Latest / Scripture Central / 2 Nephi 26-30 | Mar 11-17 | Book of Mormon Matters with John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson

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2 Nephi 26-30 | Mar 11-17 | Book of Mormon Matters with John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson · Scripture Central

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Hello, welcome back to Scripture Central.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson here to talk about Come follow me in the
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book of Second Nephi. And this is.
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This is Jack Welch, and I'm glad to be back with you.
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I know you're having a great time studying the Book of Mormon
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this year, and we'd love to be with you on this wonderful
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occasion. Today's chapters 26 to 30 in
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Second Nephi talk about the coming 4th of the Book of
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Mormon, and it's a very important message for Nephi.
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They reassure his people that God is going to honor his
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covenants and that they will be restored and that there will be
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a restoration and that all things will come to pass.
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These are all Nephi's commentary on the Isaiah chapters.
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You know he's carefully chose which Isaiah chapters he wanted
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that would be applicable not only to his people but also his,
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he said. They are applicable to our day
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and age. I say what Nephi is doing here
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is likening the scriptures unto himself and we of course can
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liken them unto ourself also. But the point is, we don't read
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the scriptures as ancient times past.
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They're relevant to ourselves, and Nephi sets the model in
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doing that. And you know, and even though
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this is commentary on those earlier chapters of Isaiah, I
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noticed that in chapters 262728 and 29, he still quotes new
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sections of Isaiah, just a verse or two or a phrase or two.
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So even though we've got commentary, he's still filling
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in the commentary with many more I think we talked about in the
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past. 1/3 of Isaiah is quoted in the Book of Mormon.
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Now and then particularly, we'll see Chapter 29.
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And that I think, has 16 different areas of the Book of
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Mormon where that chapter is quoted.
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So that's. That's a rich one.
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Yeah, that's a very rich. One, as we get started with
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second Nephi chapters 25 to 30. Let's take a couple minutes here
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to remember how Nephi, back in two sections of First Nephi,
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prophesied about the future in four main stages.
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I remember this. Let's go back to it was the tree
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of life vision and Nephi saw first the coming of Christ that
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was in first Nephi Chapter 11, and then second the rejection of
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Christ by his people. They're scattering.
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And then third we go to the day of the Gentiles.
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That's when the restoration is coming up in first Nephi chapter
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13. And then finally, the last phase
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four is in first Nephi 14, with the restoration of Zion and the
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victory of good over evil. The first time he went through
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this, he's using Lehigh's prophecy.
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Yeah, right. Now he will turn to Isaiah.
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Oh, it's brilliant. To show that Lehigh is
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consistent with what he finds on the brass plates.
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Oh, that's terrific. In the book of Isaiah.
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And then Nephi again will use that same four stage prophetic
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worldview a second time in chapters 19/20/21 and 22 at the
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end of first Nephi. That's when he includes the
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Isaiah chapter, isn't it? Isaiah 48 and 49.
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And what's more, we now see how Nephi use that same four stage
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prophetic framework in Second Nephi chapters 25 to 30 to
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explain the long Isaiah quotation from Isaiah chapters 2
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to 14 that Nephi has given us in Second Nephi chapters 12 to 24,
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to which Nephi will add famous prophetic texts from Isaiah 29
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in chapter 27. Nephi's view is so consistent,
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clear and authentic and masterful, who would have
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thought? Seeing this overview certainly
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makes this complex material much easier to follow.
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Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
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Throughout these chapters that we're looking at this week,
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you'll see echoes of phrases and points that were in the earlier
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chapters that Nephi quoted extensively.
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So he's remembering those things, and he's hoping that
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we'll remember them too. But then he will go through and
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pick out certain words and phrases that will show up again
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in the commentary that's going on and what he's saying in
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chapters 26 to 30. Yeah, yeah.
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So he knows this text, he knows it well enough.
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He memorized it, or they probably did in those days to
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know the Scriptures meant to be able to recite them and.
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It also speaks so highly of the translation process.
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This is such a tightly interwoven text.
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It's not like it's just a storyline going on about a
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family leaving, you know, very tightly woven.
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And the precision of the phraseology.
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Oh, really says that the translation isn't just going to
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do it one way on one occasion, but the these phrases are being
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preserved and translated accurately.
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Let me give a couple examples. Yes, please.
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I want to hear. Them in chapter 5 of Isaiah.
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That's fifteen of Second Nephi verse 21.
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Isaiah says woe unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in
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their own sight. Well, if you go to chapter 26 of
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Second Nephi verse 20, Nephi will say the Gentiles are lifted
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up in the pride of their eyes and preach up unto themselves
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their own wisdom and their own learning.
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So he's using precisely those phrases now, making it specific
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that it's the Gentiles who will be doing this.
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Now, is that the only example you've got?
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No, we've got others. In chapter 3 of Isaiah in verse
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15, we run across a very distinctive phrase that the
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wicked will quote grind the faces of the poor.
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When Nephi echoes that verse 20 will do things that they may get
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gain and grind upon the face of the poor.
