Book of Mormon Overview

8/11/2019 Book of Mormon Overview

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11. Nephi ponders the things his father had said, and is caught away in the Spirit. He findshimself on a high mountain, and the Spirit asks him what he desires. He asks to see thethings his father had seen. The Spirit asks if he believed the things concerning the tree.Nephi r esponds that he believes hsi fathers words. The Spirit praises God, and saysNephi will be blessed because he believes in the Son of God, and he shall see the

things which he desires. The Spirit says that after he sees the vision, he will see a mandescending from heaven, who is the Son of God. He sees the tree, and asks to know theinterpretation. He is shown the city of Nazarath, and sees Mary. Nephi is askedKnowest thou the condescension of God? and he responds that God loves his children.The Spirit says that Mary is the mother of the Son of God. He is shown Mary holding thechild, and is told that it is the Lamb of God, the Son of God. Nephi is asked the meaningof the tree. He responds that it is the love of God and is most desirable above all things,the Spirit agrees that it is joyous to the soul. He sees the Son of God go forth amongmen. The rod of iron is the word of God, which leads to the fountain of living waters akathe tree of life (Gods love). He sees the condescension of God, the Redeem er, andsees the prophet who prepared his way baptize the Lamb of God. After the Son wasbaptized, the Holy Ghost came down from heaven in the form of a dove. Christ ministersonto the people, and they gather to hear him, but then cast him out. He sees the twelve(sort of?). He sees angels decend and minister unto men. People are cleansed by thepower of the Lamb of God. Nephi sees them crucify the Lamb of God, and then saw thefall of the great and spacious building, and that all that fight agaisnt the twelve apostlesof the Lamb shall be destroyed.

12. He sees his seed gather together to fight, and many cities and wars. He sees a mist ofdarkenss upon the land. He sees much destruction. He sees the Lamb of God descendout of heaven, and twelve were ordained to be his disciples. The twelve apostles shall

judge the twelve tribes of Israel, as will be the twelve ministers of Nephis seed? Three

generations are righteous and made white in the blood of the Lamb. After the fourthgeneration, his seed battles with the seed of his bretheren. The mists of darkness arethe temptations of the devil, and the building is the pride of the children of men. He seeshis seed destroyed by his bretherens seed, and their seed dwindled in unbelief andbecome a dark and loathsome and filthy people.

13. Nephi is shown the many nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles, and the formation of thegreat and abominable church. He sees that his brethren are seperated from the gentilesby a large body of water, and that a man was wrought upon by the Spirit and he wentacross the waters to the promised land. The Lord smites the seed of his brethren withthe coming of the Gentiles. The Gentiles are blessed with the power of God to be able tofight against their mother gentiles (England) and they were delivered out of their hands.He sees a book (the Bible) go throughout the land, and is told that it has had manyprecious parts taken away from it. God wont let the Gentiles completely destroy theseed of his brethren. The Lord will be merciful unto the Gentiles and give them thefullness of the gospel. The Lamb will manifest himself unto Nephis seed, and thenprserve the words which he speaks by hiding his words for the Gentiles. This book willprove the truth of the first (the Bible?) and make known unto all that the Son of God is


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the Savior, and all men must come unto him. The Son of God will manifest himself ontoall nations, both Jews and Gentiles. (Interesting rhetorical inversion in verse 42)

14. Those who hearken unto the Lamb of God, and dont harden t heir hearts, will be countedamong the house of Israel. The great pit will be filled with those who dug it, and theirsouls shall be cast into hell which hath no end. A time will come when the Lord will work

a great and marvelous work, which will either convince them of peace and life eternal, orthey will harden their hearts and be brought down into captivity. The Spirit tells Nephithat there are two churches, the church of the Lamb of God, and the church of the devil.The whore of the earth (church of the devil) has dominion over all the earth, whereas thechurch of the Lamb of God is few in number. The righteous are armed with the power ofGod. Nephi is shown an apostle of the Lord, and told that he will write the things whichNephi saw, and that Nephi should not write of the remainder of the things which he saw.That apostle was John. The things which Nephi has written are true.

