two pages a day

pgs. 530 and 531...If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

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7 And ye may ^aknow that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, ^baccording to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the ^agifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are ^bdifferent ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the ^cSpirit of God unto men, to profit them.

9 ^aFor behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may ^bteach the word of wisdom;

10 And to another, that he may ^ateach the word of ^bknowledge by the same Spirit;

11 And to another, exceedingly great ^afaith; and to another, the gifts of ^bhealing by the same Spirit;

12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty ^amiracles;

13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;

14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;

15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;

16 And again, to another, the interpretation of ^alanguages and of divers kinds of tongues.

17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.

18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that ^aevery good ^bgift cometh of Christ.

19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the ^bunbelief of the children of men.

20 Wherefore, there must be ^afaith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

21 And except ye have ^acharity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.

22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in ^adespair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: ^aIf ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

24 And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be ^abecause of ^bunbelief.

25 And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be ^anone that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.

26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they ^adie in their ^bsins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my ^awords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one ^bcrying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the ^cdust?

28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall ^ahiss forth from generation to generation.

29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is ^atrue.

30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, nor the ^dunclean thing.

31 And ^aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of ^bZion; and ^cstrengthen thy ^dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest ^eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

32 Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be ^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye ^asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the ^bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your ^csins, that ye become ^dholy, without spot.

34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to ^arest in the ^bparadise of God, until my ^cspirit and body shall again ^dreunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the ^eair, to meet you before the ^fpleasing bar of the great ^gJehovah, the Eternal ^hJudge of both quick and dead. Amen.

* VERSE 1 (ABOUT A.D. 421).

THE END

I find it so appropriate that Moroni's farewell includes an admonition to have faith. It has been the underlying theme throughout the entire 531 pages we have studied these last 9 months. If a stranger asked me what the main idea of the Book of Mormon is I would have to say "faith in Christ." My faith in Him has grown so much through this blog over the last 9 months. We are also taught in today's reading that the faith in Christ brings spiritual gifts. Elder Bruce R McConkie taught us so much about spiritual gifts in this passage from Mormon Doctrine:

“By the grace of God—following devotion, faith, and obedience on man’s part—certain special spiritual blessings called gifts of the Spirit are bestowed upon men. Their receipt is always predicated upon obedience to law, but because they are freely available to all the obedient, they are called gifts. They are signs and miracles reserved for the faithful and for none else.

“Moroni says that the gifts of God come from Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost and by the Spirit of Christ. (Moro. 10.) In other words, the gifts come by the power of that Spirit who is the Holy Ghost, but the Spirit of Christ (or light of Christ) is the agency through which the Holy Ghost operates.

“Their purpose is to enlighten, encourage, and edify the faithful so that they will inherit peace in this life and be guided toward eternal life in the world to come. Their presence is proof of the divinity of the Lord’s work; where they are not found, there the Church and kingdom of God is not. The promise is that they shall never be done away as long as the earth continues in its present state, except for unbelief (Moro. 10:19), but when the perfect day comes and the saints obtain exaltation, there will be no more need for them. As Paul expressed it, ‘When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.’ (1 Cor. 13.)

“Faithful persons are expected to seek the gifts of the Spirit with all their hearts. They are to ‘covet earnestly the best gifts’ (1 Cor. 12:31; D. & C. 46:8), to ‘desire spiritual gifts’ (1 Cor. 14:1), ‘to ask of God, who giveth liberally.’ (D. & C. 46:7; Matt. 7:7–8.) To some will be given one gift; to others, another; and ‘unto some it may be given to have all those gifts, that there may be a head, in order that every member may be profited thereby.’ (D. & C. 46:29.)” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 314).

This blog has been a great blessing to me. Thank you to all of you who have read along and left comments and to those of you who have encouraged me in person. In some ways it feels like I started it a long time ago and in other ways it feels like just yesterday! Time is so mysterious that way. Now that we have reached the end of this journey together it is time for me to focus on another project. Interestingly enough I will be working on this for about 9 months too...a new baby. To all of you who have kept up and read along, you deserve a huge

CONGRATULATIONS!

for accomplishing a New Year's Resolution this year. I hope for you 2009 will always be partly remembered as the year of "Two Pages a Day."

pgs. 528 and 529...thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling...

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8 And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the ^aflesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them.

9 And notwithstanding this great ^aabomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after ^bdepriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is ^cchastity and ^dvirtue—

10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most ^acruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.

11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization—

12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)

13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose ^adelight is in so much abomination—

14 How can we expect that God will ^astay his hand in judgment against us?

15 Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!

16 And again, my son, there are many ^awidows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah; and that part of the provisions which the Lamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many old women do faint by the way and die.

17 And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the Lamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and as many as have fled to the army of ^aAaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.

18 O the depravity of my people! They are without ^aorder and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the ^bstrength of a man, and I cannot any longer enforce my commands.

19 And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written.

20 And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene. Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth ^aexceed that of the Lamanites.

21 Behold, my son, I cannot recommend them unto God lest he should smite me.

22 But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved; and I ^apray unto God that he will ^bspare thy life, to witness the return of his people unto him, or their utter destruction; for I know that they must perish except they ^crepent and return unto him.

23 And if they perish it will be like unto the ^aJaredites, because of the wilfulness of their hearts, ^bseeking for blood and ^crevenge.

24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have ^adeserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would ^bdeliver up unto thee.

25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto ^adeath; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and ^blong-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your ^cmind forever.

26 And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the ^aright hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 10

A testimony of the Book of Mormon comes by the power of the Holy Ghost—The gifts of the Spirit are dispensed to the faithful—Spiritual gifts always accompany faith—Moroni’s words speak from the dust—Come unto Christ, be perfected in him, and sanctify your souls. About A.D. 421

1 Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the ^aLamanites; and I would that they should know that *more than ^bfour hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christ.

2 And I ^aseal up ^bthese records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how ^amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ^bponder it in your ^chearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ^aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ^btrue; and if ye shall ask with a ^csincereheart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the ^gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may ^aknow the ^btruth of all things.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

The phrase "past feeling" really jumped out at me when reading verse 20 today. It is awful to read about how quickly this civilization turned from good to evil. The key to keeping that from happening is to stay in tune and be able to feel our spiritual selves. Here is a great quote from Neal A Maxwell on the subject:

“Our capacity to feel controls our behavior in many ways, and by inaction when our feelings prompt us to do good, we deaden that capacity to feel. It was Jesus’ striking sensitivity to the needs of those about him that made it possible for him to respond in action.
“At the other end of the spiritual spectrum are individuals such as Nephi’s erring brothers; Nephi noted their increasing insensitivity to things spiritual: ‘[God] hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.’ [1 Nephi 17:45.]
“When we become too encrusted with error, our spiritual antennae wilt and we slip beyond mortal reach. This can happen to entire civilizations. In his lamentation to his son Moroni, Mormon notes the deterioration of the Nephite society. The symptoms include a wickedness so profound that Mormon’s people were described by him as being ‘past feeling.’ [Moroni 9:20.] The Apostle Paul lamented the destructive lasciviousness of Church members in Ephesus because they had developed such insensitivity in their satiation that they were ‘past feeling.’ [Ephesians 4:19.] A sex-saturated society cannot really feel the needs of its suffering members because, instead of developing the love that looks outward, it turns man selfishly inward. Imperviousness to the promptings of the still small voice of God will also mean that we have ears but cannot hear, not only the promptings of God, but also the pleas of men” (A Time to Choose, pp. 59–60).

pgs. 526 and 527...we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness...

