The Sealed Book from the Mormon Plates
Acts of the Three Nephites
CHAPTER 6
1 This is how Jesus told us while he was among us: "If you obey my commandments strictly and keep my covenants, then you will be my special property among all the peoples of the earth. And you yourselves will become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
2 As part of his covenant with Abraham, that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by means of a “chosen seed”, He, Jesus, being the “Promised Descendant”, kept this same promise among the children of Lehi, placing upon me, Nephi, the presidency of the high priesthood of His Church, and to my descendants after me, from generation to generation as regards that of his administration here in the land of our inheritance, in parallels with the administration of the Church of Christ in the land of Jerusalem; for how much I, and my descendants, according to the diligence that we show for the Gospel of Christ, will be the channels of revelation for the church in this land of promise, since we have no contact with him who holds the keys of the kingdom, laid upon his head by the hands of Jesus Christ when he ministered among the Jews in the land of our ancestors.
3 The basis of this promise, that extended over the firstborn of this seed, it is superimposed upon the head of a righteous descendant from the line of Nephi, if the firstborn has not the desire to fill this office in the place of his father, or is not worthy of such.
4 Being that I, Nephi myself, with whom Christ made this covenant, I tell you with all the strength of my heart, that we, the Nephites, can become, yea, this special property for Jesus Christ among all other peoples from the earth and become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
5 Know therefore, all of you, O people of the Church of Christ, that Melchizedek was king and priest at the same time, with office to the high priesthood equal to Enoch. And now we have this same designation left over Nephi's head, and extended to every Nephite nation with the opportunity to produce "a kingdom of priests" and thus, to promote a royal priesthood among the peoples of the earth.
6 But this condition depends on strictly obeying the commandments of Christ and indeed keeping his covenants.
7 Nevertheless, let us definitely understand that the law of Moses, which was brought by our ancestors to this land of promise, has served as a tutor until Christ appears among us and gives us a new covenant, in which the promise made, is that we will be a kingdom of priests according to the order of Melchizedek, in which the high priesthood, as it was in the beginning, shall be restored in the latter days.
8 And now, brethren, behold, I, Nephi, being the one upon whom Christ appointed for presidency of the high priesthood among His Church here in the land of our inheritance, I call you to the general assembly to require you to keep His commandments, and to dignify ourselves before His eyes as a holy people and worthy of His grace.
9 So let us stand up to erect the society and city that Jesus Christ has presented to us, so that we may enter into his rest.
10 Remember, however, that all good feelings come from God; and that evil sentiments proceed from the devil, and that it will not be possible to erect such a United Order, the likeness of the city of Enoch, among the Nephites, if in any way do unbalance to the divine nature that is in you, allowing that the bad feelings derived from evil penetrate into your hearts.
11 Because the devil is an enemy of God and his gifts distill feelings that poison the good heart, waging constant struggle between the gifts of life with those who produce death.
12 Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you; that every feeling that persuades men to do good among their brethren, and impels them to love, it proceeds from the hand of God.
13 But, behold, every sentiment which is opposed to these, though seeming to be beneficial, if it does not meet the needs of its fellowmen, in love, then it proceeds from the evil.
14 Therefore, be careful not to fall into the traps of the devil and be entangled in his fishing net, for the sentiments derived from his gifts tend to be similar to divine feelings, while deceiving the earthly man with such persuasion, to the point of men qualify the bad as good and the good with bad.
15 But, behold, Jesus Christ did not leave us completely forsaken when he departed, but sent us the Holy Spirit, who is given to us by the gift of the Holy Spirit, after baptism, by the laying on of the hands of those who possess the due authority so that we may distinguish good from evil and have a perfect discernment to separate the darkness from the light that fills our hearts, and thus choose to follow the path of clarity through the teachings of his gospel.
16 Therefore, I beseech you, brethren and friends, that together with us remain gathered in the Church of Christ as one body and diligently seek to distinguish between the darkness of the devil and the light of Christ in his way of feeling and put aside all that is detrimental to their way of life.
17 This, therefore, is the secret that God protected and sealed to the knowledge of the
past ages, to be revealed only in the fullness of times. Therefore, when He created the first man and the first woman, God endowed them with the fullness of his being and there was no evil feeling in their hearts, but because of their fall, their descendants inherited sin and death, and the weakness of the soul, and the bondage of the spirit in themselves.
18 This causes man to be enslaved by the opposing sentiments created by the archenemy of our God, and unless we submit to living under the guidance of heavenly laws, by mutual agreement of the laws of his gospel, we shall never be wholly free from corruption and lusts that continually attack our hearts through a whirlwind of feelings and a stupor of thoughts, which continually divert us from the path we must follow.
19 But with the Holy Spirit of God, through His gifts, Zion will overflow with peace and meekness among the citizens, for the good feelings, as if it were a voice in our ears1, will have to indicate us the way forward, amen!
(1) Isaiah 30:21
20 These were the words of my father, Nephi, in remembrance of the teachings of Christ, when the twelve gathered all the Nephites from among the Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites for the purpose of building among them the city of Zion and a new Jerusalem, as prophesied by the prophets of the past. Being that more than a thousand souls were baptized in that occasion because of the words of my father.