Lesson 4 – 1 Nephi 12-14

THE THINGS WHICH I SAW WHILE I WAS CARRIED AWAY IN THE SPIRIT

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The timeline of todays lesson

Cruifixion of Christ

The Great Apostasy

Final Battle between Nephites and Lamanites

Lehi and Family Leave Jerusalem

Columbus arrives in Hispanola

Restoration of the Gospel

Chapter 12 Nephi see’s his descendants in the land of promise – v1 He sees the wars between his seed and the seed of his

brothers – v2 He sees the destruction on the land at the time of

Christ’s crucifixion – v4 He sees the risen Lord visit his people – v6 He sees 12 ministers called to serve his people – v7-10 An Angel shows him the righteousness of his people for

4 generations – v11-12 Nephi interprets parts of his Fathers Vision – v16-18 He sees the destruction of his descendants by the

Lamanites – v19

Chapter 13 The “great and abominable church” set up among

the Gentiles (v. 4-9) The discovery and colonizing of America (v. 10-20) The loss of many plain and precious parts of the

Bible (v. 20-29) The resultant state of gentile apostasy (v.32-34) The restoration of the gospel (v. 34-37) The coming forth of latter-day scripture (v. 35-36,

39-41) The building up of Zion (v. 37)

Chapter 14 Nephi learns of blessings and

punishments in the last days (v. 1-9) Nephi learns that there are only 2

churches (v. 10-12) Nephi sees the persecution of the Saints

by the Church of the Devil (v. 12-20) Nephi sees the mission of the Apostle

John (v. 18-30)

Did Nephi’s “seed” survive destruction?1 Nephi 13 30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles

who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren.

31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.

Great and Abominable Church

"And it came to pass that I beheld the great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it." (1 Ne. 13:6) What exactly is "the great and abominable church?"

"And [the angel] said unto me: Behold there are two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil." (1 Ne. 14:10) So does that mean that the LDS Church is the church of

the Lamb of God, and all other churches are of the devil? NO

"Contend against no church save it be the church of the devil." (D&C 18:20).

Our mandate to our brothers and sisters in the world… "Bring all the good you have with you, and let us

add to it." -Gordon B. Hinckley

"We are a global church. Our membership is found throughout the world. May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to those of our own." - Thomas S. Monson

The Gentiles come to America1 Nephi 13

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

Christopher Columbus "It was the Lord who put it into my mind,

(I could feel His hand upon me), the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures.” (Christopher Columbus’ Journal)

The Gentiles come to America1 Nephi 13

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

Scattered “before” the Gentiles Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced with

Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an estimated 95% of the pre-Columbian Native American population. The most populous and highly organized native societies of North American, the Mississippian chiefdoms, disappeared in that way between 1492 and the late 1600s, even before Europeans themselves made their first settlement on the Mississippi River." (Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of

Human Societies, p. 78)

Creating a Free Nation "I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth

out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to 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. 13:16-19)

New Order of the Ages The story of the American Revolution is

the story of miracles: a ragtag, unseasoned, disorganized group of citizen-soldiers won their independence from the world's greatest empire. The Book of Mormon tells us this was a part of God's plan, to create an environment where the "marvelous work and a wonder" of the Restoration of the Gospel could take place.

Nancy Jensen