1 Ne 13 Nephi
switches continents.
Now Nephi will
see many nations and kingdoms of Europe and
Asia. The time period covered in chapter 13 extends approximately from the
destruction of the Nephites, in 385 AD, to the 20th century. This chapter
chronicles the church of Europe in the Middle Ages, Columbus, other explorers
and their conquests, changes made to the Bible when it was compiled, the
founding fathers, the Revolutionary War, the effect of the Bible on the
Europeans and early Americans, the re-establishment o the gospel of Jesus Christ, the early church leaders, the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon, and the preaching of the gospel to the descendants
of the Lamanites. It is amazing that this chapter could contain that much
history in only 42 verses.
1 Ne 13:3 Who
are the kingdoms of the Gentiles?
Based on the
context of Nephi’s vision, the kingdoms of the Gentiles are those nations which
were under the influence of the great church (v. 4). This would approximate the
influence of the Roman Empire and include all of Western Europe, most of
Eastern Europe, some of Asia Minor, and some of Northern Africa.
1 Ne 13:5 The
great and abominable church
Bruce R.
McConkie
“Nephi saw the
‘church which is most abominable above all other churches’ in vision. He ‘saw
the devil that he was the foundation of it’; and also the murders, wealth,
harlotry, persecutions, and evil desires that are part of this organization (1
Ne 13:1-10)
“He saw that
this church took away from the gospel of the Lamb many covenants and many plain
and precious parts; that it perverted the right ways of the Lord; that it
deleted many teachings from the Bible; that it was ‘the mother of harlots’; and
finally that the Lord would again restore the gospel of salvation. (1 Ne. 13:24-42.)
“Similar
visions were given to John as recorded in the 17th and 18th chapters of
Revelation. He saw this evil church as a whole ruling over peoples, multitudes,
nations and tongues; as being full of blasphemy abominations, filthiness, and
fornication; as having the name, ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’; as drunken with the blood of the
saints; as revelling in wealth and the delicacies of the earth; as making
merchandise of all costly items and of ‘slaves, and souls of men.’ And then
John, as did Nephi, saw the fall and utter destruction of this great church
whose foundation is the devil.
“In this world
of carnality and sensuousness, the great and abominable church will continue
its destructive course. But there will be an eventual future day when evil
shall end, ‘and the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the
earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire.’ (D. & C. 29:21; Ezek.
38; 39; 1 Ne. 22:23; Rev. 18.) Before
that day, however, desolations will sweep through the earth and the various
branches of the great and abominable church ‘shall war among themselves, and
the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be
drunken with their own blood.’ (1 Ne. 22:13-14; 14:3.)” (Mormon Doctrine,
pp.138-9)
1 Ne 13:12 Who
is this man among the Gentiles?
“During seven
long years Columbus importuned King Ferdinand for a hearing. But he was
generally regarded as a visionary. Even the children in the streets knew him as
one mentally unsound. When, at last, the learned council condescended to make a
report, it was to the effect that the plan was too foolish to merit attention.
‘It is absurd," they said, "to believe that there are people on the
other side of the world, walking with their heels upward, and their heads
hanging down. And then, how can a ship get there? The torrid zone through which
they must pass, is a region of fire, where the very waves boil. And even if a
ship could perchance get around there safely, how could it ever get back? Can a
ship sail uphill?’
“With such
arguments the wise men of Spain were about to drive Columbus out of the
country. In fact, he decided to go to France. But, fortunately, the queen,
Isabella, had as much to say in such matters as her royal consort. And she
listened to friends of Columbus. She was even willing to raise money on her
jewels to defray the expenses of a voyage. But this was not required of her.
Luis de Santangel, who held the keys to the treasury of Aragon, looked after
the finances. The agreement between the regents and Columbus was signed on
April 17, 1492. Columbus shed tears of joy. He had reached the goal, after
eighteen long years of labor, disappointments and heartache.
