Ether 4

A Test To See How We Are Doing

Between Ether 3 (the brother of Jared seeing the Lord) and Ether 5 (the three witnesses to the record of Mormon), is Ether 4, which I will call the chapter by which we measure ourselves.

There are certain writings in the Book of Mormon we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can use as a barometer to see how we are doing. Ether 4 is at the top of the list.

This chapter begins with the Lord commanding the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen.

Moroni then tells us that the things or words written by the brother of Jared were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after Christ came and showed himself unto his people. For this reason did king Mosiah keep them. It was only after Christ had showed himself unto his people that He commanded that these things should be made manifest.

When Christ did come to the Nephites he said "These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations" (3 Nephi 26:2).

Christ did expound all things unto them, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory, even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

Jesus then said that there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of all the things which He did teach unto the people. In other words, He hid up again all that had been revealed to the brother of Jared. 

Lehi then tells us that the plates of Nephi contain the more part of the things which Jesus taught the people, but the things which Lehi had written were a lesser part of the things which Jesus had taught, and that they would be brought again unto his people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus had spoken.

And why did we receive only the lesser part? Lehi explains:

"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them" (3 Nephi 26:9).

We received the lesser part as a test of our faith and if it so be that we will not believe what we do receive, then shall the greater things be withheld from us, unto our condemnation. Fast forward to 1832 and we were under condemnation for treating lightly what we had received, and that condemnation has not been lifted. (D&C 84:54-55), and we have not received more.

The link to Ether 4 is clear, and because the Nephites had all dwindled in unbelief, and the Lamanites had rejected the gospel of Christ, Moroni was commanded that he should hide these the 'greater things' up again in the earth.

He then tells us that he had written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

He was then commanded to seal them up again, along with the interpreters.

And now the test.

Moroni was told by the Lord that these writings of the  brother of Jared, these things of which Moroni says there are none greater, will not be given to us until…

"For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord" (Ether 4:6).

What does the fact that they are still sealed up, and that we do not have them, say about us? Answer: We have not yet repented of our iniquity and become clean before the Lord. 

But there is more.

"And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are" (Ether 4:7).

These "none greater things' do not come from the pulpit. In fact perhaps because we prefer pulpit fiction, we do not have these revelations, do not even think about them, or desire them. Perhaps it is because we do not think verses 6 & 7 apply to us, we who are religious and living the gospel.

And not only do we ignore these greater things because we believe we have enough (2 Nephi 29:3), but we transfigure what we do have (Mormon 8:33).

And Jesus' response to us?

"And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh" (Ether 4:8). 

Let me repeat "for unto them will I show no greater things." Says who? "Saith Jesus Christ."

And who is Jesus Christ?

"And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire" (Ether 4:9).

And who are we? Those who believe not His words?

"And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples (his disciples speak His words); and if it so be that I do not speak (directly), judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day" (Ether 4:10).

Or those who do believe His words?

"But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record (They will always speak His words). For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things (His words) are true; (how) for it persuadeth men to do good" (Ether 4:11).

And how does He define good?

"…for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God (Moroni 7:16). And anything that even distracts us from Christ is not good and is of the devil (Moroni 7:17).

Those that "know and bear record" do good by working by the power and gifts of God (Moroni 10:25). And they do the "greatest good" by proclaiming the Gospel of Christ (D&C 81:3-4).

Jesus then says:

"And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me (good cannot come of men, but men can point us to good). I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.

Jesus then bids us.

"Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief" (Esther 4:13). We could say hid up because of our unbelief.

The same is true of the house of Israel.

"Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you (yet), because of unbelief" (Ether 4:14).

Note that Jesus says to the House of Israel that "the Father hath laid up for you" great things. He does not say the same to us, the Gentiles. But He tells us in 3 Nephi 16, that if we do repent we shall be numbered with the House of Israel.

Jesus then tells us that the House of Israel will rend the veil of unbelief, and how they will rend the veil of unbelief. And by implication He invites us to do the same.

"Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel" (Ether 4:15).

The Lord links the "great and marvelous things" which have been hid up with His prophecies that these great and marvelous things shall come forth as part of His great and marvelous work (3 Nephi 20 & 21), and that the house of Israel will believe His great and marvelous things, and that the Gentiles will not believe them.

In addition to the coming forth of the great and marvelous things revealed to the brother of Jared, Jesus says there is more.

"And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed" (Ether 4:16).

Jesus tells us that the last days work of His Father has already commenced, and how we know it has commenced. 

"Therefore, when ye shall receive this record (The Book of Mormon) ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land" (Ether 4:17).

And what should be our response? Without variation, it is always the same.

"Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name" (Ether 4:18).

Nothing is said about being religious, living the gospel, following the prophet, being in the covenant path, living righteously, staying in your lane, using thee and thou in your prayers, paying tithing, daily scripture study, and the myriad of other religious duties expected of active church members. It is only when we rend the veil of unbelief that we will receive these greater things. What does it say about us given the fact that we don't have them?

It is to Christ and only to Christ that we are to turn. He alone is our salvation. We are to live by every word that "proceeded forth from the mouth of God" (D&C 84:44). 

