the Amlicites twelve thousand five hundred thirty and two\nsouls; and there were slain of the Nephites six thousand five hundred\nsixty and two souls.\n\n2:20 And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no\nlonger he caused that his people should pitch their tents in the valley\nof Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by\nthe hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did\npitch their tents for the night.\n\n2:21 And Alma sent spies to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that\nhe might know of their plans and their plots, whereby he might guard\nhimself against them, that he might preserve his people from being\ndestroyed.\n\n2:22 Now those whom he had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites\nwere called Zeram, and Amnor, and Manti, and Limher; these were they\nwho went out with their men to watch the camp of the Amlicites.\n\n2:23 And it came to pass that on the morrow they returned into the camp\nof the Nephites in great haste, being greatly astonished, and struck\nwith much fear, saying:\n\n2:24 Behold, we followed the camp of the Amlicites, and to our great\nastonishment, in the land of Minon, above the land of Zarahemla, in the\ncourse of the land of Nephi, we saw a numerous host of the Lamanites;\nand behold, the Amlicites have joined them;\n\n2:25 And they are upon our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing\nbefore them with their flocks, and their wives, and their children,\ntowards our city; and except we make haste they obtain possession of\nour city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain.\n\n2:26 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi took their tents, and\ndeparted out of the valley of Gideon towards their city, which was the\ncity of Zarahemla.\n\n2:27 And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites\nand the Amlicites, being as numerous almost, as it were, as the sands\nof the sea, came upon them to destroy them.\n\n2:28 Nevertheless, the Nephites being strengthened by the hand of the\nLord, having prayed mightily to him that he would deliver them out of\nthe hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries,\nand did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the Amlicites did fall\nbefore them.\n\n2:29 And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword,\nface to face; and they did contend mightily, one with another.\n\n2:30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised\nwith much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life,\nthat I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this\npeople.\n\n2:31 Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici;\nand he was strengthened, insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword.\n\n2:32 And he also contended with the king of the Lamanites; but the king\nof the Lamanites fled back from before Alma and sent his guards to\ncontend with Alma.\n\n2:33 But Alma, with his guards, contended with the guards of the king\nof the Lamanites until he slew and drove them back.\n\n2:34 And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on\nthe west of the river Sidon, throwing the bodies of the Lamanites who\nhad been slain into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might\nhave room to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the Amlicites on\nthe west side of the river Sidon.\n\n2:35 And it came to pass that when they had all crossed the river Sidon\nthat the Lamanites and the Amlicites began to flee before them,\nnotwithstanding they were so numerous that they could not be numbered.\n\n2:36 And they fled before the Nephites towards the wilderness which was\nwest and north, away beyond the borders of the land; and the Nephites\ndid pursue them with their might, and did slay them.\n\n2:37 Yea, they were met on every hand, and slain and driven, until they\nwere scattered on the west, and on the north, until they had reached\nthe wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the\nwilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts.\n\n2:38 And it came to pass that many died in the wilderness of their\nwounds, and were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the\nair; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the\nearth.\n\nAlma Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And it came to pass that the Nephites who were not slain by the\nweapons of war, after having buried those who had been slain\u2014now the\nnumber of the slain were not numbered, because of the greatness of\ntheir number\u2014after they had finished burying their dead they all\nreturned to their lands, and to their houses, and their wives, and\ntheir children.\n\n3:2 Now many women and children had been slain with the sword, and also\nmany of their flocks and their herds; and also many of their fields of\ngrain were destroyed, for they were trodden down by the hosts of men.\n\n3:3 And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been\nslain upon the bank of the river Sidon were cast into the waters of\nSidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the sea, and they\nare many.\n\n3:4 And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they\nhad marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of\nthe Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto\nthe Lamanites.\n\n3:5 Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked,\nsave it were skin which was girded about their loins, and also their\narmor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows,\nand their stones, and their slings, and so forth.\n\n3:6 And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark\nwhich was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because\nof their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who\nconsisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy\nmen.\n\n3:7 And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were\ncursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and\nLemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.\n\n3:8 And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the\nseed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his\npeople, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions\nwhich would prove their destruction.\n\n3:9 And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of\nthe Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed.\n\n3:10 Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the\nLamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon\nhim.\n\n3:11 And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the\ntradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were\nbrought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of\ntheir fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of\nGod and kept them, were called the Nephites, or the people of Nephi,\nfrom that time forth\u2014\n\n3:12 And it is they who have kept the records which are true of their\npeople, and also of the people of the Lamanites.\n\n3:13 Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a\nmark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a\nmark of red upon their foreheads.\n\n3:14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which\nhe said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a\nmark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and\nthy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of\ntheir wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.\n\n3:15 And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with\nthy brethren, that they may be cursed also.\n\n3:16 And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee\nand thy seed.\n\n3:17 And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be\ncalled thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called\nthy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the\nLord unto Nephi and to his seed.\n\n3:18 Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of\nGod when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless\nthey had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was\nexpedient that the curse should fall upon them.\n\n3:19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves\nthe curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself\nhis own condemnation.\n\n3:20 Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was\nfought in the land of Zarahemla, by the Lamanites and the Amlicites,\nthat there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of\nNephi, in the same place where the first army met the Amlicites.\n\n3:21 And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out\nof their land.\n\n3:22 Now Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to\nbattle at this time against the Lamanites;\n\n3:23 But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and\nslew many of the Lamanites, and drove the remainder of them out of the\nborders of their land.\n\n3:24 And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the\nland, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies.\n\n3:25 Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and\ncontentions were commenced and ended in the fifth year of the reign of\nthe judges.\n\n3:26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent\nto the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to\ntheir works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap\neternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they\nlisted to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.\n\n3:27 For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and\nthis according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it\nbe according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign\nof the judges.\n\nAlma Chapter 4\n\n4:1 Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges\nover the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the\nland of Zarahemla;\n\n4:2 But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss\nof their brethren, and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and\nalso for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under\nfoot and destroyed by the Lamanites.\n\n4:3 And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to\nmourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon\nthem because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they\nwere awakened to a remembrance of their duty.\n\n4:4 And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many\nwere baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of\nGod; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been\nconsecrated the high priest over the people of the church, by the hand\nof his father Alma.\n\n4:5 And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges\nthere were about three thousand five hundred souls that united\nthemselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus endeth the\nseventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and\nthere was continual peace in all that time.\n\n4:6 And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges,\nthat the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their\nexceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen,\nand because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their\nsilver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by\ntheir industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the\npride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel.\n\n4:7 Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many\nof the people whom Alma had consecrated to be teachers, and priests,\nand elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for\nthe wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.\n\n4:8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the\nchurch began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set\ntheir hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that\nthey began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to\npersecute those that did not believe according to their own will and\npleasure.\n\n4:9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there\nbegan to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea,\nthere were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and\npride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the\nchurch of God.\n\n4:10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the\nwickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did\nnot belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its\nprogress.\n\n4:11 And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma\nsaw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of\nthe church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece\nof iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.\n\n4:12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting\nthemselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs\nupon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who\nwere athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.\n\n4:13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people,\nwhile others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need\nof their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the\nneedy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for\nChrist\u2019s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;\n\n4:14 Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their\nsins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the\ndead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ\nfrom the bands of death.\n\n4:15 And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of\nthe humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped\nupon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their\ninequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the\nLord did not fail him.\n\n4:16 And he selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church,\nand gave him power according to the voice of the people, that he might\nhave power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given,\nand to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of\nthe people.\n\n4:17 Now this man\u2019s name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief\njudge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the\npeople.\n\n4:18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest\nover the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto\nhimself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.\n\n4:19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people,\nor among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto\nthem, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might\npull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the\ncontentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might\nreclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against\nthem.\n\n4:20 And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to\nNephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the\nholy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the\nspirit of revelation and prophecy.\n\nAlma Chapter 5\n\n5:1 Now it came to pass that Alma began to deliver the word of God unto\nthe people, first in the land of Zarahemla, and from thence throughout\nall the land.\n\n5:2 And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church\nwhich was established in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own\nrecord, saying:\n\n5:3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high\npriest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God\nto do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a\nchurch in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land\nwhich was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his\nbrethren in the waters of Mormon.\n\n5:4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of\nthe people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.\n\n5:5 And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands\nof the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in\ncaptivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the\npower of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we\nbegan to establish the church of God throughout this land also.\n\n5:6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to\nthis church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the\ncaptivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in\nremembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover,\nhave ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered\ntheir souls from hell?\n\n5:7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a\ndeep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of\ndarkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of\nthe everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of\ndeath, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await\nthem.\n\n5:8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I\nsay unto you, Nay, they were not.\n\n5:9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of\nhell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea,\nthey were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing\nredeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.\n\n5:10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what\ngrounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their\nbeing loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?\n\n5:11 Behold, I can tell you\u2014did not my father Alma believe in the words\nwhich were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy\nprophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe\nthem?\n\n5:12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in\nhis heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.\n\n5:13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty\nchange was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves\nand put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were\nfaithful until the end; therefore they were saved.\n\n5:14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye\nspiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your\ncountenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?\n\n5:15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do\nyou look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised\nin immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand\nbefore God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in\nthe mortal body?\n\n5:16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the\nvoice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye\nblessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness\nupon the face of the earth?\n\n5:17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in\nthat day, and say\u2014Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the\nface of the earth\u2014and that he will save you?\n\n5:18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the\ntribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a\nremembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your\nwickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the\ncommandments of God?\n\n5:19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure\nheart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the\nimage of God engraven upon your countenances?\n\n5:20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded\nyourselves to become subjects to the devil?\n\n5:21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved;\nfor there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white;\nyea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all\nstain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our\nfathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.\n\n5:22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye\nshall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with\nblood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things\ntestify against you?\n\n5:23 Behold will they not testify that ye are murderers, yea, and also\nthat ye are guilty of all manner of wickedness?\n\n5:24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a\nplace to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and\nwith Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed\nand are spotless, pure and white?\n\n5:25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the\nbeginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot\nsuppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they\nshall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of the\ndevil.\n\n5:26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have\nexperienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of\nredeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?\n\n5:27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye\nsay, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye\nhave been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed\nand made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his\npeople from their sins?\n\n5:28 Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye\nare not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the\nkingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal\nlife.\n\n5:29 Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy?\nI say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he\nshould prepare quickly, for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth\nnot when the time shall come; for such an one is not found guiltless.\n\n5:30 And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a\nmock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?\n\n5:31 Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the time is at\nhand that he must repent or he cannot be saved!\n\n5:32 Yea, even wo unto all ye workers of iniquity; repent, repent, for\nthe Lord God hath spoken it!\n\n5:33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of\nmercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will\nreceive you.\n\n5:34 Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of\nthe tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the\nwaters of life freely;\n\n5:35 Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye\nshall not be hewn down and cast into the fire\u2014\n\n5:36 For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever bringeth forth not\ngood fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same\nhave cause to wail and mourn.\n\n5:37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vain things\nof the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of\nrighteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no\nshepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still\ncalling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!\n\n5:38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea,\nand in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and\nif ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name\nby which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good\nshepherd.\n\n5:39 And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold\nare ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye\nare of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you,\nwhosoever denieth this is a liar and a child of the devil.\n\n5:40 For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and\nwhatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.\n\n5:41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto\nthe voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever\nbringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for\nhe hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.\n\n5:42 And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore,\nfor his wages he receiveth death, as to things pertaining unto\nrighteousness, being dead unto all good works.\n\n5:43 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for I speak\nin the energy of my soul; for behold, I have spoken unto you plainly\nthat ye cannot err, or have spoken according to the commandments of\nGod.\n\n5:44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy\norder of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand\nand testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our\nfathers concerning the things which are to come.\n\n5:45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things\nmyself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things\nwhereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of\ntheir surety?\n\n5:46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy\nSpirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might\nknow these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are\ntrue; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy\nSpirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.\n\n5:47 And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto\nme, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even\nso according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by\nthe manifestation of the Spirit of God.\n\n5:48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say\nunto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto\nyou, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only\nBegotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And\nbehold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea,\nthe sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.\n\n5:49 And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am\ncalled, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one\nthat dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young,\nboth bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle\naged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must\nrepent and be born again.\n\n5:50 Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for\nthe kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in\nhis glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved\nbrethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of\nthe King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon\nshine forth among all the children of men.\n\n5:51 And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a\nmighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this people\u2014Repent, for\nexcept ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven.\n\n5:52 And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid\nat the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth\ngood fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which\ncannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember,\nthe Holy One hath spoken it.\n\n5:53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand\nthese sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy\nOne under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your\nhearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and\nsetting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your\nriches?\n\n5:54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than\nanother; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who\nhumble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith\nthey have been brought into this church, having been sanctified by the\nHoly Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for\nrepentance\u2014\n\n5:55 Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and\nthe needy, and in withholding your substance from them?\n\n5:56 And finally, all ye that will persist in your wickedness, I say\nunto you that these are they who shall be hewn down and cast into the\nfire except they speedily repent.\n\n5:57 And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the\nvoice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye\nseparate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names\nshall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be\nnumbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be\nfulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled\nwith the names of my people;\n\n5:58 For the names of the righteous shall be written in the book of\nlife, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at my right hand. And\nnow, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if\nye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God must be\nfulfilled.\n\n5:59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not\nwatch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And\nbehold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and\nat the last, if he can, he will destroy him.\n\n5:60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you;\nand if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold,\nand ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous\nwolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.\n\n5:61 And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of him who hath\ncommanded me, that ye observe to do the words which I have spoken unto\nyou.\n\n5:62 I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and\nunto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of\ninvitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also\nmay be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.\n\nAlma Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking\nunto the people of the church, which was established in the city of\nZarahemla, he ordained priests and elders, by laying on his hands\naccording to the order of God, to preside and watch over the church.\n\n6:2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who\nrepented of their sins were baptized unto repentance, and were received\ninto the church.\n\n6:3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church\nthat did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before\nGod\u2014I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts\u2014the\nsame were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names\nwere not numbered among those of the righteous.\n\n6:4 And thus they began to establish the order of the church in the\ncity of Zarahemla.\n\n6:5 Now I would that ye should understand that the word of God was\nliberal unto all, that none were deprived of the privilege of\nassembling themselves together to hear the word of God.\n\n6:6 Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should\ngather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer\nin behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.\n\n6:7 And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations\nhe departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of\nZarahemla, and went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the\nvalley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the\ncity of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being\ncalled after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.\n\n6:8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church\nwhich was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the\nrevelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his\nfathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him,\naccording to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should\ncome to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which\nhe was called. And thus it is written. Amen.\n\nAlma Chapter 7\n\n7:1 Behold my beloved brethren, seeing that I have been permitted to\ncome unto you, therefore I attempt to address you in my language; yea,\nby my own mouth, seeing that it is the first time that I have spoken\nunto you by the words of my mouth, I having been wholly confined to the\njudgment-seat, having had much business that I could not come unto you.\n\n7:2 And even I could not have come now at this time were it not that\nthe judgment-seat hath been given to another, to reign in my stead; and\nthe Lord in much mercy hath granted that I should come unto you.\n\n7:3 And behold, I have come having great hopes and much desire that I\nshould find that ye had humbled yourselves before God, and that ye had\ncontinued in the supplicating of his grace, that I should find that ye\nwere blameless before him, that I should find that ye were not in the\nawful dilemma that our brethren were in at Zarahemla.\n\n7:4 But blessed be the name of God, that he hath given me to know, yea,\nhath given unto me the exceedingly great joy of knowing that they are\nestablished again in the way of his righteousness.\n\n7:5 And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I\nshall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy\nover you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow\nwhich I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy\ncometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow.\n\n7:6 But behold, I trust that ye are not in a state of so much unbelief\nas were your brethren; I trust that ye are not lifted up in the pride\nof your hearts; yea, I trust that ye have not set your hearts upon\nriches and the vain things of the world; yea, I trust that you do not\nworship idols, but that ye do worship the true and living God, and that\nye look forward for the remission of your sins, with an everlasting\nfaith, which is to come.\n\n7:7 For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and\nbehold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they\nall\u2014for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth\nand cometh among his people.\n\n7:8 Behold, I do not say that he will come among us at the time of his\ndwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for behold, the Spirit hath not said\nunto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not\nknow; but this much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all\nthings which are according to his word.\n\n7:9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry\nunto this people, saying\u2014Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord,\nand walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of\nheaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the\nearth.\n\n7:10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the\nland of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen\nvessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy\nGhost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.\n\n7:11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and\ntemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled\nwhich saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his\npeople.\n\n7:12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of\ndeath which bind his people; and he will take upon him their\ninfirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the\nflesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people\naccording to their infirmities.\n\n7:13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God\nsuffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins\nof his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to\nthe power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony\nwhich is in me.\n\n7:14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the\nSpirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of\nheaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be\nwashed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who\ntaketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse\nfrom all unrighteousness.\n\n7:15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin,\nwhich easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction,\nyea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to\nrepent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his\ncommandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters\nof baptism.\n\n7:16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from\nthenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will\nremember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life,\naccording to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.\n\n7:17 And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold,\nI say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I\nknow that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which\nis in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea,\nconcerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.\n\n7:18 For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire\nthat ye were not in the state of dilemma like your brethren, even so I\nhave found that my desires have been gratified.\n\n7:19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I\nperceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God;\nyea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight.\n\n7:20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony\nof his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary\nfrom that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from\nthe right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is\nwrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.\n\n7:21 And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or\nanything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God;\ntherefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at\nthe last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.\n\n7:22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you\nthat I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may\nwalk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of\nGod, after which ye have been received.\n\n7:23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and\ngentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering;\nbeing temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the\ncommandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand\nin need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God\nfor whatsoever things ye do receive.\n\n7:24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will\nalways abound in good works.\n\n7:25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that\nye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,\nand the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having\nyour garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the\nkingdom of heaven to go no more out.\n\n7:26 And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you\naccording to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth\nexceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which\nye have given unto my word.\n\n7:27 And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses\nand lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess,\nyour women and your children, according to your faith and good works,\nfrom this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen.\n\nAlma Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And now it came to pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon,\nafter having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be\nwritten, having established the order of the church, according as he\nhad before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own\nhouse at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had\nperformed.\n\n8:2 And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the\npeople of Nephi.\n\n8:3 And it came to pass in the commencement of the tenth year of the\nreign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from\nthence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of\nthe river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.\n\n8:4 And he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to\nthe holy order of God, by which he had been called; and he began to\nteach the people throughout all the land of Melek.\n\n8:5 And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the\nborders of the land which was by the wilderness side. And they were\nbaptized throughout all the land;\n\n8:6 So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence,\nand traveled three days\u2019 journey on the north of the land of Melek; and\nhe came to a city which was called Ammonihah.\n\n8:7 Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands,\nand their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small\nvillages, after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it\nwas with the land of Ammonihah.\n\n8:8 And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of\nAmmonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.\n\n8:9 Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of\nthe city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words\nof Alma.\n\n8:10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God\nin mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who\nwere in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them\nunto repentance.\n\n8:11 Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold,\nwe know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over\nthe church which thou hast established in many parts of the land,\naccording to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do\nnot believe in such foolish traditions.\n\n8:12 And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that\nthou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the\njudgment-seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge\nover us.\n\n8:13 Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words,\nand reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast\nout of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the\ncity which was called Aaron.\n\n8:14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being\nweighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish\nof soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city\nof Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with\nsorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:\n\n8:15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice,\nfor thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in\nkeeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy\nfirst message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.\n\n8:16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city\nof Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach\nunto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will\ndestroy them.\n\n8:17 For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the\nliberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to\nthe statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto\nhis people.\n\n8:18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from\nthe angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah.\nAnd he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the\nsouth of the city of Ammonihah.\n\n8:19 And as he entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a\nman: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?\n\n8:20 And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou\nart a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a\nvision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I\nwill impart unto thee of my food; and I know that thou wilt be a\nblessing unto me and my house.\n\n8:21 And it came to pass that the man received him into his house; and\nthe man was called Amulek; and he brought forth bread and meat and set\nbefore Alma.\n\n8:22 And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he\nblessed Amulek and his house, and he gave thanks unto God.\n\n8:23 And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am\nAlma, and am the high priest over the church of God throughout the\nland.\n\n8:24 And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all\nthis people, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy; and I\nwas in this land and they would not receive me, but they cast me out\nand I was about to set my back towards this land forever.\n\n8:25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and\nprophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning\ntheir iniquities.\n\n8:26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou\nart blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.\n\n8:27 And Alma tarried many days with Amulek before he began to preach\nunto the people.\n\n8:28 And it came to pass that the people did wax more gross in their\niniquities.\n\n8:29 And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my\nservant Amulek, go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying\u2014Repent\nye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people\nin mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away.\n\n8:30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare\nthe words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.\n\n8:31 And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not\nbe confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could\nslay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they\nwere bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the\nLord might show forth his power in them.\n\n8:32 And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and\nto prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which\nthe Lord had given them.\n\nAlma Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take\nAmulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people\nwho were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach\nunto them, they began to contend with me, saying:\n\n9:2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one\nman, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?\n\n9:3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew\nnot that the earth should pass away.\n\n9:4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst\nprophesy that this great city should be destroyed in one day.\n\n9:5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous works, for they\nwere a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.\n\n9:6 And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one\nman among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and\nmarvelous things?\n\n9:7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did\nnot. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly\ntestify unto them, saying:\n\n9:8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have ye forgotten\nthe tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the\ncommandments of God.\n\n9:9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of\nJerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led\nby him through the wilderness?\n\n9:10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our\nfathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from\nbeing destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?\n\n9:11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his\nmercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have\nbeen cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of\ntime, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.\n\n9:12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and\nexcept ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But\nbehold, this is not all\u2014he has commanded you to repent, or he will\nutterly destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit\nyou in his anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away.\n\n9:13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi,\nsaying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall\nprosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not\nkeep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.\n\n9:14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the\nLamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off\nfrom the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has\nbeen verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from\nhis presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.\n\n9:15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for\nthem in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins,\nyea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except\nye repent.\n\n9:16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites;\nfor it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them\nto remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be\nmerciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.\n\n9:17 And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his\nword, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their\nfathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful\nunto all who call on his name.\n\n9:18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness\nthat your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites\nshall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time\nwhen you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and\nit shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord.\n\n9:19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities,\nto destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that\nthe Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of\nNephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and\ntransgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge\ngiven unto them of the Lord their God;\n\n9:20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord;\nyea, after having been favored above every other nation, kindred,\ntongue, or people; after having had all things made known unto them,\naccording to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which\nhas been, and which is, and which is to come;\n\n9:21 Having been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with\nangels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and\nhaving the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also\nmany gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of\npreaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation;\n\n9:22 Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of\nJerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been saved from famine, and\nfrom sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they\nhaving waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having\nbeen brought out of bondage time after time, and having been kept and\npreserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich\nin all manner of things\u2014\n\n9:23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have\nreceived so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress\ncontrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you\nthat if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression,\nit would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them.\n\n9:24 For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the\nLamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the\nLord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel\nagainst him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the\nearth?\n\n9:25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has\nsent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that\nthey must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent\nye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;\n\n9:26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory;\nand his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father,\nfull of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and\nlong-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer\ntheir prayers.\n\n9:27 And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto\nrepentance, through faith on his name.\n\n9:28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand\nthat all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that\nwhich they have been\u2014if they have been righteous they shall reap the\nsalvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of\nJesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation\nof their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.\n\n9:29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the\npeople.\n\n9:30 And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought\nto be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for\nrepentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against\nthe word of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.\n\n9:31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words,\nbehold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that\nthey were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.\n\n9:32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a\nfallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands\nupon me, that they might cast me into prison.\n\n9:33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they\nshould take me at that time and cast me into prison.\n\n9:34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to\npreach unto them also. And now the words of Amulek are not all written,\nnevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.\n\nAlma Chapter 10\n\n10:1 Now these are the words which Amulek preached unto the people who\nwere in the land of Ammonihah, saying:\n\n10:2 I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael,\nwho was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi who\ninterpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which\nwas written by the finger of God.\n\n10:3 And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi,\nwho came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of\nManasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the\nhands of his brethren.\n\n10:4 And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those\nwho know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I\nhave also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.\n\n10:5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways\nof the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had\nknown much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much\nof his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation\nof the lives of this people.\n\n10:6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times\nand I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I\nwould not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the\nwickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh\nmonth, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.\n\n10:7 As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of\nthe Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house,\nfor thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a\nchosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of\nthis people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy\nhouse and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the\nblessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.\n\n10:8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and\nreturned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the man\nwhom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house\u2014and\nbehold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning\nthe things of God.\n\n10:9 And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he\nis a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.\n\n10:10 And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are\ntrue; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has\nhe sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he\nhas done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house.\n\n10:11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and\nmy women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all\nmy kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested\nupon us according to the words which he spake.\n\n10:12 And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to\nbe astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified of\nthe things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were\nto come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.\n\n10:13 Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought to question\nthem, that by their cunning devices they might catch them in their\nwords, that they might find witness against them, that they might\ndeliver them to their judges that they might be judged according to the\nlaw, and that they might be slain or cast into prison, according to the\ncrime which they could make appear or witness against them.\n\n10:14 Now it was those men who sought to destroy them, who were\nlawyers, who were hired or appointed by the people to administer the\nlaw at their times of trials, or at the trials of the crimes of the\npeople before the judges.\n\n10:15 Now these lawyers were learned in all the arts and cunning of the\npeople; and this was to enable them that they might be skilful in their\nprofession.\n\n10:16 And it came to pass that they began to question Amulek, that\nthereby they might make him cross his words, or contradict the words\nwhich he should speak.\n\n10:17 Now they knew not that Amulek could know of their designs. But it\ncame to pass as they began to question him, he perceived their\nthoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation,\nye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundation of the\ndevil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of\nGod.\n\n10:18 Ye are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to\nbring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter\ndestruction of this people.\n\n10:19 Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was\nabout to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer it upon,\ncausing that this people should be governed by their own voices\u2014yea,\nwell did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this\npeople should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that\nthis people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for\ndestruction.\n\n10:20 And now I say unto you that well doth the Lord judge of your\niniquities; well doth he cry unto this people, by the voice of his\nangels: Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\n\n10:21 Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will\ncome down among my people, with equity and justice in my hands.\n\n10:22 Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of\nthe righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be\nvisited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were\nthe people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by\npestilence, and the sword.\n\n10:23 But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now\ntherefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will\nnot the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out\nagainst you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and\nby the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye repent.\n\n10:24 And now it came to pass that the people were more angry with\nAmulek, and they cried out, saying: This man doth revile against our\nlaws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom we have selected.\n\n10:25 But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried the mightier unto\nthem, saying: O ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got\nsuch great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him\nthat he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that ye will not\nunderstand the words which are spoken, according to their truth?\n\n10:26 For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not\nunderstand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not,\nbut I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.\n\n10:27 And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the\ndestruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the\nunrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges.\n\n10:28 And now it came to pass that when Amulek had spoken these words\nthe people cried out against him, saying: Now we know that this man is\na child of the devil, for he hath lied unto us; for he hath spoken\nagainst our law. And now he says that he has not spoken against it.\n\n10:29 And again, he has reviled against our lawyers, and our judges.\n\n10:30 And it came to pass that the lawyers put it into their hearts\nthat they should remember these things against him.\n\n10:31 And there was one among them whose name was Zeezrom. Now he was\nthe foremost to accuse Amulek and Alma, he being one of the most expert\namong them, having much business to do among the people.\n\n10:32 Now the object of these lawyers was to get gain; and they got\ngain according to their employ.\n\nAlma Chapter 11\n\n11:1 Now it was in the law of Mosiah that every man who was a judge of\nthe law, or those who were appointed to be judges, should receive wages\naccording to the time which they labored to judge those who were\nbrought before them to be judged.\n\n11:2 Now if a man owed another, and he would not pay that which he did\nowe, he was complained of to the judge; and the judge executed\nauthority, and sent forth officers that the man should be brought\nbefore him; and he judged the man according to the law and the\nevidences which were brought against him, and thus the man was\ncompelled to pay that which he owed, or be stripped, or be cast out\nfrom among the people as a thief and a robber.\n\n11:3 And the judge received for his wages according to his time\u2014a\nsenine of gold for a day, or a senum of silver, which is equal to a\nsenine of gold; and this is according to the law which was given.\n\n11:4 Now these are the names of the different pieces of their gold, and\nof their silver, according to their value. And the names are given by\nthe Nephites, for they did not reckon after the manner of the Jews who\nwere at Jerusalem; neither did they measure after the manner of the\nJews; but they altered their reckoning and their measure, according to\nthe minds and the circumstances of the people, in every generation,\nuntil the reign of the judges, they having been established by king\nMosiah.\n\n11:5 Now the reckoning is thus\u2014a senine of gold, a seon of gold, a shum\nof gold, and a limnah of gold.\n\n11:6 A senum of silver, an amnor of silver, an ezrom of silver, and an\nonti of silver.\n\n11:7 A senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold, and either for a\nmeasure of barley, and also for a measure of every kind of grain.\n\n11:8 Now the amount of a seon of gold was twice the value of a senine.\n\n11:9 And a shum of gold was twice the value of a seon.\n\n11:10 And a limnah of gold was the value of them all.\n\n11:11 And an amnor of silver was as great as two senums.\n\n11:12 And an ezrom of silver was as great as four senums.\n\n11:13 And an onti was as great as them all.\n\n11:14 Now this is the value of the lesser numbers of their reckoning\u2014\n\n11:15 A shiblon is half of a senum; therefore, a shiblon for half a\nmeasure of barley.\n\n11:16 And a shiblum is a half of a shiblon.\n\n11:17 And a leah is the half of a shiblum.\n\n11:18 Now this is their number, according to their reckoning.\n\n11:19 Now an antion of gold is equal to three shiblons.\n\n11:20 Now, it was for the sole purpose to get gain, because they\nreceived their wages according to their employ, therefore, they did\nstir up the people to riotings, and all manner of disturbances and\nwickedness, that they might have more employ, that they might get money\naccording to the suits which were brought before them; therefore they\ndid stir up the people against Alma and Amulek.\n\n11:21 And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer\nme a few questions which I shall ask you? Now Zeezrom was a man who was\nexpert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which\nwas good; therefore, he said unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions\nwhich I shall put unto you?\n\n11:22 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, if it be according to the Spirit\nof the Lord, which is in me; for I shall say nothing which is contrary\nto the Spirit of the Lord. And Zeezrom said unto him: Behold, here are\nsix onties of silver, and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny\nthe existence of a Supreme Being.\n\n11:23 Now Amulek said: O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest\nthou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?\n\n11:24 Believest thou that there is no God? I say unto you, Nay, thou\nknowest that there is a God, but thou lovest that lucre more than him.\n\n11:25 And now thou hast lied before God unto me. Thou saidst unto\nme\u2014Behold these six onties, which are of great worth, I will give unto\nthee\u2014when thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was\nonly thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou\nmightest have cause to destroy me. And now behold, for this great evil\nthou shalt have thy reward.\n\n11:26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living\nGod?\n\n11:27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.\n\n11:28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?\n\n11:29 And he answered, No.\n\n11:30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?\n\n11:31 And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me.\n\n11:32 And Zeezrom said again: Who is he that shall come? Is it the Son\nof God?\n\n11:33 And he said unto him, Yea.\n\n11:34 And Zeezrom said again: Shall he save his people in their sins?\nAnd Amulek answered and said unto him: I say unto you he shall not, for\nit is impossible for him to deny his word.\n\n11:35 Now Zeezrom said unto the people: See that ye remember these\nthings; for he said there is but one God; yet he saith that the Son of\nGod shall come, but he shall not save his people\u2014as though he had\nauthority to command God.\n\n11:36 Now Amulek saith again unto him: Behold thou hast lied, for thou\nsayest that I spake as though I had authority to command God because I\nsaid he shall not save his people in their sins.\n\n11:37 And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins;\nfor I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can\ninherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except\nye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your\nsins.\n\n11:38 Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very\nEternal Father?\n\n11:39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of\nheaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the\nbeginning and the end, the first and the last;\n\n11:40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he\nshall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his\nname; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation\ncometh to none else.\n\n11:41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no\nredemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for\nbehold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand\nbefore God, and be judged according to their works.\n\n11:42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the\ndeath of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all\nshall be raised from this temporal death.\n\n11:43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect\nform; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even\nas we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before\nGod, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all\nour guilt.\n\n11:44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both\nbond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous;\nand even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but\nevery thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in\nthe body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of\nChrist the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one\nEternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be\ngood or whether they be evil.\n\n11:45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the\nmortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I\nsay unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that\nis from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die\nno more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided;\nthus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more\nsee corruption.\n\n11:46 Now, when Amulek had finished these words the people began again\nto be astonished, and also Zeezrom began to tremble. And thus ended the\nwords of Amulek, or this is all that I have written.\n\nAlma Chapter 12\n\n12:1 Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom,\nfor he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to\ndestroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness\nof his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to\nestablish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to\nunfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.\n\n12:2 Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the\npeople round about; for the multitude was great, and he spake on this\nwise:\n\n12:3 Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and\ncraftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied\nunto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that\nthy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit;\n\n12:4 And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan,\nas to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people\nthat thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us\nout\u2014\n\n12:5 Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his\npower in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto\nthee I say unto all.\n\n12:6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the\nadversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring\nyou into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his\nchains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction,\naccording to the power of his captivity.\n\n12:7 Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble\nmore exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of\nGod; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of\nhim, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of\nhis heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these\nthings according to the spirit of prophecy.\n\n12:8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might\nknow more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What\ndoes this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of\nthe dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the\nunjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to\ntheir works?\n\n12:9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is\ngiven unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are\nlaid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according\nto the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of\nmen, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.\n\n12:10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth\nthe lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart,\nto him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto\nhim to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.\n\n12:11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the\nlesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his\nmysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his\nwill down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of\nhell.\n\n12:12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised\nfrom this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before\nthe bar of God, to be judged according to our works.\n\n12:13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened\nour hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us,\nthen will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.\n\n12:14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn\nus; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn\nus; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God;\nand we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the\nmountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.\n\n12:15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in\nhis glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion,\nand acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are\njust; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto\nthe children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that\nbelieveth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.\n\n12:16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second\ndeath, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth\nin his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death;\nyea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.\n\n12:17 Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire\nand brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is\nthe time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction,\naccording to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them\naccording to his will.\n\n12:18 Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no\nredemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God\u2019s\njustice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.\n\n12:19 Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking\nthese words, the people began to be more astonished;\n\n12:20 But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them,\ncame forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that\nman should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an\nimmortal state that the soul can never die?\n\n12:21 What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed\ncherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest\nour first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of\nlife, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible\nchance that they should live forever.\n\n12:22 Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to\nexplain, now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the\nforbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by\nhis fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.\n\n12:23 And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for\nAdam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time,\nthere would have been no death, and the word would have been void,\nmaking God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.\n\n12:24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which\nhas been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless\nthere was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore\nthis life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a\ntime to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us,\nwhich is after the resurrection of the dead.\n\n12:25 Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was\nlaid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no\nresurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid,\nwhich shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has\nbeen spoken.\n\n12:26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could\nhave gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been\nforever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of\nredemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have\nbeen void, taking none effect.\n\n12:27 But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that\nthey must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that\nsame judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.\n\n12:28 And after God had appointed that these things should come unto\nman, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know\nconcerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;\n\n12:29 Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to\nbehold of his glory.\n\n12:30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name;\ntherefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of\nredemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world;\nand this he made known unto them according to their faith and\nrepentance and their holy works.\n\n12:31 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first\ntransgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal,\nand becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a\nstate to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their\nwills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good\u2014\n\n12:32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made\nknown unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil,\nthe penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting\ndeath as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan\nof redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not\nbe destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.\n\n12:33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the\nplan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden\nnot your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only\nBegotten Son;\n\n12:34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he\nshall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a\nremission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.\n\n12:35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold,\nI swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.\n\n12:36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will\nharden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord;\ntherefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath\nupon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the\nlast provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction\nof your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death,\nas well as the first.\n\n12:37 And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are\ntrue, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the\nLord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second\ncommandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest\nof God, which is prepared according to his word.\n\nAlma Chapter 13\n\n13:1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the\ntime when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I\nwould that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after\nhis holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these\nthings unto the people.\n\n13:2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a\nmanner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look\nforward to his Son for redemption.\n\n13:3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained\u2014being called\nand prepared from the foundation of the world according to the\nforeknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good\nworks; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore\nthey having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are\ncalled with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was\nprepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.\n\n13:4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of\ntheir faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of\nthe hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it\nhad not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their\nbrethren.\n\n13:5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with\ntheir brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the\nfoundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts,\nbeing in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was\nprepared\u2014\n\n13:6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the\nhigh priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments\nunto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest\u2014\n\n13:7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order\nwas from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without\nbeginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all\neternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things\u2014\n\n13:8 Now they were ordained after this manner\u2014being called with a holy\ncalling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the\nhigh priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and\nhigh priesthood, is without beginning or end\u2014\n\n13:9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son,\nthe Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or\nend of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is.\nAmen.\n\n13:10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high\npriesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests\nof God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance,\nand their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work\nrighteousness rather than to perish;\n\n13:11 Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were\nsanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of\nthe Lamb.\n\n13:12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their\ngarments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look\nupon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly\ngreat many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord\ntheir God.\n\n13:13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves\nbefore God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also\nenter into that rest.\n\n13:14 Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of\nMelchizedek, who was also a high priest after this same order which I\nhave spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.\n\n13:15 And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes;\nyea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he\npossessed.\n\n13:16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby\nthe people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his\norder, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to\nhim for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest\nof the Lord.\n\n13:17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his\npeople had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all\ngone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;\n\n13:18 But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the\noffice of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did\npreach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and\nMelchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he\nwas called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he\ndid reign under his father.\n\n13:19 Now, there were many before him, and also there were many\nafterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more\nparticularly made mention.\n\n13:20 Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice.\nBehold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall\nbe to your own destruction.\n\n13:21 And now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words unto\nthem, he stretched forth his hand unto them and cried with a mighty\nvoice, saying: Now is the time to repent, for the day of salvation\ndraweth nigh;\n\n13:22 Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth\ndeclare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have\nglad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings\namong all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon\nthe face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us.\n\n13:23 And they are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may\nunderstand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being wanderers\nin a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have\nthese glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard.\n\n13:24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our\nland; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the\nchildren of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his\nglory.\n\n13:25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by\nthe mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we know not\nhow soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner\nor later, in it I will rejoice.\n\n13:26 And it shall be made known unto just and holy men, by the mouth\nof angels, at the time of his coming, that the words of our fathers may\nbe fulfilled, according to that which they have spoken concerning him,\nwhich was according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.\n\n13:27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart,\nyea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my\nwords, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your\nrepentance;\n\n13:28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on\nhis holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be\ntempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy\nSpirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and\nall long-suffering;\n\n13:29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive\neternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may\nbe lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.\n\n13:30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring\ndown his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of\nhell, that ye may not suffer the second death.\n\n13:31 And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not\nwritten in this book.\n\nAlma Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the\npeople many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and\nto search the scriptures.\n\n14:2 But the more part of them were desirous that they might destroy\nAlma and Amulek; for they were angry with Alma, because of the\nplainness of his words unto Zeezrom; and they also said that Amulek had\nlied unto them, and had reviled against their law and also against\ntheir lawyers and judges.\n\n14:3 And they were also angry with Alma and Amulek; and because they\nhad testified so plainly against their wickedness, they sought to put\nthem away privily.\n\n14:4 But it came to pass that they did not; but they took them and\nbound them with strong cords, and took them before the chief judge of\nthe land.\n\n14:5 And the people went forth and witnessed against them\u2014testifying\nthat they had reviled against the law, and their lawyers and judges of\nthe land, and also of all the people that were in the land; and also\ntestified that there was but one God, and that he should send his Son\namong the people, but he should not save them; and many such things did\nthe people testify against Alma and Amulek. Now this was done before\nthe chief judge of the land.\n\n14:6 And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which\nhad been spoken; and he also knew concerning the blindness of the\nminds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his\nsoul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt;\nyea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.\n\n14:7 And it came to pass that he began to cry unto the people, saying:\nBehold, I am guilty, and these men are spotless before God. And he\nbegan to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him,\nsaying: Art thou also possessed with the devil? And they spit upon him,\nand cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in\nthe words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them\nout, and sent men to cast stones at them.\n\n14:8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever\nbelieved or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused\nthat they should be cast into the fire, and they also brought forth\ntheir records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into\nthe fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.\n\n14:9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried\nthem forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the\ndestruction of those who were consumed by fire.\n\n14:10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were\nconsuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How\ncan we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our\nhands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from\nthe flames.\n\n14:11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must\nnot stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto\nhimself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or\nthat the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness\nof their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them\nin his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as\na witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last\nday.\n\n14:12 Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us\nalso.\n\n14:13 And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But,\nbehold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not.\n\n14:14 Now it came to pass that when the bodies of those who had been\ncast into the fire were consumed, and also the records which were cast\nin with them, the chief judge of the land came and stood before Alma\nand Amulek, as they were bound; and he smote them with his hand upon\ntheir cheeks, and said unto them: After what ye have seen, will ye\npreach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a lake of\nfire and brimstone?\n\n14:15 Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been\ncast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy\nfaith. And the judge smote them again upon their cheeks, and asked:\nWhat say ye for yourselves?\n\n14:16 Now this judge was after the order and faith of Nehor, who slew\nGideon.\n\n14:17 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek answered him nothing;\nand he smote them again, and delivered them to the officers to be cast\ninto prison.\n\n14:18 And when they had been cast into prison three days, there came\nmany lawyers, and judges, and priests, and teachers, who were of the\nprofession of Nehor; and they came in unto the prison to see them, and\nthey questioned them about many words; but they answered them nothing.\n\n14:19 And it came to pass that the judge stood before them, and said:\nWhy do ye not answer the words of this people? Know ye not that I have\npower to deliver you up unto the flames? And he commanded them to\nspeak; but they answered nothing.\n\n14:20 And it came to pass that they departed and went their ways, but\ncame again on the morrow; and the judge also smote them again on their\ncheeks. And many came forth also, and smote them, saying: Will ye stand\nagain and judge this people, and condemn our law? If ye have such great\npower why do ye not deliver yourselves?\n\n14:21 And many such things did they say unto them, gnashing their teeth\nupon them, and spitting upon them, and saying: How shall we look when\nwe are damned?\n\n14:22 And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say\nunto them; and thus they did mock them for many days. And they did\nwithhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they\nmight thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they\nwere naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in\nprison.\n\n14:23 And it came to pass after they had thus suffered for many days,\n(and it was on the twelfth day, in the tenth month, in the tenth year\nof the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) that the chief\njudge over the land of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their\nlawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with\ncords.\n\n14:24 And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and\nsaid unto them: If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from\nthese bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this\npeople according to your words.\n\n14:25 And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them,\nsaying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had\nspoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they\nrose and stood upon their feet.\n\n14:26 And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great\nafflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith\nwhich is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords\nwith which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to\nflee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them.\n\n14:27 And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell\nto the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the\nearth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain,\nso that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers,\nand priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain\nby the fall thereof.\n\n14:28 And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were\nnot hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their\nfaith which was in Christ. And they straightway came forth out of the\nprison; and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had\nfallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it\nwere Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into\nthe city.\n\n14:29 Now the people having heard a great noise came running together\nby multitudes to know the cause of it; and when they saw Alma and\nAmulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen\nto the earth, they were struck with great fear, and fled from the\npresence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from\ntwo lions; and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek.\n\nAlma Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek were commanded to depart\nout of that city; and they departed, and came out even into the land of\nSidom; and behold, there they found all the people who had departed out\nof the land of Ammonihah, who had been cast out and stoned, because\nthey believed in the words of Alma.\n\n15:2 And they related unto them all that had happened unto their wives\nand children, and also concerning themselves, and of their power of\ndeliverance.\n\n15:3 And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which\nwas caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his\nwickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he\nsupposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this\ngreat sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did\nbecome exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to\nbe scorched with a burning heat.\n\n15:4 Now, when he heard that Alma and Amulek were in the land of Sidom,\nhis heart began to take courage; and he sent a message immediately unto\nthem, desiring them to come unto him.\n\n15:5 And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the\nmessage which he had sent unto them; and they went in unto the house\nunto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low\nwith a burning fever; and his mind also was exceedingly sore because of\nhis iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand, and\nbesought them that they would heal him.\n\n15:6 And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the\nhand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?\n\n15:7 And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou\nhast taught.\n\n15:8 And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou\ncanst be healed.\n\n15:9 And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.\n\n15:10 And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have\nmercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in\nChrist.\n\n15:11 And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet,\nand began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all\nthe people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the\nland of Sidom.\n\n15:12 And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that\ntime forth to preach unto the people.\n\n15:13 And Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and\nconsecrated priests and teachers in the land, to baptize unto the Lord\nwhosoever were desirous to be baptized.\n\n15:14 And it came to pass that they were many; for they did flock in\nfrom all the region round about Sidom, and were baptized.\n\n15:15 But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet\nremained a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people; and they repented not\nof their sins, ascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil;\nfor they were of the profession of Nehor, and did not believe in the\nrepentance of their sins.\n\n15:16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken\nall his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the\nland of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who\nwere once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;\n\n15:17 Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom,\nseeing a great check, yea, seeing that the people were checked as to\nthe pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God,\nand began to assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to\nworship God before the altar, watching and praying continually, that\nthey might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from\ndestruction\u2014\n\n15:18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he\ntook Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his\nown house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and\nstrengthened him in the Lord.\n\n15:19 And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the\npeople of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 16\n\n16:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month,\nthere having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having\nbeen no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until\nthe fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry\nof war heard throughout the land.\n\n16:2 For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the\nwilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of\nAmmonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.\n\n16:3 And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a\nsufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the\npeople who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the\nborders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.\n\n16:4 Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain\nthose who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.\n\n16:5 Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the\narmies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons,\nLehi and Aha)\u2014now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high\npriest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of\nprophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know\nwhither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in\nsearch of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.\n\n16:6 And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the\nmatter. And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites\nwill cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the\nborders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on\nthe east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee\nthy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.\n\n16:7 And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river\nSidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti\ninto the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river\nSidon.\n\n16:8 And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites\nwere scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their\nbrethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not\none soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were\nbrought by their brethren to possess their own lands.\n\n16:9 And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites\nhaving been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were\ndestroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed,\nand also their great city, which they said God could not destroy,\nbecause of its greatness.\n\n16:10 But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses\nwere mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness.\n\n16:11 Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up\nupon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow\ncovering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did\nnot go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was\ncalled Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor,\nwho were slain; and their lands remained desolate.\n\n16:12 And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites\nuntil the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of\nNephi. And thus for three years did the people of Nephi have continual\npeace in all the land.\n\n16:13 And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people\nin their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their\nsynagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.\n\n16:14 And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart\nthe word of God, without any respect of persons, continually.\n\n16:15 And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had\nbeen chosen for the work, to preach the word throughout all the land.\nAnd the establishment of the church became general throughout the land,\nin all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.\n\n16:16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his\nSpirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children\nof men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be\ntaught among them at the time of his coming\u2014\n\n16:17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might\nnot be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might\nreceive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true\nvine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.\n\n16:18 Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach\nagainst all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and\nmalice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering,\ncommitting adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that\nthese things ought not so to be\u2014\n\n16:19 Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth\nthe coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the\nresurrection of the dead.\n\n16:20 And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the\nSon of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto\nthem after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great\njoy and gladness.\n\n16:21 And now after the church had been established throughout all the\nland\u2014having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being\npreached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his\nblessings upon the people\u2014thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign\nof the judges over the people of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 17\n\n17:1 And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land\nof Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his\nastonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the\nland of Zarahemla.\n\n17:2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel\nfirst appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see\nhis brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his\nbrethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge\nof the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had\nsearched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of\nGod.\n\n17:3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and\nfasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of\nrevelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority\nof God.\n\n17:4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of\nfourteen years among the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing\nmany to the knowledge of the truth; yea, by the power of their words\nmany were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and\nconfess their sins before him.\n\n17:5 Now these are the circumstances which attended them in their\njourneyings, for they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both\nin body and in mind, such as hunger, thirst and fatigue, and also much\nlabor in the spirit.\n\n17:6 Now these were their journeyings: Having taken leave of their\nfather, Mosiah, in the first year of the judges; having refused the\nkingdom which their father was desirous to confer upon them, and also\nthis was the minds of the people;\n\n17:7 Nevertheless they departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and took\ntheir swords, and their spears, and their bows, and their arrows, and\ntheir slings; and this they did that they might provide food for\nthemselves while in the wilderness.\n\n17:8 And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers\nwhich they had selected, to go up to the land of Nephi, to preach the\nword of God unto the Lamanites.\n\n17:9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the\nwilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would\ngrant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with\nthem, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if\nit were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of\nthe truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their\nfathers, which were not correct.\n\n17:10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit,\nand said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.\n\n17:11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites,\nthy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in\nlong-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples\nunto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto\nthe salvation of many souls.\n\n17:12 And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and\nalso those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the\nLamanites to declare unto them the word of God.\n\n17:13 And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the\nland of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one\nfrom another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the\nclose of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which\nthey had undertaken.\n\n17:14 And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the\nword of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people\nwho delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering\nthem; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver,\nand precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by\nmurdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their\nown hands.\n\n17:15 Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship\nidols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the\ntraditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord\nwere extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.\n\n17:16 Therefore, this was the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had\nundertaken the work, that perhaps they might bring them unto\nrepentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of\nredemption.\n\n17:17 Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went\nforth among them, every man alone, according to the word and power of\nGod which was given unto him.\n\n17:18 Now Ammon being the chief among them, or rather he did administer\nunto them, and he departed from them, after having blessed them\naccording to their several stations, having imparted the word of God\nunto them, or administered unto them before his departure; and thus\nthey took their several journeys throughout the land.\n\n17:19 And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called\nafter the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites.\n\n17:20 And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him\nand bound him, as was their custom to bind all the Nephites who fell\ninto their hands, and carry them before the king; and thus it was left\nto the pleasure of the king to slay them, or to retain them in\ncaptivity, or to cast them into prison, or to cast them out of his\nland, according to his will and pleasure.\n\n17:21 And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land\nof Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant of\nIshmael.\n\n17:22 And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in\nthe land among the Lamanites, or among his people.\n\n17:23 And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people\nfor a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.\n\n17:24 And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon,\nand caused that his bands should be loosed; and he would that Ammon\nshould take one of his daughters to wife.\n\n17:25 But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant.\nTherefore Ammon became a servant to king Lamoni. And it came to pass\nthat he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni,\naccording to the custom of the Lamanites.\n\n17:26 And after he had been in the service of the king three days, as\nhe was with the Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to\nthe place of water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the\nLamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water\u2014\n\n17:27 Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving\nforth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of\nthe Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and\nscattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they\nscattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.\n\n17:28 Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the\nking will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were\nscattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep\nexceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already.\n\n17:29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon\nsaw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I\nwill show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power\nwhich is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win\nthe hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe\nin my words.\n\n17:30 And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the\nafflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.\n\n17:31 And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying:\nMy brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks,\nand we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of\nwater; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will\nnot slay us.\n\n17:32 And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and\nthey did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth with much swiftness and\ndid head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to\nthe place of water.\n\n17:33 And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said\nunto his brethren: Encircle the flocks round about that they flee not;\nand I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.\n\n17:34 Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth\nand stood to contend with those who stood by the waters of Sebus; and\nthey were in number not a few.\n\n17:35 Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of\ntheir men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not\nthat the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of\ntheir hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord;\ntherefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for\nthis cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.