15. Nephi returns to his fathers tent, and his brothers are disputing the things which hisfather had said. He is sad that they did not inquire of the Lord. Nephi is grieved becauseof the things he saw, and explains to his brethren what the meaning of the dream was.He explains that the grafting of the natural branches is that their seed would dwindle inunbelief and after the Messiah comes and his gospel is revealed to the Gentiles, it willbe revealed to their seed. And at that time they will be grafted back into the house ofIsrael. The tree is the tree of life. The rod of iron is the word of God. The river isfilthiness, hell. The dream represent both things temporal and spiritual, because they willbe judged of their works. No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. The wickedare rejected from the righteous, and the tree of life. The fruit of the tree of life is desirabelabove all others, because it is the greatest of the gifts of God.

16. His brethren say that he has spoken hard things unto them. Nephi says he knows that.The righteous shall be lifted up, but the guilty take the truth to be hard for it cutteth them

to the very center. They would not feel that way if they walked uprightly before the Lord.Nephi marries one of the daughters of Ishmael, as do his brothers and Zoram. Nephiwas blessed of the Lord exceedingly. Lehi is commanded to journey the next day intothe wilderness, and upon waking up, he found a ball (the Liahona). They gathered allthey had and followed the balls directions. As Nephi went to hunt once, his bow broke,and his brethren were angry, and his family went hungry. Laman and Lemuel began tomurmur against the Lord, as well as Lehi. Nephi spoke unto his brethren about theirhardening of their hearts. Nephi asks his father to ask the Lord where to find food, andhis father humbles himself and is chastened by the Lord. There were writings upon theball which would change according to the faith which they had. Nephi follows thedirections and finds food. Ishmael dies, and his daughters mourn. Laman and Lemuelattempt to get the others to slay Nephi and his father, but the voice of the Lord comesand chastens them, and they repented and were blessed with food again.

17. The Lord blesses them as they travel to the land of Bountiful. Nephi is called to themountain, and goes and prays there. The Lord speaks unto him saying to construct aship in the manner that he shows him, and the Lord shows him where to find ore andmake tools. The Lord says that After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shallknow that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea,


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that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem. Nephi begins to build the boat, but hisbrethren complain that he is a fool, and that he could not build it, and that he was notinstructed by the Lord. His brothers say that they believe that the people of Jerusalemwere actually righteous, and Lehi has led them astray. Nephi recounts the story ofMoses and the Israelites, and how they were blessed and cursed according to their

righteousness, and are now ripe for destruction, so the Lord commanded Lehi to depart.He remarks how they are quick to do iniquity. God is all powerful, but they refuse tohearken unto his word. Nephi is full with the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame hasno strength. He is anguished because he is worried that they will be cast off. Hisbrothers become angry, and want to throw him into the sea, but Nephi commands themto not touch him else they will wither even as a dried reed. He tells them that theyshould not murmer anymore, or whithold their labor. How is it that God, who is allpowerful, would not be able to instruct me to build merely a ship? They were confoundedand did not touch him, but the Lord told Nephi to touch them, and the Lord shockedthem, and they knew of a surety that the Lord is with thee and Nephi tells them toworship the Lord.

18. Nephi is shown how to build the ship from time to time, and builds it according to theways of the Lord instead of the ways of men. He finishes the ship, and his entire familygathers themselves and food and board the ship. They are driven by a wind, but thesons of Ishmael and their wives began to be merry, to the point of rudeness. Nephispeaks with them, worried that the Lord would be angry with them. They are angry,saying they would not suffer their younger brother to rule over them, and Laman andLemuel bind Nephi. The compass ceases to work, and they did not know where to steerthe ship, and were caught in a terrible storm, and were driven back for three days. Onthe fourth day, they saw that the judgements of God were upon them, and they loosedNephi from his bonds. Nephi praised God all day despite his afflictions. Lehi had said

things to them, but Laman and Lemuel had threatened anyone who spoke in favor ofNephi, which cause Lehi and Sariah to become very anguished. They were not humbledunti l they saw they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea and thenthey let Nephi free. Once Nephi was free, he took the compass and it worked for him,and prayed unto God, and the storms ceased. After many days, they arrived at thepromised land.

