1 Nephi 14

(All of my own thoughts are in blue type. red 4/20 Green 2/21orange 4/22  Brown 2023 )

CHAPTER 14

An angel do we know who this angel is? tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings remember to not just focus on one and not the other to fall upon the Gentiles that's us —There are only two churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil sorry 'bout that...I didn't say it...an angel did...Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or...all those who believe in and worship Jesus?—The saints of God in all nations no escaping this... are persecuted brace yourself by the great and abominable church is this a 'real' church? or just the "beastly" system/kingdom of the devil consisting of all those who worship satan?—The apostle John Revelations shall write concerning the end of the world. our day...Between 600 and 592 B.C.

  1 And it shall  will; count on it come to pass, that if conditional the ^aGentiles us shall hearken listen AND follow unto the Lamb of God  how do we "hear" the Lamb of God? Scriptures; prophets; personal revelation in that day could this mean "each day" that he shall manifest himself  The angel may be talking of a "one time" event, but could it not also reference this scripture in John 14: 21 "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will ^cmanifest myself to him." unto them in word, and also in ^bpower, in very deed, unto the ^ctaking away of their ^dstumbling blocks— what are examples of these four ways: word; power; deed; taking away stumbling blocks? Earlier he said that the loss of the “plain and precious” truths were a stumbling block…so restoring them would be the way to remove them. So, it seems that it is specifically referencing the coming forth of The Book of Mormon; but I still believe that every time we keep the commandments we receive His Spirit, which IS a manifestation of His love for us. Maybe we haven’t seen this “day” when He manifests Himself. I mean, He did manifest Himself to Joseph Smith, and through the Book of Mormon, the rest of the Gentiles, but...is that the manifestation He’s referring to here? 

  2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, how do we “harden” our hearts against Jesus? At the most fundamental level, we reject the Light of Christ (the promptings from our conscience) which when consistently followed always leads us to the Savior and His ordinances they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be ^anumbered The footnotes takes us back to the promises made to Abraham and his seed. When you receive the ordinances of the Gospel, you are "numbered" now as one of Abraham's seed and the promises made to him belong now to you among the house of Israel; and they shall be a ^bblessed people upon the ^cpromised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. Great promises…but conditional...to be honest...I am a little disappointed that when Mitt Romney ran for president of the United States that this wasn't part of his platform. In fact, here is a talk that link doesn't work anymore. I'm trying to find the talk again, but this one is similar, but I don't think it is the one... this one? by President Kimball (I encourage you to take the time to read it) that could have been his speech at the RNC. There are no other "talking points"...all we seek as a country is promised as long as we worship God. Period. 

  3 And that great ^apit, which hath been digged for them The image that came to my mind here was that it takes "time" to dig a great pit. The devil has been working with his followers for a long time to "prepare" the means to destroy the children of God. You must match your own preparations to his my Patriarchal Blessing says I build a "wall of righteousness" which also must be built over time by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, it bothers me that, even in a negative context, the devil is referred to as having "children". But I know that is not literal and just like every other sacred thing...he has his counterfeit. We are also not literal children of Christ, but must become such by covenanting to follow Him  that he might lead away to lead is not to force...one must follow. How is Satan trying to lead you away from your real Father? the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged he has said this twice now. The pit HAS been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, what a surprise for them! unfortunately it sounds like a lot of people go into this "great" pit saith the Lamb of God;so trust this...the wicked fill it...not the righteous... not the destruction of the soul, so the destruction of the body? Is it not "utter" destruction because they may still repent after they die? save it be the casting of it into that ^bhell which hath no end. If they do not repent and are cast into hell, at that day it will be their utter destruction. Is this after the final judgement day?

