1 Nephi 13:41-EoC

Verses 41 and 42 are the last verses in this chapter. Nephi continues his great vision. He has seen many things in this chapter about our recent history many hundred years before Christ even came.

Verse 41 says that the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon) and the record of the Jews and apostles (Bible) and the latter-day revelations shall be established as one because there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth. One fulfillment of this prophecy came in about 1980, when the church fully cross-references the four Standard Works of the church. I tried to find more about this process, but couldn't. The result is essentially what we use today in the church as scriptures. What a marvelous thing to happen, but I believe that it was done humbly and quietly. A good cross reference is from Ezekiel 17:

"15 ¶ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, 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:

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19 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.

20 ¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes."

Remember that the Ephraim is the son of Joseph and that Lehi was a descendant of Joseph. Actually, Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, the other son of Joseph. Many thing that Saraiah, Lehi's wife had to have been of the lineage of Ephraim for several reasons, one so that this prophesy could be true from Ezekial. The references to sticks are the records of these nations. Therefore, the stick of Judah is the Bible and the stick of Joseph is the Book of Mormon, and they were made one in this day, at least.

Verse 42 is a great scripture, as well. It says that Christ shall appear to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. We have seen that happen. Christ appeared to the Jews when He came to be born on the earth and then to the Gentiles in America as recorded in 3 Nephi 11-27. For the Second Coming, He will appear to the Gentiles first and then to the Jews, thus the first being the last and that last being the first. Then, at that time, He will show the Jews the marks in his hands and feet and they will know that it was the Messiah that came and who was crucified by them. So, as of now, this is what I think this scripture is saying. : )

1 Nephi 13:35-40

Nephi's vision continues...

The Lord promises that because of the plain and precious parts of the Bible will be taken away, that He will prepare a way for them to be brought back. This is detailed to Nephi at this time. He says that He will minister Himself unto the seed of Nephi. Then they shall write those things down that He will minister. They shall be plain and precious. Then Nephi's seed will be destroyed and the Gentiles shall dwindle in unbelief. As this happens, the writings of Nephi and his seed will be hidden up. Then, they will come forth unto the Gentiles by the gift and power of the Lamb. The plain and precious parts of the gospel will be preserved on those plates.

The angel states that those, in that day, that seek to bring forth Zion shall be blessed, and they shall be saved at the last day. I think that this refers to those good saints in the early days of the church and probably those good people beforehand that did the best they could in life to follow Christ and His teachings whose saving ordinances will be done for them in the temple.

The next verse states that the Gentiles shall have the Bible and they shall bring it to the remnant of the seed of Lehi. Afterward, there came "other books" unto the seed of Lehi, and these books had this purpose: to convince the seed of Lehi, the Gentiles, and the Jews (whom the angel showed to Nephi were now scattered upon the face of the earth) that the records of the prophets (Old Testament, but perhaps not solely) and the twelve apostles (New Testament, again perhaps not solely) are true.

In Verse 40, the angel goes deeper into their purpose. These "last records" shall establish the truth of the first (the Bible), make known the plain and precious parts that were taken away, make known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people that the Lamb of God is the very Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world, and that no one can be saved in the kingdom of God, except it be by Him. Any idea as to what the "last records" are? Here is another quote from the Book of Mormon Institute manual:

“These last records which were to come forth to bear witness of the ‘book of the Lamb of God,’ which is the Bible, are the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the revelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Man, His Origin and Destiny, pp. 411–12).

I would venture to say that continuing revelation comprising the conference issues and the Ensign are also included in the "last books." What a marvelous gift from our Heavenly Father, that we do not have to stumble around in this life without having the fullness of the gospel and constantly learning new things about it each day.

1 Nephi 13:30-34

Nephi's vision continues...

In Verse 30, we see that the Lord has lifted up this nation above all other nations. Additionally, even though the seed of Lehi had been driven forth and slain, they will not utterly be destroyed. The indigenous people of the Americas have been driven forth, with many killed. But, there are still small pockets of them still alive. Here in the United State, for example, we have reservations where they live today.

Next, the angel relates that God will not let the Gentiles remain in a state of blindness because the plain and precious parts of the Bible were taken away by the great and abominable church which was formed. (Remember, the great and abominable church is most likely not a specific church, but the specific group of people that do not follow God, but follow another, one who inspired them to take out those plain and precious parts of the Bible.)

On this, Joseph Smith said (from the Book of Mormon Institute manual), "I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 327).

Next, the angel says that God will visit the house of Israel in great judgment and be merciful unto the Gentiles. I'm not sure what it means that He will visit the house of Israel in great judgment. It is mentioned twice that He will do so. But, afterward, the angel says that God will bring forth much of His gospel which shall be plain and precious saith the Lamb.