2009-09-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell.

14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither ^afaith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell.

15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.

16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having ^aauthority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for ^bperfect ^clove ^dcasteth out all fear.

17 And I am filled with ^acharity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and ^bpartakers of salvation.

18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is ^aunchangeable from ^ball eternity to all eternity.

19 Little ^achildren cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his ^bmercy.

20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the ^aatonement of him and the power of his redemption.

21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, ^ahell, and an ^bendless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the^cjudgment-seat of Christ.

22 For behold that all little children are ^aalive in Christ, and also all they that are without the ^blaw. For the power of ^credemption cometh on all them that have ^dno law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—

23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in ^adead works.

24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for ^arepentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.

25 And the first fruits of ^arepentance is ^bbaptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth ^cremission of sins;

26 And the remission of sins bringeth ^ameekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the ^bHoly Ghost, which ^cComforter ^dfillethwith hope and perfect ^elove, which love endureth by ^fdiligence unto ^gprayer, until the end shall come, when all the ^hsaints shall dwell with God.

27 Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if I go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the ^apride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction except they should repent.

28 Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ^aceased ^bstriving with them; and in this part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God; and they are ^cdenying the Holy Ghost.

29 And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as the words of our Savior himself.

30 Farewell, my son, until I shall write unto you, or shall meet you again. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

The second epistle of Mormon to his son Moroni.

CHAPTER 9

Both the Nephites and the Lamanites are depraved and degenerate—They torture and murder each other—Mormon prays that grace and goodness may rest upon Moroni forever. BetweenA.D. 400 and 421

1 My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am yet alive; but I write somewhat of that which is grievous.

2 For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer; and Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice men.

3 And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to ^aanger one with another.

4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with ^asharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they ^bharden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased ^cstriving with them.

5 For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they ^athirst after blood and revenge continually.

6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor ^adiligently; for if we should cease to ^blabor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

7 And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children.

It's wonderful in verse 6 when Mormon says to his son Moroni that even though things are hard they should keep trying because we all have a work to perform. It is a good reminder that we will not always have the opportunity to do the things we are able to do while we have our physical bodies. No matter how hard things may get or how terrible things may seem the Lord will never abandon us in our efforts to do good and "conquer the enemy of all righteousness."

pgs. 524 and 525...charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever...

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37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that ^amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of ^bunbelief, and all is vain.

38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.

39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not ^afit to be numbered among the people of his church.

40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ^ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?

41 And what is it that ye shall ^ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have ^bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ^ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

42 Wherefore, if a man have ^afaith he ^bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ^ameek, and lowly of heart.

44 If so, his ^afaith and hope is vain, for none is ^bacceptable before God, save the ^cmeek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and ^dconfesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 8

Infant baptism is an evil abomination—Little children are alive in Christ because of the atonement—Faith, repentance, meekness and lowliness of heart, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end lead to salvation. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 An epistle of my ^afather Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after my calling to the ministry. And on this wise did he write unto me, saying:

2 My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry, and to his holy work.

3 I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite ^agoodness and ^bgrace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end.

4 And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should ^adisputations rise among you.

5 For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little children.

6 And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from among you; for, for this intent I have written this epistle.

7 For immediately after I had learned these things of you I inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And the ^aword of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying:

8 ^aListen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the ^bwhole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little ^cchildren are ^dwhole, for they are not capable of committing ^esin; wherefore the curse of ^fAdam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of ^gcircumcision is done away in me.

9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn ^amockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.

10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are ^aaccountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little ^bchildren, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

11 And their little ^achildren need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the ^bremission of sins.

12 But little ^achildren are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a ^brespecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!

Faith, hope, and charity. All three virtues have so many degrees of development. In order to comprehend them it takes so many experiences and a concerted effort. The pursuit of them is a lifelong journey. When we come in contact with someone who is an example of these virtues we are drawn to them and remember them. To possess these traits does not mean one must perform grand gestures that reach huge crowds of people. These are calm, quiet, peaceful traits that were best exemplified in our Savior Jesus Christ.

pgs. 522 and 523...And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

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13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is^dinspired of God.

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a ^bchild of Christ.

20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?

21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.

22 For behold, God ^aknowing all things, being from ^beverlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent ^cangels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.

23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.

24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were ^afallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.

25 Wherefore, by the ministering of ^aangels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

26 And after that he came men also were ^asaved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the ^bsons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:^cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.

27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have ^amiracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to ^bclaim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will ^acleave unto every good thing; wherefore he ^badvocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have ^aangels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of ^agodliness.

31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the ^achosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the ^aresidue of men may have ^bfaith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

33 And Christ hath said: ^aIf ye will have ^bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is ^cexpedient in me.

34 And he hath said: ^aRepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with ^apower and great glory at the last ^bday, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he ^awithheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

Elder M. Russell Ballard taught:
“What a priceless collection of faith-promoting experiences can be found in the scriptures! I marvel at the powerful accounts they contain:
“The aged patriarch Abraham ascending Mount Moriah with his only son Isaac.
“A young shepherd boy challenging the giant of the Philistine armies.
“Alma and Amulek imprisoned at Ammonihah.
“You and I are constantly nourished by these great examples of faith and miracles from the past.
“But what of today? As the prophet Mormon asked: ‘Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought.’ (Moroni 7:35–37.)
“Yes, faith is the key. And as I travel over the Church, I find such miracle-spawning faith to be in abundant supply. I agree with President Heber J. Grant, who said: ‘I bear my witness to you that if a record had been made of all those who have been afflicted, those who have been given up to die, and who have been healed by the power of God, since the establishment of the Church of Christ in our day, it would make a book much larger than the New Testament. More miracles have been performed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than we have any account of in the days of the Savior and His Apostles. Today, sickness is cured by spiritual power. . . . The dead have been raised. My own brother was announced to be dead, but by the prayer of faith he lives and presides over one of the stakes of Zion. I know, as I know I live, that the healing power of Almighty God . . . is in the Church of Christ of which you and I are members.’ (Conference Report, October 6, 1910, p. 119.)” (“Faith in the Lives of the Saints,” in Faith, pp. 67–68).

We are almost done!!!

2009-09-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Friends,

We have less than a week until we are done with our journey together. It has been amazing! I plan on writing more about our experience on the last day but today I would just like to know if any of you would like to take over for round 2 of two pages a day. I think it would be wonderful to get another persons perspective now that I have had a chance to give my input over the last almost 9 months. Please leave a comment letting me know... you could start right away or you could start in a few months on January 1 like I did. You can use this same site or set up your own. The choice is yours!!!

fondly,
Kathryn

pgs. 520 and 521...relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

2009-09-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 6

Repentant persons are baptized and fellowshipped—Church members who repent are forgiven—Meetings are conducted by the power of the Holy Ghost. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth ^afruit meet that they were ^bworthy of it.