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So he's using that Isaiah phrase which is so vivid and to think
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of you know right in your face and they're ignoring the poor
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and and demeaning the poor and rejecting them.
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And Nephi now uses that in a in the warning that he's given,
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giving, but prophesying that these things will happen in the
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day that he sees when there will be, as we'll talk about in a
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minute, there will be problems. And finally, let me give another
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one that's in second Nephi, chapter 27, verse three.
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So Nephi in his own words says, Yeah, it shall be unto them even
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as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold, he eateth,
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But he awakeneth, and his soul is empty, and he is faint, and
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yet his soul hath appetite. Well, that's a lot like what
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Isaiah had said in Isaiah Chapter 9 says.
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And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry, and he shall
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not be satisfied. They shall eat every man the
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flesh of his own arm. Nephi had absorbed Isaiah to the
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degree that these words just come tumbling out elsewhere,
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yeah? In addition to the verbal
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impact, he's now likening these two situations where these are
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important, they're useful, and it's it's a wonderful way of
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citing these materials. He can't, of course quote them
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chapter and verse because they didn't have chapters.
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Of course, yeah. Yeah.
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But he can quote them precisely enough that people will.
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Yeah, see them. We'll see that Nephi is speaking
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with authority. So look for all of these as we
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go through now I presume some of these are not in our footnotes.
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You got to, you got to look for these.
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Well, that's very helpful and I'm very grateful that we have
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on the archives that John W Welch notes are available where
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you can find these details and there's many more examples that
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Jack has there for you. If you'd like to go on our
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archive, as we begin Chapter 26, there's a nice chiasm in the 1st
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9 verses to get us showing what his focus is.
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He starts out by talking about the Redeemer living.
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I just want to talk about the main point that he's trying to
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get to. So as he begins talking in verse
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one about Christ has risen from the dead and he's going to show
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himself to the people of Nephi, he then moves on to the fact
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that the Messiah is going to come.
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They talk about his birth and his death.
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Come to his own people. Come to Nephi's people.
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Given to my people exactly, yeah.
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And then the center point in this beautiful structure talks
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about after the blood of the prophets are taken, the proud
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and they that do wickedly, the day shall come that they shall
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burn up. And you had just finished
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reciting this. And I thought, oh, this is the
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center of his message. He's using this Isaiah look
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alike and the Lord of hosts, for they shall be as stubble.
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He was going to burn them up, and this is all because they
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killed the prophets, They swallowed them up.
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And then we end again with the same hope of our Savior in verse
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9. But the sun of righteousness
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shall appear to them. You know this, he He often has
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the opposites available for us to see the greatness of God and
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the awfulness of humanity and the hope that God's plan will
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always provide for us if we can keep the plan in mind.
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So what does Nephi say that's going to happen to his people?
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Oh, it's just awful. And I'm sure it applies to us as
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well, starting with chapter 26 verse seven.
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Oh, the pain, the anguish, my soul for the loss of the slain
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of my people. And he's so real.
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We not only have in our scriptures this image of our
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prophet having to see these things, but it hurts.
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He's a man with feelings. I, Nephi, have seen it, and it
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will nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord.
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But I must cry unto my God, Thy ways are just.
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And as we see the calamities unfolding and these terrible
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challenges of our day and age, may we fall on our elite knees
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and say, Thy ways are just. You know, we do not see the
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whole picture, but God does. And and I think that's very
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reassuring. And not just to know that they
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are just, but I think it's reassuring to all of us to know
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that God is aware of it. God is in control.
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This isn't just a random world. Verse 9 is a beautiful message.
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After the sun of righteousness shall appear unto them, and he
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shall heal them, they shall have peace with him until 3
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generations shall have passed away.
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I think this is all talking about fourth Nephi.
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But the speedy destruction comes.
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He talks about their pride and the everything else that brings
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down their destruction again. And so if Nephi knows that
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there's going to be destruction, why does he bother with all this
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record keeping and? That's why we have it on golden
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plates. Yeah, I'm sure he trusted the
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Lord on that one. And and that's what really
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drives Nephi. He knows that even though his
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posterity and lots of things people come and go, but the word
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of the Lord endureth forever. And he knows that the Book of
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Mormon will come forth, and we will know of the things that he
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is writing of. That's Nephi's motivation and
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testimony. And it's every nation I'm still
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in, verse 13. Every nation kindred tongue and
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people working mighty miracles and signs and wonders among the
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children of men according to their faith.
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And that's our day and age, he says, I prophecy in verse 14.
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And to concerning the last days, concerning the days when the
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Lord God shall bring these things forth.
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I think he's talking again about the record that Nephi is writing
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the Book of Mormon unto the children of men.
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And then he says, after my seeds going to dwindle in unbelief.
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That's verse 15 skipping down a little bit.
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He says after they have been brought down in the dust, even
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that they are not yet the words of the righteous shall be
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written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard.
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That's so encouraging. And those who have dwindled and
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unbelief shall not be forgotten. So God is going to recognize
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every one of us. As the Lord said during His
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ministry, He knows the hairs on our head.
