The Book of Mormon
reveals information previously unknown:
-- Baptisms were
performed before Jesus Christ was born.
“And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be
baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel,
or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
“And if they will not repent and believe in his
name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be
damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it” (emphasis
mine) (2 Nephi 9:23-24).
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be
baptized in the name of my Beloved Son” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi
31:11).
“Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen
that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been
shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For
the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and
then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost” (emphasis
mine) (2 Nephi 31:17).
“And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here
are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are
desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are
willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea,
and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of
God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even
until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the
first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what
have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness
before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve
him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly
upon you” (emphasis mine) (Mosiah 18:8-10).
“And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one
of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord,
pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of
heart.
“And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord
was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the
Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to
serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the
Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through
the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the
world.
“And after Alma had said these words, both Alma and Helam were buried
in the water; and they arose and came forth out of the water rejoicing,
being filled with the Spirit.
“And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second time into
the water, and baptized him according to the first, only he did not
bury himself again in the water.
“And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to
the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four
souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled
with the grace of God” (emphasis mine) (Mosiah 18:12-16).
“Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again;
for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of
heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be
washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all
unrighteousness” (emphasis mine) (Alma 7:14).
-- Temples were built
and used by people in ancient America.
“And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I
did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not
built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land,
wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of
the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship
thereof was exceedingly fine” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 5:16).
“Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I
taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine errand from the
Lord” (emphasis mine) (Jacob 1:17).
“Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to the
responsibility which I am under to God, to magnify mine office with soberness,
and that I might rid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple this
day that I might declare unto you the word of God…
“Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the
plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came
the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow,
and declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people” (emphasis mine)
(Jacob 2:2, 11).
“And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his
father had commanded him, and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the
land of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together, to go
up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak unto
them” (emphasis mine) (Mosiah 1:18).
“I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of
Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was that same Aminadi who
interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which
was written by the finger of God” (emphasis mine) (Alma 10:2).
“And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching
repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries,
and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews” (emphasis
mine) (Alma 16:13).
“Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay
their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should
they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor
scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they
should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and
their sanctuaries” (emphasis mine) (Alma 23:2).
“But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this
people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars,
and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies,
and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples,
and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their
wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and
all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work” (emphasis
mine) (Helaman 3:14).
“And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude
gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which
was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with
another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which
had taken place” (3 Nephi 11:1).
-- Joseph, 11th son of
Israel, foresaw the prophetic role of Joseph Smith.
“Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise
of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a
righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which
was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the
Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in
the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea,
out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.
“For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord
my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.
“Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A
choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall
be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give
commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren,
which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the
knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers.
“And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do
none other work, save the work which I shall command him. And I will make him
great in mine eyes; for he shall do my work.
“And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I
would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel.
“And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the
land of Egypt.
“Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the
fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the
fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the
loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines
and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy
loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days,
and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
“And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day
when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O
house of Israel, saith the Lord.
“And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will
the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this
promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be
fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this promise;
“And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after
the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the
Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my
people unto salvation” (emphasis mine) (2 Nephi 3:5-9, 12-15).
-- Nephi (600-592
B.C.) foresaw the discovery and colonizing of America.
“And I looked and beheld a man among the
Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters;
and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and
he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were
in the promised land.
“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.
“And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the
Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was
upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and
were smitten.
“And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the
Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I
beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my
people before they were slain.
“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 with them.
“And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were
gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against
them.
“And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also
that the
wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to
battle.
“And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of
captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other
nations” (emphasis mine) (1 Nephi 13:12-19).
-- Plain and precious
parts of the Bible have been lost.
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did
prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth
among them.
“And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the
book?
“And I said unto him: I know not.
“And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And
I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a
record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he
hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies
of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are
upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they
contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel;
wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.
“And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld
that the
book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from
the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord,
of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the
truth which is in the Lamb of God.
“Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity
unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
“And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that
great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches;
for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are
plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken
away.
“And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of
the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the
children of men” (emphasis mine) (1 Nephi 13:20-27).
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