41k - Mormon and Moroni's Roles In Bringing About the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ!

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

The Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of the Lord -by Arnold Friberg

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.

7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

 9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. (emphasis added)

The Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of the Lord. Those are words of Great Doctrinal Significance! Please go back right now and read again all fourteen of those verses from the Book of Mormon.

In verse fourteen (14) just above, The pre-mortal Savior, Jesus Christ sums up His great Plan of Salvation in just a few precise words. I repeat them so you can more carefully read and understand them better:

14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.

That which you have just read twice is very significant Gospel Doctrine which is clearly stated in this important passage from the Book of Ether, one of the sub-books within the Book of Mormon! The pre-mortal Jesus Christ told the Brother of Jared and each of the readers of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ which testifies so strongly and clearly of Him throughout its entirety!

I now invite you to read while listening to a Clarifying eighteen verse section of the Book of Mormon entitled: The Words of Mormon which comes just before the Book of Mosiah. Please click on the link found below and after the scripture comes on your screen, please click on the word Listen, found on the upper left-hand corner of your screen.

When the scripture comes onto your screen, please click on the light blue 1 that will be in the upper middle of your screen. Then scroll up some on the left side of your screen and click on the word Listen. You will then hear the narrator's voice reading this scripture. After the scripture reading ends, please click on the left-pointing white arrow in a blue circle. That will return you to this post at this point!

The Words of Mormon

After having requested that you read and listen to all that is contained in the Words of Mormon, I call your attention to several specific things that the Prophet Mormon told us in that important scripture: Words of Mormon: 4-9

 4 And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass—

5 Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.

6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.

7 And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.

8 And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.

9 And now I, Mormon, proceed to finish out my record, which I take from the plates of Nephi; and I make it according to the knowledge and the understanding which God has given me.

 Dear Blog Readers, I have highlighted two verses above in order to call your attention to how the Prophet Mormon, by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation
knew that he was to include the writings of the early Nephite prophets which he found on those small plates. That happened in about A.D. 385 or about 351 years after our Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ had visited the Nephite Nation, teaching and setting up his Church among them.

In our Book of Mormon we do not have the Book of Lehi. Either the Prophet Joseph Smith or one of the three main persons who wrote the words as he spoke them under the guidance of Heavenly means, tells us that is the name of the book which was translated first. We don't have that book in our present day Book of Mormon nor was it in any previous edition of the Book of Mormon.

It would have been the 116 manuscript pages that were written by Martin Harris as Joseph Smith dictated the words he received under inspiration from God.
As you may have learned previously from my blog posts or from your own reading, Martin Harris asked Joseph Smith for permission to take those pages (which were from the Book of Lehi) to show his wife who believed that her husband was waisting their time and money on an inconsequential matter. With that causing much tension in their marital relationship, Martin wanted to convince his wife that he was involved in a worthy effort!

Joseph inquired of the Lord three times and each of the first two times was told by the Lord that he shouldn't grant Martin Harris the request he had made. After the third request the Lord gave Joseph permission to allow Martin to take those manuscript pages back to Palmyra, New York which was about 65 miles North of Harmony, Pennsylvania where the translating had been taking place.

We can be sure that the Lord knew exactly what was going to take happen, but allowed what the Prophet Joseph Smith had requested of him. One evidence of the truth of that is that which is written in verses six and seven in the Words of Mormon. I suggest that you scroll up (just like I just did) and read those two verses again and then scroll back down to this point.

From what you just read in those two verses I'm sure you can see that the Lord God knew that those records which contained such precious matters would be much needed in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

But what about the Book of Lehi which covered the same time span as did the writings contained in the Small Plates of Nephi? The fact is that many centuries before while Mormon was deliberating what to do about those Small Plates of Nephi, the Lord knew even then by His all knowing ability that the Book of Lehi would be lost! Here is Just a small aside of mine regarding the Prophet Mormon:

Such great dedication the Prophet Mormon showed in his assignment given him by the Lord! And again, he possessed and used the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation which is something that every worthy member of the Lord's Church anciently and today is entitled to access!

 Continuing with my relating to you that which occurred regarding the 116 manuscript pages that Martin Harris had written as the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated each of those words under the inspiration of Our God.

To sum up: the Prophet Joseph Smith, to his great dismay and disappointment was told by Martin Harris that those 116 manuscript pages were not in their family safe where he had put them. Most likely his wife, Lucy had given them to someone.

All of this was very upsetting to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord chastised him for having given into Martin Harris's persuasions. Joseph did that even though the Lord had told him several times not to allow Martin to take those manuscript pages home to Palmyra. However, he did so only after the Lord finally gave him permission to do so!

Now each of us need to recall that the Lord knew there was a solution to the problem. Remember what the Prophet Mormon said in verses six and seven of the Words of Mormon!