"And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up (delivered from Babylon) to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen" (Ether 4:19).

Gentiles in Prophecy Part II

 The Fulness of the Gentiles 

An important key to understanding our Latter-day Saint role and identity, particularly as Gentiles or more accurately as Ephramite Gentiles, can be found in the expression “the fulness of the Gentiles.” That expression occurs five times in the scriptures, each helping to define the interrelationship of the Gentiles with the house of Israel. 

It occurs first in Ephraim’s patriarchal blessing given by Jacob. When Jacob knowingly crosses his hands to lay his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh, he declares that Ephraim’s offspring will become “the fulness of the Gentiles” Gen. 48:19). Although the King James translation of that expression translates as "a multitude of nations," many translations, including the King James, footnote the word m˘el¯o) as “fulness” or “fulfillment,” its literal meaning. The word gôyîm means “Gentiles,” though it also designates “nations.” The construct of the two Hebrew nouns, literally means “the fulness/fulfillment of the Gentiles.” Because the future context of Jacob’s blessing is the last days (compare Gen. 49:1), this context means that Ephraim’s offspring in the last days would become “the fulness/fulfillment of the Gentiles.” 

The prophet Hosea sheds some light on Jacob's prophecy on the head of Ephraim when he says, “Ephraim . . . hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8). Hosea’s description of Ephraim foresees an important step toward the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy, namely Ephraim’s exile and mingling among the nations of the world. Because Hosea’s two statements appear in parallel, they help explain one another. This suggests that Ephraim literally assimilates among the peoples or nations of the earth. 

We recall that Ephraim himself was born in Egypt of mixed lineage. His father Joseph was a Hebrew, but his mother was an Egyptian, daughter of the priest of On (Gen. 41:50, 52). The patriarch Jacob implies that Joseph’s long separation from his brethren serves as a type. It foreshadows the future separation of Joseph’s offspring in new lands away from the other tribes of Israel: Joseph’s “branches” will “run over the wall” (Gen. 49:22). Joseph’s land will extend “unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills” (Gen. 49:26). Such is Jacob’s blessing “on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren” (Gen. 49:26). 

The migration of Lehi and Ishmael with their families to the American continent fulfills a part of Jacob’s prophecy about Joseph (compare 1 Ne. 7:1–2; 2 Ne. 3:1–5). In the last days, after Lehi’s and Ishmael’s descendants are scattered by the Gentiles, “they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree” (1 Ne. 15:16–17). A modern scripture additionally suggests that the willing and obedient among the Gentiles are of the lineage of Ephraim, Joseph’s son (D&C 64:34–36). The assimilation of the tribe of Ephraim among the earth’s peoples brings to mind the blessing of Abraham. The Lord promises Abraham that in him all families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:3; 18:18). The Lord confirms that promise on Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 26:4; 28:14), heirs of Abraham’s birthright. Ephraim receives this birthright through Jacob because Ephraim’s father, Joseph, had politically become an Egyptian, a “Gentile.” In the birthright blessing, Jacob pronounces that Ephraim’s offspring will become “the fulness of the Gentiles.” Jacob’s patriarchal blessing of Ephraim, reclaiming him from Gentile status, serves as a type and shadow of a latter-day reclamation. Modern patriarchal blessings, too, declare converted Gentiles to be of the house of Israel, many of them, if not most, through Ephraim. 

From Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and its fulfillment, we see how the Lord blesses mankind. All nations of the earth have intermingled with Israel, more especially with Ephraim. All nations, by right of lineage, therefore, may be blessed with the blessings of Israel. That point is important because the Lord has ordained no salvation or plan of salvation outside of the covenant with his people Israel. The blessing promised on all the earth’s families is a blessing of salvation, both temporal and spiritual, that passes to mankind through Israel. 

Jesus’ atonement for sin features in the Lord’s covenant with Israel. Jehovah/Jesus Christ is himself Israel’s King; that is, he is Israel’s covenant Lord. Jesus delivers his people from the effects of sin—death—as part of a covenant obligation. Temporal salvation nonetheless also flows out of the covenant. 

A list of blessings Moses gives that pertains to the Lord’s covenant with Israel is largely temporal in nature. A blessed land and posterity, with increase, fruitfulness, and protection, are the essence of covenant blessedness (Deut. 28:2–13). We observe, for example, how the Lord manifests these covenant blessings in the latter days. The prosperity the Gentiles enjoy on the American continent pertains to his blessing of Israel (2 Ne. 10:10–11; Mormon 5:10). When the house of Israel forfeits the blessings that are its birthright, the Gentiles receive them instead (Mormon 5:19). The Lord’s latter-day deliverance of a remnant of all nations is also a blessing through Israel (1 Ne. 22:13–28). If they repent, “all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy one of Israel” (1 Ne. 22:28). The destroying angel will pass by those who obey the law of the Lord’s covenant “as the children of Israel” (D&C 89:18–21). We may go so far as to say that in the Gentile nations the Lord fulfills his promise to the fathers that “a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee” (Gen. 35:11).