  4 For behold, this is according to the ^acaptivity of the devil, "captivity" is a period of enslavement and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him. See Alma 42 for more instruction on the justice of God. Without repentance, justice has her claim on the wicked. What exactly does this "justice" look like? I usually think of it in terms of the natural consequences of sin to the body in this life: addiction, going to jail for crimes committed, loss of friends and family, poor health; but there is one more side to it, I think. What about "justice" after we die, in the spirit world? Here, on earth, we have agency to yield to God or Satan. When we choose Satan, we choose to become "subject" to him. If we do it long enough, we become "captive" by him and are "forced" to do his bidding. Do we "want" to do it as well, at this point? I don't know...Is agency lost? I don't know. But someone who is a slave does what the master says, by force, even if they don't want to do it until they are freed. However, or whenever it happens, I think release only comes through repentance. 

There is a whole realm of spirits in the spirit world that are subject to Satan; those who do not have bodies and those who once lived on the earth but chose wickedness while here. These spirits are subject to him and are forced to do his bidding. All those evil and unclean spirits are now loosed on the earth, doing as much damage to the souls of men as they can. Are these among the spirits that are preached to in "spirit prison"? I don't know....
 
Here is an excerpt from a writing I came across,(author unnamed), that gives a little insight to the subject:

"Moving on, the great King Benjamin, in declaring to us the words given him by an angel, taught that these unclean beings were individuals who had chosen to live an unrepentant life, and so in death were in a state of misery, endless torment, and personal damnation:

And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people... whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they be evil. And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls (Mosiah 3:24-25, emphasis mine).

Continuing this theme regarding those who become unclean spirits and what happens to them because they have chosen to die in their sins, the prophet Abinadi declared to a group of wicked priests:

But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have willfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim (Mosiah 15:26-27, emphasis mine).

And of the great prophet Enoch it is written:

And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, even though we are all children of God, we must become the sons of God (Jesus) as well and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them (Moses 7:1).

What, then, does this mean for men and women who have “perished” or “died” in their sins; i.e., in an unclean state? Where do such unclean beings go when they enter the world of spirits? And what, exactly, do they do? According to a revelation the Lord gave to Joseph Smith:

These are they who are thrust down to hell. These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work (D&C 76:84-85, emphasis mine).

It means, in other words, that, following their mortal deaths, wicked men and women, those who have chosen to live their lives on a Telestial level and so have died in their sins or in an unclean state, are ruled over by Satan in a Spirit World condition or situation called Hell. Furthermore, they will remain in Hell under Satan’s rule and power until they are resurrected from the dead in the “last resurrection,” which will occur sometime following the Millennium and the final winding up scenes of this earth, when “Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work.”

The great prophet Mormon taught this doctrine to his son Moroni; i.e., that Satan held vicious and total rule over unclean post-mortal individuals as well as his own angels who followed him pre-mortally, forcing or compelling all of them to work wickedness among the children of men. In a letter to his son that now comprises Chapter 7 of Moroni’s final addition to his father’s amazing abridgement of the Nephite records, Mormon wrote:

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, 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 (Moroni 7:17, emphasis mine).

This tragic and compellingly miserable fate is consistent with the teachings of Nephi’s theologian brother, Jacob, who declared concerning the fate of those who become subject to Satan in the world of spirits:

For behold... our spirits must... become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to... stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness (2 Nephi 9:7)

In a published effort to explain his understanding of the above doctrine as well as some of the powers given by Satan to these unclean spirits as he rules over them in hell, requiring them to do his bidding and his work (for Lucifer never has believed in agency), Parley P. Pratt, who at the time of this writing was President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught:

Many spirits of the departed, who are unhappy, linger in lonely wretchedness about the earth, and in the air, and especially about their ancient homesteads, and the places rendered dear to them by the memory of former scenes. The more wicked of these are the kind spoken of in Scripture, as "foul spirits," "unclean spirits," spirits who afflict persons in the flesh, and engender various diseases in the human system. They will sometimes enter human bodies, and will distract them, throw them into fits, cast them into the water, into the fire, etc. They will trouble them with dreams, nightmare[s], hysterics, fever, etc. They will also deform them in body and in features, by convulsions, cramps, contortions, etc., and will sometimes compel them to utter blasphemies, horrible curses, and even words of other languages. If permitted, they will often cause death. Some of these spirits are [were] adulterous [during mortality], and suggest to the mind all manner of lasciviousness, all kinds of evil thoughts and temptations (Parley P. Pratt, Key To The Science Of Theology, Salt Lake City, Deseret Book Company, 1948, p. 116).

