pgs. 464 and 465...wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ...

5 ^aWo unto him that ^bspurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall ^cdeny the Christ and his works!

6 Yea, ^awo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by prophecy, or by ^bgifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost!

7 Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get ^again, that there can be ^bno miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become ^clike unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ!

8 Yea, and ye need not any longer ^ahiss, nor ^bspurn, nor make game of the ^cJews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn.

9 Therefore ye need not suppose that ye can turn the right hand of the Lord unto the left, that he may not execute judgment unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 30

The latter-day Gentiles are commanded to repent and come unto Christ and be numbered with the house of Israel. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath ^acommanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:

2 Turn, all ye ^aGentiles, from your wicked ways; and ^brepent of your evil doings, of your ^clyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your ^dmurders, and your ^epriestcrafts, and your ^fenvyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be ^gnumbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.

FOURTH NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
WHO IS THE SON OF NEPHI, ONE OF THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST

An account of the people of Nephi, according to his record.

CHAPTER 1

The Nephites and the Lamanites are all converted to the Church of Christ—They have all things in common, work miracles, and prosper in the land—After two centuries divisions, evils, false churches, and persecutions arise—After three hundred years both the Nephites and the Lamanites are wicked—Ammaron hides up the sacred records. Between A.D. 36 and 321

1 And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were ^abaptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.

2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

3 And they had ^aall things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly ^bgift.

4 And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed away also, and there still continued to be ^apeace in the land.

5 And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did ^aheal the sick, and ^braise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of ^cmiracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus.

6 And thus did the thirty and eighth year pass away, and also the thirty and ninth, and forty and first, and the forty and second, yea, even until forty and nine years had passed away, and also the fifty and first, and the fifty and second; yea, and even until fifty and nine years had passed away.

7 And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; yea, insomuch that they did build cities again where there had been cities burned.

8 Yea, even that great ^acity Zarahemla did they cause to be built again.

9 But there were many cities which had been ^asunk, and waters came up in the stead thereof; therefore these cities could not be renewed.

10 And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an exceedingly ^afair and delightsome people.

The end of Third Nephi is a firm but gentle reminder of the power of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Savior pleads with us through Moroni's writing to come to Him and follow Him and believe that He is capable of miracles. He warns us that if we don't believe in Him there is nothing He can do to help us. He reminds us that all blessings from Him depend upon our faith in Him.

The beginning of Fourth Nephi is a peek into a society where everyone is baptized and all are living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We see that they are immensely blessed as a people for their righteousness.

pgs. 462 and 463...But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me.

16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.

17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not;

18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been given—they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost.

19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the ^aprisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain.

20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his ^apower they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them.

21 And thrice they were cast into a ^afurnace and received no harm.

22 And twice were they cast into a ^aden of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and received no harm.

23 And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the ^agospel of Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ, and thus the people of ^bthat generation were blessed, according to the word of Jesus.

24 And now I, ^aMormon, make an end of speaking concerning these things for a time.

25 Behold, I was about to write the ^anames of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world.

26 But behold, ^aI have seen them, and they have ministered unto me.

27 And behold they will be ^aamong the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.

28 They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not.

29 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the ^ascattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them.

30 And they are as the ^aangels of God, and if they shall pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus they can show themselves unto whatsoever man it seemeth them good.

31 Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them, before the ^agreat and coming day when all people must surely stand before the judgment-seat of Christ;

32 Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a ^agreat and marvelous work wrought by them, before that judgment day.

33 And if ye had ^aall the scriptures which give an account of all the marvelous works of Christ, ye would, according to the words of Christ, know that these things must surely come.

34 And wo be unto him that will ^anot hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom he hath chosen and ^bsent among them; for whoso ^creceiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day;

35 And it would be better for them if they had not been born. For do ye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice of an ^aoffended God, who hath been ^btrampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might come?

36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were ^acleansed from ^bmortality to immortality—

37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;

38 Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a ^achange wrought upon their bodies, that they might not ^bsuffer pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world.

39 Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not ^atempt them; and they were ^bsanctified in the flesh, that they were ^choly, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them.

40 And in this state they were to remain until the judgment day of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but to dwell with God eternally in the heavens.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 29

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign that the Lord has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill his covenants—Those who reject his latter-day revelations and gifts shall be cursed. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall ^acome unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the ^bcovenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the ^clands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled.

