Thursday, March 1, 2018

That I (2)

  1.   16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the amysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did bvisit me, and did csoften my heart that I did dbelieve all the words which had been spoken by my efather; wherefore, I did not frebel against him like unto my brothers.
  2.   1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from aspeaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father.
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      7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
      8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord.
  3.   1 And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be afaithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not bmightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?
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      10 And it came to pass that I was aconstrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.
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      17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.
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      24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the aplates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.
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      26 And he, supposing that I spake of the abrethren of the bchurch, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me.
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      29 And it came to pass that I called after them, and they did hear me; wherefore they did cease to flee from my presence.
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      32 And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life.
  4.   4 And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a avisionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a bvision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren.
  5.   3 And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father, for they cannot be written upon athese plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God.
      4 For the fulness of mine intent is that I may apersuade men to bcome unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.
  6.   2 And it came to pass that the Lord acommanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.
      3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did aagain, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.
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      8 And now I, Nephi, being agrieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your byounger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an cexample for you?
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      15 Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem ye shall also perish with them. And now, if ye have choice, go up to the land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go ye will also perish; for thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me that I should speak.
      16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did abind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.
      17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me astrength that I may bburst these bands with which I am bound.
      18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.
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      20 And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would aforgive them of the thing that they had done against me.
      21 And it came to pass that I did frankly aforgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for bforgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.
  7.   5 And it came to pass that I saw a aman, and he was dressed in a white brobe; and he came and stood before me.
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      7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
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      10 And it came to pass that I beheld a atree, whose bfruit was desirable to make one chappy.
      11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the afruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the bwhiteness that I had ever seen.
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      13 And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a ariver of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.
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      15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.
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      17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.
      18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would anot come unto me and partake of the fruit.
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      24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, aclinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the bfruit of the tree.
  8.   3 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special apurpose that there should be an account engraven of the bministry of my people.
  9.   17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the eHoly Ghost, which is the fgift of God unto gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.
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      22 And the Holy Ghost giveth aauthority that I should speak these things, and deny them not.
  10.   5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I abelieve all the words of my father.
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      13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of aNazareth I beheld a bvirgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.
      14 And it came to pass that I saw the aheavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
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      19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the aSpirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
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      25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the arod of iron, which my father had seen, was the bword of God, which cled to the fountain of dliving waters, or to the etree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
          •  •  •
      36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the apride of the world; and it bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
  11.   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.
      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 on the face of the 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.
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      13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.
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      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.
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      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; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.
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      23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a adark, and loathsome, and a bfilthy people, full of cidleness and all manner of abominations.
  12.   4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the aGentiles the formation of a bgreat church.
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      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.
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      10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
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      13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
      14 And it came to pass that I beheld many amultitudes 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.
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      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.
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      20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a abook, and it was carried forth among them.
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      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—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, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.
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      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.
  13.   7 For the time cometh, 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, 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.
          •  •  •
      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.
      12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were afew, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon ball the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
      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.
      14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were aarmed with brighteousness and with the cpower of God in great glory.
      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.
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      28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw.
      29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my afather saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.
  14.   1 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father.
      2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them.
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      5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine aafflictions were great above all, because of the bdestruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.
      6 And it came to pass that after I had received astrength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.
          •  •  •
      19 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the arestoration of the Jews in the latter days.
      20 And I did rehearse unto them the words of aIsaiah, who spake bconcerning the crestoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did dhumble themselves before the Lord.
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      32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their aworks, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of bprobation.
  15.   1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
      2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken ahard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the bguilty taketh the ctruth to be hard, for it dcutteth them to the very center.
          •  •  •
      4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.
      5 And it came to pass that they did ahumble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.
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      7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the adaughters of Ishmael to bwife; and also, my brethren took of the cdaughters of Ishmael to wife; and also dZoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.
          •  •  •
      18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine asteel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.
          •  •  •
      21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their asprings, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.
      22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto acomplaining against the Lord their God.
      23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did amake out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my bfather: Whither shall I go to obtain food?
          •  •  •
      28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the afaith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.
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      30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the adirections which were given upon the ball.
      31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild abeasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.
      32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained afood, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.
  16.   7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: aArise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.
      8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt aconstruct a ship, after the bmanner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.
      9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make atools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?
      10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.
      11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to ablow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire.
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      14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall aknow that I, the Lord, am bGod; and that I, the Lord, did cdeliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.
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      16 And it came to pass that I did amake tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.
      17 And when my brethren saw that I was about to abuild a ship, they began to bmurmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.
      18 And thus my brethren did acomplain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not bbelieve that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
      19 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did arejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.
          •  •  •
      23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake unto them, saying: Do ye believe that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the aEgyptians if they had not hearkened unto the words of the Lord?
          •  •  •
      48 And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye atouch me not, for I am filled with the bpower of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall cwither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.
      49 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should abuild a ship.
      50 And I said unto them: aIf God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.
      51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot ainstruct me, that I should build a ship?
      52 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were aconfounded and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the bSpirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them.
      53 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will ashock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God.
      54 And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before me; but the Lord did shake them, even according to the word which he had spoken.
  17.   4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did ahumble themselves again before the Lord.
          •  •  •
      12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the acompass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work.
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      21 And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I aprayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.
      22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.
  18.   1 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the arecord of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did bengraven the record of my cfather, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them.
      2 And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make athese plates; wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I made bthese plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates.
          •  •  •
      5 And an account of my amaking these plates shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be bkept for the knowledge of my people.
      6 Nevertheless, I do not awrite anything upon plates save it be that I think it be bsacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the cweakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.
          •  •  •
      18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would aremember the Lord their Redeemer.
          •  •  •
      22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the aplates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.
      23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the abooks of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet bIsaiah; for I did cliken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our dprofit and learning.
  19.   6 Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye anot declare them? And that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
          •  •  •
      9 Nevertheless, for my aname’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.
  20.   5 And now, saith the Lord—that aformed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him—though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my bstrength.
          •  •  •
      20 The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the first, shall aagain in thine ears say: The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.
          •  •  •
      23 And akings shall be thy bnursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that cwait for me.
          •  •  •
      26 And I will afeed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall bknow that I, the Lord, am thy cSavior and thy Redeemer, the dMighty One of Jacob.
  21.   1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the aplates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What bmeaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are cspiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?
          •  •  •
      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 acommandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.
  22.   1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our afather, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.
          •  •  •
      21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be amen, and be determined in bone mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;
  23.   17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great agoodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O bwretched man that I am! Yea, my heart csorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
          •  •  •
      25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been acarried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.
          •  •  •
      31 O Lord, wilt thou aredeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of bsin?
      32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my aheart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may bwalk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!
  24.   1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the aanger of my brethren.