It is obvious that these unclean spirits, formerly mortal but now under Satan’s rule, have power given them by the devil to do an incredible amount of damage to currently mortal individuals – damage of either a physical or a spiritual nature;..."

  5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be ^awell with them; Never lose hope in repentance! and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso ^brepenteth not must perish. Never forget what happens if you DON’T repent!

  6 Therefore, ^awo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. WARNING!!!

  7 For the time cometh, came...Spring of 1820 saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a ^amarvelous work among the children of men; a ^bwork which shall be everlasting, I believe this "marvelous work" is the restoration of the gospel, but the marvelous work about the gospel is that it changes your life....forever! I'm not so sure of this anymore. I'm pondering if the ‘marvelous work’ isn't the redeeming of our souls and the remission of our sins that we receive by the baptism by fire. The footnotes reference scriptures about the great work of the Lord restoring the lost tribes to a knowledge of the gospel, so it could be that future work too and not the coming forth of the Book of Mormon only... either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto ^cpeace and ^dlife eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the ^ecaptivity of the devil, of which I have spoken. We have to choose...eternal life...or captivity. Doesn't seem like a hard choice, yet it is...why? Has to do with "hard hearts" and "blind minds". When we do not let truth penetrate into our hearts, the place from which our actions spring; the seat of emotion; we are left with the "feelings" from the devil. They are always wrapped in "lies", which is why, feelings, in and of themselves cannot be taken as fact. Just because you feel something doesn't make it true...but once you accept it as truth, you're going to act from that place and feel you are right. 

Either choice places us in a position of servitude...to God or the devil. But the devil, once chosen, can hold us "captive"; God, on the other hand never forces you to stay. You must choose to "bind" yourself to him. You do that through your covenants. Both realms have their means of "staying power". 

The devil is interested in destroying you both physically and spiritually. We discount the physical destruction he is causing beyond addiction and death. A host of physical ills are a direct result of his work on us as we yield to his way of thinking and feeling. 

God, on the other hand offers eternal life to both our body and our spirit; He offers peace and healing. 

Again....why is the choice so hard? Answer: natural man. The great work of the gospel-our great work as disciples of Christ in His gospel- is to help others change their natural man; to soften hard hearts. How do we do that? Kindness. Pres. George A. Smith said:

"What a joy, what a comfort, what a satisfaction can be added to the lives of our neighbors and friends through kindness. How I would like to write that word in capital letters and emblazon it in the air. Kindness is the power that God has given us to unlock hard hearts and subdue stubborn souls and bring them to an understanding of His purposes. As disciples of Christ, we have made a covenant to be kind. Let us keep our covenants."

  8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the ^acovenants Remember a covenant is a two way promise or contract… of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea. Do we know what that covenant is? Listen to this talk and then answer that question: The Doctrine of Christ

  9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the ^adevil.

  10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save ^atwo churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the ^bother is the church of the ^cdevil; wherefore, ^dwhoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the ^ewhore of all the earth. This sounds harsh, as there are many good churches who are trying to teach what they know and to bring people to Christ, BUT, without the saving ordinances found only in Christ’s one true church, they are still exempt from eternal glory, and thus the devil will have won by frustrating their eternal progression. Pres. Boyd K. Packer said of this claim to be the one true church:
"We are not free to alter this fundamental doctrine of the gospel, not even in the face of the tribulation prophesied in that revelation (D&C 78.) Popularity and the approval of the world perhaps must remain ever beyond our reach." Seems to be too much of our focus right now...
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many ^awaters; and she had dominion over ^ball the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. Verse 10 just said that this is the devil.  I think the word "whore" is used here to describe those in the "church of the devil" as ones who use their talents and abilities for evil; usually centered on getting money, then using that money to gain power and control...Satan's ultimate goal. We know that we live in a world ruled by many such people. I had the thought the other day that the "whore of Babylon" was a perfect description for what we are seeing right now. The Government and Big Business and the Media have a "whoring" relationship. The sell themselves for money, they lust after what each other can give them, they betray those to whom they should be loyal to (the people) and they do it behind closed doors and in secret, and pretend to be another way outwardly. Also wondering why the word "mother" and "she" are used to describe this church. We know Satan is a "he". Is this satan's counterfeit to Mother in Heaven? Is Mother in Heaven somehow revealed and this "mother harlot" is the counterfeit to Her?

