| 19:1 And it
came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did
make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the
record of my people. And upon the plates which I made I
did engraven the record of my father, and also our
journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my
father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I
engraven upon them. |
|
| 19:2 And I
knew not at the time when I made them that I should be
commanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore,
the record of my father, and the genealogy of his
fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the
wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which
I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired
before I made these plates are, of a truth, more
particularly made mention upon the first plates. |
|
| 19:3 And
after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I,
Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the
prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them,
should be written upon these plates; and that the things
which were written should be kept for the instruction of
my people, who should possess the land, and also for
other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the
Lord. |
|
| 19:4
Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the other
plates, which gives an account, or which gives a greater
account of the wars and contentions and destructions of
my people. And this have I done, and commanded my people
what they should do after I was gone; and that these
plates should be handed down from one generation to
another, or from one prophet to another, until further
commandments of the Lord. |
|
| 19:5 And an
account of my making these plates shall be given
hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to that
which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred
things may be kept for the knowledge of my people. |
|
| 19:6
Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it
be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even
did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself
because of other men, but because of the weakness which
is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself. |
|
| 19:7 For the
things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both
to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample
under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men
trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet
but I would speak in other words--they set him at naught,
and hearken not to the voice of his counsels. |
|
| 19:8 And
behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in
six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.
|
|
| 19:9 And the
world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a
thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he
suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it.
Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of
his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the
children of men. |
|
| 19:10 And
the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of
bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by
him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the
angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be
lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the
words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according
to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the
three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of
his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the
sea, more especially given unto those who are of the
house of Israel. |
It is quite significant that
Smith has to appeal to unknown (and probably imaginary)
prophets for validation. The plain fact of the matter is
that the Old Testament nowhere prophesied that the
Messiah would be crucified or resurrected. This is an
interpretation that the New Testament writers tried to
put on the Old Testament. |
| 19:11 For
thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit
all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice,
because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and
salvation, and others with the thunderings and the
lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by
smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the
earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up. |
|
| 19:12 And
all these things must surely come, saith the prophet
Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because
of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the
isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of
God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers. |
|
| 19:13 And
as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet,
they shall be scourged by all people, because they crucify the God of Israel, and
turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and
the power and glory of the God of Israel. |
|
| 19:14 And
because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet,
and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they shall
wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a
byword, and be hated among all nations. |
|
| 19:15
Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet,
that they no more turn aside their hearts against the
Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the covenants
which he made to their fathers. |
|
| 19:16 Yea,
then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all
the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather
in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet
Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth. |
|
| 19:17 Yea,
and 1all the
earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the
prophet; 2every
nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed. |
[1] Psalms 98:3: ...all the
ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
[2] Revelation
14:6: ...to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people... |
| 19:18 And
I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that
perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember
the Lord their Redeemer. |
|
| 19:19
Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so
be that they should obtain these things. |
|
| 19:20 For
behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary
me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at
Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show
unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old,
I should have perished also. |
|
| 19:21 And
he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things
concerning them; and also he did show unto many
concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know
concerning them for they are written upon the plates of
brass. |
|
| 19:22 Now
it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren
these things; and it came to pass that I did read many
things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of
brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the
Lord in other lands, among people of old. |
|
| 19:23 And I
did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might
more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their
Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by
the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto
us, that it might be for our profit and learning. |
|
| 19:24
Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of
the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel,
a 1branch who
have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet,
which were written unto all the house of Israel, and
liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well
as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for
after this manner has the prophet written. |
[1] Romans 11:17:
...some of the branches be broken off... |