\n\n17:36 But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his\nsling; yea, with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them; and\nthus he slew a certain number of them insomuch that they began to be\nastonished at his power; nevertheless they were angry because of the\nslain of their brethren, and they were determined that he should fall;\ntherefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones, they\ncame forth with clubs to slay him.\n\n17:37 But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he\nsmote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows\nby smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they\nbegan to be astonished, and began to flee before him; yea, and they\nwere not few in number; and he caused them to flee by the strength of\nhis arm.\n\n17:38 Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slew none save it\nwere their leader with his sword; and he smote off as many of their\narms as were lifted against him, and they were not a few.\n\n17:39 And when he had driven them afar off, he returned and they\nwatered their flocks and returned them to the pasture of the king, and\nthen went in unto the king, bearing the arms which had been smitten off\nby the sword of Ammon, of those who sought to slay him; and they were\ncarried in unto the king for a testimony of the things which they had\ndone.\n\nAlma Chapter 18\n\n18:1 And it came to pass that king Lamoni caused that his servants\nshould stand forth and testify to all the things which they had seen\nconcerning the matter.\n\n18:2 And when they had all testified to the things which they had seen,\nand he had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preserving his\nflocks, and also of his great power in contending against those who\nsought to slay him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely,\nthis is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth\nsend such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?\n\n18:3 And they answered the king, and said: Whether he be the Great\nSpirit or a man, we know not; but this much we do know, that he cannot\nbe slain by the enemies of the king; neither can they scatter the\nking\u2019s flocks when he is with us, because of his expertness and great\nstrength; therefore, we know that he is a friend to the king. And now,\nO king, we do not believe that a man has such great power, for we know\nhe cannot be slain.\n\n18:4 And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I\nknow that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to\npreserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I did your brethren.\nNow this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.\n\n18:5 Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received from\nhis father, that there was a Great Spirit. Notwithstanding they\nbelieved in a Great Spirit they supposed that whatsoever they did was\nright; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest\nhe had done wrong in slaying his servants;\n\n18:6 For he had slain many of them because their brethren had scattered\ntheir flocks at the place of water; and thus, because they had had\ntheir flocks scattered they were slain.\n\n18:7 Now it was the practice of these Lamanites to stand by the waters\nof Sebus to scatter the flocks of the people, that thereby they might\ndrive away many that were scattered unto their own land, it being a\npractice of plunder among them.\n\n18:8 And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of his servants,\nsaying: Where is this man that has such great power?\n\n18:9 And they said unto him: Behold, he is feeding thy horses. Now the\nking had commanded his servants, previous to the time of the watering\nof their flocks, that they should prepare his horses and chariots, and\nconduct him forth to the land of Nephi; for there had been a great\nfeast appointed at the land of Nephi, by the father of Lamoni, who was\nking over all the land.\n\n18:10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses\nand his chariots he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of\nAmmon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my\nservants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth\nremember all my commandments to execute them.\n\n18:11 Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would\ndesire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.\n\n18:12 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and\nthe chariots for the king and his servants, he went in unto the king,\nand he saw that the countenance of the king was changed; therefore he\nwas about to return out of his presence.\n\n18:13 And one of the king\u2019s servants said unto him, Rabbanah, which is,\nbeing interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to\nbe powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth\nthee to stay.\n\n18:14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him:\nWhat wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king? And the king answered\nhim not for the space of an hour, according to their time, for he knew\nnot what he should say unto him.\n\n18:15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again: What desirest\nthou of me? But the king answered him not.\n\n18:16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the Spirit of\nGod, therefore he perceived the thoughts of the king. And he said unto\nhim: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy\nflocks, and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the\nsword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks\nand thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?\n\n18:17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great?\nBehold, I am a man, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou\ndesirest which is right, that will I do.\n\n18:18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for\nhe beheld that Ammon could discern his thoughts; but notwithstanding\nthis, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou?\nArt thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things?\n\n18:19 Ammon answered and said unto him: I am not.\n\n18:20 And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart?\nThou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also\ntell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren\nthat scattered my flocks\u2014\n\n18:21 And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever\nthou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would\nguard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than\nall they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it\nunto thee.\n\n18:22 Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt\nthou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these\nthings? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.\n\n18:23 And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy\nwords. And thus he was caught with guile.\n\n18:24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto\nhim: Believest thou that there is a God?\n\n18:25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that\nmeaneth.\n\n18:26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?\n\n18:27 And he said, Yea.\n\n18:28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again:\nBelievest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things\nwhich are in heaven and in the earth?\n\n18:29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are\nin the earth; but I do not know the heavens.\n\n18:30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells\nand all his holy angels.\n\n18:31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?\n\n18:32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of\nmen; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his\nhand were they all created from the beginning.\n\n18:33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast\nspoken. Art thou sent from God?\n\n18:34 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was\ncreated after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to\nteach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a\nknowledge of that which is just and true;\n\n18:35 And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me\nknowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are\nin God.\n\n18:36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of\nthe world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things\nconcerning the fall of man, and rehearsed and laid before him the\nrecords and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by\nthe prophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left\nJerusalem.\n\n18:37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to\nhis servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness,\nand all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and\nso forth.\n\n18:38 And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions of\nLaman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all their rebellions\ndid he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the records and\nscriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present\ntime.\n\n18:39 But this is not all; for he expounded unto them the plan of\nredemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he\nalso made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the\nworks of the Lord did he make known unto them.\n\n18:40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and\nexpounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words.\n\n18:41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy;\naccording to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of\nNephi, have upon me, and my people.\n\n18:42 And now, when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, as if he\nwere dead.\n\n18:43 And it came to pass that his servants took him and carried him in\nunto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and he lay as if he were dead\nfor the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons,\nand his daughters mourned over him, after the manner of the Lamanites,\ngreatly lamenting his loss.\n\nAlma Chapter 19\n\n19:1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were\nabout to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made\nfor the purpose of burying their dead.\n\n19:2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she\nsent and desired that he should come in unto her.\n\n19:3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went\nin unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should\ndo.\n\n19:4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it\nknown unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast\npower to do many mighty works in his name;\n\n19:5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and\nsee my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two\ndays and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say\nthat he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in\nthe sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.\n\n19:6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was\nunder the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was\nbeing cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his\nmind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous\nlight of his goodness\u2014yea, this light had infused such joy into his\nsoul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light\nof everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had\novercome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God\u2014\n\n19:7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire.\nTherefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had\ndesired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.\n\n19:8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in\nGod, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.\n\n19:9 And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto\nhim: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants;\nnevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.\n\n19:10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy\nexceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great\nfaith among all the people of the Nephites.\n\n19:11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband,\nfrom that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had\nappointed that he should rise.\n\n19:12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of\nAmmon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and\nsaid: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.\n\n19:13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and\nhe shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all\nmankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his\nheart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen\nalso sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.\n\n19:14 Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to\nhis prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of\nso much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God\nbecause of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his\nknees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God\nfor what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with\njoy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth.\n\n19:15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen,\nthey also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon\nthem also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified\nunto him concerning the great power of Ammon.\n\n19:16 And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord,\nin their might, even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it\nwere one of the Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been\nconverted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable\nvision of her father\u2014\n\n19:17 Thus, having been converted to the Lord, and never having made it\nknown, therefore, when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had\nfallen to the earth, and also her mistress, the queen, and the king,\nand Ammon lay prostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power\nof God; and supposing that this opportunity, by making known unto the\npeople what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it\nwould cause them to believe in the power of God, therefore she ran\nforth from house to house, making it known unto the people.\n\n19:18 And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of\nthe king. And there came a multitude, and to their astonishment they\nbeheld the king, and the queen, and their servants prostrate upon the\nearth, and they all lay there as though they were dead; and they also\nsaw Ammon, and behold, he was a Nephite.\n\n19:19 And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying\nthat it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and\nhis house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should remain in\nthe land.\n\n19:20 But others rebuked them, saying: The king hath brought this evil\nupon his house, because he slew his servants who had had their flocks\nscattered at the waters of Sebus.\n\n19:21 And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the\nwaters of Sebus and scattered the flocks which belonged to the king,\nfor they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain\nof their brethren at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of\nthe king.\n\n19:22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of\nAmmon, being exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went\nforth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he\nlifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead.\n\n19:23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said\nunto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him\naccording to thy faith\u2014therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.\n\n19:24 And it came to pass that when the multitude beheld that the man\nhad fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slay Ammon, fear came upon\nthem all, and they durst not put forth their hands to touch him or any\nof those who had fallen; and they began to marvel again among\nthemselves what could be the cause of this great power, or what all\nthese things could mean.\n\n19:25 And it came to pass that there were many among them who said that\nAmmon was the Great Spirit, and others said he was sent by the Great\nSpirit;\n\n19:26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a monster, who\nhad been sent from the Nephites to torment them.\n\n19:27 And there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great\nSpirit to afflict them because of their iniquities; and that it was the\nGreat Spirit that had always attended the Nephites, who had ever\ndelivered them out of their hands; and they said that it was this Great\nSpirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren, the Lamanites.\n\n19:28 And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them.\nAnd while they were thus contending, the woman servant who had caused\nthe multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the\ncontention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful,\neven unto tears.\n\n19:29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the hand,\nthat perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she\ntouched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a\nloud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful\nhell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!\n\n19:30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled\nwith joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she\nhad done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he\narose and stood upon his feet.\n\n19:31 And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went\nforth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the words which he\nhad heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words\nbelieved, and were converted unto the Lord.\n\n19:32 But there were many among them who would not hear his words;\ntherefore they went their way.\n\n19:33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered\nunto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all\ndeclare unto the people the selfsame thing\u2014that their hearts had been\nchanged; that they had no more desire to do evil.\n\n19:34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen\nangels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things\nof God, and of his righteousness.\n\n19:35 And it came to pass that there were many that did believe in\ntheir words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became\na righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.\n\n19:36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites;\nthus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see\nthat his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on\nhis name.\n\nAlma Chapter 20\n\n20:1 And it came to pass that when they had established a church in\nthat land, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to\nthe land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.\n\n20:2 And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon saying: Thou shalt not go\nup to the land of Nephi, for behold, the king will seek thy life; but\nthou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron,\nand also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.\n\n20:3 Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto\nLamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I\ngo that I may deliver them.\n\n20:4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the strength of the Lord\nthou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land\nof Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is\nAntiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni,\nthat I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren\nout of prison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy\nbrethren were in prison?\n\n20:5 And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and\nhe said unto me\u2014Go and deliver thy brethren, for they are in prison in\nthe land of Middoni.\n\n20:6 Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should\nmake ready his horses and his chariots.\n\n20:7 And he said unto Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land\nof Middoni, and there I will plead with the king that he will cast thy\nbrethren out of prison.\n\n20:8 And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying\nthither, they met the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.\n\n20:9 And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye not\ncome to the feast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons,\nand unto my people?\n\n20:10 And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who\nis one of the children of a liar?\n\n20:11 And it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was\ngoing, for he feared to offend him.\n\n20:12 And he also told him all the cause of his tarrying in his own\nkingdom, that he did not go unto his father to the feast which he had\nprepared.\n\n20:13 And now when Lamoni had rehearsed unto him all these things,\nbehold, to his astonishment, his father was angry with him, and said:\nLamoni, thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a\nliar. Behold, he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come\namongst us that they may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive\nus, that they again may rob us of our property.\n\n20:14 Now the father of Lamoni commanded him that he should slay Ammon\nwith the sword. And he also commanded him that he should not go to the\nland of Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land of\nIshmael.\n\n20:15 But Lamoni said unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I\nreturn to the land of Ishmael, but I go to the land of Middoni that I\nmay release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men\nand holy prophets of the true God.\n\n20:16 Now when his father had heard these words, he was angry with him,\nand he drew his sword that he might smite him to the earth.\n\n20:17 But Ammon stood forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not\nslay thy son; nevertheless, it were better that he should fall than\nthee, for behold, he has repented of his sins; but if thou shouldst\nfall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could not be saved.\n\n20:18 And again, it is expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if\nthou shouldst slay thy son, he being an innocent man, his blood would\ncry from the ground to the Lord his God, for vengeance to come upon\nthee; and perhaps thou wouldst lose thy soul.\n\n20:19 Now when Ammon had said these words unto him, he answered him,\nsaying: I know that if I should slay my son, that I should shed\ninnocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought to destroy him.\n\n20:20 And he stretched forth his hand to slay Ammon. But Ammon\nwithstood his blows, and also smote his arm that he could not use it.\n\n20:21 Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to\nplead with Ammon that he would spare his life.\n\n20:22 But Ammon raised his sword, and said unto him: Behold, I will\nsmite thee except thou wilt grant unto me that my brethren may be cast\nout of prison.\n\n20:23 Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt\nspare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half\nof the kingdom.\n\n20:24 Now when Ammon saw that he had wrought upon the old king\naccording to his desire, he said unto him: If thou wilt grant that my\nbrethren may be cast out of prison, and also that Lamoni may retain his\nkingdom, and that ye be not displeased with him, but grant that he may\ndo according to his own desires in whatsoever thing he thinketh, then\nwill I spare thee; otherwise I will smite thee to the earth.\n\n20:25 Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice\nbecause of his life.\n\n20:26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when\nhe also saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished\nexceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that\nI would release thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should\nretain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you that my son may\nretain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no\nmore\u2014\n\n20:27 And I will also grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out\nof prison, and thou and thy brethren may come unto me, in my kingdom;\nfor I shall greatly desire to see thee. For the king was greatly\nastonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words\nwhich had been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he was desirous to\nlearn them.\n\n20:28 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their\njourney towards the land of Middoni. And Lamoni found favor in the eyes\nof the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought\nforth out of prison.\n\n20:29 And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for\nbehold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because\nof being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger,\nthirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in\nall their sufferings.\n\n20:30 And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the\nhands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people; therefore they\nwould not hearken unto their words, and they had cast them out, and had\nsmitten them, and had driven them from house to house, and from place\nto place, even until they had arrived in the land of Middoni; and there\nthey were taken and cast into prison, and bound with strong cords, and\nkept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni and Ammon.\n\nAlma Chapter 21\n\n21:1 Now when Ammon and his brethren separated themselves in the\nborders of the land of the Lamanites, behold Aaron took his journey\ntowards the land which was called by the Lamanites, Jerusalem, calling\nit after the land of their fathers\u2019 nativity; and it was away joining\nthe borders of Mormon.\n\n21:2 Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and the people of Amulon had\nbuilt a great city, which was called Jerusalem.\n\n21:3 Now the Lamanites of themselves were sufficiently hardened, but\nthe Amalekites and the Amulonites were still harder; therefore they did\ncause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts, that they\nshould wax strong in wickedness and their abominations.\n\n21:4 And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem, and\nfirst began to preach to the Amalekites. And he began to preach to them\nin their synagogues, for they had built synagogues after the order of\nthe Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after\nthe order of the Nehors.\n\n21:5 Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach\nunto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose\nan Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou\nhast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto\nus? Behold are not this people as good as thy people?\n\n21:6 Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest\nthou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we\nhave cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous\npeople? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves\ntogether to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.\n\n21:7 Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall\ncome to redeem mankind from their sins?\n\n21:8 And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any\nsuch thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not\nbelieve that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that\nthy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things\nwhich they spake, of that which is to come.\n\n21:9 Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the\ncoming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and\nthat there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the\ndeath and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.\n\n21:10 And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them\nthey were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not\nhear the words which he spake.\n\n21:11 Therefore, when he saw that they would not hear his words, he\ndeparted out of their synagogue, and came over to a village which was\ncalled Ani-Anti, and there he found Muloki preaching the word unto\nthem; and also Ammah and his brethren. And they contended with many\nabout the word.\n\n21:12 And it came to pass that they saw that the people would harden\ntheir hearts, therefore they departed and came over into the land of\nMiddoni. And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on\nthe words which they taught.\n\n21:13 Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were\ntaken and cast into prison, and the remainder of them fled out of the\nland of Middoni unto the regions round about.\n\n21:14 And those who were cast into prison suffered many things, and\nthey were delivered by the hand of Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed\nand clothed.\n\n21:15 And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were\ndelivered for the first time out of prison; and thus they had suffered.\n\n21:16 And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of\nthe Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the\nAmalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be\nadmitted.\n\n21:17 And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch\nthat they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did\nconvince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers,\nwhich were not correct.\n\n21:18 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returned from the land\nof Middoni to the land of Ishmael, which was the land of their\ninheritance.\n\n21:19 And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or\nbe his servant.\n\n21:20 But he caused that there should be synagogues built in the land\nof Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who were under\nhis reign, should assemble themselves together.\n\n21:21 And he did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things.\nAnd he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were\nunder him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from\nthe oppressions of the king, his father; for that his father had\ngranted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the\nland of Ishmael, and in all the land round about.\n\n21:22 And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty\nof worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in\nwhatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under\nthe reign of king Lamoni.\n\n21:23 And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came\nto pass that he did teach them all things concerning things pertaining\nto righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and\nthey gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the\ncommandments of God.\n\nAlma Chapter 22\n\n22:1 Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually,\nwe will return to the account of Aaron and his brethren; for after he\ndeparted from the land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land\nof Nephi, even to the house of the king which was over all the land\nsave it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni.\n\n22:2 And it came to pass that he went in unto him into the king\u2019s\npalace, with his brethren, and bowed himself before the king, and said\nunto him: Behold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hast\ndelivered out of prison.\n\n22:3 And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy\nservants. And the king said unto them: Arise, for I will grant unto you\nyour lives, and I will not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I\nwill insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat\ntroubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness of the\nwords of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has\nnot come up out of Middoni with thee.\n\n22:4 And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has\ncalled him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach\nthe people of Lamoni.\n\n22:5 Now the king said unto them: What is this that ye have said\nconcerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth\ntrouble me.\n\n22:6 And also, what is this that Ammon said\u2014If ye will repent ye shall\nbe saved, and if ye will not repent, ye shall be cast off at the last\nday?\n\n22:7 And Aaron answered him and said unto him: Believest thou that\nthere is a God? And the king said: I know that the Amalekites say that\nthere is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build\nsanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him.\nAnd if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe.\n\n22:8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he\nsaid: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.\n\n22:9 And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our\nfathers out of the land of Jerusalem?\n\n22:10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he\ncreated all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?\n\n22:11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all\nthings, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these\nthings, and I will believe thy words.\n\n22:12 And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would\nbelieve his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the\nscriptures unto the king\u2014how God created man after his own image, and\nthat God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man\nhad fallen.\n\n22:13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation\nof Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and\nalso the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of\nthe world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.\n\n22:14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself;\nbut the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through\nfaith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of\ndeath, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of\ndeath should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did\nexpound all these things unto the king.\n\n22:15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things\nunto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal\nlife of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born\nof God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive\nhis Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off\nat the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess,\nyea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.\n\n22:16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou\nwilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and\nwill bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that\nye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.\n\n22:17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the\nking did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did\nprostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:\n\n22:18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a\nGod, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I\nwill give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from\nthe dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said\nthese words, he was struck as if he were dead.\n\n22:19 And it came to pass that his servants ran and told the queen all\nthat had happened unto the king. And she came in unto the king; and\nwhen she saw him lay as if he were dead, and also Aaron and his\nbrethren standing as though they had been the cause of his fall, she\nwas angry with them, and commanded that her servants, or the servants\nof the king, should take them and slay them.\n\n22:20 Now the servants had seen the cause of the king\u2019s fall, therefore\nthey durst not lay their hands on Aaron and his brethren; and they pled\nwith the queen saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these\nmen, when behold one of them is mightier than us all? Therefore we\nshall fall before them.\n\n22:21 Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants she also began to\nfear exceedingly, lest there should some evil come upon her. And she\ncommanded her servants that they should go and call the people, that\nthey might slay Aaron and his brethren.\n\n22:22 Now when Aaron saw the determination of the queen, he, also\nknowing the hardness of the hearts of the people, feared lest that a\nmultitude should assemble themselves together, and there should be a\ngreat contention and a disturbance among them; therefore he put forth\nhis hand and raised the king from the earth, and said unto him: Stand.\nAnd he stood upon his feet, receiving his strength.\n\n22:23 Now this was done in the presence of the queen and many of the\nservants. And when they saw it they greatly marveled, and began to\nfear. And the king stood forth, and began to minister unto them. And he\ndid minister unto them, insomuch that his whole household were\nconverted unto the Lord.\n\n22:24 Now there was a multitude gathered together because of the\ncommandment of the queen, and there began to be great murmurings among\nthem because of Aaron and his brethren.\n\n22:25 But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them.\nAnd they were pacified towards Aaron and those who were with him.\n\n22:26 And it came to pass that when the king saw that the people were\npacified, he caused that Aaron and his brethren should stand forth in\nthe midst of the multitude, and that they should preach the word unto\nthem.\n\n22:27 And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout\nall the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were\nin all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on\nthe east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of\nZarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east\neven to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore,\nand the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of\nZarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river\nSidon, running from the east towards the west\u2014and thus were the\nLamanites and the Nephites divided.\n\n22:28 Now, the more idle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness,\nand dwelt in tents; and they were spread through the wilderness on the\nwest, in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of\nZarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land\nof Nephi, in the place of their fathers\u2019 first inheritance, and thus\nbordering along by the seashore.\n\n22:29 And also there were many Lamanites on the east by the seashore,\nwhither the Nephites had driven them. And thus the Nephites were nearly\nsurrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken\npossession of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the\nwilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east to the west,\nround about on the wilderness side; on the north, even until they came\nto the land which they called Bountiful.\n\n22:30 And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it\nbeing so far northward that it came into the land which had been\npeopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was\ndiscovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their\nfirst landing.\n\n22:31 And they came from there up into the south wilderness. Thus the\nland on the northward was called Desolation, and the land on the\nsouthward was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled\nwith all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come\nfrom the land northward for food.\n\n22:32 And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half\u2019s journey\nfor a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the\neast to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of\nZarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of\nland between the land northward and the land southward.\n\n22:33 And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land\nBountiful, even from the east unto the west sea, and thus the Nephites\nin their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the\nLamanites on the south, that thereby they should have no more\npossession on the north, that they might not overrun the land\nnorthward.\n\n22:34 Therefore the Lamanites could have no more possessions only in\nthe land of Nephi, and the wilderness round about. Now this was wisdom\nin the Nephites\u2014as the Lamanites were an enemy to them, they would not\nsuffer their afflictions on every hand, and also that they might have a\ncountry whither they might flee, according to their desires.\n\n22:35 And now I, after having said this, return again to the account of\nAmmon and Aaron, Omner and Himni, and their brethren.\n\nAlma Chapter 23\n\n23:1 Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a\nproclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands\non Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren\nwho should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they\nshould be, in any part of their land.\n\n23:2 Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their\nhands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should\nthey spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their\nsynagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them,\nbut that they should have free access to their houses, and also their\ntemples, and their sanctuaries.\n\n23:3 And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to\ntheir desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all\nhis household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land\nunto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but\nthat it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might\nbe convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and\nthat they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they\nought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit\nadultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.\n\n23:4 And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this\nproclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city,\nand from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and\nconsecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the\nLamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus\nthey began to have great success.\n\n23:5 And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea,\nthousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites;\nand they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down\neven to the present time.\n\n23:6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as\nmany as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the\npreaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of\nrevelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in\nthem\u2014yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites\nas believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never\ndid fall away.\n\n23:7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons\nof their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more,\nneither against any of their brethren.\n\n23:8 Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord:\n\n23:9 The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;\n\n23:10 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of\nMiddoni;\n\n23:11 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of\nNephi;\n\n23:12 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of\nShilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel,\nand in the city of Shimnilom.\n\n23:13 And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were\nconverted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons\nof their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all\nLamanites.\n\n23:14 And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither\nwere any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also\nthe hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they\ndwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities.\n\n23:15 Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which\nthey did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were\nconverted.\n\n23:16 And now it came to pass that the king and those who were\nconverted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they\nmight be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king\nconsulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name\nthat they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.\n\n23:17 And it came to pass that they called their names\nAnti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more\ncalled Lamanites.\n\n23:18 And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they\nwere friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a\ncorrespondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them.\n\nAlma Chapter 24\n\n24:1 And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the\nLamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of\nHelam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the\nland round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon\nthem the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and\nby the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.\n\n24:2 And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even\ninsomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that\nthey would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up\narms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.\n\n24:3 Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his\nname Anti-Nephi-Lehi.\n\n24:4 And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began\nto make preparations for war against the people of God.\n\n24:5 Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with\nhim saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren,\nthey came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his\nbrethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they\nmight hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother\nAnti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the\nLamanites.\n\n24:6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been\nconverted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren;\nnay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also\ntheir king commanded them that they should not.\n\n24:7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning\nthe matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has\nin goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach\nunto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.\n\n24:8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of\nhis Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence\nwith these brethren, the Nephites.\n\n24:9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this\ncorrespondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many\nmurders which we have committed.\n\n24:10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted\nunto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath\nforgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed,\nand taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his\nSon.\n\n24:11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could\ndo, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins\nand the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take\nthem away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent\nsufficiently before God that he would take away our stain\u2014\n\n24:12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our\nstains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords\nno more with the blood of our brethren.\n\n24:13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they\nbe not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we\nshould stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through\nthe blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the\natonement of our sins.\n\n24:14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things\nknown unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these\nthings known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as\nhe loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his\nangels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well\nas unto future generations.\n\n24:15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as\nmuch as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our\nswords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept\nbright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that\nwe shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not\nstained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his\nword unto us and has made us clean thereby.\n\n24:16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold,\nwe will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the\nearth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never\nused them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we\nshall go to our God and shall be saved.\n\n24:17 And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of\nthese sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took\ntheir swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of\nman\u2019s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. Alma 24:18\nAnd this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also\nto men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of\nman\u2019s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that\nrather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their\nown lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give\nunto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor\nabundantly with their hands.\n\n24:19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to\nbelieve and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even\nunto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried\ntheir weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.\n\n24:20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made\npreparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose\nof destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of\ndestroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.\n\n24:21 Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they\nwent out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the\nearth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in\nthis attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to\nslay them with the sword.\n\n24:22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand\nand five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone\nto dwell with their God.\n\n24:23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee\nfrom the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to\nthe left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even\nin the very act of perishing under the sword\u2014\n\n24:24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying\nthem; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of\ntheir brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the\nthings which they had done.\n\n24:25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war,\nand they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders\nwhich they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren,\nrelying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.\n\n24:26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day\nby more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been\nslain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but\nwhat they were saved.\n\n24:27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were\nmore than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see\nthat the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.\n\n24:28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so\nmany of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest\nnumber of whom were after the order of the Nehors.\n\n24:29 Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were\nnone who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of\nNehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.\n\n24:30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been\nonce enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of\nthings pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin\nand transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state\nbecomes worse than though they had never known these things.\n\nAlma Chapter 25\n\n25:1 And behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more\nangry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore\nvengeance upon the Nephites; and they did no more attempt to slay the\npeople of Anti-Nephi-Lehi at that time.\n\n25:2 But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the\nland of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of\nAmmonihah, and destroyed them.\n\n25:3 And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the\nwhich they were driven and slain.\n\n25:4 And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of\nAmulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were\nslain by the hands of the Nephites;\n\n25:5 And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and\nhaving usurped the power and authority over the Lamanites, caused that\nmany of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their belief\u2014\n\n25:6 For many of them, after having suffered much loss and so many\nafflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the words which\nAaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore\nthey began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to\nbelieve in the Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites;\nand thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness.\n\n25:7 And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the\nchildren of Amulon caused that they should be put to death, yea, all\nthose that believed in these things.\n\n25:8 Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be\nstirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the\nwilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his\nbrethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east\nwilderness.\n\n25:9 And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the\nwords of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the\nseed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.\n\n25:10 For he said unto them: What ye shall do unto me shall be a type\nof things to come.\n\n25:11 And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because\nof his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should\nsuffer death by fire, according as he had suffered.\n\n25:12 And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause\nmany to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they\nshould be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no\nshepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these\nwords were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they\nwere hunted, and they were smitten.\n\n25:13 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could\nnot overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and\nmany of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of\nNephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the\npeople of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.\n\n25:14 And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their\nbrethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did\nwalk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments\nand his statutes.\n\n25:15 Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient\nthat they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all\nfulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward\nto the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type\nof his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward\nperformances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.\n\n25:16 Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses;\nbut the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and\nthus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation,\nrelying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to\ncome.\n\n25:17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their\nbrethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had\namong the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them\naccording to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto\nthem in every particular.\n\nAlma Chapter 26\n\n26:1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say\nthus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great\nreason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started\nfrom the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such\ngreat blessings?\n\n26:2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can\nye tell?\n\n26:3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in\ndarkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them\nare brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the\nblessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made\ninstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.\n\n26:4 Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into\nthe fold of God.\n\n26:5 Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust\nin the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did\nye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be\ngathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.\n\n26:6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day;\nyea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the\nstorm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the\nstorm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with\nfierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.\n\n26:7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and\nthey are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.\n\n26:8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea,\nlet us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness\nforever.\n\n26:9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our\ndearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still\nhave been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have\nbeen strangers to God.\n\n26:10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his\nbrother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth\ncarry thee away unto boasting.\n\n26:11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor\nin my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim\nwith joy, and I will rejoice in my God.\n\n26:12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak;\ntherefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for\nin his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles\nwe have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name\nforever.\n\n26:13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the\npains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this\nbecause of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not\ngreat reason to rejoice?\n\n26:14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most\nHigh God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.\n\n26:15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and\ndestruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting\nlight, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about\nwith the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been\ninstruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.\n\n26:16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we\nwill rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever.\nBehold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much\nof his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards\nthe children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest\npart which I feel.\n\n26:17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful\nas to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state?\n\n26:18 Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to\ndestroy his church.\n\n26:19 Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea,\nwhy did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us\nto eternal despair?\n\n26:20 Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he\ndid not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath\nbrought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the\nsalvation of our souls.\n\n26:21 And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that\nknoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these\nthings, save it be the penitent.\n\n26:22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth\ngood works, and prayeth continually without ceasing\u2014unto such it is\ngiven to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to\nreveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be\ngiven unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it\nhas been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.\n\n26:23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren\nin the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto\nour brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn?\n\n26:24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the\nLamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can\nconvince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their\nfathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in\nthe shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest\niniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the\nbeginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.\n\n26:25 And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that\nwe destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun\nus and destroy us.\n\n26:26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not\nwith the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that\nperhaps we might save some few of their souls.\n\n26:27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn\nback, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren,\nthe Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will\ngive unto you success.\n\n26:28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we\nhave been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every\nprivation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the\nmercies of the world\u2014not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon\nthe mercies of God.\n\n26:29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we\nhave taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon\ntheir hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their\nsynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and\nspit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and\ntaken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through\nthe power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.\n\n26:30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this,\nthat perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed\nthat our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving\nsome.\n\n26:31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors;\nand are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can\nwitness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their\nbrethren and also towards us.\n\n26:32 For behold, they had rather sacrifice their lives than even to\ntake the life of their enemy; and they have buried their weapons of war\ndeep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren.\n\n26:33 And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in\nall the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not, even among\nthe Nephites.\n\n26:34 For behold, they would take up arms against their brethren; they\nwould not suffer themselves to be slain. But behold how many of these\nhave laid down their lives; and we know that they have gone to their\nGod, because of their love and of their hatred to sin.\n\n26:35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there\nnever were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the\nworld began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my\nGod; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he\ncomprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto\nsalvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.\n\n26:36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my\nlife and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from\neverlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been\nmindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has\nbeen lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the\nname of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange\nland.\n\n26:37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people,\nwhatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his\nbowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my\ngreat thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever.\nAmen.\n\nAlma Chapter 27\n\n27:1 Now it came to pass that when those Lamanites who had gone to war\nagainst the Nephites had found, after their many struggles to destroy\nthem, that it was in vain to seek their destruction, they returned\nagain to the land of Nephi.\n\n27:2 And it came to pass that the Amalekites, because of their loss,\nwere exceedingly angry. And when they saw that they could not seek\nrevenge from the Nephites, they began to stir up the people in anger\nagainst their brethren, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi; therefore they\nbegan again to destroy them.\n\n27:3 Now this people again refused to take their arms, and they\nsuffered themselves to be slain according to the desires of their\nenemies.\n\n27:4 Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among\nthose whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly\nbeloved them\u2014for they were treated as though they were angels sent from\nGod to save them from everlasting destruction\u2014therefore, when Ammon and\nhis brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with\ncompassion, and they said unto the king:\n\n27:5 Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down\nto the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee out of\nthe hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed.\n\n27:6 But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites will destroy us,\nbecause of the many murders and sins we have committed against them.\n\n27:7 And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord, and if he say\nunto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye go?\n\n27:8 And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we\nwill go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we\nrepair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed\nagainst them.\n\n27:9 But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of our brethren,\nwhich was established by my father, that there should be any slaves\namong them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our\nbrethren.\n\n27:10 But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith\nunto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land.\n\n27:11 And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and\nthe Lord said unto him:\n\n27:12 Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan\nhas great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the\nLamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get\nthee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation,\nfor I will preserve them.\n\n27:13 And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the\nwords which the Lord had said unto him.\n\n27:14 And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people\nof the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds, and\ndeparted out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided\nthe land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the\nborders of the land.\n\n27:15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto them: Behold, I and my\nbrethren will go forth into the land of Zarahemla, and ye shall remain\nhere until we return; and we will try the hearts of our brethren,\nwhether they will that ye shall come into their land.\n\n27:16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land,\nthat he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been\nspoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.\n\n27:17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he\nwas swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his\nstrength; and he fell again to the earth.\n\n27:18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none\nreceiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.\n\n27:19 Now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great, and\nalso the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and Himni; but behold their joy was\nnot that to exceed their strength.\n\n27:20 And now it came to pass that Alma conducted his brethren back to\nthe land of Zarahemla; even to his own house. And they went and told\nthe chief judge all the things that had happened unto them in the land\nof Nephi, among their brethren, the Lamanites.\n\n27:21 And it came to pass that the chief judge sent a proclamation\nthroughout all the land, desiring the voice of the people concerning\nthe admitting their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.\n\n27:22 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying:\nBehold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by\nthe sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the\nland Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give\nunto our brethren for an inheritance.\n\n27:23 And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and\nthe land Nephi, that we may protect our brethren in the land Jershon;\nand this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up\narms against their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their\ngreat fear came because of their sore repentance which they had, on\naccount of their many murders and their awful wickedness.\n\n27:24 And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may\ninherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies\nwith our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their\nsubstance to assist us that we may maintain our armies.\n\n27:25 Now, it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he returned\nto the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, and also Alma with him, into the\nwilderness, where they had pitched their tents, and made known unto\nthem all these things. And Alma also related unto them his conversion,\nwith Ammon and Aaron, and his brethren.\n\n27:26 And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them. And\nthey went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the\nland of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of\nAmmon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after.\n\n27:27 And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among\nthe people who were of the church of God. And they were also\ndistinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for\nthey were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were\nfirm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.\n\n27:28 And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with\nthe greatest abhorrence; and they never could be prevailed upon to take\nup arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with\nany degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the\nresurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory\nof Christ over it.\n\n27:29 Therefore, they would suffer death in the most aggravating and\ndistressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before\nthey would take the sword or cimeter to smite them.\n\n27:30 And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored\npeople of the Lord.\n\nAlma Chapter 28\n\n28:1 And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were\nestablished in the land of Jershon, and a church also established in\nthe land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round\nabout the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land\nof Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their\nbrethren into the wilderness.\n\n28:2 And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as\nnever had been known among all the people in the land from the time\nLehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were\nslain and scattered abroad.\n\n28:3 Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of\nNephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were driven and scattered, and the\npeople of Nephi returned again to their land.\n\n28:4 And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and\nlamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of\nNephi\u2014\n\n28:5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of\nfathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea,\nthe brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard\namong all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.\n\n28:6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity,\nand a time of much fasting and prayer.\n\n28:7 And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over\nthe people of Nephi;\n\n28:8 And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their\njourneyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their\nsorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the\nreception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now\nmay the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.\n\n28:9 And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the\nNephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites; and\nthe fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended.\n\n28:10 And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the\ndestruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an\nawful scene of bloodshed.\n\n28:11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while\nthe bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of\nthe earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their\nkindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of\nthe Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.\n\n28:12 While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their\nkindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know,\naccording to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at\nthe right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.\n\n28:13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin\nand transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the\ncunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.\n\n28:14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in\nthe vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow,\nand also of rejoicing\u2014sorrow because of death and destruction among\nmen, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.\n\nAlma Chapter 29\n\n29:1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart,\nthat I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to\nshake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!\n\n29:2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of\nthunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent\nand come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the\nface of the earth.\n\n29:3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be\ncontent with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.\n\n29:4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just\nGod, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire,\nwhether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth\nunto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable,\naccording to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto\ndestruction.\n\n29:5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he\nthat knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good\nand evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he\ndesireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.\n\n29:6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more\nthan to perform the work to which I have been called?\n\n29:7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto\nall the ends of the earth?\n\n29:8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own\nnation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth\nfit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel\nin wisdom, according to that which is just and true.\n\n29:9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I\ndo not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath\ncommanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an\ninstrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and\nthis is my joy.\n\n29:10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and\ncoming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do\nI remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard\nmy prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended\ntowards me.\n\n29:11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I\nsurely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by\nthis did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham,\nthe God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of\nbondage.\n\n29:12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and\nthat same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did\ndeliver them out of bondage.\n\n29:13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea,\nand that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word\nunto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy\nis full.\n\n29:14 But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full\nbecause of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of\nNephi.\n\n29:15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth\nmuch fruit; and how great shall be their reward!\n\n29:16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is\ncarried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were,\nso great is my joy.\n\n29:17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit\ndown in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit\nof their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise\nhim forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my\nwords, even as I have spoken. Amen.\n\nAlma Chapter 30\n\n30:1 Behold, now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were\nestablished in the land of Jershon, yea, and also after the Lamanites\nwere driven out of the land, and their dead were buried by the people\nof the land\u2014\n\n30:2 Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their\nnumbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered\u2014but it came to\npass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of\nfasting, and mourning, and prayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of\nthe reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) there began to be\ncontinual peace throughout all the land.\n\n30:3 Yea, and the people did observe to keep the commandments of the\nLord; and they were strict in observing the ordinances of God,\naccording to the law of Moses; for they were taught to keep the law of\nMoses until it should be fulfilled.\n\n30:4 And thus the people did have no disturbance in all the sixteenth\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.\n\n30:5 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the seventeenth\nyear of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace.\n\n30:6 But it came to pass in the latter end of the seventeenth year,\nthere came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he was Anti-Christ,\nfor he began to preach unto the people against the prophecies which had\nbeen spoken by the prophets, concerning the coming of Christ.\n\n30:7 Now there was no law against a man\u2019s belief; for it was strictly\ncontrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should\nbring men on to unequal grounds.\n\n30:8 For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will\nserve.\n\n30:9 Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or\nrather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if\nhe did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.\n\n30:10 But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed\nhe was also punished; and if he stole he was also punished; and if he\ncommitted adultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness\nthey were punished.\n\n30:11 For there was a law that men should be judged according to their\ncrimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man\u2019s belief;\ntherefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done;\ntherefore all men were on equal grounds.\n\n30:12 And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could\nhave no hold upon him) began to preach unto the people that there\nshould be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:\n\n30:13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do\nye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a\nChrist? For no man can know of anything which is to come.\n\n30:14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are\nhanded down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of\nyour fathers.\n\n30:15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things\nwhich ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a\nChrist.\n\n30:16 Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But\nbehold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of\nyour minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead\nyou away into a belief of things which are not so.\n\n30:17 And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that\nthere could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man\nfared in this life according to the management of the creature;\ntherefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every\nman conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was\nno crime.\n\n30:18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of\nmany, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea,\nleading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms\u2014telling them\nthat when a man was dead, that was the end thereof.\n\n30:19 Now this man went over to the land of Jershon also, to preach\nthese things among the people of Ammon, who were once the people of the\nLamanites.\n\n30:20 But behold they were more wise than many of the Nephites; for\nthey took him, and bound him, and carried him before Ammon, who was a\nhigh priest over that people.\n\n30:21 And it came to pass that he caused that he should be carried out\nof the land. And he came over into the land of Gideon, and began to\npreach unto them also; and here he did not have much success, for he\nwas taken and bound and carried before the high priest, and also the\nchief judge over the land.\n\n30:22 And it came to pass that the high priest said unto him: Why do ye\ngo about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people\nthat there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings? Why do ye\nspeak against all the prophecies of the holy prophets?\n\n30:23 Now the high priest\u2019s name was Giddonah. And Korihor said unto\nhim: Because I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers, and\nbecause I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the\nfoolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient\npriests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in\nignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down\naccording to thy words.\n\n30:24 Ye say that this people is a free people. Behold, I say they are\nin bondage. Ye say that those ancient prophecies are true. Behold, I\nsay that ye do not know that they are true.\n\n30:25 Ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallen people, because\nof the transgression of a parent. Behold, I say that a child is not\nguilty because of its parents.\n\n30:26 And ye also say that Christ shall come. But behold, I say that ye\ndo not know that there shall be a Christ. And ye say also that he shall\nbe slain for the sins of the world\u2014\n\n30:27 And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of\nyour fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down,\neven as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors\nof their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that\nthey durst not enjoy their rights and privileges.\n\n30:28 Yea, they durst not make use of that which is their own lest they\nshould offend their priests, who do yoke them according to their\ndesires, and have brought them to believe, by their traditions and\ntheir dreams and their whims and their visions and their pretended\nmysteries, that they should, if they did not do according to their\nwords, offend some unknown being, who they say is God\u2014a being who never\nhas been seen or known, who never was nor ever will be.\n\n30:29 Now when the high priest and the chief judge saw the hardness of\nhis heart, yea, when they saw that he would revile even against God,\nthey would not make any reply to his words; but they caused that he\nshould be bound; and they delivered him up into the hands of the\nofficers, and sent him to the land of Zarahemla, that he might be\nbrought before Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over all the\nland.\n\n30:30 And it came to pass that when he was brought before Alma and the\nchief judge, he did go on in the same manner as he did in the land of\nGideon; yea, he went on to blaspheme.\n\n30:31 And he did rise up in great swelling words before Alma, and did\nrevile against the priests and teachers, accusing them of leading away\nthe people after the silly traditions of their fathers, for the sake of\nglutting on the labors of the people.\n\n30:32 Now Alma said unto him: Thou knowest that we do not glut\nourselves upon the labors of this people; for behold I have labored\neven from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with\nmine own hands for my support, notwithstanding my many travels round\nabout the land to declare the word of God unto my people.\n\n30:33 And notwithstanding the many labors which I have performed in the\nchurch, I have never received so much as even one senine for my labor;\nneither has any of my brethren, save it were in the judgment-seat; and\nthen we have received only according to law for our time.\n\n30:34 And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in the\nchurch, what doth it profit us to labor in the church save it were to\ndeclare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the joy of our\nbrethren?\n\n30:35 Then why sayest thou that we preach unto this people to get gain,\nwhen thou, of thyself, knowest that we receive no gain? And now,\nbelievest thou that we deceive this people, that causes such joy in\ntheir hearts?\n\n30:36 And Korihor answered him, Yea.\n\n30:37 And then Alma said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?\n\n30:38 And he answered, Nay.\n\n30:39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God,\nand also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a\nGod, and also that Christ shall come.\n\n30:40 And now what evidence have ye that there is no God, or that\nChrist cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your\nword only.\n\n30:41 But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things\nare true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they\nare true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things are\ntrue?\n\n30:42 Behold, I know that thou believest, but thou art possessed with a\nlying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of God that it may have no\nplace in you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you\nabout, working devices that he may destroy the children of God.\n\n30:43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that\nI may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath\npower, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words.\n\n30:44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt\nyour God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony\nof all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The\nscriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a\nGod; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it,\nyea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their\nregular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.\n\n30:45 And yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people,\ntestifying unto them there is no God? And yet will ye deny against all\nthese witnesses? And he said: Yea, I will deny, except ye shall show me\na sign.\n\n30:46 And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him: Behold, I am\ngrieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still\nresist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed.\n\n30:47 But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that\nthou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction,\nby thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny\nagain, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that\nthou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive\nthis people any more.\n\n30:48 Now Korihor said unto him: I do not deny the existence of a God,\nbut I do not believe that there is a God; and I say also, that ye do\nnot know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not\nbelieve.\n\n30:49 Now Alma said unto him: This will I give unto thee for a sign,\nthat thou shalt be struck dumb, according to my words; and I say, that\nin the name of God, ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have\nutterance.\n\n30:50 Now when Alma had said these words, Korihor was struck dumb, that\nhe could not have utterance, according to the words of Alma.\n\n30:51 And now when the chief judge saw this, he put forth his hand and\nwrote unto Korihor, saying: Art thou convinced of the power of God? In\nwhom did ye desire that Alma should show forth his sign? Would ye that\nhe should afflict others, to show unto thee a sign? Behold, he has\nshowed unto you a sign; and now will ye dispute more?\n\n30:52 And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: I know that I\nam dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know that nothing save it were the\npower of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always knew that\nthere was a God.\n\n30:53 But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me\nin the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people,\nfor they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto\nme: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And\nI have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing\nunto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success,\ninsomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause\nI withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon\nme.\n\n30:54 Now when he had said this, he besought that Alma should pray unto\nGod, that the curse might be taken from him.\n\n30:55 But Alma said unto him: If this curse should be taken from thee\nthou wouldst again lead away the hearts of this people; therefore, it\nshall be unto thee even as the Lord will.\n\n30:56 And it came to pass that the curse was not taken off of Korihor;\nbut he was cast out, and went about from house to house begging for his\nfood.\n\n30:57 Now the knowledge of what had happened unto Korihor was\nimmediately published throughout all the land; yea, the proclamation\nwas sent forth by the chief judge to all the people in the land,\ndeclaring unto those who had believed in the words of Korihor that they\nmust speedily repent, lest the same judgments would come unto them.\n\n30:58 And it came to pass that they were all convinced of the\nwickedness of Korihor; therefore they were all converted again unto the\nLord; and this put an end to the iniquity after the manner of Korihor.\nAnd Korihor did go about from house to house, begging food for his\nsupport.\n\n30:59 And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea,\namong a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and\ncalled themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was\nZoram\u2014and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and\ntrodden down, even until he was dead.\n\n30:60 And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the\nLord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at\nthe last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.\n\nAlma Chapter 31\n\n31:1 Now it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having\nreceived tidings that the Zoramites were perverting the ways of the\nLord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of\nthe people to bow down to dumb idols, his heart again began to sicken\nbecause of the iniquity of the people.\n\n31:2 For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity\namong his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because\nof the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites.\n\n31:3 Now the Zoramites had gathered themselves together in a land which\nthey called Antionum, which was east of the land of Zarahemla, which\nlay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of\nJershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which\nwilderness was full of the Lamanites.\n\n31:4 Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter\ninto a correspondence with the Lamanites, and that it would be the\nmeans of great loss on the part of the Nephites.\n\n31:5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead\nthe people to do that which was just\u2014yea, it had had more powerful\neffect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else,\nwhich had happened unto them\u2014therefore Alma thought it was expedient\nthat they should try the virtue of the word of God.\n\n31:6 Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner; and Himni he did\nleave in the church in Zarahemla; but the former three he took with\nhim, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, who were at Melek; and he also took\ntwo of his sons.\n\n31:7 Now the eldest of his sons he took not with him, and his name was\nHelaman; but the names of those whom he took with him were Shiblon and\nCorianton; and these are the names of those who went with him among the\nZoramites, to preach unto them the word.\n\n31:8 Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore\nthey had had the word of God preached unto them.\n\n31:9 But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe\nto keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law\nof Moses.\n\n31:10 Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to\ncontinue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not\nenter into temptation.\n\n31:11 Yea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord in very many\ninstances; therefore, for this cause, Alma and his brethren went into\nthe land to preach the word unto them.\n\n31:12 Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their\nastonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and\nthat they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which\nday they did call the day of the Lord; and they did worship after a\nmanner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld;\n\n31:13 For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a\nplace for standing, which was high above the head, and the top thereof\nwould only admit one person.\n\n31:14 Therefore, whosoever desired to worship must go forth and stand\nupon the top thereof, and stretch forth his hands towards heaven, and\ncry with a loud voice, saying:\n\n31:15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that\nthou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit,\nand that thou wilt be a spirit forever.\n\n31:16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our\nbrethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which\nwas handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we\nbelieve that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also\nthou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.\n\n31:17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou\nhast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are\nelected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O\nGod, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us,\nthat we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our\nbrethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth\nlead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.\n\n31:18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy\npeople. Amen.\n\n31:19 Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren and his sons\nhad heard these prayers, they were astonished beyond all measure.\n\n31:20 For behold, every man did go forth and offer up these same\nprayers.\n\n31:21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, which, being\ninterpreted, is the holy stand.\n\n31:22 Now, from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame\nprayer unto God, thanking their God that they were chosen of him, and\nthat he did not lead them away after the tradition of their brethren,\nand that their hearts were not stolen away to believe in things to\ncome, which they knew nothing about.\n\n31:23 Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this\nmanner, they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again\nuntil they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand,\nto offer up thanks after their manner.\n\n31:24 Now when Alma saw this his heart was grieved; for he saw that\nthey were a wicked and a perverse people; yea, he saw that their hearts\nwere set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods.\n\n31:25 Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great\nboasting, in their pride.\n\n31:26 And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how\nlong, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below\nin the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of\nmen?\n\n31:27 Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are\nswallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with\ntheir mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the\nvain things of the world.\n\n31:28 Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and\ntheir bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious\nthings which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set\nupon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say\u2014We thank thee, O God, for\nwe are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.\n\n31:29 Yea, and they say that thou hast made it known unto them that\nthere shall be no Christ.\n\n31:30 O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and\ninfidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me\nstrength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and\nsuch wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.\n\n31:31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my\nsoul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have\nstrength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall\ncome upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.\n\n31:32 O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and\nalso my fellow laborers who are with me\u2014yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and\nOmner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom and also my two sons\u2014yea, even all\nthese wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in\nChrist.\n\n31:33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they\nmay bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the\niniquities of this people.\n\n31:34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in\nbringing them again unto thee in Christ.\n\n31:35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are\nour brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we\nmay bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.\n\n31:36 Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he\nclapped his hands upon all them who were with him. And behold, as he\nclapped his hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.\n\n31:37 And after that they did separate themselves one from another,\ntaking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they\nshould drink, or what they should put on.\n\n31:38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not,\nneither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that\nthey should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up\nin the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and\nthis because he prayed in faith.\n\nAlma Chapter 32\n\n32:1 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach\nthe word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues, and\ninto their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their\nstreets.\n\n32:2 And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began\nto have success among the poor class of people; for behold, they were\ncast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel\u2014\n\n32:3 Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues\nto worship God, being esteemed as filthiness; therefore they were poor;\nyea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross; therefore they were\npoor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart.\n\n32:4 Now, as Alma was teaching and speaking unto the people upon the\nhill Onidah, there came a great multitude unto him, who were those of\nwhom we have been speaking, of whom were poor in heart, because of\ntheir poverty as to the things of the world.\n\n32:5 And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among\nthem said unto him: Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they\nare despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more\nespecially by our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues\nwhich we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they\nhave cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place\nto worship our God; and behold, what shall we do?\n\n32:6 And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face\nimmediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld\nthat their afflictions had truly humbled them and that they were in a\npreparation to hear the word.\n\n32:7 Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he\nstretched forth his hand, and cried unto those whom he beheld, who were\ntruly penitent, and said unto them:\n\n32:8 I behold that ye are lowly in heart; and if so, blessed are ye.\n\n32:9 Behold thy brother hath said, What shall we do?\u2014for we are cast\nout of our synagogues, that we cannot worship our God.\n\n32:10 Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye cannot worship God\nsave it be in your synagogues only?\n\n32:11 Moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must not worship God\nonly once in a week?\n\n32:12 I say unto you, it is well that ye are cast out of your\nsynagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it\nis necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are\ncast out, that ye are despised of your brethren because of your\nexceeding poverty, that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for ye\nare necessarily brought to be humble.\n\n32:13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye;\nfor a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh\nrepentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and\nhe that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.\n\n32:14 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be\nhumble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed\nwho truly humble themselves because of the word?\n\n32:15 Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins,\nand endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed\u2014yea, much more\nblessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their\nexceeding poverty.\n\n32:16 Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being\ncompelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that\nbelieveth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of\nheart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled\nto know, before they will believe.\n\n32:17 Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign\nfrom heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.\n\n32:18 Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a\nman knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.\n\n32:19 And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God\nand doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to\nbelieve, and falleth into transgression?\n\n32:20 Now of this thing ye must judge. Behold, I say unto you, that it\nis on the one hand even as it is on the other; and it shall be unto\nevery man according to his work.\n\n32:21 And now as I said concerning faith\u2014faith is not to have a perfect\nknowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things\nwhich are not seen, which are true.\n\n32:22 And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should\nremember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name;\ntherefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea,\neven on his word.\n\n32:23 And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only\nmen but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words\ngiven unto them many times which confound the wise and the learned.\n\n32:24 And now, my beloved brethren, as ye have desired to know of me\nwhat ye shall do because ye are afflicted and cast out\u2014now I do not\ndesire that ye should suppose that I mean to judge you only according\nto that which is true\u2014\n\n32:25 For I do not mean that ye all of you have been compelled to\nhumble yourselves; for I verily believe that there are some among you\nwho would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances\nthey might.\n\n32:26 Now, as I said concerning faith\u2014that it was not a perfect\nknowledge\u2014even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety\nat first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.\n\n32:27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to\nan experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea,\neven if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in\nyou, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a\nportion of my words.\n\n32:28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place,\nthat a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed,\nor a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will\nresist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within\nyour breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin\nto say within yourselves\u2014It must needs be that this is a good seed, or\nthat the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it\nbeginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be\ndelicious to me.\n\n32:29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you,\nYea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.\n\n32:30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to\ngrow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it\nswelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now behold, will\nnot this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for\nye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth\nand beginneth to grow.\n\n32:31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto\nyou, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.\n\n32:32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not,\nbehold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.\n\n32:33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and\nplanted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow,\nye must needs know that the seed is good.\n\n32:34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge\nis perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because\nye know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also\nknow that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be\nenlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.\n\n32:35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is\nlight; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible,\ntherefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have\ntasted this light is your knowledge perfect?\n\n32:36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith,\nfor ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might\ntry the experiment to know if the seed was good.\n\n32:37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us\nnourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up,\nand bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with\nmuch care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.\n\n32:38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its\nnourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the\nsun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away,\nand ye pluck it up and cast it out.\n\n32:39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it\nbecause the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because\nyour ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye\ncannot have the fruit thereof.\n\n32:40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with\nan eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit\nof the tree of life.\n\n32:41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it\nbeginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with\npatience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and\nbehold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.\n\n32:42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience\nwith the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold,\nby and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious,\nwhich is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all\nthat is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast\nupon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither\nshall ye thirst.\n\n32:43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and\nyour diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree\nto bring forth fruit unto you.\n\nAlma Chapter 33\n\n33:1 Now after Alma had spoken these words, they sent forth unto him\ndesiring to know whether they should believe in one God, that they\nmight obtain this fruit of which he had spoken, or how they should\nplant the seed, or the word of which he had spoken, which he said must\nbe planted in their hearts; or in what manner they should begin to\nexercise their faith.