  12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were ^afew, Never feel like you are on the wrong side, just because your side is fewer in number than the other side If you take the numbers on the other side of the veil in to account "they that be with us are more than they that be with them." because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; The wicked truly are a stumbling block to righteousness nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon ^ball the face of the earth; good people are found everywhere. Agency allows us to resist the influence of the wicked by following the Light of Christ and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. He repeats that the wicked have great influence.

  13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to ^afight against the Lamb of God. Why would she bother to fight against so few in number? This is the persecution of the righteous. It is coming again...

  14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints it came from God above of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people all who follow Christ may be called Saints, but you must make covenants with Him through His authorized priesthood to be His "covenant" people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; they are not gathered into one body and place and they were ^aarmed with ^brighteousness and with the ^cpower of God in great glory. Not with swords and guns, but with their own righteousness which means these covenant people KEPT their covenants. They renewed those covenants in His Holy Temple where they were promised they would lead with POWER "In the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith petitioned the Father “that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them” (D&C 109:22). I feel like so few have experienced a baptism of fire. I wonder it if will come like it did to King Benjamin's people, all at once to large groups...
  15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was ^apoured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the ^bnations and kindreds of the earth.I think it is interesting to note here, that the wars are a result of the wrath of God. Is he saying God is causing the wars? I don't think so. I think God has removed His protection; for it was only promised if we would worship Him. He also told Nephi earlier that he could allow one group of people to "be a scourge" to another to "stir them up in the ways of remembrance". I believe many people WILL be "stirred" to "remember" God when the adversity really hits them. We should not curse God for His wrath, but help Him, by helping others turn their hearts back to Him. 

  16 And as there began to be ^awars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—

  17 And when the ^aday cometh that the ^bwrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the ^cwork of the Father shall commence, God never leaves us; if wickedness increases, so does righteousness. Whose side are you on...in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his ^dcovenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. The question here is: Has the day come? Has the work of the Father commenced? Is He fulfilling his covenants made to the house of Israel? The answers: Yes, yes, yes. However, if you look at the order, the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots before the work of the Father commences. I don't think we've seen his wrath poured out upon wickedness. I always associate that with the final destruction of the wicked, but how can His work only just be beginning after that? Will we see wars come upon the wicked or some kind of destruction before the end? I'm am hoping that is that case and that we get one last great spiritual revival. It seems like the most merciful thing to do...

  18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

  19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. I am remembering the Lehi's dream began with a "man in a white robe" asking him to follow him, but it only lead to a dark and dreary waste...

  20 And the angel said unto me: Behold ^aone of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. John the Revelator

  21 Behold, he shall ^asee and ^bwrite the ^cremainder of these things; Nephi saw what John saw, to the end of the world, but did not write it... yea, and also many things which have been.  

  22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world. We should be very very interested in what John wrote, for we are IN it!

  23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the ^abook which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; Bible and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most ^bprecious and easy to the understanding of all men. "at the time"...this is why our eighth article of faith states: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly." We know many plain and precious things were lost or removed before it came into the hands of the general public. I don't know if they changed Revelations to make it so hard to understand, or if John wrote it that way...either way, we need the Spirit to interpret...but it's not easy reading... 

  24 And behold, the things which this ^aapostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.  I think a vision of the history of the world from beginning to end is given to all who see God.

