Moroni 7

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21 Brown 2022 -23)

CHAPTER 7

An invitation is given to enter into the rest of the Lord—2nd Comforter Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith, miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. About A.D. 401–21.

  1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning ^afaith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the ^bsynagogue which they had built for the place of worship. The had "church buildings" just like us...
  2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the ^agrace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his ^bcalling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time. Right from the beginning he's telling them he is speaking to them with authority of God.
  3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the ^achurch, that are the 
^bpeaceable followers of Christ, is this a note of two possible groups within the group, or a more detailed description of the first group. In other words, within the "church" is there another group who are "the peaceable followers of Christ"?  and that have obtained a sufficient ^chope by which ye can enter into the ^drest of the Lord, "sufficient hope" means that you can have some hope, but not enough hope to enter into the "rest" of the Lord. What exactly does that mean? Is it hope such that you "rest" from the cares of this world and are not tossed and buffeted by the temptations of evil? from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven. This reference to "rest" sounds like it is before we die. I think "rest of the Lord" refers to calling and election made sure. 
  4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable ^awalk with the children of men. second reference to peace This is a great challenge in our day with so much division. How do you walk with peace when there is so much evil around you? Notice that he is judging them (perhaps as a "judge in Israel" like a Bishop); but my point is that he is making a judgment, so it's not a "sin" to judge (righteously, of course). "peaceable walk" - sounds like it can be "seen" and has to do with how they interact with one another, not just with church members but with others too. How do you stand for truth "peaceably"? Was Captain Moroni an example of this? (This Moroni is not that Captain Moroni, but probably named after him...) 
  5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their ^aworks ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also. This sounds black and white So what are the works of peace?  This is hard if you take it at face value. I don't believe the church's "works" of distributing the current vax to other nations is "good" and by this scripture that makes the church not "good" either. But...I believe they believe they are doing good, so does that make them good still? I think so, because I am sure I do things that I think are good that may not be and I don't want to be called not good....Does it matter what I "want" to be called if my works are not good, even though they aren't?
  6 For behold, God hath said a man being ^aevil cannot do that which is good; for if he ^boffereth a gift, or ^cprayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. Here, works are defined by intentions. Not so easy to see...
  7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
  8 For behold, if a man being ^aevil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly;  wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God. Here's one evil intention
  9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with ^areal intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. Here's another...
 10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift. An evil man has no good intentions
 11 For behold, a bitter ^afountain cannot bring forth good water; Beware of bitterness. It can poisen the waters of our actions neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he ^bfollow Christ he cannot be a ^cservant of the devil. Is this a clue to why people follow Satan - they are bitter?  This sounds a little tricky, because no one is perfect...so do we flip flop between following Satan and Christ every day? "No one can serve 2 masters..." Maybe this is why we are told we must repent daily...because daily we have moments where we serve the devil and not Christ.
 12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.He never rests. Maybe one effect of entering God's rest is that you get to rest from Satan's attacks. 
 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God. Notice the contrast between the devil fighting 'continually' and God inviting 'continually'. Also 'fight' vs. 'invite'. 
 14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. This is where we are in politics. Good people can't decide if Trump is good or evil. It's important we judge correctly! It has been hard for me to not judge that which is good (wearing a mask) to be of the devil. But I know the devil corrupts every good thing, so perhaps that is what he did here. Also, I believe the Prophet has called the vax "good" but I believe it to be "evil". Time will tell. I know it's hard to say it because who am I? and who is he? Why would I know it's evil and not him or any of the 15? Some say the prophet has to be right because he's a doctor and God surely preserved his life (he's 96)99! to be our prophet in this time to give us confidence to know what to do. But from what I have heard about doctors...they are the least "open" to looking at science that contradicts their learning, so it doesn't help me personally, that he is a doctor. But...he has been relentless in teaching us to "Hear Him" - God, so I don't think that is a small thing in this confusing time. 
 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. We are taught here that we are only to judge to know good from evil, and we can know it perfectly. We are told we are to judge good from evil. 
 16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. We judge by the Spirit of Christ. Conscience. Notice things of God are done by 'invitation' and 'persuasion'. They will support belief in Christ.
 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. Notice we have the devil, his angels, and those who subject themselves to him (mortals). In a recent statement by the First Presidency they said the "only" way to end the pandemic is through vaccination. This doesn't persuade men to believe in Christ at all. I think it was made as a open, obvious clue to the saints that the whole statement was a PR stunt to keep the temples open and keep the Church from being targeted. I think we were supposed to easily discern the lies in that statement. Sadly, most took it as God's word because it came from the prophet and they aren't supposed to ever question it. But this is the same prophet that warned we wouldn't survive spiritually if we didn't learn to "Hear Him". Some are not even surviving temporally because they couldn't discern the truth/lies in the statement...
 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. This statement is supposed to be a deterrent to judge at all, so we will not be judged the same way we've judged others if it's been wrong. I don't believe that anymore. I think we are to judge, but make the effort and do the work to judge correctly.
 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a ^bchild of Christ. This sounds like an invitation to search the scriptures and the words of the prophets, but do it "in" the light of Christ. Then when you find good "lay hold upon it" and let it drive your actions..."then" you will be called a "child of Christ". Or it is telling us to search diligently, in the light of Christ, to know good from evil (not the scriptures or words of the prophets, although we search them too, but should assume already they are "good"). Once we find good, we are to lay hold on it and not condemn it. Why would we condemn what we know to be true? Perhaps many are struggling with this today. They have judged the gospel to be true and good, but are condemning it now because of the actions of men in the church. Search diligently in the light of Christ, even within the Church, to know good from evil. Lay hold on the good things and don't condemn them because of the evil you find elsewhere.
