| 12:1 And it
came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and
behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I
looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld
multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as
many as the sand of the sea. |
|
| 12:2 And it
came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together
to battle, one against the other; and I beheld 1wars, and rumors of
wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my
people. |
[1] Matthew 24:6
...wars and rumours of wars... |
| 12:3 And it
came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away,
after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and
I beheld many 1cities,
yea, even that I did not number them. |
[1] The location or
identification of any Nephite city remains a problem for
the Book of Mormon. While a number of LDS apologists have
proposed geographic settings for the Book of Mormon, and
pointed to pre-Columbian ruins as possible Nephite
remains, conclusive proof is still lacking. This is
despite a concerted archaeological effort in Mesoamerica;
some expeditions have even been conducted by the LDS
church itself. All to no avail. |
| 12:4 And it
came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of
the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard
thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of
tumultuous noises; and I saw the 1earth
and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains
tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth,
that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they
were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with
fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth,
because of the quaking thereof. |
[1] Matthew 27:51:
...the earth did quake, and the rocks rent... |
| 12:5 And it
came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of
darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth;
and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because
of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord. |
|
| 12:6 And I
saw the 1heavens
open, and the Lamb of God
descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed
himself unto them. |
[1] John 1:51: ...Hereafter
ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending
and descending upon the Son of man. |
| 12:7 And I
also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon
twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.
|
|
| 12:8 And the
angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples
of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. |
|
| 12:9 And he
said unto me: Thou rememberest the 1twelve
apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall
judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve
ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are
of the house of Israel. |
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. |
| 12:10 And
these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge
thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for
because of their faith in the Lamb
of God their 1garments
are made white in his blood. |
[1] Revelation 7:14:
...and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. |
| 12:11 And
the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld
three generations pass away in righteousness; and their
garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said
unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb,
because of their faith in him. |
|
| 12:12 And
I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who
passed away in righteousness. |
|
| 12:13 And
it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth
gathered together. |
|
| 12:14 And
the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the
seed of thy brethren. |
|
| 12:15 And
it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my
seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of
my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle. |
|
| 12:16 And
the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of
filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of
which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of
hell. |
|
| 12:17 And
the mists of darkness are the temptations of the 1devil, which
blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the
children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads,
that they perish and are lost. |
Topic: Anachronistic
Concepts
[1] Satan, as a proper name for the being who opposes
God, does not appear in pre-exilic Judaism. The word
itself is used in the Old Testament as a common noun,
meaning one who opposes or obstructs; an adversary. For
example, in Numbers 22:32, the Angel who was sent to
oppose Balaam uses the word "Satan" to describe
his function (translated "withstand" in the
KJV). The word is applied to human adversaries, for
example in I Samuel 29:4, and to a prosecutor in a court
(Psalm 109:6, incorrectly translated as a proper name in
the KJV). Satan, as a powerful being who opposes God,
first appears in post-exilic Biblical books, specifically
II Chronicles 21:1, Job 1-2 and Zechariah 3. In all of
these instances, however, Satan appears as definitely
under God's control. The concept of a free-willed,
powerful being who opposes God appears in very late
Jewish popular religion and, of course, in the New
Testament.
Most scholars accept that the Jews imported the
concept of Satan from the Persian religion, during the
time that they were under Persian rule. The concept is
thus too late to have been known to the Lehites.
A survey of the terms that the Book of Mormon uses to
describe Satan will show the true source of the concept.
He is called the "Father of lies" in II Nephi 2:18, II Nephi 9:9 and Ether 8:25, echoing Christ's
words in John 8:44. He is referred to as an "angel
of light" in II Nephi 9:9,
a reference to II Corinthians 11:14. He is called
"that old serpent" in II
Nephi 2:18, the exact phrase used in Revelation 12:9.
It is thus very evident that the Book of Mormon derives
it's concept of Satan straight from the New Testament. 
|
| 12:18 And
the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is
1vain
imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a
great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the
word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the 2Messiah
who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth
record, from the beginning of the world until this time,
and from this time henceforth and forever. |
[1] Romans 1:21:
...but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. [2] 1830 version: ...and
Jesus Christ, which is the Lamb of God...
This verse was changed in the 1837 version to avoid a
contradiction with II Nephi 10:3, where an angel reveals
the name of the Messiah, apparently for the first time.
|
| 12:19 And
while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that
the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed,
according to the word of the angel; and because of the
pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my
brethren did overpower the people of my seed. |
|
| 12:20 And
it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the
seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and
they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land. |
|
| 12:21 And I
saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw 1wars and rumors of
wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw
many generations pass away. |
[1] Matthew 24:6
...wars and rumours of wars... |
| 12:22 And
the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in
unbelief. |
|
| 12:23 And
it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in
unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy
people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations. |
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