45:1 Behold, now it came to pass that the people of
Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had
again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies;
therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea,
and they did fast much and pray much, and they did
worship God with exceedingly great joy. |
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45:2 And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of
the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that
Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him:
Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee
concerning those records which have been kept? |
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45:3 And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe. |
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45:4 And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come? |
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45:5 And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which
thou hast spoken. |
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45:6 And Alma said unto him again: Will ye keep my
commandments? |
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45:7 And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments
with all my heart. |
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45:8 Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and
the Lord shall prosper thee in this land. |
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45:9 But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto
thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make
known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made
known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore
write the words which I shall say. |
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45:10 And these are the words: Behold, I perceive
that this very people, the Nephites, according to the
spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred
years from the time that Jesus Christ shall
manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief. |
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45:11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and
pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the
people of Nephi shall become extinct-- |
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45:12 Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in
unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and
lasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say
unto you, that because they shall sin against so great
light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that
day, even the fourth generation shall not all pass away
before this great iniquity shall come. |
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45:13 And when that great day cometh, behold, the
time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed
of those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi,
shall no more be numbered among the people of Nephi. |
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45:14 But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed
in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among
the Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save
it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the
Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they
shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this
prophecy shall be fulfilled. |
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45:15 And now it came to pass that after Alma had
said these things to Helaman, he blessed him, and also
his other sons; and he also blessed the earth for the
righteous' sake. |
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45:16 And he said: Thus saith the Lord God--Cursed
shall be the land, yea, this land, unto 1every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction,
which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I
have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the
blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look
upon sin with the least degree of allowance. |
[1] Revelation 14:6: ...to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people... |
45:17 And now, when Alma had said these words he
blessed the church, yea, all those who should stand fast in the
faith from that time henceforth. |
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45:18 And when Alma had done this he departed out of
the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of
Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of
more; as to his death or burial we know not of. |
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45:19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous
man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried
by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the
scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we
suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit,
unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing
concerning his death and burial. |
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45:20 And now it came to pass in the commencement of
the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the
people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people
to declare the word unto them. |
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45:21 For behold, because of their wars with the
Lamanites and the many little dissensions and
disturbances which had been among the people, it became
expedient that the word of God should be declared among
them, yea, and that a regulation should be made
throughout the church. |
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45:22 Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth
to establish the church again in all
the land, yea, in every city throughout all the land
which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came
to pass that they did appoint priests and teachers
throughout all the land, over all the churches. |
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45:23 And now it came to pass that after Helaman and
his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the
churches that there arose a dissension among them, and
they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his
brethren; |
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45:24 But they grew proud, being lifted up in their
hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches;
therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not
give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before God. |
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