2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a ^abroken ^bheart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

3 And none were received unto baptism save they ^atook upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and ^acleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the ^bchurch of Christ; and their ^cnames were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually ^dwatchful unto prayer, ^erelying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

5 And the ^achurch did meet together ^boft, to ^cfast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

6 And they did ^ameet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in ^bremembrance of the Lord Jesus.

7 And they were strict to observe that there should be ^ano iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and ^bthree witnesses of the church did condemn them before the ^celders, and if they repented not, and ^dconfessed not, their names were ^eblotted out, and they were not ^fnumbered among the people of Christ.

8 But ^aas oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real ^bintent, they were ^cforgiven.

9 And their meetings were ^aconducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the ^bpower of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 7

An invitation to enter into the rest of the Lord—Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning ^afaith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the ^bsynagogue which they had built for the place of worship.

2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the ^agrace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his ^bcalling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time.

3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the ^achurch, that are the ^bpeaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient ^chope by which ye can enter into the ^drest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.

4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable ^awalk with the children of men.

5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their ^aworks ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.

6 For behold, God hath said a man being ^aevil cannot do that which is good; for if he ^boffereth a gift, or ^cprayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real ^dintent it profiteth him nothing.

7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.

8 For behold, if a man being ^aevil giveth a gift, he doeth it ^bgrudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with ^areal intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.

11 For behold, a bitter ^afountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he ^bfollow Christ he cannot be a ^cservant of the devil.

12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is ^bevil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.

I love this quote that refers to Moroni 6:4 and the role Christ plays in our journey of faith. I'm sorry I don't know who to attribute it to!

How we live matters very much. None of us, however, lives a perfect life, and so none of us can return to the presence of God by virtue of our own works. Because Christ lived a perfect life only his blood can pay for sins that have been committed. Thus, a person can begin to have faith only when he relies upon the merits of Christ; therefore, Jesus is the “author” of our faith.

After faith begins to develop, we must continue to rely on Christ’s merit, the Atonement, as we endure to the end. And it is only through constant faith in the Redeemer and through repentance that we can endure to the end. In this sense, Jesus is the “finisher” of our faith.

From the time we accept Christ and qualify for a rebirth until we have endured to the end, we must rely “alone upon the merits of Christ, . . . the author and the finisher of [our] faith” (Moroni 6:4).

pgs. 518 and 519...that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember Him...

2009-09-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had ^aall fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.

30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.

31 And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and ^afell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.

32 And it came to pass that ^aCoriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.

33 And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he ^afinished his ^brecord; (and the^chundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.

34 Now the last words which are written by ^aEther are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am^bsaved in the kingdom of God. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 1

Moroni writes for the benefit of the Lamanites—The Nephites who will not deny Christ are put to death. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 NOW I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed ^anot to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me.

2 For behold, their ^awars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their ^bhatred they ^cput to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.

3 And I, Moroni, will not ^adeny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.

4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of ^aworthunto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 2

Jesus gave the Nephite apostles power to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 The words of Christ, which he spake unto his ^adisciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them—

2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall ^acall on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have ^bpower that to him upon whom ye shall lay your^chands, ^dye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.

3 Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it; and on as many as they ^alaid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 3

Elders ordain priests and teachers by the laying on of hands. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 The manner which the disciples, who were called the ^aelders of the church, ^bordained ^cpriests and teachers—

2 After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they ^alaid their hands upon them, and said:

3 In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest, (or, if he be a ^ateacher) I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and ^bremission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end. Amen.

4 And after this manner did they ^aordain priests and teachers, according to the ^bgifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained them by the ^cpower of the Holy Ghost, which was in them.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 4

How the elders and priests administer the sacramental bread. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 The ^amanner of their ^belders and ^cpriests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it ^daccording to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it—

2 And they did kneel down with the ^achurch, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:

3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and ^asanctify this ^bbread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in ^cremembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the ^dname of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his ^eSpirit to be with them. Amen.

THE BOOK OF MORONI

CHAPTER 5

The mode of administering the sacramental wine is set forth. Between A.D. 400 and 421

1 The ^amanner of administering the wine—Behold, they took the cup, and said:

2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this ^awine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in ^bremembrance of the^cblood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his ^dSpirit to be with them. Amen.

My heart goes out to Moroni in this reading. It's clear that he was thinking he would have been dead by now. Don't you think that had to be sort of a strange feeling? And yet, it is SUCH a blessing that he lived long enough to record these chapters. Millions of who take the sacrament every Sunday are in great debt to this man for blessing us with the sacrament prayers. They are just one of the wonderful gifts we receive from the Book of Mormon.

pgs. 516 and 517...they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.

2009-09-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

29 And it came to pass that they came forth, but were driven again; and they came the second time, and they were driven again the second time. And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the battle became exceedingly sore.

30 And it came to pass that Shiz smote upon Coriantumr that he gave him many deep wounds; and Coriantumr, having lost his blood, fainted, and was carried away as though he were dead.

31 Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great that Shiz commanded his people that they should not pursue the armies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 15

Millions of the Jaredites are slain in battle—Shiz and Coriantumr assemble all the people to mortal combat—The Spirit of the Lord ceases to strive with them—The Jaredite nation is utterly destroyed—Only Coriantumr remains.

1 And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the ^awords which Ether had spoken unto him.

2 He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly ^atwo millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.

3 He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul ^amourned and refused to be ^bcomforted.

4 And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people.

5 And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he wrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he would give himself up, that he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the lives of the people.

6 And it came to pass that the people repented not of their iniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred up to anger against the people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.

7 And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again before the people of Shiz.

8 And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when they came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow they did come to battle.

9 And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of blood.

10 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz that they beat them, that they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which was called Ogath.

11 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did ^ahide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.

12 And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people upon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was Ether.

13 And it came to pass that Ether did ^abehold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz.

14 Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they could receive.

15 And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children—both men, women and children being armed with ^aweapons of war, having shields, and ^bbreastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war—they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.

16 And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a ^alamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.

17 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.

18 And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.

19 But behold, the ^aSpirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and ^bSatan had full power over the ^chearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle.

20 And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords.

21 And on the morrow they fought even until the night came.

22 And when the night came they were ^adrunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords.

23 And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.

24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.

25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.

26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men.

27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.

28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the sword.

It is sad to continue to see so much war in this section of the Book of Mormon. Millions of Jaredites were killed until only 121 remained in verse 23 and then 59 in verse 25. Even the women and children had to take up weapons and fight. Ironically the two men who were responsible for the war, Coriantumr and Shiz, were protected by their armies until the very end.

pgs. 514 and 515...Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr, for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother...

2009-09-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

26 And there were robbers, and in fine, all manner of wickedness upon all the face of the land.

27 And it came to pass that Coriantumr was exceedingly angry with Shared, and he went against him with his armies to battle; and they did meet in great anger, and they did meet in the valley of Gilgal; and the battle became exceedingly sore.

28 And it came to pass that Shared fought against him for the space of three days. And it came to pass that Coriantumr beat him, and did pursue him until he came to the plains of Heshlon.