 20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?
 21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.
 22 For behold, God ^aknowing all things, being from ^beverlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent ^cangels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing. These words from angels to man are in the scriptures...
 23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come. Also recorded in scripture...
 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were ^afallen, and there could no good thing come unto them. This says there are "other" ways God manifest things to us, which are good...what would these other ways be? (dreams? "sudden strokes of ideas"? inventions? ) Because of our carnal natures...without the light of Christ (which sounds like the vehicle for all good things to come to us) we would do no good because without the light of Christ, we are fallen.
 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of ^aangels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ. We have to act on the things that God tells man through the scriptures or prophets or to the mind and heart of man. That demonstrates our faith in Christ. And why is that faith "in Christ"? Because we are acting on words that came from Him, so we are showing Him that we believe in Him and His words.
 26 And after that he came men also were ^asaved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the ^bsons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: ^cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. This sounds so black and white and simple. If it is, then we have to get a better grasp on what "faith" is, and how to know if something is "good" or we'd get more of what we ask for... We know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, but we must also become "sons of God". Is this referring to God-Christ? Because we are not His children by birth. But we become so, by the "born again" birth of baptism by water and the Spirit. 
 27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have ^amiracles ceased is this phrase used after verse 26 because the "things we ask for" will be "miracles"? because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to ^bclaim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?  Do we see Christ as a God of mercy? Do we understand he claims that "right" because he "answers the ends of the law"? (next verse)
 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; These words can be seen as supporting statements to the idea that Christ suffered for our sins as the victim of our sins, not in our place as the perpetrator of our sins. As the victim, only He is in the position to offer mercy or to demand justice. What we get will be determined upon our repentance or lack of it. He tells us if we don't repent, we must suffer, even as He did. And what did He suffer? The act or the penalty? Is the worst punishment we could receive the act of knowing experientially what our sins did to others, and not some kind of "prison sentence" or "lashings" where we are still disconnected from the pain we caused others? Hmmm....and they who have faith in him will ^acleave unto every good thing; Which the scriptures and prophets and the Spirit teaches him. and which we have learned to discerned is good and not evil "Cleave" suggests holding close and not letting go of...right now, following the prophet makes me feel like I have to let go of "every good thing" I have been taught about the prophet not being able to lead us astray. It has been a wrestle, but I have landed in a place where I believe that we have to do the work to know if the prophet speaks by the Spirit of Revelation...especially when he does not openly claim to be doing so. Perhaps the prophet who made the statement about not leading astray was not speaking by the spirit? Or perhaps we redefine what "leading astray" means. If it means the prophet cannot make a mistake, does that not make him infallible? They claim they are not infallible, which means they can make mistakes. So maybe not leading astray only means they will never be allowed to teach there is not Christ, or they would be removed. I can make peace with that definition... wherefore he ^badvocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. What is the "cause" He advocates?
 29 And because he hath done this, Advocated our cause? my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have ^aangels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
 30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of ^agodliness. We can still see angels today. We just have to have "strong faith" and a "firm mind" in "every" form of godliness. It's a tall order, but must be attainable or it wouldn't be given to us to know. Again we see that we have have "strong" faith, or "not strong faith, but still some faith". It's not all or nothing. We need to pray for strong faith!
 31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the ^achosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
 32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the ^aresidue of men may have ^bfaith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts,according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.
 33 And Christ hath said: ^aIf ye will have ^bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is ^cexpedient in me. This hearkens to 1 Nephi 3:7
 34 And he hath said: ^aRepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved. This is evidence that God doesn't "select" His "elect", but ALL are invited to come. WE self-select to be His "elect". 
 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with ^apower and great glory at the last ^bday, How will this be shown to us? We are in the "last days", but what/when is the last "day"? that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
 36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he ^awithheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that ^amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of ^bunbelief, and all is vain. Unbelief is what limits our faith. We must search out all that is "evil" in our beliefs and "lay hold" upon that which is true and good and then our faith will be strong!
 38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made. You have to have faith in Christ to partake of the miracle of His Atonement.
 39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; Meekness is evidence of faith. Why? Because you have submitted all to Christ and there is no ego left in you to sin by pride. for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not ^afit to be numbered among the people of his church. So no meekness...no "people of his church"
 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ^ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? 
 41 And what is it that ye shall ^ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have ^bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ^ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
 42 Wherefore, if a man have ^afaith he ^bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ^ameek, and lowly of heart. It keeps coming back to meekness!
 44 If so, his ^afaith and hope is vain, for none is ^bacceptable before God, save the ^cmeek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and ^dconfesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs  have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity. So how do you know if you are meek? You have charity...
 45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
 47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; Noticing that charity is "bestowed" and then we become sons of God  that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.