\n\n33:2 And Alma said unto them: Behold, ye have said that ye could not\nworship your God because ye are cast out of your synagogues. But\nbehold, I say unto you, if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do\ngreatly err, and ye ought to search the scriptures; if ye suppose that\nthey have taught you this, ye do not understand them.\n\n33:3 Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has\nsaid concerning prayer or worship?\n\n33:4 For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my\nprayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when\nI prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn\nthem to me.\n\n33:5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto\nthee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst\nhear me.\n\n33:6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me\nin my prayer.\n\n33:7 And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee,\nthou didst hear me.\n\n33:8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee,\nto be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.\n\n33:9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in\nthe midst of thy congregations.\n\n33:10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and\nhave been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and\nwast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger\nwith speedy destruction.\n\n33:11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my\nsincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus\nmerciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine\nafflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments\naway from me, because of thy Son.\n\n33:12 And now Alma said unto them: Do ye believe those scriptures which\nhave been written by them of old?\n\n33:13 Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he\nsaid: Thou hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son.\n\n33:14 Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the\nscriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God?\n\n33:15 For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but\nZenock also spake of these things\u2014\n\n33:16 For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people,\nbecause they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed\nupon them because of thy Son.\n\n33:17 And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has\ntestified of the Son of God, and because the people would not\nunderstand his words they stoned him to death.\n\n33:18 But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have\nspoken concerning the Son of God.\n\n33:19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was\nraised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might\nlive. And many did look and live.\n\n33:20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because\nof the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so\nhardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the\nreason they would not look is because they did not believe that it\nwould heal them.\n\n33:21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your\neyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye\nrather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would\nnot cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?\n\n33:22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about\nyour eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to\nredeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their\nsins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to\npass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be\njudged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.\n\n33:23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in\nyour hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your\nfaith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto\neverlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may\nbe light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye\nwill. Amen.\n\nAlma Chapter 34\n\n34:1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had spoken these words\nunto them he sat down upon the ground, and Amulek arose and began to\nteach them, saying:\n\n34:2 My brethren, I think that it is impossible that ye should be\nignorant of the things which have been spoken concerning the coming of\nChrist, who is taught by us to be the Son of God; yea, I know that\nthese things were taught unto you bountifully before your dissension\nfrom among us.\n\n34:3 And as ye have desired of my beloved brother that he should make\nknown unto you what ye should do, because of your afflictions; and he\nhath spoken somewhat unto you to prepare your minds; yea, and he hath\nexhorted you unto faith and to patience\u2014\n\n34:4 Yea, even that ye would have so much faith as even to plant the\nword in your hearts, that ye may try the experiment of its goodness.\n\n34:5 And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds\nis whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no\nChrist.\n\n34:6 And ye also beheld that my brother has proved unto you, in many\ninstances, that the word is in Christ unto salvation.\n\n34:7 My brother has called upon the words of Zenos, that redemption\ncometh through the Son of God, and also upon the words of Zenock; and\nalso he has appealed unto Moses, to prove that these things are true.\n\n34:8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these\nthings are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ\nshall come among the children of men, to take upon him the\ntransgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of\nthe world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.\n\n34:9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for\naccording to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an\natonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all\nare hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except\nit be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.\n\n34:10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last\nsacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of\nany manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must\nbe an infinite and eternal sacrifice.\n\n34:11 Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which\nwill atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold\nwill our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto\nyou, Nay.\n\n34:12 But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered;\ntherefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement\nwhich will suffice for the sins of the world.\n\n34:13 Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last\nsacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be,\na stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be\nfulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and\nnone shall have passed away.\n\n34:14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit\npointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last\nsacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.\n\n34:15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe\non his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring\nabout the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth\nabout means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.\n\n34:16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles\nthem in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto\nrepentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice;\ntherefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about\nthe great and eternal plan of redemption.\n\n34:17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin\nto exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his\nholy name, that he would have mercy upon you;\n\n34:18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.\n\n34:19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.\n\n34:20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your\nflocks.\n\n34:21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both\nmorning, mid-day, and evening.\n\n34:22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.\n\n34:23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all\nrighteousness.\n\n34:24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper\nin them.\n\n34:25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.\n\n34:26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets,\nand your secret places, and in your wilderness.\n\n34:27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be\nfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and\nalso for the welfare of those who are around you.\n\n34:28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not\nsuppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if\nye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and\nafflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand\nin need\u2014I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your\nprayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who\ndo deny the faith.\n\n34:29 Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as\ndross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is\ntrodden under foot of men.\n\n34:30 And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so\nmany witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these\nthings, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance.\n\n34:31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts\nany longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation;\nand therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts,\nimmediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto\nyou.\n\n34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God;\nyea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their\nlabors.\n\n34:33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many\nwitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the\nday of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which\nis given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our\ntime while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein\nthere can be no labor performed.\n\n34:34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I\nwill repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for\nthat same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go\nout of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body\nin that eternal world.\n\n34:35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance\neven until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the\ndevil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath\nwithdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all\npower over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.\n\n34:36 And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in\nunholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea,\nand he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom,\nto go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the\nblood of the Lamb.\n\n34:37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember\nthese things, and that ye should work out your salvation with fear\nbefore God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ;\n\n34:38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye\nreceive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble\nyourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye\nmay be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving\ndaily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon\nyou.\n\n34:39 Yea, and I also exhort you, my brethren, that ye be watchful unto\nprayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the temptations of\nthe devil, that he may not overpower you, that ye may not become his\nsubjects at the last day; for behold, he rewardeth you no good thing.\n\n34:40 And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience,\nand that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile\nagainst those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty,\nlest ye become sinners like unto them;\n\n34:41 But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with\na firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.\n\nAlma Chapter 35\n\n35:1 Now it came to pass that after Amulek had made an end of these\nwords, they withdrew themselves from the multitude and came over into\nthe land of Jershon.\n\n35:2 Yea, and the rest of the brethren, after they had preached the\nword unto the Zoramites, also came over into the land of Jershon.\n\n35:3 And it came to pass that after the more popular part of the\nZoramites had consulted together concerning the words which had been\npreached unto them, they were angry because of the word, for it did\ndestroy their craft; therefore they would not hearken unto the words.\n\n35:4 And they sent and gathered together throughout all the land all\nthe people, and consulted with them concerning the words which had been\nspoken.\n\n35:5 Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let\nthe people know concerning their desires; therefore they found out\nprivily the minds of all the people.\n\n35:6 And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all\nthe people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken\nby Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land; and they were many;\nand they came over also into the land of Jershon.\n\n35:7 And it came to pass that Alma and his brethren did minister unto\nthem.\n\n35:8 Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of\nAmmon who were in Jershon, and the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being\na very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them\nthat they should cast out of their land all those who came over from\nthem into their land.\n\n35:9 And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the\npeople of Ammon did not fear their words; therefore they did not cast\nthem out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came\nover unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did\ngive unto them lands for their inheritance; and they did administer\nunto them according to their wants.\n\n35:10 Now this did stir up the Zoramites to anger against the people of\nAmmon, and they began to mix with the Lamanites and to stir them up\nalso to anger against them.\n\n35:11 And thus the Zoramites and the Lamanites began to make\npreparations for war against the people of Ammon, and also against the\nNephites.\n\n35:12 And thus ended the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges\nover the people of Nephi.\n\n35:13 And the people of Ammon departed out of the land of Jershon, and\ncame over into the land of Melek, and gave place in the land of Jershon\nfor the armies of the Nephites, that they might contend with the armies\nof the Lamanites and the armies of the Zoramites; and thus commenced a\nwar betwixt the Lamanites and the Nephites, in the eighteenth year of\nthe reign of the judges; and an account shall be given of their wars\nhereafter.\n\n35:14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of\nAlma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments\nin the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance;\nand as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their\nland; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon,\nand they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and\nchildren, and their lands.\n\n35:15 Now Alma, being grieved for the iniquity of his people, yea for\nthe wars, and the bloodsheds, and the contentions which were among\nthem; and having been to declare the word, or sent to declare the word,\namong all the people in every city; and seeing that the hearts of the\npeople began to wax hard, and that they began to be offended because of\nthe strictness of the word, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.\n\n35:16 Therefore, he caused that his sons should be gathered together,\nthat he might give unto them every one his charge, separately,\nconcerning the things pertaining unto righteousness. And we have an\naccount of his commandments, which he gave unto them according to his\nown record.\n\nAlma Chapter 36\n\n36:1 My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch\nas ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.\n\n36:2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the\ncaptivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could\ndeliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,\nand the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their\nafflictions.\n\n36:3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and\ntherefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of\nme; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be\nsupported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions,\nand shall be lifted up at the last day.\n\n36:4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself\u2014not of the\ntemporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.\n\n36:5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I\nshould not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his\nholy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of\nmyself.\n\n36:6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the\nchurch of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the\nway.\n\n36:7 And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and\nthe whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the\nearth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.\n\n36:8 But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood\nup, and beheld the angel.\n\n36:9 And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no\nmore to destroy the church of God.\n\n36:10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the\nspace of three days and three nights that I could not open my mouth,\nneither had I the use of my limbs.\n\n36:11 And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my\nbrethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the words\u2014If thou\nwilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of\nGod\u2014I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I\nshould be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.\n\n36:12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed\nup to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.\n\n36:13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was\ntormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled\nagainst my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.\n\n36:14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them\naway unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my\niniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God\ndid rack my soul with inexpressible horror.\n\n36:15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both\nsoul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of\nmy God, to be judged of my deeds.\n\n36:16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even\nwith the pains of a damned soul.\n\n36:17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while\nI was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered\nalso to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the\ncoming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the\nworld.\n\n36:18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my\nheart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall\nof bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of\ndeath.\n\n36:19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains\nno more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.\n\n36:20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my\nsoul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!\n\n36:21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so\nexquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto\nyou, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite\nand sweet as was my joy.\n\n36:22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting\nupon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in\nthe attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did\nlong to be there.\n\n36:23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I\nstood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been\nborn of God.\n\n36:24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without\nceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring\nthem to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they\nmight also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.\n\n36:25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly\ngreat joy in the fruit of my labors;\n\n36:26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold,\nmany have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have\nseen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things\nof which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is\nof God.\n\n36:27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every\nkind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me\nfrom prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust\nin him, and he will still deliver me.\n\n36:28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell\nwith him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has\nbrought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians\nin the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land;\nyea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time\nto time.\n\n36:29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of\nJerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them\nout of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the\npresent day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity;\nyea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their\ncaptivity.\n\n36:30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do\nknow, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall\nprosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye\nwill not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his\npresence. Now this is according to his word.\n\nAlma Chapter 37\n\n37:1 And now, my son Helaman, I command you that ye take the records\nwhich have been entrusted with me;\n\n37:2 And I also command you that ye keep a record of this people,\naccording as I have done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these\nthings sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is\nfor a wise purpose that they are kept.\n\n37:3 And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which\nhave the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the\ngenealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning\u2014\n\n37:4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be\nkept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and\npreserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every\nnation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the\nmysteries contained thereon.\n\n37:5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their\nbrightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also\nshall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.\n\n37:6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I\nsay unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought\nto pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.\n\n37:7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and\neternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the\nwise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.\n\n37:8 And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things\nshould be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this\npeople, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought\nthem to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.\n\n37:9 Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these\nrecords do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren\ncould not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the\nincorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their\nwords brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the\nknowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their\nRedeemer.\n\n37:10 And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many\nthousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our stiffnecked\nbrethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and\niniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?\n\n37:11 Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me;\ntherefore I shall forbear.\n\n37:12 And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise\npurpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom\nover all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one\neternal round.\n\n37:13 O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the\ncommandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye\nshall prosper in the land\u2014but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall\nbe cut off from his presence.\n\n37:14 And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these\nthings, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he\nwill keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show\nforth his power unto future generations.\n\n37:15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye\ntransgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are\nsacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall\nbe delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the\nwind.\n\n37:16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things\nwhich are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you,\n(for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do\nwith them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you,\nfor God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.\n\n37:17 For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you,\nfor he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.\n\n37:18 For he promised unto them that he would preserve these things for\na wise purpose in him, that he might show forth his power unto future\ngenerations.\n\n37:19 And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to the\nrestoration of many thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledge of the\ntruth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and he will also\nstill show forth his power in them unto future generations; therefore\nthey shall be preserved.\n\n37:20 Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in\nfulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the\ncommandments of God as they are written.\n\n37:21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four\nplates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of\ndarkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people\nwho have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea,\nall their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their\nwickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people;\nyea, and that ye preserve these interpreters.\n\n37:22 For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in\ndarkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord\nsaid, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face\nof the earth.\n\n37:23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a\nstone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may\ndiscover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the\nworks of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of\ndarkness, and their wickedness and abominations.\n\n37:24 And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word\nof God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:\n\n37:25 I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret\nworks and their abominations; and except they repent I will destroy\nthem from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all\ntheir secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter\npossess the land.\n\n37:26 And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they\nhave been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has been fulfilled;\nyea, their secret abominations have been brought out of darkness and\nmade known unto us.\n\n37:27 And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths,\nand their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations;\nyea, and all their signs and their wonders ye shall keep from this\npeople, that they know them not, lest peradventure they should fall\ninto darkness also and be destroyed.\n\n37:28 For behold, there is a curse upon all this land, that destruction\nshall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power\nof God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that this people\nmight not be destroyed.\n\n37:29 Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their oaths and\ntheir covenants from this people, and only their wickedness and their\nmurders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye\nshall teach them to abhor such wickedness and abominations and murders;\nand ye shall also teach them that these people were destroyed on\naccount of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.\n\n37:30 For behold, they murdered all the prophets of the Lord who came\namong them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities; and the\nblood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for\nvengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments\nof God did come upon these workers of darkness and secret combinations.\n\n37:31 Yea, and cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers\nof darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they\nrepent before they are fully ripe.\n\n37:32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you;\ntrust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an\neverlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.\n\n37:33 Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ;\nteach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart;\nteach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith\non the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n37:34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and\nlowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.\n\n37:35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in\nthy youth to keep the commandments of God.\n\n37:36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy\ndoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the\nLord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the\naffections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.\n\n37:37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee\nfor good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord,\nthat he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the\nmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these\nthings, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.\n\n37:38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing\nwhich our fathers call a ball, or director\u2014or our fathers called it\nLiahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared\nit.\n\n37:39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so\ncurious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our\nfathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.\n\n37:40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God;\ntherefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those\nspindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done;\ntherefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought\nby the power of God, day by day.\n\n37:41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means\nit did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot\nto exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works\nceased, and they did not progress in their journey;\n\n37:42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a\ndirect course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of\ntheir transgressions.\n\n37:43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these\nthings are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to\ngive heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not\nprosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.\n\n37:44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ,\nwhich will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was\nfor our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto\nthem a straight course to the promised land.\n\n37:45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as\nsurely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course,\nto the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their\ncourse, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of\npromise.\n\n37:46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of\nthe way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for\nthem, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us.\nThe way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.\n\n37:47 And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things,\nyea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare\nthe word, and be sober. My son, farewell.\n\nAlma Chapter 38\n\n38:1 My son, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said\nunto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye\nshall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the\ncommandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence.\n\n38:2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you,\nbecause of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you\nhave commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I\nhope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is\nhe that endureth to the end.\n\n38:3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already,\nbecause of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy\nlong-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.\n\n38:4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou\nwast stoned for the word\u2019s sake; and thou didst bear all these things\nwith patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that\nthe Lord did deliver thee.\n\n38:5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as\nmuch as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be\ndelivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions,\nand ye shall be lifted up at the last day.\n\n38:6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these\nthings of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which\nmaketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I\nshould not have known these things.\n\n38:7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare\nunto me that I must stop the work of destruction among his people; yea,\nand I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his\nvoice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.\n\n38:8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the\nmost bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out\nunto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my\nsins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.\n\n38:9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom,\nthat ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man\ncan be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and\nthe light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and\nrighteousness.\n\n38:10 And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that\nye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and\ntemperate in all things.\n\n38:11 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not\nboast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.\n\n38:12 Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle\nall your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain\nfrom idleness.\n\n38:13 Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray\nto be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.\n\n38:14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our\nbrethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember\nmy brethren in mercy\u2014yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at\nall times.\n\n38:15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day\ninto his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the\nword unto this people. Be sober. My son, farewell.\n\nAlma Chapter 39\n\n39:1 And now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I\nsaid unto thy brother; for behold, have ye not observed the steadiness\nof thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the\ncommandments of God? Behold, has he not set a good example for thee?\n\n39:2 For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy\nbrother, among the people of the Zoramites. Now this is what I have\nagainst thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy\nwisdom.\n\n39:3 And this is not all, my son. Thou didst do that which was grievous\nunto me; for thou didst forsake the ministry, and did go over into the\nland of Siron, among the borders of the Lamanites, after the harlot\nIsabel.\n\n39:4 Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse\nfor thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith\nthou wast entrusted.\n\n39:5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the\nsight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the\nshedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?\n\n39:6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place\nin you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is\nunpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and\nknowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I\nsay unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a\nforgiveness.\n\n39:7 And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been guilty of so\ngreat a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your\nsoul, if it were not for your good.\n\n39:8 But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye\nrepent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.\n\n39:9 Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins,\nand go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all\nthese things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the\nkingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself\nin these things.\n\n39:10 And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder\nbrothers in your undertakings; for behold, thou art in thy youth, and\nye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to\ntheir counsel.\n\n39:11 Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing;\nsuffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked\nharlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the\nZoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my\nwords.\n\n39:12 And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy\nchildren to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to\ndestruction; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that\nye refrain from your iniquities;\n\n39:13 That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength;\nthat ye lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly; but rather\nreturn unto them, and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye\nhave done.\n\n39:14 Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for\nbehold, you cannot carry them with you.\n\n39:15 And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the\ncoming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely\nshall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to\ndeclare glad tidings of salvation unto his people.\n\n39:16 And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called,\nto declare these glad tidings unto this people to prepare their minds;\nor rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare\nthe minds of their children to hear the word at the time of his coming.\n\n39:17 And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold,\nyou marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold,\nI say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a\nsoul will be at the time of his coming?\n\n39:18 Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made\nknown unto this people as well as unto their children?\n\n39:19 Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to\ndeclare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after\nthe time of his coming?\n\nAlma Chapter 40\n\n40:1 Now my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto thee; for I\nperceive that thy mind is worried concerning the resurrection of the\ndead.\n\n40:2 Behold, I say unto you, that there is no resurrection\u2014or, I would\nsay, in other words, that this mortal does not put on immortality, this\ncorruption does not put on incorruption\u2014until after the coming of\nChrist.\n\n40:3 Behold, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. But\nbehold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a\nmystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no\none knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which\nI have inquired diligently of God that I might know\u2014that is concerning\nthe resurrection.\n\n40:4 Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from\nthe dead. Now when this time cometh no one knows; but God knoweth the\ntime which is appointed.\n\n40:5 Now, whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third\ntime, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not; for\nGod knoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is\nthe case\u2014that there is a time appointed that all shall rise from the\ndead.\n\n40:6 Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the\ntime of the resurrection.\n\n40:7 And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men from\nthis time of death to the time appointed for the resurrection?\n\n40:8 Now whether there is more than one time appointed for men to rise\nit mattereth not; for all do not die at once, and this mattereth not;\nall is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men.\n\n40:9 Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise\nfrom the dead; and there is a space between the time of death and the\nresurrection. And now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of\nthe souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the\nLord to know; and this is the thing of which I do know.\n\n40:10 And when the time cometh when all shall rise, then shall they\nknow that God knoweth all the times which are appointed unto man.\n\n40:11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the\nresurrection\u2014Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that\nthe spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal\nbody, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are\ntaken home to that God who gave them life.\n\n40:12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are\nrighteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called\nparadise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from\nall their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.\n\n40:13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked,\nyea, who are evil\u2014for behold, they have no part nor portion of the\nSpirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good;\ntherefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take\npossession of their house\u2014and these shall be cast out into outer\ndarkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth,\nand this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will\nof the devil.\n\n40:14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in\ndarkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery\nindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this\nstate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their\nresurrection.\n\n40:15 Now, there are some that have understood that this state of\nhappiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the\nresurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a\nresurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their\nconsignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have\nbeen spoken.\n\n40:16 And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first\nresurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or\nwho shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.\n\n40:17 Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is\nspoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and\ntheir consignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this\nis what it meaneth.\n\n40:18 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the\nsoul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the\nresurrection of Christ.\n\n40:19 Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been\nspoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the\nrighteous, I do not say; let it suffice; that I say that they all come\nforth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass before the\nresurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ.\n\n40:20 Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection cometh at the\nresurrection of Christ; but behold, I give it as my opinion, that the\nsouls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at the\nresurrection of Christ, and his ascension into heaven.\n\n40:21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but\nthis much I say, that there is a space between death and the\nresurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in\nmisery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall\ncome forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to\nstand before God, and be judged according to their works.\n\n40:22 Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which\nhas been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.\n\n40:23 The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul;\nyea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even\na hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored\nto their proper and perfect frame.\n\n40:24 And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been spoken\nby the mouths of the prophets\u2014\n\n40:25 And then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God.\n\n40:26 But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die\nas to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are\nunclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they\nare cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or\ntheir works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter\ncup.\n\nAlma Chapter 41\n\n41:1 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration\nof which has been spoken; for behold, some have wrested the scriptures,\nand have gone far astray because of this thing. And I perceive that thy\nmind has been worried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will\nexplain it unto thee.\n\n41:2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite\nwith the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be\nrestored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just,\naccording to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man\nshould be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should\nbe restored to itself.\n\n41:3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be\njudged according to their works; and if their works were good in this\nlife, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also,\nat the last day, be restored unto that which is good.\n\n41:4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for\nevil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order,\nevery thing to its natural frame\u2014mortality raised to immortality,\ncorruption to incorruption\u2014raised to endless happiness to inherit the\nkingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the\ndevil, the one on one hand, the other on the other\u2014\n\n41:5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness,\nor good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil\naccording to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all\nthe day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night\ncometh.\n\n41:6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins,\nand desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall\nbe rewarded unto righteousness.\n\n41:7 These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they\nthat are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of\ndarkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own\njudges, whether to do good or do evil.\n\n41:8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is\nprepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.\n\n41:9 And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offense against your\nGod upon those points of doctrine, which ye have hitherto risked to\ncommit sin.\n\n41:10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning\nrestoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I\nsay unto you, wickedness never was happiness.\n\n41:11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I\nwould say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the\nbonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have\ngone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state\ncontrary to the nature of happiness.\n\n41:12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a\nthing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to\nplace it in a state opposite to its nature?\n\n41:13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word\nrestoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal,\nor devilish for devilish\u2014good for that which is good; righteous for\nthat which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that\nwhich is merciful.\n\n41:14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren;\ndeal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do\nall these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have\nmercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you\nagain; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and\nye shall have good rewarded unto you again.\n\n41:15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be\nrestored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the\nsinner, and justifieth him not at all.\n\nAlma Chapter 42\n\n42:1 And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth\nworry your mind, which ye cannot understand\u2014which is concerning the\njustice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to\nsuppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a\nstate of misery.\n\n42:2 Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee. For\nbehold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the garden\nof Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken\u2014yea, he drew\nout the man, and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden,\ncherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree\nof life\u2014\n\n42:3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil;\nand lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of\nlife, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the\nflaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit\u2014\n\n42:4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent,\nyea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.\n\n42:5 For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and\npartaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to\nthe word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word\nof God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have\nbeen frustrated.\n\n42:6 But behold, it was appointed unto man to die\u2014therefore, as they\nwere cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face\nof the earth\u2014and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.\n\n42:7 And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both\ntemporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thus we\nsee they became subjects to follow after their own will.\n\n42:8 Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from\nthis temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of\nhappiness.\n\n42:9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought\nupon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they\nwere cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that\nmankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.\n\n42:10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by\nnature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it\nbecame a preparatory state.\n\n42:11 And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of\nredemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls\nwere miserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord.\n\n42:12 And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen\nstate, which man had brought upon himself because of his own\ndisobedience;\n\n42:13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not\nbe brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this\nprobationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for\nthese conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy\nthe work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if\nso, God would cease to be God.\n\n42:14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in\nthe grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them\nforever to be cut off from his presence.\n\n42:15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an\natonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of\nthe world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of\njustice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God\nalso.\n\n42:16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a\npunishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be,\naffixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as\nthe life of the soul.\n\n42:17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he\nsin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a\npunishment?\n\n42:18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which\nbrought remorse of conscience unto man.\n\n42:19 Now, if there was no law given\u2014if a man murdered he should\ndie\u2014would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?\n\n42:20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be\nafraid to sin.\n\n42:21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice\ndo, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?\n\n42:22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a\nrepentance granted; which repentance mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice\nclaimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the\npunishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God\nwould cease to be God.\n\n42:23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent,\nand mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth\nto pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead\nbringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored\ninto his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to\nthe law and justice.\n\n42:24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy\nclaimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent\nare saved.\n\n42:25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you,\nNay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God.\n\n42:26 And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which\nwere prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about\nthe salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and\nmisery.\n\n42:27 Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of\nthe waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not\ncompelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him\naccording to his deeds.\n\n42:28 If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days,\nbehold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of\nGod.\n\n42:29 And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble\nyou no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble\nwhich shall bring you down unto repentance.\n\n42:30 O my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no\nmore. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of\nyour sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of\nGod, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your\nheart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility.\n\n42:31 And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto\nthis people. And now, my son, go thy way, declare the word with truth\nand soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, that the\ngreat plan of mercy may have claim upon them. And may God grant unto\nyou even according to my words. Amen.\n\nAlma Chapter 43\n\n43:1 And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among\nthe people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself,\ncould not rest, and he also went forth.\n\n43:2 Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that\nthey preached the word, and the truth, according to the spirit of\nprophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order of God\nby which they were called.\n\n43:3 And now I return to an account of the wars between the Nephites\nand the Lamanites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges.\n\n43:4 For behold, it came to pass that the Zoramites became Lamanites;\ntherefore, in the commencement of the eighteenth year the people of the\nNephites saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they\nmade preparations for war; yea, they gathered together their armies in\nthe land of Jershon.\n\n43:5 And it came to pass that the Lamanites came with their thousands;\nand they came into the land of Antionum, which is the land of the\nZoramites; and a man by the name of Zerahemnah was their leader.\n\n43:6 And now, as the Amalekites were of a more wicked and murderous\ndisposition than the Lamanites were, in and of themselves, therefore,\nZerahemnah appointed chief captains over the Lamanites, and they were\nall Amalekites and Zoramites.\n\n43:7 Now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the\nNephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the\naccomplishment of his designs.\n\n43:8 For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger\nagainst the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over\nthem, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing\nthem into bondage.\n\n43:9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and\ntheir houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might\npreserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might\npreserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their\nliberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.\n\n43:10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the\nLamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth,\nthe true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.\n\n43:11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites\ntowards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who\nwere called the people of Ammon\u2014and they would not take up arms, yea,\nthey had entered into a covenant and they would not break it\u2014therefore,\nif they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be\ndestroyed.\n\n43:12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they should be destroyed;\ntherefore they gave them lands for their inheritance.\n\n43:13 And the people of Ammon did give unto the Nephites a large\nportion of their substance to support their armies; and thus the\nNephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who\nwere a compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all\nthose who had dissented from the Nephites, who were Amalekites and\nZoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah.\n\n43:14 Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the\nNephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their\nbrethren, even unto bloodshed.\n\n43:15 And it came to pass as the armies of the Lamanites had gathered\ntogether in the land of Antionum, behold, the armies of the Nephites\nwere prepared to meet them in the land of Jershon.\n\n43:16 Now, the leader of the Nephites, or the man who had been\nappointed to be the chief captain over the Nephites\u2014now the chief\ncaptain took the command of all the armies of the Nephites\u2014and his name\nwas Moroni;\n\n43:17 And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their\nwars. And he was only twenty and five years old when he was appointed\nchief captain over the armies of the Nephites.\n\n43:18 And it came to pass that he met the Lamanites in the borders of\nJershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and\nall manner of weapons of war.\n\n43:19 And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of\nNephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and\nwith arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also\nthey were dressed with thick clothing\u2014\n\n43:20 Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing;\nthey had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their\narrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it\nwere a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked,\nsave it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites;\n\n43:21 But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields\u2014therefore,\nthey were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of\ntheir armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than\nthe Nephites.\n\n43:22 Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the\nNephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the\nland of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round\nabout in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they\nmight come into the land of Manti and take possession of the land; for\nthey did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they\nhad gone.\n\n43:23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the\nwilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp;\nand Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men\nunto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the\narmies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the\nLamanites.\n\n43:24 And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and\nAlma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the\nLamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might\ncome over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack\nupon the weaker part of the people. And those messengers went and\ndelivered the message unto Moroni.\n\n43:25 Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon,\nlest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land\nand take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army\nand marched over into the land of Manti.\n\n43:26 And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land\nshould gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to\ndefend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties;\ntherefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the\nLamanites.\n\n43:27 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be\nsecreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon,\nwhich was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.\n\n43:28 And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the\ncamp of the Lamanites should come.\n\n43:29 And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it\nwas their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and\nbring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto\nthemselves over all the land;\n\n43:30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites\nto preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore\nhe thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem;\ntherefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to\ntake.\n\n43:31 Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the\nvalley, and concealed them on the east, and on the south of the hill\nRiplah;\n\n43:32 And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of\nthe river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.\n\n43:33 And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was\nprepared to meet them.\n\n43:34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites came up on the north of\nthe hill, where a part of the army of Moroni was concealed.\n\n43:35 And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into\nthe valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was\nconcealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name\nwas Lehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about\non the east in their rear.\n\n43:36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the\nNephites coming upon them in their rear, turned them about and began to\ncontend with the army of Lehi.\n\n43:37 And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more\ndreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their nakedness was exposed\nto the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their\ncimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke.\n\n43:38 While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among\nthe Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being\nshielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts\nof the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their\nbreastplates, and their arm-shields, and their head-plates; and thus\nthe Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites.\n\n43:39 And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because\nof the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee\ntowards the river Sidon.\n\n43:40 And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven\nby Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon.\nAnd Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they\nshould not cross.\n\n43:41 And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in\nthe valley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall\nupon them and to slay them.\n\n43:42 And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of\nManti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.\n\n43:43 Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never\nhad the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great\nstrength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.\n\n43:44 And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who\nwere their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their\nchief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight\nlike dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea,\nfor they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did\npierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their\narms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.\n\n43:45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for\nthey were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting\nfor their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children,\nand their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.\n\n43:46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they\nowed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their\nfathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense,\nneither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the\nhands of your enemies.\n\n43:47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families\neven unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites\ncontending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their\nfamilies, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their\nreligion.\n\n43:48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the\nfierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink\nand flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and\ninspired their hearts with these thoughts\u2014yea, the thoughts of their\nlands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.\n\n43:49 And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they\ncried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and\ntheir freedom from bondage.\n\n43:50 And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in\nthat selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the\nLamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters\nof Sidon.\n\n43:51 Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double\nthe number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch\nthat they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the\nbank by the river Sidon.\n\n43:52 Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea, even on\nboth sides of the river, for behold, on the east were the men of Lehi.\n\n43:53 Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the\nriver Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the river Sidon,\nthat they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with\nterror.\n\n43:54 Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they\nshould stop shedding their blood.\n\nAlma Chapter 44\n\n44:1 And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from\nthem. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do\nnot desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we\ndo not desire to slay you.\n\n44:2 Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might\nshed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the\nyoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come\nagainst us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.\n\n44:3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he\nhas delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should\nunderstand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our\nfaith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.\n\n44:4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that\nGod will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful\nunto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord\nsuffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into\ntransgression and deny our faith.\n\n44:5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that\nall-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained\npower over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of\nworship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to\nour wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands\nand our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of\nGod, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear\nunto us\u2014\n\n44:6 Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which\nye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us, and\nwe will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will\ngo your way and come not again to war against us.\n\n44:7 And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I\nwill command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the\nwounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we\nwill see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who\nshall be brought into bondage.\n\n44:8 And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these\nsayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter, and\nhis bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are\nour weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not\nsuffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall\nbreak, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer\nthat we may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our\nswords, and we will perish or conquer.\n\n44:9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is God\nthat has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your\ncunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your\nbreastplates and your shields that have preserved you.\n\n44:10 And now when Zerahemnah had made an end of speaking these words,\nMoroni returned the sword and the weapons of war, which he had\nreceived, unto Zerahemnah, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.\n\n44:11 Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken, therefore as\nthe Lord liveth, ye shall not depart except ye depart with an oath that\nye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands\nwe will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the\nconditions which I have proposed.\n\n44:12 And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his\nsword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he\nmight slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni\u2019s\nsoldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he\nalso smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the\nearth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his\nsoldiers.\n\n44:13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off\nthe scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the\nhair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth\nunto them, saying unto them with a loud voice:\n\n44:14 Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of\nyour chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up\nyour weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace.\n\n44:15 Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the\nscalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many\ncame forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni,\nand entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a\ncovenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness.\n\n44:16 Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he\ndid stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more\npowerfully against the Nephites.\n\n44:17 And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the\nLamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall upon\nthem and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them;\nyea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might.\n\n44:18 But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed\nto the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and\nsmitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the\nNephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of\nMoroni had prophesied.\n\n44:19 Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be\ndestroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant\nand also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of\ntheir lives, that they never would come to war again against them.\n\n44:20 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death\nshould cease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war\nfrom the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him\nof peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.\n\n44:21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the\ngreatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly\ngreat, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.\n\n44:22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters\nof Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the\nsea.\n\n44:23 And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned and came\nto their houses and their lands.\n\n44:24 And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges\nover the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was\nwritten upon the plates of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 45\n\n45:1 Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were\nexceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of\nthe hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord\ntheir God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did\nworship God with exceedingly great joy.\n\n45:2 And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman\nand said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee\nconcerning those records which have been kept?\n\n45:3 And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe.\n\n45:4 And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall\ncome?\n\n45:5 And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken.\n\n45:6 And Alma said unto him again: Will ye keep my commandments?\n\n45:7 And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart.\n\n45:8 Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall\nprosper thee in this land.\n\n45:9 But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto thee; but what I\nprophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto\nthee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled;\ntherefore write the words which I shall say.\n\n45:10 And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very\npeople, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in\nme, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall\nmanifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief.\n\n45:11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines\nand bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct\u2014\n\n45:12 Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall\ninto the works of darkness, and lasciviousness, and all manner of\niniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so\ngreat light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day,\neven the fourth generation shall not all pass away before this great\niniquity shall come.\n\n45:13 And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh\nthat those who are now, or the seed of those who are now numbered among\nthe people of Nephi, shall no more be numbered among the people of\nNephi.\n\n45:14 But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and\ndreadful day, shall be numbered among the Lamanites, and shall become\nlike unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples\nof the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall\nbecome extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be\nfulfilled.\n\n45:15 And now it came to pass that after Alma had said these things to\nHelaman, he blessed him, and also his other sons; and he also blessed\nthe earth for the righteous\u2019 sake.\n\n45:16 And he said: Thus saith the Lord God\u2014Cursed shall be the land,\nyea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto\ndestruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have\nsaid so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God\nupon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree\nof allowance.\n\n45:17 And now, when Alma had said these words he blessed the church,\nyea, all those who should stand fast in the faith from that time\nhenceforth.\n\n45:18 And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of\nZarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that\nhe was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.\n\n45:19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying\nwent abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried\nby the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures\nsaith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also\nreceived Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we\nknow nothing concerning his death and burial.\n\n45:20 And now it came to pass in the commencement of the nineteenth\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Helaman\nwent forth among the people to declare the word unto them.\n\n45:21 For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many\nlittle dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it\nbecame expedient that the word of God should be declared among them,\nyea, and that a regulation should be made throughout the church.\n\n45:22 Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the\nchurch again in all the land, yea, in every city throughout all the\nland which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came to pass\nthat they did appoint priests and teachers throughout all the land,\nover all the churches.\n\n45:23 And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had\nappointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a\ndissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of\nHelaman and his brethren;\n\n45:24 But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of\ntheir exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own\neyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before\nGod.\n\nAlma Chapter 46\n\n46:1 And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the words\nof Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their\nbrethren.\n\n46:2 And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they\nwere determined to slay them.\n\n46:3 Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was\na large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah.\n\n46:4 And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who\nwere wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they\nwere the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they\nwere seeking for power.\n\n46:5 And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if\nthey would support him and establish him to be their king that he would\nmake them rulers over the people.\n\n46:6 Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions,\nnotwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea,\nnotwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they\nwere high priests over the church.\n\n46:7 And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering\nwords of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and\nthus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and\ndangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over\nthe Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of\ntheir deliverance by the hand of the Lord.\n\n46:8 Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their\nGod, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.\n\n46:9 Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can\ncause to take place among the children of men.\n\n46:10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning\ndevice and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts\nof many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church\nof God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted\nunto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for\nthe righteous\u2019 sake.\n\n46:11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief\ncommander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these\ndissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.\n\n46:12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece\nthereof, and wrote upon it\u2014In memory of our God, our religion, and\nfreedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children\u2014and he fastened it\nupon the end of a pole.\n\n46:13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his\nshields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole,\nwhich had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title\nof liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily\nunto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so\nlong as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land\u2014\n\n46:14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to\nthe church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.\n\n46:15 And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all\nthose who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the\nname of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their\nbelief in Christ who should come.\n\n46:16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the\nChristians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.\n\n46:17 And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God,\nhe named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and\nin fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south\u2014A chosen\nland, and the land of liberty.\n\n46:18 And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are\ndespised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden\ndown and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own\ntransgressions.\n\n46:19 And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the\npeople, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might\nsee the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying\nwith a loud voice, saying:\n\n46:20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let\nthem come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant\nthat they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord\nGod may bless them.\n\n46:21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words,\nbehold, the people came running together with their armor girded about\ntheir loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that\nthey would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they\nshould transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression,\nand be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should\nrend them even as they had rent their garments.\n\n46:22 Now this was the covenant which they made, and they cast their\ngarments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with our God, that\nwe shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if\nwe shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of\nour enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be\ntrodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression.\n\n46:23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of\nJacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent\nby his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember\nto keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our\nbrethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.\n\n46:24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let\nus remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw\nthat a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had\nnot decayed. And he said\u2014Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath\nbeen preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved\nby the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of\nthe seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.\n\n46:25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul\nhath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be\ntaken unto God.\n\n46:26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob.\n\n46:27 And now who knoweth but what the remnant of the seed of Joseph,\nwhich shall perish as his garment, are those who have dissented from\nus? Yea, and even it shall be ourselves if we do not stand fast in the\nfaith of Christ.\n\n46:28 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he\nwent forth, and also sent forth in all the parts of the land where\nthere were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were\ndesirous to maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and\nthose who had dissented, who were called Amalickiahites.\n\n46:29 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah saw that the people of\nMoroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites\u2014and he also saw that\nhis people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which\nthey had undertaken\u2014therefore, fearing that he should not gain the\npoint, he took those of his people who would and departed into the land\nof Nephi.\n\n46:30 Now Moroni thought it was not expedient that the Lamanites should\nhave any more strength; therefore he thought to cut off the people of\nAmalickiah, or to take them and bring them back, and put Amalickiah to\ndeath; yea, for he knew that he would stir up the Lamanites to anger\nagainst them, and cause them to come to battle against them; and this\nhe knew that Amalickiah would do that he might obtain his purposes.\n\n46:31 Therefore Moroni thought it was expedient that he should take his\narmies, who had gathered themselves together, and armed themselves, and\nentered into a covenant to keep the peace\u2014and it came to pass that he\ntook his army and marched out with his tents into the wilderness, to\ncut off the course of Amalickiah in the wilderness.\n\n46:32 And it came to pass that he did according to his desires, and\nmarched forth into the wilderness, and headed the armies of Amalickiah.\n\n46:33 And it came to pass that Amalickiah fled with a small number of\nhis men, and the remainder were delivered up into the hands of Moroni\nand were taken back into the land of Zarahemla.\n\n46:34 Now, Moroni being a man who was appointed by the chief judges and\nthe voice of the people, therefore he had power according to his will\nwith the armies of the Nephites, to establish and to exercise authority\nover them.\n\n46:35 And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that\nwould not enter into a covenant to support the cause of freedom, that\nthey might maintain a free government, he caused to be put to death;\nand there were but few who denied the covenant of freedom.\n\n46:36 And it came to pass also, that he caused the title of liberty to\nbe hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was\npossessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of\nliberty among the Nephites.\n\n46:37 And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did\nmaintain peace in the land until nearly the end of the nineteenth year\nof the reign of the judges.\n\n46:38 And Helaman and the high priests did also maintain order in the\nchurch; yea, even for the space of four years did they have much peace\nand rejoicing in the church.\n\n46:39 And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly\nbelieving that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus\nthey went out of the world rejoicing.\n\n46:40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons\nof the year were very frequent in the land\u2014but not so much so with\nfevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots\nwhich God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men\nwere subject by the nature of the climate\u2014\n\n46:41 But there were many who died with old age; and those who died in\nthe faith of Christ are happy in him, as we must needs suppose.\n\nAlma Chapter 47\n\n47:1 Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had\nfled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who\nwent with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites,\nand did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi,\ninsomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout\nall his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves\ntogether again to go to battle against the Nephites.\n\n47:2 And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth\namong them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they feared to displease\nthe king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites\nlest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would\nnot, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the\nking.\n\n47:3 And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their\ndisobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah the command of that part of\nhis army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that\nhe should go forth and compel them to arms.\n\n47:4 Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very\nsubtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to\ndethrone the king of the Lamanites.\n\n47:5 And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who\nwere in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who\nwere not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was\ncalled Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they\ndiscovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to\ndestroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms.\n\n47:6 And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them,\nbeing fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would\nnot be subjected to go against the Nephites.\n\n47:7 And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together\nupon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to\nbattle.\n\n47:8 Now it was not Amalickiah\u2019s intention to give them battle\naccording to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his\nintention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might\nplace himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession\nof the kingdom.\n\n47:9 And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their\ntents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas.\n\n47:10 And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret\nembassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who\nwere upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down\nto the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.\n\n47:11 And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he\ndurst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that\nAmalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And\nit came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third\ntime.\n\n47:12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not\nget Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount,\nnearly to Lehonti\u2019s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message\nunto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring\nhis guards with him.\n\n47:13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his\nguards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his\narmy in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom\nthe king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into\nLehonti\u2019s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over\nthe whole army.\n\n47:14 And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and\nsurrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn\nof day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti.\n\n47:15 And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded,\nthey plead with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with\ntheir brethren, that they might not be destroyed. Now this was the very\nthing which Amalickiah desired.\n\n47:16 And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the\ncommands of the king. Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired,\nthat he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.\n\n47:17 Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader\nwas killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.\n\n47:18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his\nservants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.\n\n47:19 Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to\nbe their leader and their chief commander.\n\n47:20 And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for\nhe had gained his desires) to the land of Nephi, to the city of Nephi,\nwhich was the chief city.\n\n47:21 And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he\nsupposed that Amalickiah had fulfilled his commands, and that\nAmalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the\nNephites to battle.\n\n47:22 But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused\nthat his servants should go forth to meet the king. And they went and\nbowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his\ngreatness.\n\n47:23 And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise\nthem, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a token of peace, which\ncustom they had taken from the Nephites.\n\n47:24 And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the\nground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart; and he fell to the\nearth.\n\n47:25 Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah\nraised a cry, saying:\n\n47:26 Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart,\nand he has fallen and they have fled; behold, come and see.\n\n47:27 And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies\nshould march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they\nhad come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah\npretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go\nforth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain.\n\n47:28 And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they\nheard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the\nking.\n\n47:29 Now when the servants of the king saw an army pursuing after\nthem, they were frightened again, and fled into the wilderness, and\ncame over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the people of Ammon.\n\n47:30 And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued\nafter them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the\nhearts of the people.\n\n47:31 And it came to pass on the morrow he entered the city Nephi with\nhis armies, and took possession of the city.\n\n47:32 And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that\nthe king was slain\u2014for Amalickiah had sent an embassy to the queen\ninforming her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had\npursued them with his army, but it was in vain, and they had made their\nescape\u2014\n\n47:33 Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto\nAmalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city;\nand she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also\ndesired him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify\nconcerning the death of the king.\n\n47:34 And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that\nslew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the\nqueen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her\nthat the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They\nhave fled; does not this testify against them?  And thus they satisfied\nthe queen concerning the death of the king.\n\n47:35 And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the\nqueen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the\nassistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he\nwas acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of\nthe Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites\nand the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the\nreign of Nephi down to the present time.\n\n47:36 Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same\ninformation of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same\nknowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long\nafter their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and\nmore wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites\u2014drinking in with the\ntraditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of\nlasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.\n\nAlma Chapter 48\n\n48:1 And now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiah had obtained\nthe kingdom he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the\npeople of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites\nfrom their towers, against the Nephites.\n\n48:2 And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites,\ninsomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of\nthe judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having\nbeen made king over the Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the\nland, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as\nwell as the Lamanites.\n\n48:3 Therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the\nhearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to\nanger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to\nbattle against the Nephites.\n\n48:4 For he was determined, because of the greatness of the number of\nhis people, to overpower the Nephites and to bring them into bondage.\n\n48:5 And thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they\nbeing the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their\nplaces of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he\nappointed them to be chief captains over his armies.\n\n48:6 And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth\ntoward the land of Zarahemla in the wilderness.\n\n48:7 Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining\npower by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been\npreparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their\nGod.\n\n48:8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and\nerecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth\nround about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to\nencircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their\nlands; yea, all round about the land.\n\n48:9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater\nnumber of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which\nwas possessed by the Nephites.\n\n48:10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands,\ntheir wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might\nlive unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which\nwas called by their enemies the cause of Christians.\n\n48:11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a\nperfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a\nman whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country,\nand his brethren from bondage and slavery;\n\n48:12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God,\nfor the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his\npeople; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of\nhis people.\n\n48:13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he\nhad sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his\ncountry, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.\n\n48:14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their\nenemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and\nthey were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise\nthe sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve\ntheir lives.\n\n48:15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them\nin the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the\ncommandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn\nthem to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;\n\n48:16 And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they\nshould go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing,\nthe Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his\nheart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good,\nin preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea,\nand resisting iniquity.\n\n48:17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and\nwere, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of\nhell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have\npower over the hearts of the children of men.\n\n48:18 Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and\neven the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for\nthey were all men of God.\n\n48:19 Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable\nunto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God,\nand they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken\nunto their words.\n\n48:20 And thus they went forth, and the people did humble themselves\nbecause of their words, insomuch that they were highly favored of the\nLord, and thus they were free from wars and contentions among\nthemselves, yea, even for the space of four years.\n\n48:21 But, as I have said, in the latter end of the nineteenth year,\nyea, notwithstanding their peace amongst themselves, they were\ncompelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites.\n\n48:22 Yea, and in fine, their wars never did cease for the space of\nmany years with the Lamanites, notwithstanding their much reluctance.\n\n48:23 Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites,\nbecause they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this\nwas not all\u2014they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their\nbrethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet\ntheir God.\n\n48:24 Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that\ntheir wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous\ncruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented\nfrom their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by\njoining the Lamanites.\n\n48:25 Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over\nthe blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep\nthe commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they\nshould keep his commandments they should prosper in the land.\n\nAlma Chapter 49\n\n49:1 And now it came to pass in the eleventh month of the nineteenth\nyear, on the tenth day of the month, the armies of the Lamanites were\nseen approaching towards the land of Ammonihah.\n\n49:2 And behold, the city had been rebuilt, and Moroni had stationed an\narmy by the borders of the city, and they had cast up dirt around about\nto shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites; for\nbehold, they fought with stones and with arrows.\n\n49:3 Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say\nunto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt; and because the Lamanites\nhad destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they\nsupposed that it would again become an easy prey for them.\n\n49:4 But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the\nNephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so\nhigh that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at\nthem that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them\nsave it was by their place of entrance.\n\n49:5 Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were\nastonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in\npreparing their places of security.\n\n49:6 Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed, because of the\ngreatness of their numbers, yea, they supposed that they should be\nprivileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done; yea, and they\nhad also prepared themselves with shields, and with breastplates; and\nthey had also prepared themselves with garments of skins, yea, very\nthick garments to cover their nakedness.\n\n49:7 And being thus prepared they supposed that they should easily\noverpower and subject their brethren to the yoke of bondage, or slay\nand massacre them according to their pleasure.\n\n49:8 But behold, to their uttermost astonishment, they were prepared\nfor them, in a manner which never had been known among the children of\nLehi. Now they were prepared for the Lamanites, to battle after the\nmanner of the instructions of Moroni.\n\n49:9 And it came to pass that the Lamanites, or the Amalickiahites,\nwere exceedingly astonished at their manner of preparation for war.\n\n49:10 Now, if king Amalickiah had come down out of the land of Nephi,\nat the head of his army, perhaps he would have caused the Lamanites to\nhave attacked the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah; for behold, he did\ncare not for the blood of his people.\n\n49:11 But behold, Amalickiah did not come down himself to battle. And\nbehold, his chief captains durst not attack the Nephites at the city of\nAmmonihah, for Moroni had altered the management of affairs among the\nNephites, insomuch that the Lamanites were disappointed in their places\nof retreat and they could not come upon them.\n\n49:12 Therefore they retreated into the wilderness, and took their camp\nand marched towards the land of Noah, supposing that to be the next\nbest place for them to come against the Nephites.\n\n49:13 For they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts\nof security, for every city in all the land round about; therefore,\nthey marched forward to the land of Noah with a firm determination;\nyea, their chief captains came forward and took an oath that they would\ndestroy the people of that city.\n\n49:14 But behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had\nhitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become\nstrong, yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah.\n\n49:15 And now, behold, this was wisdom in Moroni; for he had supposed\nthat they would be frightened at the city Ammonihah; and as the city of\nNoah had hitherto been the weakest part of the land, therefore they\nwould march thither to battle; and thus it was according to his\ndesires.\n\n49:16 And behold, Moroni had appointed Lehi to be chief captain over\nthe men of that city; and it was that same Lehi who fought with the\nLamanites in the valley on the east of the river Sidon.\n\n49:17 And now behold it came to pass, that when the Lamanites had found\nthat Lehi commanded the city they were again disappointed, for they\nfeared Lehi exceedingly; nevertheless their chief captains had sworn\nwith an oath to attack the city; therefore, they brought up their\narmies.\n\n49:18 Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of\nsecurity by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness\nof the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which\nhad been dug round about, save it were by the entrance.\n\n49:19 And thus were the Nephites prepared to destroy all such as should\nattempt to climb up to enter the fort by any other way, by casting over\nstones and arrows at them.\n\n49:20 Thus they were prepared, yea, a body of their strongest men, with\ntheir swords and their slings, to smite down all who should attempt to\ncome into their place of security by the place of entrance; and thus\nwere they prepared to defend themselves against the Lamanites.\n\n49:21 And it came to pass that the captains of the Lamanites brought up\ntheir armies before the place of entrance, and began to contend with\nthe Nephites, to get into their place of security; but behold, they\nwere driven back from time to time, insomuch that they were slain with\nan immense slaughter.\n\n49:22 Now when they found that they could not obtain power over the\nNephites by the pass, they began to dig down their banks of earth that\nthey might obtain a pass to their armies, that they might have an equal\nchance to fight; but behold, in these attempts they were swept off by\nthe stones and arrows which were thrown at them; and instead of filling\nup their ditches by pulling down the banks of earth, they were filled\nup in a measure with their dead and wounded bodies.\n\n49:23 Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies; and thus the\nLamanites did attempt to destroy the Nephites until their chief\ncaptains were all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites\nwere slain; while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of\nthe Nephites which was slain.\n\n49:24 There were about fifty who were wounded, who had been exposed to\nthe arrows of the Lamanites through the pass, but they were shielded by\ntheir shields, and their breastplates, and their head-plates, insomuch\nthat their wounds were upon their legs, many of which were very severe.