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Yeah, he does. And he says something about the
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dust. He even knows that somehow these
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plates are going to have to be buried and they will come out of
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the the ground and they will whisper out of the dust.
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Now that's another Isaiah connection.
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Isaiah 29, verse 4. Another beautiful example that
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Nephi gives as he's giving this explanation of Isaiah is in
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verse 24. He's talking about God, and he
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said he doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the
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world. For he loveth the world, even
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that he layeth down his own life, that he may draw all men
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unto him. This all men is repeated in 25
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and 26 and 27 and 28 and 20 and 30 And you know, I just have
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them all circled. It's 33.
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You know this idea that all are going to be saved and that his
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motivation is love is so beautiful.
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I One reason why I like this motivation of love is because
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most of Christianity, most of the biblical traditions do not
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have Moses chapter one, verse 39.
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My work and my glory is because I want you to succeed.
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But we do have this verse, and 24 says Everything I do is
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because I love you. And then the universal nature of
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that too is unusually strong. Here it layeth down his life,
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that he may draw all men unto him.
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And then he brings this universality that you mentioned
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All, all, all, any, any you know that he repeats a dozen times at
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the end of verse 33. And he denieth none that come
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unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female.
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And he remembereth the heathen, and all are alike unto God, both
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Jew and Gentile. Nephi has an amazingly expansive
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and encompassing embracing view here.
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The point here that's emphasized is the invitation he inviteth
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all but he still, as Lehigh has taught, requires each person to
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come in their own time and make their decision on their own
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agency. God is not going to force
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anyone, but He invites and welcomes all.
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And in the ancient world the idea of all men being equal was
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hardly even imagined. He invites all of any kind or
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nation kindred tongue capability.
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And this, I think, is so inspired and so universal.
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It goes farther, I think, even than what people in the American
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Revolution were thinking of at that point.
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Well, chapter 27 cites a little bit of Isaiah 29, but we get
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Isaiah 29 in what is it, 16 chapters, I think.
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It's scattered, isn't it? We have enough allusions to it
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and uses of the phrases that we know that Nephi was well aware
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of chapter 29, but for some reason he doesn't quote the
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whole chapter as he did with these earlier chapters in the
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book of Isaiah. Most of our paraphrases.
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Yeah. So I don't have any particular
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ideas about why Nephi doesn't give us the whole chapter,
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except I think he wants to focus on certain things that are
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relevant to the coming 4th of the book, where the chapter
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talks about a few more things than just that.
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So it's more he he's already selectively interpreting Isaiah
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29 for us. And I also feel like this is one
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of those evidences of don't say because the there's King James,
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Isaiah here that it's a false book.
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You know, this is one of those examples that there Nephi is so
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carefully crafting. You know his scalpel is exactly
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taking out the verses that are the most important.
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This, to me, is a greater evidence of the antiquity of the
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book and evidence that it came to pass, as Joseph said.
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I hadn't thought of it that way, but by not quoting the whole
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thing. It's more accurate.
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It's more focused. Yes, on what he wants to say on
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his mission, on his focus on his message.
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But then what you're imagining here is a challenge to someone.
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Take a chapter, any chapter in the Bible, and selectively
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remember four or five different Scriptures in that chapter that
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fit into a very tight narrative about something that either has
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happened or will happen. Now, that's what Joseph is
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challenged with here. He doesn't have Isaiah 29 in
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front of him. In fact, Emma said they didn't
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have a Bible in the house then. And if he had had a Bible, he
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couldn't have put it in his hat, be too big and look into the hat
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to read it, No. And he hasn't memorized this
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either. So what we get now here is not
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just a quotation but and not just a paraphrase.
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It's a carefully crafted sermon and message for his people.
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Selectively picking words and phrases that now tell a story
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that is particularly relevant to the coming 4th of the Book of
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Mormon. Let's look at second Nephi
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chapter 27. So what does Nephi say this
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chapter 29 of Isaiah yields for us in understanding how the book
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is going to come forth? For example, in verse three of
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chapter 27, Nephi says that it's going to come forth at a time
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when all the nations that fight against Zion and that distress
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her shall be as a dream of a night vision.
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In other words, just a phantom. No, they won't have any
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substance, but it will come forth at a time when there will
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be opposition to the the restoration of the Church and to
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Zion. And it's interesting that as you
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just read from second Nephi, I'm in Isaiah and it's quite
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different. So either the brass plates or
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the inspiration that received. We have some different texts
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here and it's always good to read the two side by side.
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He may be adapting or modifying. Correct.
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Because it's just a commentary. Right now we're in the middle of
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his Nephites commentary. That's right.
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Or behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep
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sleep. He talking about the text of the
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book, do you think? What's he talking about there?
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He's talking about the world, those who fight against Zion.
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Yeah, they're staggering with strong drink.
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Yes, yes, OK. And so for a time, there's a
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period of you might say. Dark ages.
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But it also says in verse five, that's only in the Book of
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Mormon, the last phrase because of your iniquity.
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So they don't know about these things because of their witness.
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But then this book comes to pass, and starting in verse 6,
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the words of the book are them that have slumbered, which is
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not actually in Isaiah 29, but it's here.