It appears that the Prophet Joseph Smith repented of his having given in to the persuasions of Martin Harris and was allowed to continue translating under the inspiration of Heavenly Father until the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ was fully translated and subsequently published and continues to this day and way beyond to serve its very important role in the Lord's Latter-day work!

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 Mormon Message: Continue in Patience, Narrated by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Mormon and Moroni Were Assigned by Jesus Christ, Moroni's Role #3 and Mormon's Role #4 - Post 37g. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To A Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetic Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)

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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is my Spanish Blog: Its content is translated from the English in this blog:


Neil Birch

41i Preparing to Experience The 180th Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints On October 2 & 3, 2010

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

The Lord Jesus Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann

Isaiah 2:2-3 (Also, II Nephi 12: 2-3) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that (when) the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

The Resurrected Jesus Christ Appears to Those Nephites Who Survived -by John Scott

When teaching the Nephite people of ancient Central America after his resurrection and appearance to them, our, and their savior, Jesus Christ, instructed them:

3 Nephi 23: 1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.

2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. (emphasis added)

Note: The teachings of Isaiah are found both in the Book of Isaiah in our Old Testament and also in II Nephi of the Book of Mormon. Therefore, Nephi the son of Lehi was able to make his quote from Isaiah from the Plates of Brass which he had obtained from Laban's servant, Zoram.

 After Nephi and his three brothers had returned from Jerusalem to the wilderness where their family was waiting for them, Lehi and his family and their future descendants would have continuing access to the Book of Isaiah which was contained, along with many other scriptures, in the Plates of Brass.  

Isaiah speaks of the Lord's House being established in the "Top of the Mountains."

Any of you who have been to the state of Utah located in the Western part of the United States of America will realize that Isaiah could have been speaking of the area where Salt Lake City, Utah is located.

It is here, in that city that the Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be held on October 2nd and 3rd, 2010.

During this General Conference, speakers will be chosen from among the General Authorities of this church. Its prophet, Thomas S. Monson, his two counselors, and all the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be among the speakers in the four sessions of Conference which are televised and linked to the Internet.Here is a view of the huge interior of the Conference Center Auditorium:

During the 180th Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you will hear many important spiritual messages. Among those you will hear, apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and other leaders of His church will bear personal witness regarding our Savior's Life, Atonement, Resurrection and Eventual Return to Earth to rule and reign during the Great Millenium.

Here are some excerpts from previous conference addresses where apostles and our present prophet have born witness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. These addresses  have been made into a short video. You can expect such witnessing to take place during this General Conference.

Excerpts From Previous General Conference Addresses


Although there are many serious moments during LDS Church General Conferences such as was the case during the testimony bearing you have just viewed, there are also times of reverent laughter and times of rejoicing because of our being privileged to live in this time in history when the Lord's Church has been Restored (Re-established). General conferences are joyful events!

There are a good number of times when all of those participating in General Conference through whatever means; in person, by television or by the Internet and even by radio, can enjoy the special experience of hearing the World Renown Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing at the Sunday morning session of each Conference. If you have never heard them sing I would be surprised. They have toured the world a good number of times over the years. They really are an important part of every General Conference.

(Please read my comment on this choir's regular Sunday Morning Broadcasts near the end of this post!)

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Performs So Well!

 "Abide With Me; 'Tis Even Tide" (Accompanied by the Orchestra on Temple Square. (Arrangement by: Barlow Bradford) The Choir is not seen in this recording. The words of the song are shown on the screen with pictures of scenes depicted in the words of the song, from time to time. Or you can choose the following (or both):

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

"Abide With Me; 'Tis Even Tide" Accompanied by the Salt Lake Tabernacle Organ (Arrangement by: Crawford Gates) In this recording the Choir is shown throughout.
Here is another conference talk that has been converted into a video:

Elder Quentin L. Cook's Conference Talk, "Hope Ya Know, We had a Hard Time."

This next very short and cleverly written song is a special treat for you that helps you know a little about each one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The Apostles' Song

In this final portion of this blog post I will assist you to know how to connect to the General Conference sessions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which will be broadcast on October 2, and 3, 2010. If you know you cannot connect with that conference by TV, I suggest you use your computer's Internet. In that case please follow these directions:

Note: At this time please just read these steps, do not take them now. As you read these four steps you will be instructed to print them. After they are printed you will be able to use your printed guide to take each of those steps toward viewing General Conference over the Internet.

[ Step 1: Please print these four steps. In case you need help in printing: I suggest that you select, using your cursor, this portion of this post of mine (from Step 1) down to the end of Step #4. Then, after holding down the Alt key, tap on (the -f-key and then on the p key) Then click on Preferences, and then indicate you want it printed on two sides of the paper if your printer can do that. When the Printer Guide comes onto your screen please click on the word, selection, that will be on the printer's guide. And then on that same printer guide on your screen, click on print. your selection will then be printed for you so you will have these instructions in front of you to follow when you are ready to proceed.