          •  •  •
      5 And it came to pass that the Lord did awarn me, that I, bNephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me.
      6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also aZoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the bwarnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.
          •  •  •
      17 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be aindustrious, and to blabor with their chands.
      18 And it came to pass that they would that I should be their aking. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power.
      19 And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my brethren, which he spake concerning them, that I should be their aruler and their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their bteacher, according to the commandments of the Lord, until the time they sought to take away my life.
          •  •  •
      26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did aconsecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be bpriests and cteachers over the land of my people.
  25.   2 Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy aorder, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a bking or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things.
          •  •  •
      4 And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to come; wherefore, I will read you the words of aIsaiah. And they are the words which my brother has desired that I should speak unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may learn and glorify the name of your God.
          •  •  •
      7 And akings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that bI am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that cwait for me.
          •  •  •
      18 And I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy aRedeemer, the bMighty One of Jacob.
  26.   4 The Lord God hath given me the atongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned.
          •  •  •
      7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be aashamed.
  27.   16 And I have aput my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my bpeople.
  28.   40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will arevile against the btruth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are chard against all duncleanness; but the erighteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
          •  •  •
      44 O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his aall-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I bshook your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him, and am crid of your blood.
          •  •  •
      46 Prepare your souls for that glorious day when ajustice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of bjudgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful cguilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God dAlmighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath eobtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery.
      47 But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you to an awful reality of these things? Would I harrow up your souls if your minds were pure? Would I be plain unto you according to the plainness of the truth if ye were freed from sin?
      48 Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as ye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a ateacher, it must needs be expedient that I bteach you the consequences of sin.
  29.   7 But behold, thus saith the aLord God: bWhen the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be crestored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the dlands of their inheritance.
          •  •  •
      15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my acovenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the bsecret works of cdarkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
          •  •  •
      17 For I will afulfil my bpromises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh—
  30.   4 What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes.
  31.   11 For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
  32.   25 That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his ayoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
  33.   4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the aspirit of bprophecy. But I give unto you a cprophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the dplainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in eplainness unto my people, that they may learn.
  34.   2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.
  35.   21 aTouch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.
      22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the awitnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own bwisdom to creveal all things unto the children of men.
      23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of amiracles; and I will show unto the bworld that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I cwork not among the children of men save it be daccording to their faith.
          •  •  •
      27 And awo unto them that seek deep to hide their bcounsel from the Lord! And their works are in the cdark; and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the dpotter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I eknow all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?
  36.   30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon aprecept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn bwisdom; for unto him that creceiveth I will give dmore; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
  37.   1 But behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a amarvelous work among them, that I may remember my bcovenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the csecond time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;
      2 And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the awords of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall bhiss forth unto the cends of the earth, for a dstandard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;
          •  •  •
      7 Know ye not that there are more anations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the bisles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the cearth beneath; and I bring forth my dword unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
      8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the atestimony of btwo nations is a cwitness unto you that I am God, that I remember one dnation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two enations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
      9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the asame yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my bwords according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one cword ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my dwork is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
      10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my awords; neither bneed ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.
          •  •  •
      14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the ahouse of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the blands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in cone. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my dpeople, who are of the ehouse of Israel, that I am God, and that I fcovenanted with gAbraham that I would remember his hseed iforever.
  38.   4 Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that aprophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the bLamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.
  39.   2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had areceived the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the btongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
          •  •  •
      8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the aSpirit which teacheth a man to bpray ye would know that ye must cpray; for the devil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
  40.   7 I have acharity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.
          •  •  •
      11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with apower and great bglory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.
  41.   2 And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should awrite upon bthese plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi.
      3 For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his aother plates, and that I should bpreserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.
      4 And if there were preaching which was asacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the bheads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people.
  42.   2 Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to the aresponsibility which I am under to God, to bmagnify mine office with csoberness, and that I might drid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple this day that I might declare unto you the word of God.
      3 And ye yourselves know that I have hitherto been diligent in the office of my calling; but I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the awelfare of your souls than I have hitherto been.
          •  •  •
      6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts.
      7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much aboldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and bchaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God;
          •  •  •
      9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to aadmonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.
          •  •  •
      22 And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you.
          •  •  •
      25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a arighteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
  43.   1 Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot write but a alittle of my words, because of the bdifficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain;
          •  •  •
      12 And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not aspeak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?
  44.   7 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he said unto his aservant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a bwild olive-tree, and bring them hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that they may be burned.
          •  •  •
      11 And the Lord of the vineyard caused that it should be digged about, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, that perhaps I might preserve the roots thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself, I have done this thing.
          •  •  •
      13 And these will I aplace in the nethermost part of my vineyard, whithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee; and I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree; and also, that I may lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself; for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.
          •  •  •
      19 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Come, let us go to the nethermost part of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self.
      20 And it came to pass that they went forth whither the master had hid the natural branches of the tree, and he said unto the servant: Behold these; and he beheld the afirst that it had bbrought forth much fruit; and he beheld also that it was good. And he said unto the servant: Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self; for behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it, and it hath brought forth much fruit.
          •  •  •
      23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.
      24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another abranch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.
          •  •  •
      32 But behold, this time it hath brought forth much afruit, and there is bnone of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me that I should lose this tree.
      33 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again good fruit thereof unto mine own self?
          •  •  •
      44 And thou beheldest that I also cut down that which acumbered this spot of ground, that I might plant this tree in the stead thereof.
          •  •  •
      46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good afruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of no worth but to be bhewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.
      47 But awhat could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have bstretched forth mine chand almost all the day long, and the dend draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?
          •  •  •
      51 And the Lord said: Yea, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard.
          •  •  •
      53 And this will I do that the tree may not perish, that, perhaps, I may preserve unto myself the roots thereof for mine aown purpose.
      54 And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the abranches of this tree, and I will bgraft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.
          •  •  •
      57 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.
          •  •  •
      60 And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good afruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard, and, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit—
      61 Wherefore, go to, and call aservants, that we may blabor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may cprepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most precious above all other fruit.
      62 Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall aprune my vineyard.
          •  •  •
      66 For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard; wherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the fire, that they cumber not the ground of my vineyard; and thus will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard.
          •  •  •
      71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and alabor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the blast time that I shall cnourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.
          •  •  •
      75 And it came to pass that when the aLord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And bblessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the cnatural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have djoy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.
      76 For behold, for a along time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken.
  45.   1 And now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecy—that the things which this prophet aZenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto a tame bolive-tree, must surely come to pass.
  46.   3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts; and he knowing that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much opportunity that he might come unto me.
          •  •  •
      6 And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou goest about much, preaching that which ye call the agospel, or the doctrine of Christ.