2 And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled; and ye need not say that the Lord ^adelays his coming unto the children of Israel.

3 And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.

4 And when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then ye need not any longer spurn at the doings of the Lord, for the ^asword of his ^bjustice is in his right hand; and behold, at that day, if ye shall spurn at his doings he will cause that it shall soon overtake you.

It is beautiful to think of Mormon as he abridged this record and came across the story of the three Nephites who had ministered unto him. They were born hundreds of years apart and yet they were able to interact. Isn't that amazing? I'm sure Mormon was so thankful for their decision to remain on the earth and minister until the Savior comes again.

pgs. 460 and 461...what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

23 ^aWrite the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those which are ^bforbidden.

24 Write the works of this people, which shall be, even as hath been written, of that which hath been.

25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be ^ajudged, for by them shall their ^bworks be known unto men.

26 And behold, all things are ^awritten by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged.

27 And know ye that ^aye shall be ^bjudges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what ^cmanner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even ^das I am.

28 And now I ^ago unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.

29 Therefore, ^aask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for ^anone of them are lost.

31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are ^anow alive of ^bthis generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of ^cjoy.

32 But behold, it ^asorroweth me because of the ^bfourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the ^cson of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which ^dmoth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads.

33 And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the ^astrait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 28

Nine of the Twelve desire and are promised an inheritance in Christ’s kingdom when they die—The Three Nephites desire and are given power over death so as to remain on the earth until Jesus comes again—They are translated and see things not lawful to utter, and they are now ministering among men. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye ^adesire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?

2 And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom.

3 And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are ^aseventy and two years old ye shall come unto me in my ^bkingdom; and with me ye shall find ^crest.

4 And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?

5 And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired.

6 And he said unto them: Behold, I ^aknow your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which ^bJohn, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.

7 Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall ^anever taste of ^bdeath; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the ^cpowers of heaven.

8 And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from ^amortality to ^bimmortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

9 And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the ^asins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might ^bbring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand.

10 And for this cause ye shall have ^afulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are ^bone;

11 And the ^aHoly Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me.

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the ^athree who were to tarry, and then he departed.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were ^acaught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

14 And it was ^aforbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them ^bpower that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a ^atransfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

The two different requests made by the 12 apostles in chapter 28 are so interesting. It proves to us that there is more than one way to be a righteous follower of the Savior. Just because 9 of them requested to live until they were 72 then join the Savior in His Kingdom doesn't mean the 3 who asked to be "changed in the twinkling of an eye" were any less or more righteous. The Savior does tell the 3 who asked to remain on the earth that they were "more blessed" for their decision. This reinforces the truth that whatever blessings we do receive are often a result of our own actions and decisions. This is a wonderful lesson for us in our daily lives.

Here is a really informative summary from the Institute Manual on what it means to be transfigured and translated as it is explained in these verses:

We gain most of our understanding about translated beings from 3 Nephi 28:

1. They never taste of death or endure the pains of death (see vv. 7–8).
2. They will be changed from mortality to immortality in the twinkling of an eye (see v. 8).
3. They experience no pain while in the flesh and no sorrow except for the sins of the world (see v. 9).
4. They have power over the evil men of the earth (see vv. 19–22).
5. They are like the angels of God, administering to whomsoever they will (see v. 30).
6. A change is effected on their bodies so that Satan can have no power over them, and they are sanctified in the flesh and are holy (see v. 39).
7. They remain in a translated state until the Judgment Day (see v. 40)

pgs. 458 and 459...come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost...

17 And it came to pass that the ^adisciples whom Jesus had chosen began ^bfrom that time forth to ^cbaptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are ^anot lawful to be written.

19 And they taught, and did ^aminister one to another; and they had ^ball things ^ccommon among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.

20 And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.

21 And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the ^achurch of Christ.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 27

Jesus commands them to call the Church in his name—His mission and atoning sacrifice constitute his gospel—Men are commanded to repent and be baptized that they may be sanctified by the Holy Ghost—They are to be even as Jesus is. Between A.D. 34 and 35

1 And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were ^aunited in ^bmighty prayer and ^cfasting.

2 And Jesus again ^ashowed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?

3 And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the ^aname whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.