Step 2: Make sure your computer is connected to a media player! If it is connected to one you should see its logo on your Internet home page. Usually it will be at the bottom of that page. If you need to connect to a media player, you may have to check with Google or what ever Internet system you are using to have them help you find a suitable media player.

Step 3: Please click on the following: http://www.lds.org/ In the center column of the page which comes up after clicking on that, you will see, just under the blue view in which the Christus statue is shown, the title:

Oct. 2010 General Conference:

Step 4: Please scroll down a few lines from that title to the link: Live Audio and video streams After clicking on that link you will be helped to know in exact details how General Conference can be experienced by you in several different ways.]

(Even though General Conference may be just a day or two away, you probably ought to practice doing what you will do when Conference Day has arrived.) You will be led through the steps you must take to view and listen to the General Conference Sessions. Many of you most likely don't need these detailed instructions. You are much more knowledgeable about these matters than I am.
As promised above here is some information about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which may interest you:  It was announced on August 4, 2010 that their radio broadcasts had been voted into the National (U.S.A.) Radio Hall of Fame!

"Music and the Spoken Word" featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been produced on Sunday mornings for more than 80 years. This broadcast originates from Salt Lake City, Utah, Radio Station KSL - AM (1160) and FM (102.7). It is broadcast simultaneously on KSL TV from 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Time)

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I give special thanks to the twenty seven followers of my blog. Thank you for your continuing to be a regular part of those who learn here!

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: LDS General Conference, Preparing To Experience It No Matter Where You live in the World -Post 41i. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To A Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)

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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch

I deeply appreciate your readership and very much hope you you will find that which was presented to you in this blog post, very beneficial.
If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

41h - The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Part XIII, The Resurrected Jesus Christ Testifies of Himself To The Nephites!

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME



Jesus the Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann



As I explained in my just previous blog post, I'm extending this current blog series in order to include more actions and statements of our Savior, Jesus Christ as recorded by the Nephites just before and during His visits with them in the Western Hemisphere after His resurrection.

I have attempted to gear these additional posts to helping us focus on what our Redeemer Jesus Christ had to say soon after His resurrection, by both the spoken word and by His actions among the more righteous portion of the descendants of Father Lehi and their ancestor, Joseph, Who Was Sold Into Egypt, which testify to us of His, Jesus, being the Resurrected Son of God.

Ever since their departure from Jerusalem and along their arduous journey on the edge of one of the world's most formidable deserts, then, while actually crossing a portion of that desert



Nephi Crossing One of the Worlds Most challenging deserts with Family, Relatives and One Potential Foe Who Became a Friend -by Scott Snow

and then additionally, at least at one difficult time, a treacherous ocean to reach what is believed to be Central America, Father Lehi's group went through many severe trials and much tribulation.



Lehi and His People Arrive in the Promised Land -by Arnold Friberg

They were a divided nation in many respects, right from the beginning with the rebelliousness of Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael countering the righteous and proven leadership of Lehi's fourth oldest son, Nephi who was supported in his leadership by their father whom Nephi respected and honored.

Other than (Loyal to Nephi), Sam and then younger brothers after they were born during their journey across one of the most difficult deserts in the world, Jacob and Joseph, Nephi's two oldest brothers were always quick to point out that Nephi was their younger brother.

Nephi Rebuking His Rebellious Brothers -by Arnold Friberg

Reading the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, from its beginning to the Book of Third Nephi shows us that the struggle between righteousness and wickedness was quite constant among the two basic groups of Lehi's descendants, the Nephites and Lamanites.

I believe that successfully facing those challenges served to produce a portion of Lehi's people who were fully prepared for the visit from their Redeemer whose coming had been regularly prophesied for about six centuries among them.

The Book of Mormon also has something to say about what happens to those who failed to prepare for His visit. You will learn of this in this post.

I believe that you and I will learn something about true spiritual preparedness that could apply to and help us from what we experience as we now delve into that which is presented in this post.

I also believe that you and I will learn from the experience of the Nephite people, that true spiritual preparation has very much to do with "having a broken heart and a contrite spirit" (I urge you to remember that phrase and recognize it when the Savior uses it in the second chapter you will read, and listen to, in this post- III Nephi 9:20).

 We all should strive to live in accordance with that sacred phrase rather than being content to being proud of our, so thought, more spiritual accomplishments and abilities.

I searched hard for a picture which would help you feel what the more righteous Nephites were feeling after having witnessed a "great cataclysm of nature"* that killed many of their people and caused extraordinary destruction in their land. I couldn't find such a picture in lds.org nor even from Google Search.

What I discovered, and I'm very grateful for this actually, is that our just reading the words written by the Prophet Nephi who lived in A.D. 34 (and chosen and transcribed later in about 400 A.D. by the Prophet Mormon), can never come close to fully impacting us as much as when we simultaneously read and listen to this particular Nephi's inspired words you will be reading and listening to by the lds.org scripture reader's voice. To me, his reading came with much feeling, particularly in chapter 8.

