CHAPTER 12
Nephi sees in vision: the land of promise; Up 'til now, I think he had only been told of it...I think I see in vision my land of promise (or place of refuge) but don't know how I'll get there:( the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its inhabitants; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the twelve disciples and the twelve apostles shall judge Israel; the loathsome and filthy state of those who dwindle in unbelief. Implies they once had belief. This is a warning to the once-believing reader! Between 600 and 592 B.C.
1 And it came to pass that the
angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy
brethren. And I looked and beheld the aland
of promise; Right here Nephi is given the proof that he
will need when later asked to build a ship and when his life is threatened by his brothers again. If he thinks about this vision he will say, “Surely, we do build this
ship. I have seen in a vision that we do arrive in the promised land." No matter how terrible it gets at sea, he
knows they survive and that he lives. I would love to have a vision that I am in the New Jerusalem. It would help me endure whatever lies between now and then... and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even
as it were in number as many as the bsand of the sea.
2 And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes
gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld awars, and rumors of wars, and
great slaughters with the sword among my people. How depressing is this scene!
3 And it came to pass that I beheld many
generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land;
and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them.
4 And it came to pass that I saw a amist of bdarkness is this symbolic from Lehi's dream? on the face of the land of
promise; I wish we always used this expression when talking about our country: America - land of promise! and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and
all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they
rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the
earth, that they were cbroken
up; and I saw many cities that they were dsunk;
and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble
to the earth, because of the quaking thereof. The vision goes from bad to worse. War upon war, then overwhelming destruction! This sounds like the destruction at the Savior's crucifixion.
5 And it came to pass after I saw these things,
I saw the avapor of darkness, This is exactly how it is described later in the Book of Mormon when it actually happens. Interesting thing to "see" darkness...Also noticing that it goes from a "mist" of darkness to a "vapor" of darkness. A mist is water in a gas form, but vapor is diffused matter, heavier than water. This seems symbolic of the degrees of darkness that we are under that it passed from off the face of
the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great
and terrible judgments of the Lord. To the unbelieving, the destruction may have been seen as a "natural disaster", but here, Nephi tells us it was "because" of the judgments of the Lord. Do you look at our natural disasters as judgments or nature?
6 And I saw the heavens open, after the storm...always comes the sun (Son)...and the aLamb of God descending out
of heaven; and he came down and bshowed himself unto them.
7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy
Ghost fell upon atwelve others; and they were ordained of
God, and chosen. Is the sequence important here? Ordained then chosen? For in the church, people are called, which we might say is being "chosen" and then ordained. But then, it makes me think of the verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that says, "...many are called, but few are chosen." Here, being called means being ordained and being chosen comes after. So, I guess the order is significant after all...we are called/ordained then chosen by our actions/character. Maybe "chosen" means they were baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost, thus "chosen" children of Christ. I want to be "chosen"! The new series about Jesus Christ is called "The Chosen"!
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold
the Twelve Disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. The NT apostles were "chosen" to teach the gospel after they received the HG and baptism of fire on the day of Pentecost, also after Christ's resurrection. The NT and Promised Land apostles were all given the Holy Ghost probably about the same time! Both were soon after Christ was resurrected! Important to remember when you are "chosen" you are chosen to "minister" to others. Don't desire it unless you want to serve others.
9 And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the aTwelve
Apostles of the Lamb? From Jerusalem…Behold
they are they who shall bjudge the
twelve tribes of Israel;
wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are
of the house of Israel.
10 And these atwelve ministers whom thou beholdest
shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; How does one come to be "righteous forever? Calling and election? for because of their faith in the
Lamb of God I am telling you…things are given to you, things happen because
of your faith! Some day I will compile a list of all the miracles and
blessings that come to people in scriptures because of their faith. their bgarments
are made white in his blood. Read the footnotes associated with the word "garments" to learn how to make your garments white. It has to do with the Atonement, righteousness, humility, repentance, becoming pure...It is something we must all do. or rather "receive".