The United States has strong roots in the righteous desires of an oppressed band of Christians. The Pilgrim fathers and others sought diligently to keep the law of the Lord’s covenant with Israel. These devoted men and women paid the price for the blessings that followed. Their Christianity is underscored by the added factor that among them the mingled blood of Ephraim was strong. Even being the world’s leading nation belongs to the Lord’s covenant with Israel (Deut. 28:10–13). 

If the Lord’s people keep his commandments—the law of the covenant—they will become the head of the nations. If they do not, they will be the tail (Deut. 28:13, 44). We may similarly view the British Commonwealth of Nations, the European Community, and other Christian nations as manifestations of the Lord’s promise to the fathers. That these are Gentile peoples does not disqualify them from receiving the blessings of Israel. Indeed, their prosperity is best explained by the fact that ethnic Israel for a time forfeits her blessing and that Ephraim assimilates predominantly among these nations. The Lord’s promises to the fathers lend Israel’s exile a proper perspective. Israel’s exile into the world at large, following her wickedness, was not an accident but an integral part of the Lord’s plan of salvation. Assyria took Israel captive about 720 b.c.; yet, the Ten Tribes’ very removal to other parts of the world paved the way for Israel’s assimilation. Judah’s exile into Babylon in 587 b.c. accomplished much the same thing. Although a sizable portion of Jews returned to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:5; 2:64), the majority remained in Babylon. Those Jews who have retained their ethnic identity through centuries of dispersion represent a small yet significant body of the house of Judah. The Lord’s people who assimilated into the nations among whom they were scattered must at some point stand up and be counted: the scriptures provide for the righteous Gentiles to be numbered among the house of Israel (3 Nephi 16:13). 

The salvation of all peoples, therefore, to a large degree flows out of Israel’s dispersion. The fact that Israel was absorbed into the nations of the earth lays a groundwork for the gospel to come to them. Because the gospel belongs to Israel by right of election, there was now a reason for the Lord to offer it to the world. After Israel’s exile, two kinds of Israelites would exist: (1) those who would retain their identity or ethnic integrity; and (2) those who would lose their identity by assimilating among the nations. The Gentiles thus play an essential role in fulfilling the Lord’s covenant with Abraham that in his offspring all kindreds of the earth would be blessed with the gospel (1 Ne. 15:13–18). 

Referring to the Jews’ demise when they reject Jesus, Paul says, “If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:15). Each portion of Israel, in its own way, dies so that the Lord may show forth the power of his redemption. The Lord, in his foreknowledge anticipates Israel’s apostasy. He then uses it as a means of reconciling the world to him. The Gentiles receive the blessing of salvation when the Lord’s covenant people default. Israel’s exile and partial assimilation among the nations, therefore, form an integral part of God’s salvation. In that sense, Israel’s apostasy and exile resemble the fall of Adam and Eve and their banishment into the world. God foresaw both events in his plan to redeem humanity. The plan of redemption would materialize through Israel as a covenant blessing. As far as the nations are concerned, they would largely identify with the house of Joseph (compare D&C 90:10). The Gentiles, all nations with whom Israel has mingled, are for that reason indebted to Israel. 

In summary, the Gentile nations experience a “fulness” or “fulfillment” as a result of intermingling with Israel. Ephraim’s birthright blessing, with its promises of populousness and new lands of inheritance, exemplifies this fulness or fulfillment. In short, if the Gentiles are to receive the covenant blessings they must be numbered among the house of Israel; with Israel they may inherit her promises. That inheritance is at once the Gentiles’ self-fulfillment and their redeeming feature. A key to this reversal of identities—of Israel with the nations and of the nations with Israel—we find in Ephraim’s birthright blessing. What the Lord promises Abraham, He in fact fulfills in Ephraim. 

The intermingling of Ephraim’s blood opens the way for all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people to receive the gospel as a covenant blessing. Based on Jacob’s patriarchal declaration, we equate the expression fulness of the Gentiles with Ephraim’s mingled offspring in the latter days. Through Jacob, heir of Abraham’s promise, the Lord defines a unique role for Ephraim. Two scriptures containing the expression fulness of the Gentiles link that expression to the allegory of the olive tree. Paul and Nephi both discuss figuratively the interrelationship of Israel and the Gentiles. The olive tree’s tame or natural branches represent the Lord’s people of the house of Israel. Wild branches—those grafted in from another source—represent the Gentiles. 

Here, I will emphasize just the fulness of the Gentiles—Ephraim’s mingled offspring in the latter days.) Paul makes the point that although the Jews reject Jesus and although the Gentiles come into the covenant, “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” (Rom. 11:2). In Latter-day Saint terms, a people whom God “foreknew” refers to those who were valiant spirits in humanity’s first, or pre-mortal, estate (compare Abr. 3:21–26). Paul predicts that the Lord will again accept the Jews as His covenant people (compare Rom. 11:15, 23–24, 26–27, 31). In the meantime, God has blinded them so that he may save the Gentiles (Rom. 11:7–11, 32). The Jews’ blindness, Paul observes, will remain until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:25). Then, he says, all Israel will be saved and their sins taken away (Rom. 11:26–27). We read a clearer meaning into Paul’s prophecy when we substitute what we learn from Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim. When Paul says a “blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25), he is saying, in effect, that a partial blindness rests on the house of Israel (the Jews and other natural lineages of Israel) until the mingled offspring of Ephraim has gathered. Once the offspring of Ephraim has been gathered the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled (D&C 45:25).  