          •  •  •
      8 But behold, the Lord God poured in his aSpirit into my soul, insomuch that I did bconfound him in all his words.
          •  •  •
      14 And I said unto him: What am I that I should atempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be btrue? Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the cdevil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a dsign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine.
      15 And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many days.
          •  •  •
      19 And he said: I afear lest I have committed the bunpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him. And because I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be cawful; but I confess unto God.
          •  •  •
      26 And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the aother plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our blives passed away like as it were unto us a cdream, we being a dlonesome and a solemn people, ewanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.
      27 And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son aEnos: Take these bplates. And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had ccommanded me, and he promised obedience unto the commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has been dsmall; and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.
  47.   1 Behold, it came to pass that I, aEnos, knowing my father that bhe was a just man—for he ctaught me in his language, and also in the dnurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—
          •  •  •
      9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a adesire for the bwelfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did cpour out my whole soul unto God for them.
          •  •  •
      12 And it came to pass that after I had aprayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy bdesires, because of thy faith.
          •  •  •
      19 And now it came to pass that I, Enos, went about among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come, and testifying of the things which I had heard and seen.
          •  •  •
      25 And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and seventy and nine years had passed away from the time that our father Lehi aleft Jerusalem.
      26 And I saw that I amust soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.
  48.   2 And as athese plates are bsmall, and as these things are cwritten for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the dLamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.
  49.   1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon athese plates, to preserve our genealogy—
      2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself aam a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.
          •  •  •
      8 And it came to pass that I did deliver the plates unto my brother Chemish.
          •  •  •
      10 Behold, I, Abinadom, am the son of Chemish. Behold, it came to pass that I saw much war and contention between my people, the Nephites, and the Lamanites; and I, with my own sword, have taken the lives of many of the Lamanites in the defence of my brethren.
          •  •  •
      25 And it came to pass that I began to be old; and, having no seed, and knowing king aBenjamin to be a just man before the Lord, wherefore, I shall bdeliver up cthese plates unto him, exhorting all men to come unto God, the Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are dgood; for there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord; and that which is evil cometh from the devil.
  50.   2 And it is amany hundred years after the coming of Christ that I deliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire bdestruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may cprofit them.
      3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an aabridgment from the bplates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the crecords which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king dBenjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.
  51.   10 I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear ame, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.
      11 But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and aconsecrated by bmy father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.
      12 I say unto you that as I have been suffered to aspend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought bgold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you;
          •  •  •
      14 And even I, myself, have alabored with mine own bhands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be claden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
      15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might aboast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear bconscience before God this day.
      16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
          •  •  •
      26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am ano better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth.
      27 Therefore, as I said unto you that I had aserved you, bwalking with a clear conscience before God, even so I at this time have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might be found blameless, and that your cblood should not come upon me, when I shall stand to be judged of God of the things whereof he hath commanded me concerning you.
      28 I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might arid my garments of your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal bspirit may join the cchoirs above in singing the praises of a just God.
      29 And moreover, I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together, that I might declare unto you that I can no longer be your teacher, nor your king;
      30 For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a aking and a ruler over you.
  52.   24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I agive not because I bhave not, but if I had I would cgive.
          •  •  •
      29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.
  53.   6 And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them: Ye have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant.
          •  •  •
      11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the aname that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.
  54.   11 And now, for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I should have caused that my guards should have put you to death. Ye are permitted to speak.
      12 And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and abowed himself before the king; and rising again he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with boldness;
      13 For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn these bands. For I am Ammon, and am a adescendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the bland of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom cZeniff brought up out of that land.
  55.   1 aI, bZeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of cNephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them—but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.
      2 Therefore, I contended with my brethren in the wilderness, for I would that our ruler should make a treaty with them; but he being an austere and a blood-thirsty man commanded that I should be slain; but I was rescued by the shedding of much blood; for father fought against father, and brother against brother, until the greater number of our army was destroyed in the wilderness; and we returned, those of us that were spared, to the land of Zarahemla, to relate that tale to their wives and their children.
          •  •  •
      5 And it came to pass that I went again with four of my men into the city, in unto the king, that I might know of the disposition of the king, and that I might know if I might go in with my people and possess the land in peace.
      6 And I went in unto the king, and he covenanted with me that I might possess the aland of Lehi-Nephi, and the land of Shilom.
          •  •  •
      16 And it came to pass that I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle.
  56.   1 And it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in peace. And I caused that there should be aweapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people.
          •  •  •
      7 But I had sent my spies out round about the land of aShemlon, that I might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them.
          •  •  •
      9 And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of my people should be hid in the wilderness; and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man according to his age.
          •  •  •
      18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his acunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land.
  57.   22 And it shall come to pass that they shall aknow that I am the Lord their God, and am a bjealous God, visiting the iniquities of my people.
          •  •  •
      27 Now when king Noah had heard of the words which Abinadi had spoken unto the people, he was also wroth; and he said: aWho is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or bwho is the Lord, that shall bring upon my people such great affliction?
      28 I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him, for he has said these things that he might astir up my people to anger one with another, and to raise contentions among my people; therefore I will slay him.
  58.   3 And it shall come to pass that the alife of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot bfurnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord.
      4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with apestilence; and I will cause that they shall bhowl all the day long.
          •  •  •
      6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth ahail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the beast wind; and cinsects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.
          •  •  •
      8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly adestroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a brecord behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people.
          •  •  •
      30 Know ye not that I speak the atruth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God.
  59.   3 aTouch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye brequested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.
      4 But I must fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me; and because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me. And again, because I have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad.
          •  •  •
      9 But I finish my message; and then it amatters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved.
          •  •  •
      12 And now, ye remember that I asaid unto you: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the water under the earth.
  60.   9 Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will anot recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.
          •  •  •
      15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy aseed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of bdeath by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God.
  61.   14 But Limhi said unto them: Ye shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him. And they brought him. And Limhi said unto him: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my people have not broken the aoath that I made unto you; therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto my people?
  62.   14 And I will also ease the aburdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as bwitnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their cafflictions.
  63.   26 And then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer; but they would not be redeemed.
      27 And then I will confess unto them that I never aknew them; and they shall bdepart into ceverlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
  64.   30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much afaith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and bspare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.
  65.   14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be aseparated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and bturn to me that I may have mercy upon them.
  66.   45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I aknow of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
      46 Behold, I say unto you they are made aknown unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have bfasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of crevelation which is in me.
          •  •  •
      48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.
  67.   1 Behold my beloved brethren, seeing that I have been permitted to come unto you, therefore I attempt to address you in my language; yea, by my aown mouth, seeing that it is the first time that I have spoken unto you by the words of my mouth, I having been wholly confined to the bjudgment-seat, having had much business that I could not come unto you.
