1 And after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do. [Nephi prophesies of Christ’s coming to the Nephites, because he saw it in vision.]
2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.
3 And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth [When the night came it would not be dark.], and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish [The terrible destructions and three days without light.]; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them. [God’s judgments]
4 Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble.
5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.
6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of Hosts. [Nephi sees these destructions about 600 years before they occur.]
7 O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth [overwhelms] me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.
8 But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution—behold, they are they which shall not perish. [This is a type for how the righteous will withstand the day of judgment in the last days.]
9 But the Son of Righteousness [Christ] shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness. [4th Nephi]
10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught [give up their blessings for nothing]; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell. [The exact same thing is occurring in our today.]
11 For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul.
12 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews [the last chapter], that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God; [The coming Church of the Gentiles]
13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith. [the Times of the Gentiles]
14 But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring these things [these records] forth unto the children of men.
15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles [after the Indian Nations have fallen to the new people which inhabit the land]; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. [there will be a change and blessing brought forth]
16 For those who shall be destroyed [Native American ancestors] shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him [Moroni] power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust. [the records]
17 For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God. [The fallen Nephites and Lamanites]
18 Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant, suddenly— [The remaining Nephites shall be destroyed.]
19 And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief [Native Americans] shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles.
20 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor. [Any Church that inhibits the gifts of the Spirit (miracles), and preaches the words of their own ministers, and thereby increases their gain and control, is fallen.]
21 And there are many churches built up which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice. [Churches that compete against each other.]
22 And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever. [This is the state of today’s Church of the Gentiles. Such secret combinations are not known to the people, but the Lord knows.]
23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness. [The Lord does not work amongst his church in secret, this is where Satan performs his darkness. (This is not a condemnation of temple ordinances, as such information is readily available.)]
24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. [No person is denied baptism for any reason if they desire it.]
25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. [No emissary of the Lord is justified to deny entrance to the kingdom of God based upon previous sin, habits, or allegiances. Only one requirement; do you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? If the person performing the baptism is accepted of God and the one receiving has real intent, it is honored of the Lord.]
26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people [Church of Christ] that they should persuade all men to repentance. [turn their hearts to God]
28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men [mankind] are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden. [This is the purpose of the Times of the Gentiles, to bring the Gospel to the entire world.]
29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion. [This is a powerful condemnation against the Church of the Gentiles. If they preach for the purpose of promoting themselves in any way, to garner the praise of others, or to gain anything other than to inspire repentance of the people, they are exercising priestcraft. Priestcraft is like being a professional clergy, where one is supported by the funds given to the Church, or by money made indirectly because of their position of authority. What does it mean to seek the welfare of Zion? A Zion people are those that know the Lord, they are equal in spirit and love, without any form of pecking order, they seek a relationship with Jesus that is uninhibited. There is no place upon the accessible world today where a Zion society exists. But it is coming.]
30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love [Christ’s love]. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish. [The opposite of priestcraft, where the person exercises love according to their own pleasure, is to have charity, where all love is performed by the Spirit for the welfare of Zion; or in other words, to bring others to Christ.]
31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish. [Strong words against those who seek their own interests instead of bringing others to Christ.]
32 And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish. [A strong emphasis on the Ten Commandments. Even though the Mosaic Law is ended in Christ today, we are still reminded to remember to keep these commandments.]
33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men [There are those who claim that some of these established sins are justified if the Lord commands it. If any man preaches this he is false. If they use rare examples from the scriptures, including Abraham and Nephi, they do not understand the Lord or His ways. Be careful.]; and he doeth nothing save it be plain [simply understood] unto the children of men [Gentiles]; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness [gift of the Holy Ghost]; and he denieth none that come unto him [caveat is that they must come], black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
Many who read this chapter will make conclusions in their minds who these words are condemning. The Church of the Gentiles includes all churches which inhibit people from coming unto Christ. I do not specify their names because it is your responsibility to pray and seek personal revelation regarding these things.
When the Lord reveals himself in the last days He will separate the wheat from the tares and all hidden things shall be made known. If you seek to know truth now, it will be given unto you according to your faith by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Pure Revelations 
It sounds as if ALL of the well known Christian churches among the Gentiles qualify as practicing priestcraft and are condemned. Is there a church of the Gentiles that isn’t fallen?
If it only matters that the person performing the baptism is accepted of God and that the person receiving has real intent, then does it matter what church you belong to?
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Thank you so much for doing this scripture project! I have been waiting to arrive at these chapters. Last year the Lord had me spend 2 months reading 2 Nephi chapters 26, 27 and 28 over and over again. I went to church, served in my Primary calling and studied 2 Nephi 26-28 every night, finally getting to the point where I was reading each word carefully, trying to decipher what the Lord DESPERATELY wanted me to know – like He was excited for me to know! Then one day the Lord opened my mind in an instant and I understood what 2 Nephi 26:20 and 29 (read in that order) were saying. I had made such mental excuses, fastened in place by repeated teachings, that it took two months of reading the same words for my mind to open just enough for the Lord to download the truth. What you shared here is a second witness. Thank you!
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I love this Chapter. It’s one that should cause us to look in word and ask, Is it I.