29 And it came to pass that Shared gave him battle again upon the plains; and behold, he did beat Coriantumr, and drove him back again to the valley of Gilgal.

30 And Coriantumr gave Shared battle again in the valley of Gilgal, in which he beat Shared and slew him.

31 And Shared wounded Coriantumr in his thigh, that he did not go to battle again for the space of two years, in which time all the people upon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to restrain them.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 14

The iniquity of the people brings a curse upon the land—Coriantumr engages in warfare against Gilead, then Lib, and then Shiz—Blood and carnage cover the land.

1 And now there began to be a great ^acurse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.

2 Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the^adefence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children.

3 And now, after the space of two years, and after the death of Shared, behold, there arose the brother of Shared and he gave battle unto Coriantumr, in which Coriantumr did beat him and did pursue him to the wilderness of Akish.

4 And it came to pass that the brother of Shared did give battle unto him in the wilderness of Akish; and the battle became exceedingly sore, and many thousands fell by the sword.

5 And it came to pass that Coriantumr did lay siege to the wilderness; and the brother of Shared did march forth out of the wilderness by night, and slew a part of the army of Coriantumr, as they were drunken.

6 And he came forth to the land of ^aMoron, and placed himself upon the throne of Coriantumr.

7 And it came to pass that Coriantumr dwelt with his army in the wilderness for the space of two years, in which he did receive great strength to his army.

8 Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations.

9 And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat upon his throne.

10 And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered him in a secret pass, and obtained unto himself the kingdom; and his name was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other man among all the people.

11 And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib.

12 And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the seashore.

13 And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore.

14 And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of Coriantumr, that they fled again to the wilderness of Akish.

15 And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he came to the plains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken all the people with him as he fled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled.

16 And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died; nevertheless, the brother of Lib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the battle became exceedingly sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the army of the brother of Lib.

17 Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And it came to pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr, and he did overthrow many cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities.

18 And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry went forth throughout the land—Who can stand before the army of Shiz? Behold, he sweepeth the earth before him!

19 And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in armies, throughout all the face of the land.

20 And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr.

21 And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the ^abodies of the ^bdead.

22 And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of ^ablood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the ^bworms of the flesh.

23 And the ^ascent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.

24 Nevertheless, Shiz did ^anot cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword.

25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his ^awrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.

26 And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days.

27 And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz that the people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the inhabitants before them, all them that would not join them.

28 And they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor; and Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr. Now the valley of Shurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore, Coriantumr did gather his armies together upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the armies of Shiz to invite them forth to battle.

This terrible scene of battle and dead bodies being eaten by worms and smelling awful throughout the land is mostly the result of what? Revenge. There is so much of it in the Book of Mormon...violence in the name of "getting someone back for what they did to you (or your ancestors.)" In verse 24 we see that Shiz decides to keep fighting because he swore to avenge his brother. The horrible outcome is a reminder that we should not let the desire for revenge motivate us. It does not come from the Spirit and it always leads to even more suffering.

pgs. 512 and 513...great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether...but they cast him out.

2009-09-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 13

Ether speaks of a New Jerusalem to be built in America by the seed of Joseph—He prophesies, is cast out, writes the Jaredite history, and foretells the destruction of the Jaredites—War rages over all the land.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.

2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had ^areceded from off the face of this ^bland it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should ^cserve him who dwell upon the face thereof;

3 And that it was the place of the ^aNew Jerusalem, which should ^bcome down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.

4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a ^aNew Jerusalem upon this land.

5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the ^aJerusalem from whence ^bLehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a ^choly city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel.

6 And that a ^aNew Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of ^bJoseph, for which things there has been a ^ctype.

7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of ^aEgypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should ^bperish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.

8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this ^aland; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy ^bcity unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall ^cno more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.

9 And there shall be a ^anew heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.

10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are ^awhite through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.

11 And then also cometh the ^aJerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the ^bnorth countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, ^cAbraham.

12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were ^afirst, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first.

13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he ^ahid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people.

14 And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the ^aremainder of this record, viewing the destructions which came upon the people, by night.

15 And it came to pass that in that same year in which he was cast out from among the people there began to be a great war among the people, for there were many who rose up, who were mighty men, and sought to destroy Coriantumr by their secret plans of wickedness, of which hath been spoken.

16 And now Coriantumr, having studied, himself, in all the arts of war and all the cunning of the world, wherefore he gave battle unto them who sought to destroy him.

17 But he repented not, neither his ^afair sons nor daughters; neither the fair sons and daughters of Cohor; neither the fair sons and daughters of Corihor; and in fine, there were none of the fair sons and daughters upon the face of the whole earth who repented of their sins.

18 Wherefore, it came to pass that in the first year that Ether dwelt in the cavity of a rock, there were many people who were slain by the sword of those ^asecret combinations, fighting against Coriantumr that they might obtain the kingdom.

19 And it came to pass that the sons of Coriantumr fought much and bled much.

20 And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that he should go and ^aprophesy unto ^bCoriantumr that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people—

21 Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself. And he should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning ^aanotherpeople receiving the land for their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them; and every soul should be destroyed save it were ^bCoriantumr.

22 And it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not, neither his household, neither the people; and the wars ceased not; and they sought to ^akill Ether, but he fled from before them and hid again in the cavity of the rock.

23 And it came to pass that there arose up Shared, and he also gave battle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him, insomuch that in the third year he did bring him into captivity.

24 And the sons of Coriantumr, in the fourth year, did beat Shared, and did obtain the kingdom again unto their father.

25 Now there began to be a war upon all the face of the land, ^aevery man with his band fighting for that which he desired.

It is so heartbreaking to read about the amazing prophesies of Ether in one phrase and then in the very next phrase to read that he had to hide in a rock everyday because the people cast him out. They had a treasure in their midst and yet they completely ignored it. They could have saved themselves from so much heartache if they just would have listened.

pgs. 510 and 511...I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me.

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17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should ^anot taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith.

18 And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

19 And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even ^abefore Christ came, who could not be kept from within the ^bveil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.

20 And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his ^afinger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith.

21 And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the ^apromise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the ^bveil.

22 And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the ^apromise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.

23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will ^amock at these things, because of our ^bweakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us ^cmighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;

24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the ^aawkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in ^bwriting like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he ^cwrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.

25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we ^acannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our ^bweakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall ^cmock at our words.

26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: ^aFools ^bmock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them.

28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that ^afaith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all ^brighteousness.

29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was ^acomforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith;

30 For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, ^aRemove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith.

31 For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for ^aafter they had ^bfaith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.

32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the ^amansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent ^bhope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.

33 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast ^aloved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.

34 And now I know that this ^alove which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not ^acharity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and ^btake away their ^ctalent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.

36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles ^agrace, that they might have charity.

37 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made ^aclean. And because thou hast seen thy ^bweakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

38 And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the ^ajudgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my ^bgarments are not spotted with your blood.

39 And then shall ye know that I have ^aseen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me ^bface to face, and that he told me in ^cplain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things;

40 And only a few have I written, because of my weakness in writing.

41 And now, I would commend you to ^aseek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth ^brecord of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.

