pgs. 66 and 67...and I, Nephi, did build a temple.

15 And I did teach my people to ^abuild buildings, and to ^bwork in all ^cmanner of wood, and of ^diron, and of copper, and of ^ebrass, and of steel, and of ^fgold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

16 And I, Nephi, did ^abuild a ^btemple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of ^cSolomon save it were not built of so many ^dprecious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s ^etemple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of ^fSolomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.

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.

20 Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will ^anot hearken unto thy words they shall be ^bcut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were ^ccut off from his presence.

21 And he had caused the ^acursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and ^bdelightsome, that they might not be ^centicing unto my people the Lord God did cause a ^dskin of ^eblackness to come upon them.

22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be ^aloathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that ^amixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.

24 And because of their ^acursing which was upon them they did become an ^bidle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to ^astir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.

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.

27 And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of ^ahappiness.

28 *And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem.

29 And I, Nephi, had kept the ^arecords upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far.

30 And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: ^aMake other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people.

31 Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made ^athese plates upon which I have engraven these things.

32 And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine engravings which are upon these plates.

33 And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the history of my people they must search mine ^aother ^bplates.

34 And it sufficeth me to say that *forty years had passed away, and we had already had wars and contentions with our brethren.

* verse 28 (569 B.C.); Verse 34 (559 B.C.).

CHAPTER 6

Jacob recounts Jewish history: Their Babylonian captivity and return; the ministry and crucifixion of the Holy One of Israel; the help received from the gentiles; and their latter-day restoration when they believe in the Messiah. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 The ^awords of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spake unto the people of Nephi:

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.

3 Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the ^awelfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are ^bwritten, from the creation of the world.

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.

5 And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be ^alikened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel.


I was so happy to read about the Nephites temple in today's pages. I guess it's because it feels like a connection between our day and theirs. It also reinforces to me how important temple worship has been for all of the human race throughout many eras of time. The industrious and hard working Nephites are inspiring in so many ways.


Probably the most controversial verse in the whole Book of Mormon is chapter 5 verse 21. I don't understand it fully. Many of the Japanese people I came to love on my mission struggled with the meaning of it. I have struggled with the meaning of it. One thing I noticed reading it this time is that the actual curse was being cut off from the presence of the Lord. The skin of blackness was not the curse, just the symbol of it. And we don't know if the skin of blackness covered their whole bodies or if it was just a certain place on their bodies. It does not necessarily mean they became what we would refer to today as a different race. One thing I know for sure is that the Lord loves all of His children from all races all over the world. His Latter-day Church includes EVERYONE and is accepted and lived by people of all colors and cultures. If you have any doubts about that just watch this video! I especially like the deacon from New Zealand! : )