19. Nephi is commanded to make new plates (Gold plates?) and write upon them nothingsave it be that I think it be sacred. Nephi excuses himself for the weakness which isinherent in the flesh of man, and speaks of how some people consider certain things tobe important, while others would trample those things. Others would even trample theGod of Israel. He speaks of how the Son of God will come to Jerusalem in 600 years,but they will trample him. He speaks of the prophecies which others have madeconcerning the birth and death of Christ. Those at Jerusalem shall be scourged by allpeople for crucifying the God of Israel. But they will be brought back together when theyno more turn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel. Nephi writes and preaches of these things, so that his brethren and seed may have hope, and bepersuaded to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.


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20. The Lord speaks to Isreal about his purpose for them? (This chapter needs some indepth reading)

21. The Lord speaks of how he will comfort his people, and how he will smite the enemies ofhis people, and how kings will bow down to him (Needs more in depth reading)

22. Nephis brethren ask him about the things which he had read from the plates of brass

(the last two chapters). The things which he had read pertain to both temporal andspiritual things. The house of Israel will be scattered among all the face of the earth, andamon all nations. Many are already lost. After the house of Israel is scattered, the LordGod will raise a mighty nat ion among the Gentiles, and they will scatter Nephis brothersseed. The Lord will strengthen the Gentiles, and they will lift up Nephis familys seed ontheir shoulders. The great abominable church, and every nation which wars against thehouse of Israel will be turned against itself, and they will fall into the pit which they dug.

All that fight Zion shall be destroyed. Satan will have no power over the hearts of men.God will preserve the righteous by his power. The righteous shouldnt fear, because th eywill not be the ones who are confounded, destroyed, cut off. The Holy One of Israel willreign. Everyone who repents will be saved. Nephi asks his brethren to consider thewritings of the plates of brass, that they are true, and that man must be obedient to thecommandments of God to be saved at the last day.

2nd Nephi1. Lehi recounts the great things which the Lord had done for them. The Lord has been

merciful in guiding them out of Jerusalem, and not destroying them when they rebelledon the waters, and blessing them with the promised land. They will be free and blessedin that land as long as they keep the commandments, but once they forget the Lord hewill give other nations the power to smite and scatter them. Lehi knows that his days arefew, but he a lso knows that the Lord has redeemed my soul from hell. He is worriedand sorrowful because he fears that his seed will be cursed because of the hardness of

their hearts, and be cut off. He counsels them to keep his commandments, put on thearmor of righteousness, shake of the chains with whcih they are bound, and arise fromthe dust. He tells them to listen to Nephi, because he has kept the Lordscommandments, and it is because of him that they did not die of hunger. He has beensharp with you, but his sharpness was the power of the word of God. Nephi has beenfilled with the Spirit of God, and Lehis seed should follow him. Zoram has been a faithfulfriend of Nephi, so his seed will be blessed.

2. Lehi speaks to Jacob, considering how he had been his firstborn in the wilderness. Hewill be blessed because he knows the greatness of God. He speaks to him of how theMessiah offers himself up as a sacrifice, so that men will be forgiven of their sins andcan be resurrected, and can be judged by God. There must be opposition. Otherwisethere would be no righteousness or wickedness, no good or bad, no happiness ormisery. Without opposition, nothing would exist. But things do exist, because God hascreated everything, and there was needed to be a foridden fruit in opposition to the treeof life. The Lord allows man to act for himself, but whatever man does it will be as aresult of enticing by the one or the other (God or the devil). An angel opposed God, andfell from heaven, and was the serpent that tempted Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit,which caused them to be cast from the Garden of Eden. But if this had not happened,


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they would have remained in the Garden forever, not knowing good or evil. Adam fellthat men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. Men are free to choose ifthey will follow be righteous, and follow Christ, or become captive by the devil. Lehihopes that his sons will choose Christ. He has chosen the good part, and his only desireis that the everlasting welfare of his family s souls.

