The Good Don't Speak, And the Speakers Aren't Good.

From the Epistle of James:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness, the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the vices of the world."

Language

JST Genesis says,

"And the Lord came down, beholding the city and the tower which the children of men were building; And the Lord said, Behold, the people are the same, and they all have the same language; and this tower they begin to build, and now, nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined, except I, the Lord, confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So I, the Lord, will scatter them abroad from thence, upon all the face of the land, and unto every quarter of the earth."                

"And they were confounded, and left off to build the city, and they hearkened not unto the Lord, therefore, is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord was displeased with their works, and did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face thereof."      

Ether 1:34 says,

"And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words."      

He says that if they were confounded, then they couldn't understand the language anymore. This sounds a lot like the politically correct culture we live in now. No one listens to the spirit of what a person is saying, they just require others to get all their words right. This is the day when a man is made and offender for a word. (2 Nephi 27:32) It is what Moroni was worried about in Ether 12:23-25(How is this applied today? Moroni was able to be confident in the words he spoke, but not the words he wrote. How do online discussions usually turn out in today's society if the reader and writer don't both have the Holy Ghost?)

If the speaking and listening parties both had the Spirit, then the language they both speak would be understood. This is also what is required to understand scripture. If scripture happens when a person speaks the words of God by the power of the Holy Ghost (D&C 68:4; Acts 4:31), then by what means are we to understand scripture? How did Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery begin to understand scripture in a way that they never before could?(Joseph Smith History, verses 73-74) 

D&C 50 says,

"Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the comforter, the spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the spirit of truth, or some other way? And if by some other way, it be not of God. And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the spirit of truth, or some other way? If it be some other way, it be not of God; therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know that he that receiveth the word by the spirit of truth, receiveth it as it is preached by the spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understandeth one another, and both are edified and rejoice together; and that which doth not edify, is not of God, and is darkness..."

Why is it easier to understand someone if you both have the Spirit? What does it mean to be of one Mind? Think about when you have "heard" God's voice in your life. How did you "hear" it? Why is it that when dreaming you can understand those who speak to you when there is no sound?

The Lord tells Oliver Cowdery that when he asks a question in faith, believing, He "will tell [him] in [his] mind and in [his] heart" the answer. (D&C 8:2)

What if everyone had this gift from God? Then would everyone be of one mind? Would we all understand one another regardless of what our vocabulary was or the way in which our words were arranged? What does the Fifth lecture on Faith say about these things?

Interesting things to consider.

Religious Freeedom Debate

I was watching this.

What I came up with is that a person may believe and act in any manner they wish if no one is physically imposing anything upon anyone else. There is no force. Only persuasion on everyone's part.

If force is used, then force may be required. What I mean is that if there is a rogue person killing others, then others may do what is needed to stop that.

Whatsoever Thing is Expedient in Me

1830 Book of Mormon p. 579:

“If you shall have faith in me, you shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me”

I remember a conversation I was having with a friend’s dad about faith. We talked of experiences we had where we were able to do extraordinary things by faith, but were unable to duplicate the experience. My friend’s dad seemed to struggle with the definition of faith because of that. I think a lot of people have no idea what faith is. It seems like faith is something that you should always have, but if you always had it, then wouldn’t you be able to duplicate experiences you had as a result of your faith? And if I can’t duplicate, then why don’t I have faith now?

It is a good question. I have wondered about it in times past.

If you look at Genesis 14 in the New Translation it shows the type of faith Melchizedek had and makes clear that the power of that kind of faith is only to be used when it is the will of the Lord. No freelancing. You can always have the faith within you, in Christ. You can’t always do whatever you think needs to happen. “If you shall have faith in me, you shall have power to do whatsoever thing IS EXPEDIENT IN ME.” You may have all the faith in the world. But if your actions are not according to that which is expedient in the Lord you may as well have no faith at all.

