Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision. 8:2
Trivia: Who made the compass that Nephi used to steer his ship to the promised land?
An angel shows Nephi his seed; wars and slaughters; innumerable cities; darkness, lightening, thunder, earthquakes; tumbling mountains; sunken and burning cities; the heavens opening and the Lamb of God descending; the Holy Ghost and twelve apostles; Nephi's seed fighting with Nephi's seed; a filthy water fountain and the depths of hell; Lehi's spacious floating building; Nephi's seed defeated by the seed of Nephi's brothers; and those who dwindled in unbelief became a dark, filthy, loathsome people filled with all manner of abominations. (600-592 BCE)
12:1-231 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.
The angel said to me, "Behold your seed."
So I looked and saw multitudes of people, more people than there are sand on the seashore.
2 And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.
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 cities, yea, even that I did not number them.
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 earth 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.
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.
I saw wars, rumors of wars, and great slaughters, with so many cities that I couldn't count them [1], with vapor of darkness, earthquakes, noises, smashed mountains, and sunken cities.
6 And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.
7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.
I saw the heavens open, and the lamb of God descend, with the Holy Ghost falling on the twelve disciples of the lamb.
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.
The angel said to me,
These are the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who will minister to your seed.
9 And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve 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.
Because you are the house of Israel.
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 garments are made white in his blood.
These twelve ministers will judge your seed.
They are righteous forever. Because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.
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 And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.
13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.
Then I saw four righteous generations with white garments.
14 And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.
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.
And the angel said to me,
Behold your seed, and the seed of your brothers.
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.
17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, 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.
See the fountain of filthy water that your father saw.
And the river leading to the depths of hell.
18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain 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 Messiah 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.
And the large and spacious building.
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.
While the angel was speaking, I saw the seed of my brothers fighting against my seed.
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.
21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away.
And the seed of my brothers defeated my seed.
22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief.
And the angel said to me,
Behold, these shall dwindle in unbelief. [2]
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.
And I looked and saw that they became a dark, loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.
Notes
Nephi sees "many cities" settled by the Nephites in the New World. Yet no evidence of them has ever been found.
[Although there were Mayan cities in Mesoamerica at the time the Nephites supposedly occupied the Americas, the Mayan culture does not resemble that of the Nephites (or Lamanites) as described in the Book of Mormon.]
Finally, the chapter comes to a thrilling conclusion with the angel showing Nephi what will happen to the seed of his brethren that dwindle in unbelief: they will become a dark, loathsome, filthy, idle, and abominable people. (Which, according to the BoM, is the origin of the Native Americans.)
And it came to pass: 12:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, 15, 20, 23
Behold: 12:1, 5, 8, 9, 10(2), 14, 16, 18
12:2 wars and rumours of wars - Matthew 24:6
12:9 and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. - Revelation 21:14
12:10 and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. - Revelation 7:14
12:21 wars and rumours of wars - Matthew 24:6
12:18 ...and Jesus Christ, which is the Lamb of God... - 1830 Book of Mormon
(This was changed to avoid contradicting 2 Nephi 10:3, which first reveals to Nephi the name of Christ.)