      2 And even I could not have come now at this time were it not that the judgment-seat hath been agiven to another, to reign in my stead; and the Lord in much mercy hath granted that I should come unto you.
      3 And behold, I have come having great hopes and much desire that I should find that ye had humbled yourselves before God, and that ye had continued in the supplicating of his grace, that I should find that ye were blameless before him, that I should find that ye were not in the awful adilemma that our brethren were in at Zarahemla.
          •  •  •
      5 And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow.
          •  •  •
      16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will aremember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.
      17 And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.
      18 For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of adilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified.
          •  •  •
      22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.
  68.   25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning their iniquities.
  69.   1 And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of aAmmonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:
          •  •  •
      31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a astiffnecked people.
  70.   8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the aman whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
          •  •  •
      21 Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: aI will come down among my people, with equity and justice in my hands.
          •  •  •
      26 For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.
  71.   25 And now thou hast lied before God unto me. Thou saidst unto me—Behold these six onties, which are of great worth, I will give unto thee—when thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was only thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou mightest have cause to destroy me. And now behold, for this great evil thou shalt have thy reward.
          •  •  •
      36 Now Amulek saith again unto him: Behold thou hast alied, for thou sayest that I spake as though I had authority to command God because I said he shall not save his people in their sins.
          •  •  •
      46 Now, when Amulek had finished these words the people began again to be astonished, and also Zeezrom began to tremble. And thus ended the words of Amulek, or this is all that I have written.
  72.   5 Now this was a plan of thine aadversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.
  73.   11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in aglory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the bjudgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the cblood of the dinnocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
          •  •  •
      19 And it came to pass that the judge stood before them, and said: Why do ye not answer the words of this people? Know ye not that I have apower to deliver you up unto the flames? And he bcommanded them to speak; but they answered nothing.
  74.   29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to abelieve in my words.
  75.   4 And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not aslay you as I did your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.
          •  •  •
      14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him: What wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king? And the king answered him not for the space of an ahour, according to their time, for he knew not what he should say unto him.
          •  •  •
      16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the aSpirit of God, therefore he perceived the bthoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew cseven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?
      17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a aman, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.
          •  •  •
      22 Now Ammon being awise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.
  76.   3 Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.
      4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the astrength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of bprison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?
          •  •  •
      15 But Lamoni said unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I return to the land of Ishmael, but I go to the land of Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true God.
          •  •  •
      19 Now when Ammon had said these words unto him, he answered him, saying: I know that if I should slay my son, that I should shed innocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought to destroy him.
          •  •  •
      26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great alove he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I would brelease thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more—
  77.   15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: aWhat shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be bborn of God, having this wicked spirit crooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up dall that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
          •  •  •
      18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck aas if he were dead.
  78.   12 Yea, I know that I am anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will bnot boast of myself, but I will cboast of my God, for in his dstrength I can do all ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
  79.   1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
          •  •  •
      6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to aperform the work to which I have been called?
      7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?
          •  •  •
      9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do anot bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
  80.   43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a asign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words.
          •  •  •
      52 And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: I know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know that nothing save it were the apower of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always bknew that there was a God.
      53 But behold, the devil hath adeceived me; for he bappeared unto me in the cform of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is dno God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the ecarnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great fcurse upon me.
  81.   30 O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may abear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.
      31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul ain Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these bafflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.
  82.   24 And now, my beloved brethren, as ye have desired to know of me what ye shall do because ye are afflicted and cast out—now I do not desire that ye should suppose that I mean to judge you only according to that which is true—
  83.   8 And now, behold, I will atestify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the btransgressions of his people, and that he shall catone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
          •  •  •
      34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful acrisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth bpossess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
  84.   4 And I would not that ye think that I aknow of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the bcarnal mind but of God.
          •  •  •
      10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of athree days and three nights that I could not open my mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.
      11 And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did anot hear them; for when I heard the words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
          •  •  •
      13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was atormented with the bpains of hell; yea, I saw that I had crebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
          •  •  •
      15 Oh, thought I, that I acould be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my bdeeds.
          •  •  •
      17 And it came to pass that as I was thus aracked with torment, while I was bharrowed up by the cmemory of my many sins, behold, I dremembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
          •  •  •
      23 But behold, my limbs did receive their astrength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been bborn of God.
      24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto arepentance; that I might bring them to btaste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be cborn of God, and be dfilled with the Holy Ghost.
  85.   23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a astone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may bdiscover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
  86.   2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your asteadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that bendureth to the end.
      3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the aZoramites.
          •  •  •
      6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been aborn of God I should not have known these things.
      7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his aangel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of bdestruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.
      8 And it came to pass that I was athree days and three nights in the most bitter bpain and canguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a dremission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.
  87.   3 Behold, he bringeth to pass the aresurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many bmysteries which are ckept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection.
          •  •  •
      19 Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass abefore the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ.
  88.   11 But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a achild of hell; therefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners, save it be on conditions that ye will deliver up a man and his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the case that ye will do it, I will exchange.
          •  •  •
      20 Nevertheless, I will grant to exchange prisoners according to your request, gladly, that I may preserve my food for my men of war; and we will wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting the Nephites to our authority or to their eternal extinction.
  89.   5 Therefore it sufficeth me that I tell you that two thousand of these young men have taken their weapons of war, and would that I should be their leader; and we have come forth to defend our country.
          •  •  •
      30 Now when we saw that the Lamanites began to grow uneasy on this wise, we were desirous to bring a stratagem into effect upon them; therefore Antipus ordered that I should march forth with my little sons to a neighboring city, aas if we were carrying provisions to a neighboring city.
          •  •  •
      49 And it came to pass that I did return with my two thousand against these Lamanites who had pursued us. And now behold, the armies of Antipus had overtaken them, and a terrible battle had commenced.
  90.   1 And now it came to pass that I received an epistle from Ammoron, the king, stating that if I would deliver up those prisoners of war whom we had taken that he would deliver up the city of Antiparah unto us.
          •  •  •
      36 Now it came to pass that when I, Helaman, had heard these words of Gid, I was filled with exceeding joy because of the goodness of God in preserving us, that we might not all perish; yea, and I trust that the souls of them who have been slain have aentered into the rest of their God.
  91.   4 And it came to pass that I thus did send an embassy to the governor of our land, to acquaint him concerning the affairs of our people. And it came to pass that we did wait to receive provisions and strength from the land of Zarahemla.
  92.   28 Yea, behold I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it is my aGod whom I fear; and it is according to his commandments that I do take my sword to defend the cause of my country, and it is because of your iniquity that we have suffered so much loss.
  93.   2 I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send these words unto Moroni, the chief captain over the army. Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great aafflictions, yea, it grieves my soul.
