This is the last chapter that Nephi quotes Isaiah... Imagine how Nephi must have felt knowing that Isaiah was talking about the very plates he was writing on and that those who have "slumbered"...was him (Nephi and his family)! Wrap your mind about that!
6 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto a the words of a book, (the book of Mormon) and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered. (people that have passed away like Nephi, Mormon, Moroni etc.)
7 And behold the book shall be
a; and in the book shall be a
b from God, from the beginning of the world to the
c thereof.
I wonder if the "sealed" part of those plates will ever be revealed to us...perhaps during the Millennium??
Verse 9...
9 But the book shall be delivered unto a man, (Joseph Smith) and he shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words of those who have slumbered in the dust, and he (Martin Harris) shall deliver these words untoa; (Professor Charles Anthon) JSH 1:63-65
15 But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying: a this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither the book, and I will read them.
19 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.
12 Witnesses...
Isaiah gives specific detail about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and tells us about the Three Witnesses.
12 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three b shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.
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Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer & Martin Harris
Their testimonies are in the beginning of the Book of Mormon |
13 And there is anon other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were b.
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The Eight Witness
The 8 witnesses were: Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith Sr, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith.Testimonies also found at the beginning of the Book of Mormon |
14 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses (you, me, missionaries...how are we doing?) as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him thata the word of God!
Verses 20-22 go with this quote I think...
20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am
a to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.
21 a the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.
22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the a which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own b to c all things unto the children of men.2 Nephi 27:10–11. “For the book shall be sealed”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of scriptures yet to be revealed:
“Many more scriptural writings will yet come to us, including those of Enoch (see
D&C 107:57), all of the writings of the Apostle John (see
Ether 4:16), the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see
2 Nephi 29:13), and the approximately two-thirds of the
Book of Mormonplates that were sealed: ‘And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth’ (
2 Nephi 27:11). Today we carry convenient quadruple combinations of the scriptures, but one day, since more scriptures are coming, we may need to pull little red wagons brimful with books” (
A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], 18).
The story is told by Brigham Young Vol. 19 in the Journal of Discourses pg 38...
"Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was jet as light as day."
"They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: 'this sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.'
12 Witnesses...???
but 3 + 8 = 11
This is where you play a part in the Book of Mormon!
1. Goal
Posted in from my lens , photo challenge