“Columbus is
described as a man of commanding presence, tall and powerful, fair, ruddy
complexion, and blue-grey eyes. By the time he sailed for the new world, his
hair had turned white. His bearing was courteous and his conversation was
captivating. Notwithstanding all discouragement, he never lost faith in his
divine calling and mission.
“It was on
August 3, 1492, that Columbus with three vessels-the Santa Maria, the Pinta,
and the Niña, with 90 souls on board-set out from Palos, Spain. It was on
October 12, the same year that Columbus with a retinue of officers and men set
foot on the beach of an island which he named San Salvador.” (Reynolds and
Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 119)
1 Ne 13:12 the Spirit of God…came down and wrought upon the man
“According to
the vision of Nephi, it was the Spirit of God that prompted first Columbus and
then the Gentiles to go forth upon the waters.
“That Columbus
considered himself inspired is well authenticated history. The following from
an enlightening article by Mark Petersen on, ‘American History and Nephi's
Vision,’ published in the Deseret News, March 25, 1933, proves that he was very
much conscious of his divine calling:
"Many
biographies have been written concerning Columbus. We take one at random, and quote
from 'Columbus, Don Quixote of the Seas,' by Jacob Wasserman, translated into
English from the German by Eric Sutton and published in Boston:
“’On page 18
of this book, Columbus is directly quoted as follows:
“’From my
first youth onward, I was a seaman, and have so continued until this day.
Wherever ship has been I have been. I have spoken and treated with learned men,
priests and laymen, Latin and Greeks, Jews and Moors, and with many men of
other faiths. The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and he bestowed upon me
courage and understanding; knowledge of seafaring he gave me in abundance; of
astrology as much as was needed, and of geometry and astronomy likewise.
Further, he gave me joy and cunning in drawing maps and thereon cities,
mountains, rivers, islands and the harbors, each one in its place. I have seen
and truly I have studied all books, cosmographies, histories, chronicles and
philosophies, and other arts, for which our Lord with provident hand unlocked
my mind, sent me upon the seas, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard
of my emprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but
that the HOLY GHOST INSPIRED ME?’
“’On page 46
of the same book, we read that in the year of his success, Columbus wrote upon
one occasion to King Ferdinand: ‘I CAME TO YOUR MAJESTY AS THE EMISSARY OF THE
HOLY GHOST.’” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon,
vol. 1, p. 121)
1 Ne 13:14 the seed of my brethren…were scattered before the Gentiles
and were smitten
The 1981 Book
of Mormon Student Manual reads:
“The
fulfillment of Nephi’s prophecy concerning the scattering of the seed of his
brethren is so vast a topic as to fill volumes and can be touched on here only
briefly. It is one of the most tragic stories of history, equaling in many ways
the persecution and suffering of the Jewish people through the centuries. (See
1 Ne 19:13-15)
“From the time
Columbus landed in the West Indies, the destruction and driving of the Indian
people began. The extent of this destruction has only recently started coming
to full light. For example, Wilbur R. Jacobs a noted historian, refutes the
earlier projections made by European and American scholars of the Indian
population at the time Columbus arrived in the Western Hemisphere in 1492. Estimates
used to place the Indian population of North America at about a million, and in
both North and South America at no more than 8 million. However, according to
Jacobs, modern projections which are widely accepted today place the total at
90 million for the whole of the Western Hemisphere and nearly 10 million in
North America alone. (See “The Indian and the Frontier in American History—A
Need for Revision,” Western Historical Quarterly, Jan. 1973, p. 45.)
When this total of 10 million Indians living in North America is compared with
the estimated 235,000 who were alive at the turn of the twentieth century, one
begins to glimpse the scope of the tragedy…
.”…That story
was repeated numerous times at the hands of men like Cortez, Pizzaro, and
DeSoto, in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. The scenes viewed by
Nephi six hundred years before Christ were fulfilled with horrible reality. As
one author put it:
“’Here was a
race in process of being engulfed in an irresistible flood of peoples of an utterly
different culture. Dislocated from their accustomed seats, transplanted again
and again, treated by whites as hostile encumbrances of the fertile earth to be
brushed aside or destroyed, bewildered by a type of economy for which they were
unprepared, decimated by disease and vices to which they had built up no
resistance, repeatedly seeing solemn treaties violated, subject to shifting
governmental policies, preyed upon by incompetent and greedy officials, and at
times demoralized by an excess of well intentioned but ill directed
paternalistic kindness, it is a wonder that the Indians survived.’ (Kenneth
Scott Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity, The Great
Century, vol. 4, p. 323)” (Book of Mormon Student Manual, 1981, pp.