          •  •  •
      5 And behold, they have driven me out before them, and I have fled to the land of Gideon, with as many men as it were possible that I could get.
          •  •  •
      9 And now, in your epistle you have acensured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not bseek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us cfree.
  94.   7 Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have ajoyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, bfirm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord—
          •  •  •
      13 And it came to pass that he opened his mouth and said unto them: Behold, awhy have ye gathered yourselves together? That I may tell you of your iniquities?
      14 Yea, because I have got upon my tower that I might pour out my soul unto my God, because of the exceeding sorrow of my heart, which is because of your iniquities!
          •  •  •
      29 Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be, of myself, because it is not of myself that I aknow these things; but behold, I bknow that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be.
  95.   23 Behold ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should murder Seezoram, our chief judge. But behold, I say unto you, that this is because I have testified unto you that ye might know concerning this thing; yea, even for a witness unto you, that I did know of the wickedness and abominations which are among you.
      24 And because I have done this, ye say that I have agreed with a man that he should do this thing; yea, because I showed unto you this sign ye are angry with me, and seek to destroy my life.
          •  •  •
      36 And then shall he say unto you, that I, Nephi, know nothing concerning the matter save it were given unto me by the power of God. And then shall ye know that I am an honest man, and that I am sent unto you from God.
  96.   33 O athat I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and bstoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.
  97.   9 And behold, thus hath the Lord commanded me, by his angel, that I should come and tell this thing unto you; yea, he hath commanded that I should prophesy these things unto you; yea, he hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord.
  98.   13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the asign be given, and on the bmorrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be cspoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
  99.   14 And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God, that the prayers of those who have gone hence, who were the holy ones, should be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a arecord of these things which have been done—
  100.   13 O all ye that are aspared because ye were more brighteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may cheal you?
  101.   14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may athrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may bfeel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the cGod of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
  102.   1 aAnd it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to bbaptize, was ctwelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: dBlessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have echosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
      2 And again, more blessed are they who shall abelieve in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall bbelieve in your cwords, and dcome down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited ewith fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.
          •  •  •
      17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil;
  103.   1 aVerily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.
  104.   3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become anew.
          •  •  •
      14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should atell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
      15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the aother tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.
      16 This much did the Father acommand me, that I should tell unto them:
          •  •  •
      23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the aGentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the bHoly Ghost.
  105.   1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have aother sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.
          •  •  •
      3 But I have received a acommandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall bhear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.
          •  •  •
      10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall asin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be blifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and cmurders, and dpriestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall ereject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.
          •  •  •
      16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me—that I should give unto athis people this land for their inheritance.
  106.   8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your afaith is bsufficient that I should heal you.
  107.   10 And when the Disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are awilling to do that which I have commanded you.
          •  •  •
      14 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.
          •  •  •
      24 Therefore, hold up your alight that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the blight which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.
      25 And ye see that I have commanded that anone of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might bfeel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.
          •  •  •
      27 Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you another commandment, and then I must go unto my aFather that I may fulfil bother commandments which he hath given me.
          •  •  •
      35 And now I go unto the Father, because it is expedient that I should go unto the Father afor your sakes.
  108.   20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have achosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world.
          •  •  •
      23 And now Father, I apray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them bas thou, Father, art in me, that we may be cone.
          •  •  •
      29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me aout of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them.
  109.   11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the awords of bIsaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—
          •  •  •
      14 And the Father hath acommanded me that I should give unto you this bland, for your inheritance.
          •  •  •
      21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my apeople, O house of Israel.
          •  •  •
      29 And I will aremember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would bgather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the cland of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
          •  •  •
      31 And they shall abelieve in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
          •  •  •
      39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
  110.   1 And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a asign, that ye may know the btime when these things shall be about to take place—that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion;
          •  •  •
      14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they arepent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy bchariots;
  111.   9 For this, the awaters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee.
  112.   3 And ye shall atread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts.
  113.   2 And he saith: aThese scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.
  114.   2 And Jesus again ashowed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?
          •  •  •
      12 For their works do afollow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.
      13 Behold I have given unto you my agospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the bwill of my Father, because my Father sent me.
      14 And my Father sent me that I might be alifted up upon the bcross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the ccross, that I might ddraw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be ejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
  115.   1 And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye adesire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?
          •  •  •
      4 And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?
          •  •  •
      6 And he said unto them: Behold, I aknow your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which bJohn, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.
          •  •  •
      36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were acleansed from bmortality to immortality—
  116.   1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath acommanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:
  117.   6 And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla.
          •  •  •
      16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had awilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were btaken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.
  118.   1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being ayoung, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.
          •  •  •
      9 And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was aAaron; and he came against us with an army of forty and four thousand. And behold, I withstood him with forty and two thousand. And it came to pass that I beat him with my army that he fled before me. And behold, all this was done, and three hundred and thirty years had passed away.
          •  •  •
      12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their amourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would bagain become a righteous people.
          •  •  •
      19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be alifted up at the last day.
          •  •  •
      23 And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge them with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and afight for their bwives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.
  119.   5 And it came to pass that I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together at the land aDesolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land bsouthward.
          •  •  •
      11 And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly arefuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.
          •  •  •
      16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.
          •  •  •
      22 And I would that I could persuade aall ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.
  120.   1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the aoath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions.
  121.   6 And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were asacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would bdestroy them) therefore I made cthis record out of the plates of Nephi, and dhid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were ethese few plates which I gave unto my son fMoroni.
  122.   5 Behold, my father hath made athis record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the bplates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and chow long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
  123.   23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have awindows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.
          •  •  •
      25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?
  124.   9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me aflesh and blood; and never has man come before me with bsuch exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?
          •  •  •
      21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the atime cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall btreasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.
  125.   3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is anone save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should bhide them up again in the earth.
          •  •  •
      5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should aseal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the binterpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
          •  •  •
      10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the alast day.
          •  •  •
      12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for agood cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will bnot believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the clight, and the dlife, and the etruth of the world.
  126.   6 And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day. Amen.
  127.   36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles agrace, that they might have charity.
          •  •  •
      39 And then shall ye know that I have aseen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me bface to face, and that he told me in cplain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things;
  128.   34 Now the last words which are written by aEther are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am bsaved in the kingdom of God. Amen.
  129.   4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of aworth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.
  130.   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.
  131.   1 My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am yet alive; but I write somewhat of that which is grievous.
          •  •  •
      24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have adeserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would bdeliver up unto thee.
  132.   27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my awords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one bcrying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the cdust?
          •  •  •
      29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is atrue.
  133.   4 And you have a gift to atranslate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished.
  134.   2 And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me apower over bdeath, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.
  135.   9 And, therefore, whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, and you shall have knowledge concerning it.