The verb come in, according to the context, refers to grafting into the olive tree—the fulness of the Gentiles, the mingled offspring of Ephraim, will be grafted into the olive tree. The grafting process, according to Paul, will ultimately also involve the Jews, “for God is able to graft them in again” (Rom. 11:23). 

Paul’s time frame for these events we determine from Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim: the latter days. In explaining the allegory of the olive tree to Laman and Lemuel, Nephi too cites the fulness of the Gentiles. He says, “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 . . . then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed” (1 Ne. 15:13). Like Paul, Nephi does not limit God’s salvation to one category of people. The allegory of the olive tree deals with all people. It illustrates the Lord’s covenant with Abraham—that in his offspring all kindreds of the earth would be blessed (1 Ne. 15:18). 

At the time the Lamanites receive the gospel, they experience a renewed self-awareness as Israelites (1 Ne. 15:14). They learn of their Redeemer and come into his fold (1 Ne. 15:14–15). In this same context Nephi predicts the restoration of the Jews: once they are restored, he says, the Jews will no more be scattered (1 Ne. 15:19–20). 

According to Nephi, the Gentiles will take the gospel to the house of Israel. Israel’s salvation comes “by way of the Gentiles” (1 Ne. 15:17). That event will occur in the latter days, after the Gentiles have scattered Lehi’s descendants (1 Ne. 15:17). In Nephi’s terms, therefore, those who take the gospel to Lehi’s descendants he calls Gentiles. Obviously, these Gentiles can only be those who have the fulness of the gospel. 

Although Nephi numbers these Gentiles with the ones who scatter Lehi’s descendants (because from his perspective they are one and the same people), he nonetheless singles out “the fulness of the Gentiles.” These Gentiles in particular serve as the agent for grafting in the olive tree’s natural branches—the Lamanites and other ethnic lineages, including the Jews. 

As we have seen, the fulness of the Gentiles represents the mingled offspring of Ephraim among the nations. They are Gentiles, it is true; but they also possess the literal blood of Israel through Ephraim. 

As Nephi directs his words primarily to the Lamanites, so Jesus directs his words primarily to the Jews. (The Lamanites too, however, constitute a remnant of the Jews; see D&C 19:27.) Jesus refers to the fulness of the Gentiles as the means by which the Jews will gain a knowledge of him. He tells the Nephites, “These sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed [the Jews], who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer” (3 Ne. 16:4). First, then, the Book of Mormon comes forth among the Gentiles (compare 3 Ne. 16:7). Following that, it goes to the Jews “through the fulness of the Gentiles” (3 Ne. 16:4, 11). Jesus says that will happen in the latter days, after the Gentiles have scattered his people (3 Ne. 16:7–8). 

When the Jews gain a knowledge of their Redeemer, they gather in from the four quarters of the earth. Their gathering fulfills the Father’s covenant with the house of Israel (3 Ne. 16:5). Again, according to these definitions the Gentiles form a singular category. Those who scatter the house of Israel are also those through whom a knowledge of the gospel comes. 

These events are still future, for the Jews have not yet received the Book of Mormon. The offspring of Ephraim that assimilate among the nations here serve as agent of the Jews’ salvation, even as they do toward Lehi’s descendants. Of that saving mission, Joseph in Egypt, Ephraim’s father, is a type (compare Gen. 50:20–21). 

Lastly, in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s account of his first vision, the angel Moroni tells him that “the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in” (JS—H 1:41). Moroni quotes both Old and New Testament prophecies. All have to do with events that usher in the Millennium. Judging from this latter-day context, Moroni has in mind Ephraim’s gathering from among the nations, which at that point had not yet happened. The Lord’s cleansing judgment of the earth and His fulfilling the covenant with the house of Israel round out the scenario Moroni presents to Joseph Smith (compare JS—H 1:36–41). 

In summary, we can read the fulness of the Gentiles as a unique expression that connotes the mingled offspring of Ephraim among the nations. Wherever this expression occurs in the scriptures, it defines a relationship between the Gentiles and the house of Israel. On the one hand, the Gentiles receive Israel’s blessings after Israel apostatizes and is exiled. On the other, Israel receives back her blessings through the agency of the fulness of the Gentiles. The Lord restores ethnic Israel as soon as the fulness of the Gentiles has come in—as soon as the mingled offspring of Ephraim have gathered. The turning point for these events occurs in the latter days, just before the millennial era begins.

Gentiles in Prophecy Part I

Joseph Smith recorded in the Kirkland Temple dedicatory prayer that we "are identified with the Gentiles." (D&C 109:60)

By analyzing the term Gentiles wherever it appears, it becomes easy to trace the Gentiles’ history and future.  Putting together a scriptural picture of what happens to the Gentiles serves as a second witness not only of the Gentiles’ saving role toward the house of Israel, but of the reversal that ultimately occurs between the Gentiles and the House of Israel (Jews, 10 Tribes and Lehi's Descendants).  Most of the scriptural references cited contain the term Gentiles. 