I believe that doing so gives us special images of what was occurring that no picture could fully equal.

You may have noticed that I placed quote marks around the words, "a great cataclysm of nature," above. I and other LDS writers have used that term to describe that which caused such extraordinary destruction among the Nephites, but after reading and listening to the three chapters of the Book of Mormon to which I will soon link you, I would like you to tell me what our Resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ tells us concerning, what and who caused this great destruction to fall upon this Nephite Nation.

You may have also noticed that I mentioned you will be reading three chapters one after the other. I made that decision to suggest your doing that only after reading recently all three of them myself, one after the other. My experience shows that your experience will be magnified many times by reading them one after another.

I'm sure that you readers of this blog are very busy people and perhaps you often just glance at a few things that I have written in any one of my blog posts. In view of that, I timed how long it takes to hear the lds.org reader read through these three chapters. It takes only sixteen minutes and seven seconds to read and listen to all three chapters, back to back. I suggest that you evaluate what time you have available to you right now. If reading and listening that long would take more time than you have available right now, I suggest you schedule a time later today to get back into this blog and have this special experience.

Even though you may, as is true in my case, have read and listened to each of these chapters many times before separately, I'm sure you will have a special experience reading them one after another. That experience can be facilitated by your asking your Heavenly Father to touch you with His Spirit as you prepare to read and listen (You must click on the word listen, on the upper left hand corner of the page that comes onto the screen, in order to listen) to each of these three Book of Mormon Chapters, one after the other.

III Nephi Chapter Eight

III Nephi Chapter Nine

III Nephi Chapter Ten

In your reading and listening to Chapter 9, did you find what the Savior told the Nephites about "having a broken heart and a contrite spirit?" Earlier in that same chapter did you notice that our Savior took personal responsibility for causing the great destruction which took place? An example:

III Nephi 9:3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof. (emphasis added)

That was just one example of about ten such cases where Jesus Christ states that He brought about these particular deadly disasters. In one of those passages He tells of their specific wickedness and explains thus:

Verse 8, . . and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and saints should not come up any more unto me against them. (emphasis added)

I suggest that you will be hard pressed to find anything that has been written about Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer that is more dynamic than than that which you will have read today in this post. However, there are passages in the Gospels of the New Testament that are equally dynamic.

My next blog post in this series will be published in five days.

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Now again as I have done in several previous posts, I quote an LDS Scholar about his findings from research he has done: (Let me just briefly note that after your intense and hopefully very spiritual experience reading and listening to the three chapters of the Book of Mormon I provided for you, you will firmly support Dr. Givens in the stands he takes regarding the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ!

Dr. Terryl L. Givens

I am quoting from his book, BY THE HAND OF MORMON, Published by OXFORD, University Press (2002) Pages 183-184

For criticism of the Book of Mormon to be sufficient to impugn its status as scripture, those criticisms must touch upon questions of origin, not accuracy. Certainly inexplicable anachronisms, wildly implausible scenarios, obvious nineteenth-century imports, and the like would challenge its divine authorship. But it will not do to establish an imperfection and consider the case resolved, as many currently seem wont to do.

As an early LDS publication declared,

"Besides, so much depends on an answer to the question, Is the story of its origin true or not: For, on the one hand, if it is not true, then the entire structure of Mormonism is built on a false foundation; and, on the other hand, it it is true, it becomes the strongest physical evidence for the authenticity of Joseph Smith's teachings."

Church enemies agreed. Inveterate anti-Mormon Symonds Ryder wrote in 1831 that "if a man once opens his heart to receive the Book of Mormon as a divine record, he is also under the necessity of receiving whatever Joseph Smith, Jr. is pleased to proscribe [sic] by way of commandment.

Some LDS scholars allege that Book of Mormon defender B.H. Roberts was wrong in this regard, that it is simply untrue that if the Book of Mormon "could be proved to be other than it claims to be, ... then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . must fall." As evidence, one such critic invokes the example of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, a small branch--numbering some few hundred thousands by the 1990s--formally organized in 1860 largely of members who rejected the leadership of Brigham Young at the time of the exodus westward). In the 1960s, some members of that group challenged the factualness and literalism of their scripture. As a consequence, their church leaders "soft-pedaled the Book of Mormon in church curricula and publications; but this critic's expressed hope that the Utah church will follow this "wise practice" seems hopelessly naive and historically oblivious, both to the scripture's particular roles in Mormon religious life and practice and to the fate of the more progressive offshoot church. For simultaneous with a de-emphasis on the Book of Mormon, there had to necessarily follow a de-emphasis on its translator. And indeed, by the time of that critic's recommendation, the RLDS were already downplaying the founding epiphanies of the Prophet Joseph, calling them "religious experiences" rather than visions of angelic visitations. As for the Book of Mormon itself, the RLDS have gone beyond de-emphasis to virtual repudiation. In one Utah congregation a minister was removed in 1991 for repeatedly "emphasizing the Book of Mormon in his worship meetings" and mentioning Joseph Smith's name over the pulpit" in spite of warnings to desist. The eventual outcome of such a policy is not surprising. By April of the year 2000, delegates to their world conference voted to rename their church the "Community of Christ," thus severing their last link to a long history rooted in visions, prophecies, glorious angels, and gold plates.

