3.03.2009

pgs. 116 and 117...for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it into the hearts of men.


CHAPTER 33
Nephi’s words are true—They testify of Christ—Those who believe in Christ will believe Nephi’s words—They shall stand as a witness before the judgment bar. Between 559 and 545 B.C.
1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I amighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man bspeaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.
2 But behold, there are many that aharden their bhearts against the Holy cSpirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.
3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great aworth, and especially unto my people. For I bpray continually for them by day, and mine ceyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.
4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it apersuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life beternal.
5 And it speaketh aharshly against sin, according to the bplainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil.
6 I aglory in bplainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath credeemed my soul from hell.
7 I have acharity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.
8 I have charity for the aJew—I say Jew, because I mean them from whence I came.
9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of athese can I hope except they shall be breconciled unto Christ, and enter into the cnarrow dgate, and ewalk in the fstrait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of gprobation.
10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also aJew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and bbelieve in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall cbelieve in Christ ye will believe in these dwords, for they are the ewords of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they fteach all men that they should do good.
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.
12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his akingdom at that great and last day.
13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one acrying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.
14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the aJews, and also my bwords, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall ccondemn you at the last day.
15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the ajudgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must bobey. Amen.


The last verse we hear from Nephi really sank in this time. It's kind of harsh but I guess you can't blame him for saying "I hope I see you at the judgement bar BUT if you haven't followed the teachings the Savior has asked me to record for you then I won't see you, SO just in case, let's say goodbye now." It's actually quite effective because I know when I read it I decided I would definitely like to be among those who meet him. I can't imagine how the people who were there and heard his actual voice would have felt any differently.



I know it's cheesy but I have to admit, this is the first time I have felt like I should be writing Nephi a thank you note or something after reading First and Second Nephi. I'm really going to miss his writings. It seems like I've gotten to know him a little better. I want to tell him that I realize how much he sacrificed to get the gold plates and bring them to the Americas. I want to tell him that his faith and his sheer determination to fulfill the Lord's commands was simply remarkable! I want him to know that millions are reading his writings now and all his sacrifices were for good reason. I want to thank him for living such an amazing journey and recording it for all of our benefit. I want him to know that he really, truly, changed my life.

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