  25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should ^awrite them. I would like to have read Nephi's version...

  26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have ^awritten them; and they are ^bsealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel. Who are these "others" and when shall we receive their writings? Are they the Lost Tribes? Seems like these writing would need to come soon to be helpful in preparing us for the Second Coming. Could their "coming forth" be part of what sets off more persecution for the saints? It is nice to know when they come, we will have them "in their purity". If they come to the house of Israel, do they come to/through the Jews or the Lamanites or the Ten Tribes? 

  27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, "where much is given, much is expected" that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was ^aJohn, according to the word of the angel.

  28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden maybe he was really tempted to write it...that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me;"I am satisfied; it fufills my purpose" and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw. How this vision must have impacted is life forever! To have that kind of perspective about your life and God's plan for man! There must be something important in the timing for when we receive these things.

  29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my ^afather saw, Lehi had the same vision and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. I believe He can make them known unto anyone. If you want to know why I believe this read this book...”Following the Light of Christ Into His Presence” by John Pontus

  30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was ^acarried away in the spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are ^btrue. And thus it is. Amen.They ARE true! Amen! Since Nephi can’t write what John saw, he writes what Isaiah saw, which is much of the same things. Mormon put it in his abridgment, even though we’d have it in the Bible. Jesus commands we study the words of Isaiah. 

1 Nephi 13

(All of my own thoughts are in blue type. red 4/20  Green 1/21orange 4/22 Brown 2023)

CHAPTER 13

Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil the devils counterfeits everything Jesus does set up among the Gentiles; notice the church is set up among the Gentiles. That means it's Europe or America the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.

  2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? I wonder if he asks this to be certain they are “seeing” the same thing, since it is a “vision”. Were there many things to look at so he needed his attention directed to a particular thing?  I wonder “how” that works when you are “seeing” the future. Or maybe the command to "look" opened some kind of portal...Another thought is the importance of teaching with questions. Check and see where the student is in their ability to see; their understanding. Teach where they are at. Keep them engaged. And I said: I behold many ^anations and kingdoms.

  3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.

  4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations More than one nation of the ^aGentiles the formation of a ^bgreat church.

  5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a ^achurch which is most abominable above all other churches, what “churches” would qualify as “other” churches? How is he defining "church"? Is it an organized gathering? Does it have to be directed towards the worship of God? (If it doesn't specifically say the church of the devil)  which ^bslayeth the saints of God, Notice the church of the devil wants to literally kill the saints of God. The saints of God believe people can worship how, where, or what they may...even the devil. But the devil cannot allow freedom of worship. He wants to be the one and only God (counterfeit) by force. yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a ^cyoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. Is this literal? Sounds like it is. I just read a few things about the Crusades and the torture was beyond horrendous. It is hard to believe people can be so cruel to other people and in the name of God. Many of those tortured were given the choice to convert to Christianity or die. How is death by torture Christian? Unbelievable! I fear greatly when I read things like this and the hear Elder McConkie saying "All of the sorrows of the past are yet a foretaste of what is to come". How do we go through that or anything like that? I cannot bear the thought. God help us all! 

  6 And it came to pass that I beheld this ^agreat and ^babominable church; and I saw the ^cdevil that he was the founder of it. Clearly.

  7 And I also saw ^agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined ^blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; I will draw attention to this phrase throughout the Book of Mormon to show the correlation between dress and unrighteousness and I saw many harlots. Somehow, sexual sin is a mark of the devil's kingdom. Since he can never create life, and it is the greatest godly power we are given, he seeks to pervert it and mock it and let his demons possess the bodies of those engaged to try to "feel" something. (my guess)

  8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the ^adesires of this great and abominable church  A desire for none of these can be associated with a true church of God. Put in categories you would have: money, fine clothes (to set you apart as "better than"), lusts of the flesh, (next verse will add) praise and the power and influence that comes with it.
  9 And also for the ^apraise of the world do they ^bdestroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. How is it that the world praises destroying others? Maybe these are the desires that qualify a church to be labeled “the church of the devil”

 10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; Are these the waters they will cross themselves? and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren. This seems to place the Gentiles where this church of the devil is formed in Europe.