11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I
looked, and beheld athree generations pass
away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of
God. What was this time period like and how did they do
it? There must have still been temptation, sickness and trial. This is something we can do/attain in this life. I am certain we must do it again before the Savior comes as we become a Zion people. I read somewhere recently (Bednar?) that as the world becomes darker, we must focus our attention not on that, but on becoming more righteous. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in
the blood of the Lamb, because
of their faith in him. There you have it again….faith,
faith, faith. Study and learn and ask
Heavenly Father to teach you about true faith! Certainly they were all "born again" and "no disposition to do evil and received it through their faith on Christ and being humble, meek, submissive, little children, broken heart/contrite spirit.
12 And I, Nephi, also saw many of the afourth
generation who passed away in righteousness. Wonderful to see this period of peace and righteousness after all the wars in the beginning of this vision...
13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes
of the earth gathered together.
14 And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed,
and also the seed of thy brethren.
15 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld
the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes aagainst
the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle. This is unexpected...Nephi's seed should be the righteous ones, yet they are the ones warring against the seed of Laman and Lemuel.
16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold
the fountain of afilthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the briver of which he spake;
and the depths thereof are the depths of chell. Do we have to have experience with this?
17 And the amists of darkness
are the temptations of the devil, which bblindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the
hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into cbroad roads, that they perish and are
lost. Here is a link to one of my favorite talks by Pres. Eyring about what we must do as the world becomes darker. Pres. Eyring, "Raise the Bar" In this talk he teaches us that as we climb to higher ground for safety, "The mists of spiritual darkness will become more dense." (That doesn't sound inviting...sounds like a "vapor" if its more dense) But he promises, "A clear light piercing the darkness will show the way to those who have
taken the Holy Ghost as a trusted and constant traveling companion." When we are born again, we receive the Holy Ghost as our constant companion to show us all things we should do.
18 And the large and spacious abuilding, which thy father saw,
is vain bimaginations and the cpride of the children of men. And a great
and a terrible dgulf divideth them; Divideth who? Who is "them"? The people in the building? Who are they divided from? The ones at the tree or on the path to the tree? yea, even
the word of the ejustice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who
is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning
of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever. So maybe it is a testimony of Jesus or the lack of one that divides them. Elder Packer said we are raising our children IN the great and spacious building. We ALL have to get out of the building to the tree. We all have to put off the natural man and the pride and vain imaginations and truly come unto Christ.
19 And while the angel spake these words, I
beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed,
according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the atemptations beware of these two things combined of the devil, Nephi was taught/warned earlier (chapter 2)
23"...they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall crebel against me also.
24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they
shall be a ascourge unto thy seed, to bstir
them up in the ways of remembrance." I
beheld that the seed of my brethren did boverpower the people of my seed.
20 And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw
the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; Is this a soft way of saying they got wiped out? and they
The Lamanites went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.
21 And I saw them gathered together in
multitudes; and I saw awars
and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw bmany
generations pass away. More war than peace. We are told that righteousness can not be passed on; that we are only ever one generation away from apostasy. But it seems that wickedness does seem generational and is easily passed on. Probably goes back to the "natural man" concept. Our "default" natures must be "changed" through the Savior. Being born again can not be passed on. Being changed cannot be passed on. Salvation can not be passed on.
22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these
shall adwindle "to gradually become smaller and smaller" in unbelief. This word deserves much study. Look it up in the D&C and pay particular attention to section 84; read "Following the Light of Christ" by John Pontius. This is a very dangerous state to be in and we are often guilty of it.
23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they
had dwindled in unbelief this is the source/beginning of their wickedness they became a adark, means "having little or no light, ignorant" and loathsome, means "disgusting, repulsive, offensive"and a bfilthy means "obscene, foul, completely dirty" people, full of cidleness means "habitually doing nothing, lazy, of no real importance, to move aimlessly" ... (there is something that saves us about work) and all
manner of abominations. means "a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit". If this is what happens to people when they "dwindle in unbelief" and we see it more and more all around us, it is no small thing that the Lord is "hastening His work" to bring people to a state of "belief" before they fall into such a depraved state. We are all asked to participate, in faith, in this work of Redemption. Are you doing it? All we can really do is try to bring people to Christ, or point the way. Redemption comes only by Him and through Him. We do not save.
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