\n\n49:25 And it came to pass, that when the Lamanites saw that their chief\ncaptains were all slain they fled into the wilderness. And it came to\npass that they returned to the land of Nephi, to inform their king,\nAmalickiah, who was a Nephite by birth, concerning their great loss.\n\n49:26 And it came to pass that he was exceedingly angry with his\npeople, because he had not obtained his desire over the Nephites; he\nhad not subjected them to the yoke of bondage.\n\n49:27 Yea, he was exceedingly wroth, and he did curse God, and also\nMoroni, swearing with an oath that he would drink his blood; and this\nbecause Moroni had kept the commandments of God in preparing for the\nsafety of his people.\n\n49:28 And it came to pass, that on the other hand, the people of Nephi\ndid thank the Lord their God, because of his matchless power in\ndelivering them from the hands of their enemies.\n\n49:29 And thus ended the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges\nover the people of Nephi.\n\n49:30 Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly\ngreat prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence\nwhich they gave unto the word of God, which was declared unto them by\nHelaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea,\nand by all those who had been ordained by the holy order of God, being\nbaptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people.\n\nAlma Chapter 50\n\n50:1 And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making\npreparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites;\nfor he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of\nthe twentieth year of the reign of the judges, that they should\ncommence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities,\nthroughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites.\n\n50:2 And upon the top of these ridges of earth he caused that there\nshould be timbers, yea, works of timbers built up to the height of a\nman, round about the cities.\n\n50:3 And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a\nframe of pickets built upon the timbers round about; and they were\nstrong and high.\n\n50:4 And he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of\npickets, and he caused places of security to be built upon those\ntowers, that the stones and the arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt\nthem.\n\n50:5 And they were prepared that they could cast stones from the top\nthereof, according to their pleasure and their strength, and slay him\nwho should attempt to approach near the walls of the city.\n\n50:6 Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their\nenemies, round about every city in all the land.\n\n50:7 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his armies should go\nforth into the east wilderness; yea, and they went forth and drove all\nthe Lamanites who were in the east wilderness into their own lands,\nwhich were south of the land of Zarahemla.\n\n50:8 And the land of Nephi did run in a straight course from the east\nsea to the west.\n\n50:9 And it came to pass that when Moroni had driven all the Lamanites\nout of the east wilderness, which was north of the lands of their own\npossessions, he caused that the inhabitants who were in the land of\nZarahemla and in the land round about should go forth into the east\nwilderness, even to the borders by the seashore, and possess the land.\n\n50:10 And he also placed armies on the south, in the borders of their\npossessions, and caused them to erect fortifications that they might\nsecure their armies and their people from the hands of their enemies.\n\n50:11 And thus he cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the\neast wilderness, yea, and also on the west, fortifying the line between\nthe Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the\nland of Nephi, from the west sea, running by the head of the river\nSidon\u2014the Nephites possessing all the land northward, yea, even all the\nland which was northward of the land Bountiful, according to their\npleasure.\n\n50:12 Thus Moroni, with his armies, which did increase daily because of\nthe assurance of protection which his works did bring forth unto them,\ndid seek to cut off the strength and the power of the Lamanites from\noff the lands of their possessions, that they should have no power upon\nthe lands of their possession.\n\n50:13 And it came to pass that the Nephites began the foundation of a\ncity, and they called the name of the city Moroni; and it was by the\neast sea; and it was on the south by the line of the possessions of the\nLamanites.\n\n50:14 And they also began a foundation for a city between the city of\nMoroni and the city of Aaron, joining the borders of Aaron and Moroni;\nand they called the name of the city, or the land, Nephihah.\n\n50:15 And they also began in that same year to build many cities on the\nnorth, one in a particular manner which they called Lehi, which was in\nthe north by the borders of the seashore.\n\n50:16 And thus ended the twentieth year.\n\n50:17 And in these prosperous circumstances were the people of Nephi in\nthe commencement of the twenty and first year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\n50:18 And they did prosper exceedingly, and they became exceedingly\nrich; yea, and they did multiply and wax strong in the land.\n\n50:19 And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the\nLord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea,\nwe can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he\nspake unto Lehi, saying:\n\n50:20 Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed,\ninasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the\nland. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they\nshall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.\n\n50:21 And we see that these promises have been verified to the people\nof Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea,\ntheir murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their\nwhoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which\nbrought upon them their wars and their destructions.\n\n50:22 And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the\nLord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked\nbrethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or\nto dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites.\n\n50:23 But behold there never was a happier time among the people of\nNephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even\nat this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.\n\n50:24 And it came to pass that the twenty and second year of the reign\nof the judges also ended in peace; yea, and also the twenty and third\nyear.\n\n50:25 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and\nfourth year of the reign of the judges, there would also have been\npeace among the people of Nephi had it not been for a contention which\ntook place among them concerning the land of Lehi, and the land of\nMorianton, which joined upon the borders of Lehi; both of which were on\nthe borders by the seashore.\n\n50:26 For behold, the people who possessed the land of Morianton did\nclaim a part of the land of Lehi; therefore there began to be a warm\ncontention between them, insomuch that the people of Morianton took up\narms against their brethren, and they were determined by the sword to\nslay them.\n\n50:27 But behold, the people who possessed the land of Lehi fled to the\ncamp of Moroni, and appealed unto him for assistance; for behold they\nwere not in the wrong.\n\n50:28 And it came to pass that when the people of Morianton, who were\nled by a man whose name was Morianton, found that the people of Lehi\nhad fled to the camp of Moroni, they were exceedingly fearful lest the\narmy of Moroni should come upon them and destroy them.\n\n50:29 Therefore, Morianton put it into their hearts that they should\nflee to the land which was northward, which was covered with large\nbodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward.\n\n50:30 And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which\nwould have been a cause to have been lamented) but behold, Morianton\nbeing a man of much passion, therefore he was angry with one of his\nmaid servants, and he fell upon her and beat her much.\n\n50:31 And it came to pass that she fled, and came over to the camp of\nMoroni, and told Moroni all things concerning the matter, and also\nconcerning their intentions to flee into the land northward.\n\n50:32 Now behold, the people who were in the land Bountiful, or rather\nMoroni, feared that they would hearken to the words of Morianton and\nunite with his people, and thus he would obtain possession of those\nparts of the land, which would lay a foundation for serious\nconsequences among the people of Nephi, yea, which consequences would\nlead to the overthrow of their liberty.\n\n50:33 Therefore Moroni sent an army, with their camp, to head the\npeople of Morianton, to stop their flight into the land northward.\n\n50:34 And it came to pass that they did not head them until they had\ncome to the borders of the land Desolation; and there they did head\nthem, by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward,\nyea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.\n\n50:35 And it came to pass that the army which was sent by Moroni, which\nwas led by a man whose name was Teancum, did meet the people of\nMorianton; and so stubborn were the people of Morianton, (being\ninspired by his wickedness and his flattering words) that a battle\ncommenced between them, in the which Teancum did slay Morianton and\ndefeat his army, and took them prisoners, and returned to the camp of\nMoroni. And thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\n50:36 And thus were the people of Morianton brought back. And upon\ntheir covenanting to keep the peace they were restored to the land of\nMorianton, and a union took place between them and the people of Lehi;\nand they were also restored to their lands.\n\n50:37 And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of\nNephi had peace restored unto them, that Nephihah, the second chief\njudge, died, having filled the judgment-seat with perfect uprightness\nbefore God.\n\n50:38 Nevertheless, he had refused Alma to take possession of those\nrecords and those things which were esteemed by Alma and his fathers to\nbe most sacred; therefore Alma had conferred them upon his son,\nHelaman.\n\n50:39 Behold, it came to pass that the son of Nephihah was appointed to\nfill the judgment-seat, in the stead of his father; yea, he was\nappointed chief judge and governor over the people, with an oath and\nsacred ordinance to judge righteously, and to keep the peace and the\nfreedom of the people, and to grant unto them their sacred privileges\nto worship the Lord their God, yea, to support and maintain the cause\nof God all his days, and to bring the wicked to justice according to\ntheir crime.\n\n50:40 Now behold, his name was Pahoran. And Pahoran did fill the seat\nof his father, and did commence his reign in the end of the twenty and\nfourth year, over the people of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 51\n\n51:1 And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and\nfifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, they\nhaving established peace between the people of Lehi and the people of\nMorianton concerning their lands, and having commenced the twenty and\nfifth year in peace;\n\n51:2 Nevertheless, they did not long maintain an entire peace in the\nland, for there began to be a contention among the people concerning\nthe chief judge Pahoran; for behold, there were a part of the people\nwho desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered.\n\n51:3 But behold, Pahoran would not alter nor suffer the law to be\naltered; therefore, he did not hearken to those who had sent in their\nvoices with their petitions concerning the altering of the law.\n\n51:4 Therefore, those who were desirous that the law should be altered\nwere angry with him, and desired that he should no longer be chief\njudge over the land; therefore there arose a warm dispute concerning\nthe matter, but not unto bloodshed.\n\n51:5 And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran\nshould be dethroned from the judgment-seat were called king-men, for\nthey were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to\noverthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land.\n\n51:6 And those who were desirous that Pahoran should remain chief judge\nover the land took upon them the name of freemen; and thus was the\ndivision among them, for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to\nmaintain their rights and the privileges of their religion by a free\ngovernment.\n\n51:7 And it came to pass that this matter of their contention was\nsettled by the voice of the people. And it came to pass that the voice\nof the people came in favor of the freemen, and Pahoran retained the\njudgment-seat, which caused much rejoicing among the brethren of\nPahoran and also many of the people of liberty, who also put the\nking-men to silence, that they durst not oppose but were obliged to\nmaintain the cause of freedom.\n\n51:8 Now those who were in favor of kings were those of high birth, and\nthey sought to be kings; and they were supported by those who sought\npower and authority over the people.\n\n51:9 But behold, this was a critical time for such contentions to be\namong the people of Nephi; for behold, Amalickiah had again stirred up\nthe hearts of the people of the Lamanites against the people of the\nNephites, and he was gathering together soldiers from all parts of his\nland, and arming them, and preparing for war with all diligence; for he\nhad sworn to drink the blood of Moroni.\n\n51:10 But behold, we shall see that his promise which he made was rash;\nnevertheless, he did prepare himself and his armies to come to battle\nagainst the Nephites.\n\n51:11 Now his armies were not so great as they had hitherto been,\nbecause of the many thousands who had been slain by the hand of the\nNephites; but notwithstanding their great loss, Amalickiah had gathered\ntogether a wonderfully great army, insomuch that he feared not to come\ndown to the land of Zarahemla.\n\n51:12 Yea, even Amalickiah did himself come down, at the head of the\nLamanites. And it was in the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the\njudges; and it was at the same time that they had begun to settle the\naffairs of their contentions concerning the chief judge, Pahoran.\n\n51:13 And it came to pass that when the men who were called king-men\nhad heard that the Lamanites were coming down to battle against them,\nthey were glad in their hearts; and they refused to take up arms, for\nthey were so wroth with the chief judge, and also with the people of\nliberty, that they would not take up arms to defend their country.\n\n51:14 And it came to pass that when Moroni saw this, and also saw that\nthe Lamanites were coming into the borders of the land, he was\nexceedingly wroth because of the stubbornness of those people whom he\nhad labored with so much diligence to preserve; yea, he was exceedingly\nwroth; his soul was filled with anger against them.\n\n51:15 And it came to pass that he sent a petition, with the voice of\nthe people, unto the governor of the land, desiring that he should read\nit, and give him (Moroni) power to compel those dissenters to defend\ntheir country or to put them to death.\n\n51:16 For it was his first care to put an end to such contentions and\ndissensions among the people; for behold, this had been hitherto a\ncause of all their destruction. And it came to pass that it was granted\naccording to the voice of the people.\n\n51:17 And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go\nagainst those king-men, to pull down their pride and their nobility and\nlevel them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the\ncause of liberty.\n\n51:18 And it came to pass that the armies did march forth against them;\nand they did pull down their pride and their nobility, insomuch that as\nthey did lift their weapons of war to fight against the men of Moroni\nthey were hewn down and leveled to the earth.\n\n51:19 And it came to pass that there were four thousand of those\ndissenters who were hewn down by the sword; and those of their leaders\nwho were not slain in battle were taken and cast into prison, for there\nwas no time for their trials at this period.\n\n51:20 And the remainder of those dissenters, rather than be smitten\ndown to the earth by the sword, yielded to the standard of liberty, and\nwere compelled to hoist the title of liberty upon their towers, and in\ntheir cities, and to take up arms in defence of their country.\n\n51:21 And thus Moroni put an end to those king-men, that there were not\nany known by the appellation of king-men; and thus he put an end to the\nstubbornness and the pride of those people who professed the blood of\nnobility; but they were brought down to humble themselves like unto\ntheir brethren, and to fight valiantly for their freedom from bondage.\n\n51:22 Behold, it came to pass that while Moroni was thus breaking down\nthe wars and contentions among his own people, and subjecting them to\npeace and civilization, and making regulations to prepare for war\nagainst the Lamanites, behold, the Lamanites had come into the land of\nMoroni, which was in the borders by the seashore.\n\n51:23 And it came to pass that the Nephites were not sufficiently\nstrong in the city of Moroni; therefore Amalickiah did drive them,\nslaying many. And it came to pass that Amalickiah took possession of\nthe city, yea, possession of all their fortifications.\n\n51:24 And those who fled out of the city of Moroni came to the city of\nNephihah; and also the people of the city of Lehi gathered themselves\ntogether, and made preparations and were ready to receive the Lamanites\nto battle.\n\n51:25 But it came to pass that Amalickiah would not suffer the\nLamanites to go against the city of Nephihah to battle, but kept them\ndown by the seashore, leaving men in every city to maintain and defend\nit.\n\n51:26 And thus he went on, taking possession of many cities, the city\nof Nephihah, and the city of Lehi, and the city of Morianton, and the\ncity of Omner, and the city of Gid, and the city of Mulek, all of which\nwere on the east borders by the seashore.\n\n51:27 And thus had the Lamanites obtained, by the cunning of\nAmalickiah, so many cities, by their numberless hosts, all of which\nwere strongly fortified after the manner of the fortifications of\nMoroni; all of which afforded strongholds for the Lamanites.\n\n51:28 And it came to pass that they marched to the borders of the land\nBountiful, driving the Nephites before them and slaying many.\n\n51:29 But it came to pass that they were met by Teancum, who had slain\nMorianton and had headed his people in his flight.\n\n51:30 And it came to pass that he headed Amalickiah also, as he was\nmarching forth with his numerous army that he might take possession of\nthe land Bountiful, and also the land northward.\n\n51:31 But behold he met with a disappointment by being repulsed by\nTeancum and his men, for they were great warriors; for every man of\nTeancum did exceed the Lamanites in their strength and in their skill\nof war, insomuch that they did gain advantage over the Lamanites.\n\n51:32 And it came to pass that they did harass them, insomuch that they\ndid slay them even until it was dark. And it came to pass that Teancum\nand his men did pitch their tents in the borders of the land Bountiful;\nand Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on the beach by the\nseashore, and after this manner were they driven.\n\n51:33 And it came to pass that when the night had come, Teancum and his\nservant stole forth and went out by night, and went into the camp of\nAmalickiah; and behold, sleep had overpowered them because of their\nmuch fatigue, which was caused by the labors and heat of the day.\n\n51:34 And it came to pass that Teancum stole privily into the tent of\nthe king, and put a javelin to his heart; and he did cause the death of\nthe king immediately that he did not awake his servants.\n\n51:35 And he returned again privily to his own camp, and behold, his\nmen were asleep, and he awoke them and told them all the things that he\nhad done.\n\n51:36 And he caused that his armies should stand in readiness, lest the\nLamanites had awakened and should come upon them.\n\n51:37 And thus endeth the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi; and thus endeth the days of\nAmalickiah.\n\nAlma Chapter 52\n\n52:1 And now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year of the reign\nof the judges over the people of Nephi, behold, when the Lamanites\nawoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found\nAmalickiah was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was\nready to give them battle on that day.\n\n52:2 And now, when the Lamanites saw this they were affrighted; and\nthey abandoned their design in marching into the land northward, and\nretreated with all their army into the city of Mulek, and sought\nprotection in their fortifications.\n\n52:3 And it came to pass that the brother of Amalickiah was appointed\nking over the people; and his name was Ammoron; thus king Ammoron, the\nbrother of king Amalickiah, was appointed to reign in his stead.\n\n52:4 And it came to pass that he did command that his people should\nmaintain those cities, which they had taken by the shedding of blood;\nfor they had not taken any cities save they had lost much blood.\n\n52:5 And now, Teancum saw that the Lamanites were determined to\nmaintain those cities which they had taken, and those parts of the land\nwhich they had obtained possession of; and also seeing the enormity of\ntheir number, Teancum thought it was not expedient that he should\nattempt to attack them in their forts.\n\n52:6 But he kept his men round about, as if making preparations for\nwar; yea, and truly he was preparing to defend himself against them, by\ncasting up walls round about and preparing places of resort.\n\n52:7 And it came to pass that he kept thus preparing for war until\nMoroni had sent a large number of men to strengthen his army.\n\n52:8 And Moroni also sent orders unto him that he should retain all the\nprisoners who fell into his hands; for as the Lamanites had taken many\nprisoners, that he should retain all the prisoners of the Lamanites as\na ransom for those whom the Lamanites had taken.\n\n52:9 And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify the land\nBountiful, and secure the narrow pass which led into the land\nnorthward, lest the Lamanites should obtain that point and should have\npower to harass them on every side.\n\n52:10 And Moroni also sent unto him, desiring him that he would be\nfaithful in maintaining that quarter of the land, and that he would\nseek every opportunity to scourge the Lamanites in that quarter, as\nmuch as was in his power, that perhaps he might take again by stratagem\nor some other way those cities which had been taken out of their hands;\nand that he also would fortify and strengthen the cities round about,\nwhich had not fallen into the hands of the Lamanites.\n\n52:11 And he also said unto him, I would come unto you, but behold, the\nLamanites are upon us in the borders of the land by the west sea; and\nbehold, I go against them, therefore I cannot come unto you.\n\n52:12 Now, the king (Ammoron) had departed out of the land of\nZarahemla, and had made known unto the queen concerning the death of\nhis brother, and had gathered together a large number of men, and had\nmarched forth against the Nephites on the borders by the west sea.\n\n52:13 And thus he was endeavoring to harass the Nephites, and to draw\naway a part of their forces to that part of the land, while he had\ncommanded those whom he had left to possess the cities which he had\ntaken, that they should also harass the Nephites on the borders by the\neast sea, and should take possession of their lands as much as it was\nin their power, according to the power of their armies.\n\n52:14 And thus were the Nephites in those dangerous circumstances in\nthe ending of the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over\nthe people of Nephi.\n\n52:15 But behold, it came to pass in the twenty and seventh year of the\nreign of the judges, that Teancum, by the command of Moroni\u2014who had\nestablished armies to protect the south and the west borders of the\nland, and had begun his march towards the land Bountiful, that he might\nassist Teancum with his men in retaking the cities which they had lost\u2014\n\n52:16 And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders to make an\nattack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if it were possible.\n\n52:17 And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an\nattack upon the city of Mulek, and march forth with his army against\nthe Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could\noverpower them while they were in their fortifications; therefore he\nabandoned his designs and returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait\nfor the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.\n\n52:18 And it came to pass that Moroni did arrive with his army at the\nland of Bountiful, in the latter end of the twenty and seventh year of\nthe reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.\n\n52:19 And in the commencement of the twenty and eighth year, Moroni and\nTeancum and many of the chief captains held a council of war\u2014what they\nshould do to cause the Lamanites to come out against them to battle; or\nthat they might by some means flatter them out of their strongholds,\nthat they might gain advantage over them and take again the city of\nMulek.\n\n52:20 And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the\nLamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to their leader, whose\nname was Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to\nmeet them upon the plains between the two cities. But behold, Jacob,\nwho was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet them upon\nthe plains.\n\n52:21 And it came to pass that Moroni, having no hopes of meeting them\nupon fair grounds, therefore, he resolved upon a plan that he might\ndecoy the Lamanites out of their strongholds.\n\n52:22 Therefore he caused that Teancum should take a small number of\nmen and march down near the seashore; and Moroni and his army, by\nnight, marched in the wilderness, on the west of the city Mulek; and\nthus, on the morrow, when the guards of the Lamanites had discovered\nTeancum, they ran and told it unto Jacob, their leader.\n\n52:23 And it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did march\nforth against Teancum, supposing by their numbers to overpower Teancum\nbecause of the smallness of his numbers. And as Teancum saw the armies\nof the Lamanites coming out against him he began to retreat down by the\nseashore, northward.\n\n52:24 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that he began to\nflee, they took courage and pursued them with vigor. And while Teancum\nwas thus leading away the Lamanites who were pursuing them in vain,\nbehold, Moroni commanded that a part of his army who were with him\nshould march forth into the city, and take possession of it.\n\n52:25 And thus they did, and slew all those who had been left to\nprotect the city, yea, all those who would not yield up their weapons\nof war.\n\n52:26 And thus Moroni had obtained possession of the city Mulek with a\npart of his army, while he marched with the remainder to meet the\nLamanites when they should return from the pursuit of Teancum.\n\n52:27 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue Teancum until\nthey came near the city Bountiful, and then they were met by Lehi and a\nsmall army, which had been left to protect the city Bountiful.\n\n52:28 And now behold, when the chief captains of the Lamanites had\nbeheld Lehi with his army coming against them, they fled in much\nconfusion, lest perhaps they should not obtain the city Mulek before\nLehi should overtake them; for they were wearied because of their\nmarch, and the men of Lehi were fresh.\n\n52:29 Now the Lamanites did not know that Moroni had been in their rear\nwith his army; and all they feared was Lehi and his men.\n\n52:30 Now Lehi was not desirous to overtake them till they should meet\nMoroni and his army.\n\n52:31 And it came to pass that before the Lamanites had retreated far\nthey were surrounded by the Nephites, by the men of Moroni on one hand,\nand the men of Lehi on the other, all of whom were fresh and full of\nstrength; but the Lamanites were wearied because of their long march.\n\n52:32 And Moroni commanded his men that they should fall upon them\nuntil they had given up their weapons of war.\n\n52:33 And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader, being also a\nZoramite, and having an unconquerable spirit, he led the Lamanites\nforth to battle with exceeding fury against Moroni.\n\n52:34 Moroni being in their course of march, therefore Jacob was\ndetermined to slay them and cut his way through to the city of Mulek.\nBut behold, Moroni and his men were more powerful; therefore they did\nnot give way before the Lamanites.\n\n52:35 And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding\nfury; and there were many slain on both sides; yea, and Moroni was\nwounded and Jacob was killed.\n\n52:36 And Lehi pressed upon their rear with such fury with his strong\nmen, that the Lamanites in the rear delivered up their weapons of war;\nand the remainder of them, being much confused, knew not whither to go\nor to strike.\n\n52:37 Now Moroni seeing their confusion, he said unto them: If ye will\nbring forth your weapons of war and deliver them up, behold we will\nforbear shedding your blood.\n\n52:38 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had heard these\nwords, their chief captains, all those who were not slain, came forth\nand threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and also\ncommanded their men that they should do the same.\n\n52:39 But behold, there were many that would not; and those who would\nnot deliver up their swords were taken and bound, and their weapons of\nwar were taken from them, and they were compelled to march with their\nbrethren forth into the land Bountiful.\n\n52:40 And now the number of prisoners who were taken exceeded more than\nthe number of those who had been slain, yea, more than those who had\nbeen slain on both sides.\n\nAlma Chapter 53\n\n53:1 And it came to pass that they did set guards over the prisoners of\nthe Lamanites, and did compel them to go forth and bury their dead,\nyea, and also the dead of the Nephites who were slain; and Moroni\nplaced men over them to guard them while they should perform their\nlabors.\n\n53:2 And Moroni went to the city of Mulek with Lehi, and took command\nof the city and gave it unto Lehi. Now behold, this Lehi was a man who\nhad been with Moroni in the more part of all his battles; and he was a\nman like unto Moroni, and they rejoiced in each other\u2019s safety; yea,\nthey were beloved by each other, and also beloved by all the people of\nNephi.\n\n53:3 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had finished burying\ntheir dead and also the dead of the Nephites, they were marched back\ninto the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused\nthat they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the\nland, or the city, Bountiful.\n\n53:4 And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon\nthe inner bank of the ditch; and they cast up dirt out of the ditch\nagainst the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the\nLamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful round\nabout with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding height.\n\n53:5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in\nthis city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even\nwithin a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands.\nNow Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it\nwas easy to guard them while at their labor; and he desired all his\nforces when he should make an attack upon the Lamanites.\n\n53:6 And it came to pass that Moroni had thus gained a victory over one\nof the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites, and had obtained\npossession of the city of Mulek, which was one of the strongest holds\nof the Lamanites in the land of Nephi; and thus he had also built a\nstronghold to retain his prisoners.\n\n53:7 And it came to pass that he did no more attempt a battle with the\nLamanites in that year, but he did employ his men in preparing for war,\nyea, and in making fortifications to guard against the Lamanites, yea,\nand also delivering their women and their children from famine and\naffliction, and providing food for their armies.\n\n53:8 And now it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites, on the\nwest sea, south, while in the absence of Moroni on account of some\nintrigue amongst the Nephites, which caused dissensions amongst them,\nhad gained some ground over the Nephites, yea, insomuch that they had\nobtained possession of a number of their cities in that part of the\nland.\n\n53:9 And thus because of iniquity amongst themselves, yea, because of\ndissensions and intrigue among themselves they were placed in the most\ndangerous circumstances.\n\n53:10 And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of\nAmmon, who in the beginning, were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his\nbrethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been\nconverted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land\nof Zarahemla, and had ever since been protected by the Nephites.\n\n53:11 And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms\nagainst their brethren; for they had taken an oath that they never\nwould shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have\nperished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into\nthe hands of their brethren, had it not been for the pity and the\nexceeding love which Ammon and his brethren had had for them.\n\n53:12 And for this cause they were brought down into the land of\nZarahemla; and they ever had been protected by the Nephites.\n\n53:13 But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many\nafflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they\nwere moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the\ndefence of their country.\n\n53:14 But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they\nwere overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman and his brethren, for\nthey were about to break the oath which they had made.\n\n53:15 And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls;\ntherefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled\nto behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their\ndangerous circumstances at this time.\n\n53:16 But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not\nentered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war\nto defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble\nthemselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms,\nand they called themselves Nephites.\n\n53:17 And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the\nNephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives;\nyea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty,\nbut they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and\nthemselves from bondage.\n\n53:18 Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who\nentered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend\ntheir country.\n\n53:19 And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to\nthe Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great\nsupport; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that\nHelaman should be their leader.\n\n53:20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant\nfor courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was\nnot all\u2014they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing\nthey were entrusted.\n\n53:21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been\ntaught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before\nhim.\n\n53:22 And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his\ntwo thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of the people in the\nborders of the land on the south by the west sea.\n\n53:23 And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 54\n\n54:1 And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and\nninth year of the judges, that Ammoron sent unto Moroni desiring that\nhe would exchange prisoners.\n\n54:2 And it came to pass that Moroni felt to rejoice exceedingly at\nthis request, for he desired the provisions which were imparted for the\nsupport of the Lamanite prisoners for the support of his own people;\nand he also desired his own people for the strengthening of his army.\n\n54:3 Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there was\nnot a woman nor a child among all the prisoners of Moroni, or the\nprisoners whom Moroni had taken; therefore Moroni resolved upon a\nstratagem to obtain as many prisoners of the Nephites from the\nLamanites as it were possible.\n\n54:4 Therefore he wrote an epistle, and sent it by the servant of\nAmmoron, the same who had brought an epistle to Moroni. Now these are\nthe words which he wrote unto Ammoron, saying:\n\n54:5 Behold, Ammoron, I have written unto you somewhat concerning this\nwar which ye have waged against my people, or rather which thy brother\nhath waged against them, and which ye are still determined to carry on\nafter his death.\n\n54:6 Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the justice of God,\nand the sword of his almighty wrath, which doth hang over you except ye\nrepent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of\nyour possessions, which is the land of Nephi.\n\n54:7 Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of\nhearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning that awful hell\nthat awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother have\nbeen, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return\nwith your armies to your own lands.\n\n54:8 But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against\nthe people of the Lord, even so I may expect you will do it again.\n\n54:9 And now behold, we are prepared to receive you; yea, and except\nyou withdraw your purposes, behold, ye will pull down the wrath of that\nGod whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter destruction.\n\n54:10 But, as the Lord liveth, our armies shall come upon you except ye\nwithdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with death, for we will retain\nour cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain our religion and\nthe cause of our God.\n\n54:11 But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these\nthings in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a child of hell;\ntherefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not\nexchange prisoners, save it be on conditions that ye will deliver up a\nman and his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the\ncase that ye will do it, I will exchange.\n\n54:12 And behold, if you do not this, I will come against you with my\narmies; yea, even I will arm my women and my children, and I will come\nagainst you, and I will follow you even into your own land, which is\nthe land of our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for\nblood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you\nare destroyed from off the face of the earth.\n\n54:13 Behold, I am in my anger, and also my people; ye have sought to\nmurder us, and we have only sought to defend ourselves. But behold, if\nye seek to destroy us more we will seek to destroy you; yea, and we\nwill seek our land, the land of our first inheritance.\n\n54:14 Now I close my epistle. I am Moroni; I am a leader of the people\nof the Nephites.\n\n54:15 Now it came to pass that Ammoron, when he had received this\nepistle, was angry; and he wrote another epistle unto Moroni, and these\nare the words which he wrote, saying:\n\n54:16 I am Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites; I am the brother of\nAmalickiah whom ye have murdered. Behold, I will avenge his blood upon\nyou, yea, and I will come upon you with my armies for I fear not your\nthreatenings.\n\n54:17 For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that\nthey did rob them of their right to the government when it rightly\nbelonged unto them.\n\n54:18 And now behold, if ye will lay down your arms, and subject\nyourselves to be governed by those to whom the government doth rightly\nbelong, then will I cause that my people shall lay down their weapons\nand shall be at war no more.\n\n54:19 Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my\npeople; but behold, we fear not your threatenings.\n\n54:20 Nevertheless, I will grant to exchange prisoners according to\nyour request, gladly, that I may preserve my food for my men of war;\nand we will wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting\nthe Nephites to our authority or to their eternal extinction.\n\n54:21 And as concerning that God whom ye say we have rejected, behold,\nwe know not such a being; neither do ye; but if it so be that there is\nsuch a thing, we know not but that he hath made us as well as you.\n\n54:22 And if it so be that there is a devil and a hell, behold will he\nnot send you there to dwell with my brother whom ye have murdered, whom\nye have hinted that he hath gone to such a place? But behold these\nthings matter not.\n\n54:23 I am Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers\npressed and brought out of Jerusalem.\n\n54:24 And behold now, I am a bold Lamanite; behold, this war hath been\nwaged to avenge their wrongs, and to maintain and to obtain their\nrights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni.\n\nAlma Chapter 55\n\n55:1 Now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle he\nwas more angry, because he knew that Ammoron had a perfect knowledge of\nhis fraud; yea, he knew that Ammoron knew that it was not a just cause\nthat had caused him to wage a war against the people of Nephi.\n\n55:2 And he said: Behold, I will not exchange prisoners with Ammoron\nsave he will withdraw his purpose, as I have stated in my epistle; for\nI will not grant unto him that he shall have any more power than what\nhe hath got.\n\n55:3 Behold, I know the place where the Lamanites do guard my people\nwhom they have taken prisoners; and as Ammoron would not grant unto me\nmine epistle, behold, I will give unto him according to my words; yea,\nI will seek death among them until they shall sue for peace.\n\n55:4 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words, he\ncaused that a search should be made among his men, that perhaps he\nmight find a man who was a descendant of Laman among them.\n\n55:5 And it came to pass that they found one, whose name was Laman; and\nhe was one of the servants of the king who was murdered by Amalickiah.\n\n55:6 Now Moroni caused that Laman and a small number of his men should\ngo forth unto the guards who were over the Nephites.\n\n55:7 Now the Nephites were guarded in the city of Gid; therefore Moroni\nappointed Laman and caused that a small number of men should go with\nhim.\n\n55:8 And when it was evening Laman went to the guards who were over the\nNephites, and behold, they saw him coming and they hailed him; but he\nsaith unto them: Fear not; behold, I am a Lamanite. Behold, we have\nescaped from the Nephites, and they sleep; and behold we have taken of\ntheir wine and brought with us.\n\n55:9 Now when the Lamanites heard these words they received him with\njoy; and they said unto him: Give us of your wine, that we may drink;\nwe are glad that ye have thus taken wine with you for we are weary.\n\n55:10 But Laman said unto them: Let us keep of our wine till we go\nagainst the Nephites to battle. But this saying only made them more\ndesirous to drink of the wine;\n\n55:11 For, said they: We are weary, therefore let us take of the wine,\nand by and by we shall receive wine for our rations, which will\nstrengthen us to go against the Nephites.\n\n55:12 And Laman said unto them: You may do according to your desires.\n\n55:13 And it came to pass that they did take of the wine freely; and it\nwas pleasant to their taste, therefore they took of it more freely; and\nit was strong, having been prepared in its strength.\n\n55:14 And it came to pass they did drink and were merry, and by and by\nthey were all drunken.\n\n55:15 And now when Laman and his men saw that they were all drunken,\nand were in a deep sleep, they returned to Moroni and told him all the\nthings that had happened.\n\n55:16 And now this was according to the design of Moroni. And Moroni\nhad prepared his men with weapons of war; and he went to the city Gid,\nwhile the Lamanites were in a deep sleep and drunken, and cast in\nweapons of war unto the prisoners, insomuch that they were all armed;\n\n55:17 Yea, even to their women, and all those of their children, as\nmany as were able to use a weapon of war, when Moroni had armed all\nthose prisoners; and all those things were done in a profound silence.\n\n55:18 But had they awakened the Lamanites, behold they were drunken and\nthe Nephites could have slain them.\n\n55:19 But behold, this was not the desire of Moroni; he did not delight\nin murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in the saving of his people\nfrom destruction; and for this cause he might not bring upon him\ninjustice, he would not fall upon the Lamanites and destroy them in\ntheir drunkenness.\n\n55:20 But he had obtained his desires; for he had armed those prisoners\nof the Nephites who were within the wall of the city, and had given\nthem power to gain possession of those parts which were within the\nwalls.\n\n55:21 And then he caused the men who were with him to withdraw a pace\nfrom them, and surround the armies of the Lamanites.\n\n55:22 Now behold this was done in the night-time, so that when the\nLamanites awoke in the morning they beheld that they were surrounded by\nthe Nephites without, and that their prisoners were armed within.\n\n55:23 And thus they saw that the Nephites had power over them; and in\nthese circumstances they found that it was not expedient that they\nshould fight with the Nephites; therefore their chief captains demanded\ntheir weapons of war, and they brought them forth and cast them at the\nfeet of the Nephites, pleading for mercy.\n\n55:24 Now behold, this was the desire of Moroni. He took them prisoners\nof war, and took possession of the city, and caused that all the\nprisoners should be liberated, who were Nephites; and they did join the\narmy of Moroni, and were a great strength to his army.\n\n55:25 And it came to pass that he did cause the Lamanites, whom he had\ntaken prisoners, that they should commence a labor in strengthening the\nfortifications round about the city Gid.\n\n55:26 And it came to pass that when he had fortified the city Gid,\naccording to his desires, he caused that his prisoners should be taken\nto the city Bountiful; and he also guarded that city with an\nexceedingly strong force.\n\n55:27 And it came to pass that they did, notwithstanding all the\nintrigues of the Lamanites, keep and protect all the prisoners whom\nthey had taken, and also maintain all the ground and the advantage\nwhich they had retaken.\n\n55:28 And it came to pass that the Nephites began again to be\nvictorious, and to reclaim their rights and their privileges.\n\n55:29 Many time did the Lamanites attempt to encircle them about by\nnight, but in these attempts they did lose many prisoners.\n\n55:30 And many times did they attempt to administer of their wine to\nthe Nephites, that they might destroy them with poison or with\ndrunkenness.\n\n55:31 But behold, the Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their\nGod in this their time of affliction. They could not be taken in their\nsnares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first\ngiven to some of the Lamanite prisoners.\n\n55:32 And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered\namong them; for if their wine would poison a Lamanite it would also\npoison a Nephite; and thus they did try all their liquors.\n\n55:33 And now it came to pass that it was expedient for Moroni to make\npreparations to attack the city Morianton; for behold, the Lamanites\nhad, by their labors, fortified the city Morianton until it had become\nan exceeding stronghold.\n\n55:34 And they were continually bringing new forces into that city, and\nalso new supplies of provisions.\n\n55:35 And thus ended the twenty and ninth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 56\n\n56:1 And now it came to pass in the commencement of the thirtieth year\nof the reign of the judges, on the second day in the first month,\nMoroni received an epistle from Helaman, stating the affairs of the\npeople in that quarter of the land.\n\n56:2 And these are the words which he wrote, saying: My dearly beloved\nbrother, Moroni, as well in the Lord as in the tribulations of our\nwarfare; behold, my beloved brother, I have somewhat to tell you\nconcerning our warfare in this part of the land.\n\n56:3 Behold, two thousand of the sons of those men whom Ammon brought\ndown out of the land of Nephi\u2014now ye have known that these were\ndescendants of Laman, who was the eldest son of our father Lehi;\n\n56:4 Now I need not rehearse unto you concerning their traditions or\ntheir unbelief, for thou knowest concerning all these things\u2014\n\n56:5 Therefore it sufficeth me that I tell you that two thousand of\nthese young men have taken their weapons of war, and would that I\nshould be their leader; and we have come forth to defend our country.\n\n56:6 And now ye also know concerning the covenant which their fathers\nmade, that they would not take up their weapons of war against their\nbrethren to shed blood.\n\n56:7 But in the twenty and sixth year, when they saw our afflictions\nand our tribulations for them, they were about to break the covenant\nwhich they had made and take up their weapons of war in our defence.\n\n56:8 But I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant\nwhich they had made, supposing that God would strengthen us, insomuch\nthat we should not suffer more because of the fulfilling the oath which\nthey had taken.\n\n56:9 But behold, here is one thing in which we may have great joy. For\nbehold, in the twenty and sixth year, I, Helaman, did march at the head\nof these two thousand young men to the city of Judea, to assist\nAntipus, whom ye had appointed a leader over the people of that part of\nthe land.\n\n56:10 And I did join my two thousand sons, (for they are worthy to be\ncalled sons) to the army of Antipus, in which strength Antipus did\nrejoice exceedingly; for behold, his army had been reduced by the\nLamanites because their forces had slain a vast number of our men, for\nwhich cause we have to mourn.\n\n56:11 Nevertheless, we may console ourselves in this point, that they\nhave died in the cause of their country and of their God, yea, and they\nare happy.\n\n56:12 And the Lamanites had also retained many prisoners, all of whom\nare chief captains, for none other have they spared alive. And we\nsuppose that they are now at this time in the land of Nephi; it is so\nif they are not slain.\n\n56:13 And now these are the cities of which the Lamanites have obtained\npossession by the shedding of the blood of so many of our valiant men:\n\n56:14 The land of Manti, or the city of Manti, and the city of Zeezrom,\nand the city of Cumeni, and the city of Antiparah.\n\n56:15 And these are the cities which they possessed when I arrived at\nthe city of Judea; and I found Antipus and his men toiling with their\nmight to fortify the city.\n\n56:16 Yea, and they were depressed in body as well as in spirit, for\nthey had fought valiantly by day and toiled by night to maintain their\ncities; and thus they had suffered great afflictions of every kind.\n\n56:17 And now they were determined to conquer in this place or die;\ntherefore you may well suppose that this little force which I brought\nwith me, yea, those sons of mine, gave them great hopes and much joy.\n\n56:18 And now it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Antipus\nhad received a greater strength to his army, they were compelled by the\norders of Ammoron to not come against the city of Judea, or against us,\nto battle.\n\n56:19 And thus were we favored of the Lord; for had they come upon us\nin this our weakness they might have perhaps destroyed our little army;\nbut thus were we preserved.\n\n56:20 They were commanded by Ammoron to maintain those cities which\nthey had taken. And thus ended the twenty and sixth year. And in the\ncommencement of the twenty and seventh year we had prepared our city\nand ourselves for defence.\n\n56:21 Now we were desirous that the Lamanites should come upon us; for\nwe were not desirous to make an attack upon them in their strongholds.\n\n56:22 And it came to pass that we kept spies out round about, to watch\nthe movements of the Lamanites, that they might not pass us by night\nnor by day to make an attack upon our other cities which were on the\nnorthward.\n\n56:23 For we knew in those cities they were not sufficiently strong to\nmeet them; therefore we were desirous, if they should pass by us, to\nfall upon them in their rear, and thus bring them up in the rear at the\nsame time they were met in the front. We supposed that we could\noverpower them; but behold, we were disappointed in this our desire.\n\n56:24 They durst not pass by us with their whole army, neither durst\nthey with a part, lest they should not be sufficiently strong and they\nshould fall.\n\n56:25 Neither durst they march down against the city of Zarahemla;\nneither durst they cross the head of Sidon, over to the city of\nNephihah.\n\n56:26 And thus, with their forces, they were determined to maintain\nthose cities which they had taken.\n\n56:27 And now it came to pass in the second month of this year, there\nwas brought unto us many provisions from the fathers of those my two\nthousand sons.\n\n56:28 And also there were sent two thousand men unto us from the land\nof Zarahemla. And thus we were prepared with ten thousand men, and\nprovisions for them, and also for their wives and their children.\n\n56:29 And the Lamanites, thus seeing our forces increase daily, and\nprovisions arrive for our support, they began to be fearful, and began\nto sally forth, if it were possible to put an end to our receiving\nprovisions and strength.\n\n56:30 Now when we saw that the Lamanites began to grow uneasy on this\nwise, we were desirous to bring a stratagem into effect upon them;\ntherefore Antipus ordered that I should march forth with my little sons\nto a neighboring city, as if we were carrying provisions to a\nneighboring city.\n\n56:31 And we were to march near the city of Antiparah, as if we were\ngoing to the city beyond, in the borders by the seashore.\n\n56:32 And it came to pass that we did march forth, as if with our\nprovisions, to go to that city.\n\n56:33 And it came to pass that Antipus did march forth with a part of\nhis army, leaving the remainder to maintain the city. But he did not\nmarch forth until I had gone forth with my little army, and came near\nthe city Antiparah.\n\n56:34 And now, in the city Antiparah were stationed the strongest army\nof the Lamanites; yea, the most numerous.\n\n56:35 And it came to pass that when they had been informed by their\nspies, they came forth with their army and marched against us.\n\n56:36 And it came to pass that we did flee before them, northward. And\nthus we did lead away the most powerful army of the Lamanites;\n\n56:37 Yea, even to a considerable distance, insomuch that when they saw\nthe army of Antipus pursuing them, with their might, they did not turn\nto the right nor to the left, but pursued their march in a straight\ncourse after us; and, as we suppose, it was their intent to slay us\nbefore Antipus should overtake them, and this that they might not be\nsurrounded by our people.\n\n56:38 And now Antipus, beholding our danger, did speed the march of his\narmy. But behold, it was night; therefore they did not overtake us,\nneither did Antipus overtake them; therefore we did camp for the night.\n\n56:39 And it came to pass that before the dawn of the morning, behold,\nthe Lamanites were pursuing us. Now we were not sufficiently strong to\ncontend with them; yea, I would not suffer that my little sons should\nfall into their hands; therefore we did continue our march, and we took\nour march into the wilderness.\n\n56:40 Now they durst not turn to the right nor to the left lest they\nshould be surrounded; neither would I turn to the right nor to the left\nlest they should overtake me, and we could not stand against them, but\nbe slain, and they would make their escape; and thus we did flee all\nthat day into the wilderness, even until it was dark.\n\n56:41 And it came to pass that again, when the light of the morning\ncame we saw the Lamanites upon us, and we did flee before them.\n\n56:42 But it came to pass that they did not pursue us far before they\nhalted; and it was in the morning of the third day of the seventh\nmonth.\n\n56:43 And now, whether they were overtaken by Antipus we knew not, but\nI said unto my men: Behold, we know not but they have halted for the\npurpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in\ntheir snare;\n\n56:44 Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to\nbattle?\n\n56:45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had\nI seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.\n\n56:46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them\nvery young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with\nus, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth;\nwe would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore\nlet us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.\n\n56:47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they\ndid think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon\ntheir lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they\ndid not doubt, God would deliver them.\n\n56:48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We\ndo not doubt our mothers knew it.\n\n56:49 And it came to pass that I did return with my two thousand\nagainst these Lamanites who had pursued us. And now behold, the armies\nof Antipus had overtaken them, and a terrible battle had commenced.\n\n56:50 The army of Antipus being weary, because of their long march in\nso short a space of time, were about to fall into the hands of the\nLamanites; and had I not returned with my two thousand they would have\nobtained their purpose.\n\n56:51 For Antipus had fallen by the sword, and many of his leaders,\nbecause of their weariness, which was occasioned by the speed of their\nmarch\u2014therefore the men of Antipus, being confused because of the fall\nof their leaders, began to give way before the Lamanites.\n\n56:52 And it came to pass that the Lamanites took courage, and began to\npursue them; and thus were the Lamanites pursuing them with great vigor\nwhen Helaman came upon their rear with his two thousand, and began to\nslay them exceedingly, insomuch that the whole army of the Lamanites\nhalted and turned upon Helaman.\n\n56:53 Now when the people of Antipus saw that the Lamanites had turned\nthem about, they gathered together their men and came again upon the\nrear of the Lamanites.\n\n56:54 And now it came to pass that we, the people of Nephi, the people\nof Antipus, and I with my two thousand, did surround the Lamanites, and\ndid slay them; yea, insomuch that they were compelled to deliver up\ntheir weapons of war and also themselves as prisoners of war.\n\n56:55 And now it came to pass that when they had surrendered themselves\nup unto us, behold, I numbered those young men who had fought with me,\nfearing lest there were many of them slain.\n\n56:56 But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them\nfallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength\nof God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous\nstrength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites,\nthat they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites\ndeliver themselves up as prisoners of war.\n\n56:57 And as we had no place for our prisoners, that we could guard\nthem to keep them from the armies of the Lamanites, therefore we sent\nthem to the land of Zarahemla, and a part of those men who were not\nslain of Antipus, with them; and the remainder I took and joined them\nto my stripling Ammonites, and took our march back to the city of\nJudea.\n\nAlma Chapter 57\n\n57:1 And now it came to pass that I received an epistle from Ammoron,\nthe king, stating that if I would deliver up those prisoners of war\nwhom we had taken that he would deliver up the city of Antiparah unto\nus.\n\n57:2 But I sent an epistle unto the king, that we were sure our forces\nwere sufficient to take the city of Antiparah by our force; and by\ndelivering up the prisoners for that city we should suppose ourselves\nunwise, and that we would only deliver up our prisoners on exchange.\n\n57:3 And Ammoron refused mine epistle, for he would not exchange\nprisoners; therefore we began to make preparations to go against the\ncity of Antiparah.\n\n57:4 But the people of Antiparah did leave the city, and fled to their\nother cities, which they had possession of, to fortify them; and thus\nthe city of Antiparah fell into our hands.\n\n57:5 And thus ended the twenty and eighth year of the reign of the\njudges.\n\n57:6 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and\nninth year, we received a supply of provisions, and also an addition to\nour army, from the land of Zarahemla, and from the land round about, to\nthe number of six thousand men, besides sixty of the sons of the\nAmmonites who had come to join their brethren, my little band of two\nthousand. And now behold, we were strong, yea, and we had also plenty\nof provisions brought unto us.\n\n57:7 And it came to pass that it was our desire to wage a battle with\nthe army which was placed to protect the city Cumeni.\n\n57:8 And now behold, I will show unto you that we soon accomplished our\ndesire; yea, with our strong force, or with a part of our strong force,\nwe did surround, by night, the city Cumeni, a little before they were\nto receive a supply of provisions.\n\n57:9 And it came to pass that we did camp round about the city for many\nnights; but we did sleep upon our swords, and keep guards, that the\nLamanites could not come upon us by night and slay us, which they\nattempted many times; but as many times as they attempted this their\nblood was spilt.\n\n57:10 At length their provisions did arrive, and they were about to\nenter the city by night. And we, instead of being Lamanites, were\nNephites; therefore, we did take them and their provisions.\n\n57:11 And notwithstanding the Lamanites being cut off from their\nsupport after this manner, they were still determined to maintain the\ncity; therefore it became expedient that we should take those\nprovisions and send them to Judea, and our prisoners to the land of\nZarahemla.\n\n57:12 And it came to pass that not many days had passed away before the\nLamanites began to lose all hopes of succor; therefore they yielded up\nthe city unto our hands; and thus we had accomplished our designs in\nobtaining the city Cumeni.\n\n57:13 But it came to pass that our prisoners were so numerous that,\nnotwithstanding the enormity of our numbers, we were obliged to employ\nall our force to keep them, or to put them to death.\n\n57:14 For behold, they would break out in great numbers, and would\nfight with stones, and with clubs, or whatsoever thing they could get\ninto their hands, insomuch that we did slay upwards of two thousand of\nthem after they had surrendered themselves prisoners of war.\n\n57:15 Therefore it became expedient for us, that we should put an end\nto their lives, or guard them, sword in hand, down to the land of\nZarahemla; and also our provisions were not any more than sufficient\nfor our own people, notwithstanding that which we had taken from the\nLamanites.\n\n57:16 And now, in those critical circumstances, it became a very\nserious matter to determine concerning these prisoners of war;\nnevertheless, we did resolve to send them down to the land of\nZarahemla; therefore we selected a part of our men, and gave them\ncharge over our prisoners to go down to the land of Zarahemla.\n\n57:17 But it came to pass that on the morrow they did return. And now\nbehold, we did not inquire of them concerning the prisoners; for\nbehold, the Lamanites were upon us, and they returned in season to save\nus from falling into their hands. For behold, Ammoron had sent to their\nsupport a new supply of provisions and also a numerous army of men.\n\n57:18 And it came to pass that those men whom we sent with the\nprisoners did arrive in season to check them, as they were about to\noverpower us.\n\n57:19 But behold, my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most\ndesperately; yea, they were firm before the Lamanites, and did\nadminister death unto all those who opposed them.\n\n57:20 And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before\nthe Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and\nundaunted.\n\n57:21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of\ncommand with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was\ndone unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me\nthat their mothers had taught them.\n\n57:22 And now behold, it was these my sons, and those men who had been\nselected to convey the prisoners, to whom we owe this great victory;\nfor it was they who did beat the Lamanites; therefore they were driven\nback to the city of Manti.\n\n57:23 And we retained our city Cumeni, and were not all destroyed by\nthe sword; nevertheless, we had suffered great loss.\n\n57:24 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had fled, I\nimmediately gave orders that my men who had been wounded should be\ntaken from among the dead, and caused that their wounds should be\ndressed.\n\n57:25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two\nthousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood;\nnevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great\nastonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one\nsoul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among\nthem who had not received many wounds.\n\n57:26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army,\nyea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our\nbrethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous\npower of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had\nbeen taught to believe\u2014that there was a just God, and whosoever did not\ndoubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.\n\n57:27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are\nyoung, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God\ncontinually.\n\n57:28 And now it came to pass that after we had thus taken care of our\nwounded men, and had buried our dead and also the dead of the\nLamanites, who were many, behold, we did inquire of Gid concerning the\nprisoners whom they had started to go down to the land of Zarahemla\nwith.\n\n57:29 Now Gid was the chief captain over the band who was appointed to\nguard them down to the land.\n\n57:30 And now, these are the words which Gid said unto me: Behold, we\ndid start to go down to the land of Zarahemla with our prisoners. And\nit came to pass that we did meet the spies of our armies, who had been\nsent out to watch the camp of the Lamanites.\n\n57:31 And they cried unto us, saying\u2014Behold, the armies of the\nLamanites are marching towards the city of Cumeni; and behold, they\nwill fall upon them, yea, and will destroy our people.\n\n57:32 And it came to pass that our prisoners did hear their cries,\nwhich caused them to take courage; and they did rise up in rebellion\nagainst us.\n\n57:33 And it came to pass because of their rebellion we did cause that\nour swords should come upon them. And it came to pass that they did in\na body run upon our swords, in the which, the greater number of them\nwere slain; and the remainder of them broke through and fled from us.\n\n57:34 And behold, when they had fled and we could not overtake them, we\ntook our march with speed towards the city Cumeni; and behold, we did\narrive in time that we might assist our brethren in preserving the\ncity.\n\n57:35 And behold, we are again delivered out of the hands of our\nenemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for behold, it is he that\nhas delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us.\n\n57:36 Now it came to pass that when I, Helaman, had heard these words\nof Gid, I was filled with exceeding joy because of the goodness of God\nin preserving us, that we might not all perish; yea, and I trust that\nthe souls of them who have been slain have entered into the rest of\ntheir God.\n\nAlma Chapter 58\n\n58:1 And behold, now it came to pass that our next object was to obtain\nthe city of Manti; but behold, there was no way that we could lead them\nout of the city by our small bands. For behold, they remembered that\nwhich we had hitherto done; therefore we could not decoy them away from\ntheir strongholds.\n\n58:2 And they were so much more numerous than was our army that we\ndurst not go forth and attack them in their strongholds.\n\n58:3 Yea, and it became expedient that we should employ our men to the\nmaintaining those parts of the land which we had regained of our\npossessions; therefore it became expedient that we should wait, that we\nmight receive more strength from the land of Zarahemla and also a new\nsupply of provisions.\n\n58:4 And it came to pass that I thus did send an embassy to the\ngovernor of our land, to acquaint him concerning the affairs of our\npeople. And it came to pass that we did wait to receive provisions and\nstrength from the land of Zarahemla.\n\n58:5 But behold, this did profit us but little; for the Lamanites were\nalso receiving great strength from day to day, and also many\nprovisions; and thus were our circumstances at this period of time.\n\n58:6 And the Lamanites were sallying forth against us from time to\ntime, resolving by stratagem to destroy us; nevertheless we could not\ncome to battle with them, because of their retreats and their\nstrongholds.\n\n58:7 And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult\ncircumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to\nperish for the want of food.\n\n58:8 But it came to pass that we did receive food, which was guarded to\nus by an army of two thousand men to our assistance; and this is all\nthe assistance which we did receive, to defend ourselves and our\ncountry from falling into the hands of our enemies, yea, to contend\nwith an enemy which was innumerable.\n\n58:9 And now the cause of these our embarrassments, or the cause why\nthey did not send more strength unto us, we knew not; therefore we were\ngrieved and also filled with fear, lest by any means the judgments of\nGod should come upon our land, to our overthrow and utter destruction.\n\n58:10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he\nwould strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies,\nyea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our\nlands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.\n\n58:11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with\nassurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak\npeace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us\nthat we should hope for our deliverance in him.\n\n58:12 And we did take courage with our small force which we had\nreceived, and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies,\nand to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our\nchildren, and the cause of our liberty.\n\n58:13 And thus we did go forth with all our might against the\nLamanites, who were in the city of Manti; and we did pitch our tents by\nthe wilderness side, which was near to the city.\n\n58:14 And it came to pass that on the morrow, that when the Lamanites\nsaw that we were in the borders by the wilderness which was near the\ncity, that they sent out their spies round about us that they might\ndiscover the number and the strength of our army.\n\n58:15 And it came to pass that when they saw that we were not strong,\naccording to our numbers, and fearing that we should cut them off from\ntheir support except they should come out to battle against us and kill\nus, and also supposing that they could easily destroy us with their\nnumerous hosts, therefore they began to make preparations to come out\nagainst us to battle.\n\n58:16 And when we saw that they were making preparations to come out\nagainst us, behold, I caused that Gid, with a small number of men,\nshould secrete himself in the wilderness, and also that Teomner and a\nsmall number of men should secrete themselves also in the wilderness.\n\n58:17 Now Gid and his men were on the right and the others on the left;\nand when they had thus secreted themselves, behold, I remained, with\nthe remainder of my army, in that same place where we had first pitched\nour tents against the time that the Lamanites should come out to\nbattle.\n\n58:18 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come out with their\nnumerous army against us. And when they had come and were about to fall\nupon us with the sword, I caused that my men, those who were with me,\nshould retreat into the wilderness.\n\n58:19 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did follow after us with\ngreat speed, for they were exceedingly desirous to overtake us that\nthey might slay us; therefore they did follow us into the wilderness;\nand we did pass by in the midst of Gid and Teomner, insomuch that they\nwere not discovered by the Lamanites.\n\n58:20 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had passed by, or\nwhen the army had passed by, Gid and Teomner did rise up from their\nsecret places, and did cut off the spies of the Lamanites that they\nshould not return to the city.\n\n58:21 And it came to pass that when they had cut them off, they ran to\nthe city and fell upon the guards who were left to guard the city,\ninsomuch that they did destroy them and did take possession of the\ncity. Alma 58:22 Now this was done because the Lamanites did suffer\ntheir whole army, save a few guards only, to be led away into the\nwilderness.\n\n58:23 And it came to pass that Gid and Teomner by this means had\nobtained possession of their strongholds. And it came to pass that we\ntook our course, after having traveled much in the wilderness towards\nthe land of Zarahemla.\n\n58:24 And when the Lamanites saw that they were marching towards the\nland of Zarahemla, they were exceedingly afraid, lest there was a plan\nlaid to lead them on to destruction; therefore they began to retreat\ninto the wilderness again, yea, even back by the same way which they\nhad come.\n\n58:25 And behold, it was night and they did pitch their tents, for the\nchief captains of the Lamanites had supposed that the Nephites were\nweary because of their march; and supposing that they had driven their\nwhole army therefore they took no thought concerning the city of Manti.\n\n58:26 Now it came to pass that when it was night, I caused that my men\nshould not sleep, but that they should march forward by another way\ntowards the land of Manti.\n\n58:27 And because of this our march in the night-time, behold, on the\nmorrow we were beyond the Lamanites, insomuch that we did arrive before\nthem at the city of Manti.\n\n58:28 And thus it came to pass, that by this stratagem we did take\npossession of the city of Manti without the shedding of blood.\n\n58:29 And it came to pass that when the armies of the Lamanites did\narrive near the city, and saw that we were prepared to meet them, they\nwere astonished exceedingly and struck with great fear, insomuch that\nthey did flee into the wilderness.\n\n58:30 Yea, and it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did\nflee out of all this quarter of the land. But behold, they have carried\nwith them many women and children out of the land.\n\n58:31 And those cities which had been taken by the Lamanites, all of\nthem are at this period of time in our possession; and our fathers and\nour women and our children are returning to their homes, all save it be\nthose who have been taken prisoners and carried off by the Lamanites.\n\n58:32 But behold, our armies are small to maintain so great a number of\ncities and so great possessions.\n\n58:33 But behold, we trust in our God who has given us victory over\nthose lands, insomuch that we have obtained those cities and those\nlands, which were our own.\n\n58:34 Now we do not know the cause that the government does not grant\nus more strength; neither do those men who came up unto us know why we\nhave not received greater strength.\n\n58:35 Behold, we do not know but what ye are unsuccessful, and ye have\ndrawn away the forces into that quarter of the land; if so, we do not\ndesire to murmur.\n\n58:36 And if it is not so, behold, we fear that there is some faction\nin the government, that they do not send more men to our assistance;\nfor we know that they are more numerous than that which they have sent.\n\n58:37 But, behold, it mattereth not\u2014we trust God will deliver us,\nnotwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of\nthe hands of our enemies.\n\n58:38 Behold, this is the twenty and ninth year, in the latter end, and\nwe are in the possession of our lands; and the Lamanites have fled to\nthe land of Nephi.\n\n58:39 And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly\nspoken, are with me in the city of Manti; and the Lord had supported\nthem, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even\none soul has not been slain.\n\n58:40 But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they\nstand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they\nare strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do\nobserve to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments\ncontinually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning\nthat which is to come.\n\n58:41 And now, my beloved brother, Moroni, may the Lord our God, who\nhas redeemed us and made us free, keep you continually in his presence;\nyea, and may he favor this people, even that ye may have success in\nobtaining the possession of all that which the Lamanites have taken\nfrom us, which was for our support. And now, behold, I close mine\nepistle. I am Helaman, the son of Alma.\n\nAlma Chapter 59\n\n59:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi, after Moroni had received and had read\nHelaman\u2019s epistle, he was exceedingly rejoiced because of the welfare,\nyea, the exceeding success which Helaman had had, in obtaining those\nlands which were lost.\n\n59:2 Yea, and he did make it known unto all his people, in all the land\nround about in that part where he was, that they might rejoice also.\n\n59:3 And it came to pass that he immediately sent an epistle to\nPahoran, desiring that he should cause men to be gathered together to\nstrengthen Helaman, or the armies of Helaman, insomuch that he might\nwith ease maintain that part of the land which he had been so\nmiraculously prospered in regaining.\n\n59:4 And it came to pass when Moroni had sent this epistle to the land\nof Zarahemla, he began again to lay a plan that he might obtain the\nremainder of those possessions and cities which the Lamanites had taken\nfrom them.\n\n59:5 And it came to pass that while Moroni was thus making preparations\nto go against the Lamanites to battle, behold, the people of Nephihah,\nwho were gathered together from the city of Moroni and the city of Lehi\nand the city of Morianton, were attacked by the Lamanites.\n\n59:6 Yea, even those who had been compelled to flee from the land of\nManti, and from the land round about, had come over and joined the\nLamanites in this part of the land.\n\n59:7 And thus being exceedingly numerous, yea, and receiving strength\nfrom day to day, by the command of Ammoron they came forth against the\npeople of Nephihah, and they did begin to slay them with an exceedingly\ngreat slaughter.\n\n59:8 And their armies were so numerous that the remainder of the people\nof Nephihah were obliged to flee before them; and they came even and\njoined the army of Moroni.\n\n59:9 And now as Moroni had supposed that there should be men sent to\nthe city Nephihah, to the assistance of the people to maintain that\ncity, and knowing that it was easier to keep the city from falling into\nthe hands of the Lamanites than to retake it from them, he supposed\nthat they would easily maintain that city.\n\n59:10 Therefore he retained all his force to maintain those places\nwhich he had recovered.\n\n59:11 And now, when Moroni saw that the city of Nephihah was lost he\nwas exceedingly sorrowful, and began to doubt, because of the\nwickedness of the people, whether they should not fall into the hands\nof their brethren.\n\n59:12 Now this was the case with all his chief captains. They doubted\nand marveled also because of the wickedness of the people, and this\nbecause of the success of the Lamanites over them.\n\n59:13 And it came to pass that Moroni was angry with the government,\nbecause of their indifference concerning the freedom of their country.\n\nAlma Chapter 60\n\n60:1 And it came to pass that he wrote again to the governor of the\nland, who was Pahoran, and these are the words which he wrote, saying:\nBehold, I direct mine epistle to Pahoran, in the city of Zarahemla, who\nis the chief judge and the governor over the land, and also to all\nthose who have been chosen by this people to govern and manage the\naffairs of this war.\n\n60:2 For behold, I have somewhat to say unto them by the way of\ncondemnation; for behold, ye yourselves know that ye have been\nappointed to gather together men, and arm them with swords, and with\ncimeters, and all manner of weapons of war of every kind, and send\nforth against the Lamanites, in whatsoever parts they should come into\nour land.\n\n60:3 And now behold, I say unto you that myself, and also my men, and\nalso Helaman and his men, have suffered exceedingly great sufferings;\nyea, even hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and all manner of afflictions of\nevery kind.\n\n60:4 But behold, were this all we had suffered we would not murmur nor\ncomplain.\n\n60:5 But behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea,\nthousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been\nif ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for\nthem. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us.\n\n60:6 And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly\ngreat neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless\nstate.\n\n60:7 Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless\nstupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you?\nYea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren\u2014\n\n60:8 Yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have\nplaced you in a situation that ye might have succored them, yea, ye\nmight have sent armies unto them, to have strengthened them, and have\nsaved thousands of them from falling by the sword.\n\n60:9 But behold, this is not all\u2014ye have withheld your provisions from\nthem, insomuch that many have fought and bled out their lives because\nof their great desires which they had for the welfare of this people;\nyea, and this they have done when they were about to perish with\nhunger, because of your exceedingly great neglect towards them.\n\n60:10 And now, my beloved brethren\u2014for ye ought to be beloved; yea, and\nye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and\nthe freedom of this people; but behold, ye have neglected them insomuch\nthat the blood of thousands shall come upon your heads for vengeance;\nyea, for known unto God were all their cries, and all their sufferings\u2014\n\n60:11 Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and\nbecause of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he\nwould deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in\nvain.\n\n60:12 Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been\nkilled it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye have\nsupposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are\nmany who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your\ncondemnation;\n\n60:13 For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice\nand judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose\nthat the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do\nenter into the rest of the Lord their God.\n\n60:14 And now behold, I say unto you, I fear exceedingly that the\njudgments of God will come upon this people, because of their exceeding\nslothfulness, yea, even the slothfulness of our government, and their\nexceedingly great neglect towards their brethren, yea, towards those\nwho have been slain.\n\n60:15 For were it not for the wickedness which first commenced at our\nhead, we could have withstood our enemies that they could have gained\nno power over us.\n\n60:16 Yea, had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves;\nyea, were it not for these king-men, who caused so much bloodshed among\nourselves; yea, at the time we were contending among ourselves, if we\nhad united our strength as we hitherto have done; yea, had it not been\nfor the desire of power and authority which those king-men had over us;\nhad they been true to the cause of our freedom, and united with us, and\ngone forth against our enemies, instead of taking up their swords\nagainst us, which was the cause of so much bloodshed among ourselves;\nyea, if we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, we\nshould have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done,\naccording to the fulfilling of his word.\n\n60:17 But behold, now the Lamanites are coming upon us, taking\npossession of our lands, and they are murdering our people with the\nsword, yea, our women and our children, and also carrying them away\ncaptive, causing them that they should suffer all manner of\nafflictions, and this because of the great wickedness of those who are\nseeking for power and authority, yea, even those king-men.\n\n60:18 But why should I say much concerning this matter? For we know not\nbut what ye yourselves are seeking for authority. We know not but what\nye are also traitors to your country.\n\n60:19 Or is it that ye have neglected us because ye are in the heart of\nour country and ye are surrounded by security, that ye do not cause\nfood to be sent unto us, and also men to strengthen our armies?\n\n60:20 Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea,\nhave ye forgotten the captivity of our fathers? Have ye forgotten the\nmany times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?\n\n60:21 Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we\nsit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord\nhas provided for us?\n\n60:22 Yea, will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with\nthousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who do also sit in\nidleness, while there are thousands round about in the borders of the\nland who are falling by the sword, yea, wounded and bleeding?\n\n60:23 Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye\nsit still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I\nwould that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel\nshall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed\nalso.\n\n60:24 And now, except ye do repent of that which ye have done, and\nbegin to be up and doing, and send forth food and men unto us, and also\nunto Helaman, that he may support those parts of our country which he\nhas regained, and that we may also recover the remainder of our\npossessions in these parts, behold it will be expedient that we contend\nno more with the Lamanites until we have first cleansed our inward\nvessel, yea, even the great head of our government.\n\n60:25 And except ye grant mine epistle, and come out and show unto me a\ntrue spirit of freedom, and strive to strengthen and fortify our\narmies, and grant unto them food for their support, behold I will leave\na part of my freemen to maintain this part of our land, and I will\nleave the strength and the blessings of God upon them, that none other\npower can operate against them\u2014\n\n60:26 And this because of their exceeding faith, and their patience in\ntheir tribulations\u2014\n\n60:27 And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has\na desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom\nremaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until\nthose who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become\nextinct.\n\n60:28 Yea, behold I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it\nis my God whom I fear; and it is according to his commandments that I\ndo take my sword to defend the cause of my country, and it is because\nof your iniquity that we have suffered so much loss.\n\n60:29 Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye\ndo bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little\nones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall\nupon you and visit you even to your utter destruction.\n\n60:30 Behold, I wait for assistance from you; and, except ye do\nadminister unto our relief, behold, I come unto you, even in the land\nof Zarahemla, and smite you with the sword, insomuch that ye can have\nno more power to impede the progress of this people in the cause of our\nfreedom.\n\n60:31 For behold, the Lord will not suffer that ye shall live and wax\nstrong in your iniquities to destroy his righteous people.\n\n60:32 Behold, can you suppose that the Lord will spare you and come out\nin judgment against the Lamanites, when it is the tradition of their\nfathers that has caused their hatred, yea, and it has been redoubled by\nthose who have dissented from us, while your iniquity is for the cause\nof your love of glory and the vain things of the world?\n\n60:33 Ye know that ye do transgress the laws of God, and ye do know\nthat ye do trample them under your feet. Behold, the Lord saith unto\nme: If those whom ye have appointed your governors do not repent of\ntheir sins and iniquities, ye shall go up to battle against them.\n\n60:34 And now behold, I, Moroni, am constrained, according to the\ncovenant which I have made to keep the commandments of my God;\ntherefore I would that ye should adhere to the word of God, and send\nspeedily unto me of your provisions and of your men, and also to\nHelaman.\n\n60:35 And behold, if ye will not do this I come unto you speedily; for\nbehold, God will not suffer that we should perish with hunger;\ntherefore he will give unto us of your food, even if it must be by the\nsword. Now see that ye fulfil the word of God.\n\n60:36 Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power,\nbut to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the\nglory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country. And thus I\nclose mine epistle.\n\nAlma Chapter 61\n\n61:1 Behold, now it came to pass that soon after Moroni had sent his\nepistle unto the chief governor, he received an epistle from Pahoran,\nthe chief governor. And these are the words which he received:\n\n61:2 I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send these\nwords unto Moroni, the chief captain over the army. Behold, I say unto\nyou, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it\ngrieves my soul.\n\n61:3 But behold, there are those who do joy in your afflictions, yea,\ninsomuch that they have risen up in rebellion against me, and also\nthose of my people who are freemen, yea, and those who have risen up\nare exceedingly numerous.\n\n61:4 And it is those who have sought to take away the judgment-seat\nfrom me that have been the cause of this great iniquity; for they have\nused great flattery, and they have led away the hearts of many people,\nwhich will be the cause of sore affliction among us; they have withheld\nour provisions, and have daunted our freemen that they have not come\nunto you.\n\n61:5 And behold, they have driven me out before them, and I have fled\nto the land of Gideon, with as many men as it were possible that I\ncould get.\n\n61:6 And behold, I have sent a proclamation throughout this part of the\nland; and behold, they are flocking to us daily, to their arms, in the\ndefence of their country and their freedom, and to avenge our wrongs.\n\n61:7 And they have come unto us, insomuch that those who have risen up\nin rebellion against us are set at defiance, yea, insomuch that they do\nfear us and durst not come out against us to battle.\n\n61:8 They have got possession of the land, or the city, of Zarahemla;\nthey have appointed a king over them, and he hath written unto the king\nof the Lamanites, in the which he hath joined an alliance with him; in\nthe which alliance he hath agreed to maintain the city of Zarahemla,\nwhich maintenance he supposeth will enable the Lamanites to conquer the\nremainder of the land, and he shall be placed king over this people\nwhen they shall be conquered under the Lamanites.\n\n61:9 And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth\nnot; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I,\nPahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat\nthat I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul\nstandeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.\n\n61:10 And now, behold, we will resist wickedness even unto bloodshed.\nWe would not shed the blood of the Lamanites if they would stay in\ntheir own land.\n\n61:11 We would not shed the blood of our brethren if they would not\nrise up in rebellion and take the sword against us.\n\n61:12 We would subject ourselves to the yoke of bondage if it were\nrequisite with the justice of God, or if he should command us so to do.\n\n61:13 But behold he doth not command us that we shall subject ourselves\nto our enemies, but that we should put our trust in him, and he will\ndeliver us.\n\n61:14 Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and\nwhatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as\nrebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we\nmay retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of\nour church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.\n\n61:15 Therefore, come unto me speedily with a few of your men, and\nleave the remainder in the charge of Lehi and Teancum; give unto them\npower to conduct the war in that part of the land, according to the\nSpirit of God, which is also the Spirit of freedom which is in them.\n\n61:16 Behold I have sent a few provisions unto them, that they may not\nperish until ye can come unto me.\n\n61:17 Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither,\nand we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength of\nour God according to the faith which is in us.\n\n61:18 And we will take possession of the city of Zarahemla, that we may\nobtain more food to send forth unto Lehi and Teancum; yea, we will go\nforth against them in the strength of the Lord, and we will put an end\nto this great iniquity.\n\n61:19 And now, Moroni, I do joy in receiving your epistle, for I was\nsomewhat worried concerning what we should do, whether it should be\njust in us to go against our brethren.\n\n61:20 But ye have said, except they repent the Lord hath commanded you\nthat ye should go against them.\n\n61:21 See that ye strengthen Lehi and Teancum in the Lord; tell them to\nfear not, for God will deliver them, yea, and also all those who stand\nfast in that liberty wherewith God hath made them free. And now I close\nmine epistle to my beloved brother, Moroni.\n\nAlma Chapter 62\n\n62:1 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle\nhis heart did take courage, and was filled with exceedingly great joy\nbecause of the faithfulness of Pahoran, that he was not also a traitor\nto the freedom and cause of his country.\n\n62:2 But he did also mourn exceedingly because of the iniquity of those\nwho had driven Pahoran from the judgment-seat, yea, in fine because of\nthose who had rebelled against their country and also their God.\n\n62:3 And it came to pass that Moroni took a small number of men,\naccording to the desire of Pahoran, and gave Lehi and Teancum command\nover the remainder of his army, and took his march towards the land of\nGideon.\n\n62:4 And he did raise the standard of liberty in whatsoever place he\ndid enter, and gained whatsoever force he could in all his march\ntowards the land of Gideon.\n\n62:5 And it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard,\nand did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they\nmight not come into bondage.\n\n62:6 And thus, when Moroni had gathered together whatsoever men he\ncould in all his march, he came to the land of Gideon; and uniting his\nforces with those of Pahoran they became exceedingly strong, even\nstronger than the men of Pachus, who was the king of those dissenters\nwho had driven the freemen out of the land of Zarahemla and had taken\npossession of the land.\n\n62:7 And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran went down with their\narmies into the land of Zarahemla, and went forth against the city, and\ndid meet the men of Pachus, insomuch that they did come to battle.\n\n62:8 And behold, Pachus was slain and his men were taken prisoners, and\nPahoran was restored to his judgment-seat.\n\n62:9 And the men of Pachus received their trial, according to the law,\nand also those king-men who had been taken and cast into prison; and\nthey were executed according to the law; yea, those men of Pachus and\nthose king-men, whosoever would not take up arms in the defence of\ntheir country, but would fight against it, were put to death.\n\n62:10 And thus it became expedient that this law should be strictly\nobserved for the safety of their country; yea, and whosoever was found\ndenying their freedom was speedily executed according to the law.\n\n62:11 And thus ended the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over\nthe people of Nephi; Moroni and Pahoran having restored peace to the\nland of Zarahemla, among their own people, having inflicted death upon\nall those who were not true to the cause of freedom.\n\n62:12 And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and first\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Moroni\nimmediately caused that provisions should be sent, and also an army of\nsix thousand men should be sent unto Helaman, to assist him in\npreserving that part of the land.\n\n62:13 And he also caused that an army of six thousand men, with a\nsufficient quantity of food, should be sent to the armies of Lehi and\nTeancum. And it came to pass that this was done to fortify the land\nagainst the Lamanites.\n\n62:14 And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran, leaving a large body\nof men in the land of Zarahemla, took their march with a large body of\nmen towards the land of Nephihah, being determined to overthrow the\nLamanites in that city.\n\n62:15 And it came to pass that as they were marching towards the land,\nthey took a large body of men of the Lamanites, and slew many of them,\nand took their provisions and their weapons of war.\n\n62:16 And it came to pass after they had taken them, they caused them\nto enter into a covenant that they would no more take up their weapons\nof war against the Nephites.\n\n62:17 And when they had entered into this covenant they sent them to\ndwell with the people of Ammon, and they were in number about four\nthousand who had not been slain.\n\n62:18 And it came to pass that when they had sent them away they\npursued their march towards the land of Nephihah. And it came to pass\nthat when they had come to the city of Nephihah, they did pitch their\ntents in the plains of Nephihah, which is near the city of Nephihah.\n\n62:19 Now Moroni was desirous that the Lamanites should come out to\nbattle against them, upon the plains; but the Lamanites, knowing of\ntheir exceedingly great courage, and beholding the greatness of their\nnumbers, therefore they durst not come out against them; therefore they\ndid not come to battle in that day.\n\n62:20 And when the night came, Moroni went forth in the darkness of the\nnight, and came upon the top of the wall to spy out in what part of the\ncity the Lamanites did camp with their army.\n\n62:21 And it came to pass that they were on the east, by the entrance;\nand they were all asleep. And now Moroni returned to his army, and\ncaused that they should prepare in haste strong cords and ladders, to\nbe let down from the top of the wall into the inner part of the wall.\n\n62:22 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his men should march\nforth and come upon the top of the wall, and let themselves down into\nthat part of the city, yea, even on the west, where the Lamanites did\nnot camp with their armies.\n\n62:23 And it came to pass that they were all let down into the city by\nnight, by the means of their strong cords and their ladders; thus when\nthe morning came they were all within the walls of the city.\n\n62:24 And now, when the Lamanites awoke and saw that the armies of\nMoroni were within the walls, they were affrighted exceedingly,\ninsomuch that they did flee out by the pass.\n\n62:25 And now when Moroni saw that they were fleeing before him, he did\ncause that his men should march forth against them, and slew many, and\nsurrounded many others, and took them prisoners; and the remainder of\nthem fled into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the\nseashore.\n\n62:26 Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the possession of the city\nof Nephihah without the loss of one soul; and there were many of the\nLamanites who were slain.\n\n62:27 Now it came to pass that many of the Lamanites that were\nprisoners were desirous to join the people of Ammon and become a free\npeople.\n\n62:28 And it came to pass that as many as were desirous, unto them it\nwas granted according to their desires.\n\n62:29 Therefore, all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people\nof Ammon, and did begin to labor exceedingly, tilling the ground,\nraising all manner of grain, and flocks and herds of every kind; and\nthus were the Nephites relieved from a great burden; yea, insomuch that\nthey were relieved from all the prisoners of the Lamanites.\n\n62:30 Now it came to pass that Moroni, after he had obtained possession\nof the city of Nephihah, having taken many prisoners, which did reduce\nthe armies of the Lamanites exceedingly, and having regained many of\nthe Nephites who had been taken prisoners, which did strengthen the\narmy of Moroni exceedingly; therefore Moroni went forth from the land\nof Nephihah to the land of Lehi.\n\n62:31 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Moroni was\ncoming against them, they were again frightened and fled before the\narmy of Moroni.\n\n62:32 And it came to pass that Moroni and his army did pursue them from\ncity to city, until they were met by Lehi and Teancum; and the\nLamanites fled from Lehi and Teancum, even down upon the borders by the\nseashore, until they came to the land of Moroni.\n\n62:33 And the armies of the Lamanites were all gathered together,\ninsomuch that they were all in one body in the land of Moroni. Now,\nAmmoron, the king of the Lamanites, was also with them.\n\n62:34 And it came to pass that Moroni and Lehi and Teancum did encamp\nwith their armies round about in the borders of the land of Moroni,\ninsomuch that the Lamanites were encircled about in the borders by the\nwilderness on the south, and in the borders by the wilderness on the\neast.\n\n62:35 And thus they did encamp for the night. For behold, the Nephites\nand the Lamanites also were weary because of the greatness of the\nmarch; therefore they did not resolve upon any stratagem in the\nnight-time, save it were Teancum; for he was exceedingly angry with\nAmmoron, insomuch that he considered that Ammoron, and Amalickiah his\nbrother, had been the cause of this great and lasting war between them\nand the Lamanites, which had been the cause of so much war and\nbloodshed, yea, and so much famine.\n\n62:36 And it came to pass that Teancum in his anger did go forth into\nthe camp of the Lamanites, and did let himself down over the walls of\nthe city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch\nthat he did find the king; and he did cast a javelin at him, which did\npierce him near the heart. But behold, the king did awaken his servants\nbefore he died, insomuch that they did pursue Teancum, and slew him.\n\n62:37 Now it came to pass that when Lehi and Moroni knew that Teancum\nwas dead they were exceedingly sorrowful; for behold, he had been a man\nwho had fought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to\nliberty; and he had suffered very many exceedingly sore afflictions.\nBut behold, he was dead, and had gone the way of all the earth.\n\n62:38 Now it came to pass that Moroni marched forth on the morrow, and\ncame upon the Lamanites, insomuch that they did slay them with a great\nslaughter; and they did drive them out of the land; and they did flee,\neven that they did not return at that time against the Nephites.\n\n62:39 And thus ended the thirty and first year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi; and thus they had had wars, and\nbloodsheds, and famine, and affliction, for the space of many years.\n\n62:40 And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and\nall manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the\nrighteous\u2019 sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they\nwere spared.\n\n62:41 But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war\nbetween the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened,\nbecause of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were\nsoftened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble\nthemselves before God, even in the depth of humility.\n\n62:42 And it came to pass that after Moroni had fortified those parts\nof the land which were most exposed to the Lamanites, until they were\nsufficiently strong, he returned to the city of Zarahemla; and also\nHelaman returned to the place of his inheritance; and there was once\nmore peace established among the people of Nephi.\n\n62:43 And Moroni yielded up the command of his armies into the hands of\nhis son, whose name was Moronihah; and he retired to his own house that\nhe might spend the remainder of his days in peace.\n\n62:44 And Pahoran did return to his judgment-seat; and Helaman did take\nupon him again to preach unto the people the word of God; for because\nof so many wars and contentions it had become expedient that a\nregulation should be made again in the church.\n\n62:45 Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth, and did declare\nthe word of God with much power unto the convincing of many people of\ntheir wickedness, which did cause them to repent of their sins and to\nbe baptized unto the Lord their God.\n\n62:46 And it came to pass that they did establish again the church of\nGod, throughout all the land.\n\n62:47 Yea, and regulations were made concerning the law. And their\njudges, and their chief judges were chosen.\n\n62:48 And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and\nbegan to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And\nthey began to grow exceedingly rich.\n\n62:49 But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their\nprosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither\nwere they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble\nthemselves exceedingly before him.\n\n62:50 Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for\nthem, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from\nprisons, and from all manner of afflictions and he had delivered them\nout of the hands of their enemies.\n\n62:51 And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch\nthat the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did\nwax strong and prosper in the land.\n\n62:52 And it came to pass that all these things were done. And Helaman\ndied, in the thirty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the\npeople of Nephi.\n\nAlma Chapter 63\n\n63:1 And it came to pass in the commencement of the thirty and sixth\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Shiblon\ntook possession of those sacred things which had been delivered unto\nHelaman by Alma.\n\n63:2 And he was a just man, and he did walk uprightly before God; and\nhe did observe to do good continually, to keep the commandments of the\nLord his God; and also did his brother.\n\n63:3 And it came to pass that Moroni died also. And thus ended the\nthirty and sixth year of the reign of the judges.\n\n63:4 And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the\nreign of the judges, there was a large company of men, even to the\namount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and\ntheir children, departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land\nwhich was northward.\n\n63:5 And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious\nman, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship,\non the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and\nlaunched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into\nthe land northward.\n\n63:6 And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein\nand did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and\nchildren; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the\nthirty and seventh year.\n\n63:7 And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. And\nthe first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it;\nand they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land\nnorthward.\n\n63:8 And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we\nsuppose that they were drowned in the depths of the sea. And it came to\npass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we\nknow not.\n\n63:9 And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who\nwent forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and\neighth year.\n\n63:10 And it came to pass in the thirty and ninth year of the reign of\nthe judges, Shiblon died also, and Corianton had gone forth to the land\nnorthward in a ship, to carry forth provisions unto the people who had\ngone forth into that land.\n\n63:11 Therefore it became expedient for Shiblon to confer those sacred\nthings, before his death, upon the son of Helaman, who was called\nHelaman, being called after the name of his father.\n\n63:12 Now behold, all those engravings which were in the possession of\nHelaman were written and sent forth among the children of men\nthroughout all the land, save it were those parts which had been\ncommanded by Alma should not go forth.