The New Testament shows that the Jews receive the first opportunity to accept the gospel.  But when these “judge (them) selves unworthy of everlasting life,” the gospel turns to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).  

The blessing of Abraham, instead of resting on the Jews, now rests on the Gentiles who accept Christ (Gal. 3:14).  God pours out the Holy Ghost on the Gentiles.  Many are converted.

The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants details the Gentiles’ latter-day experience.  Nephi calls the latter days “the days of the Gentiles” (2 Ne. 27:1).  He identifies as primarily the Europeans who go out of captivity to the land of America (1 Ne. 13:2-4, 10-14, 13-16, 30).

The Gentiles who migrate to America obtain the land for their inheritance (1 Ne. 13:15; Morm. 5:19).  The Lord blesses the Gentiles, and they prosper in the land (1 Ne. 13:20; 2 Ne. 10:10).

The Gentiles afflict Lehi’s descendants and act as a scourge to them (2 Ne. 10:18; 3 Ne. 20:28).  Yet, the Gentiles do no utterly destroy them (1 Ne. 13:30-31).

The Lord raises up a mighty nation among the Gentiles in America (1 Ne. 22:7).  This is a land of liberty to the Gentiles and they have no kings (2 Ne. 10:11; 3 Ne. 21:4).  The Lord makes the Gentiles on this land mighty above all (1 Ne. 13:30; 3 Ne. 20:27).  He delivers the Gentiles on this land from all other nations (1 Ne. 13:19).

The Gentiles have a book that is of great worth to them (1 Ne. 13:20-23).  They receive it from the Jews (the Bible), and they carry it to Lehi’s descendants (1 Ne. 13:26, 38; Morm. 7-8).

Plain and precious parts of the Bible are removed by the mother of abominations, the church of the devil (the world) (1 Ne. 13:26-28).  Defective gospel makes the Gentiles stumble, giving Satan great power over them (1 Ne. 13:29, 34).

God does not leave the Gentiles in a state of blindness.  In the day the Gentiles hearken to the Lamb, he takes away their stumbling blocks (1 Ne. 14:1).  The truth comes to the Gentiles as a blessing (3 Ne. 16:7; 20:15). 

The Book of Mormon supplies what the Bible lacks, and comes forth from the Nephites to the Gentiles (1 Ne. 13:34; 3 Ne. 16:4; 21:2).  Many of the Gentiles believe the Book (2 Ne. 30:3).  The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Gospel (D&C 20:8-9).

God also pours the Holy Ghost as a blessing upon the Gentiles (3 Ne. 16:6; 20:27), and they are convinced that Jesus is the Christ (2 Ne. 26:12).  The Lord establishes his Church among the Gentiles, and they come into the covenant he made with the house of Israel (3 Ne. 21:22).  The Latter-day Saints are identified with the Gentiles (D&C 109:60).

The Book of Mormon is given to try the faith of the Gentiles:  it contains but the “lesser part” of Jesus’ words to the Nephites (3 Ne. 26:8).  If the Gentiles believe that portion—the Book of Mormon—the Lord will manifest to them the greater things also (3 Ne. 26:9).  If they don’t it shall turn to their condemnation (3 Ne. 26:10; D&C 84:54-57).

The Book of Mormon contains warning to the Gentiles.  Two consecutive histories of fallen peoples on this land forewarn the Gentiles of their own imminent fate (Eth. 2:11; 8:26-26).  Mormon also describes the destruction of the Nephites as a warning to the Gentiles  (Morm. 6:1-22).

The Lord bids the Gentiles to come unto him (Eth. 4:13).  In him they may be cleansed and sanctified (Eth. 4:6-7).  The Book of Mormon teaches that people can rend the veil of unbelief—which has caused them to remain in an awful state of wickedness, hardness of heart, and blindness of mind—by calling on the Father in the name of Jesus with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  It further teaches that the great and marvelous things hidden up from the foundation of the world are the Father’s fulfillment of his covenant with the house of Israel, as contained in the revelation of John.  These great and marvelous things, however, have not yet been revealed.  (Eth. 4:15-16).  As adverse as it may seem, we conclude from these scriptures that many of us as Gentiles still remain in an awful state of wickedness.  We have not yet rent the veil of our unbelief.

Moroni shows us in Ether how the Brother of Jared “rent the veil” (Eth. 3:1-20).  The Lord now bids the Gentiles to do the same (Eth. 4:13).

The Lord’s great and marvelous work typifies the greater things spoken of by Moroni in Ether.  The Lord performs that work among the Gentiles (1 Ne. 22:8; 2 Ne. 29:1; D&C 35:7).  To that end he sends among them the three Nephites (3 Ne. 28:32).  The great and marvelous work involves the coming forth of the words of Christ (3 Ne. 28:32-34).  The Father empowers a latter-day servant to bring forth the words of Christ to the Gentiles (3 Ne. 21:8-11); compare Isa. 52:13-15). 

The Book of Mormon contains less than a hundredth part of Jesus’ words to the Nephites (3 Ne. 26:6).  Yet, in the last days, the fulness of Jesus’ words comes forth to the Gentiles (3 Ne. 16:7) in accordance with the servant’s mission (3 Ne. 21:11).