34-5)
1 Ne 13:13-19
The pilgrims, the Revolutionary War, and the founding fathers lay the
foundation for the Restoration
An article in
the June 1999 Ensign, entitled “Preparing for the Restoration,”
discusses these historical developments as preludes to the restoration of the
gospel:
“On the
occasion of the Church’s centennial in 1930, the First presidency declared: ‘It
was not by chance that the Puritans left their native land and sailed away to
the shores of New England, and that others followed later. They were the
advance guard of the army of the Lord, [foreordained] to establish the
God-given system of government under which we live….and prepare the way for the
restoration of the Gospel of Christ.’
“President
Ezra Taft Benson taught that ‘all of the great events that have transpired [in
America], including the coming of Columbus and of the Pilgrim fathers, were
foreseen by ancient prophets.’ After prophesying about Columbus, Nephi
continued: ‘I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the
many waters’ (1 Ne 13:13). Writers such as Plymouth Plantation governor
William Bradford (1590-1657) described the persecution and imprisonment the
Pilgrims endured in Europe before they fled to America in search of religious
liberty.
“Nephi foresaw
that the colonists would ‘humble themselves before the Lord’ (1 Ne 13:16).
William Bradford recorded that as the Pilgrims set sail on their voyage to
America, ‘they had a day of solemn humiliation,’ their pastor proclaiming ‘a
fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God.’ Acting under inspiration,
the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact, said to be ‘the first written
constitution in North America,’ which called for obedience to laws enacted by
the group rather than decreed by a monarch.
“The Puritans
subsequently settled in Massachusetts Bay and eventually absorbed the Pilgrims.
However, the Puritans were not tolerant of those who did not believe as they
did. One of the dissenters among the Puritans was Roger Williams, who believed
in religious freedom and maintained that the apostolic church organized by
Christ was no longer on the earth. After banishment, Williams and his followers
founded Providence, Rhode Island, and adopted principles that became important traditions
in the United States, such as democracy, freedom of religion, and separation of
church and state.
“Colonists in
other parts of America also worked for religious freedom. Under the leadership
of the Calvert family, Roman Catholics settled in Maryland and in 1649 passed
the Act of Toleration, which advocated freedom of conscience. In 1681 the king
of England granted a charter of land to devout Quaker William Penn, whose
colony in Pennsylvania became a model of religious tolerance. Of these colonists
President Benson wrote, ‘The Pilgrims of Plymouth, the Calverts of Maryland,
Roger Williams, William Penn—all had deep religious convictions that played a
principal part in their coming to the New World. They too, I believe, came here
under the inspiration of heaven.’
“The final
event that Nephi observed in his vision of the American colonies was the War
for Independence. He wrote:
“’And
I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and
upon the land also, to do battle against them.
“And
I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God
was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
“And
I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered
by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations’ (1 Ne
13:17-19).
“President
Wilford Woodruff taught: ‘Those men who laid the foundation of this American
government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the
God of heaven could find on the face of the earth….General Washington and all
the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.’ President
Woodruff also related: ‘Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of
Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the
Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights and
demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the
House of God for them.’
“George
Washington gave credit to God for the victory of the United States. In his
farewell address to his army, he said: ‘The disadvantageous circumstances on
our part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The
singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as
could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the
unparalleled perseverance of the Armies of the [United] States, through almost
every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years,
was little short of a standing miracle.’ President Spencer W. Kimball said:
‘The Lord permitted these few poorly armed and ill-clad men at Valley Forge and
elsewhere to defeat a great army,…a few against the many, but the few had on
their side the Lord God of heaven, that gave them victory. And there came
political liberty and religious liberty with it, all in preparation for the day
when a young boy would come forth and would seek and make contact with the Lord
and open the doors of heaven again.’