\n\n63:13 Nevertheless, these things were to be kept sacred, and handed\ndown from one generation to another; therefore, in this year, they had\nbeen conferred upon Helaman, before the death of Shiblon.\n\n63:14 And it came to pass also in this year that there were some\ndissenters who had gone forth unto the Lamanites; and they were stirred\nup again to anger against the Nephites.\n\n63:15 And also in this same year they came down with a numerous army to\nwar against the people of Moronihah, or against the army of Moronihah,\nin the which they were beaten and driven back again to their own lands,\nsuffering great loss.\n\n63:16 And thus ended the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\n63:17 And thus ended the account of Alma, and Helaman his son, and also\nShiblon, who was his son.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF HELAMAN\n\n\nAn account of the Nephites. Their wars and contentions, and their\ndissensions. And also the prophecies of many holy prophets, before the\ncoming of Christ, according to the records of Helaman, who was the son\nof Helaman, and also according to the records of his sons, even down to\nthe coming of Christ. And also many of the Lamanites are converted. An\naccount of their conversion. An account of the righteousness of the\nLamanites, and the wickedness and abominations of the Nephites,\naccording to the record of Helaman and his sons, even down to the\ncoming of Christ, which is called the book of Helaman.\n\nHelaman Chapter 1\n\n1:1 And now behold, it came to pass in the commencement of the fortieth\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there began\nto be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites.\n\n1:2 For behold, Pahoran had died, and gone the way of all the earth;\ntherefore there began to be a serious contention concerning who should\nhave the judgment-seat among the brethren, who were the sons of\nPahoran.\n\n1:3 Now these are their names who did contend for the judgment-seat,\nwho did also cause the people to contend: Pahoran, Paanchi, and\nPacumeni.\n\n1:4 Now these are not all the sons of Pahoran, (for he had many) but\nthese are they who did contend for the judgment-seat; therefore, they\ndid cause three divisions among the people.\n\n1:5 Nevertheless, it came to pass that Pahoran was appointed by the\nvoice of the people to be chief judge and a governor over the people of\nNephi.\n\n1:6 And it came to pass that Pacumeni, when he saw that he could not\nobtain the judgment-seat, he did unite with the voice of the people.\n\n1:7 But behold, Paanchi, and that part of the people that were desirous\nthat he should be their governor, was exceedingly wroth; therefore, he\nwas about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against\ntheir brethren.\n\n1:8 And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, he was\ntaken, and was tried according to the voice of the people, and\ncondemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to\ndestroy the liberty of the people.\n\n1:9 Now when those people who were desirous that he should be their\ngovernor saw that he was condemned unto death, therefore they were\nangry, and behold, they sent forth one Kishkumen, even to the\njudgment-seat of Pahoran, and murdered Pahoran as he sat upon the\njudgment-seat.\n\n1:10 And he was pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, so\nspeedy was the flight of Kishkumen that no man could overtake him.\n\n1:11 And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a\ncovenant, yea, swearing by their everlasting Maker, that they would\ntell no man that Kishkumen had murdered Pahoran.\n\n1:12 Therefore, Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, for\nhe was in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran. And Kishkumen\nand his band, who had covenanted with him, did mingle themselves among\nthe people, in a manner that they all could not be found; but as many\nas were found were condemned unto death.\n\n1:13 And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of\nthe people, to be a chief judge and a governor over the people, to\nreign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his\nright. And all this was done in the fortieth year of the reign of the\njudges; and it had an end.\n\n1:14 And it came to pass in the forty and first year of the reign of\nthe judges, that the Lamanites had gathered together an innumerable\narmy of men, and armed them with swords, and with cimeters and with\nbows, and with arrows, and with head-plates, and with breastplates, and\nwith all manner of shields of every kind.\n\n1:15 And they came down again that they might pitch battle against the\nNephites. And they were led by a man whose name was Coriantumr; and he\nwas a descendant of Zarahemla; and he was a dissenter from among the\nNephites; and he was a large and a mighty man.\n\n1:16 Therefore, the king of the Lamanites, whose name was Tubaloth, who\nwas the son of Ammoron, supposing that Coriantumr, being a mighty man,\ncould stand against the Nephites, with his strength and also with his\ngreat wisdom, insomuch that by sending him forth he should gain power\nover the Nephites\u2014\n\n1:17 Therefore he did stir them up to anger, and he did gather together\nhis armies, and he did appoint Coriantumr to be their leader, and did\ncause that they should march down to the land of Zarahemla to battle\nagainst the Nephites.\n\n1:18 And it came to pass that because of so much contention and so much\ndifficulty in the government, that they had not kept sufficient guards\nin the land of Zarahemla; for they had supposed that the Lamanites\ndurst not come into the heart of their lands to attack that great city\nZarahemla.\n\n1:19 But it came to pass that Coriantumr did march forth at the head of\nhis numerous host, and came upon the inhabitants of the city, and their\nmarch was with such exceedingly great speed that there was no time for\nthe Nephites to gather together their armies.\n\n1:20 Therefore Coriantumr did cut down the watch by the entrance of the\ncity, and did march forth with his whole army into the city, and they\ndid slay every one who did oppose them, insomuch that they did take\npossession of the whole city.\n\n1:21 And it came to pass that Pacumeni, who was the chief judge, did\nflee before Coriantumr, even to the walls of the city. And it came to\npass that Coriantumr did smite him against the wall, insomuch that he\ndied. And thus ended the days of Pacumeni.\n\n1:22 And now when Coriantumr saw that he was in possession of the city\nof Zarahemla, and saw that the Nephites had fled before them, and were\nslain, and were taken, and were cast into prison, and that he had\nobtained the possession of the strongest hold in all the land, his\nheart took courage insomuch that he was about to go forth against all\nthe land.\n\n1:23 And now he did not tarry in the land of Zarahemla, but he did\nmarch forth with a large army, even towards the city of Bountiful; for\nit was his determination to go forth and cut his way through with the\nsword, that he might obtain the north parts of the land.\n\n1:24 And, supposing that their greatest strength was in the center of\nthe land, therefore he did march forth, giving them no time to assemble\nthemselves together save it were in small bodies; and in this manner\nthey did fall upon them and cut them down to the earth.\n\n1:25 But behold, this march of Coriantumr through the center of the\nland gave Moronihah great advantage over them, notwithstanding the\ngreatness of the number of the Nephites who were slain.\n\n1:26 For behold, Moronihah had supposed that the Lamanites durst not\ncome into the center of the land, but that they would attack the cities\nround about in the borders as they had hitherto done; therefore\nMoronihah had caused that their strong armies should maintain those\nparts round about by the borders.\n\n1:27 But behold, the Lamanites were not frightened according to his\ndesire, but they had come into the center of the land, and had taken\nthe capital city which was the city of Zarahemla, and were marching\nthrough the most capital parts of the land, slaying the people with a\ngreat slaughter, both men, women, and children, taking possession of\nmany cities and of many strongholds.\n\n1:28 But when Moronihah had discovered this, he immediately sent forth\nLehi with an army round about to head them before they should come to\nthe land Bountiful.\n\n1:29 And thus he did; and he did head them before they came to the land\nBountiful, and gave unto them battle, insomuch that they began to\nretreat back towards the land of Zarahemla.\n\n1:30 And it came to pass that Moronihah did head them in their retreat,\nand did give unto them battle, insomuch that it became an exceedingly\nbloody battle; yea, many were slain, and among the number who were\nslain Coriantumr was also found.\n\n1:31 And now, behold, the Lamanites could not retreat either way,\nneither on the north, nor on the south, nor on the east, nor on the\nwest, for they were surrounded on every hand by the Nephites.\n\n1:32 And thus had Coriantumr plunged the Lamanites into the midst of\nthe Nephites, insomuch that they were in the power of the Nephites, and\nhe himself was slain, and the Lamanites did yield themselves into the\nhands of the Nephites.\n\n1:33 And it came to pass that Moronihah took possession of the city of\nZarahemla again, and caused that the Lamanites who had been taken\nprisoners should depart out of the land in peace.\n\n1:34 And thus ended the forty and first year of the reign of the\njudges.\n\nHelaman Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass in the forty and second year of the reign of\nthe judges, after Moronihah had established again peace between the\nNephites and the Lamanites, behold there was no one to fill the\njudgment-seat; therefore there began to be a contention again among the\npeople concerning who should fill the judgment-seat.\n\n2:2 And it came to pass that Helaman, who was the son of Helaman, was\nappointed to fill the judgment-seat, by the voice of the people.\n\n2:3 But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to\ndestroy Helaman also; and he was upheld by his band, who had entered\ninto a covenant that no one should know his wickedness.\n\n2:4 For there was one Gadianton, who was exceedingly expert in many\nwords, and also in his craft, to carry on the secret work of murder and\nof robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen.\n\n2:5 Therefore he did flatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they\nwould place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who\nbelonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority\namong the people; therefore Kishkumen sought to destroy Helaman.\n\n2:6 And it came to pass as he went forth towards the judgment-seat to\ndestroy Helaman, behold one of the servants of Helaman, having been out\nby night, and having obtained, through disguise, a knowledge of those\nplans which had been laid by this band to destroy Helaman\u2014\n\n2:7 And it came to pass that he met Kishkumen, and he gave unto him a\nsign; therefore Kishkumen made known unto him the object of his desire,\ndesiring that he would conduct him to the judgment-seat that he might\nmurder Helaman.\n\n2:8 And when the servant of Helaman had known all the heart of\nKishkumen, and how that it was his object to murder, and also that it\nwas the object of all those who belonged to his band to murder, and to\nrob, and to gain power, (and this was their secret plan, and their\ncombination) the servant of Helaman said unto Kishkumen: Let us go\nforth unto the judgment-seat.\n\n2:9 Now this did please Kishkumen exceedingly, for he did suppose that\nhe should accomplish his design; but behold, the servant of Helaman, as\nthey were going forth unto the judgment-seat, did stab Kishkumen even\nto the heart, that he fell dead without a groan. And he ran and told\nHelaman all the things which he had seen, and heard, and done.\n\n2:10 And it came to pass that Helaman did send forth to take this band\nof robbers and secret murderers, that they might be executed according\nto the law.\n\n2:11 But behold, when Gadianton had found that Kishkumen did not return\nhe feared lest that he should be destroyed; therefore he caused that\nhis band should follow him. And they took their flight out of the land,\nby a secret way, into the wilderness; and thus when Helaman sent forth\nto take them they could nowhere be found.\n\n2:12 And more of this Gadianton shall be spoken hereafter. And thus\nended the forty and second year of the reign of the judges over the\npeople of Nephi.\n\n2:13 And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this\nGadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction\nof the people of Nephi.\n\n2:14 Behold I do not mean the end of the book of Helaman, but I mean\nthe end of the book of Nephi, from which I have taken all the account\nwhich I have written.\n\nHelaman Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And now it came to pass in the forty and third year of the reign of\nthe judges, there was no contention among the people of Nephi save it\nwere a little pride which was in the church, which did cause some\nlittle dissensions among the people, which affairs were settled in the\nending of the forty and third year.\n\n3:2 And there was no contention among the people in the forty and\nfourth year; neither was there much contention in the forty and fifth\nyear.\n\n3:3 And it came to pass in the forty and sixth, yea, there was much\ncontention and many dissensions; in the which there were an exceedingly\ngreat many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth\nunto the land northward to inherit the land.\n\n3:4 And they did travel to an exceedingly great distance, insomuch that\nthey came to large bodies of water and many rivers.\n\n3:5 Yea, and even they did spread forth into all parts of the land,\ninto whatever parts it had not been rendered desolate and without\ntimber, because of the many inhabitants who had before inherited the\nland.\n\n3:6 And now no part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber;\nbut because of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had\nbefore inhabited the land it was called desolate.\n\n3:7 And there being but little timber upon the face of the land,\nnevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the\nworking of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the\nwhich they did dwell.\n\n3:8 And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go\nforth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread\ninsomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the\nsea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east.\n\n3:9 And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents,\nand in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should\nspring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in\ntime they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities,\nand their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all\nmanner of their buildings.\n\n3:10 And it came to pass as timber was exceedingly scarce in the land\nnorthward, they did send forth much by the way of shipping.\n\n3:11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that\nthey might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.\n\n3:12 And it came to pass that there were many of the people of Ammon,\nwho were Lamanites by birth, did also go forth into this land.\n\n3:13 And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this\npeople, by many of this people, which are particular and very large,\nconcerning them.\n\n3:14 But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people,\nyea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars,\nand contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their\nprophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their\nbuilding of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their\nrighteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their\nrobbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and\nwhoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.\n\n3:15 But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind,\nand they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites.\n\n3:16 And they have been handed down from one generation to another by\nthe Nephites, even until they have fallen into transgression and have\nbeen murdered, plundered, and hunted, and driven forth, and slain, and\nscattered upon the face of the earth, and mixed with the Lamanites\nuntil they are no more called the Nephites, becoming wicked, and wild,\nand ferocious, yea, even becoming Lamanites.\n\n3:17 And now I return again to mine account; therefore, what I have\nspoken had passed after there had been great contentions, and\ndisturbances, and wars, and dissensions, among the people of Nephi.\n\n3:18 The forty and sixth year of the reign of the judges ended;\n\n3:19 And it came to pass that there was still great contention in the\nland, yea, even in the forty and seventh year, and also in the forty\nand eighth year.\n\n3:20 Nevertheless Helaman did fill the judgment-seat with justice and\nequity; yea, he did observe to keep the statutes, and the judgments,\nand the commandments of God; and he did do that which was right in the\nsight of God continually; and he did walk after the ways of his father,\ninsomuch that he did prosper in the land.\n\n3:21 And it came to pass that he had two sons. He gave unto the eldest\nthe name of Nephi, and unto the youngest, the name of Lehi. And they\nbegan to grow up unto the Lord.\n\n3:22 And it came to pass that the wars and contentions began to cease,\nin a small degree, among the people of the Nephites, in the latter end\nof the forty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the people\nof Nephi.\n\n3:23 And it came to pass in the forty and ninth year of the reign of\nthe judges, there was continual peace established in the land, all save\nit were the secret combinations which Gadianton the robber had\nestablished in the more settled parts of the land, which at that time\nwere not known unto those who were at the head of government; therefore\nthey were not destroyed out of the land.\n\n3:24 And it came to pass that in this same year there was exceedingly\ngreat prosperity in the church, insomuch that there were thousands who\ndid join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance.\n\n3:25 And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the\nblessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high\npriests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure.\n\n3:26 And it came to pass that the work of the Lord did prosper unto the\nbaptizing and uniting to the church of God, many souls, yea, even tens\nof thousands.\n\n3:27 Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in\nthe sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.\n\n3:28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to\nthose who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of\nGod.\n\n3:29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God,\nwhich is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning\nand the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ\nin a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery\nwhich is prepared to engulf the wicked\u2014\n\n3:30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand\nof God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac,\nand with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.\n\n3:31 And in this year there was continual rejoicing in the land of\nZarahemla, and in all the regions round about, even in all the land\nwhich was possessed by the Nephites.\n\n3:32 And it came to pass that there was peace and exceedingly great joy\nin the remainder of the forty and ninth year; yea, and also there was\ncontinual peace and great joy in the fiftieth year of the reign of the\njudges.\n\n3:33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there\nwas peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the\nchurch\u2014not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people\nwho professed to belong to the church of God\u2014\n\n3:34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many\nof their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more\nhumble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade\nthrough much affliction.\n\n3:35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and\nstronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of\nChrist, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea,\neven to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which\nsanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.\n\n3:36 And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace\nalso, save it were the exceedingly great pride which had gotten into\nthe hearts of the people; and it was because of their exceedingly great\nriches and their prosperity in the land; and it did grow upon them from\nday to day.\n\n3:37 And it came to pass in the fifty and third year of the reign of\nthe judges, Helaman died, and his eldest son Nephi began to reign in\nhis stead. And it came to pass that he did fill the judgment-seat with\njustice and equity; yea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did\nwalk in the ways of his father.\n\nHelaman Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And it came to pass in the fifty and fourth year there were many\ndissensions in the church, and there was also a contention among the\npeople, insomuch that there was much bloodshed.\n\n4:2 And the rebellious part were slain and driven out of the land, and\nthey did go unto the king of the Lamanites.\n\n4:3 And it came to pass that they did endeavor to stir up the Lamanites\nto war against the Nephites; but behold, the Lamanites were exceedingly\nafraid, insomuch that they would not hearken to the words of those\ndissenters.\n\n4:4 But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of the reign of the\njudges, there were dissenters who went up from the Nephites unto the\nLamanites; and they succeeded with those others in stirring them up to\nanger against the Nephites; and they were all that year preparing for\nwar.\n\n4:5 And in the fifty and seventh year they did come down against the\nNephites to battle, and they did commence the work of death; yea,\ninsomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of the judges\nthey succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea,\nand also all the lands, even unto the land which was near the land\nBountiful.\n\n4:6 And the Nephites and the armies of Moronihah were driven even into\nthe land of Bountiful;\n\n4:7 And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west\nsea, even unto the east; it being a day\u2019s journey for a Nephite, on the\nline which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend\ntheir north country.\n\n4:8 And thus those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help of a\nnumerous army of the Lamanites, had obtained all the possession of the\nNephites which was in the land southward. And all this was done in the\nfifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges.\n\n4:9 And it came to pass in the sixtieth year of the reign of the\njudges, Moronihah did succeed with his armies in obtaining many parts\nof the land; yea, they regained many cities which had fallen into the\nhands of the Lamanites.\n\n4:10 And it came to pass in the sixty and first year of the reign of\nthe judges they succeeded in regaining even the half of all their\npossessions.\n\n4:11 Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which\nwas among them, would not have happened had it not been for their\nwickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was\namong those also who professed to belong to the church of God.\n\n4:12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their\nexceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor,\nwithholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from\nthe naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a\nmock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of\nrevelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing\nadultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the\nland of Nephi, among the Lamanites\u2014\n\n4:13 And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in\ntheir own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore\nthey did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before\nthe Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their\nlands.\n\n4:14 But behold, Moronihah did preach many things unto the people\nbecause of their iniquity, and also Nephi and Lehi, who were the sons\nof Helaman, did preach many things unto the people, yea, and did\nprophesy many things unto them concerning their iniquities, and what\nshould come unto them if they did not repent of their sins.\n\n4:15 And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did\nrepent they did begin to prosper.\n\n4:16 For when Moronihah saw that they did repent he did venture to lead\nthem forth from place to place, and from city to city, even until they\nhad regained the one-half of their property and the one-half of all\ntheir lands.\n\n4:17 And thus ended the sixty and first year of the reign of the\njudges.\n\n4:18 And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of the reign of\nthe judges, that Moronihah could obtain no more possessions over the\nLamanites.\n\n4:19 Therefore they did abandon their design to obtain the remainder of\ntheir lands, for so numerous were the Lamanites that it became\nimpossible for the Nephites to obtain more power over them; therefore\nMoronihah did employ all his armies in maintaining those parts which he\nhad taken.\n\n4:20 And it came to pass, because of the greatness of the number of the\nLamanites the Nephites were in great fear, lest they should be\noverpowered, and trodden down, and slain, and destroyed.\n\n4:21 Yea, they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the\nwords of Mosiah; and they saw that they had been a stiffnecked people,\nand that they had set at naught the commandments of God.\n\n4:22 And that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws\nof Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the\npeople; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that\nthey had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even\nlike unto the Lamanites.\n\n4:23 And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and\nthey began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of\nrevelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face.\n\n4:24 And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren,\nthe Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve\nthem; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord\ndoth not dwell in unholy temples\u2014\n\n4:25 Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous\nand matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and\nawful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more\nnumerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their\nGod, they must unavoidably perish.\n\n4:26 For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as\ngreat as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen\ninto this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because\nof their transgression, in the space of not many years.\n\nHelaman Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And it came to pass that in this same year, behold, Nephi delivered\nup the judgment-seat to a man whose name was Cezoram.\n\n5:2 For as their laws and their governments were established by the\nvoice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than\nthey who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for\nthe laws had become corrupted.\n\n5:3 Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch\nthat they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to\ntheir destruction.\n\n5:4 And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their\niniquity; and he yielded up the judgment-seat, and took it upon him to\npreach the word of God all the remainder of his days, and his brother\nLehi also, all the remainder of his days;\n\n5:5 For they remembered the words which their father Helaman spake unto\nthem. And these are the words which he spake:\n\n5:6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the\ncommandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people\nthese words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first\nparents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done\nthat when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye\nremember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their\nworks ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were\ngood.\n\n5:7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good,\nthat it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said\nand written of them.\n\n5:8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you,\nwhich desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but\nthat ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in\nheaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye\nmay have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to\nsuppose hath been given to our fathers.\n\n5:9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake\nunto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means\nwhereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus\nChrist, who shall come, yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the\nworld.\n\n5:10 And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in\nthe city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should\ncome to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them\nin their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.\n\n5:11 And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them\nfrom their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his\nangels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which\nbringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their\nsouls.\n\n5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of\nour Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your\nfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea,\nhis shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty\nstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you\ndown to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon\nwhich ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if\nmen build they cannot fall.\n\n5:13 And it came to pass that these were the words which Helaman taught\nto his sons; yea, he did teach them many things which are not written,\nand also many things which are written.\n\n5:14 And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth,\nkeeping the commandments of God, to teach the word of God among all the\npeople of Nephi, beginning at the city Bountiful;\n\n5:15 And from thenceforth to the city of Gid; and from the city of Gid\nto the city of Mulek;\n\n5:16 And even from one city to another, until they had gone forth among\nall the people of Nephi who were in the land southward; and from thence\ninto the land of Zarahemla, among the Lamanites.\n\n5:17 And it came to pass that they did preach with great power,\ninsomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone\nover from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess\ntheir sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned\nto the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they\nhad done.\n\n5:18 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the\nLamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and\nauthority, given unto them that they might speak, and they also had\nwhat they should speak given unto them\u2014\n\n5:19 Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the\nLamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight\nthousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round\nabout baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of\nthe traditions of their fathers.\n\n5:20 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did proceed from thence to\ngo to the land of Nephi.\n\n5:21 And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the\nLamanites and cast into prison; yea, even in that same prison in which\nAmmon and his brethren were cast by the servants of Limhi.\n\n5:22 And after they had been cast into prison many days without food,\nbehold, they went forth into the prison to take them that they might\nslay them.\n\n5:23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if\nby fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them\nfor fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were\nnot burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not\nburned.\n\n5:24 And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of\nfire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.\n\n5:25 For they saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon\nthem; neither durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were\nstruck dumb with amazement.\n\n5:26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began\nto speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has\nshown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you\nthat ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.\n\n5:27 And behold, when they had said these words, the earth shook\nexceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were\nabout to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall. And\nbehold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who\nwere dissenters.\n\n5:28 And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of\ndarkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.\n\n5:29 And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above\nthe cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more\nto destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good\ntidings.\n\n5:30 And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it\nwas not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great\ntumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness,\nas if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul\u2014\n\n5:31 And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth\nshook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it\nwere about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness,\nwhich had overshadowed them, did not disperse\u2014\n\n5:32 And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for\nthe kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my\nservants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls\ntrembled.\n\n5:33 And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto\nthem marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did\ntremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide\nasunder.\n\n5:34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of\nthe cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they\nwere immovable because of the fear which did come upon them.\n\n5:35 Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had\nonce belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.\n\n5:36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw\nthrough the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold,\nthey did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld\nthat they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude\nas if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.\n\n5:37 And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that\nthey might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them\nthat they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and\nLehi.\n\n5:38 And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean,\nand who is it with whom these men do converse?\n\n5:39 Now the man\u2019s name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They\ndo converse with the angels of God.\n\n5:40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall\nwe do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing\nus?\n\n5:41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the\nvoice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto\nyou by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the\ncloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.\n\n5:42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice\nof him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud\nof darkness was dispersed.\n\n5:43 And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw\nthat the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them,\nbehold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a\npillar of fire.\n\n5:44 And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were\nencircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire,\nyet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of\nthe prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and\nfull of glory.\n\n5:45 And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and\ndid enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and\nthey could speak forth marvelous words.\n\n5:46 And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a\npleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:\n\n5:47 Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well\nBeloved, who was from the foundation of the world.\n\n5:48 And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to\nbehold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens\nopen; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.\n\n5:49 And there were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these\nthings; and they were bidden to go forth and marvel not, neither should\nthey doubt.\n\n5:50 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and did minister unto\nthe people, declaring throughout all the regions round about all the\nthings which they had heard and seen, insomuch that the more part of\nthe Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the\nevidences which they had received.\n\n5:51 And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war,\nand also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers.\n\n5:52 And it came to pass that they did yield up unto the Nephites the\nlands of their possession.\n\nHelaman Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And it came to pass that when the sixty and second year of the\nreign of the judges had ended, all these things had happened and the\nLamanites had become, the more part of them, a righteous people,\ninsomuch that their righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites\nbecause of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith.\n\n6:2 For behold, there were many of the Nephites who had become hardened\nand impenitent and grossly wicked, insomuch that they did reject the\nword of God and all the preaching and prophesying which did come among\nthem.\n\n6:3 Nevertheless, the people of the church did have great joy because\nof the conversion of the Lamanites, yea, because of the church of God,\nwhich had been established among them. And they did fellowship one with\nanother and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy.\n\n6:4 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into\nthe land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites\nthe manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and\nrepentance.\n\n6:5 Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and\nauthority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of\nhumility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb.\n\n6:6 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did go into the land\nnorthward; and also Nephi and Lehi went into the land northward, to\npreach unto the people. And thus ended the sixty and third year.\n\n6:7 And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the\nNephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether\namong the Nephites or the Lamanites.\n\n6:8 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever\nthey would, whether it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites;\nand thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to\nsell, and to get gain, according to their desire.\n\n6:9 And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the\nLamanites and the Nephites; and they did have an exceeding plenty of\ngold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the\nland south and in the land north.\n\n6:10 Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called\nMulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring\nMulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.\n\n6:11 And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and\nof silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also\ncurious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and\nthus they did become rich.\n\n6:12 They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the\nsouth; and they did flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the\nsouth. And they did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land.\nAnd they did raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings.\n\n6:13 Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of\ncloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their\nnakedness. And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace.\n\n6:14 And in the sixty and fifth year they did also have great joy and\npeace, yea, much preaching and many prophecies concerning that which\nwas to come. And thus passed away the sixty and fifth year.\n\n6:15 And it came to pass that in the sixty and sixth year of the reign\nof the judges, behold, Cezoram was murdered by an unknown hand as he\nsat upon the judgment-seat. And it came to pass that in the same year,\nthat his son, who had been appointed by the people in his stead, was\nalso murdered. And thus ended the sixty and sixth year.\n\n6:16 And in the commencement of the sixty and seventh year the people\nbegan to grow exceedingly wicked again.\n\n6:17 For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of\nthe world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to\nbloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches;\nyea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one\nabove another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to\nrob and to plunder, that they might get gain.\n\n6:18 And now behold, those murderers and plunderers were a band who had\nbeen formed by Kishkumen and Gadianton. And now it had come to pass\nthat there were many, even among the Nephites, of Gadianton\u2019s band. But\nbehold, they were more numerous among the more wicked part of the\nLamanites. And they were called Gadianton\u2019s robbers and murderers.\n\n6:19 And it was they who did murder the chief judge Cezoram, and his\nson, while in the judgment-seat; and behold, they were not found.\n\n6:20 And now it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that there\nwere robbers among them they were exceedingly sorrowful; and they did\nuse every means in their power to destroy them off the face of the\nearth.\n\n6:21 But behold, Satan did stir up the hearts of the more part of the\nNephites, insomuch that they did unite with those bands of robbers, and\ndid enter into their covenants and their oaths, that they would protect\nand preserve one another in whatsoever difficult circumstances they\nshould be placed, that they should not suffer for their murders, and\ntheir plunderings, and their stealings.\n\n6:22 And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their\nsecret signs, and their secret words; and this that they might\ndistinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that\nwhatsoever wickedness his brother should do he should not be injured by\nhis brother, nor by those who did belong to his band, who had taken\nthis covenant.\n\n6:23 And thus they might murder, and plunder, and steal, and commit\nwhoredoms and all manner of wickedness, contrary to the laws of their\ncountry and also the laws of their God.\n\n6:24 And whosoever of those who belonged to their band should reveal\nunto the world of their wickedness and their abominations, should be\ntried, not according to the laws of their country, but according to the\nlaws of their wickedness, which had been given by Gadianton and\nKishkumen.\n\n6:25 Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma\ncommanded his son should not go forth unto the world, lest they should\nbe a means of bringing down the people unto destruction.\n\n6:26 Now behold, those secret oaths and covenants did not come forth\nunto Gadianton from the records which were delivered unto Helaman; but\nbehold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being\nwho did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit\u2014\n\n6:27 Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would\nmurder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he\ndid plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.\n\n6:28 And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the\npeople to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to\nheaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from\nthat tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and\nabominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people\ndown to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell.\n\n6:29 Yea, it is that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton\nto still carry on the work of darkness, and of secret murder; and he\nhas brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time.\n\n6:30 And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he\ndoth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand\ndown their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans\nof awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can\nget hold upon the hearts of the children of men.\n\n6:31 And now behold, he had got great hold upon the hearts of the\nNephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea,\nthe more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and\ndid trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto\ntheir own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold\nand their silver.\n\n6:32 And it came to pass that all these iniquities did come unto them\nin the space of not many years, insomuch that a more part of it had\ncome unto them in the sixty and seventh year of the reign of the judges\nover the people of Nephi.\n\n6:33 And they did grow in their iniquities in the sixty and eighth year\nalso.\n\n6:34 And thus we see that the Nephites did begin to dwindle in\nunbelief, and grow in wickedness and abominations, while the Lamanites\nbegan to grow exceedingly in the knowledge of their God; yea, they did\nbegin to keep his statutes and commandments, and to walk in truth and\nuprightness before him.\n\n6:35 And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from\nthe Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their\nhearts.\n\n6:36 And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon\nthe Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in\nhis words.\n\n6:37 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of\nrobbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the\nmore wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was\nutterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.\n\n6:38 And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build\nthem up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them,\nuntil they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced\nthe more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in\ntheir works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their\nsecret murders and combinations.\n\n6:39 And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government,\ninsomuch that they did trample under their feet and smite and rend and\nturn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers\nof God.\n\n6:40 And thus we see that they were in an awful state, and ripening for\nan everlasting destruction.\n\n6:41 And it came to pass that thus ended the sixty and eighth year of\nthe reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.\n\nHelaman Chapter 7\n\n7:1 Behold, now it came to pass in the sixty and ninth year of the\nreign of the judges over the people of the Nephites, that Nephi, the\nson of Helaman, returned to the land of Zarahemla from the land\nnorthward.\n\n7:2 For he had been forth among the people who were in the land\nnorthward, and did preach the word of God unto them, and did prophesy\nmany things unto them;\n\n7:3 And they did reject all his words, insomuch that he could not stay\namong them, but returned again unto the land of his nativity.\n\n7:4 And seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and\nthose Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats\u2014having usurped the\npower and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God,\nand not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the\nchildren of men;\n\n7:5 Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting\nthe guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and\nmoreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do\naccording to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the\nworld, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery,\nand steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills\u2014\n\n7:6 Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of\nnot many years; and when Nephi saw it, his heart was swollen with\nsorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul:\n\n7:7 Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi\nfirst came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with\nhim in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated,\nfirm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do\niniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord\u2014\n\n7:8 Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul\nhave had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.\n\n7:9 But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul\nshall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my\nbrethren.\n\n7:10 And behold, now it came to pass that it was upon a tower, which\nwas in the garden of Nephi, which was by the highway which led to the\nchief market, which was in the city of Zarahemla; therefore, Nephi had\nbowed himself upon the tower which was in his garden, which tower was\nalso near unto the garden gate by which led the highway.\n\n7:11 And it came to pass that there were certain men passing by and saw\nNephi as he was pouring out his soul unto God upon the tower; and they\nran and told the people what they had seen, and the people came\ntogether in multitudes that they might know the cause of so great\nmourning for the wickedness of the people.\n\n7:12 And now, when Nephi arose he beheld the multitudes of people who\nhad gathered together.\n\n7:13 And it came to pass that he opened his mouth and said unto them:\nBehold, why have ye gathered yourselves together? That I may tell you\nof your iniquities?\n\n7:14 Yea, because I have got upon my tower that I might pour out my\nsoul unto my God, because of the exceeding sorrow of my heart, which is\nbecause of your iniquities!\n\n7:15 And because of my mourning and lamentation ye have gathered\nyourselves together, and do marvel; yea, and ye have great need to\nmarvel; yea, ye ought to marvel because ye are given away that the\ndevil has got so great hold upon your hearts.\n\n7:16 Yea, how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is\nseeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless\nwo?\n\n7:17 O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the\nLord your God. Why has he forsaken you?\n\n7:18 It is because you have hardened your hearts; yea, ye will not\nhearken unto the voice of the good shepherd; yea, ye have provoked him\nto anger against you.\n\n7:19 And behold, instead of gathering you, except ye will repent,\nbehold, he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs\nand wild beasts.\n\n7:20 O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he\nhas delivered you?\n\n7:21 But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that\nye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the\nriches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder,\nand plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor,\nand do all manner of iniquity.\n\n7:22 And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent.\nFor if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those\ngreat cities which are round about, which are in the land of our\npossession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them;\nfor behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has\nhitherto done, to withstand against your enemies.\n\n7:23 For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked\nof my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those that\nrepent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would\nthat ye should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the\nLamanites than for you except ye shall repent.\n\n7:24 For behold, they are more righteous than you, for they have not\nsinned against that great knowledge which ye have received; therefore\nthe Lord will be merciful unto them; yea, he will lengthen out their\ndays and increase their seed, even when thou shalt be utterly destroyed\nexcept thou shalt repent.\n\n7:25 Yea, wo be unto you because of that great abomination which has\ncome among you; and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that\nsecret band which was established by Gadianton!\n\n7:26 Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have\nsuffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that\nwhich is good because of your exceedingly great riches!\n\n7:27 Yea, wo be unto you because of your wickedness and abominations!\n\n7:28 And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall\nbe taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the\nearth.\n\n7:29 Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be, of myself,\nbecause it is not of myself that I know these things; but behold, I\nknow that these things are true because the Lord God has made them\nknown unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be.\n\nHelaman Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words,\nbehold, there were men who were judges, who also belonged to the secret\nband of Gadianton, and they were angry, and they cried out against him,\nsaying unto the people: Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him\nforth, that he may be condemned according to the crime which he has\ndone?\n\n8:2 Why seest thou this man, and hearest him revile against this people\nand against our law?\n\n8:3 For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness\nof their law; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written;\nand nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God.\n\n8:4 And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto\nthem concerning their secret works of darkness; nevertheless, they\ndurst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest\nthey should cry out against them.\n\n8:5 Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer\nthis man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this\npeople, even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our great\ncities shall be taken from us, that we shall have no place in them.\n\n8:6 And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are\npowerful, and our cities great, therefore our enemies can have no power\nover us.\n\n8:7 And it came to pass that thus they did stir up the people to anger\nagainst Nephi, and raised contentions among them; for there were some\nwho did cry out: Let this man alone, for he is a good man, and those\nthings which he saith will surely come to pass except we repent;\n\n8:8 Yea, behold, all the judgments will come upon us which he has\ntestified unto us; for we know that he has testified aright unto us\nconcerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he knoweth as\nwell all things which shall befall us as he knoweth of our iniquities;\n\n8:9 Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have\ntestified concerning those things.\n\n8:10 And it came to pass that those people who sought to destroy Nephi\nwere compelled because of their fear, that they did not lay their hands\non him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had\ngained favor in the eyes of some, insomuch that the remainder of them\ndid fear.\n\n8:11 Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying:\nBehold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man,\neven Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted\nhither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers,\ncame through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of\nthe Egyptians and swallowed them up?\n\n8:12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why\nshould ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me\nno power whereby I may know concerning the judgments that shall come\nupon you except ye repent?\n\n8:13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the\nwords which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which\nwere spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto\nhim, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the\nMessiah.\n\n8:14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And\nas he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he\nbe lifted up who should come.\n\n8:15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so\nas many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a\ncontrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.\n\n8:16 And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but\nalso all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.\n\n8:17 Yea, and behold, Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled with\ngladness and did rejoice.\n\n8:18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of\nthese things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were\ncalled by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and\nthis that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand\nyears before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.\n\n8:19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of\nAbraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things;\nyea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was\nslain.\n\n8:20 And behold, also Zenock, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and\nJeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the\ndestruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed\naccording to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come,\naccording to his prophecy?\n\n8:21 And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say\nthat the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek?\nYea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and\nthey were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not\nall\u2014\n\n8:22 Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he testified\nof these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and also almost\nall of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of\nthe coming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his\nday which is to come.\n\n8:23 And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest\nhimself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto\nhim glory, because of that which is to come.\n\n8:24 And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except\nye shall lie, therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected\nall these things, notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have\nreceived; yea, even ye have received all things, both things in heaven,\nand all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.\n\n8:25 But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and rebelled against your\nholy God; and even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves\ntreasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can\ncome which is unclean, ye are heaping up for yourselves wrath against\nthe day of judgment.\n\n8:26 Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders\nand your fornication and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea,\nand except ye repent it will come unto you soon.\n\n8:27 Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the\njudgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he\nlieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who\nseeketh to sit in the judgment-seat.\n\n8:28 And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose author is\nGadianton and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men.\n\nHelaman Chapter 9\n\n9:1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Nephi had spoken these words,\ncertain men who were among them ran to the judgment-seat; yea, even\nthere were five who went, and they said among themselves, as they went:\n\n9:2 Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet\nand God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us.\nBehold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he\nis a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning\nthe chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the\nother words which he has spoken are true.\n\n9:3 And it came to pass that they ran in their might, and came in unto\nthe judgment-seat; and behold, the chief judge had fallen to the earth,\nand did lie in his blood.\n\n9:4 And now behold, when they saw this they were astonished\nexceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth; for they had not\nbelieved the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge.\n\n9:5 But now, when they saw they believed, and fear came upon them lest\nall the judgments which Nephi had spoken should come upon the people;\ntherefore they did quake, and had fallen to the earth.\n\n9:6 Now, immediately when the judge had been murdered\u2014he being stabbed\nby his brother by a garb of secrecy, and he fled, and the servants ran\nand told the people, raising the cry of murder among them;\n\n9:7 And behold the people did gather themselves together unto the place\nof the judgment-seat\u2014and behold, to their astonishment they saw those\nfive men who had fallen to the earth.\n\n9:8 And now behold, the people knew nothing concerning the multitude\nwho had gathered together at the garden of Nephi; therefore they said\namong themselves: These men are they who have murdered the judge, and\nGod has smitten them that they could not flee from us.\n\n9:9 And it came to pass that they laid hold on them, and bound them and\ncast them into prison. And there was a proclamation sent abroad that\nthe judge was slain, and that the murderers had been taken and were\ncast into prison.\n\n9:10 And it came to pass that on the morrow the people did assemble\nthemselves together to mourn and to fast, at the burial of the great\nchief judge who had been slain.\n\n9:11 And thus also those judges who were at the garden of Nephi, and\nheard his words, were also gathered together at the burial.\n\n9:12 And it came to pass that they inquired among the people, saying:\nWhere are the five who were sent to inquire concerning the chief judge\nwhether he was dead? And they answered and said: Concerning this five\nwhom ye say ye have sent, we know not; but there are five who are the\nmurderers, whom we have cast into prison.\n\n9:13 And it came to pass that the judges desired that they should be\nbrought; and they were brought, and behold they were the five who were\nsent; and behold the judges inquired of them to know, concerning the\nmatter, and they told them all that they had done, saying:\n\n9:14 We ran and came to the place of the judgment-seat, and when we saw\nall things even as Nephi had testified, we were astonished insomuch\nthat we fell to the earth; and when we were recovered from our\nastonishment, behold they cast us into prison.\n\n9:15 Now, as for the murder of this man, we know not who has done it;\nand only this much we know, we ran and came according as ye desired,\nand behold he was dead, according to the words of Nephi.\n\n9:16 And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter\nunto the people, and did cry out against Nephi, saying: Behold, we know\nthat this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and\nthen he might declare it unto us, that he might convert us unto his\nfaith, that he might raise himself to be a great man, chosen of God,\nand a prophet.\n\n9:17 And now behold, we will detect this man, and he shall confess his\nfault and make known unto us the true murderer of this judge.\n\n9:18 And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the\nburial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which\nthey had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one,\ninsomuch that they did confound them.\n\n9:19 Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and\nbrought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers\nways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death\u2014\n\n9:20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath\ndone this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying,\nBehold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou\nwilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with\nhim.\n\n9:21 But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart,\nye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your\nGod will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?\n\n9:22 O ye ought to begin to howl and mourn, because of the great\ndestruction which at this time doth await you, except ye shall repent.\n\n9:23 Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder\nSeezoram, our chief judge. But behold, I say unto you, that this is\nbecause I have testified unto you that ye might know concerning this\nthing; yea, even for a witness unto you, that I did know of the\nwickedness and abominations which are among you.\n\n9:24 And because I have done this, ye say that I have agreed with a man\nthat he should do this thing; yea, because I showed unto you this sign\nye are angry with me, and seek to destroy my life.\n\n9:25 And now behold, I will show unto you another sign, and see if ye\nwill in this thing seek to destroy me.\n\n9:26 Behold I say unto you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the\nbrother of Seezoram, and say unto him\u2014\n\n9:27 Has Nephi, the pretended prophet, who doth prophesy so much evil\nconcerning this people, agreed with thee, in the which ye have murdered\nSeezoram, who is your brother?\n\n9:28 And behold, he shall say unto you, Nay.\n\n9:29 And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?\n\n9:30 And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And\nbehold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make as if he were\nastonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is\ninnocent.\n\n9:31 But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the\nskirts of his cloak.\n\n9:32 And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this\nblood? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?\n\n9:33 And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death\nhad come upon him.\n\n9:34 And then shall ye say: Because of this fear and this paleness\nwhich has come upon your face, behold, we know that thou art guilty.\n\n9:35 And then shall greater fear come upon him; and then shall he\nconfess unto you, and deny no more that he has done this murder.\n\n9:36 And then shall he say unto you, that I, Nephi, know nothing\nconcerning the matter save it were given unto me by the power of God.\nAnd then shall ye know that I am an honest man, and that I am sent unto\nyou from God.\n\n9:37 And it came to pass that they went and did, even according as\nNephi had said unto them. And behold, the words which he had said were\ntrue; for according to the words he did deny; and also according to the\nwords he did confess.\n\n9:38 And he was brought to prove that he himself was the very murderer,\ninsomuch that the five were set at liberty, and also was Nephi.\n\n9:39 And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of\nNephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony\nof the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison.\n\n9:40 And now there were some among the people, who said that Nephi was\na prophet.\n\n9:41 And there were others who said: Behold, he is a god, for except he\nwas a god he could not know of all things. For behold, he has told us\nthe thoughts of our hearts, and also has told us things; and even he\nhas brought unto our knowledge the true murderer of our chief judge.\n\nHelaman Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people,\ninsomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways,\nleaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them.\n\n10:2 And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house,\npondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him.\n\n10:3 And it came to pass as he was thus pondering\u2014being much cast down\nbecause of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret\nworks of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all\nmanner of iniquities\u2014and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in\nhis heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying:\n\n10:4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done;\nfor I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word,\nwhich I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not\nfeared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my\nwill, and to keep my commandments. Helaman 10:5 And now, because thou\nhast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee\nforever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and\nin works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according\nto thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.\n\n10:6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto\nthee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this\npeople, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and\ndestruction, according to the wickedness of this people.\n\n10:7 Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on\nearth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth\nshall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this\npeople.\n\n10:8 And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in\ntwain, it shall be done.\n\n10:9 And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and\nbecome smooth, it shall be done.\n\n10:10 And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it\nshall come to pass.\n\n10:11 And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and declare unto\nthis people, that thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty: Except\nye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction.\n\n10:12 And behold, now it came to pass that when the Lord had spoken\nthese words unto Nephi, he did stop and did not go unto his own house,\nbut did return unto the multitudes who were scattered about upon the\nface of the land, and began to declare unto them the word of the Lord\nwhich had been spoken unto him, concerning their destruction if they\ndid not repent.\n\n10:13 Now behold, notwithstanding that great miracle which Nephi had\ndone in telling them concerning the death of the chief judge, they did\nharden their hearts and did not hearken unto the words of the Lord.\n\n10:14 Therefore Nephi did declare unto them the word of the Lord,\nsaying: Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye shall be smitten even\nunto destruction.\n\n10:15 And it came to pass that when Nephi had declared unto them the\nword, behold, they did still harden their hearts and would not hearken\nunto his words; therefore they did revile against him, and did seek to\nlay their hands upon him that they might cast him into prison.\n\n10:16 But behold, the power of God was with him, and they could not\ntake him to cast him into prison, for he was taken by the Spirit and\nconveyed away out of the midst of them.\n\n10:17 And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from\nmultitude to multitude, declaring the word of God, even until he had\ndeclared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people.\n\n10:18 And it came to pass that they would not hearken unto his words;\nand there began to be contentions, insomuch that they were divided\nagainst themselves and began to slay one another with the sword.\n\n10:19 And thus ended the seventy and first year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\nHelaman Chapter 11\n\n11:1 And now it came to pass in the seventy and second year of the\nreign of the judges that the contentions did increase, insomuch that\nthere were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi.\n\n11:2 And it was this secret band of robbers who did carry on this work\nof destruction and wickedness. And this war did last all that year; and\nin the seventy and third year it did also last.\n\n11:3 And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto the Lord,\nsaying:\n\n11:4 O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the\nsword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in the land, to stir\nthem up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will\nrepent and turn unto thee.\n\n11:5 And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi. And there was\na great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi. And thus\nin the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of\ndestruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine.\n\n11:6 And this work of destruction did also continue in the seventy and\nfifth year. For the earth was smitten that it was dry, and did not\nyield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was\nsmitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so\nthat they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more\nwicked parts of the land.\n\n11:7 And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to\nperish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God; and\nthey began to remember the words of Nephi.\n\n11:8 And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their\nleaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou art\na man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away\nfrom us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken\nconcerning our destruction be fulfilled.\n\n11:9 And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi, according\nto the words which had been desired. And it came to pass that when\nNephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in\nsackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord, saying:\n\n11:10 O Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away\nthe band of Gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have become\nextinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth.\n\n11:11 Now, O Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou turn away\nthine anger, and let thine anger be appeased in the destruction of\nthose wicked men whom thou hast already destroyed.\n\n11:12 O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, thy fierce anger,\nand cause that this famine may cease in this land.\n\n11:13 O Lord, wilt thou hearken unto me, and cause that it may be done\naccording to my words, and send forth rain upon the face of the earth,\nthat she may bring forth her fruit, and her grain in the season of\ngrain.\n\n11:14 O Lord, thou didst hearken unto my words when I said, Let there\nbe a famine, that the pestilence of the sword might cease; and I know\nthat thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words, for thou\nsaidst that: If this people repent I will spare them.\n\n11:15 Yea, O Lord, and thou seest that they have repented, because of\nthe famine and the pestilence and destruction which has come unto them.\n\n11:16 And now, O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and try again\nif they will serve thee? And if so, O Lord, thou canst bless them\naccording to thy words which thou hast said.\n\n11:17 And it came to pass that in the seventy and sixth year the Lord\ndid turn away his anger from the people, and caused that rain should\nfall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the\nseason of her fruit. And it came to pass that it did bring forth her\ngrain in the season of her grain.\n\n11:18 And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole\nface of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek\nto destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man\nof God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.\n\n11:19 And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a whit behind him as to\nthings pertaining to righteousness.\n\n11:20 And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to\nprosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places,\nand began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole\nface of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the\nsea west to the sea east.\n\n11:21 And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in\npeace. And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the church\ndid spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of\nthe people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the\nchurch; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the land; and thus\nended the seventy and seventh year.\n\n11:22 And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it\nwere a few contentions concerning the points of doctrine which had been\nlaid down by the prophets.\n\n11:23 And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife.\nBut it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who\nknew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations\ndaily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they\ndid put an end to their strife in that same year.\n\n11:24 And it came to pass that in the eightieth year of the reign of\nthe judges over the people of Nephi, there were a certain number of the\ndissenters from the people of Nephi, who had some years before gone\nover unto the Lamanites, and taken upon themselves the name of\nLamanites, and also a certain number who were real descendants of the\nLamanites, being stirred up to anger by them, or by those dissenters,\ntherefore they commenced a war with their brethren.\n\n11:25 And they did commit murder and plunder; and then they would\nretreat back into the mountains, and into the wilderness and secret\nplaces, hiding themselves that they could not be discovered, receiving\ndaily an addition to their numbers, inasmuch as there were dissenters\nthat went forth unto them.\n\n11:26 And thus in time, yea, even in the space of not many years, they\nbecame an exceedingly great band of robbers; and they did search out\nall the secret plans of Gadianton; and thus they became robbers of\nGadianton.\n\n11:27 Now behold, these robbers did make great havoc, yea, even great\ndestruction among the people of Nephi, and also among the people of the\nLamanites.\n\n11:28 And it came to pass that it was expedient that there should be a\nstop put to this work of destruction; therefore they sent an army of\nstrong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out\nthis band of robbers, and to destroy them.\n\n11:29 But behold, it came to pass that in that same year they were\ndriven back even into their own lands. And thus ended the eightieth\nyear of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.\n\n11:30 And it came to pass in the commencement of the eighty and first\nyear they did go forth again against this band of robbers, and did\ndestroy many; and they were also visited with much destruction.\n\n11:31 And they were again obliged to return out of the wilderness and\nout of the mountains unto their own lands, because of the exceeding\ngreatness of the numbers of those robbers who infested the mountains\nand the wilderness.\n\n11:32 And it came to pass that thus ended this year. And the robbers\ndid still increase and wax strong, insomuch that they did defy the\nwhole armies of the Nephites, and also of the Lamanites; and they did\ncause great fear to come unto the people upon all the face of the land.\n\n11:33 Yea, for they did visit many parts of the land, and did do great\ndestruction unto them; yea, did kill many, and did carry away others\ncaptive into the wilderness, yea, and more especially their women and\ntheir children.\n\n11:34 Now this great evil, which came unto the people because of their\niniquity, did stir them up again in remembrance of the Lord their God.\n\n11:35 And thus ended the eighty and first year of the reign of the\njudges.\n\n11:36 And in the eighty and second year they began again to forget the\nLord their God. And in the eighty and third year they began to wax\nstrong in iniquity. And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend\ntheir ways.\n\n11:37 And it came to pass in the eighty and fifth year they did wax\nstronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness; and thus\nthey were ripening again for destruction.\n\n11:38 And thus ended the eighty and fifth year.\n\nHelaman Chapter 12\n\n12:1 And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the\nhearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his\ngreat infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their\ntrust in him.\n\n12:2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his\npeople, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their\nherds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things\nof every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of\nthe hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that\nthey should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all\nthings for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the\ntime that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their\nGod, and do trample under their feet the Holy One\u2014yea, and this because\nof their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.\n\n12:3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with\nmany afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with\nterror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will\nnot remember him.\n\n12:4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how\nquick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men;\nyea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set\ntheir hearts upon the vain things of the world!\n\n12:5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast,\nand do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to\nremember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea,\nhow slow to walk in wisdom\u2019s paths!\n\n12:6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath\ncreated them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his\ngreat goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his\ncounsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.\n\n12:7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even\nthey are less than the dust of the earth.\n\n12:8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to\nthe dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.\n\n12:9 Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble\nand quake.\n\n12:10 And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become\nsmooth, yea, even like unto a valley.\n\n12:11 Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake;\n\n12:12 Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to\nthe very center.\n\n12:13 Yea, and if he say unto the earth\u2014Move\u2014it is moved.\n\n12:14 Yea, if he say unto the earth\u2014Thou shalt go back, that it\nlengthen out the day for many hours\u2014it is done;\n\n12:15 And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it\nappeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this\nis so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.\n\n12:16 And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep\u2014Be\nthou dried up\u2014it is done.\n\n12:17 Behold, if he say unto this mountain\u2014Be thou raised up, and come\nover and fall upon that city, that it be buried up\u2014behold it is done.\n\n12:18 And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the\nLord shall say\u2014Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who\nhath hid it up\u2014behold, it shall be accursed.\n\n12:19 And if the Lord shall say\u2014Be thou accursed, that no man shall\nfind thee from this time henceforth and forever\u2014behold, no man getteth\nit henceforth and forever.\n\n12:20 And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man\u2014Because of thine\niniquities, thou shalt be accursed forever\u2014it shall be done.\n\n12:21 And if the Lord shall say\u2014Because of thine iniquities thou shalt\nbe cut off from my presence\u2014he will cause that it shall be so.\n\n12:22 And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto\nhim that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this\ncause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.\n\n12:23 Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the\nvoice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.\n\n12:24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be\nbrought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored\nunto grace for grace, according to their works.\n\n12:25 And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the\ngreat and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall\nbe cast off from the presence of the Lord;\n\n12:26 Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery,\nfulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have\neverlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting\ndamnation. And thus it is. Amen.\n\nHelaman Chapter 13\n\n13:1 And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites\ndid still remain in wickedness, yea in great wickedness, while the\nLamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God,\naccording to the law of Moses.\n\n13:2 And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a\nLamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the\npeople. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance\nunto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return\nto his own land.\n\n13:3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should\nreturn again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should\ncome into his heart.\n\n13:4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should\nenter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof,\nand stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and\nprophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his\nheart.\n\n13:5 And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the\nwords of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath\nput it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice\nhangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the\nsword of justice falleth upon this people.\n\n13:6 Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh\nunto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be\nrepentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come\ninto the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his\npeople.\n\n13:7 And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he\ndid bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to\ndeclare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold\nye would not receive me.\n\n13:8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the\nhearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take\naway my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I\nwill suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their\nbrethren against them.\n\n13:9 And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause\nthat they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword and\nwith famine and with pestilence.\n\n13:10 Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be\nthose of the fourth generation who shall live, of your enemies, to\nbehold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye\nrepent, saith the Lord; and those of the fourth generation shall visit\nyour destruction.\n\n13:11 But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will\nturn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed\nare they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that\nrepenteth not.\n\n13:12 Yea, wo unto this great city of Zarahemla; for behold, it is\nbecause of those who are righteous that it is saved; yea, wo unto this\ngreat city, for I perceive, saith the Lord, that there are many, yea,\neven the more part of this great city, that will harden their hearts\nagainst me, saith the Lord.\n\n13:13 But blessed are they who will repent, for them will I spare. But\nbehold, if it were not for the righteous who are in this great city,\nbehold, I would cause that fire should come down out of heaven and\ndestroy it.\n\n13:14 But behold, it is for the righteous\u2019 sake that it is spared. But\nbehold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out\nthe righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction;\nyea, wo be unto this great city, because of the wickedness and\nabominations which are in her.\n\n13:15 Yea, and wo be unto the city of Gideon, for the wickedness and\nabominations which are in her.\n\n13:16 Yea, and wo be unto all the cities which are in the land round\nabout, which are possessed by the Nephites, because of the wickedness\nand abominations which are in them.\n\n13:17 And behold, a curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of\nHosts, because of the people\u2019s sake who are upon the land, yea, because\nof their wickedness and their abominations.\n\n13:18 And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our\ngreat and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth\nshall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land,\nsave he be a righteous man and shall hide it up unto the Lord.\n\n13:19 For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their\ntreasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up their treasures\nunto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the\nrighteous; and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is\nhe, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the\ncurse of the land.\n\n13:20 And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures,\nbecause they have set their hearts upon riches; and because they have\nset their hearts upon their riches, and will hide up their treasures\nwhen they shall flee before their enemies; because they will not hide\nthem up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures; and in that\nday shall they be smitten, saith the Lord.\n\n13:21 Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my\nwords; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he\nsaith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your\nriches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not\nhearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you.\n\n13:22 Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he\nhath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank\nthe Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the\nLord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great\nswelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions and murders, and all\nmanner of iniquities.\n\n13:23 For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come\nupon the land, and also upon your riches, and this because of your\niniquities.\n\n13:24 Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived,\nthat ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at\nthem, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even\nas they did of old time.\n\n13:25 And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of\nour fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not\nhave stoned them, and cast them out.\n\n13:26 Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a\nprophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord,\nwhich testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him,\nand cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you\nwill say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of\nthe devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.\n\n13:27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this,\nand there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will\nsay: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride\nof your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth\u2014and if a man shall\ncome among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a\nprophet.\n\n13:28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your\nsubstance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and\nye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh\nflattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will\nnot find fault with him.\n\n13:29 O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye\nstiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer\nyou? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and\nblind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?\n\n13:30 Yea, behold, the anger of the Lord is already kindled against\nyou; behold, he hath cursed the land because of your iniquity.\n\n13:31 And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that\nthey become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your\npoverty ye cannot retain them.\n\n13:32 And in the days of your poverty ye shall cry unto the Lord; and\nin vain shall ye cry, for your desolation is already come upon you, and\nyour destruction is made sure; and then shall ye weep and howl in that\nday, saith the Lord of Hosts. And then shall ye lament, and say:\n\n13:33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and\nstoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that\nwe had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our\nriches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should\nlose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.\n\n13:34 Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and\nbehold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for\nbattle.\n\n13:35 Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from\nus, because of the curse of the land.\n\n13:36 O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came\nunto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become\nslippery, and we cannot hold them.\n\n13:37 Behold, we are surrounded by demons, yea, we are encircled about\nby the angels of him who hath sought to destroy our souls. Behold, our\niniquities are great. O Lord, canst thou not turn away thine anger from\nus? And this shall be your language in those days.\n\n13:38 But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have\nprocrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too\nlate, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all\nthe days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have\nsought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the\nnature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.\n\n13:39 O ye people of the land, that ye would hear my words! And I pray\nthat the anger of the Lord be turned away from you, and that ye would\nrepent and be saved.\n\nHelaman Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a\ngreat many more things which cannot be written.\n\n14:2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for\nfive years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to\nredeem all those who shall believe on his name.\n\n14:3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of\nhis coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch\nthat in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch\nthat it shall appear unto man as if it was day.\n\n14:4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it\nwere one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a\nsign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its\nsetting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two\ndays and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it\nshall be the night before he is born.\n\n14:5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never\nhave beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.\n\n14:6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders\nin heaven.\n\n14:7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder,\ninsomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.\n\n14:8 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son\nof God, the same shall have everlasting life.\n\n14:9 And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I\nshould come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I\nshould prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry\nunto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.\n\n14:10 And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the\nwords which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against\nyou, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me\nout from among you.\n\n14:11 And ye shall hear my words, for, for this intent have I come up\nupon the walls of this city, that ye might hear and know of the\njudgments of God which do await you because of your iniquities, and\nalso that ye might know the conditions of repentance;\n\n14:12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the\nSon of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all\nthings from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his\ncoming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.\n\n14:13 And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins,\nthat thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits.\n\n14:14 And behold, again, another sign I give unto you, yea, a sign of\nhis death.\n\n14:15 For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it\nbehooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass\nthe resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the\npresence of the Lord.\n\n14:16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and\nredeemeth all mankind from the first death\u2014that spiritual death; for\nall mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the\nLord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things\nspiritual.\n\n14:17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea,\neven all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.\n\n14:18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that\nwhosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire;\nbut whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and\nthere cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death,\nfor they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness.\n\n14:19 Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and\nnot doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under condemnation,\nand ye are brought down unto this second death.\n\n14:20 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of\nhis death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall\nbe darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon\nand the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land,\neven from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three\ndays, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.\n\n14:21 Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be\nthunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth\nshall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this\nearth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at\nthis time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be\nbroken up;\n\n14:22 Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found\nin seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the\nwhole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath.\n\n14:23 And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be\nmany mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many\nplaces which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose\nheight is great.\n\n14:24 And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall\nbecome desolate.\n\n14:25 And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their\ndead; and many saints shall appear unto many.\n\n14:26 And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto\nme that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of\nmany hours.\n\n14:27 And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning\nlasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness\nshould cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.\n\n14:28 And the angel said unto me that many shall see greater things\nthan these, to the intent that they might believe that these signs and\nthese wonders should come to pass upon all the face of this land, to\nthe intent that there should be no cause for unbelief among the\nchildren of men\u2014\n\n14:29 And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be\nsaved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might\ncome upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon\nthemselves their own condemnation.\n\n14:30 And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever\nperisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth\nit unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for\nyourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath\nmade you free.\n\n14:31 He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he\nhath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do\ngood and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is\ngood restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil\nrestored unto you.\n\nHelaman Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And now, my beloved brethren, behold, I declare unto you that\nexcept ye shall repent your houses shall be left unto you desolate.\n\n15:2 Yea, except ye repent, your women shall have great cause to mourn\nin the day that they shall give suck; for ye shall attempt to flee and\nthere shall be no place for refuge; yea, and wo unto them which are\nwith child, for they shall be heavy and cannot flee; therefore, they\nshall be trodden down and shall be left to perish.\n\n15:3 Yea, wo unto this people who are called the people of Nephi except\nthey shall repent, when they shall see all these signs and wonders\nwhich shall be showed unto them; for behold, they have been a chosen\npeople of the Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also\nhath he chastened them; yea, in the days of their iniquities hath he\nchastened them because he loveth them.\n\n15:4 But behold my brethren, the Lamanites hath he hated because their\ndeeds have been evil continually, and this because of the iniquity of\nthe tradition of their fathers. But behold, salvation hath come unto\nthem through the preaching of the Nephites; and for this intent hath\nthe Lord prolonged their days.\n\n15:5 And I would that ye should behold that the more part of them are\nin the path of their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God,\nand they do observe to keep his commandments and his statutes and his\njudgments according to the law of Moses.\n\n15:6 Yea, I say unto you, that the more part of them are doing this,\nand they are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the\nremainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth; therefore\nthere are many who do add to their numbers daily.\n\n15:7 And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it,\nthat as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and\nto know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and\nare led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy\nprophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord,\nand unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of\nheart unto them\u2014\n\n15:8 Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are\nfirm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have\nbeen made free.\n\n15:9 And ye know also that they have buried their weapons of war, and\nthey fear to take them up lest by any means they should sin; yea, ye\ncan see that they fear to sin\u2014for behold they will suffer themselves\nthat they be trodden down and slain by their enemies, and will not lift\ntheir swords against them, and this because of their faith in Christ.\n\n15:10 And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in\nthat thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when\nthey are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and\nprolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity\u2014\n\n15:11 Yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall\nprolong their days, until the time shall come which hath been spoken of\nby our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets,\nconcerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the\nknowledge of the truth\u2014\n\n15:12 Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the\nLord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and\nnotwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and\nnotwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the\nearth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having\nno place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them.\n\n15:13 And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be\nbrought to the true knowledge, which is knowledge of their Redeemer,\nand their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep.\n\n15:14 Therefore I say unto you, it shall be better for them than for\nyou except ye repent.\n\n15:15 For behold, had the mighty works been shown unto them which have\nbeen shown unto you, yea, unto them who have dwindled in unbelief\nbecause of the traditions of their fathers, ye can see of yourselves\nthat they never would again have dwindled in unbelief.\n\n15:16 Therefore, saith the Lord: I will not utterly destroy them, but I\nwill cause that in the day of my wisdom they shall return again unto\nme, saith the Lord.\n\n15:17 And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the\nNephites: If they will not repent, and observe to do my will, I will\nutterly destroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief\nnotwithstanding the many mighty works which I have done among them; and\nas surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord.\n\nHelaman Chapter 16\n\n16:1 And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words\nof Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the walls of the city. And\nas many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and\nwhen they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their\nsins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the\nLord.\n\n16:2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of\nSamuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall,\nand also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the\nSpirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him\nwith their stones neither with their arrows.\n\n16:3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many\nmore who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto\nNephi to be baptized.\n\n16:4 For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching,\ncrying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working\nmiracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must\nshortly come\u2014\n\n16:5 Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might\nknow and remember at the time of their coming that they had been made\nknown unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe;\ntherefore as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto\nhim to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins.\n\n16:6 But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel;\ntherefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones\nand their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this\nfellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the\npower of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones\nand our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.\n\n16:7 And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did\ncast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea,\neven unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among\nhis own people.\n\n16:8 And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites; and\nthus were the affairs of the people.\n\n16:9 And thus ended the eighty and sixth year of the reign of the\njudges over the people of Nephi.\n\n16:10 And thus ended also the eighty and seventh year of the reign of\nthe judges, the more part of the people remaining in their pride and\nwickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God.\n\n16:11 And these were the conditions also, in the eighty and eighth year\nof the reign of the judges.\n\n16:12 And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people,\nsave it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do\nmore and more of that which was contrary to the commandments of God, in\nthe eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges.\n\n16:13 But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the\njudges, there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; and\nthe words of the prophets began to be fulfilled.\n\n16:14 And angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto\nthem glad tidings of great joy; thus in this year the scriptures began\nto be fulfilled.\n\n16:15 Nevertheless, the people began to harden their hearts, all save\nit were the most believing part of them, both of the Nephites and also\nof the Lamanites, and began to depend upon their own strength and upon\ntheir own wisdom, saying:\n\n16:16 Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but\nbehold, we know that all these great and marvelous works cannot come to\npass, of which has been spoken.\n\n16:17 And they began to reason and to contend among themselves, saying:\n\n16:18 That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall\ncome; if so, and he be the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of\nearth, as it has been spoken, why will he not show himself unto us as\nwell as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem?\n\n16:19 Yea, why will he not show himself in this land as well as in the\nland of Jerusalem?\n\n16:20 But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has\nbeen handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should\nbelieve in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass,\nbut not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we\nknow not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot\nwitness with our own eyes that they are true.