 11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren. The American Indians

 12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and ^awrought upon the man; Columbus…and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. America. Just did a quick search and it seems there's some debate about where he actually landed. But the general consensus is he never set foot on any lands that are considered the present day United States of America. He is presumed to have only gone to South America. Is that what Nephi saw? I believe the promised land is considered all of North and South America, but it also seems that the promises and curses associated with the promised land seem only to apply to the United States, because we have the most free form of democracy. The South Americans have democracies too, but haven't prospered like the US.

 13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; Pilgrims… and they went forth out of captivity, I am not a history scholar, but I don't think the Pilgrims were slaves, but they did not have religious freedom, so in that respect they were in captivity. There are many forms of "captivity". All sin makes us captive upon the many waters.

 14 And it came to pass that I beheld many ^amultitudes Settling of America…. of the Gentiles upon the ^bland of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were ^cscattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. What was going on with the Indian people that the wrath of God was still upon them? Could be an example of the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children for generations is at play here...

 15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and ^aobtain the ^bland for their inheritance; This fulfills the prophecy that none should come to this land, save the Lord should lead them here.  Since the Lord brought them here, it becomes their land of inheritance. Makes me wonder how the Indians/Lamanites could stay on the land if they were not worshiping God. It seems like most Indian tribes worship a Great Spirit, so maybe that was enough and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and ^cbeautiful, like unto my people before they were ^dslain....Nephi remembers, sadly...footnotes to 'beautiful' suggest that he is talking about the whiteness that comes from being cleansed from sin. I am not convinced that the curse wasn't a literal dark skin. Skin color doesn't "make" you sinful, but children can carry the curses of their fathers. I think the church has softened this because of racial tensions from the left and the spirit of 'wokeness' that is spreading its poisen.

 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was ^awith them.  Humility…the key to accessing the power of the Lord. These were the founders of America. Truly this is the answer to all of our woes now in America. The power still lies in the individual lives of the citizens. If we would all return to God, his protection would return.

 17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles England were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.

 18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together ^aagainst them to battle.

 19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were ^adelivered by the power of God “In God We Trust”…and they did! And so should we! Do you trust God? If you do, then you will trust the words of his prophets that come from Christ, and follow them. out of the hands of all other nations. This nation was established by power of God, just as promised.

 20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a ^abook, Bible..and it was carried forth among them.

 21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book? Nephi had only known "plates" not paper books...or not. In the new Book of Mormon videos, they show prophets writing on paper-like things to duplicate the word of God to share with others.

 22 And I said unto him: I know not.

 23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The ^abook that thou beholdest is a ^brecord of the ^cJews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the ^dplates of brass, save there are not so many;  So the Bible is smaller than the plates of brass were, even though they only contained the Bible up to 600 BC…Or perhaps the reference is to the plates of brass not being as many as the 'book'. nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles. Study the Bible as well…search the covenants God made to the House of Israel; they are important! But why are they important to the Gentiles? They are not part of the house of Israel…Perhaps the greatest covenant is the one that leads us to a remission of sins - IF we come before the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, THEN Christ will redeem us and baptize us with fire and with the Holy Ghost and we will become His children. The scriptures testify of this all the way back to Adam. 

 24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the ^abook proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; This is what apostles do and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ is the source of truth.

 25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the ^aJews in purity unto the ^bGentiles, according to the truth which is in God. The New Testament contained the fullness of the Gospel when written. Before the apostasy, were the current NT writings taught to the Jews in book form? Just wondering when that all was put together into a book. We know that some of the NT is made of letters to the early saints by the apostles, but whether they were copied and distributed I don't know. But the angel is saying that the teachings of Jesus were taught to the Gentiles by the 12 apostles.