Now, I know this isn’t a perfect explanation. Moses still messed up by not following the exact commands of the Lord. When told to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water, he smote it with his staff instead. Because of this Moses was cursed and was not permitted by the Lord to enter the promised land.  Though he disobeyed, the rock still brought forth water. Perhaps it was close enough to the will of the Lord that the result was similar to what would have happened if he obeyed. Who knows what the result would have been if he obeyed perfectly though. Perhaps it would have strengthened the faith of someone who had faith that by speaking the word of God great things could happen. Who knows what we missed out on by Moses not entering into the promised land? Who knows? Nevertheless, if you have faith in Christ, you will have power to do anything that he wants you to do – but maybe only that which he wants you to do.

Something I have learned regarding these ideas is that you CAN NOT understand them fully without experience. Experience brings both success and failure, but it has to happen. So go get experience. Serve people, pray often, read the scriptures, and these things will guide you into other actions you can take, and experiences you can get.

Dispute Not, Because Ye See Not

It is disappointing to watch online discussions. My wife always tells me when I am tempted to participate that it never will turn out well. She is right. It never has. 

Everyone contends about what they think is right, and everyone ends up concluding that "we are all wrong". There is a lack of revelation to clarify what is right, and therefore faith is also lacking (Ether 12:6). People end up feeling hurt, others are puffed up in pride, and no one is enlightened. It reminds me of Moroni's plead to "dispute not, because ye see not" and then tells us that a "witness comes after the trial of our faith"(Ib.).

Did you catch that? "Dispute not, because ye see not." You haven't seen anything, you haven't witnessed anything, therefore, do not dispute, do not contend. You don't "know". Go be faithful to the Lord and after your trial of faith, you will get the witness you need to teach others truth, but you will not be contending at that point, only presenting truth and leaving it to others to decide. 

On 13 August 1843 Joseph Smith said:

"[...]had I inspiration, Revelation & lungs to communicate what my soul has contemplated in times past there is not a soul in this congregation but would go to their homes & shut their mouths in everlasting silence on religion, till they had learned something. Why be so certain that you comprehend the things of God.—when all things with you are so uncertain."

It seems the better option - "shutting your mouth"- when presented with speaking in contention or otherwise being quiet until you had "learned something".

Online, people seem to wander off in strange roads(1 Nephi 8:32) and leave the word of God behind, presenting only conjecture mixed with scripture as a basis for their argument. 

Well, maybe Zion is further off that I had hoped.

A Dream

I posted this on facebook a couple of days ago:

Alright, well I had a three part dream in the summer of 2012.

I found myself high up in a massive, dead tree. It was bleak outside, and the tree stood in the middle of a large field. In the tree with me were a few people, meek in countenance, and humble followers of Christ. We determined that we needed to get out of the tree, but upon our attempt to climb down, we were met by a raging whore at the bottom, dressed in scarlet, who would scare us back up into the "safety" of the branches. We attempted escape a couple of times when we thought it was safe, and were unsuccessful each time.

At one point, when I couldn't see the whore at the bottom, I climbed down and stood at the base. I stood there for a second, then turned. As I turned, I found the whore standing behind me, raging and furious. I ran as fast as I could to the west, away from the tree, and as I ran, the massive, dead tree fell at my heels, close to the border of the large field.

This was the end of the first part of the dream.

I asked for the interpretation the next day and it was given to me, but I don't feel like I need to share that here.

Please study your scriptures. Study them prayerfully. Think on them day and night. There will come a time when every organization and institution will disappoint you. Some of the institutions that fail and are made low will cause a major crisis of faith. We can't attach our faith in the Lord to any man, woman, building, or organization because it will certainly disappoint us. It doesn't mean we can't serve our brothers and sisters within those institutions. It doesn't matter that they (the organizations) will fall. It is actually ok that the things which are high and lifted up will brought low(1 Nephi 22:23; 2 Nephi 12:12). This is a good thing. But your faith in Christ must not fail. No matter what happens. No matter if your best friend dies, your parents abandon you, you make so many mistakes that you think you're worthless, or your favorite institution is built on nothing but air - wait upon the Lord. Watch as His work unfolds. Wait longer than you think you can. You can wait longer than you think.

