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1 Nephi 12


Chapter 12

Nephi sees in vision the land of promise; the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its inhabitants; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the Twelve Disciples and the Twelve Apostles will judge Israel; and the loathsome and filthy state of those who dwindle in unbelief. About 600–592 B.C.

And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea.

And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.

And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them.

And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof.

And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.

And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.

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

And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.

And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel.

10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.

11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.

12 And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.

13 And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.

14 And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.

15 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle.

16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.

17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.

18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and 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.

19 And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed.

20 And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.

21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away.

22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief.

23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.

      • abomination (noun)

        Something that is loathsome, offensive, sinful, or sacrilegious.

      • according to (preposition)

        In a way that agrees with.

      • after the manner of (adverb phrase)

        Following the pattern or customs of; according to the principles of.

      • all manner of (adjective phrase)

        Every kind of.

      • angel (noun)

        Messenger from God. Some are spirits of people who have lived or will later live on the earth. Others are people who have been resurrected.

      • Apostle (proper noun)

        One of twelve leaders chosen by Jesus Christ during His ministry in Jerusalem to guide His Church.

      • as it were (adverb phrase)

        Seemingly.

      • as many as (adjective phrase)

        All; each of.

      • away (adverb)

        Out of existence.

      • B.C. (noun)

        Before the birth of Christ.

      • bear record (verb)

        To give testimony; to state, based on personal knowledge, that something is true.

      • because of (conjunction)

        By reason of; through.

      • behold (interjection, archaic)

        Look! See! In fact.

      • behold (verb)

        To look; to see; to notice.

      • behold (verb)

        To look; to see; to notice.

      • beholdest (verb, archaic)

        See.

      • brethren (noun)

        Brothers.

      • broad (adjective)

        Wide.

      • children of men (noun)

        All people.

      • chosen (adjective)

        Selected by God to serve in a certain way or to receive certain blessings.

      • it came to pass (verb phrase)

        It happened; it took place.

      • contend (verb)

        To dispute; to fight (physically or verbally).

      • contention (noun)

        Disputes; disagreements (sometimes leading to violence).

      • dark (adjective)

        Evil; foul.

      • descend (verb)

        To come down.

      • devil (noun)

        Satan (also called Lucifer), a spiritual being who rebelled against God and opposes Him. Satan deceives people and tempt them to sin.

      • did, didst (verb, archaic)

        A term used before verbs to make them past tense.

      • twelve disciples, twelve ministers (proper noun)

        One of twelve leaders chosen by Jesus Christ to guide His Church in ancient America.

      • divide (verb)

        Separate from; stand as a barrier between.

      • dwindle (verb)

        To shrink; to decline; to lose faith and knowledge.

      • earth (noun)

        Ground.

      • even (adverb)

        Specifically.

      • even unto (adverb)

        To the point of; up until.

      • even (adverb)

        In the same way.

      • faith (noun)

        Belief in God, willingness to follow His gospel, and trust in the impressions of the Holy Ghost.

      • filthy (adjective)

        Dirty; morally corrupt; guilty.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because.

      • from (preposition)

        Starting from or with.

      • full of (adjective)

        Characterized by; having an excess of.

      • garment (noun)

        Clothing.

      • gather (verb)

        To assemble; to meet together.

      • generation (noun)

        An age; a long period of time; the people living at a given time.

      • go forth (verb phrase)

        To move forward from a starting point.

      • God (proper noun)

        God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father rules all things with perfect justice, mercy, and love. Jesus Christ often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected. The Father and Son are separate individuals but are united in purpose.

      • harden one’s heart (verb phrase)

        Make or become stubborn, wicked, or resistant to good influences.

      • heaven (noun)

        The sky; figuratively, the place where God lives.

      • heaven (noun)

        The place where God lives.

      • hell (noun)

        The torment we will feel after this life for our sins if we do not repent.

      • henceforth (adverb)

        From now on; from this point on.

      • Holy Ghost (proper noun)

        The Holy Ghost, also known as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Lord. He is a divine spirit, one in purpose with God the Father and Jesus Christ. He speaks to our hearts and testifies of truth.

      • idleness (noun)

        Laziness.

      • imaginations (noun)

        Thoughts; schemes; plans.

      • inhabitant (noun)

        A person who lives in a certain place.

      • iniquity (noun)

        Wickedness; evil.

      • house of Israel (proper noun)

        God’s ancient covenant people, as described in the Bible (house means a nation or tribe); members of God’s Church.

      • judge (verb)

        To decide whether someone has done right or wrong; to decide on someone’s reward or punishment.

      • judged of them (verb phrase)

        The Twelve Apostles will decide whether the Twelve Nephite Disciples have done right or wrong.

      • judgment (noun)

        Punishment from God for evil acts.

      • Lamb, Lamb of God (proper noun)

        A title of Jesus Christ. The lamb can represent gentleness, and it can also refer to His role in the Atonement.

      • land of promise (noun)

        A land promised to someone to God if they keep His commandments. For descendants of Lehi and the Jaredites, the land of promise was located in the Americas.

      • lead away (verb phrase)

        To guide someone away from the truth; to persuade someone to act or live in a way that is not righteous.

      • loathsome (adjective)

        Disgusting; unlikable

      • Lord (noun)

        A term of respect for God the Father or Jesus Christ.

      • lost (adjective)

        Separated from God because of mortality and sin.

      • Messiah (proper noun)

        A title for Jesus Christ. The titles Messiah and Christ both mean a king or priest sent by God to save the world.

      • minister (verb)

        To teach; to serve.

      • multitude (noun)

        Crowd.

      • Nephi (proper noun)

        A prophet, fourth son of Lehi; author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon.

      • ordain (verb)

        Appoint; give authority; perform a ceremony in which a priesthood holder lays his hands on a person’s head and gives that person authority.

      • perish (verb)

        To die or be killed; to be lost spiritually.

      • righteous (adjective)

        Good; virtuous; just; consistent with God’s law.

      • righteousness (noun)

        Goodness; morality; obedience to God’s commandments.

      • seed (noun)

        Posterity; descendants.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • slaughter (noun)

        Massacre; killing.

      • spake (verb, archaic)

        Said.

      • spake (verb, archaic)

        Spoke.

      • state (noun)

        Condition; circumstance.

      • temptation (noun)

        Effort to persuade someone to do something wrong.

      • thereof (adverb)

        Of it; of him; of them.

      • thou (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • thy (pronoun, archaic)

        Your.

      • tumultuous (adjective)

        Loud; confused; violent.

      • twelve tribes of Jacob or Israel (proper noun)

        Descendants of Jacob (also called Israel), God’s ancient covenant people, as described in the Bible. Jacob’ descendants are divided into twelve tribes, one for each of his sons. The tribes of Israel also means members of God’s Church.

      • unbelief (noun)

        Absence or lack of belief or faith.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • like unto (preposition)

        Like; the same as.

      • vain (adjective)

        Foolish; empty; worthless; evil.

      • mist of darkness, vapor of smoke or darkness (noun phrase)

        A cloud of water vapor, dust, or smoke that hides the light of day.

      • vision (noun)

        A message God gives to individuals in visual form; a visit from a divine messenger.

      • war (noun)

        Extended fight between large groups of people.

      • wherefore (adverb)

        So you see; therefore.

      • with (preposition)

        Through; by means of.

      • word (noun)

        Message; teachings.

      • word (noun)

        Command; instruction.

      • world (noun)

        The earth.

      • ye (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • yea (interjection, archaic)

        Indeed; yes. This is pronounced “yay.”