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And then Nephi goes back now to the Isaiah text.
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The book is going to be sealed. It's going to be a book with
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Revelation from God. It's going to be a book that's
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delivered unto a man. That's verse 9, verse 10.
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The words that are sealed should not be delivered.
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Anyway, we learn a lot about this book in these next few
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chapters. Next two verses.
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Excuse me? Yes, in verse 7, as you've
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mentioned, Nephi emphasizes that this book is going to be sealed.
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Yeah, yeah. And what does that mean?
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When we think of sealing something, of course we think of
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just licking the envelope and sealing.
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The shop, right? But when you seal a book, how do
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you do that? Well, when a document in the
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ancient world was sealed, a person had their their seal.
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This was their personal seal. It was kind of like their
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signature. Like a wax seal that you then
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put your ring on the King's ring or something.
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One way to seal would be to tie something shut, put wax on the
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knot and then put your seal can press your ring or your stamp
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seal on that wax. So that would work if it were a
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scroll, but what about if it's a book?
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Well, the book could be sealed on the outside where it could
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be, you'd have some kind of wrapping that would tie it shut.
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But there are two kinds of ceilings going on here.
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One is that one part of the Book of Mormon will be sealed, and
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that's where certain plates would actually be bound by some
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kind of sealing device or straps or maybe metal.
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And normally when something like that in a document would be
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sealed up, it would also then bear the seal impressions of the
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person who had sealed it. OK, so I presume that would be
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Mormon and Moroni. Moroni, I think, is the one who
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seals, he says. I'm sealing this, so he's
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putting his stamp of approval on it to say this is authentic.
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This is my final work. And if this seal has been
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broken, it's possible that somebody else has gotten in here
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and tampered with the text, maybe taken pages out or done
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something. So if the book is delivered
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sealed, you have confidence that it is authentic, that it is
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accurate. We don't know what's on the
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portion the sealed portion, but the normal practice throughout
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the ancient world was to provide a backup copy.
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Sometimes the sealed portion will be a summary, the essence
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of what has been contained in the open document.
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Sometimes it will actually be more detailed in the sealed part
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of the document. Will give greater instructions
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that only a judge needs to know to enforce the document.
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There are thousands of these sealed documents that have been
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found. Many of them have legal
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significance or business significance of.
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Course, because you go through a lot of work to write something
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twice. And Jeremiah talks about how
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when he buys a piece of land from his nephew, they sign the
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documents, both the open portion and the sealed portion, and then
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they seal the sealed portion and put them all together in a jar
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and bury them that they might be preserved.
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For a long time, ancient documents were sealed like this.
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In fact, a recent issue of an archaeological magazine just
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reported the discovery of a huge trove of Babylonian documents
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that were sealed, and they date back to the 18th century BC.
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And that's just to say this is very standard practice.
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Now, why do we find these collections of these sealed
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documents? And they're being kept there?
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Because as the parties use the open part of the document which
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they have multiple copies of, those copies may get damaged or,
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heaven forbid, changed and there may be.
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A dispute over the changed words.
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Yes, and there may be some incompleteness.
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The open document may not give all the details as I've
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mentioned. And if the parties can't agree
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on what the what is required by this document, then they can
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take it to a judge. And under the law everywhere,
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only a judge could open the seal because the judge is now
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breaking the seal opening the open he's now opening and using
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the sealed portion to compare it with the open portion.
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And that's the way in which you know that the document is
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accurate and how to enforce it. So what Isaiah is imagining
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we're seeing is that this document is so important that it
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needs to be completed and put together and bound up with the
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utmost precautions and safety measures to be sure that the
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word of the Lord comes down the way it's supposed to.
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So you think Nephi is reading Isaiah, realizing that Isaiah is
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referring to his record? Nephi is well aware of what's
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going to happen here. He's already seen it in vision a
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couple of times we've we've been talking about it.
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I don't want to miss verse 11 and the day that the book shall
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come forth, the words of the book which are sealed shall be
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read upon the housetops. I think that when we get the
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sealed portion, there will be details that will be helpful to
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us. There will be validation that we
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will know that the record is true, that we in fact have had
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enough but. Let me finish with verse 11.
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Here in chapter 27 they shall be reading it by the power of
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Christ, and all things shall be revealed unto the children of
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men, which ever have been among the children of men which are
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ever will be unto the end of the earth.
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Jack, this is happening right now.
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People are hearing the words of the book by our satellite dishes
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on the mountaintops, on the hilltops.
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And how many languages? And then how many languages?
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But we finally get to the third, the three Witnesses.
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Next, verse 12. Wherefore at that day when the
26:52
book shall be delivered unto a man whom I have spoken, the book
26:55
shall be hid from the eyes of the world, and the eyes of none
26:59
shall see it, save it be 3 witnesses.
27:04
And then he goes on and says, they will behold it by the power
27:07
of God. And then they say, oh, there
27:09
might be a few others, but they're only through God.
27:12
So we have a few other witnesses coming according to the will of
27:16
God. That's verse 13.