It is interesting to me how closely falsehood can look to be truth. It is a fine line we walk while down here. A narrow path. It is hard to know who to listen to when both Warren Jeffs and Enoch are known as wild men(Moses 6:38), but one is righteous forever and the other is in prison for life. It's hard when you are standing in front of a man who was supposed to be the savior of the world, but won't even save himself from the bondage of a cross. When the guy who you thought was a prophet, and would bring Zion was just murdered and no one was left to pick up the pieces. I get that. I have spent over 2,500 hours the last seven years studying history and scripture to sort these things out in my mind(and I know that's small potatoes compared to a lot of other people). I have often been confronted with difficult questions and had to wait a long time for an answer. If Adam can wait 900 years for an answer, you can wait your whole life(although I doubt you'd have to). Stop being a baby. God knows what He is doing and you can have faith in that.

Here are some things you can believe no matter what goes on around you:

- The book of Mormon was brought to us by God through Joseph Smith

- Joseph was who he said he was

- Joseph was not involved in polygamy (I don't care what "history" you have read. Go read contemporary, first-hand history, not someone else's commentary on history. The Joseph Smith Papers Project is awesome. Use it. I think the essays can safely be ignored though.)

- God is working a great work right now. Find out what He wants you to do. If you don't hear Him, wait and do good to those around you.

- We live in a day where people deny the Holy Ghost and rely on the arm of flesh(2 Nephi 28: 4, 14, 31). Don't be one of those people.

- We are the Gentiles (Book of Mormon, Title Page; D&C 109:60)

- God will speak directly to you. Don't make any person your idol.

I hate the fact that I felt the need to share this on facebook. I think it is embarrassing. I think facebook is a terrible venue for thoughts and discussion. I think that of the maybe twenty people who will read this, two will be people who I actually want to read it. And probably neither will think anything of it. I don't enjoy sharing personal things with the world. Those things, I feel, are reserved for loved ones who I know I can trust. Nevertheless, there it is.

K. Cool.

Temple and Cosmos pt. 2 b

In an old text called "The Ascension of Isaiah" Isaiah is taken from earth and led by a heavenly guide from heaven to heaven, through the seven heavens, to the throne of God. (You can read that here)

In the book of Abraham in Abraham ch. 3 you get this:

"And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees; and I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; and the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest. 

And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.

And the Lord said unto me: The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or greater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years.

And the Lord said unto me: Now, Abraham, these two facts exist, behold thine eyes see it; it is given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time, yea, the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the set time of the greater light which is set to rule the day, and the set time of the lesser light which is set to rule the night. Now the set time of the lesser light is a longer time as to its reckoning than the reckoning of the time of the earth upon which thou standest. And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is, there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still; and thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest. And it is given unto thee to know the set time of all the stars that are set to give light, until thou come near unto the throne of God.

Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made; and he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof. And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.

And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.

And the Lord said unto me: Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words. If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me."

Of this instance, Denver says:

"We have infantile “mysteries” we banter about. I’ve heard speculation about the typography of Kolob, for example. By the way, that whole thing about Kolob is mangled! Kolob was the name of a star Abraham could identify. Kolob was a star within sight from the vantage point of the earth. The entire astronomy revealed to father Abraham was geocentric. It was entirely earth based, looking upward. From the vantage point of the earth, looking upward in Abraham’s day, the astronomy oriented Abraham. In our day, because the precession of the equinoxes, the alignments of stars have changed. Abraham already knew the name of the star. God said to Abraham, You see that star? From where you sit, looking there, the Throne of God is in that direction. It was like saying, Okay, from where my thumb is, looking that way, Shay is sitting by my thumb. That doesn't mean Shay is on my thumb! He's some considerable distance from my thumb! Tim is in the direction of my index finger. He's not on my index finger! He's some considerable distance away from it, but that's the direction. Because it was “nigh” to God, it is located among what is called “unchanging” stars, because they never set. They are continually in view from the earth. Therefore they “govern” those below them. They move “more slowly” because their revolutions and movements take thousands of years from our vantage point. 

