I listened to 2N21 over and over again this week because I wanted to know: What in the world was so important from it that Moroni would quote it to JS 4 times in one night! When JS was only 17 years old! There were some other scriptures Moroni quoted as well:
Moroni appears to Joseph Smith—Joseph’s name is to be known for good and evil among all nations—Moroni tells him of the Book of Mormon and of the coming judgments of the Lord and quotes many scriptures—The hiding place of the gold plates is revealed—Moroni continues to instruct the Prophet. (Verses 27–54.)
27 I continued to pursue my common vocations in life until the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all classes of men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to aaffirm that I had seen a vision.
28 During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three—having been forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my afriends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me—I was left to all kinds of btemptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish cerrors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of dlevity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was ecalled of God as I had been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native fcheery temperament.
29 In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to aprayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full bconfidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.
30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a alight appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a bpersonage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
31 He had on a loose robe of most exquisite awhiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.
32 Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was aglorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like blightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was cafraid; but the dfear soon left me.
33 He called me by aname, and said unto me that he was a bmessenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for cgood and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
34 He said there was a abook deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the bfulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
35 Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a abreastplate, constituted what is called the bUrim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted c“seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.
36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the athird chapter of Malachi; (which part?) 1 Behold, I will
asend my
bmessenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly
ccome to his
dtemple, even the
emessenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 But who may
aabide the
bday of his
ccoming? and who shall
dstand when he appeareth? for he is like a
erefiner’s ffire, and like fullers’
gsoap:
3 And he shall sit as a
arefiner and purifier of silver: and he shall
bpurify the
csons of
dLevi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an
eoffering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of
aJudah and Jerusalem be
bpleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And I will come near to you to
ajudgment; and I will be a swift witness against the
bsorcerers, and against the
cadulterers, and against
dfalse swearers, and against those that
eoppress the hireling in his
fwages, the
gwidow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the
hstranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For I am the Lord, I
achange not; therefore ye sons of
bJacob are not
cconsumed.
7 ¶ Even from the days of your
afathers ye are gone away from mine
bordinances, and have not kept them.
cReturn unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
8 ¶
aWill a man
brob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In
ctithes and offerings.
9 Ye are
acursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the
atithes into the storehouse, that there may be
bmeat in mine house, and
cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
dopen you the
ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a
fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will
arebuke the
bdevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
13 ¶ Your words have been
astout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
14 Ye have said, It is
avain to serve God: and what
bprofit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the
aproud happy; yea, they that work
bwickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
16 ¶ Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a
abook of
bremembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be
amine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
bjewels; and I will
cspare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and
adiscern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
37 For behold, the aday cometh that shall bburn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as cstubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
1
aFor, behold, the
bday cometh, that shall
cburn as an oven; and all the
dproud, yea, and all that do
ewickedly, shall be
fstubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
gbranch.[It makes me wonder: Who are THEY that come? Destroying angels? Will I be one?] 2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the
aSun of righteousness
barise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the
cstall.
3 And ye shall
atread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 ¶ Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I
acommanded unto him in
bHoreb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 ¶ Behold, I will
asend you
bElijah the prophet
cbefore the coming of the
dgreat and dreadful
eday of the Lord:
38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the aPriesthood, by the hand of bElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the cLord.[I suspect that “the Priesthood” means that there will be a work that needs to be done! Temple ordinances.]
39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the achildren the bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. 6 And he shall
aturn the
bheart of the
cfathers to the
dchildren, and the heart of the
echildren to their fathers, lest I come and
fsmite the
gearth with a
hcurse.[This one is very different! The children will have the seed planted! And Utterly Wasted is huge to me!]
40 In addition to these, he quoted the aeleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. (I took 2N 21=Is 11)
1
aAnd there shall
bcome forth a rod out of the
cstem of Jesse, and a
dbranch shall grow out of his roots.[Jared Hal. says a better translation of stem would be stump. Stump of a tree.]