  136.   2 And then, behold, aother brecords have I, that I will give unto you power that you may assist to ctranslate.
          •  •  •
      5 And, behold, it is because that you did not continue as you commenced, when you began to translate, that I have taken away this privilege from you.
      6 Do not amurmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.
      7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
          •  •  •
      12 For, do you not behold that I have agiven unto my servant bJoseph sufficient strength, whereby it is made up? And neither of you have I condemned.
  137.   14 Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his aevil design in this thing.
          •  •  •
      35 Marvel not that I said unto you: Here is awisdom, show it not unto the world—for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be preserved.
          •  •  •
      56 But it is they who do not afear me, neither keep my commandments but build up bchurches unto themselves to get cgain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil—yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center.
          •  •  •
      60 And I will show unto this people that I had other asheep, and that they were a bbranch of the house of cJacob;
          •  •  •
      63 And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much acontention; yea, bSatan doth cstir up the hearts of the people to dcontention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do ewrest the scriptures and do not understand them.
  138.   4 And this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., may not be destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men in this work.
          •  •  •
      9 And I, Jesus Christ, your aLord and your God, have spoken it unto you, that I might bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men. Amen.
  139.   7 Wherefore, as thou hast been abaptized by the hands of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., according to that which I have commanded him, he hath fulfilled the thing which I commanded him.
      8 And now, marvel not that I have acalled him unto mine own purpose, which purpose is known in me; wherefore, if he shall be bdiligent in keeping my commandments he shall be cblessed unto eternal life; and his name is dJoseph.
  140.   2 I, having accomplished and afinished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me—having done this that I might bsubdue all things unto myself—
          •  •  •
      18 Which asuffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might bnot drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
  141.   3 For it is because of your dead works that I have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me, even as in days of old.
  142.   6 And thou shalt go with him at the time of his going, and be unto him for a scribe, while there is no one to be a scribe for him, that I may send my servant, Oliver Cowdery, whithersoever I will.
  143.   5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will adrink of the fruit of the bvine with you on the earth, and with cMoroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the drecord of the estick of fEphraim;
          •  •  •
      18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my aSpirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be bcaught up, that where I am ye shall be calso. Amen.
  144.   17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take avengeance upon the bwicked, for they will not repent; for the ccup of mine dindignation is full; for behold, my eblood shall not fcleanse them if they hear me not.
          •  •  •
      42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not adie as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth bangels to declare unto them crepentance and dredemption, through faith on the name of mine eOnly Begotten Son.
  145.   1 And now concerning my servant aParley P. Pratt, behold, I say unto him that as I live I will that he shall declare my gospel and blearn of me, and be meek and lowly of heart.
      2 And that which I have appointed unto him is that he shall ago with my servants, Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness among the bLamanites.
          •  •  •
      4 And they shall give aheed to that which is written, and pretend to no other brevelation; and they shall pray always that I may cunfold the same to their dunderstanding.
  146.   3 For behold, the afield is bwhite already to harvest; and it is the celeventh hour, and the last time that I shall call dlaborers into my vineyard.
          •  •  •
      18 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I acome quickly. Even so. Amen.
  147.   7 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the atime is soon at hand that I shall bcome in a ccloud with power and great glory.
  148.   8 But the day soon cometh that ye shall asee me, and know that I am; for the bveil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not cpurified shall not dabide the day.
  149.   10 To see to all things as it shall be appointed unto him in my laws in the day that I shall give them.
  150.   39 For it shall come to pass, that which I spake by the mouths of my prophets shall be fulfilled; for I will consecrate of the ariches of those who embrace my gospel among the Gentiles unto the bpoor of my people who are of the house of Israel.
          •  •  •
      55 And if thou aobtainest more than that which would be for thy support, thou shalt give it into my bstorehouse, that all things may be done according to that which I have said.
  151.   14 And if ye do it not he shall remain unto them that have received him, that I may reserve unto myself a apure bpeople before me.
  152.   7 For verily I say unto you that I am aAlpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world—a blight that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
          •  •  •
      10 Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will areason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning.
          •  •  •
      16 And I will show it plainly as I showed it unto my adisciples as I stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying: As ye have asked of me concerning the bsigns of my coming, in the day when I shall come in my cglory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfil the promises that I have made unto your fathers,
          •  •  •
      46 Wherefore, if ye have slept in apeace blessed are you; for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye bcome unto me and your souls shall clive, and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints shall come forth from the dfour quarters of the earth.
          •  •  •
      52 Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was awounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was bcrucified. I am the cSon of God.
  153.   1 Hearken unto my word, my servants Sidney, and Parley, and Leman; for behold, verily I say unto you, that I give unto you a commandment that you shall go and apreach my gospel which ye have received, even as ye have received it, unto the Shakers.
          •  •  •
      9 Wherefore, I say unto you that I have sent unto you mine everlasting acovenant, even that which was from the beginning.
      10 And that which I have promised I have so fulfilled, and the anations of the earth shall bbow to it; and, if not of themselves, they shall come down, for that which is now exalted of itself shall be laid clow of power.
  154.   38 And also my servant John Corrill, or as many of my servants as are ordained unto this office, and let them labor in the avineyard; and let no man hinder them doing that which I have appointed unto them—
          •  •  •
      45 And the aday cometh that you shall hear my voice and bsee me, and cknow that I am.
  155.   11 For thus saith the Lord, I will cut my work short in arighteousness, for the days come that I will send forth bjudgment unto victory.
  156.   1 Behold, I say unto you, my servant Sidney Gilbert, that I have heard your prayers; and you have called upon me that it should be made known unto you, of the Lord your God, concerning your acalling and belection in the church, which I, the Lord, have raised up in these last days.
  157.   26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is acompelled in all things, the same is a bslothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
  158.   18 And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares;
  159.   6 Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the arebellious bfear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the cday of wrath shall come upon them as a dwhirlwind, and all flesh shall eknow that I am God.
          •  •  •
      22 And now, verily I say unto you, that as I said that I would make known my will unto you, behold I will make it known unto you, anot by the way of commandment, for there are many who observe not to keep my commandments.
          •  •  •
      36 Wherefore, seeing that I, the Lord, have decreed all these things upon the face of the earth, I will that my saints should be assembled upon the land of Zion;
  160.   21 I will not that my servant Frederick G. Williams should sell his farm, for I, the Lord, will to retain a strong hold in the land of Kirtland, for the space of five years, in the which I will not overthrow the wicked, that thereby I may save some.
      22 And after that day, I, the Lord, will not hold any aguilty that shall go with an open heart up to the land of Zion; for I, the Lord, require the bhearts of the children of men.
  161.   10 And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a apromise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you bstrip yourselves from cjealousies and dfears, and ehumble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the fveil shall be rent and you shall gsee me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.