There is no reason to suspect that a comparable move is likely with the Mormons--or that if it were, it would be any less a prelude to Protestant assimilation than has proven to be the case with the RLDS. Whether such assimilation would constitute the fall of the church or an enlightened rebirth may be an open question. But it would not be a church either B.H. Roberts or Joseph Smith would recognize."
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Jesus Christ Testifies of His Own Eternal Role Personally To the Nephites in Ancient America- Post 41h. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetic Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)
__________

"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

_____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me.

I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

41g The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Part XII, Resurrected Jesus Christ Testifies of Himself!

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This post!

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TODAY'S THEME



The Resurrected Jesus and His Angels Bless Nephite Children -by Del Parson



In this present series I have not yet provided you with testimonies that Jesus Christ gave of Himself to the Nephite people, by both the spoken word and by the actions He performed. I will now begin to include those testimonies with the testimonies of others, His Book of Mormon prophets.

In my opinion this is a very striking, to the point, statement by our resurrected Savior indicating his continuing role with us:

III Nephi 27:13-1713 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

Upon further reflection, I realized that Jesus' statements to various Nephites beginning with one to the Prophet Nephi just before His birth on earth and then during His personal ministry among the Nephites after His resurrection, provide us with equally cogent and convincing evidence of His divine role.

I have decided to extend this present series of posts, (This is Part XII) - The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ to include a number of posts, which will cover primarily the statements and actions of our Savior among the Nephites that testify to His being the Son of God.

STATEMENTS MADE BY JESUS CHRIST TO THE NEPHITES

To the Nephite prophet, Nephi, son of Nephi A.D. 1:

III Nephi 1:10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold,
the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. (emphasis added)

Jesus Christ Was Born to Mary -by Carl Heinrich Bloch

Just as Jesus, while still in his pre-mortal state, had told Nephi, son of Nephi, Jesus was born in Bethlehem the following day. Nephi and his people knew it because the signs that had been foretold by the prophet, Samuel the Lamanite, were seen by all, both the wicked and the righteous.

III Nephi 1:15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

To me, and perhaps to you who have read the Book of III Nephi before, it appears that the Savior had a special love for the Nephites.

I think He manifested that special love when He, despite being on the verge of being born and taking on a mortal body and and being a member of the Godhead already, paid attention to the urgent need the Nephites had for hope, by manifesting to Nephi as shown in the scripture above that the signs would be shown that night, thus making it so their enemies would not be able to carry out their plans to kill all of those who believed in the coming of Christ.

I'm sure that He doesn't favor one group of followers over another, even though it perhaps may seem so to some of us when we read of His praising the Nephite's exceptional faith when He first arrived in Central America soon after His resurrection.

However, as you may remember, He told the Nephites after coming among them that He had not seen such faith as theirs, shown by the Jews among whom He had ministered during His mortal life. He, the judge of all mankind knows that true faith and the actions that follow make a big difference.

I'll be back in five days with more evidence of the realities of the eternal love of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.
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In my just previous post, 41f, I gave you an electronic link for the John Welch Article found in the April 1985 Ensign Magazine about Gospel Scholar, Hugh Nibley, regarding his research about the Book of Mormon's obvious connections with the Near Eastern World of Father Lehi's day (600 B.C.). I promised to repeat that link for you at least in my next post, which is this one. For your convenience here is that link if you desire to read it for the first time or to review it:

Hugh Nibley and the Book of Mormon

Or if you prefer I have a very interesting quote from Hugh Nibley that, as usual for him, proves the connections between The Book of Mormon and the customs and ways of the Near Eastern people: (From the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.5, Part.1, Ch.2)

Strange Names: The stamp of Egypt on Lehi's people may be clearly discerned in the names those people and their descendants. Hebrew and Egyptian names together make up the overwhelming majority and occur in about equal strength, which is exactly what one would expect from Mormon's claim that both languages were used among them (and which would certainly not be the case were Hebrew the only spoken language), but Hittite, Arabic, and Ionian elements are not missing. First, consider a few Egyptian names, setting off the Book of Mormon names (BM) against their Old World equivalents (OW). (Emphasis Added by Neil)

Aha (BM), son of the Nephite commander in chief. Aha (OW), a name of the first Pharaoh; it means "warrior" and is a common word.

Aminadab (BM), Nephite missionary in the time of the judges. Amanathabi (OW), chief of a Canaanite city under Egyptian
domination. This name is "reformed" Egyptian.

