And it came to pass ... after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations. 12:23
13:1-9
1And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.
3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
And the angel said to me,
Look!
4And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church,
5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
Behold the most abominable church, which kills and tortures the saints.
6And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.
So I looked and saw the most abominable church, and the devil who is the founder of it. [1]
7 And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.
9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.
I also saw the gold, silver, silk, scarlets, precious clothing, and harlots that are the desire of the great and abominable church.
13:10-12
10And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
Then I saw the many waters that separate the Gentiles from the seed of my brothers. [2]
11And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
The angel said, "The wrath of God is upon the seed of your brothers." [3]
12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
I saw the Spirit of God come down upon a Gentile man who crossed the many waters to the the seed of my brothers in the promised land. [4]
13:13-14
13And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And the Spirit of God brought other Gentiles across the many waters.
14And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
Then the wrath of God descended upon the seeed of my brethren, who were defeated and scattered by multitudes of Gentiles.
13:15-16
15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
The Spirit of God was on the Gentiles, who were white, fair, and beautiful, like my people before they were all killed.
16And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
And the power of the Lord was with them.
13:17-19
17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
I saw that the mother Gentiles were gathering to fight against them. [5]
18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
But the power of God delivered the Gentiles out of the hands of the mother Gentiles and of all other nations. [6]
13:20-33
20And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.
The Gentiles prospered and carried a book with them. [7]
21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
The angel asked me, "Do you know the meaning of the book?"
22 And I said unto him: I know not.
I answered, "No, I don't."
23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.
24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
The angel said,
It came out of the mouth of a Jew.
It's called the Bible. [8]
26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.
The great and abominable Church removed the plain and most precious parts of the Bible.
27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.
28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest -- because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God -- because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.
They did this to blind people's eyes and harden their hearts.
30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren.
God lifted the Gentiles above all other nations, he gave the land to your father and his seed for an inheritance. [9]
31Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.
But God won't let the Gentiles destroy the seed of your brothers. [10]
32Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.
33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment.
And he won't let the Gentiles be forever blinded by the removal of the plain and precious part of the gospel by the great and abominable church.
13:20-33
34And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel -- and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father -- wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb -- I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.
The angel said to me,
This is what the Lamb of God says:
I'll give the Gentiles a gospel that will be plain and precious.
35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.
I'll show myself to your seed so they'll write many plain and precious things.
So that after your seed dwindles in unbelief, these things will be shown to the Gentiles. [12]
36 And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.
And in them will be written my gospel.
37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.
38And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.
Blessed are those who try to establish my Zion. [13]
39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.
I saw other books, which came from the power of the Lamb. [14]
40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.
The angel said to me,
These last records will restore the plain and precious things that were removed from the first.
41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.
Only those that come to the Lamb of God can be saved.
And they must come according to the records of your seed. [15]
Notes
In 600 BCE, an angel reveals to Nephi the founding of a great and abominable church.
Although the modern LDS church tries to deny it, this clearly refers to the Roman Catholic Church.
Here's what the LDS church's general authority Bruce R. McCokie said about it in Mormon Doctrine,
It is also to the Book of Mormon to which we turn for the plainest description of the Catholic Church as the great and abominable church.
The angel shows Nephi a Google Earth view of the Atlantic Ocean (the "many waters") that divides the old and new worlds.
The wrath of God ... was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. (v.14)
God's wrath was on "the seed of Nephi's brethren" (Native Americans) who were slaughtered by the Europeans.
The angel shows Nephi Christopher Columbus crossing the "many waters" to visit the native Americans in "the promised land." (Nearly 2100 years before it happened.)
The "mother Gentiles" were the Brittish who fought against the American Gentiles in the Revolutionary War.
Just another one of the amazing things Nephi saw. (In this case, nearly 2400 years before it happened.)
God helped "the mother Gentiles" (white American colonists) win the Revolutionary war and all future wars (except maybe the Vietnam Afganistan wars).
Here's what the LDS church's Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher's Manual says about this verse:
(23:18) Latter-day prophets have taught that these individuals were inspired to help prepare and establish a nation with religious freedom--the United States of America--in which the gospel could be restored.
The book was the Bible, of course, specifically the King James Version.
Here's what the LDS church's Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher's Manual says about this verse:
(23:20) What book was Nephi referring to? (The Bible. You may want to invite students to consider writing the Bible next to 1 Nephi 13:20.)
The book that came out of the mouth of a Jew is the angel's clever way of referring to the Bible.
God blessed the United States and made them the most powerful nation on earth.
Although God favors the Americans above everyone else on earth, he will not allow them to completely destroy Nephi's evil brethren (the Native Americans).
God won't let the United States ("the Gentiles") be forever blinded by the removal of the plain and precious parts of the Bible ("the gospel of the lamb") by the Catholic Church ("the great and abominable church").
God will show the American gentiles his plain and precious gospel: the Book of Mormon.
Here's what the LDS church's Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher's Manual says about these verses:
(You may want to invite students to consider writing next to 1 Nephi 13:35 that "these things" refers to the Book of Mormon.)
Blessed are the Mormons ... "for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost." (Zion is a codename for Mormonism.)
The "other books" are the other supposedly sacred books in the LDS canon: The Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
Here's what the LDS church's Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher's Manual says about this verse:
What "other books" has the Lord brought forth as part of the Restoration? (The Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.)
Only those that believe in both the Book of Mormon and the Bible can be saved.
And it came to pass: 13:1, 4, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 20, 34, 38
Behold: 13:5, 8, 11, 23(2), 26, 30, 32, 34, 35(2)
13:27 pervert the right ways of the Lord. - Acts 13:10
13:34 Mother of harlots - Revelation 17:5
13:37 tidings of great joy - Luke 2:10
13:37 beautiful upon the mountains - Isaiah 52:7
13:39, 40, 41 the twelve apostles of the Lamb. - Revelation 21:14
13:40kindreds, tongues, and people - Revelation 7:9
13:42 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. - Matthew 19:30
13:40 the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father -- 1830 Book of Mormon
