| 8:1 An epistle of my father Mormon, written to me,
Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after my calling
to the ministry. And on this wise did he write unto me,
saying: |
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| 8:2 My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly
that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and
hath called you to his ministry, and to his holy work. |
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| 8:3 I am mindful of you always in my prayers,
continually praying unto God the Father in the name of
his 1Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite
goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance
of faith on his name to the end. |
[1] Acts 4:30: ...the name of thy holy child
Jesus. |
| 8:4 And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning
that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me 1that
there should disputations rise among you. |
[1] I Corinthians 1:11: For it hath been declared
unto me of you, my brethren...that there are contentions
among you. |
| 8:5 For, if I have learned the truth, there have
been disputations among you concerning the baptism of
your little children. |
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| 8:6 And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor
diligently, that this gross error should be removed from
among you; for, for this intent I have written this
epistle. |
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| 8:7 For immediately after I had learned these
things of you I inquired of the Lord concerning the
matter. And the word of the Lord came to me by the power
of the Holy Ghost, saying: |
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| 8:8 Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer,
your Lord and your God. Behold, 1I came into the world not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician,
but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are
whole, for they are not capable of committing sin;
wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me,
that it hath no power over them; and the law of
circumcision is done away in me. |
[1] Matthew 9:12,13 ...They that be whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick. ...for I am
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. |
| 8:9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost
manifest the word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved
son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye
should baptize little children. |
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| 8:10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye
teach--repentance and baptism unto those who are
accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach
parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble
themselves as their little children, and they shall all
be saved with their little children. |
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| 8:11 And their little children need no repentance,
neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to
the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of
sins. |
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| 8:12 But little children are alive in Christ, even
from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a
partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter
to persons; for how many little children have died
without baptism! |
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| 8:13 Wherefore, if little children could not be
saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless
hell. |
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| 8:14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth
that little children need baptism is in the 1gall of
bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath
neither 2faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he
be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell.
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[1] Acts 8:23: ...thou art in the gall of
bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
[2] I Corinthians 13:13: And now abideth faith,
hope, charity, these three... |
| 8:15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God
saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must
perish because he hath no baptism. |
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| 8:16 Wo be unto them that shall 1pervert
the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall 2perish
except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having
authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; 3for
perfect love casteth out all fear. |
[1] Acts 13:10 ...wilt thou
not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
[2] Luke 13:3: I tell
you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.
[3] I John 4:18: ...but
perfect love casteth out fear... |
| 8:17 And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all
children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little
children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and
partakers of salvation. |
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| 8:18 For I know that God is not a partial God,
neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from
all eternity to all eternity. |
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| 8:19 Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is
awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto
them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.
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| 8:20 And he that saith that little children need
baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at
naught the atonement of him and the power of his
redemption. |
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| 8:21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death,
hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath
commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they
stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ. |
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| 8:22 For behold that all little children are alive
in Christ, and also all they that are without the law.
For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have
no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that
is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such
baptism availeth nothing-- |
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| 8:23 But it is mockery before God, denying the
mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and
putting trust in dead works. |
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| 8:24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for
repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and
under the curse of a broken law. |
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| 8:25 And the first fruits of repentance is baptism;
and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the
commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments
bringeth remission of sins; |
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| 8:26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness,
and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and
lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy
Ghost, which 1Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love,
which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the
end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.
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Topic: Anachronistic Words [1] The word Comforter
is a late English translation of the Greek parakletos
used in John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26 and 16:7. The exact
meaning of this word is unknown, but the sense is clear
enough. Other modern English translations use the word counsellor,
or some equivalent. The Vulgate leaves the word
untranslated in the Latin. It is strange that the Book of
Mormon uses a term which only came into being with the
publication of the King James Version. 
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| 8:27 Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if
I go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the
pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath
proven their destruction except they should repent. |
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| 8:28 Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come
unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased
striving with them; and in this part of the land they are
also seeking to put down all power and authority which
cometh from God; and they are denying the Holy Ghost. |
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| 8:29 And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my
son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the
prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as
the words of our Savior himself. |
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| 8:30 Farewell, my son, until I shall write unto you,
or shall meet you again. Amen. |
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