\n\n16:21 And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil\none, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will\nkeep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto\nthem, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they\nkeep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days\nof our lives.\n\n16:22 And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts,\nwhich were foolish and vain; and they were much disturbed, for Satan\ndid stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about\nspreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he\nmight harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and\nagainst that which should come.\n\n16:23 And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought\namong the people of the Lord, and the many miracles which they did,\nSatan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the\nface of the land.\n\n16:24 And thus ended the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges over\nthe people of Nephi.\n\n16:25 And thus ended the book of Helaman, according to the record of\nHelaman and his sons.\n\n\n\n\n THIRD BOOK OF NEPHI\n\nTHE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN\n\nAnd Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was\nthe son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi,\nwho came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah,\nthe king of Judah.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 1\n\n1:1 Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year had passed away\nand it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem;\nand it was in the year that Lachoneus was the chief judge and the\ngovernor over the land.\n\n1:2 And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of\nZarahemla, giving charge unto his son Nephi, who was his eldest son,\nconcerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been\nkept, and all those things which had been kept sacred from the\ndeparture of Lehi out of Jerusalem.\n\n1:3 Then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man\nknoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the\nrecord of this people.\n\n1:4 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and\nsecond year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be\nfulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater\nmiracles wrought among the people.\n\n1:5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the\nwords to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.\n\n1:6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the\ntime is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore,\nyour joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.\n\n1:7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout\nthe land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest\nby any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.\n\n1:8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night\nand that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that\nthey might know that their faith had not been vain.\n\n1:9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the\nunbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be\nput to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given\nby Samuel the prophet.\n\n1:10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this\nwickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.\n\n1:11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon\nthe earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea,\nthose who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the\ntradition of their fathers.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord, all that\nday; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:\n\n1:13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at\nhand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come\nI into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that\nwhich I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.\n\n1:14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have\nmade known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world,\nand to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son\u2014of the Father\nbecause of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time\nis at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.\n\n1:15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were\nfulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going\ndown of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be\nastonished because there was no darkness when the night came.\n\n1:16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the\nprophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for\nthey knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for\nthose who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated;\nfor the sign which had been given was already at hand.\n\n1:17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear;\nyea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the\nwest to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so\nexceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.\n\n1:18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for\nmany years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand;\nand they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.\n\n1:19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night,\nbut it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that\nthe sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order;\nand they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because\nof the sign which had been given.\n\n1:20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to\nthe words of the prophets.\n\n1:21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to\nthe word.\n\n1:22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be\nlyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts,\nto the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders\nwhich they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings\nthe more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the\nLord.\n\n1:23 And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and\nalso many others, baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a\ngreat remission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace\nin the land.\n\n1:24 And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to\npreach, endeavoring to prove by the scriptures that it was no more\nexpedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err,\nhaving not understood the scriptures.\n\n1:25 But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were\nconvinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto\nthem that the law was not yet fulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled\nin every whit; yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled;\nyea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be\nfulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge\nof their error and did confess their faults.\n\n1:26 And thus the ninety and second year did pass away, bringing glad\ntidings unto the people because of the signs which did come to pass,\naccording to the words of the prophecy of all the holy prophets.\n\n1:27 And it came to pass that the ninety and third year did also pass\naway in peace, save it were for the Gadianton robbers, who dwelt upon\nthe mountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds\nand their secret places that the people could not overpower them;\ntherefore they did commit many murders, and did do much slaughter among\nthe people.\n\n1:28 And it came to pass that in the ninety and fourth year they began\nto increase in great degree, because there were many dissenters of the\nNephites who did flee unto them, which did cause much sorrow unto those\nNephites who did remain in the land.\n\n1:29 And there was also a cause of much sorrow among the Lamanites; for\nbehold, they had many children who did grow up and began to wax strong\nin years, that they became for themselves, and were led away by some\nwho were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join\nthose Gadianton robbers.\n\n1:30 And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease\nas to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the\nrising generation.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass that thus passed away the ninety and fifth year\nalso, and the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they\nhad heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a\nwonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their\nhearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which\nthey had heard and seen\u2014\n\n2:2 Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought\nby men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the\nhearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts\nof the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead\nthem away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a\nvain thing.\n\n2:3 And it came to pass that the people began to wax strong in\nwickedness and abominations; and they did not believe that there should\nbe any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did go about, leading\naway the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they\nshould do great wickedness in the land.\n\n2:4 And thus did pass away the ninety and sixth year; and also the\nninety and seventh year; and also the ninety and eighth year; and also\nthe ninety and ninth year;\n\n2:5 And also an hundred years had passed away since the days of Mosiah,\nwho was king over the people of the Nephites.\n\n2:6 And six hundred and nine years had passed away since Lehi left\nJerusalem.\n\n2:7 And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was\ngiven, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come\ninto the world.\n\n2:8 Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when\nthe sign was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years\nhad passed away.\n\n2:9 And Nephi, who was the father of Nephi, who had the charge of the\nrecords, did not return to the land of Zarahemla, and could nowhere be\nfound in all the land.\n\n2:10 And it came to pass that the people did still remain in\nwickedness, notwithstanding the much preaching and prophesying which\nwas sent among them; and thus passed away the tenth year also; and the\neleventh year also passed away in iniquity.\n\n2:11 And it came to pass in the thirteenth year there began to be wars\nand contentions throughout all the land; for the Gadianton robbers had\nbecome so numerous, and did slay so many of the people, and did lay\nwaste so many cities, and did spread so much death and carnage\nthroughout the land, that it became expedient that all the people, both\nthe Nephites and the Lamanites, should take up arms against them.\n\n2:12 Therefore, all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the\nLord did unite with their brethren, the Nephites, and were compelled,\nfor the safety of their lives and their women and their children, to\ntake up arms against those Gadianton robbers, yea, and also to maintain\ntheir rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship,\nand their freedom and their liberty.\n\n2:13 And it came to pass that before this thirteenth year had passed\naway the Nephites were threatened with utter destruction because of\nthis war, which had become exceedingly sore.\n\n2:14 And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the\nNephites were numbered among the Nephites;\n\n2:15 And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white\nlike unto the Nephites;\n\n2:16 And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair,\nand they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites.\nAnd thus ended the thirteenth year.\n\n2:17 And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year,\nthe war between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue and\ndid become exceedingly sore; nevertheless, the people of Nephi did gain\nsome advantage of the robbers, insomuch that they did drive them back\nout of their lands into the mountains and into their secret places.\n\n2:18 And thus ended the fourteenth year. And in the fifteenth year they\ndid come forth against the people of Nephi; and because of the\nwickedness of the people of Nephi, and their many contentions and\ndissensions, the Gadianton robbers did gain many advantages over them.\n\n2:19 And thus ended the fifteenth year, and thus were the people in a\nstate of many afflictions; and the sword of destruction did hang over\nthem, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this\nbecause of their iniquity.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And now it came to pass that in the sixteenth year from the coming\nof Christ, Lachoneus, the governor of the land, received an epistle\nfrom the leader and the governor of this band of robbers; and these\nwere the words which were written, saying:\n\n3:2 Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I\nwrite this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great\npraise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people,\nin maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea,\nye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the\ndefence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that\nwhich ye do call so.\n\n3:3 And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should\nbe so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many\nbrave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their\narms, and do await with great anxiety for the word\u2014Go down upon the\nNephites and destroy them.\n\n3:4 And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in\nthe field of battle, and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards\nyou because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore\nif they should come down against you they would visit you with utter\ndestruction.\n\n3:5 Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own\nhand, feeling for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which\nye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle.\n\n3:6 Therefore I write unto you, desiring that ye would yield up unto\nthis my people, your cities, your lands, and your possessions, rather\nthan that they should visit you with the sword and that destruction\nshould come upon you.\n\n3:7 Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us\nand become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren\nthat ye may be like unto us\u2014not our slaves, but our brethren and\npartners of all our substance.\n\n3:8 And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye\nshall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you\nwith an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies\nshall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and\nshall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon\nyou even until ye shall become extinct.\n\n3:9 And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the\nsecret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know\nto be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down\nunto us.\n\n3:10 And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye\nwill deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding\nof blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government,\nwho have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in\nretaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this,\nI will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.\n\n3:11 And now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he\nwas exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi\ndemanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of\nthreatening the people and avenging the wrongs of those that had\nreceived no wrong, save it were they had wronged themselves by\ndissenting away unto those wicked and abominable robbers.\n\n3:12 Now behold, this Lachoneus, the governor, was a just man, and\ncould not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a\nrobber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the\ngovernor of the robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry\nunto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should\ncome down against them.\n\n3:13 Yea, he sent a proclamation among all the people, that they should\ngather together their women, and their children, their flocks and their\nherds, and all their substance, save it were their land, unto one\nplace.\n\n3:14 And he caused that fortifications should be built round about\nthem, and the strength thereof should be exceedingly great. And he\ncaused that armies, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites, or of\nall them who were numbered among the Nephites, should be placed as\nguards round about to watch them, and to guard them from the robbers\nday and night.\n\n3:15 Yea, he said unto them: As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of\nall your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in no wise be\ndelivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers.\n\n3:16 And so great and marvelous were the words and prophecies of\nLachoneus that they did cause fear to come upon all the people; and\nthey did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words\nof Lachoneus.\n\n3:17 And it came to pass that Lachoneus did appoint chief captains over\nall the armies of the Nephites, to command them at the time that the\nrobbers should come down out of the wilderness against them.\n\n3:18 Now the chiefest among all the chief captains and the great\ncommander of the armies of the Nephites was appointed, and his name was\nGidgiddoni.\n\n3:19 Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their\nchief captains, (save it were in their times of wickedness) some one\nthat had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy; therefore, this\nGidgiddoni was a great prophet among them, as also was the chief judge.\n\n3:20 Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let\nus go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall\nupon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.\n\n3:21 But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should\ngo up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands;\ntherefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we\nwill gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them,\nbut we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord\nliveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands.\n\n3:22 And it came to pass in the seventeenth year, in the latter end of\nthe year, the proclamation of Lachoneus had gone forth throughout all\nthe face of the land, and they had taken their horses, and their\nchariots, and their cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and\ntheir grain, and all their substance, and did march forth by thousands\nand by tens of thousands, until they had all gone forth to the place\nwhich had been appointed that they should gather themselves together,\nto defend themselves against their enemies.\n\n3:23 And the land which was appointed was the land of Zarahemla, and\nthe land which was between the land Zarahemla and the land Bountiful,\nyea, to the line which was between the land Bountiful and the land\nDesolation.\n\n3:24 And there were a great many thousand people who were called\nNephites, who did gather themselves together in this land. Now\nLachoneus did cause that they should gather themselves together in the\nland southward, because of the great curse which was upon the land\nnorthward.\n\n3:25 And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they\ndid dwell in one land, and in one body, and they did fear the words\nwhich had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of\nall their sins; and they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their\nGod, that he would deliver them in the time that their enemies should\ncome down against them to battle.\n\n3:26 And they were exceedingly sorrowful because of their enemies. And\nGidgiddoni did cause that they should make weapons of war of every\nkind, and they should be strong with armor, and with shields, and with\nbucklers, after the manner of his instruction.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year\nthose armies of robbers had prepared for battle, and began to come down\nand to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains, and the\nwilderness, and their strongholds, and their secret places, and began\nto take possession of the lands, both which were in the land south and\nwhich were in the land north, and began to take possession of all the\nlands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and the cities which had\nbeen left desolate.\n\n4:2 But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which\nhad been deserted by the Nephites, and there was no game for the\nrobbers save it were in the wilderness.\n\n4:3 And the robbers could not exist save it were in the wilderness, for\nthe want of food; for the Nephites had left their lands desolate, and\nhad gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and\nthey were in one body.\n\n4:4 Therefore, there was no chance for the robbers to plunder and to\nobtain food, save it were to come up in open battle against the\nNephites; and the Nephites being in one body, and having so great a\nnumber, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and\ncattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space\nof seven years, in the which time they did hope to destroy the robbers\nfrom off the face of the land; and thus the eighteenth year did pass\naway.\n\n4:5 And it came to pass that in the nineteenth year Giddianhi found\nthat it was expedient that he should go up to battle against the\nNephites, for there was no way that they could subsist save it were to\nplunder and rob and murder.\n\n4:6 And they durst not spread themselves upon the face of the land\ninsomuch that they could raise grain, lest the Nephites should come\nupon them and slay them; therefore Giddianhi gave commandment unto his\narmies that in this year they should go up to battle against the\nNephites.\n\n4:7 And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; and it was in\nthe sixth month; and behold, great and terrible was the day that they\ndid come up to battle; and they were girded about after the manner of\nrobbers; and they had a lamb-skin about their loins, and they were dyed\nin blood, and their heads were shorn, and they had head-plates upon\nthem; and great and terrible was the appearance of the armies of\nGiddianhi, because of their armor, and because of their being dyed in\nblood.\n\n4:8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw\nthe appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth,\nand did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare\nthem and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.\n\n4:9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they\nbegan to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had\nsupposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror\nof their armies.\n\n4:10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not\nfear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for\nprotection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them\nthey were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they\ndid receive them.\n\n4:11 And the battle commenced in this the sixth month; and great and\nterrible was the battle thereof, yea, great and terrible was the\nslaughter thereof, insomuch that there never was known so great a\nslaughter among all the people of Lehi since he left Jerusalem.\n\n4:12 And notwithstanding the threatenings and the oaths which Giddianhi\nhad made, behold, the Nephites did beat them, insomuch that they did\nfall back from before them.\n\n4:13 And it came to pass that Gidgiddoni commanded that his armies\nshould pursue them as far as the borders of the wilderness, and that\nthey should not spare any that should fall into their hands by the way;\nand thus they did pursue them and did slay them, to the borders of the\nwilderness, even until they had fulfilled the commandment of\nGidgiddoni.\n\n4:14 And it came to pass that Giddianhi, who had stood and fought with\nboldness, was pursued as he fled; and being weary because of his much\nfighting he was overtaken and slain. And thus was the end of Giddianhi\nthe robber.\n\n4:15 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites did return\nagain to their place of security. And it came to pass that this\nnineteenth year did pass away, and the robbers did not come again to\nbattle; neither did they come again in the twentieth year.\n\n4:16 And in the twenty and first year they did not come up to battle,\nbut they came up on all sides to lay siege round about the people of\nNephi; for they did suppose that if they should cut off the people of\nNephi from their lands, and should hem them in on every side, and if\nthey should cut them off from all their outward privileges, that they\ncould cause them to yield themselves up according to their wishes.\n\n4:17 Now they had appointed unto themselves another leader, whose name\nwas Zemnarihah; therefore it was Zemnarihah that did cause that this\nsiege should take place.\n\n4:18 But behold, this was an advantage to the Nephites; for it was\nimpossible for the robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any\neffect upon the Nephites, because of their much provision which they\nhad laid up in store,\n\n4:19 And because of the scantiness of provisions among the robbers\u2014for\nbehold, they had nothing save it were meat for their subsistence, which\nmeat they did obtain in the wilderness;\n\n4:20 And it came to pass that the wild game became scarce in the\nwilderness\u2014insomuch that the robbers were about to perish with hunger.\n\n4:21 And the Nephites were continually marching out by day and by\nnight, and falling upon their armies, and cutting them off by thousands\nand by tens of thousands.\n\n4:22 And thus it became the desire of the people of Zemnarihah to\nwithdraw from their design, because of the great destruction which came\nupon them by night and by day.\n\n4:23 And it came to pass that Zemnarihah did give command unto his\npeople that they should withdraw themselves from the siege, and march\ninto the furthermost parts of the land northward.\n\n4:24 And now, Gidgiddoni being aware of their design, and knowing of\ntheir weakness because of the want of food, and the great slaughter\nwhich had been made among them, therefore he did send out his armies in\nthe night-time, and did cut off the way of their retreat, and did place\nhis armies in the way of their retreat.\n\n4:25 And this did they do in the night-time, and got on their march\nbeyond the robbers, so that on the morrow, when the robbers began their\nmarch, they were met by the armies of the Nephites both in their front\nand in their rear.\n\n4:26 And the robbers who were on the south were also cut off in their\nplaces of retreat. And all these things were done by command of\nGidgiddoni.\n\n4:27 And there were many thousands who did yield themselves up\nprisoners unto the Nephites, and the remainder of them were slain.\n\n4:28 And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree,\nyea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had\nhanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and\ndid cry with a loud voice, saying:\n\n4:29 May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness\nof heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall\nseek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as\nthis man hath been felled to the earth.\n\n4:30 And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the\nGod of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect\nthis people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of\ntheir God for protection.\n\n4:31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in\nsinging, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done\nfor them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their\nenemies.\n\n4:32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry:\nBlessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.\n\n4:33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of\nmany tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out\nof the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their\nrepentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an\neverlasting destruction.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of\nthe Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy\nprophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they\nmust be fulfilled.\n\n5:2 And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come,\nbecause of the many signs which had been given, according to the words\nof the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass\nalready they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to\npass according to that which had been spoken.\n\n5:3 Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations,\nand their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and\nnight.\n\n5:4 And now it came to pass that when they had taken all the robbers\nprisoners, insomuch that none did escape who were not slain, they did\ncast their prisoners into prison, and did cause the word of God to be\npreached unto them; and as many as would repent of their sins and enter\ninto a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty.\n\n5:5 But as many as there were who did not enter into a covenant, and\nwho did still continue to have those secret murders in their hearts,\nyea, as many as were found breathing out threatenings against their\nbrethren were condemned and punished according to the law.\n\n5:6 And thus they did put an end to all those wicked, and secret, and\nabominable combinations, in the which there was so much wickedness, and\nso many murders committed.\n\n5:7 And thus had the twenty and second year passed away, and the twenty\nand third year also, and the twenty and fourth, and the twenty and\nfifth; and thus had twenty and five years passed away.\n\n5:8 And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some,\nwould be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written\nin this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of\nwhat was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five\nyears;\n\n5:9 But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings\nof this people; and a shorter but true account was given by Nephi.\n\n5:10 Therefore I have made my record of these things according to the\nrecord of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the\nplates of Nephi.\n\n5:11 And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with\nmine own hands.\n\n5:12 And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of\nMormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the\npeople, yea, the first church which was established among them after\ntheir transgression.\n\n5:13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have\nbeen called of him to declare his word among his people, that they\nmight have everlasting life.\n\n5:14 And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God,\nthat the prayers of those who have gone hence, who were the holy ones,\nshould be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a record of\nthese things which have been done\u2014\n\n5:15 Yea, a small record of that which hath taken place from the time\nthat Lehi left Jerusalem, even down until the present time.\n\n5:16 Therefore I do make my record from the accounts which have been\ngiven by those who were before me, until the commencement of my day;\n\n5:17 And then I do make a record of the things which I have seen with\nmine own eyes.\n\n5:18 And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record;\nnevertheless there are many things which, according to our language, we\nare not able to write.\n\n5:19 And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and\nproceed to give my account of the things which have been before me.\n\n5:20 I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless\nmy God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of\nthe land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it save it were himself and\nthose whom he brought out of that land) and that he hath given me and\nmy people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls.\n\n5:21 Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful\nunto the seed of Joseph.\n\n5:22 And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he\nhath blessed them and prospered them according to his word.\n\n5:23 Yea, and surely shall he again bring a remnant of the seed of\nJoseph to the knowledge of the Lord their God.\n\n5:24 And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four\nquarters of the earth all the remnant of the seed of Jacob, who are\nscattered abroad upon all the face of the earth.\n\n5:25 And as he hath covenanted with all the house of Jacob, even so\nshall the covenant wherewith he hath covenanted with the house of Jacob\nbe fulfilled in his own due time, unto the restoring all the house of\nJacob unto the knowledge of the covenant that he hath covenanted with\nthem.\n\n5:26 And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the\nSon of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters\nof the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been\ndispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now it came to pass that the people of the Nephites did all\nreturn to their own lands in the twenty and sixth year, every man, with\nhis family, his flocks and his herds, his horses and his cattle, and\nall things whatsoever did belong unto them.\n\n6:2 And it came to pass that they had not eaten up all their\nprovisions; therefore they did take with them all that they had not\ndevoured, of all their grain of every kind, and their gold, and their\nsilver, and all their precious things, and they did return to their own\nlands and their possessions, both on the north and on the south, both\non the land northward and on the land southward.\n\n6:3 And they granted unto those robbers who had entered into a covenant\nto keep the peace of the land, who were desirous to remain Lamanites,\nlands, according to their numbers, that they might have, with their\nlabors, wherewith to subsist upon; and thus they did establish peace in\nall the land.\n\n6:4 And they began again to prosper and to wax great; and the twenty\nand sixth and seventh years passed away, and there was great order in\nthe land; and they had formed their laws according to equity and\njustice.\n\n6:5 And now there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from\nprospering continually, except they should fall into transgression.\n\n6:6 And now it was Gidgiddoni, and the judge, Lachoneus, and those who\nhad been appointed leaders, who had established this great peace in the\nland.\n\n6:7 And it came to pass that there were many cities built anew, and\nthere were many old cities repaired.\n\n6:8 And there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which\nled from city to city, and from land to land, and from place to place.\n\n6:9 And thus passed away the twenty and eighth year, and the people had\ncontinual peace.\n\n6:10 But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be\nsome disputings among the people; and some were lifted up unto pride\nand boastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto\ngreat persecutions;\n\n6:11 For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers,\nand many officers.\n\n6:12 And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to\ntheir riches and their chances for learning, yea, some were ignorant\nbecause of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because\nof their riches.\n\n6:13 Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble;\nsome did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing\nand persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and\nrevile again, but were humble and penitent before God.\n\n6:14 And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch\nthat the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the\nthirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were\namong a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith;\nand they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast,\nand immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of\nthe Lord.\n\n6:15 Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this\u2014Satan had\ngreat power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of\niniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek\nfor power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.\n\n6:16 And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all\nmanner of iniquity; therefore they had enjoyed peace but a few years.\n\n6:17 And thus, in the commencement of the thirtieth year\u2014the people\nhaving been delivered up for the space of a long time to be carried\nabout by the temptations of the devil whithersoever he desired to carry\nthem, and to do whatsoever iniquity he desired they should\u2014and thus in\nthe commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they were in a state of\nawful wickedness.\n\n6:18 Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God\nconcerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did\nwilfully rebel against God.\n\n6:19 And now it was in the days of Lachoneus, the son of Lachoneus, for\nLachoneus did fill the seat of his father and did govern the people\nthat year.\n\n6:20 And there began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth,\nstanding among the people in all the land, preaching and testifying\nboldly of the sins and iniquities of the people, and testifying unto\nthem concerning the redemption which the Lord would make for his\npeople, or in other words, the resurrection of Christ; and they did\ntestify boldly of his death and sufferings.\n\n6:21 Now there were many of the people who were exceedingly angry\nbecause of those who testified of these things; and those who were\nangry were chiefly the chief judges, and they who had been high priests\nand lawyers; yea, all those who were lawyers were angry with those who\ntestified of these things.\n\n6:22 Now there was no lawyer nor judge nor high priest that could have\npower to condemn any one to death save their condemnation was signed by\nthe governor of the land.\n\n6:23 Now there were many of those who testified of the things\npertaining to Christ who testified boldly, who were taken and put to\ndeath secretly by the judges, that the knowledge of their death came\nnot unto the governor of the land until after their death.\n\n6:24 Now behold, this was contrary to the laws of the land, that any\nman should be put to death except they had power from the governor of\nthe land\u2014\n\n6:25 Therefore a complaint came up unto the land of Zarahemla, to the\ngovernor of the land, against these judges who had condemned the\nprophets of the Lord unto death, not according to the law.\n\n6:26 Now it came to pass that they were taken and brought up before the\njudge to be judged of the crime which they had done, according to the\nlaw which had been given by the people.\n\n6:27 Now it came to pass that those judges had many friends and\nkindreds; and the remainder, yea, even almost all the lawyers and the\nhigh priests, did gather themselves together, and unite with the\nkindreds of those judges who were to be tried according to the law.\n\n6:28 And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea, even\ninto that covenant which was given by them of old, which covenant was\ngiven and administered by the devil, to combine against all\nrighteousness.\n\n6:29 Therefore they did combine against the people of the Lord, and\nenter into a covenant to destroy them, and to deliver those who were\nguilty of murder from the grasp of justice, which was about to be\nadministered according to the law.\n\n6:30 And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their\ncountry; and they did covenant one with another to destroy the\ngovernor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should\nno more be at liberty but should be subject unto kings.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 7\n\n7:1 Now behold, I will show unto you that they did not establish a king\nover the land; but in this same year, yea, the thirtieth year, they did\ndestroy upon the judgment seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the\nland.\n\n7:2 And the people were divided one against another; and they did\nseparate one from another into tribes, every man according to his\nfamily and his kindred and friends; and thus they did destroy the\ngovernment of the land.\n\n7:3 And every tribe did appoint a chief or a leader over them; and thus\nthey became tribes and leaders of tribes.\n\n7:4 Now behold, there was no man among them save he had much family and\nmany kindreds and friends; therefore their tribes became exceedingly\ngreat.\n\n7:5 Now all this was done, and there were no wars as yet among them;\nand all this iniquity had come upon the people because they did yield\nthemselves unto the power of Satan.\n\n7:6 And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of\nthe secret combination of the friends and kindreds of those who\nmurdered the prophets.\n\n7:7 And they did cause a great contention in the land, insomuch that\nthe more righteous part of the people had nearly all become wicked;\nyea, there were but few righteous men among them.\n\n7:8 And thus six years had not passed away since the more part of the\npeople had turned from their righteousness, like the dog to his vomit,\nor like the sow to her wallowing in the mire.\n\n7:9 Now this secret combination, which had brought so great iniquity\nupon the people, did gather themselves together, and did place at their\nhead a man whom they did call Jacob;\n\n7:10 And they did call him their king; therefore he became a king over\nthis wicked band; and he was one of the chiefest who had given his\nvoice against the prophets who testified of Jesus.\n\n7:11 And it came to pass that they were not so strong in number as the\ntribes of the people, who were united together save it were their\nleaders did establish their laws, every one according to his tribe;\nnevertheless they were enemies; notwithstanding they were not a\nrighteous people, yet they were united in the hatred of those who had\nentered into a covenant to destroy the government.\n\n7:12 Therefore, Jacob seeing that their enemies were more numerous than\nthey, he being the king of the band, therefore he commanded his people\nthat they should take their flight into the northernmost part of the\nland, and there build up unto themselves a kingdom, until they were\njoined by dissenters, (for he flattered them that there would be many\ndissenters) and they become sufficiently strong to contend with the\ntribes of the people; and they did so.\n\n7:13 And so speedy was their march that it could not be impeded until\nthey had gone forth out of the reach of the people. And thus ended the\nthirtieth year; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi.\n\n7:14 And it came to pass in the thirty and first year that they were\ndivided into tribes, every man according to his family, kindred and\nfriends; nevertheless they had come to an agreement that they would not\ngo to war one with another; but they were not united as to their laws,\nand their manner of government, for they were established according to\nthe minds of those who were their chiefs and their leaders. But they\ndid establish very strict laws that one tribe should not trespass\nagainst another, insomuch that in some degree they had peace in the\nland; nevertheless, their hearts were turned from the Lord their God,\nand they did stone the prophets and did cast them out from among them.\n\n7:15 And it came to pass that Nephi\u2014having been visited by angels and\nalso the voice of the Lord, therefore having seen angels, and being\neye-witness, and having had power given unto him that he might know\nconcerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eye-witness to their\nquick return from righteousness unto their wickedness and abominations;\n\n7:16 Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the\nblindness of their minds\u2014went forth among them in that same year, and\nbegan to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through\nfaith on the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n7:17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot\nbe written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are\nnot written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with\ngreat authority.\n\n7:18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he\nhad greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could\ndisbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus\nChrist that angels did minister unto him daily.\n\n7:19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean\nspirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had\nbeen stoned and suffered death by the people.\n\n7:20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with\nhim because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the\nsight of the people, in the name of Jesus.\n\n7:21 And it came to pass that the thirty and first year did pass away,\nand there were but few who were converted unto the Lord; but as many as\nwere converted did truly signify unto the people that they had been\nvisited by the power and Spirit of God, which was in Jesus Christ, in\nwhom they believed.\n\n7:22 And as many as had devils cast out from them, and were healed of\ntheir sicknesses and their infirmities, did truly manifest unto the\npeople that they had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and had\nbeen healed; and they did show forth signs also and did do some\nmiracles among the people.\n\n7:23 Thus passed away the thirty and second year also. And Nephi did\ncry unto the people in the commencement of the thirty and third year;\nand he did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins.\n\n7:24 Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who\nwere brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water.\n\n7:25 Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry,\nthat all such as should come unto them should be baptized with water,\nand this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people,\nthat they had repented and received a remission of their sins.\n\n7:26 And there were many in the commencement of this year that were\nbaptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass\naway.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know\nour record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the\nrecord\u2014for he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there\nwas not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he\nwere cleansed every whit from his iniquity\u2014\n\n8:2 And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man\nin the reckoning of our time, the thirty and third year had passed\naway;\n\n8:3 And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign\nwhich had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the\ntime that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the\nface of the land.\n\n8:4 And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the\npeople, notwithstanding so many signs had been given.\n\n8:5 And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first\nmonth, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such\nan one as never had been known in all the land.\n\n8:6 And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was\nterrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it\nwas about to divide asunder.\n\n8:7 And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been\nknown in all the land.\n\n8:8 And the city of Zarahemla did take fire.\n\n8:9 And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the\ninhabitants thereof were drowned.\n\n8:10 And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah that in\nthe place of the city there became a great mountain.\n\n8:11 And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land\nsouthward.\n\n8:12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the\nland northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed,\nbecause of the tempest and the whirlwinds and the thunderings and the\nlightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;\n\n8:13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled,\nand many smooth places became rough.\n\n8:14 And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned,\nand many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the\nearth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left\ndesolate.\n\n8:15 And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof\nwas exceedingly great, and there were many of them who were slain.\n\n8:16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and\nwhither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried\naway.\n\n8:17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of\nthe tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking\nof the earth.\n\n8:18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon\nthe face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken\nfragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.\n\n8:19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings,\nand the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did\ncease\u2014for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and\nit was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these\ngreat and terrible things were done in about the space of three\nhours\u2014and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.\n\n8:20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the\nface of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not\nfallen could feel the vapor of darkness;\n\n8:21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither\ncandles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with\ntheir fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any\nlight at all;\n\n8:22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer,\nneither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the\nmists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.\n\n8:23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days\nthat there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling\nand weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the\ngroanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great\ndestruction which had come upon them.\n\n8:24 And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had\nrepented before this great and terrible day, and then would our\nbrethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that\ngreat city Zarahemla.\n\n8:25 And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O\nthat we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not\nkilled and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our\nmothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and\nnot have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the\nhowlings of the people great and terrible.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the\ninhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:\n\n9:2 Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole\nearth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels\nrejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my\npeople; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they\nare fallen!\n\n9:3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the\ninhabitants thereof.\n\n9:4 And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the\ndepths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.\n\n9:5 And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth,\nand the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their\nabominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and\nthe saints shall not come any more unto me against them.\n\n9:6 And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the\ninhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth;\n\n9:7 Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the\ncity of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem\nand the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the\nstead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my\nface, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up\nany more unto me against them.\n\n9:8 And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and\nthe city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to\nbe sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the\ninhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to\nhide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the\nblood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto\nme against them.\n\n9:9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the\npeople of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of\ntheir sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of\nthe whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for\nit was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government\nof the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them\nfrom before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints\nshould not come up unto me any more against them.\n\n9:10 And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city\nof Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with\nfire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in\ncasting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare\nunto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.\n\n9:11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none\nrighteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their\nwickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the\nblood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not\ncry unto me from the ground against them.\n\n9:12 And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land,\nand upon this people, because of their wickedness and their\nabominations.\n\n9:13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they,\nwill ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be\nconverted, that I may heal you?\n\n9:14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have\neternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and\nwhosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come\nunto me.\n\n9:15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens\nand the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father\nfrom the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me\nhath the Father glorified his name.\n\n9:16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures\nconcerning my coming are fulfilled.\n\n9:17 And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become\nthe sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my\nname, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of\nMoses fulfilled.\n\n9:18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega,\nthe beginning and the end.\n\n9:19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea,\nyour sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will\naccept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.\n\n9:20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a\ncontrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a\ncontrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost,\neven as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of\ntheir conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and\nthey knew it not.\n\n9:21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the\nworld, to save the world from sin.\n\n9:22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child,\nhim will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such\nI have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent,\nand come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And now behold, it came to pass that all the people of the land\ndid hear these sayings, and did witness of it. And after these sayings\nthere was silence in the land for the space of many hours;\n\n10:2 For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did\ncease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had\nbeen slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space\nof many hours.\n\n10:3 And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people,\nand all the people did hear, and did witness of it, saying:\n\n10:4 O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are\ndescendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have\nI gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and\nhave nourished you.\n\n10:5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth\nher chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel,\nwho have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell\nat Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have\ngathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.\n\n10:6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you\nas a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and\nreturn unto me with full purpose of heart.\n\n10:7 But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall\nbecome desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to\nyour fathers.\n\n10:8 And now it came to pass that after the people had heard these\nwords, behold, they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of\ntheir kindred and friends.\n\n10:9 And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it\nwas in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the\nland, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to\nrend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous\nnoises did pass away.\n\n10:10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the\nmourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were\nspared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and\ntheir lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus\nChrist, their Redeemer.\n\n10:11 And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken\nby the prophets.\n\n10:12 And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved,\nand it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it\nwas they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared\u2014\n\n10:13 And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the\nearth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they\nwere not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to\ndeath; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were\nthey overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.\n\n10:14 And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the\nscriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths\nand destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by\nwhirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all\nthese things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of\nthe holy prophets.\n\n10:15 Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things\nat the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these\nthings.\n\n10:16 Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also\nZenock spake concerning these things, because they testified\nparticularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed.\n\n10:17 Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of\nthe seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of\nJoseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon\nthe plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem?\n\n10:18 And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth\nyear, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were\nspared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been\nspared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings\npoured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of\nChrist into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them\u2014\n\n10:19 Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them; and an\naccount of his ministry shall be given hereafter. Therefore for this\ntime I make an end of my sayings.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 11\n\n11:1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered\ntogether, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in\nthe land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with\nanother, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change\nwhich had taken place. 3 Nephi 11:2 And they were also conversing about\nthis Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his\ndeath.\n\n11:3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with\nanother, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast\ntheir eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they\nheard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice;\nnevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce\nthem that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of\ntheir frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to\nthe very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.\n\n11:4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they\nunderstood it not.\n\n11:5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open\ntheir ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof;\nand they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound\ncame.\n\n11:6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which\nthey heard; and it said unto them:\n\n11:7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have\nglorified my name\u2014hear ye him.\n\n11:8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up\nagain towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of\nheaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood\nin the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned\nupon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another,\nand wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had\nappeared unto them.\n\n11:9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake\nunto the people, saying:\n\n11:10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come\ninto the world.\n\n11:11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have\ndrunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have\nglorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the\nwhich I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the\nbeginning.\n\n11:12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the\nwhole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been\nprophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after\nhis ascension into heaven.\n\n11:13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:\n\n11:14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into\nmy side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands\nand in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the\nGod of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.\n\n11:15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust\ntheir hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his\nhands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one\nuntil they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel\nwith their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it\nwas he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.\n\n11:16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for\nthemselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:\n\n11:17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did\nfall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.\n\n11:18 And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among\nthe multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.\n\n11:19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord\nand did kiss his feet.\n\n11:20 And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and\nstood before him.\n\n11:21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall\nbaptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.\n\n11:22 And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise;\nand he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this\nwise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.\n\n11:23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through\nyour words and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall\nye baptize them\u2014Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in\nmy name shall ye baptize them.\n\n11:24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling\nthem by name, saying:\n\n11:25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the\nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.\n\n11:26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again\nout of the water.\n\n11:27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold,\nverily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost\nare one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father\nand I are one.\n\n11:28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And\nthere shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been;\nneither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of\nmy doctrine, as there have hitherto been.\n\n11:29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of\ncontention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of\ncontention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger,\none with another.\n\n11:30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men\nwith anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such\nthings should be done away.\n\n11:31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you\nmy doctrine.\n\n11:32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father\nhath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father\nbeareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father\nand me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men,\neverywhere, to repent and believe in me.\n\n11:33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be\nsaved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.\n\n11:34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be\ndamned.\n\n11:35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I\nbear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth\nin the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for\nhe will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.\n\n11:36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost\nwill bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I,\nand the Holy Ghost are one.\n\n11:37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little\nchild, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these\nthings.\n\n11:38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my\nname, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the\nkingdom of God.\n\n11:39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and\nwhoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell\nshall not prevail against them.\n\n11:40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it\nfor my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my\nrock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell\nstand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon\nthem.\n\n11:41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which\nI have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 12\n\n12:1 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto\nNephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who\nhad been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was\ntwelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and\ncried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the\nwords of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister\nunto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power\nthat they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized\nwith water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy\nGhost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be\nbaptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.\n\n12:2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words\nbecause that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know\nthat I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and\ncome down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall\nbe visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a\nremission of their sins.\n\n12:3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs\nis the kingdom of heaven.\n\n12:4 And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be\ncomforted.\n\n12:5 And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.\n\n12:6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after\nrighteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.\n\n12:7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.\n\n12:8 And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\n\n12:9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the\nchildren of God.\n\n12:10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name\u2019s sake,\nfor theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\n\n12:11 And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and\nshall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;\n\n12:12 For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great\nshall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who\nwere before you.\n\n12:13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of\nthe earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the\nearth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to\nbe cast out and to be trodden under foot of men.\n\n12:14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light\nof this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.\n\n12:15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but\non a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;\n\n12:16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they\nmay see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.\n\n12:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am\nnot come to destroy but to fulfil;\n\n12:18 For verily I say unto you, one jot nor tittle hath not passed\naway from the law, but in me it hath all been fulfilled.\n\n12:19 And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my\nFather, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your\nsins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.\nBehold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled.\n\n12:20 Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto\nyou, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded\nyou at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.\n\n12:21 Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it\nis also written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever\nshall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;\n\n12:22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother\nshall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his\nbrother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall\nsay, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.\n\n12:23 Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto\nme, and rememberest that thy brother hast aught against thee\u2014\n\n12:24 Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy\nbrother, and then come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will\nreceive you.\n\n12:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with\nhim, lest at any time he shall get thee, and thou shalt be cast into\nprison.\n\n12:26 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out\nthence until thou hast paid the uttermost senine. And while ye are in\nprison can ye pay even one senine? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Nay.\n\n12:27 Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not\ncommit adultery;\n\n12:28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust\nafter her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.\n\n12:29 Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of\nthese things to enter into your heart;\n\n12:30 For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things,\nwherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into\nhell.\n\n12:31 It hath been written, that whosoever shall put away his wife, let\nhim give her a writing of divorcement.\n\n12:32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his\nwife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit\nadultery; and whoso shall marry her who is divorced committeth\nadultery.\n\n12:33 And again it is written, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but\nshalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths;\n\n12:34 But verily, verily, I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by\nheaven, for it is God\u2019s throne;\n\n12:35 Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;\n\n12:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make\none hair black or white;\n\n12:37 But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever\ncometh of more than these is evil.\n\n12:38 And behold, it is written, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a\ntooth;\n\n12:39 But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but whosoever\nshall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also;\n\n12:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat,\nlet him have thy cloak also;\n\n12:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.\n\n12:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of\nthee turn not away.\n\n12:43 And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor\nand hate thine enemy;\n\n12:44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you,\ndo good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use\nyou and persecute you;\n\n12:45 That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for\nhe maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.\n\n12:46 Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under\nthe law, in me are all fulfilled.\n\n12:47 Old things are done away, and all things have become new.\n\n12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your\nFather who is in heaven is perfect.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 13\n\n13:1 Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the\npoor; but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of\nthem; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.\n\n13:2 Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet\nbefore you, as will hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,\nthat they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their\nreward.\n\n13:3 But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right\nhand doeth;\n\n13:4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in\nsecret, himself shall reward thee openly.\n\n13:5 And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for\nthey love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the\nstreets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have\ntheir reward.\n\n13:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou\nhast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy\nFather, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.\n\n13:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for\nthey think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.\n\n13:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what\nthings ye have need of before ye ask him.\n\n13:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven,\nhallowed be thy name.\n\n13:10 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.\n\n13:11 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.\n\n13:12 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.\n\n13:13 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.\nAmen.\n\n13:14 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will\nalso forgive you;\n\n13:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your\nFather forgive your trespasses.\n\n13:16 Moreover, when ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad\ncountenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto\nmen to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.\n\n13:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;\n\n13:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who\nis in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee\nopenly.\n\n13:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and\nrust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;\n\n13:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth\nnor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor\nsteal.\n\n13:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.\n\n13:22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be\nsingle, thy whole body shall be full of light.\n\n13:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of\ndarkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how\ngreat is that darkness!\n\n13:24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and\nlove the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.\nYe cannot serve God and Mammon.\n\n13:25 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he\nlooked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember\nthe words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have\nchosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, take no\nthought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor\nyet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than\nmeat, and the body than raiment?\n\n13:26 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they\nreap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are\nye not much better than they?\n\n13:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his\nstature?\n\n13:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the\nfield how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;\n\n13:29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was\nnot arrayed like one of these.\n\n13:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today\nis, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if\nye are not of little faith.\n\n13:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What\nshall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?\n\n13:32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these\nthings.\n\n13:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and\nall these things shall be added unto you.\n\n13:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall\ntake thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the\nevil thereof.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he\nturned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again,\nsaying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not\njudged.\n\n14:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what\nmeasure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.\n\n14:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother\u2019s eye, but\nconsiderest not the beam that is in thine own eye?\n\n14:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of\nthine eye\u2014and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?\n\n14:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then\nshalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother\u2019s eye.\n\n14:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your\npearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn\nagain and rend you.\n\n14:7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find;\nknock, and it shall be opened unto you.\n\n14:8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh,\nfindeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.\n\n14:9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give\nhim a stone?\n\n14:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?\n\n14:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your\nchildren, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good\nthings to them that ask him?\n\n14:12 Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to\nyou, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.\n\n14:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad\nis the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in\nthereat;\n\n14:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth\nunto life, and few there be that find it.\n\n14:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing,\nbut inwardly they are ravening wolves.\n\n14:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of\nthorns, or figs of thistles?\n\n14:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt\ntree bringeth forth evil fruit.\n\n14:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree\nbring forth good fruit.\n\n14:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and\ncast into the fire.\n\n14:20 Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.\n\n14:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into\nthe kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is\nin heaven.\n\n14:22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not\nprophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in\nthy name done many wonderful works?\n\n14:23 And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from\nme, ye that work iniquity.\n\n14:24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I\nwill liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock\u2014\n\n14:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,\nand beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a\nrock.\n\n14:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them\nnot shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the\nsand\u2014\n\n14:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,\nand beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he\ncast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold,\nye have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father;\ntherefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him\nwill I raise up at the last day.\n\n15:2 And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he\nperceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered\nwhat he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the\nsaying that old things had passed away, and that all things had become\nnew.\n\n15:3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old\nthings had passed away, and that all things had become new.\n\n15:4 Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given\nunto Moses.\n\n15:5 Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with\nmy people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have\ncome to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.\n\n15:6 Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not\nbeen fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.\n\n15:7 And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do\nnot destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to\ncome.\n\n15:8 For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not\nall fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in\nme.\n\n15:9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to\nthe end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will\nI give eternal life.\n\n15:10 Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my\ncommandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly\ntestified of me.\n\n15:11 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words,\nhe said unto those twelve whom he had chosen:\n\n15:12 Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are\na remnant of the house of Joseph.\n\n15:13 And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father\nhath given it unto you.\n\n15:14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I\nshould tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.\n\n15:15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I\nshould tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of\nIsrael, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.\n\n15:16 This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto\nthem:\n\n15:17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I\nmust bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,\nand one shepherd.\n\n15:18 And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood\nnot my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father\nconcerning this thing unto them.\n\n15:19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me,\nand I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because\nof their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they\nknow not of you.\n\n15:20 And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the\nFather separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that\nthey know not of them.\n\n15:21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other\nsheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and\nthey shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one\nshepherd.\n\n15:22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the\nGentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted\nthrough their preaching.\n\n15:23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice;\nand they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time\nhear my voice\u2014that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were\nby the Holy Ghost.\n\n15:24 But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are\nmy sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given\nme.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 16\n\n16:1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which\nare not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any\nparts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.\n\n16:2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my\nvoice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.\n\n16:3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go\nunto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered\namong my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore\nI go to show myself unto them.\n\n16:4 And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am\ngone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen\nme and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name,\nthat they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of\nthe other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye\nshall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles,\nthat through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed,\nwho shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of\ntheir unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of\nme, their Redeemer.\n\n16:5 And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the\nearth; and then will I fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made\nunto all the people of the house of Israel.\n\n16:6 And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in\nand of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the\nFather.\n\n16:7 Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and\nbecause of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day\nshall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these\nthings shall be made known unto them.\n\n16:8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles\u2014for\nnotwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and\nhave scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people\nwho are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and\nhave been trodden under feet by them;\n\n16:9 And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and\nalso the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of\nIsrael, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have\ncaused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to\nbe afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and\nto become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them\u2014\n\n16:10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At\nthat day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall\nreject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of\ntheir hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole\nearth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits,\nand of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and\npriestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they\nshall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel,\nbehold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from\namong them.\n\n16:11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my\npeople, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.\n\n16:12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles\nshall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto\nyou, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the\nfulness of my gospel.\n\n16:13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the\nFather, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of\nIsrael.\n\n16:14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel,\nto go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.\n\n16:15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I\nwill suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that\nthey shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they\nshall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good\nfor nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my\npeople, O house of Israel.\n\n16:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded\nme\u2014that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance.\n\n16:17 And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled,\nwhich say:\n\n16:18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together\nshall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall\nbring again Zion.\n\n16:19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of\nJerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed\nJerusalem.\n\n16:20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eye of all the\nnations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 17\n\n17:1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words\nhe looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them:\nBehold, my time is at hand.\n\n17:2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my\nwords which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this\ntime.\n\n17:3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which\nI have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand,\nand prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.\n\n17:4 But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the\nlost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he\nknoweth whither he hath taken them.\n\n17:5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his\neyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears,\nand did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a\nlittle longer with them.\n\n17:6 And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with\ncompassion towards you.\n\n17:7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye\nany that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that\nare withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner?\nBring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you;\nmy bowels are filled with mercy.\n\n17:8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I\nhave done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is\nsufficient that I should heal you.\n\n17:9 And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the\nmultitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their\nafflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb,\nand with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal\nthem every one as they were brought forth unto him.\n\n17:10 And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were\nwhole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could\ncome for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe\nhis feet with their tears.\n\n17:11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children\nshould be brought.\n\n17:12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the\nground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude\ngave way till they had all been brought unto him.\n\n17:13 And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and\nJesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should\nkneel down upon the ground.\n\n17:14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground,\nJesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because\nof the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.\n\n17:15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the\nearth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he\nprayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard\nhim.\n\n17:16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never\nseen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things\nas we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;\n\n17:17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man,\nneither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as\nwe both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy\nwhich filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the\nFather.\n\n17:18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying\nunto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude\nthat they were overcome.\n\n17:19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them\narise.\n\n17:20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are\nye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.\n\n17:21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare\nrecord of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and\nblessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.\n\n17:22 And when he had done this he wept again;\n\n17:23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your\nlittle ones.\n\n17:24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven,\nand they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of\nheaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and\nencircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with\nfire; and the angels did minister unto them.\n\n17:25 And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know\nthat their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every\nman for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five\nhundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 18\n\n18:1 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples that they\nshould bring forth some bread and wine unto him.\n\n18:2 And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the\nmultitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.\n\n18:3 And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of\nthe bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and\ncommanded that they should eat.\n\n18:4 And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they\nshould give unto the multitude.\n\n18:5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the\ndisciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him\nwill I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it\nunto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be\nbaptized in my name.\n\n18:6 And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even\nas I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you.\n\n18:7 And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown\nunto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always\nremember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to\nbe with you.\n\n18:8 And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded\nhis disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of\nit, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might\ndrink of it.\n\n18:9 And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were\nfilled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they\nwere filled.\n\n18:10 And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them:\nBlessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is\nfulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that\nye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.\n\n18:11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized\nin my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have\nshed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always\nremember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to\nbe with you.\n\n18:12 And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things.\nAnd if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built\nupon my rock.\n\n18:13 But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not\nbuilt upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the\nrain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon\nthem, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive\nthem.\n\n18:14 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which\nthe Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.\n\n18:15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always,\nlest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.\n\n18:16 And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my\nchurch, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name.\nBehold I am the light; I have set an example for you.\n\n18:17 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto\nhis disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them:\n\n18:18 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray\nalways lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you,\nthat he may sift you as wheat.\n\n18:19 Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;\n\n18:20 And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is\nright, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto\nyou.\n\n18:21 Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that\nyour wives and your children may be blessed.\n\n18:22 And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid\nany man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer\nthem that they may come unto you and forbid them not;\n\n18:23 But ye shall pray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if\nit so be that they come unto you oft ye shall pray for them unto the\nFather, in my name.\n\n18:24 Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world.\nBehold I am the light which ye shall hold up\u2014that which ye have seen me\ndo. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have\nwitnessed.\n\n18:25 And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away,\nbut rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might\nfeel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever\nbreaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.\n\n18:26 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words,\nhe turned his eyes again upon the disciples whom he had chosen, and\nsaid unto them:\n\n18:27 Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you another\ncommandment, and then I must go unto my Father that I may fulfil other\ncommandments which he hath given me.\n\n18:28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you,\nthat ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and\nblood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;\n\n18:29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily\neateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a\nman is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid\nhim.\n\n18:30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye\nshall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my\nname; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name,\nthen shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and\nblood.\n\n18:31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people,\nthat he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they\nare numbered.\n\n18:32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or\nyour places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister;\nfor ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me\nwith full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the\nmeans of bringing salvation unto them.\n\n18:33 Therefore, keep these sayings which I have commanded you that ye\ncome not under condemnation; for wo unto him whom the Father\ncondemneth.\n\n18:34 And I give you these commandments because of the disputations\nwhich have been among you. And blessed are ye if ye have no\ndisputations among you.\n\n18:35 And now I go unto the Father, because it is expedient that I\nshould go unto the Father for your sakes.\n\n18:36 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these\nsayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one\nby one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he\ntouched them.\n\n18:37 And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore\nthey did not bear record; but the disciples bare record that he gave\nthem power to give the Holy Ghost. And I will show unto you hereafter\nthat this record is true.\n\n18:38 And it came to pass that when Jesus had touched them all, there\ncame a cloud and overshadowed the multitude that they could not see\nJesus.\n\n18:39 And while they were overshadowed he departed from them, and\nascended into heaven. And the disciples saw and did bear record that he\nascended again into heaven.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 19\n\n19:1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven,\nthe multitude did disperse, and every man did take his wife and his\nchildren and did return to his own home.\n\n19:2 And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it\nwas yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had\nministered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the morrow\nunto the multitude.\n\n19:3 Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus;\nand insomuch did they send forth unto the people that there were many,\nyea, an exceedingly great number, did labor exceedingly all that night,\nthat they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show\nhimself unto the multitude.\n\n19:4 And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was\ngathered together, behold, Nephi and his brother whom he had raised\nfrom the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was\nJonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and\nKumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and\nIsaiah\u2014now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had\nchosen\u2014and it came to pass that they went forth and stood in the midst\nof the multitude.\n\n19:5 And behold, the multitude was so great that they did cause that\nthey should be separated into twelve bodies.\n\n19:6 And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause\nthat the multitude should kneel down upon the face of the earth, and\nshould pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus.\n\n19:7 And the disciples did pray unto the Father also in the name of\nJesus. And it came to pass that they arose and ministered unto the\npeople.\n\n19:8 And when they had ministered those same words which Jesus had\nspoken\u2014nothing varying from the words which Jesus had spoken\u2014behold,\nthey knelt again and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus.\n\n19:9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they\ndesired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.\n\n19:10 And when they had thus prayed they went down unto the water\u2019s\nedge, and the multitude followed them.\n\n19:11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was\nbaptized.\n\n19:12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he\nbaptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.\n\n19:13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up\nout of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were\nfilled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.\n\n19:14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and\nit came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did\nbear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister\nunto them.\n\n19:15 And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto\nthe disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered\nunto them.\n\n19:16 And it came to pass that he spake unto the multitude, and\ncommanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and\nalso that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth.\n\n19:17 And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the\nearth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray.\n\n19:18 And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus,\ncalling him their Lord and their God.\n\n19:19 And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them,\nand went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and\nhe said:\n\n19:20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto\nthese whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that\nI have chosen them out of the world.\n\n19:21 Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all\nthem that shall believe in their words.\n\n19:22 Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe\nin me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest\nthem, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with\nthem.\n\n19:23 And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those\nwho shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I\nmay be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.\n\n19:24 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the\nFather, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still\ncontinue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply\nmany words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they\nwere filled with desire.\n\n19:25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto\nhim; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his\ncountenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the\ncountenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness\nthereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing\nupon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.\n\n19:26 And Jesus said unto them: Pray on; nevertheless they did not\ncease to pray.\n\n19:27 And he turned from them again, and went a little way off and\nbowed himself to the earth; and he prayed again unto the Father,\nsaying:\n\n19:28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have\nchosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them\nwho shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me,\nthrough faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.\n\n19:29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast\ngiven me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be\npurified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that\nwe may be one, that I may be glorified in them.\n\n19:30 And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his\ndisciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto\nhim; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even\nas Jesus.\n\n19:31 And it came to pass that he went again a little way off and\nprayed unto the Father;\n\n19:32 And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can be\nwritten by man the words which he prayed.\n\n19:33 And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts\nwere open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he\nprayed.\n\n19:34 Nevertheless, so great and marvelous were the words which he\nprayed that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man.\n\n19:35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he\ncame again to the disciples, and said unto them: So great faith have I\nnever seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so\ngreat miracles, because of their unbelief.\n\n19:36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so\ngreat things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things\nas ye have heard.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 20\n\n20:1 And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they\nshould cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them\nthat they should not cease to pray in their hearts.\n\n20:2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon\ntheir feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.\n\n20:3 And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and\ngave to the disciples to eat.\n\n20:4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break\nbread, and give unto the multitude.\n\n20:5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine\nto drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.\n\n20:6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the\ndisciples, neither by the multitude;\n\n20:7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.\n\n20:8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body\nto his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to\nhis soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be\nfilled.\n\n20:9 Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were\nfilled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave\nglory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.\n\n20:10 And it came to pass that when they had all given glory unto\nJesus, he said unto them: Behold now I finish the commandment which the\nFather hath commanded me concerning this people, who are a remnant of\nthe house of Israel.\n\n20:11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words\nof Isaiah should be fulfilled\u2014behold they are written, ye have them\nbefore you, therefore search them\u2014\n\n20:12 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be\nfulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath\nmade unto his people, O house of Israel.\n\n20:13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon\nthe face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west,\nand from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the\nknowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.\n\n20:14 And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this\nland, for your inheritance.\n\n20:15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the\nblessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people\u2014\n\n20:16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth\namong them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and\nye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as\na young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both\ntreadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.