4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the ^aname of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and ^aendureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

8 And how be it ^amy ^bchurch save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are ^ahewn down and cast into the ^bfire, from whence there is no return.

12 For their works do ^afollow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.

13 Behold I have given unto you my ^agospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the ^bwill of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be ^alifted up upon the ^bcross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the ^ccross, that I might ^ddraw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be ^ejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been ^alifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their ^bworks.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso ^arepenteth and is baptized in my ^bname shall be filled; and if he ^cendureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the ^ajustice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And ^ano unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his ^brest save it be those who have ^cwashed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: ^aRepent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be ^bbaptized in my name, that ye may be ^csanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand ^dspotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my ^agospel; and ye know the things that ye must ^bdo in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

I would like to apologize for missing two days on this blog. We moved to a new home over the weekend and it turned out to be a lot crazier than I expected. Why is it always like that? We had to transfer our internet service from our old home to our new home but since it was a local move I thought that would be pretty straightforward. It wasn't. Again, my apologies, I have missed it here!!!! I am so happy to be back!

The verse that caught my attention in today's reading is verse 20 where the Savior gives the command to be baptized and points out the blessings that come from following that command. I have been thinking a lot about missionary work the last 24 hours because yesterday in our new ward there were TWO missionary homecomings. The elders just glowed with the fire of missionary work!!! (It really made me miss my missionary days!) These boys were FRESH off the airplane...like 72 hours or so. And they both testified of how wonderful it was to see someone they were teaching decide to get baptized. I'm sure this is because they knew that when their friends decided to get baptized they would "be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost that they may stand spotless at the last day" as taught in verse 20. The opportunity to share that to others is such an amazing blessing. I really want to try to take that opportunity more often!

pgs. 456 and 457...and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 25

At the Second Coming the proud and wicked shall be burned as stubble—Elijah shall return before that great and dreadful day—Compare Malachi 4. [A.D. 34]

1 ^aFor behold, the day cometh that shall ^bburn as an oven; and all the ^cproud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the ^aSon of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and ^bgrow up as ^ccalves in the stall.

3 And ye shall ^atread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts.

4 Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in ^aHoreb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you ^aElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful ^bday of the Lord;

6 And he shall ^aturn the heart of the ^bfathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and ^csmite the earth with a curse.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 26

Jesus expounds all things from the beginning to the end—Babes and children utter marvelous things which cannot be written—Those in the Church of Christ have all things in common among them. [A.D. 34]

1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto them, both great and small.

2 And he saith: ^aThese scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.

3 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the ^atime that he should come in his ^bglory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the ^celements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be ^dwrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;

4 And even unto the ^agreat and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall ^bstand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

5 If they be good, to the ^aresurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the ^bjustice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was ^cbefore the world began.

6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a ^ahundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;

7 But behold the ^aplates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.

8 And these things have I written, which are a ^alesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, ^bfrom the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the ^agreater things be made manifest unto them.

10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the ^agreater things be ^bwithheld from them, unto their condemnation.

11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord ^aforbade it, saying: I will ^btry the faith of my people.

12 Therefore I, ^aMormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, ^bMormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.

13 Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did ^ashow himself unto them oft, and did break ^bbread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them.

14 And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the ^achildren of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did ^bloose their ^ctongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter.

15 And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven—the second time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the Father, after having ^ahealed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the ^bdead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father—

16 Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the multitude gathered themselves together, and they both saw and heard these children; yea, even ^ababes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the things which they did utter were ^bforbidden that there should not any man write them.

In chapter 26 verses 6-12 we are told that there are some teachings we cannot receive until we have proven ourselves by studying the teachings which we have. Here is a very informative quote on this subject:

“Now the Lord has placed us on probation as members of the Church. He has given us the Book of Mormon, which is the lesser part, to build up our faith through our obedience to the counsels which it contains, and when we ourselves, members of the Church, are willing to keep the commandments as they have been given to us and show our faith as the Nephites did for a short period of time, then the Lord is ready to bring forth the other record and give it to us, but we are not ready now to receive it. Why? Because we have not lived up to the requirements in this probationary state in the reading of the record which had been given to us and in following its counsels” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Sept.–Oct. 1961, p. 20).