Helaman 5

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 green6/21 orange 9/22 Brown 11/23)

CHAPTER 5

Nephi and Lehi devote themselves to preaching—Their names invite them to pattern their lives after their forebears—Christ redeems those who repent—Nephi and Lehi make many converts and are imprisoned, and fire encircles them—A cloud of darkness overshadows three hundred people—The earth shakes, and a voice commands men to repent—Nephi and Lehi converse with angels, and the multitude is encircled by fire. About 30 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that in this same year, behold, ^aNephi ^bdelivered up the judgment-seat to a man whose name was ^cCezoram.
  2 For as their laws and their governments were established by the ^avoice of the people, and they who ^bchose evil were ^cmore numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ^dripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted. Ok....here we are. The voice of the people apparently chose evil (even though it may have been by fraud) and we are ripening for destruction. Our laws have become corrupted. Biden is corrupting more and more laws every day. And it still continues in 2022....and 2023...
  3 Yea, and this was not all; they were a ^astiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.  
More and more people are taking the laws in stride. You are only guilty if caught. 
  4 And it came to pass that Nephi had become weary because of their iniquity; and he yielded up the judgment-seat, and took it upon him to preach the word of God all the remainder of his days, and his brother Lehi also, all the remainder of his days; Notice what his reaction to his own weariness was. He didn't quit caring about them. He actually devoted more time to trying to convert them back to the truth. Most people quit when they become weary. They just throw up their hands and let people choose and experience the consequences. I suppose the problem with that when you are over a large group of people is that their collective choices impact everyone through God's collective judgments. 
  5 For they remembered the words which their ^afather Helaman spake unto them. And these are the words which he spake:
  6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first ^aparents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were ^bgood. The key here is "remembering"!
  7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them. The names we give our children can be a powerful influence on them...
  8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a ^atreasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that ^bprecious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.      
  9 O remember, remember, my sons, the ^awords which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the ^batoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to ^credeem the ^dworld. I am feeling this so strongly these days. There really is no other way for us to survive from here on out except to follow Jesus Christ. Sure, there are people who make it through their mortal lives not following him but in these last days, there will be no middle ground. As Pres. Nelson said, "The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do (see Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7)