Ether 12:27 is one of the most often quoted and favorite scriptures in all of the Book of Mormon and it is easy to see why. This one verse explains to all of us that it is OK to have weaknesses, in fact they are given to us by God. And it tells us that if we can just be humble His grace will make up for what we lack. And even more than that, His grace will help us turn those weaknesses into strengths. This verse gives all of us hope when we are overwhelmed by our natural man tendencies and encourages us to be patient with ourselves and others. This verse is a blessing to all of us.

pgs. 508 and 509...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

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11 And Ethem, being a descendant of Ahah, did obtain the kingdom; and he also did do that which was wicked in his days.

12 And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea, they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly ^adestroy them from off the face of the earth except they repented of their iniquities.

13 And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts, and would not ^ahearken unto their words; and the prophets ^bmourned and withdrew from among the people.

14 And it came to pass that Ethem did execute judgment in wickedness all his days; and he begat Moron. And it came to pass that Moron did reign in his stead; and Moron did that which was wicked before the Lord.

15 And it came to pass that there arose a ^arebellion among the people, because of that secret ^bcombination which was built up to get power and gain; and there arose a mighty man among them in iniquity, and gave battle unto Moron, in which he did overthrow the half of the kingdom; and he did maintain the half of the kingdom for many years.

16 And it came to pass that Moron did overthrow him, and did obtain the kingdom again.

17 And it came to pass that there arose another mighty man; and he was a descendant of the brother of Jared.

18 And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron and obtain the kingdom; wherefore, Moron dwelt in ^acaptivity all the remainder of his days; and he begat Coriantor.

19 And it came to pass that Coriantor dwelt in captivity all his days.

20 And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and prophesied of great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the people, and except they should repent the Lord God would execute ^ajudgment against them to their utter destruction;

21 And that the Lord God would send or bring forth ^aanother people to possess the ^bland, by his power, after the manner by which he brought their fathers.

22 And they did ^areject all the words of the prophets, because of their ^bsecret society and wicked abominations.

23 And it came to pass that Coriantor begat ^aEther, and he died, having dwelt in captivity all his days.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 12

The prophet Ether exhorts the people to believe in God—Moroni recounts the wonders and marvels done by faith—Faith enabled the brother of Jared to see Christ—The Lord gives men weaknesses that they may be humble—The brother of Jared moved Mount Zerin by faith—Faith, hope, and charity are essential to salvation—Moroni saw Jesus face to face.

1 And it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of ^aCoriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land.

2 And ^aEther was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be ^brestrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.

3 For he did ^acry from the ^bmorning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be ^cdestroyed, saying unto them that ^dby ^efaith all things are fulfilled—

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with ^asurety ^bhope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which ^chope cometh of ^dfaith, maketh an ^eanchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in ^fgood works, being led to ^gglorify God.

5 And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they ^asaw them not.

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that ^afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith.

7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself ^anot unto the world.

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were ^acalled after the holy order of God.

11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the ^agift of his Son hath God prepared a more ^bexcellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.

12 For if there be no ^afaith among the children of men God can do no ^bmiracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the ^aprison to tumble to the earth.

14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the ^achange upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the ^bHoly Ghost.

15 Behold, it was the faith of ^aAmmon and his brethren which ^bwrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

16 Yea, and even all they who wrought ^amiracles wrought them by ^bfaith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.

Ether chapter 12 is truly a scriptural jewel. The review of all the men of faith we have read about in earlier parts of the Book of Mormon and how they used their faith to obtain great miracles is so inspirational. The discussion and definition of faith is so well written and truly poetic. I found a quote in connection with this chapter that I feel is important because it helps us to know what actual actions we can take in our lives today to exhibit faith. I hope you are as inspired by it as I am!

“Faith is needed as much as ever before. Little can we see. We know not what the morrow will bring. Accidents, sickness, even death seem to hover over us continually. Little do we know when they might strike.

“It takes faith—unseeing faith—for young people to proceed immediately with their family responsibilities in the face of financial uncertainties. It takes faith for the young woman to bear her family instead of accepting employment, especially when schooling for the young husband is to be finished. It takes faith to observe the Sabbath when ‘time and a half’ can be had working, when profit can be made, when merchandise can be sold. It takes a great faith to pay tithes when funds are scarce and demands are great. It takes faith to fast and have family prayers and to observe the Word of Wisdom. It takes faith to do home teaching, stake missionary work, and other service, when sacrifice is required. It takes faith to fill full-time missions. But know this—that all these are of the planting, while faithful, devout families, spiritual security, peace, and eternal life are the harvest” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 3–5, 10–11).

p.s so sorry this is posting a day late...technical difficulties!

pgs. 506 and 507...and the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercy on them.

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14 And his brother did rise up in rebellion against him, by which he did bring him into ^acaptivity; and he did remain in captivity all his days; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity, and in his old age he begat Levi; and he died.

15 And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity after the death of his father, for the space of forty and two years. And he did make war against the king of the land, by which he did obtain unto himself the kingdom.

16 And after he had obtained unto himself the kingdom he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper in the land; and he did live to a good ^aold age, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Corom, whom he anointed king in his stead.

17 And it came to pass that Corom did that which was good in the sight of the Lord all his days; and he begat many sons and daughters; and after he had seen many days he did pass away, even like unto the rest of the earth; and Kish reigned in his stead.

18 And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Lib reigned in his stead.

19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the ^apoisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great ^bhunter.

20 And they built a great city by the ^anarrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.

21 And they did preserve the land ^asouthward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants.

22 And they were exceedingly ^aindustrious, and they did buy and sell and ^btraffic one with another, that they might get gain.

23 And they did ^awork in all manner of ^bore, and they did make gold, and silver, and ^ciron, and ^dbrass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did ^ework all manner of fine work.

24 And they did have ^asilks, and fine-twined ^blinen; and they did work all manner of ^ccloth, that they might clothe themselves from their nakedness.

25 And they did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also to thrash.

26 And they did make all manner of tools with which they did work their beasts.

27 And they did make all manner of ^aweapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship.

28 And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it.

29 And it came to pass that Lib did live many years, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Hearthom.

30 And it came to pass that Hearthom reigned in the stead of his father. And when Hearthom had reigned twenty and four years, behold, the kingdom was taken away from him. And he served many years in ^acaptivity, yea, even all the remainder of his days.

31 And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com.

32 And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of the kingdom. And he reigned over the half of the kingdom forty and two years; and he went to battle against the king, Amgid, and they fought for the space of many years, during which time Com gained power over Amgid, and obtained power over the remainder of the kingdom.

33 And in the days of Com there began to be robbers in the land; and they adopted the old plans, and administered ^aoaths after the manner of the ancients, and sought again to destroy the kingdom.

34 Now Com did fight against them much; nevertheless, he did not prevail against them.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 11

Wars, dissensions, and wickedness dominate Jaredite life—Their prophets predict the utter destruction of the Jaredites unless they repent—The people reject the words of the prophets.

1 And there came also in the days of Com many ^aprophets, and prophesied of the destruction of that great people except they should repent, and turn unto the Lord, and forsake their murders and wickedness.