Even if you know the typography of Kolob, you still don't know where God resides. Where He resides is in a place hidden in the North. If I were identifying where the throne of God is located today, I would refer to a different star. In our day it has a different name. In our day it has a slightly different alignment because of the precession of equinoxes. The Throne of God is out there, but is in a place that is hidden in the North. It will require the heavens to be rolled like a scroll 36 before you finally see past the veils now in place. But by that time, if you are unprepared, it's too late. Because the glory will be such that you cannot abide it. 

When the Lord appears, preliminary to rolling together the heavenly scrolls, He will first appear in an unveiled opening. The glory of God will be visible around and behind Him, along with concourses of angels. 

Now if you can discover what that alignment is then you can figure out where the Throne of God is presently located. But that is up to you. I've been given no such obligation or permission. But I can tell you there is a specific location. God exists. Abraham was walked through the geography of heaven, reckoned from the vantage point or viewpoint of the earth. When you leave here, one of the obligations you have is to find your way back. In finding your way back, you need to be able to avoid those spirits who seek to bring you back into captivity.39 If you're brought back into captivity, you may find yourself again in a Telestial kingdom, or, as the temple narrative puts it: “the world in which you presently reside.” That's a rather unpleasant thing to think about. You may find yourself a casino in Las Vegas, talking about things that really matter, in a place in which such things are not at all treasured." (40 Years in Mormonism,  Talk 8,  Denver Snuffer)

Cooool!

Temple and Cosmos pt. 2

In one spot, Nibley mentions how the temple is a scale model of the universe.

What I am going to say next is based completely off of speculation that me and my best friend talked about in a conversation about the subject.

So if you look at the a top-down drawing of what we think the temple of Solomon would have looked like, you get this:

You'll notice an "outer" court, an inner court, a holy place, and the Holy of Holies.

If you look at what we know about the Milky Way Galaxy, and our position within our galaxy, it looks like this:

You'll notice that our Sun's location is about where the "inner court" is at. Then there is a part beyond that where the "outer court" would be. Then you move in a few thousand light years to the "holy place" then a few thousand light years more to the "Holy of Holies" or the place where God resides.

It is said that at the center of our galaxy there is a massive black hole. We know that the gravity of a black hole can have such a huge affect on light that it pulls it in. Imagine that. Light is actually controlled by large amounts of gravity. We know that God is a being of Spirit(Lectures on Faith, Lecture Five) and that Spirit is Light (D&C 84:45). So you could, in theory, have a being composed purely of light if they resided in a place of such gravity that it held their light(body) together.

Interesting!

Temple and Cosmos pt. 1

I have been reading the book "Temple and Cosmos" by Hugh Nibley. I am only in chapter two, but have learned quite a bit.

In one spot Nibley talks about the Ancient Egyptians and their belief that their mental exertion had an effect on the world around them. It was strenuous and took a lot of focus. They needed something to excite their mind and give them the energy to continue upholding their way of life through thought day to day.

The symbolism of the temple was supposed to do this for them. The things they learned through those symbols excited their minds. It gave them power, or light, or truth, or the word of God to their minds and their hearts to be able to uphold those things around them by mental exertion.

In the Lectures on Faith, it is explained that,

"when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force: it is by words instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith—God said, Let there be light, and there was light—Joshua spake and the great lights which God had created stood still — Elijah commanded and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain: He again commanded, and the heavens gave forth rain,—all this was done by faith."(LoF, Lecture 7)

I have been taught that faith to move a mountain can take on many forms. Grab a shovel and start digging until it's gone, get some help from friends, use explosives, etc. But it seems that what is said in the lectures is that when we work by faith, the faith that saves anyway, it isn't by physical force. We "speak"(and I put that in quotations because if you think about the last time you "heard" God's voice, did you hear it with your ears, or with your mind and your heart?) according to that which excites our minds and then things around us are affected by our "words".

