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3 Nephi 21


Chapter 21

Israel will be gathered when the Book of Mormon comes forth—The Gentiles will be established as a free people in America—They will be saved if they believe and obey; otherwise, they will be cut off and destroyed—Israel will build the New Jerusalem, and the lost tribes will return. About A.D. 34.

And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place—that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion;

And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign—for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them;

Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from them unto you;

For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel;

Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;

For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his power unto the Gentiles, for this cause that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel;

And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things—it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel.

And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.

10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.

11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.

12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.

14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;

15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;

16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;

17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;

18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.

19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.

20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;

21 And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;

23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.

24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.

25 And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst.

26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.

27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.

28 Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance.

29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

      • B.C. (noun)

        Before the birth of Christ.

      • as (adverb)

        Like.

      • baptize (verb)

        To perform the ordinance of baptism. In baptism a person is immersed in water to symbolize being cleansed from sin.

      • beast (noun)

        Animal.

      • because of (conjunction)

        By reason of; through.

      • before (preposition)

        In front of; from.

      • behold (interjection, archaic)

        Look! See! In fact.

      • beloved (adjective)

        Dear; well-loved.

      • bring forth (verb)

        To reveal; to disclose.

      • cause (adverb phrase)

        Reason.

      • come forth (verb phrase)

        To be brought forward; to be revealed.

      • commence (verb)

        To begin.

      • concerning (preposition)

        About.

      • covenant (noun)

        A promise God makes to a person or group if they will obey Him.

      • unto (preposition)

        Culminating in.

      • cut off (verb)

        Exiled; separated from God.

      • day (noun)

        Period; time.

      • declare (verb)

        To announce; to state energetically.

      • deliver (verb)

        To help someone escape; to save someone; to set someone free.

      • destroy (verb)

        To kill; to tear down or ruin completely.

      • destroy (verb)

        To ruin; to cause something to cease to exist.

      • devil (noun)

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

      • be done away (verb)

        To cease; to be put to a stop.

      • doctrine (noun)

        Principle or teaching (especially about the gospel).

      • dwindle (verb)

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

      • even (adverb)

        Specifically.

      • even (adverb)

        In the same way.

      • except (conjunction)

        Unless.

      • Father (proper noun)

        God the Father. He created all life and is the Father of our spirits. He rules all things and is just, righteous, merciful, and loving. He is the father of Jesus Christ.

      • flight (noun)

        Fleeing; running away from danger.

      • flock (noun)

        A group of animals, such as sheep or goats.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because; because you see.

      • for (preposition)

        As; to be.

      • forth (adverb)

        Forward; away.

      • free (adjective)

        Having the ability to choose; not being forced.

      • Gentile (proper noun)

        Member of a nation or tribe other than Israel.

      • gospel (noun)

        God’s plan for saving His children from death and the effects of sin and bringing them back to His presence.

      • harden one’s heart (verb phrase)

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

      • hath (verb, archaic)

        Has.

      • hearken (verb)

        To listen; to take advice from; to obey.

      • 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.

      • house (noun)

        Nation; tribe; family.

      • in my name (adverb phrase)

        With faith in me; while following my teachings.

      • in my name (adverb phrase)

        By someone with my authority; by someone acting for me.

      • land or place of one’s inheritance (noun phrase)

        A land or place one has received from God or from one’s ancestors.

      • 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.

      • Jerusalem (proper noun)

        Capital of the ancient kingdom of Judah, located in modern Israel; site of key events of the Bible.

      • Jesus Christ (proper noun)

        The Son of God. He created the earth and rules it. He often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected.

      • king (noun)

        Ruler or leader of a country. Kings are usually the son of the previous king.

      • make known (verb)

        To teach; to tell; to reveal.

      • man (noun)

        Adult male human being.

      • marvelous (adjective)

        Wonderful; astonishing.

      • may, might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • may, might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • may (verb)

        Can; could.

      • from the midst of (noun)

        From the middle of; from inside of.

      • might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • The Book of Mormon (proper noun)

        The inspired record of a branch of the house of Israel that lived in the Americas from about 600 B.C. to A.D. 421.

      • Moses (proper noun)

        Prophet who led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the land of Israel, as recounted in the first part of the Bible.

      • nation (noun)

        A large group of people who are related to each other or who have the same language, history, or government; the country where they live.

      • none (pronoun)

        No one.

      • O (interjection, archaic)

        A word placed before the name of someone being addressed, often to show strong feeling.

      • obey (verb)

        To do what one has been commanded or asked to do.

      • in the midst of (adverb phrase)

        In the middle of; among.

      • of (preposition)

        From.

      • pluck (verb)

        To pull up or off; to pick.

      • point (noun)

        Part; detail.

      • preach (verb)

        To teach or proclaim the gospel.

      • prepare (verb)

        To provide.

      • remnant (noun)

        Those left when members of a group of people die or disappear.

      • repent (verb)

        To feel sorrow for one’s sins, ask to be forgiven, and change one’s life.

      • seed (noun)

        Posterity; descendants.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • should (verb)

        May; must; ought to.

      • it shall came to pass (verb phrase)

        It will happened.

      • show (verb)

        To give evidence for.

      • sign (noun)

        A symbolic act or event given by God to show that something is true.

      • Son (proper noun)

        Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He created the earth and rules it. He often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected.

      • take place (verb)

        To happen.

      • that (conjunction)

        In order that; so that.

      • thee (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • therefore (adverb)

        For this reason.

      • therefore (adverb)

        Now; so.

      • thou shalt (phrase, archaic)

        You will.

      • thus (adverb)

        In this way.

      • thy (pronoun, archaic)

        Your.

      • unbelief (noun)

        Absence or lack of belief or faith.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • come unto (verb)

        To come to; to show willingness to follow or obey.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • verily (adverb)

        Truly.

      • whereby (conjunction)

        By which.

      • whosoever (pronoun)

        Whoever.

      • wisdom (noun)

        Knowledge of what is right; ability to make correct decisions.

      • wisdom (noun)

        Knowledge of what is right; ability to make correct decisions.

      • wo unto (interjection)

        Bad things will happen to; cursed is.

      • word (noun)

        Message; teachings.

      • works (noun)

        Actions; deeds.

      • worship (verb)

        To honor, venerate, or praise God.

      • ye (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • yea (interjection, archaic)

        Indeed; yes. This is pronounced “yay.”

      • Zion (proper noun)

        The kingdom of God on earth.