8.17.2009

pgs. 448 and 449...And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.

16 Then shall ye, who are a aremnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young blion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both ctreadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
18 And I will agather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.
19 For I will make my apeople with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy bhorn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt cbeat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the asword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my apeople, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this apeople will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the bcovenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a cNew Jerusalem. And the dpowers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even eI will be in the midst of you.
23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: aA prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and aall the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.
25 And behold, ye are the achildren of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the bcovenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And cin thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to abless you in bturning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—
27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: aIn thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which bblessing upon the cGentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the dscattering of my people, O house of Israel.
28 And they shall be a ascourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their biniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.
29 And I will aremember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would bgather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the cland of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
30 And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;
31 And they shall abelieve in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
32 Then shall their awatchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye.
33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them aJerusalem for the bland of their inheritance.
34 Then shall they break forth into joy—aSing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.
36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: aAwake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
38 For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
40 And then shall they say: aHow beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that bpublisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
41 And then shall a cry go forth: aDepart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is bunclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye cclean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
42 For ye shall anot go out with bhaste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
45 So shall he asprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they bconsider.
46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall aJerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.

The promises that the Lord gives to these Nephites regarding the last days are so valuable to us because of the time in which we live. To know there will be a New Jerusalem and that the Savior will rule from there to all the world is so powerful. It is another testament of the power of the Book of Mormon that the Savior Himself is recorded telling us about the future of His Father's Kingdom on the earth. When Satan's influence on the world seems to be overwhelming we can gain strength from this chapter and it's amazing promises of what lies ahead.