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the parable of the wheat and of the tares:

2 Behold, verily I say, the field was the world, and the apostles were the sowers of the seed;

3 And after they have fallen asleep the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign—behold he soweth the tares; wherefore, the tares choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness.

4 But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender—

5 Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields;

6 But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.

7 Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned.

 Noticing these things from this parable:
1. the apostles are the sowers of the seed
2. after they "the apostles" and/or the "world"? have fallen asleep
3. all nations drink of the cup of Satan
4. the church is driven into the wilderness
5. 1830 was just the beginning of the restoration of the word
6. God has delayed the division hoping we would strengthen our faith
7. the wheat will be gathered "out" first
This seems to be so accurately describing right now! Covid has shown that the whole world has fallen asleep...even our apostles, and everyone has drunk from the cup of Satan by not seeing through the "gameplan". Or feeling captive to it...The church will be driven into the wilderness (callout). We have been told to increase our faith for many years now. A test, a Test, A TEST is coming! of that faith.

 10 And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, ^ain the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. Elder Holland taught, "Come as you are, but don't expect to stay as you are." This is being twisted to mean, "come as you are, and we don't care if you stay as you are. We love you as you are and so does God. If made you imperfect then you are perfect in your imperfection. No judgment for your actions or words or thoughts. We just need to love. That is enough." This is a corruption of the gospel of Jesus Christ which is nothing more or less than "Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost and then endure to the end in living those first 4 things". These great Book of Mormon prophets demonstrated their love for the people by spending their own time and giving their own lives to preaching repentance. That is love. If Christ came to redeem you from your sin and not in your sins, then He expects you to repent (change) because of Him, not be saved in spite of Him. 
 11 And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; See...redemption only comes through repentance (change) therefore he hath ^asent his angels to declare the tidings of the  conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls. Repentance has conditions. Power has conditions. 
 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. A quick search shows this has been quoted 25 times in the last 10 years (feels like more than that...there was one year I felt like I heard it in every talk! Notice the rock is Jesus Christ...not the prophet. You can sustain the prophet, but if he makes a mistake, you will not fall because the prophet is not your foundation....Jesus Christ is. If all else is torn apart, carried away in the whirlwind, beaten down with mighty storms...you will be safe IF your foundation is Jesus Christ. That is how we have no fear. That is how we stand the test that is coming.
 13 And it came to pass that these were the words which Helaman ^ataught to his sons; yea, he did teach them many things which are not written, and also many things which are written.
 14 And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God, to teach the word of God among all the people of Nephi, beginning at the city Bountiful;
 15 And from thenceforth to the city of Gid; and from the city of Gid to the city of Mulek;
 16 And even from one city to another, until they had gone forth ^aamong all the people of Nephi who were in the land southward; and from thence into the land of Zarahemla, among the Lamanites.
 17 And it came to pass that they did ^apreach with great ^bpower, insomuch that they did confound many of those ^cdissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done. Is this "baptized unto repentance" a re-baptism? or were they excommunicated? Different practice? I'm assuming the dissenters were once baptized before...If they "returned" to the Nephites, it sounds like they might have been excommunicated.  
 18 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might ^aspeak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—This is the ULTIMATE way to teach! Oh how we need this kind of preaching today. Who will step forward, in this power, in the face of political correctness, to reclaim the saints and correct all their false beliefs? 
 19 Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about ^abaptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the ^bwickedness of the ^ctraditions of their fathers. The word of God delivered by the power of the Spirit CAN change people! Please, please, dear Father, send this kind of preaching to the world, which is drowning in sin and darkness and unbelief!
 20 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did proceed from thence to go to the ^aland of Nephi.
 21 And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into ^aprison; yea, even in that same prison in which Ammon and his brethren were cast by the servants of Limhi.
 22 And after they had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them. I'm thinking that when they went without food, it just became a "fast" for Nephi and Lehi.
 23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about ^aas if by ^bfire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.
 24 And when they Nephi and Lehi saw that they were encircled about with a ^apillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage. They sound surprised that they were not consumed...
 25 For they Nephi and Lehi saw that the Lamanites durst not lay their hands upon them; neither durst they come near unto them, but stood as if they were struck dumb with amazement.