27:18
Yeah, and the word few traditionally means 8.
27:24
Oh, I didn't know that. Well, it's in First Peter
27:26
chapter 3 when Peter says that as Christ goes and preaches to
27:31
the spirits in the underworld, he talks about those that were
27:35
destroyed at the time of the flood there in the spirit world
27:38
save it be a few, meaning 8 that were saved.
27:43
And because of that the word few takes on this connotation of
27:47
eight witnesses. So we have a few authorized
27:51
here. And Joseph Smith says, well what
27:54
this gives me now is permission to show the records to the
27:58
three. And of course the the three
28:02
witnesses will see the plates as revealed by Moroni to them, And
28:08
there there are none others that will see it except for a few,
28:12
and those are the 8. That Joseph shows the place to
28:15
later but they when they're translating is this is when
28:19
Martin and Oliver and because they're translating this part I
28:23
think of the Whitmer home. So the Whitmers hear this too.
28:26
So that's when they get so excited.
28:28
Can we please have this opportunity and that's when we
28:31
start getting the revelations and the doctor and covenants on
28:33
the three witnesses is after they're translating this.
28:36
You're right. OK.
28:38
And amongst those few others, I'm going to include Mary
28:41
Whitmer that we talked about in the introduction, as well as the
28:45
brothers and the families that were involved with the Whitmer
28:48
families and the Smith families, because we really didn't have
28:51
too many other people that were aware of the what was going on
28:53
at that time. What else do we find here in
28:56
this chapter 27? Well, in verse 14 I love this
29:00
invitation. And Jack this is for you and me
29:03
and every other person that has read the book and believes it.
29:06
From a witness from God he says the Lord God will proceed to
29:10
bring forth the words of the book.
29:12
And in the mouth of many witnesses as seemeth him
29:16
goodwill, he establish the word. I feel like that is our
29:20
opportunity. Every chance we can get is to
29:23
testify that these are the words of God and that we can draw
29:27
closer to him through that. Nephi's whole purpose is to
29:31
bring people to Christ, and I put my name right there on my
29:36
scriptures by many witnesses. I am a witness of that.
29:40
This book is the word of God. As many as seemeth good to God,
29:46
this is a blessing. It it is when you receive this
29:51
blessing, when you know that the Book of Mormon is true and
29:54
you're given the gift of a testimony.
29:57
We know where it comes from. It comes from the Lord, and it's
30:00
it will be given in His time, in His way.
30:04
But if you don't start sharing it, you're going to lose it.
30:07
You got to keep it shiny. You got to manifest your your
30:11
witness. That's right.
30:12
He's giving it to us for a purpose, and as we magnify that
30:17
purpose, we are then blessed. But not everybody who reads it
30:20
gets it. And that's the next verse.
30:22
Verse 15 Given it to the Lord, says, Deliver the book, Take
30:27
these words that are not sealed, and deliver them to another, and
30:32
that he may show them unto the learned saying, Read this, I
30:36
pray thee, and the learner shall say, bring him to the book, and
30:40
I will read them. Now it's slightly different.
30:43
In Isaiah, there's several. Every single verse here is
30:47
slightly changed. Yes, this is a paraphrase.
30:49
Yeah, it's he's just paraphrasing it.
30:50
But of course we know the story very well.
30:53
This is when Martin Harris has already written out a few of
30:58
those characters of the he reformed Egyptian and taken them
31:03
to see if there's any validation.
31:05
That's right. So that's verse 15 and 16 and
31:09
17. Verse 19 continues on.
31:11
The Lord will deliver again the book of the words to him that is
31:14
not learned. And the man that is not learned
31:18
shall say I'm not learned and that's our prophet Joseph.
31:23
And then in verse 20 the Lord assures him I am able to do mine
31:27
own work. But he says in 21 don't touch
31:32
the sealed portion. So that's still coming.
31:35
That is, needs to be protected and at some point will be
31:39
useful. We're not sure when.
31:41
And in the same vein of the Book of Mormon coming forth as this
31:44
marvelous work, verse 23 says, for behold, I am God and I am a
31:50
God of miracles. And Speaking of miracles, you go
31:54
down to verse 26 Here we now pick up another paraphrase of
31:59
Isaiah 29, verse 14, where in Isaiah it reads, Therefore,
32:05
behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this
32:10
people, even a marvelous work and a wonder.
32:14
In Hebrew, the word marvelous and wonder are the same word,
32:19
and it it refers to or means a miracle, a.
32:26
Miracle. It's a miracle.
32:28
It will be a super miracle, a double miracle.
32:32
It will be a miraculous work and a miracle.
32:37
So it's a way of saying, yes, this is going to be a different
32:42
kind of book than the world's ever seen before.
32:45
And yes, it will push people to a point of saying I can't
32:51
explain it. I don't know how the Book of
32:53
Mormon got here. There is no adequate explanation
32:57
for the book. And even saying it's a miracle
33:00
doesn't really explain it, It just describes it.
33:04
And what do people have to do with miracles?