2 And it came to pass that the prophets were ^arejected by the people, and they fled unto Com for protection, for the people sought to destroy them.

3 And they prophesied unto Com many things; and he was blessed in all the remainder of his days.

4 And he lived to a good old age, and begat Shiblom; and Shiblom reigned in his stead. And the brother of Shiblom rebelled against him, and there began to be an exceedingly great war in all the land.

5 And it came to pass that the brother of Shiblom caused that all the prophets who prophesied of the destruction of the people should be put to ^adeath;

6 And there was great calamity in all the land, for they had testified that a great curse should come upon the land, and also upon the people, and that there should be a great destruction among them, such an one as never had been upon the face of the earth, and their bones should become as ^aheaps of earth upon the face of the land except they should repent of their wickedness.

7 And they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord, because of their wicked combinations; wherefore, there began to be wars and ^acontentions in all the land, and also many famines and pestilences, insomuch that there was a great destruction, such an one as never had been known upon the face of the earth; and all this came to pass in the days of Shiblom.

8 And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have ^amercy on them.

9 And it came to pass that Shiblom was slain, and Seth was brought into ^acaptivity, and did dwell in captivity all his days.

10 And it came to pass that Ahah, his son, did obtain the kingdom; and he did reign over the people all his days. And he did do all manner of iniquity in his days, by which he did cause the shedding of much blood; and few were his days.

The main lesson of the Book of Mormon is once again repeated in this reading. This lesson is that if you repent the Lord will have mercy on you and bless you. If you don't, He won't. It seems so simple and yet it is taught to us over and over and over through so many different generations and examples. It must be a really important message!

pgs. 504 and 505...there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison man people...

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24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two years old. And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old.

25 And it came to pass that he begat Com, and Com reigned in his stead; and he reigned forty and nine years, and he begat Heth; and he also begat other sons and daughters.

26 And the people had spread again over all the face of the land, and there began again to be an exceedingly great wickedness upon the face of the land, and ^aHeth began to embrace the secret plans again of old, to destroy his father.

27 And it came to pass that he did dethrone his father, for he slew him with his own sword; and he did reign in his stead.

28 And there came prophets in the land ^aagain, crying repentance unto them—that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent.

29 But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into ^apits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth.

30 And it came to pass that there began to be a great ^adearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the earth.

31 And there came forth ^apoisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land ^bsouthward, which was called by the Nephites ^cZarahemla.

32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward.

33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the ^aserpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents.

34 And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the beasts, and did devour the ^acarcasses of them which fell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must ^bperish they began to ^crepent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord.

35 And it came to pass that when they had ^ahumbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 10

One king succeeds another—Some of the kings are righteous; others are wicked—When righteousness prevails, the people are blessed and prospered by the Lord.

1 And it came to pass that Shez, who was a descendant of Heth—for ^aHeth had perished by the famine, and all his household save it were Shez—wherefore, Shez began to build up again a broken people.

2 And it came to pass that Shez did remember the destruction of his fathers, and he did build up a righteous kingdom; for he remembered what the Lord had done in bringing Jared and his brother ^aacross the deep; and he did walk in the ways of the Lord; and he begat sons and daughters.

3 And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, did ^arebel against him; nevertheless, Shez was smitten by the hand of a robber, because of his exceeding riches, which brought peace again unto his father.

4 And it came to pass that his father did build up many cities upon the face of the land, and the people began again to spread over all the face of the land. And Shez did live to an exceedingly old age; and he begat Riplakish. And he died, and Riplakish reigned in his stead.

5 And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and ^aconcubines, and did lay that upon men’s shoulders which was grievous to be borne; yea, he did ^btax them with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did build many spacious buildings.

6 And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne; and he did build many prisons, and whoso would not be subject unto taxes he did ^acast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he did cast into prison; and he did cause that they should labor continually for their support; and whoso refused to labor he did cause to be put to death.

7 Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine ^agold he did cause to be refined in prison; and all manner of fine ^bworkmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass that he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations.

8 And when he had reigned for the space of forty and two years the people did rise up in rebellion against him; and there began to be war again in the land, insomuch that Riplakish was killed, and his descendants were driven out of the land.

9 And it came to pass after the space of many years, Morianton, (he being a descendant of Riplakish) gathered together an army of outcasts, and went forth and gave battle unto the people; and he gained power over many cities; and the war became exceedingly sore, and did last for the space of many years; and he did gain power over all the land, and did establish himself king over all the land.

10 And after that he had established himself king he did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of the people, and they did anoint him to be their king.

11 And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself because of his many ^awhoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord.

12 And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became exceedingly rich under his reign, both in buildings, and in ^agold and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored unto them.

13 And Morianton did live to an exceedingly great age, and then he begat Kim; and Kim did reign in the stead of his father; and he did reign eight years, and his father died. And it came to pass that Kim did ^anot reign in righteousness, wherefore he was not favored of the Lord.

The power that the snakes had in this reading is so frightening! It is such a bold and strong reminder that the Lord has so many means at His disposal to manifest His will. The drought is scary too but something about the poisonous snakes killing so many people and animals is just shocking. We would all be wise to remember that we rely on the Lord for every breath and every drop of water and every single thing that sustains our lives.

pgs. 502 and 503...Akish began to be jealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food...

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24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this ^asecret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the ^afreedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who ^bbeguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath ^chardened the hearts of men that they have ^dmurdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have ^ano power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be ^bpersuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all ^crighteousness and be saved.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 9

The kingdom passes from one to another by descent and intrigue and murder—Emer saw the Son of Righteousness—Many prophets cry repentance—A famine and poisonous serpents plague the people.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed with my record. Therefore, behold, it came to pass that because of the ^asecret combinations of Akish and his friends, behold, they did overthrow the kingdom of Omer.

2 Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful unto Omer, and also to his sons and to his daughters who did not seek his destruction.

3 And the Lord ^awarned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer ^bdeparted out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of ^cShim, and came over by the place ^dwhere the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family.

4 And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over the people, by the hand of wickedness; and he gave unto Akish his daughter to wife.

5 And it came to pass that Akish ^asought the life of his father-in-law; and he applied unto those whom he had sworn by the ^boath of the ancients, and they obtained the head of his father-in-law, as he sat upon his throne, giving audience to his people.

6 For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore Jared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.

7 And it came to pass that Akish began to be ^ajealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food until he had suffered death.

8 And now the brother of him that suffered death, (and his name was Nimrah) was angry with his father because of that which his father had done unto his brother.

9 And it came to pass that Nimrah gathered together a small number of men, and fled out of the land, and came over and dwelt with Omer.

10 And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.

11 Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for ^apower; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them ^bmoney, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.

12 And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years, yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people of the kingdom, yea, even all, save it were thirty souls, and they who fled with the house of Omer.

13 Wherefore, Omer was restored again to the ^aland of his inheritance.

14 And it came to pass that Omer began to be old; nevertheless, in his old age he begat Emer; and he anointed Emer to be king to reign in his stead.

15 And after that he had anointed Emer to be king he saw peace in the land for the space of two years, and he died, having seen exceedingly many days, which were full of sorrow. And it came to pass that Emer did reign in his stead, and did fill the steps of his father.