[Thank you for commenting, Jim. I had to edit this part of your comment because I don’t want to name any institutions, people, or links in the comments. PR]
Jim
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In V.29 you noted “there is no place in the accessible world” where a zion society is in place, does this refer only to those in the north in the earth fissures or also to Enoch’s zion as being ultimately considered part of this earth? [There is only one city in the world living a Zion society. It is not the lost ten tribes or the City of Enoch (not on this world). It is a small Native American group unknown to the general public. (PR)]
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There are only two churches.
“And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” 1 Nephi 14:10
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I promise I’m not trying to argue, just find understanding. I’m a little confused, clearly God commanded Nephi to kill Laban. I know that Nephi did not do it out of self-gratification at all (had he done so it would have clearly been incorrect), but he still did it outside of the established laws of the time. So God does command people to do acts (while this is extremely rare and we should never ever go looking for exceptions) that would at least appear to us as murder or lying (or at least with-holding truth with the intent to deceive). The moment this is done with self-gratification or for self I understand it is wrong. In fact, you better well be sure that the command comes from God in these instances – which means one should know the voice of God. Being unwilling to do anything the Lord asks seems as if one wouldn’t truly have a broken heart and contrite spirit willing to submit to the Father in all things? I know our heart should absolutely abhor sins too, but there seems to be a fine line here and it is to teach us something otherwise it wouldn’t be found in the scriptures. Am I wresting scriptures? Thank you for your response.
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You are correct, George. In the scripture sited it uses the word “murder.” The judgment of God is never murder. There are those who believe they can break the listed commandments in verse 32 with impunity. Murder and whoredoms are never justified for righteousness by God. My comment was focused on such people.
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Much joy felt in exercising faith just now that there is a city on the earth today who are a Zion society. I have yearned to be a part of that for a couple of years now.
seperately, Why are you saying vs 23 is not a condemnation of temple ordinances? [There are those outside of the LDS faith who would think this, so I wanted my thoughts to be clear that I was not referring to that. I am a member of the LDS faith, yet this blog is for all seeking Christ and to be a servant. The LDS ordinances are often considered hidden or secret to those outside this church, but they have much light in them. Some day the fullness of the temple experience will be offered in Zion, and all that has been removed, changed, or altered shall be restored. PR]
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Thank you! I really love what you have clarified regarding baptism in verses 24-25.
Based on that, could you help me understand what it means in Moroni 6, to bring forth fruit worthy of baptism? Is it stating that all the elders, priests, and teachers were required to have a broken heart and contrite spirit to be (re)baptized the same fruit required of Any other person? Or is it referring to another fruit?
And what does it mean to witness unto the church that they had repented? [To witness to the church is to declare by your words and actions that you had given your heart to Christ. This is the fruit which is worthy of baptism. PR]
1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
Thanks again
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2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
——-
I had wondered this also. How could I witness unto the church that I had truly repented of all my sins and possessed a broken and sincere heart? About 4 months ago I was asking the Lord with much intensity how I should know or come to know about this witness to the church. I didn’t receive an immediate answer on my knees but later that morning I felt impressed to follow a cross reference in the scriptures to a passage in Isaiah. It was chapter 55:
6 ¶ Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
It was such a kind response and it resonated all through me. I had truly forsaken my old ways about 2 years prior. I had returned unto the Lord. Lately, my answer is unfolding more completely these past couple of weeks and it’s humbling. There are yet more significant ways for me to return to the Lord that I am learning about.
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Thank you Mike! Another reason why I love this blog so much, I find so many wise and caring souls upon it 😊
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For a Zion society to exist, there must needs be a prophet to raise them up I think. Is that the davidic servant? Or did this small group of people accomplish this without a prophet? [There will be multiple “servants” to help establish Zion. The Davidic Servant will be the principle servant to save the House of Israel. The Joseph Servant will raise up the New Jerusalem. Yes, there will be many prophets and servants before Zion is established.]
How long has this Zion society of Native Americans been in this state? [Since long before Europeans came to America.]
Have you been among them? [Yes]
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I take it these warnings apply to current practices in [I had to remove this because I don’t include any names of institutions or people in comments. PR] as well? [You will need to seek personal revelation whether that is the case. PR]
Also your reference to a Native American group that is living as a Zion society is very interesting. Can you share any more information about that? It coincides with what the Mentinah Archives prophecy about a group of Native Americans called Nemenhah. [I cannot add any more information at this time. I have heard of the Mentinah, but have never studied it.]
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What does a “tare” look like for us? Are they just average people doing what they believe is good? [The truth lies within the heart. It requires the gift of discernment to see. PR]
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The Bible parable says tares are sown by the enemy. Do “tares” people feel a natural love for and desire to seek the Lord in their hearts? [No. PR]
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Is a Tare someone that is perdition? [Not specifically. PR]
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Hi,
Is the one mighty and strong mentioned in the D&C different than the Davidic and Joseph servants? The has certainly used symbolism representing blood sacrifice in his covenants and ordinances for ancient Israel. But were those represented in later day ordinances inspired from Him or more related to Masonic rites tied to the dark side? I can make cases for both sides of the argument. I have been re-reading all the scriptures in the B0M concerning the gentiles, seeking to make sure I do not misunderstand my current beliefs relating to the state of the churches of the gentiles. I look forward to Zion. There are too few that one can have an intelligent open conversation about the gospel with.
Thanks
Jack
[This is a reference to the Davidic Servant from the House of Judah that will lead the army of the Lord to establish Zion before the Lord comes. It is not the Joseph Servant, although he too could be called mighty and strong. The reference is specifically for this person. PR]
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