1
AND it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away
in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent
of my father.
2
And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were
disputing one with another concerning the things which my father
had spoken unto them.
3
For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard
to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they
being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto
the Lord as they ought.
4
And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their
hearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and
knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great
wickedness of the children of men.
5
And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions,
for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all,
because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.
6
And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake
unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their
disputations.
7
And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our
father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the
olive-tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.
8
And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
9
And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such
thing known unto us.
10
Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the
commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because
of the hardness of your hearts?
11
Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye
will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing
that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments,
surely these things shall be made known unto you.
12
Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared
unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our
father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel,
and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
13
And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the
grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of
the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall
have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years,
and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested
in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of
the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the
Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed —
14
And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are
of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people
of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge
of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel
of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by
him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their
Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know
how to come unto him and be saved.
15
And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto
their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at
that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from
the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
16
Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among
the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural
branch of the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree.
17
And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will
not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles;
and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that
the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause
that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.
18
Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also
of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should
be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to
our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of
the earth be blessed.
19
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning
these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of
the Jews in the latter days.
20
And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake
concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel;
and after they were restored they should no more be confounded,
neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that
I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified
and did humble themselves before the Lord.
21
And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying:
What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What
meaneth the tree which he saw?
22
And I said unto them: It was a representation of the tree of life.
23
And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our
father saw, that led to the tree?
24
And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would
hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they
would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery
darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them
away to destruction.
25
Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of
the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul,
and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give
heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments
always in all things.
26
And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which
our father saw?
27
And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was
filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things
that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.
28
And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated
the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.
29
And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful
hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.
30
And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of
God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the
brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire,
which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.
31
And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body
in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul
after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things
which are temporal?
32
And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation
of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that
they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were
done by the temporal body in their days of probation.
33
Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast
off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining
to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God,
to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness
they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that
they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God
must be filthy also.
34
But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and
there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God;
wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for
that which is filthy.
35
And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which
I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore
the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of
God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
36
Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from
that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable
above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts
of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.