16 And the Lord began again to take the curse from off the land, and the house of Emer did prosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer; and in the space of sixty and two years they had become exceedingly strong, insomuch that they became exceedingly rich—

17 Having ^aall manner of fruit, and of grain, and of ^bsilks, and of fine linen, and of ^cgold, and of silver, and of precious things;

18 And also ^aall manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man.

19 And they also had ^ahorses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms.

20 And thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this land, which was ^achoice above all other lands; and he commanded that whoso should possess the land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should be ^bdestroyed when they were ripened in iniquity; for upon such, saith the Lord: I will pour out the fulness of my wrath.

21 And Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all his days, and he begat many sons and daughters; and he begat Coriantum, and he anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead.

22 And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead he lived four years, and he saw peace in the land; yea, and he even saw the ^aSon of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in peace.

23 And it came to pass that Coriantum did walk in the steps of his father, and did build many mighty cities, and did administer that which was good unto his people in all his days. And it came to pass that he had no children even until he was exceedingly ^aold.

I can't help but wonder what kind of person would starve his own son in prison? The wickedness and evil that existed among these people is so awful! Again it reminds us that secret combinations lead to destruction and they ruin their society to the point that no trust exists.

pgs. 500 and 501...and it came to pass that they formed a secret combination...which is most abominable and wicked above all in the sight of God.

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24 And it came to pass that the people did ^arevile against the prophets, and did mock them. And it came to pass that king Shule did execute judgment against all those who did revile against the prophets.

25 And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance.

26 And because the people did repent of their iniquities and idolatries the Lord did spare them, and they began to prosper again in the land. And it came to pass that Shule ^abegat sons and daughters in his old age.

27 And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them ^aacross the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 8

There is strife and contention over the kingdom—Akish forms an oath-bound secret combination to slay the king—Secret combinations are of the devil and result in the destruction of nations—Modern Gentiles are warned against the secret combination which shall seek to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.

1 And it came to pass that he begat Omer, and Omer reigned in his stead. And Omer begat Jared; and Jared begat sons and daughters.

2 And Jared rebelled against his father, and came and dwelt in the land of Heth. And it came to pass that he did ^aflatter many people, because of his cunning words, until he had gained the half of the kingdom.

3 And when he had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto his father, and he did carry away his father into captivity, and did make him serve in captivity;

4 And now, in the days of the reign of Omer he was in ^acaptivity the half of his days. And it came to pass that he begat sons and daughters, among whom were Esrom and Coriantumr;

5 And they were exceedingly angry because of the doings of Jared their brother, insomuch that they did raise an army and gave battle unto Jared. And it came to pass that they did give battle unto him by night.

6 And it came to pass that when they had slain the army of Jared they were about to slay him also; and he plead with them that they would not slay him, and he would give up the kingdom unto his father. And it came to pass that they did grant unto him his life.

7 And now Jared became exceedingly ^asorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the glory of the world.

8 Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the kingdom unto her father.

9 Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the ^arecord which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an ^baccount concerning them of ^cold, that they by their ^dsecret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?

10 And now, therefore, let my father send for Akish, the son of Kimnor; and behold, I am fair, and I will dance before him, and I will please him, that he will desire me to wife; wherefore if he shall desire of thee that ye shall give unto him me to wife, then shall ye say: I will give her if ye will bring unto me the ^ahead of my father, the king.

11 And now Omer was a friend to Akish; wherefore, when Jared had sent for Akish, the daughter of Jared danced before him that she pleased him, insomuch that he desired her to wife. And it came to pass that he said unto Jared: Give her unto me to wife.

12 And Jared said unto him: I will give her unto you, if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king.

13 And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?

14 And it came to pass that they all ^asware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.

15 And it came to pass that thus they did agree with ^aAkish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from ^bCain, who was a murderer from the beginning.

16 And they were kept up by the ^apower of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.

17 And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart to search up these things of old; and Jared put it into the heart of Akish; wherefore, Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair promises to do whatsoever thing he desired.

18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret ^acombination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;

19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man.

20 And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had ^aamong all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.

21 And they have caused the ^adestruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.

22 And whatsoever ^anation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the ^bblood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for ^cvengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get ^apower and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of ^bdestruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

The awful power of secret combinations is shown in this reading. Sorry to quote the Institute Manual two days in a row but this is a well written summary that is important for all of us to remember as we function in society today.

In Ether 8:18–22 we learn four important things:

Secret combinations are wicked and forbidden of the Lord (see vv. 18–19).
Secret combinations are “had among all people” (v. 20).
Secret combinations “caused the destruction” of both the Jaredite and Nephite nations (v. 21).
Whatever nation upholds secret combinations “shall be destroyed” (v. 22).

This last item is an important point to remember—to flourish, secret combinations need the support of the people.

pgs. 498 and 499...the people desired of them that they should anoint one of their sons to be a king over them.

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18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in the land.

19 And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they will desire of us before we go down to our graves.

20 And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons.

21 And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after that they had numbered them, they did desire of them the things which they would that they should do before they went down to their graves.

22 And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should ^aanoint one of their sons to be a king over them.

23 And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing ^aleadeth into captivity.

24 But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a king. And therefore he said unto them: Choose ye out from among our sons a king, even whom ye will.

25 And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he refused and would not be their ^aking. And the people would that his father should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be their king.

26 And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and they would not.

27 And it came to pass that neither would the ^asons of Jared, even all save it were one; and ^bOrihah was anointed to be king over the people.

28 And he began to reign, and the people began to ^aprosper; and they became exceedingly rich.

29 And it came to pass that Jared died, and his brother also.

30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 7

Orihah reigns in righteousness—Amid usurpation and strife the rival kingdoms of Shule and Cohor are set up—Prophets condemn the wickedness and idolatry of the people, who then repent.

1 And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.

2 And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons.

3 And it came to pass that he also begat ^aKib in his ^bold age. And it came to pass that Kib reigned in his stead; and Kib begat Corihor.

4 And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father, and went over and dwelt in the land of Nehor; and he begat sons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor drew away many people after him.

5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of ^aMoron where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which ^bbrought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity.

6 Now the ^aland of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites.

7 And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in ^acaptivity, and his people under Corihor his son, until he became exceedingly old; nevertheless Kib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity.

8 And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and Shule waxed strong, and became mighty as to the strength of a man; and he was also mighty in judgment.

9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of ^asteel for those whom he had drawn away with him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city Nehor, and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.

10 And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father bestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he began to reign in the stead of his father.

11 And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness; and he did spread his kingdom upon all the face of the land, for the people had become exceedingly numerous.

12 And it came to pass that Shule also begat many sons and daughters.

13 And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom.

14 And it came to pass that Corihor had many sons and daughters. And among the sons of Corihor there was one whose name was Noah.

15 And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king, and also his father Corihor, and drew away Cohor his brother, and also all his brethren and many of the people.

16 And he gave battle unto Shule, the king, in which he did obtain the land of their ^afirst inheritance; and he became a king over that part of the land.

17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into Moron.

18 And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon his throne in his own kingdom.

19 Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead; nevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king, and the people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper exceedingly and wax great.

