The Sealed Book from the Mormon Plates

Acts of the Three Nephites

CHAPTER 12

1 In concluding these few words that summarize the statute of the Church of Christ in regard to the administration of the law of consecration among its members, I wish to relate a few words by Jesus Christ when he commanded them to be written, to be revealed as new scriptures, according to the time and will of God to the Gentiles in the last days1. It was on this occasion that my father, Nephi, brought to him all the records of our people2.

(1) RLDS 3Nephi 10:30-33 / LDS 3Nephi 23:4-6 | (2) RLDS 3Nephi 10:35 / LDS 3Nephi 23:8

 

2 Then it came to pass that Jesus went on to explain all the words that were written in these records to his disciples in particular¹ and commanded my father Nephi to take note of his words to summarize in one single record all things. For behold, their reduced interpretation as regards these records prefigures the covenant people in the last days, when then these prophetic expressions of Jesus are to be revealed to the ranks of faithful men and women who are to compose this United Order to effect the redemption of Zion.

(1) RLDS 3Nephi 11:1 /LDS 3Nephi 23:14

 

3 They will then be eager for the knowledge of these ancient records, written by the Prophets of God in the past, and preserved for a wise purpose in the future, and that, united in one, they will give the elect people in the fulness of times a clear understanding of the way in which we, the nephites, instituted among our people the Order of Enoch, in the days when we live in peace and harmony among the brethren.

 

4 May the truths written here by my father Nephi destroy the walls that have always divided society at large and reach out to the poor and the ignorant, making them a wise and learned people in the last days, for how much the rich and the intellectuals among you become the columns of support for the progression of these who will come to the Church of Christ in the last days because of these records, which in turn, will also be preached among all nations, peoples, and languages and make them known among the chosen of the Lord in the fullness of times.

 

5 Then Jesus said, as he gazed slightly upon the book of Mosiah: "O elect generation, that shall dwell in the limit of the times appointed by my Father, to whom these words shall be trusted, when then it is time to recover my people who are a remnant of the house of Israel, for the last times".

 

6 Remember the precedents among you, yea, of the days of King Benjamin, that he caused his children to be instructed, that they might become men of understanding, and that they might know of the prophecies which were made by their fathers for the purpose to lead their own children on the path of understanding, and having with them these same directives which King Benjamin had with his little ones.

 

7 First of all, you should teach your children, just as King Benjamin did with his own children, that these records that now come to you contain the commandments and guidelines necessary for the building of Zion in relation to the last days, and that if it were not because of these plates, which were once sealed, guarded and preserved by my own hand for a wise purpose to be unveiled only in the final part of the fullness of times, then the people of the covenant in the latter days, would remain in ignorance in what it says in respect to the United Order of Enoch.

 

8 Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that if it were not because of these things which were kept and preserved by the hand of the Only Begotten of the Father; yea, I, Jesus Christ, who speaks with you that ye might be able to read and understand the mysteries of God, and have these commandments again before their eyes, then the very fathers, in the fullness of times, would degenerate and they would fall in unbelief, even before their children reached maturity and could never be taught in relation to the things written in this record.

 

9 But behold, my Father, being the same yesterday, today, and forever, was condescending before the foundation of the world to reveal these things in due time, when it was expedient, that their children might not remain lost in the darkness, but become clear in his ways, when these words are revealed to them.

 

10 But behold, you are bound as children of the covenant, to live according to all the precepts outlined in this record, dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of the wisdom revealed in your words, and, above all, engaged in the spread of these of good feelings among your brethren who will be in apostasy in the last days, as it was in the days of the iniquitous king Noah and his priestly class, composed of devout followers, as might be expected of a people blinded by the cunning of the devil, because of the precepts of men and priestly wiles among their leaders, whose priesthood of the son of God will no longer be active among them, just as he was not active among the covenant people in the days of Alma, when he walked secretly among the people corrupted of the Church of his days and began to teach the words of Abinadi.

 

11 Yea, Alma was eager to teach all who wished to hear his words, and instructed them secretly, visiting them in their homes, and marking public meetings between the stops of Mormon and baptizing them in their waters in order to live the same principles of the United Order which is now proposed to you, so as to ease the burdens of one another, to weep with those who weep, and to comfort those in need and to be witnesses of these things from God at all times, in wherever you stand, even in front of death, so that you may be found worthy to be numbered among the family of God, and correspond to the pride you must have when you take my name upon you, becoming my authorized representative among men in the flesh.