Ammon (BM), the commonest name in the Book of Mormon. Ammon (Amon, Amun) (OW), the commonest name in the Egyptian Empire: the great universal God of the Empire.

Ammoni-hah (BM), name of a country and city. Ammuni-ra (OW), prince of Beyrut under Egyptian rule.

The above might stand the same relationship to this name as Cameni-hah (BM), a Nephite general Khamuni-ra (OW), Amarna personal name, perhaps equivalent of Ammuni-ra.

Cezoram (BM), Nephite chief judge. Chiziri (OW), Egyptian governor of a Syrian city.

Giddonah (BM), a) high priest who judged Korihor, b) father of Amulek. Dji-dw-na (OW), the Egyptian name for Sidon.

Gidgiddoni and Gidgiddonah (BM), Nephite generals. Djed-djhwt-iw-f and Djed-djhwti-iw-s plus ankh (OW), Egyptian proper name meaning "Thoth hath said: he shall live," and "Thoth hath said: she shall live," respectively. On this pattern the two Nephite names mean "Thoth hath said I shall live," and "Thoth hath said: we shall live," respectively.

Giddianhi (BM), robber chief and general. Djhwti-ankhi (OW), "Thoth is my life"; see above.

Gimgim-no (BM), city of Gimgim, compare Biblical No-Amon, "City of Amon." Kenkeme (OW), Egyptian city, cf. Kipkip, seat of the Egyptian dynasty in Nubia.

Hem (BM), brother of the earlier Ammon. Hem (OW), means "servant," specifically of Ammon, as in the title Hem tp n 'Imn, "chief servant of Ammon" held by the high priest of Thebes.

Helaman (BM), great Nephite prophet. Her-amon (OW), "in the presence of Amon," as in the Egyptian proper name Heri-i-her-imn. Semitic "l" is always written "r" in Egyptian, which has no "l." Conversely, e Egyptian "r" is often written "l" in Semitic languages.

Himni (BM), a son of King Mosiah. Hmn (OW), a name of the Egyptian hawk-god, symbol of the emperor.

Korihor (BM), a political agitator who was seized by the people of Ammon. Kherihor (also written Khurhor, etc.) (OW), great high priest of Ammon who seized the throne of Egypt at Thebes, cir. 1085 b.c.

Manti (BM), the name of a Nephite soldier, a land, a city, and a hill. Manti (OW), Semitic form of an Egyptian proper name,
e.g., Manti-mankhi, prince in Upper Egypt cir. 650 b.c. It is a late form of Month, god of Hermonthis.

Mathoni (BM), a Nephite disciple. Maitena, Mattenos, etc. (OW), two judges of Tyre, who at different times made themselves
king, possibly under the Egyptian auspices.

Morianton (BM), the name of a Nephite city and its founder, cf. the Nephite province Moriantum. Meriaton and Meriamon (OW), names of Egyptian princes, "Beloved of Aton" and "Beloved of Amon" respectively.

Nephi (BM), founder of the Nephite nation. Nehi, Nehri (OW), famous Egyptian noblemen. Nfy was the name of an Egyptian captain. Since BM insists on "ph," Nephi is closer to Nihpi, original name of the god Pa-nepi, which may even have been Nephi.

Paanchi (BM), son of Pahoran, Sr., and pretender to the chief-judgeship. Paanchi (OW), son of Kherihor, a) chief high priest of Amon, b) ruler of the south who conquered all of Egypt and was high priest of Amon at Thebes.

Pahoran (BM), a) great chief judge, b) son of the same. Pa-her-an (OW), ambassador of Egypt in Palestine, where his name has the
"Reformed" reading Pahura; in Egyptian as Pa-her-y it means "the Syrian" or Asiatic.

Pacumeni (BM), son of Pahoran. Pakamen (OW), Egyptian proper name meaning "blind man"; also Pamenches (Gk. Pachomios), commander of the south and high priest of Horus.

Pachus (BM), revolutionary leader and usurper of the throne. Pa-ks and Pach-qs (OW), Egyptian proper name. Compare Pa-ches-i, "he is praised."

Sam (BM), brother of Nephi. Sam Tawi (OW), Egyptian "uniter of the lands," title taken by the brother of Nehri upon mounting the throne.
Seezor-am and Zeezr-om (BM), a depraved judge, and a lawyer, resp., the latter also the name of a city. Zoser, Zeser, etc. (OW), Third Dynasty ruler, one of the greatest Pharaohs.

Zemna-ri-hah (BM), robber chief. Zmn-ha-re (OW), Egyptian proper name: the same elements as the above in different order--a
common Egyptian practice.

Zeniff (BM), ruler of Nephite colony. Znb, Snb (OW), very common elements in Egyptian proper names, cf. Senep-ta.

Zenoch (BM), according to various Nephite writers, an ancient Hebrew prophet. Zenekh (OW), Egyptian proper name; once a serpent-god.