“After the
colonists won their independence, they experimented for a short time with a
government under the Articles of Confederation. When they found that method
inadequate, leaders turned their attention to drafting a new form of
government. Few, if any, people on earth hold the resulting United States
Constitution in higher esteem than do Latter-day Saints. The Lord has said: ‘That every man may act in doctrine and principle…according
to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable
for his own sins in the day of judgment…
“And
for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands
of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by
the shedding of blood’ (DC 101:78,80).
“The Constitution
and Bill of Rights applied directly to the needs of a new religion because they
provided for freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. Later the
Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘the Constitution of the United States is a
glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly
banner.’” (Arnold K. Garr, June 1999 Ensign, pp 38-40)
1 Ne 13:23 it is a record like….the plates of brass, save there are
not so many
Earlier in
this commentary, we have discussed that the brass plates of Laban contained
many prophecies not contained in the Old Testament. Here Nephi tells directly
compares the size of the brass plates record to our Old Testament record and he
states that the brass plates were larger. This means there must have been a lot
of records contained in that work that we do not have now, probably much more
than the three additional prophets that Nephi mentions: Zenos, Zenock, and Neum
(1 Ne 19:10).
1 Ne 13:26 they have taken away….many parts which are plain and most
precious
The ministry
of Joseph Smith fortunately replaced many, but not all, of the plain and
precious parts of the Bible which were taken away. His retranslation of the
Bible restored great truths, especially about the events written in Genesis.
This is seen in the entire book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation of
Genesis, especially chapter 50.
The historical
events surrounding the creation of the New Testament record are poorly
recorded. No single person or group has been attributed with the compilation of
the Bible as we know it and the year that it was put together is still in
dispute. Therefore, external evidence corroborating Nephi’s claim is lacking.
This in no way takes away from the truthfulness of his statement. There is
evidence, however, that epistles of early church leaders were evaluated at
different times and judgments were made as to whether they should be included
as canon or not. Some of these works were probably spurious, but others were
probably inspired. The historical record is complete enough to list some of
these works and the confusion which at times prevailed over what records should
be included in the New Testament. A historian of the 18th century
named Mosheim recorded:
“As to the
time when and the persons by whom, the books of the New Testament were
collected into one volume, there are various opinions, or rather conjectures,
of the learned; for the subject is attended with great and almost inexplicable
difficulties to us of these latter times. It must sufficed to know, that before
the middle of the second century, most of the books composing the New Testament
were in every Christian Church throughout the known world, and were read and
regarded as the divine rule of faith and practice.
“…Not long
after the Saviour’s ascension, various histories of his life and doctrines full
of impositions and fables were composed by persons of no bad intentions
perhaps, but who were superstitious, simple, and addicted to pious frauds; and
afterwards various spurious writings were palmed upon the world, inscribed with
the names of the holy apostles. These worthless productions would have wrought
great confusion, and would have rendered both the history and the religion of
Christ uncertain, had not the rulers of churches seasonably interposed, and
caused the books which were truly divine and which came from apostolic hands,
to be speedily separated from that mass of trash into a volume by themselves.”
(Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, 6th ed., 1868, pp. 36-39)
In light of
Nephi’s statement, one can’t help but wonder if the works which are referred to
by Mosheim as “spurious writings…worthless productions…mass of trash” weren’t
in actuality, “plain and precious.” Here we see evidence that the “rulers of
churches” interceded to decide what should be included and what should be
excluded. Mosheim next chronicles a series of these other works which were
excluded. They include the works of Clement, a bishop at Antioch and companion
of the early elders of the church, the Epistle of Polycarp, who had
direct contact with John, the Revelator, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd
of Hermas, and many others.
James E.