 

12 Only in this way can it be recognized by my Father as the true Church established by His Only Begotten Son among men on earth, yea, in the days when I visit them in my temple and again, rename those who repent and come to Me1, as being the “Church of Christ”.

(1) RLDS D&C 3:16a / LDS D&C 10: 67

 

13 Until this day comes, you resume upon you the name that will given by revelation in the introduction of the fullness of times, so that you may be known among the saints which will be scattered throughout, by the name that will be known as my Church in the last days1.

(1) RLDS - Revelation on building up Far West (RCH 2:151-152) / LDS D&C 115: 3

 

14 For how much, many Churches of Christ1 will be established by my servants in every corner of the earth, but woe to him who changes the name that will be revealed2 by Me the Lord. Be it in small things, in the suppression or addition of My word, or in a point of My doctrine, just as I am going to make known at the threshold of the fulness of times. — For it is necessary that every tittle or jot of my revelations be restored to their proper place by my church in the last days until all is fulfilled.

(1) RLDS D&C 98:9d-10c / LDS D&C 101:67, 75 | (2) RLDS Mosiah 1:17-18 / LDS Mosiah 1:11-12

 

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, who dare to change one of these points for Me revealed in the last days, shall be considered as transgressors of my doctrine, as it is written in the book of Mosiah; and if the true Name for Me revealed is altered, even that in the little things I reported, it is because my own doctrine has been altered in their hearts1, and when this happens, amen to the churches that once were faithful to Me, Jesus Christ.

(1) RLDS Mosiah 3:14 / LDS Mosiah 5:11

 

16 Not at all, they will not be entirely abandoned, but it will serve my interests until
I, Jesus Christ, recover what is mine and restore their inheritance and my name among
the people that I will establish in the land that I have appointed them, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, from the beginning of times.

 

17 These, therefore, shall be placed in my left hand1, until God deems it expedient, in due time, to bring them back into their true fold, and to lead them again into His right hand, by observing my commandments, as revealed in these my words, when at last these records are revealed among the covenant people in the last days.

(1) RLDS Mosiah 3:16-17 / LDS Mosiah 5:12-13

 

18 Behold, a great deal has already been written by your ancestors concerning the authority that should rule my Church on earth, just as you can inquire into the record of Mosiah on Alma, for having received authority from God, he ordained priests, and organized the Church of Christ in his days according to the ancient Order of my Gospel and commanded that they should teach only the things which he himself taught, which were in accordance with the teachings of the holy prophets of the past up to his days, without ever changing what was written earlier.

 

19 So he told them to preach nothing but repentance and faith in the Lord, lest the confusion of the people of his day be increased further, so it will also occur at the end of times, because of the many interpretations that were and will be rooted in my gospel by the precepts of men, thus stifling my sound doctrine.

 

20 He also commanded them not to contend among themselves, but to look forward with a single purpose, having one faith and one baptism, done under the proper authority that is in the priesthood, and having hearts intertwined in unity and love one to with others, so as to become legitimate heirs of the Kingdom, and they become children of God.

 

21 And Alma wisely commanded them to observe the Sabbath day, and to sanctify it, which for the people of the church in the days of Alma was but an act of observing their laws, yea, the laws of Moses. But as regards the last days, as sure as I live, behold, I say unto you, that the forces of the enemy will be manipulating the people of the Lord when these words come unto them, because they no longer observe this commandment in the ambience of their worship.

 

22 The learned scholars of the law among my people in the last days will be accustomed to look at the Sabbath with contempt, ignoring the fact of what was written by the prophets of the past. And, behold, a genuine repentance will be necessary among the elect of the fulness of times for having in too much profaned the Lord's day.

 

23 And they will be similar to careless builders, who will begin to erect a temple for Me, the Lord, without regard to the solid foundations by which it must remain unchanged, just as it is the commandment to observe the seventh day.

 

24 O people of my church, ye with whom my name shall be lifted up, yea, as a standard among the nations in the fulness of times, once and for all, you should understand that the relationship between the seventh day and the people of God is at the core of the whole truth of my gospel from before the foundation of the world until its end, and that it is perpetually intertwined with the sacrament of holy supper that I instituted among my apostles before I left Jerusalem.