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After having not provided you with a Mormon Message Video with the past two posts, I have provided you now with the most recent one available:

Mormon Message: "The Missing Piece"

Before returning to this blog post you may want to consider viewing some of the other related videos listed on that lds.org page. Click on any others you choose to also view.

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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Jesus Christ Testifies of His Own Eternal Role Personally To the Nephites in Ancient America- Post 41g. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetic Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

_____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

41f -The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ! Part XI: Lehi, Amaleki, Two Nephis, Each Testified of Jesus Christ in That Book of Books!

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life -by Jerry Thompson

I Nephi 11: 1 FOR it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?

3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.

4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.

6 And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.

7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God. And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. (emphasis added)

Those were the words of the prophet Nephi, fourth oldest son of the prophet, Lehi. Below is a picture depicting Nephi on his trek across the Arabian Peninsula along with his father and the rest of the family, some relatives and at least one friend, towards their Promised Land in the Western Hemisphere. Below the picture are additional words spoken by an angel to Nephi:

Nephi, along with the Rest of His Father's Family and Others Trek Across a desert! -by Scott Snow

I Nephi 11: 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul. (emphasis added)

Thus Nephi became a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a part of the ten posts in this series of posts entitled: "The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ"

I included those three verses of Nephi's in an earlier post. I also led you to the testimonies of many additional prophets whose words of testimony of Jesus Christ are recorded in the Book of Mormon. And there are still others to come in upcoming posts!

Actually, I inadvertently overlooked including in my list of prophecies of Christ, the very first prophecy found of Him in the Book of Mormon which was made by Nephi's father, Lehi and recorded by Nephi. It is found in the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon. It is in the book of I Nephi which was written by Lehi's son, Nephi. It is as follows:



Lehi Preaching -by Del Parson

I Nephi 1:8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he (Nephi's father, Lehi) was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. (emphasis and clarification added)

Although Lehi did not mention the name of the one he saw whose luster was "above that of the sun at noon-day," it is clear, that He, about whom he, Lehi, was speaking was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, as he mentioned the twelve others following him, who we can easily determine were the future Twelve Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I mistakenly thought that this post, 41f would be one of the very final posts in which I feature the testimonies of Jesus Christ which are found in the Book of Mormon,
Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In the process of writing this series which was proceeded about one year earlier by another, very similar series, I became truly amazed at the number of testimonies of Jesus Christ found in this book of books. By the way, The word, Jesus, is mentioned in that book a phenomenal number of times. In Post 41d I quoted LDS scholar, Terryl L. Givens as having written:

"For sheer number of references to Christ, the Book of Mormon is a scripture without parallel. In one study, for example, an LDS scholar calculates that "a reference to Christ occurs every 1.7 verses, or once every two sentences" throughout that scripture. More frequently per verse than in the New Testament asserts another. The irony of all this is that Mormons find themselves reviled as non-Christians by many fundamentalist Protestants while holding sacred not two testaments of Christ, but three."

The point of all of this is that the Book of Mormon is very truly and surely, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It stands side by side with the New Testament in bearing witness to that splendiferous truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God! Forgive me for getting carried away about this great truth by brightening up that long, but meaningful word. (In case English is not your native language, my 1953 Webster's Collegiate Dictionary tells its meaning: splendiferous: splendid, gorgeous.)

Now, here come some more of the testimonies of Jesus Christ that are found in this book of books, The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Amaleki, son of Abinadom, (279 to 130 B.C.)

Omni: 1: 25 And it came to pass that I began to be old; and, having no seed, and knowing king Benjamin to be a just man before the Lord, wherefore, I shall deliver up these plates unto him, exhorting all men to come unto God, the Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are good; for there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord; and that which is evil cometh from the devil.

26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.(emphasis added)

Here is another sure testimony of Jesus Christ.

Nephi, son of Nephi, son of Helaman (About 23-20 B.C.)

Helaman 8: 13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.

14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.

15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.



Moses and the Brass Serpent -by Judith Mehr

16 And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.

17 Yea, and behold, Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.

18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.(The prophets' names below which are marked with an * are prophets before Father Lehi's times whose records were on the Plates of Brass which Lehi's sons obtained from Jerusalem through challenging circumstances. They are some of the records of prophets' words that are not found in our Old Testament. (emphasis by an asterisk added)

19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos* did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.

20 And behold, also Zenock*, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? (emphasis and clarification added)

Noah Building the Ark -by Harry Anderson



Enoch and the City of Zion -by Del Parson

I just now noticed several points made by this later Nephi who lived in about 23-20 (B.C.) that some of you might question. How did he know several important things that had occurred in Palestine many thousands of miles away and across a great ocean. It is mentioned in verse 20 of Helaman Chapter 8 that the Nephites knew that Jerusalem had been destroyed. He also wrote that King Zedekiah, who was the king in Jerusalem at the time this Nephi's ancestor, Lehi fled Jerusalem in about 600 B.C. along with his family and relatives, had been killed by the Babylonians after Father Lehi and his group had left Jerusalem on their way to their promised land which turned out to be in Central America! How did this Nephi know of these two facts of history?