The plates of Nephi contain the greater part of what Jesus taught the people (3 Ne. 26:7).  They, therefore, are among the “other books” to come forth (compare 1 Ne. 13:39).  They “make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world” (1 Ne. 13:40).  They make known the folly and abominations of the Gentiles (3 Ne. 21:9, 11; D&C 35:7).

Prophecies about the Gentiles in the latter days thus show two facets.  Those Gentiles who are under condemnation—which causes the Lord to withhold from them the greater things (3 Ne. 26:10)—will remain under condemnation if they do not repent.  For that reason, the Gentiles must turn from their evil ways (compare Morm. 5:22).

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In the latter days, the gospel turns first to the Gentiles (D&C 90:9).  But when many of them reject it, the gospel turns to the Jews and other natural lineages of Israel (1 Ne. 13:42; 3 Ne. 16:10-11; 20:28-31).

Many Gentiles will not believe the great and marvelous work—will not believe the words of Christ (3 Ne. 21:9, 11).  The words of Christ and the Brother of Jared’s vision cover the entire history of humanity (3 Ne. 26:1-4); Eth. 3:25, 27).  In that respect, they resemble the Bible more than the Book of Mormon does.  The two full accounts will come forth to the Gentiles—and turn from the Gentiles to the house of Israel (3 Ne. 26:7-9; Eth. 4:4-6; 12:22).

From these scriptures we gain a clearer idea of how so many Gentiles will sin against the gospel of Jesus Christ (compare 3 Ne. 16:10).  They will disavow the new revelations the Lord will bring forth.   Having formerly received the gospel, many Gentiles will now reject it (3 Ne. 16:10; 20:15, 28).  Refusing to come unto Christ and obey his voice, these Gentiles will be as “salt that hath lost its savor” (3 Ne. 16:15; D&C 101:39-40).

At the time they reject the fulness of the gospel, the wicked Gentiles are “lifted up in the pride of their hearts” (3 Ne. 16:10).  Being “lifted up in the pride of their eyes,” they “put down the power and miracles of God” (2 Ne. 26:20; Moroni 10).

Publishing for money, they “preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor” (2 Ne. 26:20).  These Gentiles have no charity for their fellow beings (Eth. 12:35-37).  They don’t thank the Jews nor Lehi’s descendants for the scriptures they have received from them (2 Ne. 29:4; 33:14; Eth. 12:23, 35).  The Lord lengthens out his arm to the Gentiles all the day long (2 Ne. 28:32).  But they mar the Lord’s servant who brings forth His words (3 Ne. 21:10-11).  Nephi offers no hope for the Gentiles unless they reconcile themselves to Christ (2 Ne. 28:32; 2 Ne. 33:9).

When the Gentiles reject his words, the Lord cuts them off from his people (2 Ne. 21:11, 20).  He removes the fulness of his gospel from among the wicked, giving it to those who receive it (3 Ne. 16:10; 20:28-31).  With the wicked Gentiles’ apostasy and its aftermath, the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (D&C 45:28-33).

The wicked Gentiles bring down the fulness of God’s wrath, just as the Jaredites and Nephites did (compare Eth. 2:11).  The Lord visits the Gentiles “with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire” (2 Ne. 27:2; compare Isa. 29:6).  The sword of Justice falls on the wicked Gentiles (3 Ne. 20:20; Eth. 8:23).

 

Lehi’s descendants, whom God empowers, marshal themselves and vex the wicked Gentiles (D&C 87:5).  They go among the Gentiles like a lion among the beasts, treading down and tearing to pieces (3 Ne. 20:16; 21:12; Morm. 5:24; compare Micah 5:8).  Lehi’s descendants, who are of the house of Israel, inherit the Gentiles’ lands and cities (3 Ne. 22:3; compare Isa. 54:3).

Some Gentiles will, however, turn from their evil ways and will repent and be numbered among the house of Israel (3 Ne. 16:6; 21:22).

The gospel goes first to the Gentiles and then to the house of Israel (1 Ne. 10:14; D&C 19:27).  The Gentiles take the gospel to Lehi’s descendants (1 Ne. 15:13, 17; 3 Ne. 21:5) and also to the Jews (3 Ne. 16:4; D&C 14:10).  The Twelve, the Seventy and other Latter-day Saints assist in carrying the gospel to the Jews (D&C 107:33-35; 133:8).

The house of Israel receives the Book of Mormon through the fulness of the Gentiles (3 Ne. 16:4; 21:5).  That involves the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon and “other books” (2 Ne. 27:21-23; Eth. 4:407, 13-15; 1 Ne. 13:39-41).

The Lord softens many Gentiles’ hearts toward Lehi’s descendants (2 Ne. 10:18).  Many care for the house of Israel and sorrow for their destruction (Morm. 5:10-11).  They nurse the house of Israel and serve as fathers and mothers to them (1 Ne. 22:6, 8; 2 Ne. 10:9, 18).  They minister the gospel’s fullness to Lehi’s descendants (1 Ne. 15:13-14). 