33:08
When Jesus performed miracles, and he did that so that people
33:11
would know that he had come with power and that he was the Son of
33:16
God. And so we have to accept a
33:18
miracle as a sign of God. That's exactly what Isaiah is
33:22
telling us here. In chapter 28, starting in about
33:31
verse three, he answers why we need this book.
33:34
He says he first introduces himself.
33:36
You know, I am the Lord, and everyone that's going to build
33:39
up a church that's not of the Lord either, they're going to
33:42
contend for me. That's verse 4.
33:44
They're going to teach with their learning.
33:46
They're going to deny the Holy Ghost.
33:47
They deny the power of God. All these things are why they
33:50
don't accept the book. And in fact, verse seven, they
33:53
say eat, drink and be merry. You know, it's all these attacks
33:56
against the theology that's here.
33:59
That's right. And it's not just how they will
34:03
react to the Book of Mormon. It's how people react even today
34:09
against the gospel or the words of the prophets or the the
34:16
truths. The way that people react today
34:18
against anything that is not their own wishes, it's a
34:22
self-centered world that we live in right now.
34:24
Well, that's right. And they want to be able to
34:26
dismiss this and and yet what Nephi tells us, Who is behind
34:31
all of these different reactions?
34:33
It's the Adversary. It's our counterfeit, the Devil.
34:36
And why don't we learn more about the ways of the devil in
34:40
the Bible? You know if if you wanted to
34:43
hide yourself, wouldn't you try to take yourself out of the
34:46
Bible? You know he's in the New
34:48
Testament. Satan and the devil are in the
34:49
New Testament. I mentioned this earlier.
34:51
I made a chart of all the different places where the
34:55
adversary is mentioned through a cross scripture by different
34:58
names. Satan, devil.
34:59
You know the word devil's never mentioned in the Old Testament.
35:01
But when we look at the Book of Mormon, we really get a much
35:06
clearer picture. There are 10 times the
35:09
references on the adversary, on the Devil, whatever word we're
35:12
using, Lucifer, whatever, in the Book of Mormon then we find in
35:15
the Bible. And not only are there 10 times
35:17
more, but 80% of the books in the Book of Mormon include
35:22
references and descriptions of who our enemy is.
35:26
And in the Bible, it's basically just the Book of Job.
35:29
There's one in First Chronicles. There's one here.
35:31
There's one there where they mentioned the word Satan or
35:34
adversary, but it's really just the book of Job.
35:37
That's that's all they've got. Yeah, and you've been very
35:40
sensitive to picking that up. That's something that most
35:43
people don't really process. But let's take it one step
35:48
further. Where can you find the best
35:52
manual for identifying the ways of the adversary?
35:58
I don't know. In the Book of Mormon.
36:01
Oh, OK, let's check on the chapter we're at right here.
36:04
Chapter 28 of Second Nephi. I've gone through this, and
36:08
we're not going to go through all of these.
36:09
I don't want to give the adversary more time than he
36:14
deserves, which is little. Well, obviously Nephi already
36:17
wrote it out though, huh? Nephi has written it out for us.
36:20
And he identifies who the adversary is right here.
36:22
That's right, and it tells what the adversary will be doing.
36:27
What are his strategies? The ways of the devil are so
36:32
clearly laid out here for us. Satan will use a thread to start
36:36
us to lure us in. I like to call this whole
36:39
chapter Nephi's explanation of the ways of the devil.
36:44
And this chart, which actually lists about 40 ways in which the
36:50
devil will try to get AT people, especially in the latter days,
36:56
has some wonderful warnings for us.
36:59
Look at verse three. I am the Lords.
37:02
You know, I see this exclusivism.
37:04
Or maybe even the the devil is trying to counterfeit God.
37:08
And in verse four. And if I says the devil will
37:11
want us to contend one with another?
37:14
And just keep going down in verse four he will deny the Holy
37:18
Ghost which giveth utterance. This is this is cynicism.
37:21
And in verse six, he will tell people in their hearts to
37:26
believe it. Not.
37:28
That sounds like modern skepticism.
37:29
Oh, it sure does. And verse 7's filled with
37:31
skepticism and then skipping down to verse eight, he will
37:34
justify and committing a little sin.
37:37
This, this rationalizing is the same thing that this leniency of
37:41
some faith traditions that the devil has empowered them with.
37:45
For example, in in verse 13 he says that people will be very
37:51
proud of their richly appointed buildings and ostentation.
37:56
We see that in the world around us, don't we?
37:59
And keep going down there. So many.
38:00
But I just love verse 16. They turn aside the just for a
38:05
thing of not, you know, they they trivialize the things of
38:08
God. And also in that same verse 16
38:11
he will tell people to revile against that which is good,
38:15
which is kind of way of just being mean.
38:20
Keep keep going down. Look at verse 20.
38:23
Anger against that which is good.
38:25
You know this emotional fury that rises up in satanic
38:30
thought. And we certainly see that in our
38:32
culture today, which results in the warning in verse 21 that
38:39
it's not God but the forces of evil that will tell us that we
38:45
should turn to carnal security. That's materialism.
