| 22:1 And now
it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these
things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my
brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth
these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be
understood according to things which are spiritual, which
shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the
flesh? |
|
| 22:2 And I,
Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the
prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are
all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come
upon the children of men according to the flesh. |
|
| 22:3
Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things
pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it
appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will
be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also
among all nations. |
|
| 22:4 And
behold, there are many who are already lost from the
knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more
part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are
scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and 1whither they are none
of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led
away. |
[1] According to the Bible,
the location of the Assyrian captives was well known
(see, for example, II Kings 15:29, 16:9 and 17:6). The
notion that the Ten Tribes were lost was a popular one in
Smith’s day, but is historically without merit. More
than likely, the Northern tribes were assimilated into
the surrounding cultures, and are now extinct. |
| 22:5 And
since they have been led away, these things have been
prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those
who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded,
because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will
they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be
scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all
men. |
|
| 22:6
Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles,
and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and
set them up for a standard, and their children have been
carried in their arms, and their daughters have been
carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of
which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants
of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the
days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the
house of Israel. |
|
| 22:7 And it
meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of
Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord
God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles,
yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall
our seed be scattered. |
|
| 22:8 And
after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to
do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of
great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto
their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried
in their arms and upon their shoulders. |
|
| 22:9 And it
shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only
unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto
the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven
unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds
of the earth be blessed. |
|
| 22:10 And I
would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the
kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall
make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations. |
|
| 22:11
Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm
in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his
covenants and his gospel unto
those who are of the house of Israel. |
|
| 22:12
Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and
they shall be gathered together to the lands of their
inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity
and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is
their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Israel. |
|
| 22:13 And
the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all
the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they
shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own
hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be
drunken with their own blood. |
|
| 22:14 And
every nation which shall war against thee, O house of
Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they
shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the
people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall
be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath 1perverted the right
ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust
and great shall be the 2fall
of it. |
[1] Acts 13:10: ...pervert
the right ways of the Lord...
[2] Revelation 18:2:
...Babylon the great is fallen... |
| 22:15 For
behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power
over the hearts of the children of men; for the 1day soon cometh that
all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as
stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned. |
Topic: Anachronistic
Quotes [1]
Malachi 4:1: For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn
as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall
burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi was a post-exilic prophet, who lived ca. BC
400. There is no way that Nephi could have known about
Malachi’s prophecies. Furthermore, when Christ
appeared to the Nephites, he gave them the words of
Malachi, claiming that they did not have them (III Nephi 26:2). If this is the
case, then where did Nephi get this verse from? See also I Nephi 22:24, II
Nephi 25:13 and II Nephi 26:4.
|
| 22:16 For
the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God
shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he
will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the
righteous. |
|
| 22:17
Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power,
even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come,
and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction
of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need
not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they 1shall
be saved, even if it so be as by fire. |
[1] I Corinthians 3:15:
...but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. |
| 22:18
Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things
must shortly come; yea, even 1blood,
and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs
be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men
according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden
their hearts against the Holy One of Israel. |
Topics: New Testament
Paraphrases [1]
Acts 2:19: ...blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Acts 2:19 is a paraphrase of Joel 2:30:
'And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth,
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.'
Note that the Book of Mormon uses the word 'vapour' in
place of 'pillars', just as the New Testament does.
|
| 22:19 For
behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time
surely must come that all they who fight against Zion
shall be cut off. |
|
| 22:20 And
the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto
the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake,
saying: 1A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like
unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he
shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all
those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off
from among the people. |
Topics: New Testament
Paraphrases [1]
Acts 3:22-23: For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to
pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet,
shall be destroyed from among the people.
Presumably, Smith meant to quote Deutoronomy 18:15,18
and 19, but instead he has this ancient prophet quoting
Peter’s paraphrase of Moses’ words. See also III Nephi 20:23-26.
|
| 22:21 And
now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom
Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he
shall execute judgment in righteousness. |
|
| 22:22 And
the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall
not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up
among the children of men, which kingdom is established
among them which are in the flesh-- |
|
| 22:23 For
the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to
get gain, and all those who are built up to get power
over the flesh, and those who are built up to become
popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the 1lusts of the flesh and
the 2things of
the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in
fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear,
and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be
brought low in the dust; they are those who must be
consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words
of the prophet. |
[1] I John 2:16: ...the
lust of the flesh...
[2] Ibid 2:15
...the things that are in the world... |
| 22:24 And
the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led
up as 1calves of
the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in
dominion, and might, and power, and great glory. |
[1] Malachai
4:2:...and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of
the stall.
(See I Nephi 22:15) |
| 22:25 And
he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the
earth; and he numbereth his sheep, 1and
they know him; 2and
there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall
feed his sheep, and in him they shall 3find
pasture. |
[1] John 10:27: My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them...
[2] Ibid
10:16: ...and there shall be one fold, and one
shepherd.
[3] Ibid
10:9: ...by me...he shall...find pasture. |
| 22:26 And
because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore,
he 1cannot be
loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power
over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in
righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth. |
[1] Revelation 20:3:
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up,
and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the
nations no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season. |
| 22:27 And
now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things
must come according to the flesh. |
|
| 22:28 But,
behold, 1all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely
in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will
repent. |
[1] Revelation 7:9:
...all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues... |
| 22:29 And
now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further
as yet concerning these things. |
|
| 22:30
Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider
that the things which have been written upon the plates
of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be
obedient to the commandments of God. |
|
| 22:31
Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are
the only ones that have testified, and also taught them.
Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments,
and 1endure to
the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it
is. Amen. |
[1] Matthew 24:13: But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved. |