  162.   6 Wherefore, be of good acheer, and do not bfear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I cwas, that I am, and that I am to come.
  163.   7 For if you will that I give unto you a place in the acelestial world, you must bprepare yourselves by cdoing the things which I have commanded you and required of you.
  164.   57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new acovenant, even the bBook of Mormon and the cformer commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to ddo according to that which I have written—
          •  •  •
      77 And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you afriends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power;
          •  •  •
      119 For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the apowers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a blittle while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that cI will dcome and reign with my people.
  165.   7 And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in aorder the house of God, and to arrange by blot the cinheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;
  166.   3 Wherefore, I now send upon you another aComforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of bpromise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John.
          •  •  •
      50 Then shall ye know that ye have aseen me, that I am, and that I am the true blight that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.
          •  •  •
      74 And I give unto you, who are the first alaborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and bsanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and ccleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you dclean;
      75 That I may testify unto your aFather, and your God, and my bGod, that you are clean from the cblood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last dpromise, which I have made unto you, when I will.
  167.   32 And behold, verily I say unto you, that ye shall awrite this commandment, and say unto your brethren in Zion, in love greeting, that I have called you also to bpreside over Zion in mine own due time.
          •  •  •
      36 But verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with aZion, and plead with her strong ones, and bchasten her until she overcomes and is cclean before me.
  168.   1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who aforsaketh his bsins and cometh unto me, and ccalleth on my name, and dobeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall esee my fface and gknow that I am;
      2 And that I am the true alight that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;
      3 And that I am ain the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—
          •  •  •
      11 And I, John, abear record that I beheld his bglory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
  169.   3 For ye have sinned against me a very grievous sin, in that ye have not considered the great commandment in all things, that I have given unto you concerning the building of mine ahouse;
      4 For the preparation wherewith I design to prepare mine apostles to aprune my vineyard for the last time, that I may bring to pass my bstrange act, that I may cpour out my Spirit upon all flesh—
  170.   1 Behold, I say unto you, here is wisdom, whereby ye may know how to act concerning this matter, for it is expedient in me that this astake that I have set for the strength of Zion should be made strong.
  171.   1 Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my avoice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of bZion, many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.
      2 Verily, verily I say unto you, blessed are such, for they shall obtain; for I, the Lord, show mercy unto all the ameek, and upon all whomsoever I will, that I may be bjustified when I shall bring them unto judgment.
          •  •  •
      27 Nevertheless, let it be read this once to her ears, that I, the Lord, have accepted of her offering; and if she sin no more anone of these things shall come upon her;
  172.   14 Therefore, be not aafraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will bprove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, ceven unto death, that you may be found worthy.
          •  •  •
      21 Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will achasten them and will do whatsoever I list, if they do not repent and observe all things whatsoever I have said unto them.
          •  •  •
      33 And again, this is the alaw that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.
  173.   5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; aspeak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be bconfounded before men;
  174.   10 I have sworn, and the decree hath gone forth by a former commandment which I have given unto you, that I would let fall the asword of mine indignation in behalf of my people; and even as I have said, it shall come to pass.
          •  •  •
      16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine ahands; be still and bknow that I am God.
          •  •  •
      20 And, behold, there is none other aplace appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of the gathering of my saints—
          •  •  •
      64 That the work of the agathering together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon bholy places; for the time of charvest is come, and my word must needs be dfulfilled.
          •  •  •
      92 Pray ye, therefore, that their ears may be opened unto your cries, that I may be amerciful unto them, that these things may not come upon them.
          •  •  •
      95 That I may proceed to bring to pass my act, my astrange act, and perform my work, my strange work, that men may bdiscern between the righteous and the wicked, saith your God.
          •  •  •
      97 Let not that which I have appointed be polluted by mine enemies, by the consent of those who acall themselves after my name;
          •  •  •
      99 Therefore, it is my will that my people should claim, and hold claim upon that which I have appointed unto them, though they should not be permitted to dwell thereon.
  175.   5 But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall arealize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the bcounsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them.
  176.   13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man aaccountable, as a bsteward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.
          •  •  •
      16 But it must needs be done in mine own away; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the bpoor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
  177.   28 And to have sent awise men, to fulfil that which I have commanded concerning the bpurchasing of all the lands in Jackson county that can be purchased, and in the adjoining counties round about.
  178.   4 And it shall come to pass in due time that I will agive this city into your hands, that you shall have power over it, insomuch that they shall not bdiscover your secret parts; and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours.
  179.   3 Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all alowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and blong-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a cpromise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.
  180.   1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your aoffering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my bwisdom through the cweak things of the earth.
          •  •  •
      8 And that I may avisit them in the day of visitation, when I shall bunveil the face of my covering, to appoint the portion of the coppressor among hypocrites, where there is dgnashing of teeth, if they reject my servants and my testimony which I have revealed unto them.
          •  •  •
      40 And verily I say unto you, let this ahouse be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people;
          •  •  •
      47 And it shall come to pass that if you build a house unto my name, and do not do the things that I say, I will not perform the aoath which I make unto you, neither fulfil the promises which ye expect at my hands, saith the Lord.
          •  •  •
      49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their adiligence, and their enemies come upon them and bhinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to crequire that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.
          •  •  •
      55 And again, verily I say unto you, I command you again to build a ahouse to my name, even in this place, that you may bprove yourselves unto me that ye are cfaithful in all things whatsoever I command you, that I may bless you, and crown you with honor, immortality, and eternal life.
  181.   1 Forasmuch as the Lord has revealed unto me that my enemies, both in Missouri and this State, were again in the pursuit of me; and inasmuch as they pursue me without a acause, and have not the least shadow or coloring of justice or right on their side in the getting up of their prosecutions against me; and inasmuch as their pretensions are all founded in falsehood of the blackest dye, I have thought it expedient and wisdom in me to leave the place for a short season, for my own safety and the safety of this people. I would say to all those with whom I have business, that I have left my baffairs with agents and clerks who will transact all business in a prompt and proper manner, and will see that all my debts are canceled in due time, by turning out property, or otherwise, as the case may require, or as the circumstances may admit of. When I learn that the storm is fully blown over, then I will return to you again.
          •  •  •
      10 I will say to all the saints, that I desired, with exceedingly great desire, to have addressed them from the stand on the subject of baptism for the dead, on the following Sabbath. But inasmuch as it is out of my power to do so, I will write the word of the Lord from time to time, on that subject, and send it to you by mail, as well as many other things.
  182.   1 As I stated to you in my letter before I left my place, that I would write to you from time to time and give you information in relation to many subjects, I now resume the subject of the abaptism for the dead, as that subject seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest, since I have been pursued by my enemies.
  183.   10 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not aappointed?