38:50
Let's just rely on things of a wealth.
38:52
It's awful. So identify the devil.
38:54
And Nephi doesn't go into great detail here, but I think he's
38:58
given you the Devil's handbook here in a way.
39:01
Well, there's 30 verses of this. I think this is an enormous
39:06
important for us to learn. What did you call this, your
39:08
handbook on Satan? What was this?
39:10
Yeah, well, this this is I call a handbook of of the devil's
39:15
workshop. IT.
39:16
So learn your enemies tactics so that you can avoid them.
39:19
Yeah, I I kind of got this idea reading CS Lewis.
39:22
Screw tape letters. CS Lewis says, you know if
39:25
you're going to fight your enemy, you have to know the
39:27
enemy and you you have to imagine what are the strategies
39:31
that he will use. And I thought, wow, this is a a
39:36
scriptural handbook. And yet it fits into our moral
39:39
relativism. It fits into our elitist.
39:41
It fits into our secular world so powerfully.
39:46
You're absolutely right. It is as relevant for today as
39:50
it has ever been. So this chapter, I hope everyone
39:54
doing come follow me this time around will take some time.
40:01
Maybe make it a game with your study group or your family.
40:05
And have people go through and identify how many different
40:09
tactics you can find. But if you want to check what
40:13
you come up with against what I have, you can go to chart number
40:19
79 in Charting the Book of Mormon.
40:22
Good. But don't look until you've made
40:24
your own chart. But compare what you came up
40:27
with with what I did. OK, well with that let's turn to
40:36
Chapter 29. And here Nephi makes it clear
40:42
that the coming 4th of the Book of Mormon will be a a great sign
40:47
to the world that the Lord has set His hand again to bring
40:51
forth the gospel and to complete His work.
40:55
And he doesn't call it the Book of Mormon, obviously.
40:57
He called it the marvelous. We're going to wonder that
40:59
you've already talked about, but do you think Nephi realized that
41:02
this is what he's talking about when he says the marvelous work?
41:05
Do you think he knew that? This what we meant.
41:07
Even if he didn't, it's pretty amazing because Nephi knows that
41:11
his book is going to be the one that slumbered if it came out of
41:13
the dust. In verse 8, Nephi does make it
41:18
clear that as he's talking about restoring his ancient covenant,
41:22
that he's talking about a record, some kind of record.
41:25
Now does Nephi know that it's going to be his record?
41:29
I think he does. He says, Wherefore I speak the
41:33
same words unto 1 nation, like unto another.
41:36
And when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of
41:40
the two nations shall run together also.
41:43
And I do this, that I may prove unto many that I am the same
41:46
yesterday, today, and forever, that I speak forth my words
41:50
according to my own pleasure. Well, I certainly think it
41:54
sounds like Ezekiel. We've mentioned Ezekiel Chapter
41:56
37 a couple weeks ago and the idea that there will be two
42:01
sticks and they will come together and they will be one in
42:04
our hand. And the stick of Judah and the
42:07
stick of Ephraim would be scriptures, because they're
42:09
scrolls probably. And here we have two nations
42:13
shall witness that I am God. Remember that Ezekiel 37 wasn't
42:17
written at the time Nephi leaves Jerusalem, so he doesn't quote
42:22
Ezekiel because it wasn't written yet.
42:24
But the Lord is giving the same prophecy to two prophets within
42:27
a few decades of each other, and it's both about the restoration.
42:31
And I think it's in both cases coming out of this principle
42:34
that there will be two or three witnesses to all truth.
42:38
Deuteronomy 17 We better have that memorized by the time we're
42:41
finished with this class. And turning to chapter 29, we
42:45
begin with a beautiful, very elegant little chiasm.
42:49
It's poignant where Nephi will tell us what people will say,
42:54
beginning with a Bible. We have got a Bible, and there
42:57
cannot be any more Bible. And down in verse six, he will
43:02
repeat this triple threat. A Bible.
43:05
We've got a Bible and we need no more Bible within that bookend.
43:10
What do we find, Lynn? Well, the very next thing is he
43:12
calls them fools. And at the end.
43:15
And that thou fool you know we have this repetition.
43:19
Nephi then tells us that the Bible it came from mine, ancient
43:24
covenant people, and he echoes that down below.
43:28
I have not forgotten my people. I love it.
43:32
And then going back up, what thank they, the Jews, for what
43:36
they have received from them. And as we look down, we see a
43:41
parallel there. And the parallel there is that
43:44
God says he will return that which people have done wrongly
43:48
to the covenant people upon their own heads.
43:52
What comes next? What do the Gentiles mean?
43:55
And we see that paralleled again.
43:58
They have cursed and hated and not recovered them.
44:01
And who is it that has cursed and hated them?
44:04
The Gentiles? Do they remember?
44:08
And he says almost exactly. Have ye remembered?
44:11
And then at the center in bringing salvation unto the
44:15
Gentiles. Oh, ye Gentiles, you should then
44:19
remember. Yeah, the turn completely allows
44:22
us to see it from the Gentiles perspective of receiving the
44:25
truth. And that will introduce in
44:28
chapter 29 the way the book will come forth to the Gentiles.