20 And the country was ^adivided; and there were two kingdoms, the kingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of Cohor, the son of Noah.

21 And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat them and did slay Cohor.

22 And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod; and Nimrod gave up the kingdom of Cohor unto Shule, and he did gain favor in the eyes of Shule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do in the kingdom of Shule according to his desires.

23 And also in the reign of Shule there came ^aprophets among the people, who were sent from the Lord, prophesying that the wickedness and ^bidolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they should be destroyed if they did not repent.

This simple explanation and chart about chapter 7 from the Institute Manual is very helpful. It makes me very thankful that we do not have a King in the USA.

The brother of Jared said that having a king would lead to captivity, and he was right. Kib, and later his son Shule, were taken captive by rivals. The following genealogical chart illustrates this part of the early Jaredite history. Notice how short the time was between the brother of Jared’s prophecy and its fulfillment.

Much Jaredite history is covered rapidly in this part of the book of Ether. In abridging the history, Moroni told only the highlights of hundreds of years of events. He emphasized the parallels with his own people and the lessons that would be most valuable for our time.

pgs. 496 and 497...they did sing praises unto the Lord...and did thank and praise the Lord all the day long...and when the night came...

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16 And then shall my ^arevelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, ^awhen ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.

18 Therefore, ^arepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be ^bbaptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and ^csigns shall follow them that believe in my name.

19 And blessed is he that is found ^afaithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be ^blifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him ^cfrom the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 5

Three witnesses and the work itself shall stand as a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

1 And now I, Moroni, have written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory; and I have told you the things which I have ^asealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God.

2 And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto ^athose who shall assist to bring forth this work;

3 And unto ^athree shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall ^bknow of a surety that these things are ^ctrue.

4 And in the mouth of three ^awitnesses shall these things be established; and the ^btestimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.

5 And if it so be that they repent and ^acome unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God.

6 And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 6

The Jaredite barges are driven by the winds to the promised land—The people praise the Lord for his goodness—Orihah is appointed king over them—Jared and his brother pass away in death.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of ^aJared and his brother.

2 For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the ^astones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels.

3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.

4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of ^afood, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and ^bwhatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them—and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a ^afurious wind blow upon the face of the waters, ^btowards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being ^atight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ^bark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were ^adriven forth before the wind.

9 And they did ^asing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did ^bthank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.

10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither ^awhale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

11 And thus they were driven forth, ^athree hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

12 And they did ^aland upon the shore of the ^bpromised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his ^ctender mercies over them.

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

14 And Jared had four ^asons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah, and Mahah, and Orihah.

15 And the brother of Jared also begat sons and daughters.

16 And the ^afriends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.

17 And they were taught to ^awalk humbly before the Lord; and they were also ^btaught from on high.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be tossed around at the mercies of the ocean for 344 days. Last month when we went on a cruise to Alaska several people were complaining of sea sickness and that was on a huge ship that hardly rocked. Plus we got off the ship almost all day every day. The brother of Jared and his his people endured "mountain waves and great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind (verse 6.)" Don't you wonder how they got any sleep or what they ate those many months? What amazes me the most is that while they were enduring this they still thanked and praised the Lord all the day long and sang praises unto him. Wow. I am so humbled by their example!

pgs. 494 and 495...And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me...that they many become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them...

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22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a ^alanguage that they cannot be read.

23 And behold, these ^atwo stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.

24 For behold, the ^alanguage which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.

25 And when the Lord had said these words, he ^ashowed unto the brother of Jared ^ball the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he ^cwithheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.

26 For he had said unto him in times before, that ^aif he would ^bbelieve in him that he could show unto him ^call things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.

27 And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and ^aseal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.

28 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two ^astones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of ^bmen.

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 4

Moroni is commanded to seal up the writings of the brother of Jared—They shall not be revealed until men have faith even as the brother of Jared—Christ commands men to believe his words and those of his disciples—Men are commanded to repent and believe the gospel and be saved.

1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the ^amount from the presence of the Lord, and ^bwrite the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men ^cuntil after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.

2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is ^anone save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should ^bhide them up again in the earth.

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the ^avery things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were ^bgreater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should ^aseal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the ^binterpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

7 And in that day that they shall exercise ^afaith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become ^bsanctified in me, then will I ^cmanifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my ^drevelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the ^eFather of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

8 And he that will ^acontend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall ^bdeny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show ^cno greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are ^ashut; and at my word the ^bearth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.

10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the ^alast day.

11 But he that ^abelieveth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall ^bknow and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall ^cknow that these things are ^dtrue; for it persuadeth men to do good.

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for ^agood cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will ^bnot believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the ^clight, and the ^dlife, and the ^etruth of the world.

13 ^aCome unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made ^amanifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been ^ahid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall ^bcall upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

Since today is the anniversary of September 11th I am going to skip my commentary in hopes that you will watch this touching video from lds.org.

pgs. 492 and 493...Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image?

2009-09-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

THE BOOK OF ETHER

CHAPTER 3

The brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord as he touches the sixteen stones—Christ shows his spirit body to the brother of Jared—Those who have a perfect knowledge cannot be kept from within the veil—Interpreters are provided to bring the Jaredite record to light.

1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the ^amount, which they called the mount ^bShelem, because of its exceeding height, and did ^cmolten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent ^dglass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be ^aangry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are ^bunworthy before thee; because of the ^cfall our ^dnatures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been ^amerciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these ^bthings which I have molten out of the rock.

4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all ^apower, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy ^bfinger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have ^clight while we shall cross the sea.

5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which ^alooks small unto the understanding of men.

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the ^aLord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his ^bfinger. And the ^cveil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared ^dfell down before the Lord, for he was struck with ^efear.

7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should ^asmite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me ^aflesh and blood; and never has man come before me with ^bsuch exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, ^ashow thyself unto me.

11 And the Lord said unto him: ^aBelievest thou the words which I shall speak?

12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and ^acanst not lie.

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord ^ashowed himself unto him, and said: ^bBecause thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my ^cpresence; therefore I ^dshow myself unto you.

14 Behold, I am he who was ^aprepared from the foundation of the world to ^bredeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the ^cFather and the Son. In me shall all mankind have ^dlife, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my ^esons and my daughters.

15 And never have I ^ashowed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man ^bbelieved in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own ^cimage? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.

16 Behold, this ^abody, which ye now ^bbehold, is the ^cbody of my ^dspirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could ^anot make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he ^bshowed himself unto the Nephites.

18 And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.

19 And because of the ^aknowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the ^bveil; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had ^cfaith no longer, for he knew, nothing ^ddoubting.

20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could ^anot be kept from within the veil; therefore he ^bsaw Jesus; and he did minister unto him.

21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the ^atime cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall ^btreasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.

For those of us who have grown up in the church it is easy to take for granted the knowledge that we have about our being created after our Savior's image. When I was a missionary in Japan people were always shocked to hear our description of the Savior and our Heavenly Father because they never imagined that They would be similar to us. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the brother of Jared for the incredible faith he manifested by seeing the Savior and for recording his experience for all of us to learn from. It is one of the most incredibe experiences in all of the Book of Mormon.