For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations. Ether 8:19 9:35
4:1-3
1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.
Jesus told Jared's brother to write about the things that he'd seen (Jesus's finger and spirit body) [1], but Jesus told him not to tell anyone else.
King Mosiah kept them so that these things could be revealed after Jesus died. [2]
2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.
3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.
2200 years later, Jesus will be born and reveal his finger and body to the rest of the world.
Then in 420 CE, after the Lamanites kill all the Nephites and everyone has dwindled in unbelief, Jesus commanded me [Moron] to bury in the ground what the things Jared's brother wrote about seeing Jesus's finger and spirit body.
4:4-6
4Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
So I [Moroni] have written on these plates everything that Jared's brother saw.
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
I've sealed them up along with the interpreters. [3]
4:7-19
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.
This is what Jesus said to me [Moroni]:
If the Gentiles repent and believe in me like Jared's brother did, then I'll show them the things I showed to him (my finger and spirit body).
And reveal that I'm both the Father and the Son of God.
8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.
But whoever denies these things will be accursed.
9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.
11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.
I can open and close heaven and make the earth shake.
And I can burn everyone to death.
12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me -- that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.
14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
Everything that is good comes from me.
I'm the Father -- the light, life, and truth of the world.
15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you -- yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
Those who don't believe are in an awful state of wickedness.
16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.
17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.
When you read this in the Book of Mormon, you'll know the end of the world is near. [4]
18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.
19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
Those who don't believe are damned, [5]
and signs will follow those who believe.
Notes
In the last chapter, Jesus showed his finger and spirit body to Jared's brother.
The 1830 Edition says, "for this cause did king Benjamin keep them."
The interpreters are the magic seer stones (aka Urim and Thummin) that Joseph Smith used to create the Book of Mormon.
When the Book of Mormon is revealed, the end of the world is near. (Well, within a few hundred years anyway.)
Non-mormons are damned by Jesus to hell.
Favorite Phrases:
Yea: 4:15
Dwindling in unbelief 4:3
(4:11) The manifestation of the Spirit -- 1 Corinthians 12:7
(4:18a) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16
(4:18b) And these signs shall follow them that believe... Mark 16:17
(4:19) inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... Matthew 25:34