You may know the answer to this question already (highlighted below), but perhaps not. Let me explain:

In the Book of Mormon, in the book of Helaman (perhaps this Nephi's grandfather (Helaman), reported: (Helaman, Chapter 8, verse 21) that King Zedekiah (King of Israel at the time Lehi and his group left Jerusalem) and each of his sons except for his youngest, Mulek, were killed by the Babylonians.

How did the Nephites know of this? They didn't have T.V. or the Internet or cell phones or transoceanic cables! They had no means of communication with the Jews in Israel!

The Nephites knew that, from what we read in those Book of Mormon passages, that Jews, other than Lehi and his group, also had later fled Jerusalem, and also had built a boat and were guided to Central America as had Lehi. Helaman reports that these Jews, the Mulekites, came without the holy scriptures and therefore, their spirituality was greatly neglected. They linked with the Nephites who had the holy scriptures (contained on the Brass Plates of Laban) which gave them access to spiritual matters.

From this large group of people who called themselves, Mulekites (after the youngest and only surviving son of King Zedekiah) Helaman and his Nephite people learned many facts concerning the killing by the Babylonians of their king Zedekiah and all his sons except for the kings's youngest son, Mulek. There his descendants and the descendants of his people were found by the Nephites. The Mulekites became a part of the Nephite nation.

That's how the Nephites found out about that piece of history which they otherwise could have never found out about, living so far from Jerusalem (in Central America)! The Book of Mormon is a true record and what I have just written is one important piece of evidence that that is so! (emphasis added)

Birth of Baby Jesus -by Carl Heinrich Bloch

I have decided that there is most likely enough scriptural references for you in this post already even though I have additional prophetic testimonies of Jesus Christ to tell you about.

Once again I have chosen to not feature a Mormon Message because I have chosen to feature the writings of an LDS scholar. These scholars are each personally devoted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are active members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as am I. Although not being a scholar in the sense that these men are, I greatly appreciate and welcome their scholarly insights into the Book of Mormon. They are skilled in research on what has been written, for and against the Book of Mormon. They are particularly skilled in expressing clarifying insights into that book of books!

In this post I will quote from an article written by a Law Professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah (U.S.A.). He is John W. Welch whom I have quoted previously in my blog posts. This article is found in the April 1985 issue of the Ensign Magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In order to make the entire article available to you I will provide a link below which upon clicking on it you will have access to the entire article which you can save in your Internet and bookmark it so you can access it at various times in your efforts to read all of it.

However, I have copied John Welch's introduction to his article to give you a feel for what is to follow in his complete article. Actually his article is about another LDS scholar who I have quoted in a number of my blog posts, Dr. Hugh Nibley. His scholarly insights into the Book of Mormon are exceptionally clear and convincing.

John Welch is a very experienced writer who I have quoted previously, specifically on the subject of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, he being the first LDS Church Member to discover this.

HERE IS JOHN WELCH'S INTRODUCTION TO THE ENSIGN MAGAZINE ARTICLE I INVITE YOU TO READ BY CLICKING ON THE LINK I PROVIDE JUST AFTER THE INTRODUCTION YOU WILL BE READING

.

John W. Welch, “Hugh Nibley and the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, Apr 1985, 50

Drawing by Chris Maggio

At first light on 6 June 1944, the first of many allied landing craft began hitting the beaches of Normandy. At Utah Beach, twelve men dangling from one of the emerging jeeps cheered their driver on as they surged up from beneath the surface of the chilly English Channel waters.

That driver, an army intelligence officer with a Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of California at Berkeley, was none other than Hugh W. Nibley, age 34.

While preparing for the invasion, Hugh had visited several antiquarian bookstores in London—walking out with armloads of Arabic and Greek literary treasures. He had also, on the sly, slipped a copy of the Book of Mormon into one of the fifty-five pockets in his regimental intelligence corps fatigues.

“It was right there at Utah Beach,” Hugh still vividly recalls, “as we were a couple of feet under water, that it really hit me—how astonishing the Book of Mormon truly is. It had never occurred to me before, but all I could think of all that day was how wonderful this Book of Mormon was.” 1

Judged by any standard, the Book of Mormon is nothing ordinary. So it seems only right that possibly the most illustrious scholar yet to have investigated the Book of Mormon should have become fascinated with it in no ordinary way. Since Utah Beach, Hugh Nibley was never again the same. Nor was Book of Mormon scholarship.

Hugh Nibley and the Book of Mormon

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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Jesus Christ Testifies of His Own Eternal Role Personally To the Nephites in Ancient America -Post 41f. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetic Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)

__________

"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
_____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.


If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is my Spanish Blog Its content is translated from the English in this blog.


Neil Birch