44:32
Which is our marvelous work and wonder.
44:35
It is. And So what a wonderful way to
44:39
turn into that whole section. Just look for these beautiful
44:45
literary devices in every chapter.
44:47
It really excites your scripture study and and Jack, I almost
44:52
don't want to throw stones at anyone else.
44:54
I want to look at my own life and say, is this how I feel
44:57
about my scripture study? Am I seeking and yearning for
45:00
this sealed portion for the records of the other lost
45:03
tribes? Am I seeking and learning to
45:05
learn more from my living prophets as living in modern
45:08
scripture? Do I want more scripture or do I
45:11
say, oh, I've got too much already.
45:13
I don't want to hear any more modern prophets.
45:15
I don't want to hear any modern information about my day and
45:19
age. I want to come up with my own
45:20
ideas. I don't want to hear their
45:21
ideas. See, that to me is all in this
45:23
context of a Bible, a Bible. We have enough.
45:27
And when you say I have enough, you're basically saying I I'm
45:30
satisfied. And I like how you referred to
45:34
the other tribes. Because when you go to chapter
45:37
29, verse 13, of course says the Jews will have the words of the
45:42
Nephites and the Nephites will have the words of the Jews.
45:45
But the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost
45:48
tribes of Israel. Yay.
45:50
And the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the
45:52
Nephites and the Jews. So there's more to come.
45:55
Oh, that is happy, happy news. OK, Chapter 30.
46:04
It's actually Nephi's final thoughts upon the Isaiah
46:10
material that he has quoted and now talking about the nations
46:15
and how the nations will be actually allowed to be numbered
46:19
among the covenant people. And it's not just the Gentiles,
46:24
the nations, but particularly the Lamanites.
46:28
And Nephi knows already that the Lamanites are not particularly
46:33
faithful. He is now hoping that his and
46:39
nephews and nieces, his next generation will will come
46:46
around. And I think that this, this last
46:49
conclusion here is looking forward to a time when all
46:54
nations will will be restored. And as he says in verse nine,
47:01
with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, reprove
47:05
with equity for the meek, and he shall judge righteously.
47:09
And then this of course is the the final verses where we we
47:15
mentioned earlier that he quotes now Isaiah very specifically
47:21
about the lamb and the lion lying down together.
47:25
Again, yes, another reference to the Millennium.
47:27
It's all over these chapters, even when he's quoting them
47:30
directly. But let's go back.
47:31
I have a little tiny detail to add.
47:33
On verse 6, Nephi is prophesying about how the gospel of Jesus
47:39
Christ is going to come forth in verse five.
47:41
And then in verse six he said they're going to rejoice.
47:44
They shall know the blessings that come from the hand of God.
47:48
The scales of darkness are going to be able to fall from their
47:50
eyes. So this spiritual blindness is
47:53
going to be able to go there. Spiritual cataracts are being
47:56
removed and it says say they shall be a pure and delight some
48:01
people. Now that verse is one of these
48:04
few that Joseph actually changed.
48:07
So from the 1830, I believe Joseph had words in the hat from
48:10
his vocabulary that he knew that he used to describe the ideas
48:15
that were in his mind. But ten years later, by 1840,
48:20
Joseph knew, after living in America for those 10 important
48:23
years, that white meant something different to some
48:25
people. And he didn't want anyone to
48:27
think that he was talking about a race or a skin color.
48:31
And so in 1840, this is one of those words that Joseph chose to
48:34
change because he felt it communicated more clearly what
48:38
he was trying to describe. I'm talking about the purity
48:40
within, nothing about the outside.
48:42
Well, and that's clear from the scales of Darkness.
48:45
Yes. The darkness is something that
48:48
covers your eyes, not your skin, so that's not not an issue here.
48:54
And when those scales of darkness fall from your eyes,
48:59
then you become a pure or a holy and a delightsome person.
49:04
So there's nothing racial about this.
49:07
Well, Nephi does conclude. Maybe we should conclude with
49:11
verses 17 and 18. Oh, these are fabulous.
49:14
Yes, please. How about if I read verse 17 and
49:17
you read 18? There is nothing which is secret
49:22
save it shall be revealed. There is no work of darkness
49:27
save it shall be made manifest in the light.
49:31
There's nowhere to hide here, and there is nothing which is
49:34
sealed upon the earth, save it shall be loosed.
49:39
And then verse 18 Where for all things which have been revealed
49:42
into the children of men shall that day be revealed, and Satan
49:47
shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more
49:52
for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I
49:55
make an end of my sayings. We love the Book of Mormon, and
50:01
we stand as witnesses that these are the words of God.
50:04
And what a joy it is to be able to read these together and to
50:08
share with anybody who wants to listen and read.
50:12
Lynn, I really appreciate being able to do this.
50:16
And what a joy it is really man and women are that they might
50:20
have joy. And I think Nephi has done
50:24
everything he can to make our lives as successful and
50:29
enjoyable as possible. In the name of Jesus Christ,
50:33
Amen.