3. Lehi speaks to Joseph, who seems to have been named after the Joseph of Egypt. Hesays that Joseph saw their day, and Joseph was promised by the Lord that he wouldbreak off a branch of the house of Israel to be remembered in the latter days. AndJoseph of Egypt will have a descendent who will be made great like unto Moses andwill be given power to preach the word unto Josephs descendants. Lehis son Josephwill be blessed because of that covenant, because one of his descendants will be amighty instrument in the hands of the Lord. Joseph will be blessed if he hearkens untilNephis words.

4. Nephi mentions that the prophecies which his father discussed, the ones which Josephof Egypt wrote, that there are not many that are greater. Lehi speaks to all of his kinsaying that they will prosper if they keep the commandments, but if they do not, they willbe cut off from the Lords presence. Lehi leaves a blessing upon the family of Laman,that if they are brought up in the way they should go (in righteousness) they will notdepart from it. If they are cursed, it will be taken away and be answered by the parents(who are responsible for that cursing). He gives the same blessing to the family ofLemuel. He then speaks to the sons of Ishmael. Afterwards, he speaks to Sam, sayingthat his seed shall be numbered with the seed of Nephi, and he shall be blessed in allhis days. Lehi waxes old, and dies, and is buried. Not too long after, Laman and Lemueland sons of Ishmael are angry with Nephi because of the admonitions of the Lord. Nephiwrites the things which his soul delighteth in, so that his children may learn them andprofit from them. Nephi sorrows because of his iniquities, he feels he is easily best by

temptations and sins, and when he desires to rejoice, his heart groans because of hissins. But he trusts in the Lord. God has been his support, He has filled him with Love, Hehas confounded his enemies, He has heard his cries, He has given him knowledge andvisions, He has shown him great things. If the Lord has shown such mercy, why shouldNephis heart weep because of his afflictions? Why should I yield to sin because of myflesh? Why should I give way to temptations? Nephi writes that the gates of hell will beshut because his heart is broken, and his spiri t contrite. God will give liberally to himthat asketh

5. Nephis brethren become more and more angry with him, to the point that they areseeking to take his life. They are angry because they think he tries to rule over them, butthey think it is their right to rule over him as his older brethren. Nephi takes his family, aswell as Zorams, Sams, Jacobs, Josephs, and his sisters families, and they leaveLaman and Lemuel and the others. They travel for a while before coming to a placewhich they call Nephi. They live in peace and happiness, while the Lamanites becomemore wicked, and are cursed. Things continue as so for 30 years after their departurefrom Jerusalem. By 40 years after their departure, there had been wars and contentionswith the Lamanites, which Nephi seems to be particularly saddened by as he mentions itvery briefly.


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6. Jacob speaks to the Nephites, saying that he wants to discuss the words of the Isaiahbecause they speak about the house of Israel, and the Nephites are of the house ofIsrael. Jacob interprets a passage saying that the Lord has shown him that theinhabitants of Jerusalem were slain or carried away captive, but the Lord will allow themto return again. He also saw that Christ will come in the flesh, but he will be crucified.

The Jews will be smitten and scattered until they come to the knowledge of theirRedeemer. The Gentiles that do not fight Zion or unite with the abominable church willbe saved. Those that do not believe in Christ will be destroyed when he comes. TheLord will contend with them that contendeth with his people.

7. Jacobs reading of Isaiahs words: The Lord says that we have sold ourselves. Christasks why they doubt his power, He has power over all of Gods creation, He has beenblessed with the tongue of the learned, to be able to speak with any in their season. Heasks us to stand with him

8. Still Jacobs reading of Isaiah: The Lord talks to Zion, and then to Jerusalem,commanding them to awake. He speaks to the afflicted, to Jerusalem to loosethemselves from the bands around their neck.

9. Jacob comments on the words of Isaiah: The Lord spoke to the Jews throughout all thetimes

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