The Book of Mormon

by Joseph Smith Jr.

And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.

for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.

and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God.

These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.

the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.

I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.

Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.

And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.

It baffles me that a husband who truly loves his wife could say that it would have been better for her to die than to live in the wilderness and "suffer" like he's the one being put out because of her trials

Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.

They sound like little spoiled brats. It must have been exasperating to hear them go on and on

45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder. 46 And ye also know

Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you;

that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up.

O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?

In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God,

If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God.

And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would not suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.

And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.

And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.

9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.

yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself,

as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up,

and to be cru...

and to be buried in a ...

three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given un...

The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, a...

And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim:

The God of nature suffers.

And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they shall be s...

because they crucify the God...

and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glo...

14 And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss...

when that day...

that they no more turn aside their hearts against the H...

then will he remember the covenants which he made ...

Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, wi...

from the four quarters of...

Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvati...

every nation, kindred, tongue and people sh...

18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would r...

For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;

palms of my...