"Now Melchizedek was a man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch. It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God; and it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.

For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world. And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven." (Joseph Smith Translation, Gen. 14) 

It was said of Enoch that,

"so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him."(Moses 7:13)

Something that I think is important to consider is that "he spake the word of the Lord" and "so great was the power of the language which God had given him."

These people have power, by faith, to do things NOT according to God's will. They COULD freelance. But they only do what the Lord tells them. Moses did not follow exactly as the Lord commanded when quenching the thirst of the children is Israel, and he was not allowed to enter into the promised land with his people.(Numbers 20: 7-12) It is no minor thing to do things against the will of God. Especially when He has tutored you into this kind of power. A power where, if given to the wrong kind of person can divide the earth to get gain, may put at defiance the armies of nations for his pleasure, can persuade the hearts of men to do wickedly.  These are sons of perdition and to these comes no forgiveness in this world nor the world to come. 

But if a person attains to these things and does the will of the Lord, then they can have eternal life.

Interesting book anyways.

The Prophecies: Other Books

Toward the end of Nephi’s lesson on the history of the world, we come to our time in earth’s history:

1 Nephi 13:

“And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.”

“And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth. And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.”

What are these “other books”? Are they the D&C? The Book of Enoch, Zeonos, Zenock, etc. that “will be testified of in due time”(D&C 107:57)? What are the “records of the twelve apostles of the lamb”? Are these the twelve contemporaries with Jesus? Or are they others like Enoch, Melchizedek, Adam, Noah, John, etc who “are righteous forever”(1 Nephi 12:10)?

This is important to know because it is close to where we’re at in the prophecy(after the “book of the lamb” goes forth from the Gentiles to the remnant of the seed of Nephi’s brethren). How will they come forth? By whom(The gentiles- 1 Nephi 13:39)?

Is this the bible and Book of Mormon, bound together? Is it something else?

"The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions; and join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 

And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anymore at all; neither shall they defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore."

As an interesting tangent, who is David here? It certainly isn’t King David of the Bible since this prophecy is after his time.

Words of Joseph Smith p. 331:

"Although David was a king, he never did obtain the spirit and power of Elijah and the fullness of the Priesthood; and the Priesthood that he received, and the throne and kingdom of David is to be taken from him and given to another by the name of David in the last days, raised up out of his lineage."

Will this man be given the name of David by his earthly parents? Will he be given the name by God? What does this servant have to do with the two sticks(Books)? 

More on “other books” from 2 Nephi 29:

“For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.”

Then Zion comes in the next verse:

“And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.”

Seems like, so far, the gentiles speak the words of the Book of Mormon to the world and they are convinced and they gather with all their books.

2 Nephi 30 confirms:

“And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.

And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.

And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people. And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.[return of the city of Enoch?]”

More on “other books” in a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery [D&C 8] as quoted from revelation book 1:

“O remember these words and keep my commandments remember this is thy gift now this is not all for thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the sprout Behold it hath told you things Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature to work in your hands for it is the work of God and therefore whatsoever ye shall ask to tell you by that means that will he grant unto you that ye shall know remember that without faith ye can do nothing. Trifle not with these things do not ask for that which ye had not ought ask that ye may know the mysteries of God and that ye may Translate all those ancient Records which have been hid up which are Sacred and according to your faith shall it be done unto you Behold it is I that have spoken it and I am the same which spake unto you from the beginning amen”

Mormon Ch. 7:

"And now, behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant of this people who are spared, if it so be that God may give unto them my words, that they may know of the things of their fathers; yea, I speak unto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel; and these are the words which I speak: Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel? Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved? Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall command you? Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up? And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.

Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. Forbehold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen."

Just some scriptures I have found on the subject.