          •  •  •
      23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that awhere I am ye shall be also.
          •  •  •
      50 Behold, I have seen your asacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your bsacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I caccepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.
      51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to aprove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.
  184.   67 When I called again there was none of you to answer; yet my aarm was not shortened at all that I could not redeem, neither my bpower to deliver.
  185.   5 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been afaithful; wherefore thy garments shall be made bclean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I . . . bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the cjudgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood. The dtestators are now dead, and their etestament is in force.
  186.   31 My people must be atried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the bglory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not cbear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.
          •  •  •
      37 Therefore, marvel not at these things, for ye are not yet apure; ye can not yet bear my glory; but ye shall behold it if ye are faithful in keeping all my words that I have bgiven you, from the days of Adam to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Jesus and his apostles, and from Jesus and his apostles to Joseph Smith, whom I did call upon by mine cangels, my ministering servants, and by mine own voice out of the heavens, to bring forth my work;
          •  •  •
      40 Have I not delivered you from your aenemies, only in that I have left a witness of my name?
  187.   13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a ason of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy bglory, that I should worship thee?
  188.   31 And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very agood; and the evening and the morning were the bsixth day.
  189.   4 And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were acreated, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the bheaven and the earth,
          •  •  •
      9 And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, anaturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a bliving soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it, yea, even all things which I prepared for the use of man; and man saw that it was good for food. And I, the Lord God, planted the ctree of life also in the midst of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
          •  •  •
      17 But of the tree of the aknowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest bchoose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I cforbid it, for in the dday thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely edie.
  190.   3 Wherefore, because that aSatan brebelled against me, and sought to destroy the cagency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be dcast down;
          •  •  •
      16 And he said: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.
  191.   1 And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have adominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his bbrow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did clabor with him.
          •  •  •
      16 And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare aCain, and said: I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words. But behold, Cain bhearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should cknow him?
          •  •  •
      31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great asecret, that I may bmurder and get cgain. Wherefore Cain was called Master dMahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
  192.   28 And for these many generations, ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have adenied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam.
          •  •  •
      31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he abowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: bWhy is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people chate me; for I am dslow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?
  193.   2 And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the people, that: As I was journeying, and stood upon the place Mahujah, and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying—Turn ye, and get ye upon the mount aSimeon.
      3 And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with aglory;
          •  •  •
      5 And it came to pass that I beheld in the valley of Shum, and lo, a great people which dwelt in atents, which were the people of Shum.
          •  •  •
      11 And he gave unto me a commandment that I should abaptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, which is full of bgrace and truth, and of the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son.
          •  •  •
      39 And That which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he asuffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my bChosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in ctorment;
          •  •  •
      48 And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the aearth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am bpained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I crest, and be dcleansed from the efilthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?
          •  •  •
      59 And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth.
  194.   26 And the Lord said: I will adestroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Noah that I have created them, and that I have made them; and he hath called upon me; for they have sought his blife.
  195.   2 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, took aSarai to wife, and bNahor, my brother, took Milcah to wife, who was the cdaughter of Haran.
      3 Now the Lord had asaid unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.
          •  •  •
      25 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, told Sarai, my wife, all that the Lord had said unto me—Therefore say unto them, I pray thee, thou art my asister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee.
  196.   1 aFor I say unto you, that ye shall not see me henceforth and know that I am he of whom it is written by the prophets, until ye shall say: Blessed is he who bcometh in the name of the Lord, in the clouds of heaven, and all the holy angels with him. Then understood his disciples that he should come again on the earth, after that he was glorified and ccrowned on the right hand of God.
  197.   13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in adarkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would bgive liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
      14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the awoods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a bbeautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to cpray dvocally.
      15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was aseized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick bdarkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
          •  •  •
      18 My object in going to ainquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.
      19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all awrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those bprofessors were all ccorrupt; that: “they ddraw near to me with their lips, but their ehearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the fcommandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the gpower thereof.”
      20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself alying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, bmother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” It seems as though the cadversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the dopposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?
          •  •  •
      24 However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a avision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was bmad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the cpersecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
      25 So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two aPersonages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was bhated and cpersecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me dfalsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not edeny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.
          •  •  •
      27 I continued to pursue my common vocations in life until the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all classes of men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to aaffirm that I had seen a vision.
          •  •  •
      29 In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to aprayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full bconfidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.
          •  •  •
      31 He had on a loose robe of most exquisite awhiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.
          •  •  •
      42 Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be adestroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my bmind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.
          •  •  •
      46 By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in aastonishment at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to btempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting crich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other dmotive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.
          •  •  •
      49 The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up, and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my afather and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received.
      50 I obeyed; I returned to my afather in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He breplied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. I left the field, and went to the place where the messenger had told me the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant that I arrived there.
          •  •  •
      53 I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger, and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time; but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates.
          •  •  •
      57 During the time that I was thus employed, I was put to board with a Mr. Isaac Hale, of that place; it was there I first saw my wife (his daughter), Emma Hale. On the 18th of January, 1827, we were married, while I was yet employed in the service of Mr. Stoal.
      58 Owing to my continuing to assert that I had seen a vision, apersecution still followed me, and my wife’s father’s family were very much opposed to our being married. I was, therefore, under the necessity of taking her elsewhere; so we went and were married at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York. Immediately after my marriage, I left Mr. Stoal’s, and went to my father’s, and bfarmed with him that season.
      59 At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to ame with this charge: that I should be bresponsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any cneglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to dpreserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.
      60 I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to aget them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if possible. But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this bday, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
      61 The excitement, however, still continued, and rumor with her thousand tongues was all the time employed in circulating afalsehoods about my father’s family, and about myself. If I were to relate a thousandth part of them, it would fill up volumes. The persecution, however, became so intolerable that I was under the necessity of leaving Manchester, and going with my wife to Susquehanna county, in the State of Pennsylvania. While preparing to start—being very poor, and the persecution so heavy upon us that there was no probability that we would ever be otherwise—in the midst of our afflictions we found a friend in a gentleman by the name of bMartin Harris, who came to us and gave me fifty dollars to assist us on our journey. Mr. Harris was a resident of Palmyra township, Wayne county, in the State of New York, and a farmer of respectability.
          •  •  •
      65 “He then said to me, ‘Let me see that certificate.’ I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of aangels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were bsealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, ‘I cannot read a sealed book.’ I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation.”
          •  •  •
      70 He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me.
          •  •  •
      72 The amessenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called bJohn the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of cPeter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first dElder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.
          •  •  •
      75 We had been threatened with being mobbed, from time to time, and this, too, by professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only counteracted by the influence of my wife’s father’s family (under Divine providence), who had become very afriendly to me, and who were opposed to mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us protection from all unlawful proceedings, as far as in them lay.

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