Nephi saw that the great and abominable church would take
things from the Bible. Those responsible for losing these plain and precious
things would not do this accidentally.
It would be an intentional effort on their part to remove these things
from the gospel.
Nephi would later write, “And the Gentiles are lifted up in
the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their
stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put
down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own
wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face
of the poor” (2 Nephi 26:20).
But, the Lord promised that they not remain in a state of
blindness. John Welch writes…
“[T]he Book of Mormon commits Latter-day Saints to the view
that much of the gospel of Jesus Christ was preserved among the Gentiles. In
particular, Nephi records that the spirit and power of God was still with some
of the Gentiles (1 Nephi 13:12, 13, 16) and that they still had an important
book, which may not have been complete, but still is said to be “of great worth”
to the remnant of his peoples (1 Nephi 13:23). Nephi was assured that God would
not leave the Gentiles in a ‘state of awful blindness’ (1 Nephi 13:32) but that
the Nephite record and other books would come forth precisely to establish the
truth of the records of the prophets and apostles which the Gentiles still had
and to make known ‘the plain and precious things which have been taken away’ (1
Nephi 13:40). Although these records in the hands of the Gentiles will not be
perfect, they will still be of great worth and will be amenable to
corroboration.”[1]
The day will come when Christ will appear to Nephi’s
descendants and minister to them. They
will record His teachings, which will contain plain and precious things.
After the Nephites are destroyed, and the Lamanites “dwindle
in unbelief” (1 Nephi 13:35), the Book of Mormon will come forth to the
gentiles through the power of God. Nephi
would explain to his brothers, “And
after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work
among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it
is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their
arms and upon their shoulders” (1 Nephi 22:8).
The gospel will be written in the Book of Mormon
record. Christ would tell the Nephites, “And
again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as
a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is
my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against them” (3 Nephi 11:38 - 39).
Those that seek Zion will have the gift of the Holy
Ghost. They must also endure to the
end. “And it shall come to pass, that
whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth
to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when
I shall stand to judge the world” (3 Nephi 27:16). Those that do this “shall be lifted up at the
last day” (1 Nephi 13:37) and will be saved in the kingdom of God.
Nephi saw the Lamanites and the Bible come to them “from the
mouth of a Jew” (1 Nephi 13:38).
“But thus saith the
Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the
Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And
what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the
labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing
forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
“O ye Gentiles,
have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated
them, and have not sought to recover them.
But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I
the Lord have not forgotten my people.
“Thou fool, that
shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the
Jews” (2 Nephi 29:4-6).
As Mormon ended his
record, he extended the following invitation to the Lamanites.
“Therefore repent,
and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ,
which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record
which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from
the Gentiles unto you.
“For behold, this
is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye
will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your
fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God
among them” (Mormon 7:8-9).
In addition to the
Book of Mormon, other records will come forth “by the power of the Lamb, from
the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of
the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face
of the earth” (1 Nephi 13:39). Ezekiel
also prophesied of additional records.
“The word of the
LORD came again unto me, saying,
Moreover, thou son
of man, take thee one stick [HEB wood. Wooden writing tablets were in common
use in Babylon in Ezekiel’s day], and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children
of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For
Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
“And join them one
to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
“And when the
children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us
what thou meanest by these?
“Say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in
the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them
with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall
be one in mine hand.
“And the sticks
whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes” (Ezekiel 37:15-20).
These records will
bear witness that the Bible is true.
John Tvedtnes wrote
about these additional records.
“Since the
publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, many more documents have been
discovered, some of them discussed in this chapter and some in earlier chapters
of this work. While the documents that were discovered are not all scriptural,
they nevertheless lend support to the concept that records were hidden up to
come forth in the last days. It is as the Psalmist declared: ‘Truth shall
spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven’ (Psalm
85:11).”[2]
These records will
also restore the plain and precious things taken away from the Bible. They will go to all people testifying that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Only by coming to Christ can we be saved. “And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this
is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man
can be saved in the kingdom of God. And
now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without
end. Amen” (2 Nephi 31:21)
[1] Modern Revelation: A Guide to Research about
the Apostasy, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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