ADDENDUM 9/20/2016

As I read in Ether this morning, I came across this:

"And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country. And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether. And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account. But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed." (Ether 1:1-5)

Heaven is Involved pt. 4

I think this shows that heaven not only is very busy and involved with what is going on here on Earth, but needs to be involved in our own lives. This is why it is important to know the fathers and be a member of the church of the First Born. So that we can be in a state of rejoicing when the Lord comes, rather than a state of misery.

Seems like in order to get that relationship we need to be like Melchizedek, approved of God, in JST Gen 14:

“And Melchizedek lifted up his voice and blessed Abram. 

Now Melchizedek was a man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch. It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God; and it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.

For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world. And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. 

And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace. And his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter days, or the end of the world; and hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons of God should be tried so as by fire.”

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Joseph said in the Lectures on Faith:

“Let us here offer some explanation in relation to faith that our meaning may be clearly comprehended: We ask, then, what are we to understand by a man's working by faith? We answer: We understand that when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force: it is by words instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith—God said, Let there be light, and there was light—Joshua spake and the great lights which God had created stood still — Elijah commanded and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain: He again commanded, and the heavens gave forth rain,—all this was done by faith; and the Savior says, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say to this mountain, remove, and it will remove; or say to that sycamine tree, Be ye plucked up and planted in the midst of the sea, and it shall obey you. Faith, then, works by words; and with these its mightiest works have been, and will be performed.”

For God to take notice, and make the sacrifice to condescend, we must be humble. We have to notice, in our weakness, that we are nothing. And that He is everything. This will cause us to cry out to him in uncertainty which we realize through the affliction of fasting and prayer.

Have to remember meekness and charity:

1 Corithians 13:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Perfect love:

“Until we have perfect love we are liable to fall and when we have a testimony that our names are sealed in the Lamb’s book of life we have perfect love and then it is impossible for false Christs to deceive us; also said, that the Lord held the Church bound to provide for families of the absent Elders while proclaiming the Gospel; further, that God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church. The Lord would cut short his work in righteousness and except the Church receive the fullness of the Scriptures that they would yet fail.”(TPJS p. 9)

I would also read/listen to Annett Larsen's talk on perfect love from the Doctrine of Christ conference. That can be heard here: http://www.doctrineofchristconference.com/#speakers

Heaven is Involved pt. 3

There are Angels that are given to guard the righteous from harm. During all of the calamity in 3 Nephi, it was the "more righteous part" of the people who were spared. It said that they: 

"received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared— And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.

And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets."(3 Nephi 10:12-14)

Here is an account of a dream Joseph gave:

“In the evening I attended meeting in the Seventies’ Hall. George J. Adams preached and I made some observations afterwards, and related a dream which I had a short time since. I thought I was riding out in my carriage, and my guardian angel was along with me. We went past the Temple and had not gone much further before we espied two large snakes so fast locked together that neither of them had any power. I inquired of my guide what I was to understand by that. He answered, “Those snakes represent Dr. Foster and Chauncey L. Higbee. They are your enemies and desire to destroy you; but you see they are so fast locked together that they have no power of themselves to hurt you.” I then thought I was riding up Mulholland street, but my guardian angel was not along with me. On arriving at the prairie, I was overtaken and seized by William and Wilson Law and others, saying, “Ah, ah! we have got you at last! We will secure you and put you in a safe place!” and, without any ceremony dragged me out of my carriage, tied my hands behind me, and threw me into a deep, dry pit, where I remained in a perfectly helpless condition, and they went away. While struggling to get out, I heard Wilson Law screaming for help hard by. I managed to unloose myself so as to make a spring, when I caught hold of some grass which grew at the edge of the pit.”