 26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: ^aFear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.  
 27 And behold, when they had said these words, the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall. And behold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters.
 28 And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of ^adarkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.
 29 And it came to pass that there came a ^avoice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. Curious...the first thing they tell the guards is to fear not and see the hand of God in it. It's like they didn't see what was happening as justice or judgment, but as a miracle to help them believe. Then there was more darkness and shaking and they felt even more fear. But then the "voice" says to them again, that they were being given a chance to repent and receive "good tidings" (which is the Savior). Amazing time of grace. God must have known these hearts could turn.
 30 And it came to pass when they heard this ^avoice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a ^bstill voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—
 31 And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—
 32 And behold the voice came again, saying: ^aRepent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled. What does "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" refer to? The birth of Christ (30 years away); their personal conversion? ("the kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17:21) These people were being given a remarkable chance to repent and be born again, at which point the Kingdom of Heaven would be given to them...
 33 And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which ^acannot be uttered by man; wow! What were these words? And why did they get to hear them? and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder.
 34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; Reminds me of the darkness after the destruction at His Crucifixion  yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them.
 35 Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.
 36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.
 37 And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, how many were there? that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi. Could they have not turned their heads and looked without power being given to them? Were they literally "immovable" even to the turning of their heads, because of fear? 
 38 And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do converse?
 39 Now the man’s name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God.
 40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: ^aWhat shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us? Sounds like they still didn't get it. Even after being told by the voice they must repent...
 41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must ^arepent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have ^bfaith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and ^cAmulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
 42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed. I think we are to "cry" until we receive what we ask for. I think sometimes we give up too soon...
 43 And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were ^aencircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire. Since they had to pray "even until they had faith", I wonder how long this took...And what did they say to bring/receive the kind of faith that is required to be "born again"?
 44 And ^aNephi and ^bLehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that ^cjoy which is unspeakable and full of glory.
 45 And behold, the ^aHoly Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words. Another amazing "born again" experience. Why is this in the Book of Mormon if it is beyond our attainment? 
 46 And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:
 47 ^aPeace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.
 48 And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the ^aheavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.
 49 And there were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these things; and they were bidden to go forth and marvel not, neither should they doubt.
 50 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and did minister unto the people, declaring throughout all the regions round about all the things which they had heard and seen, insomuch that the more part of the Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the evidences which they the 300?  had received. or the evidences to the people being taught?
 51 And as many as were ^aconvinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers. This needs to happen to the Muslims who hate the Jews because of the tradition of their fathers.
 52 And it came to pass that they did ^ayield up unto the Nephites the lands of their possession. This was miraculous intervention by God. I'm sure He knew that these people would change under the circumstances. We are told miracles do not produce faith. But this miracle seemed to produce it. Or, maybe not, for we are told they had to pray UNTIL they had faith before the darkness dispersed. This is quite a conversion story.  Oh how we need such an experience. This divine manifestation truly changed these people, whose testimony then changed others (To some it is given to "know" and to others it is given to believe on the testimony of those who "know") It is amazing how much these people were given who just moments before were unbelieving. Surely, a God who is the same yesterday and today will do something similar in our day, right? It seems like the prelude to this was the ministry of Nephi and Lehi and the power with which they were able to preach. Will this come with the Davidic Servant? Some other righteous souls? Please come!