We have seen this come to pass. It is in the scriptures: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, continuing revelation through General Conference, and the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible. This will be discussed more later on.

1 Nephi 13:25-29

Nephi's vision continues...

In Verse 25, he is shown that the words of the Jews went forth to the Gentiles in purity, meaning that the records of the lives of the prophets were true and accurate. Then when the writings of the twelve apostles went unto them, the compilation of which is where we get the Bible, many plain and precious parts were taken out along with many of the covenants of the Lord. This was done to pervert the right ways of the Lord and blind the eyes of men and harden their hearts. Well, they have succeeded in many respects. But as we've said before, the wisdom of God is greater than the cunning of the devil. He has prepared another testament of Jesus Christ, namely the Book of Mormon. This book restores the truths that were lost and points us to living prophets and continuing revelation, so that corruption of the scriptures would never happen again.

Verse 29 reiterates this. The fact that many of the truths were taken out of the Bible is a great stumbling block to the people and for this reason, too, there are great disputations among the people and many sects and religions based off the same book of scripture. So, we must remember the counsel given in Doctrine and Covenants 123:12, " 12 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—" So, this is why we must talk with everyone about the gospel restoration. We do not know who is seeking for the truth, but doesn't know where to find it.

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Blog Extra: Good Quotes and Go Vote!

Today is voting day for the next president of the United States. During this time in the Book of Mormon, Nephi sees in vision the establishment of this great country. It was truly the work of the Lord. Here are some pertinent quotes from the Institute manual about one of the reasons this country was founded:

1 Nephi 13:15–19. The Establishment of America
“This great American nation the Almighty raised up by the power of his omnipotent hand, that it might be possible in the latter days for the kingdom of God to be established in the earth. If the Lord had not prepared the way by laying the foundations of this glorious nation, it would have been impossible (under the stringent laws and bigotry of the monarchical governments of the world) to have laid the foundations for the coming of his great kingdom. The Lord has done this. His hand has been over this nation, and it is his purpose and design to enlarge it, make it glorious above all others, and to give it dominion, and power over the earth, to the end that those who are kept in bondage and serfdom may be brought to the enjoyment of the fullest freedom and liberty of conscience possible for intelligent men to exercise in the earth” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 409).

1 Nephi 13:19. “Delivered by the Power of God”
Elder Spencer W. Kimball spoke of the Lord’s hand in the preservation of the early colonists of America and their deliverance from an army that was seemingly far superior to them:
“I have a firm conviction that the Lord led the Pilgrims and the Puritans across the ocean, perhaps permitted the persecutions that would bring them here, so that when they came to the American shores with their righteous blood and their high ideals and standards, they would form the basis of a nation which would make possible the restoration of the gospel. I am sure that since there was not religious liberty, not political liberty here, the Lord permitted these few poorly-armed and ill-clad men at Valley Forge and elsewhere to defeat a great army with its trained soldiery and its many mercenaries, a few against the many, but the few had on their side the Lord God of heaven, that gave them victory. And there came political liberty and religious liberty with it, all in preparation for the day when a young boy would come forth and would seek and make contact with the Lord and open the doors of heaven again. Following that great manifestation to Joseph Smith came the opening of Cumorah Hill and the speaking of the dead from the dust” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1950, p. 64).

Go Vote!
Here is a warning from the prophet/king Mosiah of the Nephites. Just before he was about to die, he set up a government whose officers would be determined by the voice of the people (see Mosiah 29). Here is the part that we should be concerned with in Verses 26 and 27:

" 26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

" 27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land."

Please research who would be someone that would best uphold the commandments of God and do that which is right and vote for them. We do not want to be visited with great destruction.

1 Nephi 13:20-24

It is Nephi's turn now to see a book in vision (compare with 1 Nephi 1:11). But this book is a little different, and we know what this book is. At least I hope that we esteem this book to be of great worth and feel that the stories therein are worth knowing. Here are the clues that were given to Nephi by the angel. (1) The gentiles prospered after the Revolutionary War and this book was carried forth among them; (2) it has a great meaning (if the angel asks Nephi about the meaning thereof); (3) it came forth out of the mouth of a Jew; (4) it is a record of the Jews and contains the covenants of the Lord which He made unto the House of Israel; (5) it contains many prophesies of the holy prophets; (6) it is a record like unto the plates of brass (the ones Nephi and his brothers brought out of Jerusalem, but this book is smaller because is says that there aren't as many engravings as the plates of brass); (7) it is of great worth unto the Gentiles; (8) when it proceeded forth out of the mouth of a Jew, it contained the fullness of the gospel; and (9) this fullness came from the record of the twelve apostles. Give up? Well, it's the Bible! The next verses go into more detail about this record. But we should realize its divine origin and understand its history which will be given in the next part of Nephi's vision.