“I looked out of the pit and saw Wilson Law at a little distance attacked by ferocious wild beasts, and heard him cry out, “Oh Brother Joseph, come and save me!” I replied, “I cannot, for you have put me into this deep pit.” On looking out another way, I saw William Law with outstretched tongue, blue in the face, and the green poison forced out of his mouth, caused by the coiling of a large snake around his body. It had also grabbed him by the arm, a little above the elbow, ready to devour him. He cried out in the intensity of his agony, “Oh, Brother Joseph, Brother Joseph, come and save me, or I die!” I also replied to him, “I cannot, William; I would willingly, but you have tied me and put me in this pit, and I am powerless to help you or liberate myself.” In a short time after my guide came and said aloud, “Joseph, Joseph, what are you doing there?” I replied, “My enemies fell upon me, bound me and threw me in.” He then took my by the hand, and drew me out of the pit, set me free, and we went away rejoicing. (June 13, 1844.)”

He speaks of this angel as if he knows them well. He didn't say "there was an angel with me" he said "my guardian angel was along with me."

I imagine this is how Alma and Amulek were able to survive the prison falling to the earth around them while everyone else was crushed in Alma 14:

“And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet. And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith, which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them. 

And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof. 

And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ. And they straightway came forth out of the prison; and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city.”

Angels are not to be worshipped, or even approached for guidance(Rev. 19:10), but they are sent to minister when we go to God for guidance and help.

Heaven is Involved pt. 2

In the Book of Revelation, it says:

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel?), holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God (Someone with the Spirit of Elijah); and I heard him cry with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And the number of them who were sealed, were an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, Amen; Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God (First seven Fathers? Represented by Big dipper? Seven last days servants?); and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”

So here, you have angels who have a job to sound the trumpet, letting the angels who have power to hurt the earth know that it is time to hurt the earth.

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood. And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth; and to the angel was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reasons of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them, it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”

Apparently, the seal is to make your calling and election sure:

“The world is reserved unto burning in the last days. He shall send Elijah the prophet, and he shall reveal the covenants of the fathers in relation to the children and the covenants of the children in relation to the fathers.”

“Four destroying angels holding power over the four quarters of the earth until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads, which signifies sealing the blessing upon their heads, meaning the everlasting covenant, thereby making their calling and election sure. When a seal is put upon the father and mother, it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by virtue of the covenant of their father and mother.”

“To the mourners I would say—Do as the husband and the father would instruct you, and you shall be reunited.”

“The speaker continued to teach the doctrine of election and the sealing powers and principles and spoke of the doctrine of election with the seed of Abraham, and the sealing of blessings upon his posterity, and the sealing of the fathers and children, according to the declarations of the prophets. He then spoke of Judge Higbee in the world of spirits, and the blessings which he would obtain, and of the kind spirit and disposition of Judge Higbee while living; none of which was reported”(TPJS )

Heaven is Involved pt. 1

Denver’s talk on “Priesthood” in Orem:

“These are the four great angels at the four corners of the earth. Adam is the one in the East, the angel who is considered the one who presides over and has control of the air. Which is apt because onto Adam was given the breath of life in the beginning. Raphael is in the South, and he is associated with the power of fire, which is apt because of his fiery ascent with his people into heaven. Gabriel is the angel in the West who has the power over water, which is apt because in mortality, he survived through the Flood. And Uriel, though not mentioned, is the one who in the North has the power over the earth, which is apt because he remains upon the earth and he is the guardian at one gate with Elijah at the other end.

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Adam/Michael 

Enoch/Raphael

Noah/Gabriel

John/Uriel 

3 Nephi 8:

“And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the record—for he truly did  many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity— And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time, the thirty and third year had passed away; And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be  darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land. And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given.

And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did ^bshake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder.  And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. And the ^acity of Zarahemla did take fire. And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.  And the earth was carried up upon the city of  Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain.  And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward. But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth; And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough. And many ^agreat and notable cities were sunk, and many were ^cburned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate.

 And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were many in them who were slain. And there were some who were carried away in the^awhirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.  And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth. And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.  And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all; And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them. And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla. And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.”

 This can exercise be continued for a couple more pages.