 

25 Except in new moon, for how much the sacrament is to be offered at the end of the day, when the first moon appears in the heaven of every month, every month of the year, on any day of the week, as a special day of adoration1; yea, on this day my people will hold a special banquet2; in regard to the newly baptized members of my Church, so that, they can for the first time share my body which has been given for the benefit of their sins in the flesh and of my blood for the sake of an everlasting life, just as it was done among my disciples and the Nephite people, so that on this new moon day you must be filled by the Holy Spirit in a true spiritual banquet3 in honor of those who repent and are baptized in my name4.

1) Ezekiel 46:1-8 | (2) 1Samuel 20:5,18,24,27,34 | (3) RLDS 3Nephi 8:31,38 / LDS 3Nephi 18:4,9 | (4) RLDS 3Nephi 8:38-43 / LDS 3Nephi 18:9-12

 

26 For as, the first moon, they shine for the first time among my people on earth, for how much my angels celebrate with this first communion between them and the heavens, among whom many hear their songs of praise in the land.

 

27 Behold, it is on the seventh day, which was sanctified by my Father, that should introduce yourself as people before God, and offer unto him your sacraments, just as they are revealed in the holy scriptures, in righteousness of heart and a contrite spirit1; so that you may keep yourselves clean from one Sabbath to another, and as Alma has asserted among you, may render thanks to the Lord your God every day.

(1) RLDS D&C 59:2e-2f / LDS D&C 59: 8-9

 

28 These, therefore, are two indivisible signs of my priesthood, which in all ages Satan has annulled for the purpose of inhibiting the full force of my power among my people, for it is in the observance of the Sabbath law and the correct practice of the sacramental ordinance that manifests the power of divinity among the sons of men in the flesh1, and if these are not observed exactly as stipulated by Me and my Father, even before the foundation of the World, to be the same from everlasting to everlasting2, without that there be change in any letter or point of My doctrine, just as the eternal priesthood, which is without beginning or end of days, can not be altered, so it is with the my words which I have commanded you.

(1) RLDS D&C 83:3c / LDS 84:20-21 | (2) Psalms 90: 2

 

29 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, O ye elect people in the fulness of times, even as I say to these my Nephite disciples, that you will examine these things; and I say unto you also, and verily I command you that ye should search these things diligently according to the words of Isaiah. For he not only spoke all things concerning the people of Israel, but also made an account of the things that are to be restored among the Gentiles in regard to the fulness of times, that from one new moon to another and from one sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before Me, the Lord1.

(1) Isaiah 66:23

 

30 And all the things that Isaiah said were and will be fulfilled according to the things that he wrote. Therefore hearken thou to my words; and that my disciple, Nephi, write the things which I have spoken unto you concerning my people in the latter days; and according to the time and the will of the Father, these things will come to your knowledge.

 

31 And whosoever shall hearken unto these words of mine and repent and be baptized shall be saved. Therefore examine what the prophets concerning the Sabbath have said, for many bear witness to these things, as Isaiah testified, when he spoke of the full restoration of the observance in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when saying: Thus saith Jehovah: "Take heed to judgment, and do that which is just, for, behold, my salvation is about to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that shall keep to this commandment – “To keep the Sabbath, and not to profane it1".

(1) Isaiah 56:1-2

 

32 These words, therefore, apply to the Gentiles in the last days. Yea, to whom this record is to be revealed in the fulness of times, to redeem my people, which is a remnant of Jacob, as Isaiah foretold when he wrote: "Thus saith the Lord GOD, which gathereth the dispersed of Israel, and lo, I will yet gather others unto him1."

(1) Isaiah 56:8

 

33 Therefore, I preserve this doctrine and preserve it by my own hand to be restored in the last days for the purpose of fulfilling the words of Isaiah concerning the day on which I, Jesus Christ, will definitely seal the law and the testimony through these ancient Records for the restoration of this important commandment among My disciples that I will gather with the house of Jacob1.

(1) Isaiah 8:16-18

 

34 And once again I will recite to you the words of Isaiah concerning this people who await me in the fullness of times: "And they that shall proceed from thee shall build the ancient ruins; and thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, and restorer of the ways of our inheritance.”

 

35 If therefore thou turn aside thy foot from profaning the Sabbath, and to take care of thy own interests on My holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delightful and holy day of the Lord, honorable, and honor it not by following your own ways and not intending to do your own will or speaking empty words on this day, then you will delight in the Lord your God.

 

36 And I myself will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth of your inheritance, and I will uphold thee as the heirs of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath said, that ye are a remnant of his seed1.

(1) Isaiah 58:12-14