Talmage recorded the importance of councils held later to determine what should
be included as canon:
“In addition
to individual testimony we have that of ecclesiastical councils and official
bodies, by whom the question of authenticity [of the books of the New
Testament] was tried and decided. In this connection may be mentioned the
Council of Nice, 325 A.D.; the Council of Laodicea, 363 A.D.; the Council of
Hippo, 393 A.D.; the third and the sixth Councils of Carthage, 397 and 419 A.D.
“Since the
date last named, no dispute as to the authenticity of the New Testament has
claimed much attention. The present is too late a time and the separating
distance too vast to encourage the reopening of the question. The New Testament
must be accepted for what it claims to be; and though, perhaps, many precious
parts have been suppressed or lost, while some corruptions of the texts may
have crept in, and errors have been inadvertently introduced through the
incapacity of translators, the volume as a whole must be admitted as authentic
and credible, and as an essential part of the Holy Scriptures.” (A Study of
the Articles of Faith, James E. Talmage, p. 248)
1 Ne 13:30 the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren
The context of
verse 30 is that the Americans would not utterly destroy the native American
Indians, described by Nephi as the mixture of thy
seed, which are among thy brethren. But how could Nephi’s seed be alive
in the 18th & 19th centuries? The simplified version
of history records that the Lamanites killed the Nephites in about 385 AD.
However, the Book of Mormon record states that there were Lamanites among the
Nephites and Nephites among the Lamanites. These had chosen their allegience
based on religious and political lines and not racial lines. Therefore, it
should not be surprising that the promise was given to Nephi that some of his
seed would be preserved even after the final destruction of the Nephites. This
means that some Nephites who had defected to the Lamanite side would merge with
Lamanite society (see Alma 45:13) and the blood of Nephi would be preserved.
Mormon records
that some Nephites had been mixed with the Lamanites, And
they (the records) have been handed down from
one generation to another by the Nephites, even until they have fallen into
transgression and have been murdered plundered, and hunted, and driven forth,
and slain, and scattered upon the face of the earth, and mixed with the
Lamanites until they are no more called the Nephites, becoming wicked, and
wild, and ferocious, yea, even becoming Lamanites (Hel 3:16). Moroni’s
statement that after the final great battle that the Lamanites put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ (Mor
1:2) implies that there were Nephites who
preserved their lives by denying the Christ and joined the Lamanite society.
1 Ne 13:37 Blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at
that day…How beautiful upon the mountains shall they be
This passage
has reference to the prophecy of Isaiah found in Isa 52:7, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace. Nephi was referring to
those who would bring forth the kingdom of God in the latter days. Few would
doubt that men like Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt,
Willard Richards, John Taylor, Oliver Cowdery, and a hundred others were
foreordained to the great work of the Restoration. Sometimes, we underestimate
the importance of an event because of our proximity to it. The Restoration of
priesthood keys, saving ordinances, and temple worship is the key to saving the
entire earth from destruction. This destruction would come with the Second
Coming of the Lord. Joseph Smith was told what would happen without the
Restoration, If it were not so, the whole earth
would be utterly wasted at his coming (JS-H 1:39).
1 Ne 13:39
What are the other books?
The other
books must be the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of
Great Price. It may also include those other works powerful enough to change
the lives of men and women seeking for the truth.
1 Ne 13:42 the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
This scripture has been confusing to some but is quite simple. The “first” refers to the house of Israel; the “last” refers to the Gentiles. Christ made it clear during his ministry that he was sent only to the house of Israel. In speaking to the woman of Canaan, he said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 15:24). Although the Jews had rejected the Lord on several previous occasions (during Old Testament times), the Lord in his mercy gave them the opportunity to accept Jehovah as he ministered among them in the flesh. It was not until the Jews had called for his crucifixion, consented to his death, and cried, His blood be upon us, and upon our children (Matt 27:25) that they lost the privilege of having the gospel preached preferentially to them. Shortly thereafter, Peter saw the famous vision which opened up the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 10). Therefore in Christ’s day the Jews heard the gospel first and the Gentiles heard the gospel last. In the last days, the Lord would reestablish his kingdom through the Gentiles; they would be the first to hear the good word and the Jews would be last.