 26 And after they go forth by the ^ahand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews ^bunto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that ^cgreat and abominable ^dchurch, how can this not be the Catholic church?  They were the ones that had the Bible passed down to them and it was in their control…maybe it's not a church like we know it, but just the formation of the secret combination church of the devil which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have ^etaken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are ^fplain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. Still think it's the Catholics. A 'secret combination church' could not have changed the records and then the Pope innocently accept the secret changes?

 27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. Why would they want to do this?  

 28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and ^aprecious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God. We begin to see the need for a restoration and for another book that would contain the fullness of the gospel.

 29 And after these plain and precious things were ^ataken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, This is why we need the Book of Mormon AND the Bible yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. Satan can do much damage with half-truths or the teaching of man mixed with some true scripture. We can be in Satan's power when we lose or ignore precious truths. What greater stumbling block could there be than to remove the plain and precious truth that leads to the love of God and redemption from the fall? The desire and need to be born again?

 30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have the Lamanites for the ^aland of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the ^bmixture of thy ^cseed, by this time the Lamanites have mixed with "others" or is he referring to the mixture of Lamanites and Nephites? which are among thy brethren.

 31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall ^adestroy the seed of thy brethren. See, he first says the mixture of THY seed (Nephi) and the seed of they brethren (Lamanites)

 32 Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, until we have a fullness of the truth and understand it and embrace it, we too, are in an 'awful state of blindness' which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that ^aabominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.

 33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be ^amerciful unto the Gentiles, because it's not their fault they don't have the fullness of the Bible unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment. What does this mean? Mercy unto the Gentiles "unto" visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel (who is this?) in great judgment? Does this mean the Gentiles mercy is their being given the promised land by them taking it from the Indians?

 34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have ^avisited the ^bremnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father Lehi (mixture of Lamanites/Nephites among American Indains—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do ^cstumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the ^dgospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the ^eGentiles in that day, insomuch that I will ^fbring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my ^ggospel, not all? which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

 35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious;  The engravings of the Book of Mormon writers Do we recognize these "plain and precious" parts? What are they? and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, ^athese things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. The Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by the gift and power of God.

  36 And in them shall be written my ^agospel, saith the Lamb, and my ^brock and my salvation.The "rock" are the doctrines of the gospel, that if followed will lead to salvation.

 37 And ^ablessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my ^bZion at that day, for they shall have the ^cgift and the ^dpower of the Holy Ghost; Is this the early saints? and if they ^eendure unto the end they shall be ^flifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting ^gkingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall ^hpublish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. Missionaries, and ALL who share the gospel are offering everyone peace and joy! How do you say "no" to that? What does it mean to be "beautiful upon the mountains"? Mountains represent where we commune with God. This life is about making our way back from the Fall to the presence of God - in this life. Are we preaching the fulness of the gospel?

 38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the ^abook of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles ^bunto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. The Bible was shared with the American Indians.

 39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld ^aother ^bbooks, what are these? Is he referring to the “books” of the Book of Mormon? Or the Doctrine & Covenants? Pearl of Great Price? which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the ^cconvincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are ^dtrue. One of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is to be another witness that the Bible is true. Is he talking about both groups of apostles or just the American ones recorded in the the Book of Mormon?

 40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These ^alast records Book of Mormon, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall ^bestablish the truth of the ^cfirst, Bible which are of the ^dtwelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; We need both and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the ^eSavior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. This is the bottom line message of ALL scripture! The question is, what does it mean to come unto Him? Is it just believing in Him and obeying the commandments? We must be born again!

 41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; There is no other way...and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the ^arecords of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in ^bone; for there is ^cone God and one ^dShepherd over all the earth. One truth...one way...one church...one Shepherd

 42 And the time cometh Second Coming that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the ^aJews and also unto the Gentiles; First coming? And appearance to Joseph Smith? and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, Second Coming? and the ^blast shall be first, and the ^cfirst shall be last.

1 Nephi 12

(All of my own thoughts are in blue type.red 4/20 Green 1/21 Orange 4/22 Brown 2023)

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.