\n\n20:17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine\nenemies shall be cut off.\n\n20:18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his\nsheaves into the floor.\n\n20:19 For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted,\nyea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And\nthou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain\nunto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.\nAnd behold, I am he who doeth it.\n\n20:20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my\njustice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it\nshall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations\nof the Gentiles.\n\n20:21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O\nhouse of Israel.\n\n20:22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the\nfulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it\nshall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the\nmidst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.\n\n20:23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the\nLord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him\nshall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it\nshall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall\nbe cut off from among the people.\n\n20:24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and\nthose that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.\n\n20:25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of\nthe house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made\nwith your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the\nkindreds of the earth be blessed.\n\n20:26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to\nbless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and\nthis because ye are the children of the covenant\u2014\n\n20:27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the\ncovenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the\nkindreds of the earth be blessed\u2014unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost\nthrough me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall\nmake them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house\nof Israel.\n\n20:28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land.\nNevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel,\nthen if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their\niniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.\n\n20:29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my\npeople; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them\ntogether in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the\nland of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of\nJerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the\nFather.\n\n20:30 And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness\nof my gospel shall be preached unto them;\n\n20:31 And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of\nGod, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.\n\n20:32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice\ntogether shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye.\n\n20:33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto\nthem Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.\n\n20:34 Then shall they break forth into joy\u2014Sing together, ye waste\nplaces of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath\nredeemed Jerusalem.\n\n20:35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the\nnations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the\nFather; and the Father and I are one.\n\n20:36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake,\nawake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful\ngarments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no\nmore come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.\n\n20:37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose\nthyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.\n\n20:38 For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and\nye shall be redeemed without money.\n\n20:39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my\nname; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.\n\n20:40 And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the\nfeet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth\npeace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth\nsalvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!\n\n20:41 And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out\nfrom thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of\nher; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.\n\n20:42 For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord\nwill go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.\n\n20:43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and\nextolled and be very high.\n\n20:44 As many were astonished at thee\u2014his visage was so marred, more\nthan any man, and his form more than the sons of men\u2014\n\n20:45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their\nmouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see;\nand that which they had not heard shall they consider.\n\n20:46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely\ncome, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant\nwhich the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then\nshall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the\nland of their inheritance.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 21\n\n21:1 And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may\nknow the time when these things shall be about to take place\u2014that I\nshall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of\nIsrael, and shall establish again among them my Zion;\n\n21:2 And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a\nsign\u2014for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare\nunto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and\nby the power of the Holy Ghost which shall be given unto you of the\nFather, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they may know\nconcerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and\nconcerning this my people who shall be scattered by them;\n\n21:3 Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made\nknown unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from\nthem unto you;\n\n21:4 For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in\nthis land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father,\nthat these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your\nseed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath\ncovenanted with his people, O house of Israel;\n\n21:5 Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought\namong you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed\nwhich shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;\n\n21:6 For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from\nthe Gentiles, that he may show forth his power unto the Gentiles, for\nthis cause that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts,\nthat they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and\nknow of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among\nmy people, O house of Israel;\n\n21:7 And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to\nknow these things\u2014it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that\nthe work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of\nthe covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of\nIsrael.\n\n21:8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings\nshall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall\nthey see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.\n\n21:9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which\nshall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be\namong them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare\nit unto them.\n\n21:10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore\nthey shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them.\nYet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is\ngreater than the cunning of the devil.\n\n21:11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe\nin my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to\nbring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he\nshall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as\nMoses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the\ncovenant.\n\n21:12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the\nGentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the\nforest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go\nthrough both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.\n\n21:13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all\ntheir enemies shall be cut off.\n\n21:14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall\ncome to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy\nhorses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;\n\n21:15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy\nstrongholds;\n\n21:16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt\nhave no more soothsayers;\n\n21:17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images\nout of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of\nthy hands;\n\n21:18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will\nI destroy thy cities.\n\n21:19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and\nenvyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done\naway.\n\n21:20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day\nwhosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut\noff from among my people, O house of Israel;\n\n21:21 And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the\nheathen, such as they have not heard.\n\n21:22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not\ntheir hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall\ncome in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of\nJacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;\n\n21:23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also\nas many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a\ncity, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.\n\n21:24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered\nin, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New\nJerusalem.\n\n21:25 And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I\nalso will be in the midst.\n\n21:26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even\nwhen this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people.\nVerily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father\ncommence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes\nwhich have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.\n\n21:27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my\npeople, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto\nme, that they may call on the Father in my name.\n\n21:28 Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all\nnations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to\nthe land of their inheritance.\n\n21:29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out\nin haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the\nFather, and I will be their rearward.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 22\n\n22:1 And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren,\nthou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou\nthat didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the\ndesolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.\n\n22:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the\ncurtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and\nstrengthen thy stakes;\n\n22:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and\nthy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be\ninhabited.\n\n22:4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou\nconfounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget\nthe shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy\nyouth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.\n\n22:5 For thy maker, thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy\nRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel\u2014the God of the whole earth shall he be\ncalled.\n\n22:6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in\nspirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.\n\n22:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies\nwill I gather thee.\n\n22:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with\neverlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy\nRedeemer.\n\n22:9 For this, the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the\nwaters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I\nwould not be wroth with thee.\n\n22:10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my\nkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my\npeace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.\n\n22:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold,\nI will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with\nsapphires.\n\n22:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of\ncarbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.\n\n22:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall\nbe the peace of thy children.\n\n22:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far\nfrom oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall\nnot come near thee.\n\n22:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together against thee, not by\nme; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy\nsake.\n\n22:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the\nfire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have\ncreated the waster to destroy.\n\n22:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every\ntongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.\nThis is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their\nrighteousness is of me, saith the Lord.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 23\n\n23:1 And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these\nthings. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things\ndiligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.\n\n23:2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people\nwhich are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he\nmust speak also to the Gentiles.\n\n23:3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even\naccording to the words which he spake.\n\n23:4 Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have\ntold you; and according to the time and the will of the Father they\nshall go forth unto the Gentiles.\n\n23:5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is\nbaptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there\nbe that testify of these things.\n\n23:6 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he\nsaid unto them again, after he had expounded all the scriptures unto\nthem which they had received, he said unto them: Behold, other\nscriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not.\n\n23:7 And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the\nrecord which ye have kept.\n\n23:8 And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before\nhim, he cast his eyes upon them and said:\n\n23:9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the\nLamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that\nthe Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints\nwho should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should\nminister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?\n\n23:10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did\nprophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.\n\n23:11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this\nthing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister\nunto them?\n\n23:12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not\nbeen written.\n\n23:13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be\nwritten; therefore it was written according as he commanded.\n\n23:14 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had expounded all the\nscriptures in one, which they had written, he commanded them that they\nshould teach the things which he had expounded unto them.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 24\n\n24:1 And it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write\nthe words which the Father had given unto Malachi, which he should tell\nunto them. And it came to pass that after they were written he\nexpounded them. And these are the words which he did tell unto them,\nsaying: Thus said the Father unto Malachi\u2014Behold, I will send my\nmessenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye\nseek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the\ncovenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of\nHosts.\n\n24:2 But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when\nhe appeareth? For he is like a refiner\u2019s fire, and like fuller\u2019s soap.\n\n24:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall\npurify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they\nmay offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.\n\n24:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto\nthe Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.\n\n24:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift\nwitness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against\nfalse swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his\nwages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger,\nand fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts.\n\n24:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are\nnot consumed.\n\n24:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine\nordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return\nunto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say: Wherein shall we return?\n\n24:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein\nhave we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.\n\n24:9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole\nnation.\n\n24:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be\nmeat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts,\nif I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a\nblessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.\n\n24:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not\ndestroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her\nfruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of Hosts.\n\n24:12 And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a\ndelightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.\n\n24:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye\nsay: What have we spoken against thee?\n\n24:14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit\nthat we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully\nbefore the Lord of Hosts?\n\n24:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness\nare set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.\n\n24:16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and\nthe Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written\nbefore him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his\nname.\n\n24:17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when\nI make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son\nthat serveth him.\n\n24:18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the\nwicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 25\n\n25:1 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the\nproud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day\nthat cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall\nleave them neither root nor branch.\n\n25:2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness\narise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as\ncalves in the stall.\n\n25:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under\nthe soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord\nof Hosts.\n\n25:4 Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto\nhim in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.\n\n25:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of\nthe great and dreadful day of the Lord;\n\n25:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and\nthe heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the\nearth with a curse.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 26\n\n26:1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he\nexpounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto\nthem, both great and small.\n\n26:2 And he saith: These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the\nFather commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him\nthat they should be given unto future generations.\n\n26:3 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the\ntime that he should come in his glory\u2014yea, even all things which should\ncome upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt\nwith fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll,\nand the heavens and the earth should pass away;\n\n26:4 And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all\nkindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be\njudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil\u2014\n\n26:5 If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if\nthey be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel,\nthe one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to\nthe mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who\nwas before the world began.\n\n26:6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part\nof the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;\n\n26:7 But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the\nthings which he taught the people.\n\n26:8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the\nthings which he taught the people; and I have written them to the\nintent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the\nGentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.\n\n26:9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that\nthey should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that\nthey shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made\nmanifest unto them.\n\n26:10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then\nshall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their\ncondemnation.\n\n26:11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon\nthe plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the\nfaith of my people.\n\n26:12 Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been\ncommanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings,\nand proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.\n\n26:13 Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did\nteach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did\nshow himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and\ngive it unto them.\n\n26:14 And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the\nchildren of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose\ntheir tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and\nmarvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people;\nand he loosed their tongues that they could utter.\n\n26:15 And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven\u2014the\nsecond time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the\nFather, after having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened\nthe eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even\nhad done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the\ndead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto\nthe Father\u2014\n\n26:16 Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the multitude gathered\nthemselves together, and they both saw and heard these children; yea,\neven babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the\nthings which they did utter were forbidden that there should not any\nman write them.\n\n26:17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen\nbegan from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come\nunto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were\nfilled with the Holy Ghost.\n\n26:18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not\nlawful to be written.\n\n26:19 And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had\nall things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with\nanother.\n\n26:20 And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had\ncommanded them.\n\n26:21 And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the\nchurch of Christ.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 27\n\n27:1 And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying\nand were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and\nwere baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples\nwere gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.\n\n27:2 And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying\nunto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of\nthem, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?\n\n27:3 And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us\nthe name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations\namong the people concerning this matter.\n\n27:4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why\nis it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?\n\n27:5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you\nthe name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be\ncalled at the last day;\n\n27:6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the\nsame shall be saved at the last day.\n\n27:7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name;\ntherefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon\nthe Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.\n\n27:8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a\nchurch be called in Moses\u2019 name then it be Moses\u2019 church; or if it be\ncalled in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it\nbe called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are\nbuilt upon my gospel.\n\n27:9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore\nye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye\ncall upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father\nwill hear you;\n\n27:10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will\nthe Father show forth his own works in it.\n\n27:11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the\nworks of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you\nthey have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end\ncometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence\nthere is no return.\n\n27:12 For their works do follow them, for it is because of their works\nthat they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told\nyou.\n\n27:13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel\nwhich I have given unto you\u2014that I came into the world to do the will\nof my Father, because my Father sent me.\n\n27:14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross;\nand after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw\nall men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should\nmen be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of\ntheir works, whether they be good or whether they be evil\u2014\n\n27:15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to\nthe power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be\njudged according to their works.\n\n27:16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized\nin my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him\nwill I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand\nto judge the world.\n\n27:17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is\nalso hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more\nreturn, because of the justice of the Father.\n\n27:18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of\nmen. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given,\nand he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.\n\n27:19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore\nnothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their\ngarments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all\ntheir sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.\n\n27:20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth,\nand come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified\nby the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before\nme at the last day.\n\n27:21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know\nthe things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have\nseen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do\neven that shall ye do;\n\n27:22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be\nlifted up at the last day.\n\n27:23 Write the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those\nwhich are forbidden.\n\n27:24 Write the works of this people, which shall be, even as hath been\nwritten, of that which hath been.\n\n27:25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which\nshall be written, shall this people be judged, for by them shall their\nworks be known unto men.\n\n27:26 And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out\nof the books which shall be written shall the world be judged.\n\n27:27 And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to\nthe judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just.\nTherefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you,\neven as I am.\n\n27:28 And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you,\nwhatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given\nunto you.\n\n27:29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be\nopened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that\nknocketh, it shall be opened.\n\n27:30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of\nyou, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and\nalso all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none\nof them are lost.\n\n27:31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who\nare now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in\nthem I have fulness of joy.\n\n27:32 But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from\nthis generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the\nson of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and\nfor that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through\nand steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their\nworks upon their own heads.\n\n27:33 And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he\nsaid unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is\nthe gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be\nthat find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to\ndeath, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh,\nwherein no man can work.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 28\n\n28:1 And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto\nhis disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye desire\nof me, after that I am gone to the Father?\n\n28:2 And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that\nafter we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein\nthou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto\nthee in thy kingdom.\n\n28:3 And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this\nthing of me; therefore, after that ye are seventy and two years old ye\nshall come unto me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest.\n\n28:4 And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the\nthree, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when\nI am gone unto the Father?\n\n28:5 And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto\nhim the things which they desired.\n\n28:6 And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have\ndesired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my\nministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.\n\n28:7 Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death;\nbut ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the\nchildren of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to\nthe will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers\nof heaven.\n\n28:8 And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall\ncome in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from\nmortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom\nof my Father.\n\n28:9 And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the\nflesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all\nthis will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye\nhave desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the\nworld shall stand.\n\n28:10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit\ndown in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as\nthe Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am,\nand I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;\n\n28:11 And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the\nFather giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me.\n\n28:12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he\ntouched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who\nwere to tarry, and then he departed.\n\n28:13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into\nheaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.\n\n28:14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it\ngiven unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw\nand heard;\n\n28:15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could\nnot tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them,\nthat they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state,\nthat they could behold the things of God.\n\n28:16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of\nthe earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they\nhad heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in\nheaven.\n\n28:17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of\ntheir transfiguration, I know not;\n\n28:18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been\ngiven\u2014they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister\nunto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in\ntheir preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did\nreceive the Holy Ghost.\n\n28:19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the\nchurch. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in\ntwain.\n\n28:20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the\nearth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were\ndelivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not\ndig pits sufficient to hold them.\n\n28:21 And thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm.\n\n28:22 And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold\nthey did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and\nreceived no harm.\n\n28:23 And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the\npeople of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of Christ unto all people\nupon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and\nwere united unto the church of Christ, and thus the people of that\ngeneration were blessed, according to the word of Jesus.\n\n28:24 And now I, Mormon, make an end of speaking concerning these\nthings for a time.\n\n28:25 Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to\ntaste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for\nthey are hid from the world.\n\n28:26 But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me.\n\n28:27 And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles\nshall know them not.\n\n28:28 They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them\nnot.\n\n28:29 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom\nthat they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and\nunto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of\nthem unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and\nalso because of the convincing power of God which is in them.\n\n28:30 And they are as the angels of God, and if they shall pray unto\nthe Father in the name of Jesus they can show themselves unto\nwhatsoever man it seemeth them good.\n\n28:31 Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them,\nbefore the great and coming day when all people must surely stand\nbefore the judgment-seat of Christ;\n\n28:32 Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and marvelous\nwork wrought by them, before that judgment day.\n\n28:33 And if ye had all the scriptures which give an account of all the\nmarvelous works of Christ, ye would, according to the words of Christ,\nknow that these things must surely come.\n\n28:34 And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus,\nand also to them whom he hath chosen and sent among them; for whoso\nreceiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath\nsent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the\nlast day;\n\n28:35 And it would be better for them if they had not been born. For do\nye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice of an offended God, who\nhath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might\ncome?\n\n28:36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath\nchosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I\nknew not whether they were cleansed from mortality to immortality\u2014\n\n28:37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he\nhath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought\nupon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;\n\n28:38 Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a change\nwrought upon their bodies, that they might not suffer pain nor sorrow\nsave it were for the sins of the world.\n\n28:39 Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at\nthe last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that\nSatan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and\nthey were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and that the\npowers of the earth could not hold them. 3 Nephi 28:40 And in this\nstate they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that\nday they were to receive a greater change, and to be received into the\nkingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell eternally in the\nheavens.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 29\n\n29:1 And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit,\nin his wisdom, that these sayings shall come unto the Gentiles\naccording to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the\nFather hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their\nrestoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to\nbe fulfilled.\n\n29:2 And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken\nby the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled; and ye need not say that\nthe Lord delays his coming unto the children of Israel.\n\n29:3 And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have\nbeen spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord will remember his covenant\nwhich he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.\n\n29:4 And when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then\nye need not any longer spurn at the doings of the Lord, for the sword\nof his justice is in his right hand; and behold, at that day, if ye\nshall spurn at his doings he will cause that it shall soon overtake\nyou.\n\n29:5 Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto\nhim that shall deny the Christ and his works!\n\n29:6 Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and\nthat shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by\nprophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power\nof the Holy Ghost!\n\n29:7 Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that\nthere can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this\nshall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no\nmercy, according to the word of Christ!\n\n29:8 Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of\nthe Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold,\nthe Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them\naccording to that which he hath sworn.\n\n29:9 Therefore ye need not suppose that ye can turn the right hand of\nthe Lord unto the left, that he may not execute judgment unto the\nfulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel.\n\n3 Nephi Chapter 30\n\n30:1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the\nSon of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak\nconcerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write,\nsaying:\n\n30:2 Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your\nevil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and\nof your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders,\nand your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from\nall your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized\nin my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled\nwith the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of\nthe house of Israel.\n\n\n\n\n FOURTH NEPHI\n\nWHO IS THE SON OF NEPHI\u2014ONE OF THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST\n\nAn account of the people of Nephi, according to his record.\n\n4 Nephi 1:1 And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed\naway, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus\nhad formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many\nas did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were\nbaptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy\nGhost.\n\n4 Nephi 1:2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the\npeople were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land,\nboth Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and\ndisputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with\nanother.\n\n4 Nephi 1:3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there\nwere not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and\npartakers of the heavenly gift.\n\n4 Nephi 1:4 And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed\naway also, and there still continued to be peace in the land.\n\n4 Nephi 1:5 And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the\ndisciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the\ndead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight,\nand the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among\nthe children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were\nin the name of Jesus.\n\n4 Nephi 1:6 And thus did the thirty and eighth year pass away, and also\nthe thirty and ninth, and forty and first, and the forty and second,\nyea, even until forty and nine years had passed away, and also the\nfifty and first, and the fifty and second; yea, and even until fifty\nand nine years had passed away.\n\n4 Nephi 1:7 And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; yea,\ninsomuch that they did build cities again where there had been cities\nburned.\n\n4 Nephi 1:8 Yea, even that great city Zarahemla did they cause to be\nbuilt again.\n\n4 Nephi 1:9 But there were many cities which had been sunk, and waters\ncame up in the stead thereof; therefore these cities could not be\nrenewed.\n\n4 Nephi 1:10 And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi\ndid wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an\nexceedingly fair and delightsome people.\n\n4 Nephi 1:11 And they were married, and given in marriage, and were\nblessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had\nmade unto them.\n\n4 Nephi 1:12 And they did not walk any more after the performances and\nordinances of the law of Moses; but they did walk after the\ncommandments which they had received from their Lord and their God,\ncontinuing in fasting and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to\npray and to hear the word of the Lord.\n\n4 Nephi 1:13 And it came to pass that there was no contention among all\nthe people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought\namong the disciples of Jesus.\n\n4 Nephi 1:14 And it came to pass that the seventy and first year passed\naway, and also the seventy and second year, yea, and in fine, till the\nseventy and ninth year had passed away; yea, even an hundred years had\npassed away, and the disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all\ngone to the paradise of God, save it were the three who should tarry;\nand there were other disciples ordained in their stead; and also many\nof that generation had passed away.\n\n4 Nephi 1:15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the\nland, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the\npeople.\n\n4 Nephi 1:16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor\nwhoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness;\nand surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who\nhad been created by the hand of God.\n\n4 Nephi 1:17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there\nLamanites, nor any manner of \u2014ites; but they were in one, the children\nof Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.\n\n4 Nephi 1:18 And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in\nall their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an\nhundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from\nChrist had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.\n\n4 Nephi 1:19 And it came to pass that Nephi, he that kept this last\nrecord, (and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi) died, and his son\nAmos kept it in his stead; and he kept it upon the plates of Nephi\nalso.\n\n4 Nephi 1:20 And he kept it eighty and four years, and there was still\npeace in the land, save it were a small part of the people who had\nrevolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites;\ntherefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land.\n\n4 Nephi 1:21 And it came to pass that Amos died also, (and it was an\nhundred and ninety and four years from the coming of Christ) and his\nson Amos kept the record in his stead; and he also kept it upon the\nplates of Nephi; and it was also written in the book of Nephi, which is\nthis book.\n\n4 Nephi 1:22 And it came to pass that two hundred years had passed\naway; and the second generation had all passed away save it were a few.\n\n4 Nephi 1:23 And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the\npeople had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face\nof the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of\ntheir prosperity in Christ.\n\n4 Nephi 1:24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to\nbe among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of\ncostly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things\nof the world.\n\n4 Nephi 1:25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and\ntheir substance no more common among them.\n\n4 Nephi 1:26 And they began to be divided into classes; and they began\nto build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the\ntrue church of Christ.\n\n4 Nephi 1:27 And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years\nhad passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were\nmany churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny\nthe more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner\nof wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to\nwhom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness.\n\n4 Nephi 1:28 And this church did multiply exceedingly because of\niniquity, and because of the power of Satan who did get hold upon their\nhearts.\n\n4 Nephi 1:29 And again, there was another church which denied the\nChrist; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of\ntheir humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them\nbecause of the many miracles which were wrought among them.\n\n4 Nephi 1:30 Therefore they did exercise power and authority over the\ndisciples of Jesus who did tarry with them, and they did cast them into\nprison; but by the power of the word of God, which was in them, the\nprisons were rent in twain, and they went forth doing mighty miracles\namong them.\n\n4 Nephi 1:31 Nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these miracles, the\npeople did harden their hearts, and did seek to kill them, even as the\nJews at Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word.\n\n4 Nephi 1:32 And they did cast them into furnaces of fire, and they\ncame forth receiving no harm.\n\n4 Nephi 1:33 And they also cast them into dens of wild beasts, and they\ndid play with the wild beasts even as a child with a lamb; and they did\ncome forth from among them, receiving no harm.\n\n4 Nephi 1:34 Nevertheless, the people did harden their hearts, for they\nwere led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches,\nand to do all manner of iniquity. And they did smite upon the people of\nJesus; but the people of Jesus did not smite again. And thus they did\ndwindle in unbelief and wickedness, from year to year, even until two\nhundred and thirty years had passed away.\n\n4 Nephi 1:35 And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two\nhundred and thirty and first year, there was a great division among the\npeople.\n\n4 Nephi 1:36 And it came to pass that in this year there arose a people\nwho were called the Nephites, and they were true believers in Christ;\nand among them there were those who were called by the\nLamanites\u2014Jacobites, and Josephites, and Zoramites;\n\n4 Nephi 1:37 Therefore the true believers in Christ, and the true\nworshipers of Christ, (among whom were the three disciples of Jesus who\nshould tarry) were called Nephites, and Jacobites, and Josephites, and\nZoramites.\n\n4 Nephi 1:38 And it came to pass that they who rejected the gospel were\ncalled Lamanites, and Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites; and they did not\ndwindle in unbelief, but they did wilfully rebel against the gospel of\nChrist; and they did teach their children that they should not believe,\neven as their fathers, from the beginning, did dwindle.\n\n4 Nephi 1:39 And it was because of the wickedness and abomination of\ntheir fathers, even as it was in the beginning. And they were taught to\nhate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the\nchildren of Nephi from the beginning.\n\n4 Nephi 1:40 And it came to pass that two hundred and forty and four\nyears had passed away, and thus were the affairs of the people. And the\nmore wicked part of the people did wax strong, and became exceedingly\nmore numerous than were the people of God.\n\n4 Nephi 1:41 And they did still continue to build up churches unto\nthemselves, and adorn them with all manner of precious things. And thus\ndid two hundred and fifty years pass away, and also two hundred and\nsixty years.\n\n4 Nephi 1:42 And it came to pass that the wicked part of the people\nbegan again to build up the secret oaths and combinations of Gadianton.\n\n4 Nephi 1:43 And also the people who were called the people of Nephi\nbegan to be proud in their hearts, because of their exceeding riches,\nand become vain like unto their brethren, the Lamanites.\n\n4 Nephi 1:44 And from this time the disciples began to sorrow for the\nsins of the world.\n\n4 Nephi 1:45 And it came to pass that when three hundred years had\npassed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become\nexceedingly wicked one like unto another.\n\n4 Nephi 1:46 And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did\nspread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were\nrighteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did\nthey lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of\ntraffic.\n\n4 Nephi 1:47 And it came to pass that after three hundred and five\nyears had passed away, (and the people did still remain in wickedness)\nAmos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead.\n\n4 Nephi 1:48 And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty\nyears had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost,\ndid hide up the records which were sacred\u2014yea, even all the sacred\nrecords which had been handed down from generation to generation, which\nwere sacred\u2014even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the\ncoming of Christ.\n\n4 Nephi 1:49 And he did hide them up unto the Lord that they might come\nagain unto the remnant of the house of Jacob according to the\nprophecies and the promises of the Lord. And thus is the end of the\nrecord of Ammaron.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF MORMON\n\nMormon Chapter 1\n\n1:1 And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both\nseen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.\n\n1:2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord,\nhe came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be\nlearned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and\nAmmaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art\nquick to observe;\n\n1:3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that\nye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this\npeople; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill\nwhich shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord\nall the sacred engravings concerning this people.\n\n1:4 And behold, ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and\nthe remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall\nengrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed\nconcerning this people.\n\n1:5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father\u2019s name\nwas Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.\n\n1:6 And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by\nmy father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla.\n\n1:7 The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and\nthe people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.\n\n1:8 And it came to pass in this year there began to be a war between\nthe Nephites, who consisted of the Nephites and the Jacobites and the\nJosephites and the Zoramites; and this war was between the Nephites,\nand the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites.\n\n1:9 Now the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites were\ncalled Lamanites, and the two parties were Nephites and Lamanites.\n\n1:10 And it came to pass that the war began to be among them in the\nborders of Zarahemla, by the waters of Sidon.\n\n1:11 And it came to pass that the Nephites had gathered together a\ngreat number of men, even to exceed the number of thirty thousand. And\nit came to pass that they did have in this same year a number of\nbattles, in which the Nephites did beat the Lamanites and did slay many\nof them.\n\n1:12 And it came to pass that the Lamanites withdrew their design, and\nthere was peace settled in the land; and peace did remain for the space\nof about four years, that there was no bloodshed.\n\n1:13 But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land,\ninsomuch that the Lord did take away his beloved disciples, and the\nwork of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of\nthe people.\n\n1:14 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not\ncome upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.\n\n1:15 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober\nmind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the\ngoodness of Jesus.\n\n1:16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was\nshut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold\nthey had wilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples\nwere taken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.\n\n1:17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto\nthem, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the\nhardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake.\n\n1:18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did\ninfest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up\ntheir treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the\nLord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain\nthem again.\n\n1:19 And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts,\nand magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face\nof the land, even unto the fulfilling of all the words of Abinadi, and\nalso Samuel the Lamanite.\n\nMormon Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again\nbetween the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being\nyoung, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me\nthat I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.\n\n2:2 Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth\nat the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites;\ntherefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away.\n\n2:3 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and\nseventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great\npower, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would\nnot fight, and they began to retreat towards the north countries.\n\n2:4 And it came to pass that we did come to the city of Angola, and we\ndid take possession of the city, and make preparations to defend\nourselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did\nfortify the city with our might; but notwithstanding all our\nfortifications the Lamanites did come upon us and did drive us out of\nthe city.\n\n2:5 And they did also drive us forth out of the land of David.\n\n2:6 And we marched forth and came to the land of Joshua, which was in\nthe borders west by the seashore.\n\n2:7 And it came to pass that we did gather in our people as fast as it\nwere possible, that we might get them together in one body.\n\n2:8 But behold, the land was filled with robbers and with Lamanites;\nand notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people,\nthey did not repent of their evil doings; therefore there was blood and\ncarnage spread throughout all the face of the land, both on the part of\nthe Nephites and also on the part of the Lamanites; and it was one\ncomplete revolution throughout all the face of the land.\n\n2:9 And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was Aaron; and he\ncame against us with an army of forty and four thousand. And behold, I\nwithstood him with forty and two thousand. And it came to pass that I\nbeat him with my army that he fled before me. And behold, all this was\ndone, and three hundred and thirty years had passed away.\n\n2:10 And it came to pass that the Nephites began to repent of their\niniquity, and began to cry even as had been prophesied by Samuel the\nprophet; for behold no man could keep that which was his own, for the\nthieves, and the robbers, and the murderers, and the magic art, and the\nwitchcraft which was in the land.\n\n2:11 Thus there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the\nland because of these things, and more especially among the people of\nNephi.\n\n2:12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and\ntheir mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to\nrejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the\nLord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they\nwould again become a righteous people.\n\n2:13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto\nrepentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the\nsorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them\nto take happiness in sin.\n\n2:14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite\nspirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they\nwould struggle with the sword for their lives.\n\n2:15 And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I\nsaw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and\nspiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion\nagainst their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And\nthus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away.\n\n2:16 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth\nyear the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; and they were\npursued until they came even to the land of Jashon, before it was\npossible to stop them in their retreat.\n\n2:17 And now, the city of Jashon was near the land where Ammaron had\ndeposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed.\nAnd behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the\nplates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of\nAmmaron.\n\n2:18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the\nwickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to\nmake a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a\ncontinual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine\neyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.\n\n2:19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been\nfilled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days;\nnevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.\n\n2:20 And it came to pass that in this year the people of Nephi again\nwere hunted and driven. And it came to pass that we were driven forth\nuntil we had come northward to the land which was called Shem.\n\n2:21 And it came to pass that we did fortify the city of Shem, and we\ndid gather in our people as much as it were possible, that perhaps we\nmight save them from destruction.\n\n2:22 And it came to pass in the three hundred and forty and sixth year\nthey began to come upon us again.\n\n2:23 And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge\nthem with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the\nLamanites and fight for their wives, and their children, and their\nhouses, and their homes.\n\n2:24 And my words did arouse them somewhat to vigor, insomuch that they\ndid not flee from before the Lamanites, but did stand with boldness\nagainst them.\n\n2:25 And it came to pass that we did contend with an army of thirty\nthousand against an army of fifty thousand. And it came to pass that we\ndid stand before them with such firmness that they did flee from before\nus.\n\n2:26 And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them\nwith our armies, and did meet them again, and did beat them;\nnevertheless the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were\nleft to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us;\ntherefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.\n\n2:27 And my heart did sorrow because of this the great calamity of my\npeople, because of their wickedness and their abominations. But behold,\nwe did go forth against the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton,\nuntil we had again taken possession of the lands of our inheritance.\n\n2:28 And the three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away.\nAnd in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the\nLamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, in which we did get the lands\nof our inheritance divided.\n\n2:29 And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even\nto the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did\ngive unto the Lamanites all the land southward.\n\nMormon Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did not come to battle again\nuntil ten years more had passed away. And behold, I had employed my\npeople, the Nephites, in preparing their lands and their arms against\nthe time of battle.\n\n3:2 And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this\npeople\u2014Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up\nagain my church, and ye shall be spared.\n\n3:3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did\nnot realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto\nthem a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts\nagainst the Lord their God.\n\n3:4 And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed away,\nmaking, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from the coming of\nChrist, the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me, which gave\nunto me to know that they were preparing to come again to battle\nagainst us.\n\n3:5 And it came to pass that I did cause my people that they should\ngather themselves together at the land Desolation, to a city which was\nin the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward.\n\n3:6 And there we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of\nthe Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands;\ntherefore we did fortify against them with all our force.\n\n3:7 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first\nyear the Lamanites did come down to the city of Desolation to battle\nagainst us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them,\ninsomuch that they did return to their own lands again.\n\n3:8 And in the three hundred and sixty and second year they did come\ndown again to battle. And we did beat them again, and did slay a great\nnumber of them, and their dead were cast into the sea.\n\n3:9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites,\nhad done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear\nbefore the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of\ntheir brethren who had been slain by their enemies.\n\n3:10 And they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God,\nthat they would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut\nthem off from the face of the land.\n\n3:11 And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this\ntime forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of\ntheir wickedness and abomination.\n\n3:12 Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led\nthem many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of\nGod which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out\nin prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was\nwithout faith, because of the hardness of their hearts.\n\n3:13 And thrice have I delivered them out of the hands of their\nenemies, and they have repented not of their sins.\n\n3:14 And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden them by our\nLord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies\nto battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold\nthe voice of the Lord came unto me saying:\n\n3:15 Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people\nrepented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off\nfrom the face of the earth.\n\n3:16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine\nenemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand\nas an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw\nand heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had\ntestified of things to come.\n\n3:17 Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of\nIsrael, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare\nto return to the land of your inheritance;\n\n3:18 Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto\nyou, twelve tribes of Israel, who shall be judged according to your\nworks by the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of\nJerusalem.\n\n3:19 And I write also unto the remnant of this people, who shall also\nbe judged by the twelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall\nbe judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of\nJerusalem.\n\n3:20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I\nwrite unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may\nknow that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea,\nevery soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must\nstand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;\n\n3:21 And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye\nshall have among you; and also that the Jews, the covenant people of\nthe Lord, shall have other witness besides him whom they saw and heard,\nthat Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God.\n\n3:22 And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to\nrepent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.\n\nMormon Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And now it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and\nthird year the Nephites did go up with their armies to battle against\nthe Lamanites, out of the land Desolation.\n\n4:2 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites were driven\nback again to the land of Desolation. And while they were yet weary, a\nfresh army of the Lamanites did come upon them; and they had a sore\nbattle, insomuch that the Lamanites did take possession of the city\nDesolation, and did slay many of the Nephites, and did take many\nprisoners.\n\n4:3 And the remainder did flee and join the inhabitants of the city\nTeancum. Now the city Teancum lay in the borders by the seashore; and\nit was also near the city Desolation.\n\n4:4 And it was because the armies of the Nephites went up unto the\nLamanites that they began to be smitten; for were it not for that, the\nLamanites could have had no power over them.\n\n4:5 But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it\nis by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked\nthat stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.\n\n4:6 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did make preparations to\ncome against the city Teancum.\n\n4:7 And it came to pass in the three hundred and sixty and fourth year\nthe Lamanites did come against the city Teancum, that they might take\npossession of the city Teancum also.\n\n4:8 And it came to pass that they were repulsed and driven back by the\nNephites. And when the Nephites saw that they had driven the Lamanites\nthey did again boast of their own strength; and they went forth in\ntheir own might, and took possession again of the city Desolation.\n\n4:9 And now all these things had been done, and there had been\nthousands slain on both sides, both the Nephites and the Lamanites.\n\n4:10 And it came to pass that the three hundred and sixty and sixth\nyear had passed away, and the Lamanites came again upon the Nephites to\nbattle; and yet the Nephites repented not of the evil they had done,\nbut persisted in their wickedness continually.\n\n4:11 And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to\nwrite a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and\ncarnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the\nLamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they delighted in the\nshedding of blood continually.\n\n4:12 And there never had been so great wickedness among all the\nchildren of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to\nthe words of the Lord, as was among this people.\n\n4:13 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did take possession of the\ncity Desolation, and this because their number did exceed the number of\nthe Nephites.\n\n4:14 And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did\ndrive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners\nboth women and children, and did offer them up as sacrifices unto their\nidol gods.\n\n4:15 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and\nseventh year, the Nephites being angry because the Lamanites had\nsacrificed their women and their children, that they did go against the\nLamanites with exceedingly great anger, insomuch that they did beat\nagain the Lamanites, and drive them out of their lands.\n\n4:16 And the Lamanites did not come again against the Nephites until\nthe three hundred and seventy and fifth year.\n\n4:17 And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all\ntheir powers; and they were not numbered because of the greatness of\ntheir number.\n\n4:18 And from this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the\nLamanites, but began to be swept off by them even as a dew before the\nsun.\n\n4:19 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come down against the\ncity Desolation; and there was an exceedingly sore battle fought in the\nland Desolation, in the which they did beat the Nephites.\n\n4:20 And they fled again from before them, and they came to the city\nBoaz; and there they did stand against the Lamanites with exceeding\nboldness, insomuch that the Lamanites did not beat them until they had\ncome again the second time.\n\n4:21 And when they had come the second time, the Nephites were driven\nand slaughtered with an exceedingly great slaughter; their women and\ntheir children were again sacrificed unto idols.\n\n4:22 And it came to pass that the Nephites did again flee from before\nthem, taking all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages.\n\n4:23 And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to\noverthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill Shim, and did take\nup all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord.\n\nMormon Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did\nrepent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them;\nand they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me\nas though I could deliver them from their afflictions.\n\n5:2 But behold, I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the\nLord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their\niniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that\nBeing who created them.\n\n5:3 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come against us as we\nhad fled to the city of Jordan; but behold, they were driven back that\nthey did not take the city at that time.\n\n5:4 And it came to pass that they came against us again, and we did\nmaintain the city. And there were also other cities which were\nmaintained by Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they\ncould not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the\ninhabitants of our land.\n\n5:5 And it came to pass that whatsoever lands we had passed by, and the\ninhabitants thereof were not gathered in, were destroyed by the\nLamanites, and their towns, and villages, and cities were burned with\nfire; and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away.\n\n5:6 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year\nthe Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand\nagainst them boldly; but it was all in vain, for so great were their\nnumbers that they did tread the people of the Nephites under their\nfeet.\n\n5:7 And it came to pass that we did again take to flight, and those\nwhose flight was swifter than the Lamanites\u2019 did escape, and those\nwhose flight did not exceed the Lamanites\u2019 were swept down and\ndestroyed.\n\n5:8 And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of\nmen in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as\nwas laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely\nbe made known, and that all things which are hid must be revealed upon\nthe house-tops\u2014\n\n5:9 And also that a knowledge of these things must come unto the\nremnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath\nsaid should scatter this people, and this people should be counted as\nnaught among them\u2014therefore I write a small abridgment, daring not to\ngive a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the\ncommandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too\ngreat sorrow because of the wickedness of this people.\n\n5:10 And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the\nGentiles who have care for the house of Israel, that realize and know\nfrom whence their blessings come.\n\n5:11 For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of\nIsrael; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they\nwill sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been\nclasped in the arms of Jesus.\n\n5:12 Now these things are written unto the remnant of the house of\nJacob; and they are written after this manner, because it is known of\nGod that wickedness will not bring them forth unto them; and they are\nto be hid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due\ntime.\n\n5:13 And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold,\nthey shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord, when he\nshall see fit, in his wisdom.\n\n5:14 And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and\nfor this intent shall they go\u2014that they may be persuaded that Jesus is\nthe Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about,\nthrough his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring\nthe Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance,\nwhich the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his\ncovenant;\n\n5:15 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his\ngospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this\npeople shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a\nloathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been\namongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and\nthis because of their unbelief and idolatry.\n\n5:16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to strive\nwith their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world;\nand they are driven about as chaff before the wind.\n\n5:17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their\nshepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.\n\n5:18 But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is\ndriven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves,\nwithout sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and\neven as she is, so are they.\n\n5:19 And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they\nmight have received in the land, for the Gentiles who shall possess the\nland.\n\n5:20 But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and\nscattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and\nscattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord remember the\ncovenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.\n\n5:21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous,\nwhich have been put up unto him for them.\n\n5:22 And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God,\nexcept ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?\n\n5:23 Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he\nhath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled\ntogether as a scroll?\n\n5:24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he\nshall come out in justice against you\u2014lest a remnant of the seed of\nJacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and\nthere is none to deliver.\n\nMormon Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now I finish my record concerning the destruction of my people,\nthe Nephites. And it came to pass that we did march forth before the\nLamanites.\n\n6:2 And I, Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and\ndesired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather\ntogether our people unto the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was\ncalled Cumorah, and there we could give them battle.\n\n6:3 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites did grant unto\nme the thing which I desired.\n\n6:4 And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah,\nand we did pitch our tents around about the hill Cumorah; and it was in\na land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to\ngain advantage over the Lamanites.\n\n6:5 And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away,\nwe had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of\nCumorah.\n\n6:6 And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in\none to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and\nknowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been\ncommanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had\nbeen handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the\nhands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them)\ntherefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in\nthe hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the\nhand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my\nson Moroni.\n\n6:7 And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their\nchildren, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards\nthem; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all\nthe wicked, did they await to receive them.\n\n6:8 And it came to pass that they came to battle against us, and every\nsoul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers.\n\n6:9 And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the\nsword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with\nall manner of weapons of war.\n\n6:10 And it came to pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ten\nthousand who were with me, and I fell wounded in the midst; and they\npassed by me that they did not put an end to my life.\n\n6:11 And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it\nwere twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we\nhaving survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when\nthe Lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill\nCumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in\nthe front by me.\n\n6:12 And we also beheld the ten thousand of my people who were led by\nmy son Moroni.\n\n6:13 And behold, the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he\nalso in the midst.\n\n6:14 And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen\nwith his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and\nJeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah,\nand Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem, and Josh, had fallen with their\nten thousand each.\n\n6:15 And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the\nsword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my people, save it\nwere those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had\nescaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto\nthe Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay\nupon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew\nthem to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their\nmother earth.\n\n6:16 And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my\npeople, and I cried:\n\n6:17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the\nLord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood\nwith open arms to receive you!\n\n6:18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But\nbehold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.\n\n6:19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands\nand wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!\n\n6:20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.\n\n6:21 And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality,\nand these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become\nincorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat\nof Christ to be judged according to your works and if it so be that ye\nare righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone\nbefore you.\n\n6:22 O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon\nyou. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father\nof heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his\njustice and mercy.\n\nMormon Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And now, behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant of this\npeople who are spared, if it so be that God may give unto them my\nwords, that they may know of the things of their fathers; yea, I speak\nunto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel; and these are the words\nwhich I speak:\n\n7:2 Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel.\n\n7:3 Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved.\n\n7:4 Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no\nmore in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that\nGod shall command you.\n\n7:5 Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and\nrepent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ,\nthat he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by\nthe power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the\nvictory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed\nup.\n\n7:6 And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man\nmust be raised to stand before his judgment-seat.\n\n7:7 And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he\nthat is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given\nunto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing\nceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the\nSon, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of\nhappiness which hath no end.\n\n7:8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay\nhold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only\nin this record but also in the record which shall come unto the\nGentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto\nyou.\n\n7:9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe\nthat; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye\nbelieve this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the\nmarvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.\n\n7:10 And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob;\ntherefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and\nif it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with\nwater, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of\nour Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be\nwell with you in the day of judgment. Amen.\n\nMormon Chapter 8\n\n8:1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon.\nBehold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been\ncommanded by my father.\n\n8:2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle\nat Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country\nsouthward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.\n\n8:3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to\nwrite the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they\nare gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they\nwill slay me, I know not.\n\n8:4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and\nwhither I go it mattereth not.\n\n8:5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the\nintent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon\nthe plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My\nfather hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not\nfriends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may\nlive I know not.\n\n8:6 Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our\nLord and Savior.\n\n8:7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down\nfrom city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more;\nand great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the\ndestruction of my people, the Nephites.\n\n8:8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And\nbehold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; and the whole\nface of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and\nno one knoweth the end of the war.\n\n8:9 And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none\nsave it be the Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the\nland.\n\n8:10 And there are none that do know the true God save it be the\ndisciples of Jesus, who did tarry in the land until the wickedness of\nthe people was so great that the Lord would not suffer them to remain\nwith the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land no man\nknoweth.\n\n8:11 But behold, my father and I have seen them, and they have\nministered unto us.\n\n8:12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because\nof the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater\nthings than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would\nmake all things known unto you.\n\n8:13 Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the\nson of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi.\n\n8:14 And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the\nplates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord.\nFor he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the\nrecord thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light,\nhim will the Lord bless.\n\n8:15 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him\nof God; for God wills that it shall be done with an eye single to his\nglory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people\nof the Lord.\n\n8:16 And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it\nshall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of\nGod; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine\nforth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and\nit shall be done by the power of God.\n\n8:17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we\nknow no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that\ncondemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.\n\n8:18 And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten\u2014let him\nbeware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord.\n\n8:19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly\nagain; for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he\nthat smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.\n\n8:20 Behold what the scripture says\u2014man shall not smite, neither shall\nhe judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine\nalso, and I will repay.\n\n8:21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work\nof the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord who are the\nhouse of Israel, and shall say: We will destroy the work of the Lord,\nand the Lord will not remember his covenant which he hath made unto the\nhouse of Israel\u2014the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the\nfire;\n\n8:22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his\npromises shall be fulfilled.\n\n8:23 Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea,\nbehold I say unto you, that those saints who have gone before me, who\nhave possessed this land, shall cry, yea, even from the dust will they\ncry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he will remember the covenant\nwhich he hath made with them.\n\n8:24 And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their\nbrethren. And he knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove\nmountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by\nthe power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth;\nyea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them, neither wild beasts\nnor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word.\n\n8:25 And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord\nshould suffer to bring these things forth.\n\n8:26 And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall,\nfor the Lord hath spoken it; for out of the earth shall they come, by\nthe hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day\nwhen it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come\neven as if one should speak from the dead.\n\n8:27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto\nthe Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness.\n\n8:28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied,\nand churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their\nhearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall\nrise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who\nbelong to their churches.\n\n8:29 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires,\nand tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;\n\n8:30 And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and\nearthquakes in divers places.\n\n8:31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions\nupon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and\nlying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations;\nwhen there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it\nmattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo\nunto such for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of\niniquity.\n\n8:32 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up\nthat shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven\nof your sins.\n\n8:33 O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built\nup churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the\nholy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls?\nBehold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time\ncometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.\n\n8:34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things\nconcerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things\nshall come forth among you.\n\n8:35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are\nnot. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your\ndoing.\n\n8:36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there\nare none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of\ntheir hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and\nstrifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities;\nand your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of\nthe pride of your hearts.\n\n8:37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine\napparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor\nand the needy, the sick and the afflicted.\n\n8:38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves\nfor that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of\nGod? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye\nnot think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that\nmisery which never dies\u2014because of the praise of the world?\n\n8:39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet\nsuffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the\nafflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?\n\n8:40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and\ncause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to\nmourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their\nhusbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your\nheads?\n\n8:41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon\ncometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will\nnot suffer their cries any longer.\n\nMormon Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in\nChrist.\n\n9:2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation\u2014behold, when\nthe Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be\nrolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent\nheat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before\nthe Lamb of God\u2014then will ye say that there is no God?\n\n9:3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of\nGod? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness\nof your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that\nholy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt\nthat ye have ever abused his laws?\n\n9:4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell\nwith a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness\nbefore him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.\n\n9:5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before\nGod, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it\nwill kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.\n\n9:6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the\nFather in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless,\npure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb,\nat that great and last day.\n\n9:7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say\nthat they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies,\nnor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the\ninterpretation of tongues;\n\n9:8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the\ngospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does\nnot understand them.\n\n9:9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and\nforever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of\nchanging?\n\n9:10 And now if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth\nvary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up\nunto yourselves a god who is not God of miracles.\n\n9:11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God\nof Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that\nsame God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in\nthem are.\n\n9:12 Behold he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And\nbecause of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the\nSon; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.\n\n9:13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ,\nthey are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is\nwherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to\npass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an\nendless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power\nof God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both\nsmall and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and\nloosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal\ndeath.\n\n9:14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then\ncometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he\nthat is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be\nhappy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.\n\n9:15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who\ncan do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed,\nof which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you,\nNay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.\n\n9:16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our\neyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?\n\n9:17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the\nheaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was\ncreated of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have\nmiracles been wrought?\n\n9:18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not many mighty miracles?\nAnd there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the\napostles.\n\n9:19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be\na God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say\nunto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he\nceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.\n\n9:20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of\nmen is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right\nway, and know not the God in whom they should trust.\n\n9:21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting\nnothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it\nshall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends\nof the earth.\n\n9:22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his\ndisciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the\nhearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the\ngospel to every creature;\n\n9:23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that\nbelieveth not shall be damned;\n\n9:24 And these signs shall follow them that believe\u2014in my name shall\nthey cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall\ntake up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt\nthem; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover;\n\n9:25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him\nwill I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.\n\n9:26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who\ncan deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of\nthe Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the\nchildren of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of\nthe Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.\n\n9:27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of\nthe Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things\nsoever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin\nas in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and\nwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.\n\n9:28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all\nuncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask\nwith a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that\nye will serve the true and living God.\n\n9:29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not\nof the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in\nworthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the\nliving God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise\nbe cast out.\n\n9:30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I\nknow that ye shall have my words.\n\n9:31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father,\nbecause of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him;\nbut rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our\nimperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.\n\n9:32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our\nknowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed\nEgyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner\nof speech.\n\n9:33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have\nwritten in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if\nwe could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no\nimperfection in our record.\n\n9:34 But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also\nthat none other people knoweth our language; and because that none\nother people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for\nthe interpretation thereof.\n\n9:35 And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the\nblood of our brethren, who have dwindled in unbelief.\n\n9:36 And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our\nbrethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are\naccording to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land.\n\n9:37 And may the Lord Jesus Christ grant that their prayers may be\nanswered according to their faith; and may God the Father remember the\ncovenant which he hath made with the house of Israel; and may he bless\nthem forever, through faith on the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF ETHER\n\n\nThe record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates found by\nthe people of Limhi in the days of king Mosiah.\n\nEther Chapter 1\n\n1:1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient\ninhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of\nthis north country.\n\n1:2 And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were\nfound by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.\n\n1:3 And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks\nconcerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account\nfrom that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things\ntranspired among the children of men until that time, is had among the\nJews\u2014\n\n1:4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the\ndays of Adam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and\nwhoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full\naccount.\n\n1:5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account\nI give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.\n\n1:6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record\nwas Ether, and he was a descendant of Coriantor.\n\n1:7 Coriantor was the son of Moron.\n\n1:8 And Moron was the son of Ethem.\n\n1:9 And Ethem was the son of Ahah.\n\n1:10 And Ahah was the son of Seth.\n\n1:11 And Seth was the son of Shiblon.\n\n1:12 And Shiblon was the son of Com.\n\n1:13 And Com was the son of Coriantum.\n\n1:14 And Coriantum was the son of Amnigaddah.\n\n1:15 And Amnigaddah was the son of Aaron.\n\n1:16 And Aaron was a descendant of Heth, who was the son of Hearthom.\n\n1:17 And Hearthom was the son of Lib.\n\n1:18 And Lib was the son of Kish.\n\n1:19 And Kish was the son of Corom.\n\n1:20 And Corom was the son of Levi.\n\n1:21 And Levi was the son of Kim.\n\n1:22 And Kim was the son of Morianton.\n\n1:23 And Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish.\n\n1:24 And Riplakish was the son of Shez.\n\n1:25 And Shez was the son of Heth.\n\n1:26 And Heth was the son of Com.\n\n1:27 And Com was the son of Coriantum.\n\n1:28 And Coriantum was the son of Emer.\n\n1:29 And Emer was the son of Omer.\n\n1:30 And Omer was the son of Shule.\n\n1:31 And Shule was the son of Kib.\n\n1:32 And Kib was the son of Orihah, who was the son of Jared;\n\n1:33 Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with\nsome others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the\nLord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that\nthey should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according\nto the word of the Lord the people were scattered.\n\n1:34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man\nhighly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto\nthe Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our\nwords.\n\n1:35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the\nLord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not\nconfound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not\nconfounded.\n\n1:36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it\nmay be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends,\nthat he confound not their language.\n\n1:37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the\nLord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families\nalso, that they were not confounded.\n\n1:38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother,\nsaying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the\nland, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we\nshall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land\nwhich is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be\nfaithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.\n\n1:39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the\nLord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.\n\n1:40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared,\nand had compassion upon him, and said unto him:\n\n1:41 Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of\nevery kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy\nfamilies; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy\nfriends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their\nfamilies.\n\n1:42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them\ndown into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee,\nand I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the\nlands of the earth.\n\n1:43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of\nthy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with\nthee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation\nwhich I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the\nearth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have\ncried unto me.\n\nEther Chapter 2\n\n2:1 And it came to pass that Jared and his brother, and their families,\nand also the friends of Jared and his brother and their families, went\ndown into the valley which was northward, (and the name of the valley\nwas Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter) with their flocks\nwhich they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind.\n\n2:2 And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they\ndid also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish\nof the waters.\n\n2:3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by\ninterpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them\nswarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the\nland, seeds of every kind.\n\n2:4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of\nNimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he\nwas in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not.\n\n2:5 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should\ngo forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never\nhad man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and\ndid talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither\nthey should travel.\n\n2:6 And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did\nbuild barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed\ncontinually by the hand of the Lord.\n\n2:7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea\nin the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto\nthe land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the\nLord God had preserved for a righteous people.\n\n2:8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso\nshould possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and\nforever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be\nswept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.\n\n2:9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land,\nthat it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it\nshall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his\nwrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon\nthem when they are ripened in iniquity.\n\n2:10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands;\nwherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept\noff; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the\nfulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept\noff.\n\n2:11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the\ndecrees of God\u2014that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities\nuntil the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the\nwrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto\ndone.\n\n2:12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess\nit shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other\nnations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who\nis Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have\nwritten.\n\n2:13 And now I proceed with my record; for behold, it came to pass that\nthe Lord did bring Jared and his brethren forth even to that great sea\nwhich divideth the lands. And as they came to the sea they pitched\ntheir tents; and they called the name of the place Moriancumer; and\nthey dwelt in tents, and dwelt in tents upon the seashore for the space\nof four years.\n\n2:14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came\nagain unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with\nhim. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the\nbrother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call\nupon the name of the Lord.\n\n2:15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done,\nand did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with\nhim. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren\nof their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember\nthat my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will\nsin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of\nthe Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give\nyou for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other\nlands.\n\n2:16 And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of\nbarges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the\nbrother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built\nbarges after the manner which they had built, according to the\ninstructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon\nthe water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.\n\n2:17 And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly\ntight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom\nthereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight\nlike unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof\nwas tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a\ntree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a\ndish.\n\n2:18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord,\nsaying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me,\nand I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.\n\n2:19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we\nsteer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it\nis the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.\n\n2:20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt\nmake a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt\nsuffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be\nso that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole,\nthat ye may not perish in the flood.\n\n2:21 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as\nthe Lord had commanded.\n\n2:22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have\ndone even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels\nfor my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord,\nwilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?\n\n2:23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I\nshould do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot\nhave windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take\nfire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.\n\n2:24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for\nthe mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you\nup again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth\nout of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.\n\n2:25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot\ncross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea,\nand the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come.\nTherefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have\nlight when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?\n\nEther Chapter 3\n\n3:1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of\nthe vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the\nmount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding\nheight, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they\nwere white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them\nin his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord,\nsaying:\n\n3:2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the\nfloods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant\nbecause of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and\ndwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because\nof the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O\nLord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee,\nthat from thee we may receive according to our desires.\n\n3:3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and\nhast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the\nwilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look\nupon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and\nsuffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in\ndarkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.\n\n3:4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever\nthou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord,\nwith thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in\ndarkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we\nhave prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.\n\n3:5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to\nshow forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of\nmen.\n\n3:6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these\nwords, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones\none by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of\nthe brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as\nthe finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of\nJared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.\n\n3:7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth;\nand the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?\n\n3:8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I\nfeared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh\nand blood.\n\n3:9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen\nthat I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come\nbefore me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye\ncould not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?\n\n3:10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.\n\n3:11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall\nspeak?\n\n3:12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth,\nfor thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.\n\n3:13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself\nunto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed\nfrom the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence;\ntherefore I show myself unto you.\n\n3:14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world\nto redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the\nSon. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they\nwho shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my\ndaughters.\n\n3:15 And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for\nnever has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are\ncreated after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the\nbeginning after mine own image.\n\n3:16 Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit;\nand man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I\nappear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in\nthe flesh.\n\n3:17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of\nthese things which are written therefore it sufficeth me to say that\nJesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner\nand in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the\nNephites.\n\n3:18 And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the\nNephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God,\nbecause of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.\n\n3:19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from\nbeholding within the veil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when\nhe saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the\nLord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.\n\n3:20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be\nkept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister\nunto him.\n\n3:21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared:\nBehold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard\nto go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify\nmy name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which\nye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.\n\n3:22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and\nshall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write\nthem in a language that they cannot be read.\n\n3:23 And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall\nseal them up also with the things which ye shall write.\n\n3:24 For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded;\nwherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall\nmagnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.\n\n3:25 And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother\nof Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all\nthat would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the\nends of the earth.\n\n3:26 For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe\nin him that he could show unto him all things\u2014it should be shown unto\nhim; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he\nknew that the Lord could show him all things.\n\n3:27 And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and seal them up;\nand I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.\n\n3:28 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should\nseal up the two stones which he had received, and show them not, until\nthe Lord should show them unto the children of men.\n\nEther Chapter 4\n\n4:1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the\nmount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had\nseen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until\nafter that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause\ndid king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world\nuntil after Christ should show himself unto his people.\n\n4:2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he\ncommanded that they should be made manifest.\n\n4:3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there\nis none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of\nChrist; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in\nthe earth.\n\n4:4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the\nbrother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest\nthan those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.\n\n4:5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have\nwritten them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he\nalso hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof;\nwherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the\ncommandment of the Lord.\n\n4:6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the\nGentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and\nbecome clean before the Lord.\n\n4:7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the\nLord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified\nin me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of\nJared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith\nJesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the\nearth, and all things that in them are.\n\n4:8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be\naccursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for\nunto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am\nhe who speaketh.\n\n4:9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my\nword the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof\nshall pass away, even so as by fire.\n\n4:10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and\nif it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is\nI that speaketh, at the last day.\n\n4:11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I\nvisit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear\nrecord. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are\ntrue; for it persuadeth men to do good.\n\n4:12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good\ncometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all\ngood; he that will not believe my words will not believe me\u2014that I am;\nand he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent\nme. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the\ntruth of the world.\n\n4:13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater\nthings, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.\n\n4:14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest\nunto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the\nfoundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of\nunbelief.\n\n4:15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause\nyou to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart,\nand blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which\nhave been hid up from the foundation of the world from you\u2014yea, when ye\nshall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a\ncontrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the\ncovenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.\n\n4:16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by\nmy servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember,\nwhen ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that\nthey shall be made manifest in very deed.\n\n4:17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the\nwork of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.\n\n4:18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and\nbelieve in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth\nand is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be\ndamned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.\n\n4:19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last\nday, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him\nfrom the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken\nit. Amen.\n\nEther Chapter 5\n\n5:1 And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me,\naccording to my memory; and I have told you the things which I have\nsealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for\nthat thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in\nGod.\n\n5:2 And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto\nthose who shall assist to bring forth this work;\n\n5:3 And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore\nthey shall know of a surety that these things are true.\n\n5:4 And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be\nestablished; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which\nshall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the\nFather, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record\u2014and all this shall\nstand as a testimony against the world at the last day.\n\n5:5 And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Father in the\nname of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God.\n\n5:6 And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye\nshall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall\nstand before God at the last day. Amen.\n\nEther Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of Jared and his\nbrother.\n\n6:2 For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the stones which\nthe brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of\nJared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into\nthe vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold,\nthey did give light unto the vessels.\n\n6:3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light\nunto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great\nwaters in darkness.\n\n6:4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of food,\nthat thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their\nflocks and herds, and whatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they\nshould carry with them\u2014and it came to pass that when they had done all\nthese things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth\ninto the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.\n\n6:5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a\nfurious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised\nland; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the\nwind.\n\n6:6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths\nof the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and\nalso the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the\nfierceness of the wind.\n\n6:7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there\nwas no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto\na dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore\nwhen they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the\nLord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.\n\n6:8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards\nthe promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were\ndriven forth before the wind.\n\n6:9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared\ndid sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord\nall the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise\nthe Lord.\n\n6:10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could\nbreak them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light\ncontinually, whether it was above the water or under the water.\n\n6:11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four\ndays upon the water.\n\n6:12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when\nthey had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed\nthemselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves\nbefore the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of\nthe multitude of his tender mercies over them.\n\n6:13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the\nland, and began to till the earth.\n\n6:14 And Jared had four sons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah,\nand Mahah, and Orihah.\n\n6:15 And the brother of Jared also begat sons and daughters.\n\n6:16 And the friends of Jared and his brother were in number about\ntwenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before\nthey came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.\n\n6:17 And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were\nalso taught from on high.\n\n6:18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the\nland, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in\nthe land.\n\n6:19 And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must\nsoon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather\ntogether our people that we may number them, that we may know of them\nwhat they will desire of us before we go down to our graves.\n\n6:20 And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number\nof the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and\ntwo souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve,\nhe having four sons.\n\n6:21 And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after\nthat they had numbered them, they did desire of them the things which\nthey would that they should do before they went down to their graves.\n\n6:22 And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they\nshould anoint one of their sons to be a king over them.\n\n6:23 And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of\nJared said unto them: Surely this thing leadeth into captivity.\n\n6:24 But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a\nking. And therefore he said unto them: Choose ye out from among our\nsons a king, even whom ye will.\n\n6:25 And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the\nbrother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he\nrefused and would not be their king. And the people would that his\nfather should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded\nthem that they should constrain no man to be their king.\n\n6:26 And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and\nthey would not.\n\n6:27 And it came to pass that neither would the sons of Jared, even all\nsave it were one; and Orihah was anointed to be king over the people.\n\n6:28 And he began to reign, and the people began to prosper; and they\nbecame exceedingly rich.\n\n6:29 And it came to pass that Jared died, and his brother also.\n\n6:30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord,\nand did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and\nalso taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their\nfathers.\n\nEther Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land\nin righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.\n\n7:2 And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one,\namong whom were twenty and three sons.\n\n7:3 And it came to pass that he also begat Kib in his old age. And it\ncame to pass that Kib reigned in his stead; and Kib begat Corihor.\n\n7:4 And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against\nhis father, and went over and dwelt in the land of Nehor; and he begat\nsons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor\ndrew away many people after him.\n\n7:5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land\nof Moron where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which brought to\npass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into\ncaptivity.\n\n7:6 Now the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land\nwhich is called Desolation by the Nephites.\n\n7:7 And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in captivity, and his people\nunder Corihor his son, until he became exceedingly old; nevertheless\nKib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity.\n\n7:8 And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and\nShule waxed strong, and became mighty as to the strength of a man; and\nhe was also mighty in judgment.\n\n7:9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of\nthe hill, and made swords out of steel for those whom he had drawn away\nwith him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the\ncity Nehor and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he\nobtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.\n\n7:10 And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father\nbestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he began to reign in the stead\nof his father.\n\n7:11 And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness;\nand he did spread his kingdom upon all the face of the land, for the\npeople had become exceedingly numerous.\n\n7:12 And it came to pass that Shule also begat many sons and daughters.\n\n7:13 And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done;\nwherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom.\n\n7:14 And it came to pass that Corihor had many sons and daughters. And\namong the sons of Corihor there was one whose name was Noah.\n\n7:15 And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king,\nand also his father Corihor, and drew away Cohor his brother, and also\nall his brethren and many of the people.\n\n7:16 And he gave battle unto Shule the king, in which he did obtain the\nland of their first inheritance; and he became a king over that part of\nthe land.\n\n7:17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the\nking; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into\nMoron.\n\n7:18 And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons\nof Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke\ndown the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed\nhim upon his throne in his own kingdom.\n\n7:19 Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead;\nnevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king, and\nthe people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper\nexceedingly and wax great.\n\n7:20 And the country was divided; and there were two kingdoms, the\nkingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of Cohor, the son of Noah.\n\n7:21 And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give\nbattle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat them and did slay Cohor.\n\n7:22 And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod; and Nimrod gave up\nthe kingdom of Cohor unto Shule, and he did gain favor in the eyes of\nShule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do\nin the kingdom of Shule according to his desires.\n\n7:23 And also in the reign of Shule there came prophets among the\npeople, who were sent from the Lord, prophesying that the wickedness\nand idolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they\nshould be destroyed if they did not repent.\n\n7:24 And it came to pass that the people did revile against the\nprophets, and did mock them. And it came to pass that king Shule did\nexecute judgment against all those who did revile against the prophets.\n\n7:25 And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power\nunto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by\nthis cause the people were brought unto repentance.\n\n7:26 And because the people did repent of their iniquities and\nidolatries the Lord did spare them, and they began to prosper again in\nthe land. And it came to pass that Shule begat sons and daughters in\nhis old age.\n\n7:27 And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he\nremembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in\nbringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore\nhe did execute judgment in righteousness all his days.\n\nEther Chapter 8\n\n8:1 And it came to pass that he begat Omer, and Omer reigned in his\nstead. And Omer begat Jared; and Jared begat sons and daughters.\n\n8:2 And Jared rebelled against his father, and came and dwelt in the\nland of Heth. And it came to pass that he did flatter many people,\nbecause of his cunning words, until he had gained the half of the\nkingdom.\n\n8:3 And when he had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto\nhis father, and he did carry away his father into captivity, and did\nmake him serve in captivity;\n\n8:4 And now, in the days of the reigns of Omer he was in captivity the\nhalf of his days. And it came to pass that he begat sons and daughters\namong whom were Esrom and Coriantumr;\n\n8:5 And they were exceedingly angry because of the doings of Jared\ntheir brother, insomuch that they did raise an army and gave battle\nunto Jared. And it came to pass that they did give battle unto him by\nnight.\n\n8:6 And it came to pass that when they had slain the army of Jared they\nwere about to slay him also; and he plead with them that they would not\nslay him, and he would give up the kingdom unto his father. And it came\nto pass that they did grant unto him his life.\n\n8:7 And now Jared became exceedingly sorrowful because of the loss of\nthe kingdom, for he had set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the\nglory of the world.\n\n8:8 Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the\nsorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could\nredeem the kingdom unto her father.\n\n8:9 Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass\nthat she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my\nfather so much sorrow? Hath he not read the record which our fathers\nbrought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an account\nconcerning them of old, that they by their secret plans did obtain\nkingdoms and great glory?\n\n8:10 And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of\nKimnor; and behold, I am fair, and I will dance before him, and I will\nplease him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall\ndesire of thee that ye shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye\nsay: I will give her if ye will bring unto me the head of my father,\nthe king.\n\n8:11 And now Omer was a friend to Akish; wherefore, when Jared had sent\nfor Akish, the daughter of Jared danced before him that she pleased\nhim, insomuch that he desired her to wife. And it came to pass that he\nsaid unto Jared: Give her unto me to wife.\n\n8:12 And Jared said unto him: I will give her unto you, if ye will\nbring unto me the head of my father, the king.\n\n8:13 And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared\nall his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye\nwill be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?\n\n8:14 And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of\nheaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their\nheads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired\nshould lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish\nmade known unto them, the same should lose his life.\n\n8:15 And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish\ndid administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who\nalso sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a\nmurderer from the beginning.\n\n8:16 And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer\nthese oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as\nsought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie,\nand to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.\n\n8:17 And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart to\nsearch up these things of old; and Jared put it into the heart of\nAkish; wherefore, Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends,\nleading them away by fair promises to do whatsoever thing he desired.\n\n8:18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as\nthey of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all,\nin the sight of God;\n\n8:19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he\nwill that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it,\nfrom the beginning of man.\n\n8:20 And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and\ncombinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had\namong all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.\n\n8:21 And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am\nnow speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.\n\n8:22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to\nget power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold,\nthey shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of\nhis saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from\nthe ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.\n\n8:23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things\nshould be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and\nsuffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which\nare built up to get power and gain\u2014and the work, yea, even the work of\ndestruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the\nEternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if\nye shall suffer these things to be.\n\n8:24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things\ncome among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation,\nbecause of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be\nunto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry\nfrom the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it\nup.\n\n8:25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to\noverthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it\nbringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by\nthe devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who\nbeguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused\nman to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts\nof men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast\nthem out from the beginning.\n\n8:26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil\nmay be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no\npower upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be\npersuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain\nof all righteousness and be saved.\n\nEther Chapter 9\n\n9:1 And now I, Moroni, proceed with my record. Therefore, behold, it\ncame to pass that because of the secret combinations of Akish and his\nfriends, behold, they did overthrow the kingdom of Omer.\n\n9:2 Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful unto Omer, and also to his sons\nand to his daughters who did not seek his destruction.\n\n9:3 And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of\nthe land; wherefore Omer departed out of the land with his family, and\ntraveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and\ncame over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed, and from\nthence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the\nseashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his\ndaughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family.\n\n9:4 And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over the people,\nby the hand of wickedness; and he gave unto Akish his daughter to wife.\n\n9:5 And it came to pass that Akish sought the life of his\nfather-in-law; and he applied unto those whom he had sworn by the oath\nof the ancients, and they obtained the head of his father-in-law, as he\nsat upon his throne, giving audience to his people.\n\n9:6 For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret\nsociety that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore\nJared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.\n\n9:7 And it came to pass that Akish began to be jealous of his son,\ntherefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food\nuntil he had suffered death.\n\n9:8 And now the brother of him that suffered death, (and his name was\nNimrah) was angry with his father because of that which his father had\ndone unto his brother.\n\n9:9 And it came to pass that Nimrah gathered together a small number of\nmen, and fled out of the land, and came over and dwelt with Omer.\n\n9:10 And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the\nhearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all\nmanner of iniquity according to that which he desired.\n\n9:11 Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was\ndesirous for power; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money,\nby which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.\n\n9:12 And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish,\nwhich lasted for the space of many years, yea, unto the destruction of\nnearly all the people of the kingdom, yea, even all, save it were\nthirty souls, and they who fled with the house of Omer.\n\n9:13 Wherefore, Omer was restored again to the land of his inheritance.\n\n9:14 And it came to pass that Omer began to be old; nevertheless, in\nhis old age he begat Emer; and he anointed Emer to be king to reign in\nhis stead.\n\n9:15 And after that he had anointed Emer to be king he saw peace in the\nland for the space of two years, and he died, having seen exceedingly\nmany days, which were full of sorrow. And it came to pass that Emer did\nreign in his stead, and did fill the steps of his father.\n\n9:16 And the Lord began again to take the curse from off the land, and\nthe house of Emer did prosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer; and\nin the space of sixty and two years they had become exceedingly strong,\ninsomuch that they became exceedingly rich\u2014\n\n9:17 Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of\nfine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things;\n\n9:18 And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep,\nand of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which\nwere useful for the food of man.\n\n9:19 And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and\ncureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more\nespecially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms.\n\n9:20 And thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this land, which\nwas choice above all other lands; and he commanded that whoso should\npossess the land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should be\ndestroyed when they were ripened in iniquity; for upon such, saith the\nLord: I will pour out the fulness of my wrath.\n\n9:21 And Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all his days, and\nhe begat many sons and daughters; and he begat Coriantum, and he\nanointed Coriantum to reign in his stead.\n\n9:22 And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead he lived\nfour years, and he saw peace in the land; yea, and he even saw the Son\nof Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in\npeace.\n\n9:23 And it came to pass that Coriantum did walk in the steps of his\nfather, and did build many mighty cities, and did administer that which\nwas good unto his people in all his days. And it came to pass that he\nhad no children even until he was exceedingly old.\n\n9:24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two\nyears old. And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his old\nage, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived\nuntil he was an hundred and forty and two years old.\n\n9:25 And it came to pass that he begat Com, and Com reigned in his\nstead; and he reigned forty and nine years, and he begat Heth; and he\nalso begat other sons and daughters.\n\n9:26 And the people had spread again over all the face of the land, and\nthere began again to be an exceedingly great wickedness upon the face\nof the land, and Heth began to embrace the secret plans again of old,\nto destroy his father.\n\n9:27 And it came to pass that he did dethrone his father, for he slew\nhim with his own sword; and he did reign in his stead.\n\n9:28 And there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto\nthem\u2014that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a\ncurse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great\nfamine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent.\n\n9:29 But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they\ncast them out; and some of them they cast into pits and left them to\nperish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to\nthe commandment of the king, Heth.\n\n9:30 And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearth upon the\nland, and the inhabitants began to be destroyed exceedingly fast\nbecause of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the\nearth.\n\n9:31 And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the\nland, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks\nbegan to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land\nsouthward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla.\n\n9:32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish\nby the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land\nsouthward.\n\n9:33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they\nshould pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that\nthe people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall\nby the poisonous serpents.\n\n9:34 And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the\nbeasts, and did devour the carcasses of them which fell by the way,\nuntil they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they\nmust perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the\nLord.\n\n9:35 And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves\nsufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the\nearth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be\nfruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And\nthe Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from\nfamine.\n\nEther Chapter 10\n\n10:1 And it came to pass that Shez, who was a descendant of Heth\u2014for\nHeth had perished by the famine, and all his household save it were\nShez\u2014wherefore, Shez began to build up again a broken people.\n\n10:2 And it came to pass that Shez did remember the destruction of his\nfathers, and he did build up a righteous kingdom; for he remembered\nwhat the Lord had done in bringing Jared and his brother across the\ndeep; and he did walk in the ways of the Lord; and he begat sons and\ndaughters.\n\n10:3 And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, did rebel against him;\nnevertheless, Shez was smitten by the hand of a robber, because of his\nexceeding riches, which brought peace again unto his father.\n\n10:4 And it came to pass that his father did build up many cities upon\nthe face of the land, and the people began again to spread over all the\nface of the land. And Shez did live to an exceedingly old age; and he\nbegat Riplakish. And he died, and Riplakish reigned in his stead.\n\n10:5 And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right\nin the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and concubines,\nand did lay that upon men\u2019s shoulders which was grievous to be borne;\nyea, he did tax them with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did build\nmany spacious buildings.\n\n10:6 And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne; and he did\nbuild many prisons, and whoso would not be subject unto taxes he did\ncast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he did cast into\nprison; and he did cause that they should labor continually for their\nsupport; and whoso refused to labor he did cause to be put to death.\n\n10:7 Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold\nhe did cause to be refined in prison, and all manner of fine\nworkmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass\nthat he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations.\n\n10:8 And when he had reigned for the space of forty and two years the\npeople did rise up in rebellion against him; and there began to be war\nagain in the land, insomuch that Riplakish was killed, and his\ndescendants were driven out of the land.\n\n10:9 And it came to pass after the space of many years, Morianton, (he\nbeing a descendant of Riplakish) gathered together an army of outcasts,\nand went forth and gave battle unto the people; and he gained power\nover many cities; and the war became exceedingly sore, and did last for\nthe space of many years; and he did gain power over all the land, and\ndid establish himself king over all the land.\n\n10:10 And after that he had established himself king he did ease the\nburden of the people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of the\npeople, and they did anoint him to be their king.\n\n10:11 And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself\nbecause of his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the\npresence of the Lord.\n\n10:12 And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the\npeople became exceedingly rich under his reign, both in buildings, and\nin gold and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and\nsuch things which had been restored unto them.\n\n10:13 And Morianton did live to an exceedingly great age, and then he\nbegat Kim; and Kim did reign in the stead of his father; and he did\nreign eight years, and his father died. And it came to pass that Kim\ndid not reign in righteousness, wherefore he was not favored of the\nLord.\n\n10:14 And his brother did rise up in rebellion against him, by which he\ndid bring him into captivity; and he did remain in captivity all his\ndays; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity, and in his old age\nhe begat Levi; and he died.\n\n10:15 And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity after the\ndeath of his father, for the space of forty and two years. And he did\nmake war against the king of the land, by which he did obtain unto\nhimself the kingdom.\n\n10:16 And after he had obtained unto himself the kingdom he did that\nwhich was right in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper in\nthe land; and he did live to a good old age, and begat sons and\ndaughters; and he also begat Corom, whom he anointed king in his stead.\n\n10:17 And it came to pass that Corom did that which was good in the\nsight of the Lord all his days; and he begat many sons and daughters;\nand after he had seen many days he did pass away, even like unto the\nrest of the earth; and Kish reigned in his stead.\n\n10:18 And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Lib reigned\nin his stead.\n\n10:19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the\nsight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were\ndestroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food\nfor the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of\nthe forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter.\n\n10:20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the\nplace where the sea divides the land.\n\n10:21 And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get\ngame. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with\ninhabitants.\n\n10:22 And they were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell\nand traffic one with another, that they might get gain.\n\n10:23 And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold,\nand silver, and iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did\ndig it out of the earth; wherefore they did cast up mighty heaps of\nearth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper.\nAnd they did work all manner of fine work.\n\n10:24 And they did have silks, and fine-twined linen; and they did work\nall manner of cloth, that they might clothe themselves from their\nnakedness.\n\n10:25 And they did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to\nplow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also to thrash.\n\n10:26 And they did make all manner of tools with which they did work\ntheir beasts.\n\n10:27 And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work\nall manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship.\n\n10:28 And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more\nprospered by the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land that was\nchoice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it.\n\n10:29 And it came to pass that Lib did live many years, and begat sons\nand daughters; and he also begat Hearthom.\n\n10:30 And it came to pass that Hearthom reigned in the stead of his\nfather. And when Hearthom had reigned twenty and four years, behold,\nthe kingdom was taken away from him. And he served many years in\ncaptivity, yea, even all the remainder of his days.\n\n10:31 And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And\nHeth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he\nbegat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days;\nand he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days;\nand he begat Com.\n\n10:32 And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of the kingdom.\nAnd he reigned over the half of the kingdom forty and two years; and he\nwent to battle against the king, Amgid, and they fought for the space\nof many years, during which time Com gained power over Amgid, and\nobtained power over the remainder of the kingdom.\n\n10:33 And in the days of Com there began to be robbers in the land; and\nthey adopted the old plans, and administered oaths after the manner of\nthe ancients, and sought again to destroy the kingdom.\n\n10:34 Now Com did fight against them much; nevertheless, he did not\nprevail against them.\n\nEther Chapter 11\n\n11:1 And there came also in the days of Com many prophets, and\nprophesied of the destruction of that great people except they should\nrepent, and turn unto the Lord, and forsake their murders and\nwickedness.\n\n11:2 And it came to pass that the prophets were rejected by the people,\nand they fled unto Com for protection, for the people sought to destroy\nthem.\n\n11:3 And they prophesied unto Com many things; and he was blessed in\nall the remainder of his days.\n\n11:4 And he lived to a good old age, and begat Shiblom; and Shiblom\nreigned in his stead. And the brother of Shiblom rebelled against him,\nand there began to be an exceedingly great war in all the land.\n\n11:5 And it came to pass that the brother of Shiblom caused that all\nthe prophets who prophesied of the destruction of the people should be\nput to death;\n\n11:6 And there was great calamity in all the land, for they had\ntestified that a great curse should come upon the land, and also upon\nthe people, and that there should be a great destruction among them,\nsuch an one as never had been upon the face of the earth, and their\nbones should become as heaps of earth upon the face of the land except\nthey should repent of their wickedness.\n\n11:7 And they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord, because of\ntheir wicked combinations; wherefore, there began to be wars and\ncontentions in all the land, and also many famines and pestilences,\ninsomuch that there was a great destruction, such an one as never had\nbeen known upon the face of the earth; and all this came to pass in the\ndays of Shiblom.\n\n11:8 And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as\nthey did the Lord did have mercy on them.\n\n11:9 And it came to pass that Shiblom was slain, and Seth was brought\ninto captivity, and did dwell in captivity all his days.\n\n11:10 And it came to pass that Ahah, his son, did obtain the kingdom;\nand he did reign over the people all his days. And he did do all manner\nof iniquity in his days, by which he did cause the shedding of much\nblood; and few were his days.\n\n11:11 And Ethem, being a descendant of Ahah, did obtain the kingdom;\nand he also did do that which was wicked in his days.\n\n11:12 And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there came many\nprophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea, they did prophesy\nthat the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth\nexcept they repented of their iniquities.\n\n11:13 And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts, and\nwould not hearken unto their words; and the prophets mourned and\nwithdrew from among the people.\n\n11:14 And it came to pass that Ethem did execute judgment in wickedness\nall his days; and he begat Moron. And it came to pass that Moron did\nreign in his stead; and Moron did that which was wicked before the\nLord.\n\n11:15 And it came to pass that there arose a rebellion among the\npeople, because of that secret combination which was built up to get\npower and gain; and there arose a mighty man among them in iniquity,\nand gave battle unto Moron, in which he did overthrow the half of the\nkingdom; and he did maintain the half of the kingdom for many years.\n\n11:16 And it came to pass that Moron did overthrow him, and did obtain\nthe kingdom again.\n\n11:17 And it came to pass that there arose another mighty man; and he\nwas a descendant of the brother of Jared.\n\n11:18 And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron and obtain the\nkingdom; wherefore, Moron dwelt in captivity all the remainder of his\ndays; and he begat Coriantor.\n\n11:19 And it came to pass that Coriantor dwelt in captivity all his\ndays.\n\n11:20 And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and\nprophesied of great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the\npeople, and except they should repent the Lord God would execute\njudgment against them to their utter destruction;\n\n11:21 And that the Lord God would send or bring forth another people to\npossess the land, by his power, after the manner by which he brought\ntheir fathers.\n\n11:22 And they did reject all the words of the prophets, because of\ntheir secret society and wicked abominations.\n\n11:23 And it came to pass that Coriantor begat Ether, and he died,\nhaving dwelt in captivity all his days.\n\nEther Chapter 12\n\n12:1 And it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of\nCoriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land.\n\n12:2 And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in\nthe days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he\ncould not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in\nhim.\n\n12:3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the\nsun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they\nshould be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are\nfulfilled\u2014\n\n12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a\nbetter world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope\ncometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make\nthem sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to\nglorify God.\n\n12:5 And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous\nthings unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw\nthem not.\n\n12:6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things;\nI would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for\nand not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive\nno witness until after the trial of your faith.\n\n12:7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers,\nafter he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them\nuntil after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that\nsome had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world.\n\n12:8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the\nworld, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that\nthereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might\nhope for those things which they have not seen.\n\n12:9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if\nye will but have faith.\n\n12:10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the\nholy order of God.\n\n12:11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift\nof his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith\nthat it hath been fulfilled.\n\n12:12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no\nmiracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their\nfaith.\n\n12:13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the\nprison to tumble to the earth.\n\n12:14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the\nchange upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with\nthe Holy Ghost.\n\n12:15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought\nso great a miracle among the Lamanites.\n\n12:16 Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by\nfaith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.\n\n12:17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise\nthat they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise\nuntil after their faith.\n\n12:18 And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after\ntheir faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.\n\n12:19 And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even\nbefore Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but\ntruly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye\nof faith, and they were glad.\n\n12:20 And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the\nbrother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put\nforth his finger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of\nJared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he\nhad obtained by faith.\n\n12:21 And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord,\nbecause of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by\nfaith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore\nhe showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the\nveil.\n\n12:22 And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that\nthese things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles;\ntherefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.\n\n12:23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these\nthings, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us\nmighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing;\nfor thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because\nof the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;\n\n12:24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of\nthe awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in\nwriting like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the\nthings which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the\noverpowering of man to read them.\n\n12:25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we\ncannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and\nstumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the\nGentiles shall mock at our words.\n\n12:26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools\nmock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek,\nthat they shall take no advantage of your weakness;\n\n12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I\ngive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is\nsufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they\nhumble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make\nweak things become strong unto them.\n\n12:28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness and I will\nshow unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me\u2014the\nfountain of all righteousness.\n\n12:29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said:\nO Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto\nthe children of men according to their faith;\n\n12:30 For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove\u2014and\nit was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved;\nwherefore thou workest after men have faith.\n\n12:31 For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for\nafter they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show\nthyself unto them in great power.\n\n12:32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a\nhouse for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man\nmight have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot\nreceive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.\n\n12:33 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved\nthe world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that\nthou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.\n\n12:34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the\nchildren of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity\nthey cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions\nof thy Father.\n\n12:35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the\nGentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt\nprove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have\nreceived, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.\n\n12:36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would\ngive unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity.\n\n12:37 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not\ncharity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore,\nthy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy\nweakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the\nplace which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.\n\n12:38 And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also\nunto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the\njudgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are\nnot spotted with your blood.\n\n12:39 And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath\ntalked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility,\neven as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these\nthings;\n\n12:40 And only a few have I written, because of my weakness in writing.\n\n12:41 And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the\nprophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father,\nand also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth\nrecord of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.\n\nEther Chapter 13\n\n13:1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the\ndestruction of the people of whom I have been writing.\n\n13:2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly\ntold them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the\nwaters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice\nland above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the\nLord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face\nthereof;\n\n13:3 And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come\ndown out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.\n\n13:4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a\nNew Jerusalem upon this land.\n\n13:5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the\nJerusalem from whence Lehi should come\u2014after it should be destroyed it\nshould be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it\ncould not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it\nshould be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it\nshould be built unto the house of Israel.\n\n13:6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built upon this land, unto the\nremnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.\n\n13:7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even\nso he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of\nJoseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the\nseed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful\nunto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.\n\n13:8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon\nthis land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall\nbuild up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and\nthey shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth\nshall pass away.\n\n13:9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be\nlike unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have\nbecome new.\n\n13:10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell\ntherein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of\nthe Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the\nseed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.\n\n13:11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants\nthereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of\nthe Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the\nfour quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are\npartakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their\nfather, Abraham.\n\n13:12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which\nsaith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are\nthey who were last, who shall be first.\n\n13:13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and\nmarvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as\nnaught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by\nday, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come\nupon the people.\n\n13:14 And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the remainder of\nhis record, viewing the destructions which came upon the people, by\nnight.\n\n13:15 And it came to pass that in that same year in which he was cast\nout from among the people there began to be a great war among the\npeople, for there were many who rose up, who were mighty men, and\nsought to destroy Coriantumr by their secret plans of wickedness, of\nwhich hath been spoken.\n\n13:16 And now Coriantumr, having studied, himself, in all the arts of\nwar and all the cunning of the world, wherefore he gave battle unto\nthem who sought to destroy him.\n\n13:17 But he repented not, neither his fair sons nor daughters; neither\nthe fair sons and daughters of Cohor; neither the fair sons and\ndaughters of Corihor; and in fine, there were none of the fair sons and\ndaughters upon the face of the whole earth who repented of their sins.\n\n13:18 Wherefore, it came to pass that in the first year that Ether\ndwelt in the cavity of a rock, there were many people who were slain by\nthe sword of those secret combinations, fighting against Coriantumr\nthat they might obtain the kingdom.\n\n13:19 And it came to pass that the sons of Coriantumr fought much and\nbled much.\n\n13:20 And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that\nhe should go and prophesy unto Coriantumr that, if he would repent, and\nall his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare\nthe people\u2014\n\n13:21 Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it\nwere himself. And he should only live to see the fulfilling of the\nprophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving\nthe land for their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial\nby them; and every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr.\n\n13:22 And it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not, neither his\nhousehold, neither the people; and the wars ceased not; and they sought\nto kill Ether, but he fled from before them and hid again in the cavity\nof the rock.\n\n13:23 And it came to pass that there arose up Shared, and he also gave\nbattle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him, insomuch that in the third\nyear he did bring him into captivity.\n\n13:24 And the sons of Coriantumr, in the fourth year, did beat Shared,\nand did obtain the kingdom again unto their father.\n\n13:25 Now there began to be a war upon all the face of the land, every\nman with his band fighting for that which he desired.\n\n13:26 And there were robbers, and in fine, all manner of wickedness\nupon all the face of the land.\n\n13:27 And it came to pass that Coriantumr was exceedingly angry with\nShared, and he went against him with his armies to battle; and they did\nmeet in great anger, and they did meet in the valley of Gilgal; and the\nbattle became exceedingly sore.\n\n13:28 And it came to pass that Shared fought against him for the space\nof three days. And it came to pass that Coriantumr beat him, and did\npursue him until he came to the plains of Heshlon.\n\n13:29 And it came to pass that Shared gave him battle again upon the\nplains; and behold, he did beat Coriantumr, and drove him back again to\nthe valley of Gilgal.\n\n13:30 And Coriantumr gave Shared battle again in the valley of Gilgal,\nin which he beat Shared and slew him.\n\n13:31 And Shared wounded Coriantumr in his thigh, that he did not go to\nbattle again for the space of two years, in which time all the people\nupon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to\nrestrain them.\n\nEther Chapter 14\n\n14:1 And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because\nof the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool\nor his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep\nit, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the\ncurse upon the land.\n\n14:2 Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with\nhis hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man\nkept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his\nproperty and his own life and of his wives and children.\n\n14:3 And now, after the space of two years, and after the death of\nShared, behold, there arose the brother of Shared and he gave battle\nunto Coriantumr, in which Coriantumr did beat him and did pursue him to\nthe wilderness of Akish.\n\n14:4 And it came to pass that the brother of Shared did give battle\nunto him in the wilderness of Akish; and the battle became exceedingly\nsore, and many thousands fell by the sword.\n\n14:5 And it came to pass that Coriantumr did lay siege to the\nwilderness; and the brother of Shared did march forth out of the\nwilderness by night, and slew a part of the army of Coriantumr, as they\nwere drunken.\n\n14:6 And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed himself upon\nthe throne of Coriantumr.\n\n14:7 And it came to pass that Coriantumr dwelt with his army in the\nwilderness for the space of two years, in which he did receive great\nstrength to his army.\n\n14:8 Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received\ngreat strength to his army, because of secret combinations.\n\n14:9 And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat\nupon his throne.\n\n14:10 And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered\nhim in a secret pass, and obtained unto himself the kingdom; and his\nname was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other\nman among all the people.\n\n14:11 And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr\ncame up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib.\n\n14:12 And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did\nsmite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of\nCoriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon\nthe seashore.\n\n14:13 And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and Lib gave\nbattle unto him upon the seashore.\n\n14:14 And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of Coriantumr,\nthat they fled again to the wilderness of Akish.\n\n14:15 And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he came to the\nplains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken all the people with him as he\nfled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled.\n\n14:16 And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave battle unto\nLib, and he smote upon him until he died; nevertheless, the brother of\nLib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the battle\nbecame exceedingly sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the\narmy of the brother of Lib.\n\n14:17 Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And it came\nto pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr, and he did overthrow many\ncities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the\ncities.\n\n14:18 And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry\nwent forth throughout the land\u2014Who can stand before the army of Shiz?\nBehold, he sweepeth the earth before him!\n\n14:19 And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in\narmies, throughout all the face of the land.\n\n14:20 And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the army of\nShiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr.\n\n14:21 And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been\nthe scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was\ncovered with the bodies of the dead.\n\n14:22 And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to\nbury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to\nthe shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and\nchildren strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the\nworms of the flesh.\n\n14:23 And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even\nupon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by\nday and by night, because of the scent thereof.\n\n14:24 Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had\nsworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother,\nwho had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that\nCoriantumr should not fall by the sword.\n\n14:25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of\nhis wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for\ntheir everlasting destruction.\n\n14:26 And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward,\neven to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz\nfor the space of three days.\n\n14:27 And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz that\nthe people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the armies\nof Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the\ninhabitants before them, all them that would not join them.\n\n14:28 And they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor; and\nCoriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr. Now the valley of\nShurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore, Coriantumr did gather his\narmies together upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the\narmies of Shiz to invite them forth to battle.\n\n14:29 And it came to pass that they came forth, but were driven again;\nand they came the second time, and they were driven again the second\ntime. And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the\nbattle became exceedingly sore.\n\n14:30 And it came to pass that Shiz smote upon Coriantumr that he gave\nhim many deep wounds; and Coriantumr, having lost his blood, fainted,\nand was carried away as though he were dead.\n\n14:31 Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so\ngreat that Shiz commanded his people that they should not pursue the\narmies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp.\n\nEther Chapter 15\n\n15:1 And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds,\nhe began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him.\n\n15:2 He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two\nmillions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there\nhad been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and\ntheir children.\n\n15:3 He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to\nremember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the\nprophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every\nwhit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted.\n\n15:4 And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring\nhim that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom\nfor the sake of the lives of the people.\n\n15:5 And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he\nwrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he would give himself up,\nthat he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the\nlives of the people.\n\n15:6 And it came to pass that the people repented not of their\niniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred up to anger against\nthe people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger\nagainst the people of Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did\ngive battle unto the people of Coriantumr.\n\n15:7 And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again\nbefore the people of Shiz.\n\n15:8 And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum,\nwhich, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when\nthey came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also\npitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow they did\ncome to battle.\n\n15:9 And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle,\nin which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of\nblood.\n\n15:10 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon\nthe armies of Shiz that they beat them, that they caused them to flee\nbefore them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in\na place which was called Ogath.\n\n15:11 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their\ntents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father\nMormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.\n\n15:12 And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people\nupon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was\nEther.\n\n15:13 And it came to pass that Ether did behold all the doings of the\npeople; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr were\ngathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were\nfor Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz.\n\n15:14 Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering\ntogether the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of\nthe land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was\npossible that they could receive.\n\n15:15 And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together,\nevery one to the army which he would, with their wives and their\nchildren\u2014both men women and children being armed with weapons of war,\nhaving shields, and breastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed\nafter the manner of war\u2014they did march forth one against another to\nbattle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.\n\n15:16 And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and\nretired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they\ntook up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their\npeople; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations,\nthat they did rend the air exceedingly.\n\n15:17 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to\nbattle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they\nconquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with\ntheir cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of\nthe slain of their people.\n\n15:18 And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto\nShiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he\nwould take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.\n\n15:19 And behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them,\nand Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were\ngiven up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their\nminds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to\nbattle.\n\n15:20 And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the\nnight came they slept upon their swords.\n\n15:21 And on the morrow they fought even until the night came.\n\n15:22 And when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a\nman who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords.\n\n15:23 And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they\nhad all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of\nCoriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.\n\n15:24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night,\nand on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might\nwith their swords and with their shields, all that day.\n\n15:25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people\nof Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.\n\n15:26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for\ndeath on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the\nstrength of men.\n\n15:27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three\nhours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.\n\n15:28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received\nsufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for\ntheir lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in\nhis wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the\nsword.\n\n15:29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake\nthem; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that\nwhen they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and\nShiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.\n\n15:30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his\nsword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.\n\n15:31 And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of\nShiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had\nstruggled for breath, he died.\n\n15:32 And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became\nas if he had no life.\n\n15:33 And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And\nhe went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been\nfulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have\nnot written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did\nfind them.\n\n15:34 Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether\nthe Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the\nLord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the\nkingdom of God. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n THE BOOK OF MORONI\n\nMoroni Chapter 1\n\n1:1 Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of\nthe people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I\nhave not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites\nlest they should destroy me.\n\n1:2 For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and\nbecause of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not\ndeny the Christ.\n\n1:3 And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander\nwhithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.\n\n1:4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had\nsupposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write\na few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren,\nthe Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.\n\nMoroni Chapter 2\n\n2:1 The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve\nwhom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them\u2014\n\n2:2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in\nmy name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have\npower that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the\nHoly Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.\n\n2:3 Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first\nappearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it;\nand on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost.\n\nMoroni Chapter 3\n\n3:1 The manner which the disciples, who were called the elders of the\nchurch, ordained priests and teachers\u2014\n\n3:2 After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they\nlaid their hands upon them, and said:\n\n3:3 In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest, (or, if he\nbe a teacher) I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and\nremission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on\nhis name to the end. Amen.\n\n3:4 And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers,\naccording to the gifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained\nthem by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them.\n\nMoroni Chapter 4\n\n4:1 The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and\nblood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to\nthe commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true;\nand the elder or priest did minister it\u2014\n\n4:2 And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in\nthe name of Christ, saying:\n\n4:3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son,\nJesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all\nthose who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body\nof thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they\nare willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember\nhim, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may\nalways have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.\n\nMoroni Chapter 5\n\n5:1 The manner of administering the wine\u2014Behold, they took the cup, and\nsaid:\n\n5:2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son,\nJesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those\nwho drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy\nSon, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God,\nthe Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may\nhave his Spirit to be with them. Amen.\n\nMoroni Chapter 6\n\n6:1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and\nteachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought\nforth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.\n\n6:2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with\na broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church\nthat they truly repented of all their sins.\n\n6:3 And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the\nname of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.\n\n6:4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought\nupon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered\namong the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken,\nthat they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to\nkeep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto\nprayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and\nthe finisher of their faith.\n\n6:5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to\nspeak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.\n\n6:6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in\nremembrance of the Lord Jesus.\n\n6:7 And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity\namong them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and three witnesses\nof the church did condemn them before the elders, and if they repented\nnot, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not\nnumbered among the people of Christ.\n\n6:8 But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real\nintent, they were forgiven.\n\n6:9 And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of\nthe workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as\nthe power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort,\nor to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.\n\nMoroni Chapter 7\n\n7:1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon,\nwhich he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this\nmanner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue\nwhich they had built for the place of worship.\n\n7:2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is\nby the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy\nwill, because of the gift of his calling unto me, that I am permitted\nto speak unto you at this time.\n\n7:3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are\nthe peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient\nhope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time\nhenceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.\n\n7:4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your\npeaceable walk with the children of men.\n\n7:5 For I remember the word of God, which saith by their works ye shall\nknow them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.\n\n7:6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is\ngood; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall\ndo it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.\n\n7:7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.\n\n7:8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it\ngrudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had\nretained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.\n\n7:9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray\nand not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing,\nfor God receiveth none such.\n\n7:10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither\nwill he give a good gift.\n\n7:11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water;\nneither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man\nbeing a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow\nChrist he cannot be a servant of the devil.\n\n7:12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which\nis evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and\nfighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and\nto do that which is evil continually.\n\n7:13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good\ncontinually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do\ngood, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.\n\n7:14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge\nthat which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be\nof the devil.\n\n7:15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye\nmay know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may\nknow with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.\n\n7:16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he\nmay know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge;\nfor every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe\nin Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye\nmay know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.\n\n7:17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in\nChrist, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a\nperfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the\ndevil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither\ndo his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.\n\n7:18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye\nmay judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge\nwrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be\njudged.\n\n7:19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search\ndiligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and\nif ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye\ncertainly will be a child of Christ.\n\n7:20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon\nevery good thing?\n\n7:21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I\nwill tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.\n\n7:22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to\neverlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of\nmen, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ\nthere should come every good thing.\n\n7:23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ\nshould come.\n\n7:24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things\nunto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are\ngood cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no\ngood thing come unto them.\n\n7:25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which\nproceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in\nChrist; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and\nthus it was until the coming of Christ.\n\n7:26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name;\nand by faith, they become the sons of God. And as sure as Christ liveth\nhe spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye\nshall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that\nye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.\n\n7:27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because\nChrist hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand\nof God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon\nthe children of men?\n\n7:28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all\nthose who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave\nunto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the\nchildren of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.\n\n7:29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles\nceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to\nminister unto the children of men.\n\n7:30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to\nthe word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith\nand a firm mind in every form of godliness.\n\n7:31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance,\nand to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which\nhe hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the\nchildren of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen\nvessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.\n\n7:32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue\nof men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in\ntheir hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner\nbringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the\nchildren of men.\n\n7:33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have\npower to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.\n\n7:34 And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto\nme, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be\nsaved.\n\n7:35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these\nthings are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto\nyou, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true,\nand if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?\n\n7:36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has\nhe withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long\nas time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man\nupon the face thereof to be saved?\n\n7:37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are\nwrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men;\nwherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men,\nfor it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.\n\n7:38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save\nthey shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have\nceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for\nthey are as though there had been no redemption made.\n\n7:39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for\nI judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if\nye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the\npeople of his church.\n\n7:40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning\nhope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?\n\n7:41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that\nye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his\nresurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your\nfaith in him according to the promise.\n\n7:42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for\nwithout faith there cannot be any hope.\n\n7:43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and\nhope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.\n\n7:44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before\nGod, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly\nin heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is\nthe Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he\nis nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.\n\n7:45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is\nnot puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no\nevil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth\nall things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all\nthings.\n\n7:46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are\nnothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity,\nwhich is the greatest of all, for all things must fail\u2014\n\n7:47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;\nand whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well\nwith him.\n\n7:48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the\nenergy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath\nbestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that\nye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be\nlike him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope;\nthat we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.\n\nMoroni Chapter 8\n\n8:1 An epistle of my father Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was\nwritten unto me soon after my calling to the ministry. And on this wise\ndid he write unto me, saying:\n\n8:2 My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus\nChrist hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry,\nand to his holy work.\n\n8:3 I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto\nGod the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through\nhis infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of\nfaith on his name to the end.\n\n8:4 And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which grieveth me\nexceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should disputations rise\namong you.\n\n8:5 For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations\namong you concerning the baptism of your little children.\n\n8:6 And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor diligently, that\nthis gross error should be removed from among you; for, for this intent\nI have written this epistle.\n\n8:7 For immediately after I had learned these things of you I inquired\nof the Lord concerning the matter. And the word of the Lord came to me\nby the power of the Holy Ghost, saying:\n\n8:8 Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your\nGod. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but\nsinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are\nsick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of\ncommitting sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me,\nthat it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done\naway in me.\n\n8:9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God\nunto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery\nbefore God, that ye should baptize little children.\n\n8:10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach\u2014repentance\nand baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing\nsin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and\nhumble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved\nwith their little children.\n\n8:11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism.\nBehold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments\nunto the remission of sins.\n\n8:12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation\nof the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable\nGod, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died\nwithout baptism!\n\n8:13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism,\nthese must have gone to an endless hell.\n\n8:14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children\nneed baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity,\nfor he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be\ncut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell.\n\n8:15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child\nbecause of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no\nbaptism.\n\n8:16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this\nmanner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with\nboldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do;\nfor perfect love casteth out all fear.\n\n8:17 And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love;\nwherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little\nchildren with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of\nsalvation.\n\n8:18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable\nbeing; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.\n\n8:19 Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness\nto deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in\nhim because of his mercy.\n\n8:20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the\nmercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the\npower of his redemption.\n\n8:21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an\nendless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto\nthem and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of\nChrist.\n\n8:22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also\nall they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh\non all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or\nhe that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism\navaileth nothing\u2014\n\n8:23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and\nthe power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.\n\n8:24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for repentance is unto\nthem that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.\n\n8:25 And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh\nby faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the\ncommandments bringeth remission of sins;\n\n8:26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of\nheart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the\nvisitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and\nperfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the\nend shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.\n\n8:27 Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if I go not out soon\nagainst the Lamanites. Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people\nof the Nephites, hath proven their destruction except they should\nrepent.\n\n8:28 Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But\nbehold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased striving with them; and in\nthis part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and\nauthority which cometh from God; and they are denying the Holy Ghost.\n\n8:29 And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my son, they must perish\nsoon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies which were spoken by the\nprophets, as well as the words of our Savior himself.\n\n8:30 Farewell, my son, until I shall write unto you, or shall meet you\nagain. Amen.\n\nMoroni Chapter 9\n\n9:1 My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am\nyet alive; but I write somewhat of that which is grievous.\n\n9:2 For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which\nwe did not conquer; and Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also\nLuram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice\nmen.\n\n9:3 And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy\nthis people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up\ncontinually to anger one with another.\n\n9:4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the\nword of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when\nI use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I\nfear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them.\n\n9:5 For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have\nno fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another;\nand they thirst after blood and revenge continually.\n\n9:6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us\nlabor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought\nunder condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this\ntabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness,\nand rest our souls in the kingdom of God.\n\n9:7 And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people.\nFor according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron,\nbehold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the\ntower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children.\n\n9:8 And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have\nslain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and\nthe children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a\nlittle, do they give unto them.\n\n9:9 And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it\ndoth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of\nthe daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after\ndepriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all\nthings, which is chastity and virtue\u2014\n\n9:10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most\ncruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they\nhave done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because\nof the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.\n\n9:11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without\ncivilization\u2014\n\n9:12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and\na delightsome people)\n\n9:13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose delight is in so\nmuch abomination\u2014\n\n9:14 How can we expect that God will stay his hand in judgment against\nus?\n\n9:15 Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment,\nO God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from\nbefore thy face!\n\n9:16 And again, my son, there are many widows and their daughters who\nremain in Sherrizah; and that part of the provisions which the\nLamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried\naway, and left them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many\nold women do faint by the way and die.\n\n9:17 And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the\nLamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and as many as have fled to the\narmy of Aaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.\n\n9:18 O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without\nmercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the strength of a man,\nand I cannot any longer enforce my commands.\n\n9:19 And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are\nalike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in\neverything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and\nour children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything;\nyea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written.\n\n9:20 And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene.\nBehold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that\nthey are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth\nexceed that of the Lamanites.\n\n9:21 Behold, my son, I cannot recommend them unto God lest he should\nsmite me.\n\n9:22 But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in\nChrist that thou wilt be saved; and I pray unto God that he will spare\nthy life, to witness the return of his people unto him, or their utter\ndestruction; for I know that they must perish except they repent and\nreturn unto him.\n\n9:23 And if they perish it will be like unto the Jaredites, because of\nthe wilfulness of their hearts, seeking for blood and revenge.\n\n9:24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our\nbrethren have deserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also\ndesert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou\nart spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may\nsee thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would deliver up unto\nthee.\n\n9:25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have\nwritten grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift\nthee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body\nunto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his\nglory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.\n\n9:26 And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the\nheavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of\nhis power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and\nabide with you forever. Amen.\n\nMoroni Chapter 10\n\n10:1 Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto\nmy brethren, the Lamanites; and I would that they should know that more\nthan four hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was\ngiven of the coming of Christ.\n\n10:2 And I seal up these records, after I have spoken a few words by\nway of exhortation unto you.\n\n10:3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things,\nif it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember\nhow merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the\ncreation of Adam even down unto the time that ye shall receive these\nthings, and ponder it in your hearts.\n\n10:4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye\nwould ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these\nthings are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with\nreal intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it\nunto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.\n\n10:5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all\nthings.\n\n10:6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing\nthat is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.\n\n10:7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost;\nwherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he\nworketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the\nsame today and tomorrow, and forever.\n\n10:8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts\nof God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there\nare different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the\nsame God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the\nmanifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.\n\n10:9 For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may\nteach the word of wisdom;\n\n10:10 And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the\nsame Spirit;\n\n10:11 And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the\ngifts of healing by the same Spirit;\n\n10:12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;\n\n10:13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all\nthings;\n\n10:14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering\nspirits;\n\n10:15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;\n\n10:16 And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of\ndivers kinds of tongues.\n\n10:17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come\nunto every man severally, according as he will.\n\n10:18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember\nthat every good gift cometh of Christ.\n\n10:19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember\nthat he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these\ngifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done\naway, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the\nunbelief of the children of men.\n\n10:20 Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there\nmust also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be\ncharity.\n\n10:21 And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the\nkingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye\nhave not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.\n\n10:22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair\ncometh because of iniquity.\n\n10:23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can\ndo all things which are expedient unto me.\n\n10:24 And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth\u2014that if the day\ncometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it\nshall be because of unbelief.\n\n10:25 And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there\nshall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be\none among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of\nGod.\n\n10:26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they\ndie in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and\nI speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.\n\n10:27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily\ncometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the\nbar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my\nwords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from\nthe dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?\n\n10:28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And\nbehold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting\nGod; and his word shall hiss forth from generation to generation.\n\n10:29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is\ntrue.\n\n10:30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and\nlay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the\nunclean thing.\n\n10:31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on\nthy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes\nand enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be\nconfounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made\nunto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.\n\n10:32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny\nyourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all\nungodliness and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then\nis his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in\nChrist; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in\nnowise deny the power of God.\n\n10:33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and\ndeny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of\nGod, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the\ncovenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become\nholy, without spot.\n\n10:34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the\nparadise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am\nbrought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the\npleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and\ndead. Amen.","title":"The Book of Mormon : $b an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":275775}