2 And the
aSpirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of
bwisdom and
cunderstanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;[fear=reverence]
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not
ajudge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.[spiritual understanding, eyes & ears.]
4 But with
arighteousness shall he
bjudge the poor, and reprove with equity for the
cmeek of the earth; and he shall
dsmite the earth with the
erod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.[breath=HG, spirit]
5 And
arighteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The
awolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.[millennial time frame]
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.
9 They shall
anot hurt nor
bdestroy in all my holy mountain, for the
cearth shall be full of the
dknowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.[JH-the sea is already water! but. . .]
10 And in that day there shall be a
aroot of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the
bGentiles seek; and his
crest shall be glorious.[JS]
11 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the
asecond time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from
bAssyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from
cShinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an
aensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
boutcasts of Israel, and
cgather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The
aenvy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not
benvy cJudah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.[How interesting these two tribes are singled out.]
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the
aPhilistines towards the west; they shall spoil them of the east together; they shall lay their hand upon
bEdom and
cMoab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And the Lord shall utterly
adestroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over
bdry shod.[Moseslike miracle]
16 And there shall be a
ahighway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that bprophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be ccut off from among the people,” but soon would come.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A
aprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be
adestroyed from among the people.[more revelation from JC]
41 He also quoted the asecond chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be.
28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will
apour out my
bspirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall
cprophesy, your
dold men shall
edream dreams, your young men shall see
fvisions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew
awonders in the
bheavens and in the earth, blood, and
cfire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
ablood, before the great and the terrible
bday of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall
acall on the name of
bthe Lord shall be
cdelivered: for in
dmount eZion and in
fJerusalem shall be
gdeliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the
hremnant whom the Lord shall
icall.
And he further stated that the fulness of the bGentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which ccannot be mentioned here.
42 Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be adestroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my bmind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.
43 After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he aascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.
44 I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my ameditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside.
45 He commenced, and aagain related the very same things which he had done at his first visit, without the least variation; which having done, he informed me of great bjudgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by cfamine, dsword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before.
46 By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in aastonishment at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to btempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting crich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other dmotive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.
47 After this third visit, he again ascended into heaven as before, and I was again left to aponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after the heavenly messenger had ascended from me for the third time, the cock crowed, and I found that day was approaching, so that our interviews must have occupied the whole of that night.
48 I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my astrength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I bfell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything.
49 The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up, and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my afather and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received.
50 I obeyed; I returned to my afather in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He breplied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. I left the field, and went to the place where the messenger had told me the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant that I arrived there.
As I, Vern read all those together I felt the surety of their fulfilment and the hope of the 2nd Coming and Millennium. I thrill with how saints all over the world are being gathered to the stakes of Zion. tyhf!
Temple/Family Treasure November 6, 2023 by Rand Packer SGFSC
As many of you have noticed, what FamilySearch was in the past is not what FamilySearch is in the present and certainly will not be in the future. It is changing as does the world in these latter days. Our mission statement we recite every prayer meeting no long mentions the Church but has expanded to include all of Heavenly Father’s children in every nation. FamilySearch currently has 6,058 centers throughout the world. Before the war in Ukraine began we had 34 such centers in that country with an active temple. [v-I am pasting this because I haven't really been interested in the past but may be in the future.] FamilySearch impact is growing exponentially throughout the world like a ‘giger-counter gone wild’ to use the words of Hugh Nibley. It is up to us to grow with it.
We rejoice when we are told that of the 5,500,000 new accounts in FamilySearch last year, 97% of those new accounts were of non-members of the Church. [The non-member part is cool! v] Furthermore, of the 120,000,000 names added to the world-wide family tree, 80% of those names were added by non-members. [v-That means that non-members are doing work and AND notice it is the world-wide family tree! ]Every day as we come to serve here in this center it is good to know that FamilySearch adds over 1,000,000 searchable records to the Church database. (Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, Chairman of the FS Board) Surely we can see what’s happening and the preparations being made in light of these latter-days in which we live.