When the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, the Jews again gather to Jerusalem (D&C 45:24-25).  The righteous Gentiles assist the house of Israel in gathering them from dispersion; they carry the house of Israel to the lands of their inheritance (2 Ne. 10:8).  They assist Lehi’s descendants to gather to the New Jerusalem (3 Ne. 21:24).  They help Lehi’s descendants to build the city (3 Ne. 21:23).  The Lord blesses the righteous Gentiles by numbering them with the house of Israel (2 Ne. 10:18; 3 Ne. 16:13).  The righteous Gentiles are also the covenant people of the Lord (2 Ne. 30:2; 3 Ne. 21:22).

Jesus' Second Prophecy

Jesus’ Second Prophecy

3 Nephi 21:1-29

Of course these two prophecies are not literally Jesus' first two prophecies, but for purposes of this discussion, I have identified them as such because of how they interact with each other.

Before we get into Jesus' second prophecy, let me give credit to Avraham Gileadi for discovering these structures. I have searched these prophecies diligently, and can say that I know of myself that they are true, as are the prophecies of Nephi and Jacob concerning these last day events. This is true also of the Old Testament prophets, particularly Isaiah, and of other prophecies of Jesus. 

As I wrote in the preface of this blog, "Nothing I have written or will write in this blog is original. I take from many sources, the most important of which is the standard works. I do not give my interpretation of any scripture, but rely on the Lord to use the same terms and definitions consistently. My experience has been that the more I search, ponder, learn and receive of His words, the more likely I am to learn as His words speak to me.

The Savior is the sole source of truth and light in my life. I listen to what others say, but rely on His words and the Holy Ghost to tell me if what others say is consistent with what He has said."

His words become my words no matter who says or writes them, and when it comes to the word of God, I have no problem putting forth as my words, the words of others. Also I do not put forth anything until I come to know for myself by virtue of His words and the Holy Ghost.

As I discussed in the first post concerning Jesus' first prophecy, in Nephi's sequence the great and marvelous work leads to an irrevocable division between those found on the one hand or the other (1 Nephi 14:7). This gains significance as we compare Jesus' second prophecy with the first. The second prophecy refers directly to the Lord's great and marvelous work. It equates the great and marvelous work with the mission of the Lord's servant.

A summary of the second prophecy (3 Nephi 21:1-29) follows. 

 

a—The dispersed house of Israel gathers together and is established in Zion (21:1)

 

  b—The Book of Mormon comes forth from the Gentiles to the house of Israel (21:2-5)

 

    c—The Gentiles are established in America as a free people—after the house of Israel defaults—by the power of the Father (21:4-6a)

 

      d—Some Gentiles, who do not harden their hearts, repent and come unto Christ; they are numbered among the house of Israel (21:6b)

 

        e—The Father fulfills his covenant with the house of Israel (21:7)

 

          f—The kings of the Gentiles shut their mouths when new things are preached to them (21:8)

 

            g—The Father performs a great and marvelous work among the Gentiles (21:9a)

 

              h—Many among the Gentiles do not believe the great and marvelous work when it is declared to them (21:9b)

 

            g—The Lord heals his servant after he is marred by the Gentiles (21:10)

 

          f—The Lord’s servant brings forth the words of Christ to the Gentiles by the Father’s power (21:11a-c)

 

        e—The Gentiles are cut off from the Lord’s covenant with the house of Israel and are trodden down by them (21:11d-21)

 

      d—Some Gentiles who do not harden their hearts repent and hearken to the words of Christ; they are numbered among the house of Israel (21:22)

 

    c—The house of Israel is established; they gather to the New Jerusalem; the power of heaven and the Lord abide in their midst (21:23-25)

 

   b—The gospel comes forth from the Gentiles to the house of Israel (21:26a)

 

a—The Lord’s dispersed people gather home to the land of their inheritance (21:26b-29)

Jesus’ second prophecy emphasizes what happens to the Gentiles, of which we are identified. Although the Gentiles (us) receive an opportunity to be blessed under the Lord’s covenant with the house of Israel, in the end many Gentiles (us) do not repent (3 Ne. 21:6, 14). These are cut off from the covenant because they refuse to believe the words of Christ (3 Ne. 21:11). At that point the house of Israel treads them down (3 Ne. 21:12–21). 

These things repeat essentially the same scenario we find in Jesus’ first prophecy. In Jesus’ second prophecy, however, the Lord’s servant conveys the words of Christ to the Gentiles and to the kings of the Gentiles (3 Ne. 21:8–11). As the structure’s centerpiece shows (see h), many do not believe the great and marvelous work, or do not believe the words of Christ (see h in Jesus' first prophecy). From the context of the prophecy, we learn that these disbelievers make up a majority of the Gentiles, including a majority of the Ephraimite Gentiles. While at first the gospel and the Book of Mormon go from the Gentiles to the house of Israel (3 Ne. 21:4–5), in the end the Gentiles themselves by and large reject the mission of the Lord’s servant (3 Ne. 21:10–12). 

On the other hand, the Father reestablishes his covenant with the house of Israel (3 Ne. 21:4, 7). This action implies that the house of Israel accepts the words of Christ, which the Lord’s servant brings forth. To the house of Israel, the words of Christ come as “good tidings” (3 Ne. 20:40; compare Isa. 52:7). 

As the house of Israel accepts the gospel, they gather from exile and build the New Jerusalem; Christ himself and the power of heaven dwell in their midst (3 Ne. 21:24–29). 

Those Gentiles who repent are numbered among the house of Israel, and with the house of Israel, they inherit the land of America (3 Ne. 21:22). At the center of the chiasm appear the prophecies of Isaiah about the great and marvelous work (3 Ne. 21:8–10; compare Isa. 29:14; 52:13–15). 

Jesus’ two prophecies are thus similar. Things they have in common are the Lord’s rejection of many Gentiles (us) and his reacceptance of the house of Israel, the Lord’s fulfillment of his covenant with the house of Israel, their gathering to the lands of their inheritance, the house of Israel’s treading down the Gentiles, and the house of Israel’s being permanently established, with the powers of heaven and the Lord in their midst. 

Both prophecies also refer to the Lord’s servant, who brings forth to the world the words of Christ (3 Ne. 20:43–45; 21:8–11). In addition, both prophecies center on the prophecies of Isaiah. Descriptions of the mission the Lord’s servant fulfills to the kings of the nations, and the Father’s baring his arm to all nations, originate in the same passage in the book of Isaiah (see Isa. 52:10, 13–15). The physical marring of the Lord’s servant, which the Lord counters by a miracle of healing (3 Ne. 20:44; 21:10), is similarly prophesied in this Isaiah passage (Isa. 52:14). The same passage in Isaiah speaks of the exodus of the house of Israel out of Babylon (see Isa. 52:11–12), an event that appears in both prophecies (3 Ne. 20:41–42; 21:29). Both prophecies also rely on the prophecies of Micah to portray the treading down of the Gentiles by the house of Israel (3 Ne. 20:16–19; 21:12–18, 21). 

Such dependence on the Hebrew prophets, particularly Isaiah, shows a relationship with Nephi’s prophetic sequence. Whereas Nephi quotes from Isaiah 48–49 about the Lord’s servant and the new exodus out of Babylon, Jesus quotes these things from Isaiah 52. That Jesus ends his first prophecy by quoting most of Isaiah 52 (see 3 Ne. 20:32–45) and his second prophecy by quoting all of Isaiah 54 (see 3 Ne. 22:1–17) raises a further point. Such structuring leads us to look for at least a reference to Isaiah 53 somewhere between the two. That reference we find in 3 Nephi 21:9 and 11. There we read that some Gentiles “will not believe” the great and marvelous work nor the words of Christ that the servant brings forth. Of course, this statement implies that some Gentiles will believe.

More importantly, when we compare the two centerpieces of the structures (see h/h), we see that the great and marvelous work has to do with the Lord’s servant bringing forth the words of Christ. Connected with the words of Christ are the testimonies of Moses, Samuel, and others, and of the Lord’s latter-day servant himself (3 Ne. 20:23–24, 40–45; 21:8–11). 

The belief or disbelief that people show toward the words of Christ constitutes a grand key to the structures. People’s opposite reactions to the words of Christ set the stage for the Lord’s rejection of the Gentiles and reacceptance of the house of Israel. Notably, those Gentiles who retain their standing with the Lord repent of the same evils that condemn those who do not repent (compare 3 Ne. 16:10, 13). 

These things suggest that the words of Christ condemn wickedness among the Gentiles. They may also explain why the unrepentant Gentiles would express hostility toward the Lord’s servant. Jesus’ reference to Moses in both prophecies reflects this reversal between the Gentiles and the house of Israel. In the first prophecy, Jesus says that he himself is the prophet like unto Moses of whom Moses spoke (3 Ne. 20:23). All who would not hear the words of that prophet would be “cut off” from among the Lord’s people (compare Deut. 18:15–19). In the second prophecy, Jesus says that his servant will bring forth His words to the Gentiles (3 Ne. 21:11). This includes words we have not yet received. And because the Gentiles reject these words the gospel is taken from them and given to the house of Israel (3 Nephi 16:11-12). 

All who will not believe the words of Christ given through the servant will suffer the punishment Moses predicted: they will be “cut off” from among the Lord’s people (3 Ne. 21:11). This analogy means that those who reject the servant, in effect, reject Christ (compare 3 Ne. 28:34). This analogy also means that, although Jesus is the prophet of whom Moses spoke, the Lord’s servant too is a prophet like Moses. (In the book of Isaiah, the Lord’s servant initiates the exodus out of Babylon and the wandering in the wilderness to the promised land, as we have noted; compare 2 Ne. 20:40–43.) The idea of a prophet like Moses applies as well to Joseph Smith (compare 2 Ne. 3:9–19). The mission that the Lord’s servant performs, however, builds on that of the Prophet Joseph. 

The servant undertakes his mission at the end of the latter days, just before the Lord comes to the earth. The servant’s mission results in the whole house of Israel returning to permanent lands of inheritance. It also results in the Gentiles being largely destroyed.

Hopefully you can see more clearly the need to believe the words of Christ no matter the messenger. This requires that we search them, believe them and make them our own, so that we are found on the one hand (those who believe His words) and not on the other (those who do not believe His words). Its importance cannot be emphasized more than by Jesus himself giving us these prophecies.