Book of Mormon (Plain English Version)/1 Nephi/Chapter 13
Nephi’s vision of Europeans in America...
(compare 1 Nephi, chapter 13)
Again the angel said, "Look!"
I looked and saw many nations and kingdoms.
He then asked me, "What do you see?" I told him what I saw, and he told me these were the Gentile nations and kingdoms. Then I saw a great church formed by the Gentile nations.
The angel said, "See the most abominable church of all the churches, which captures, tortures and kills God's saints.”
I saw that the devil was the founder of this great, abominable church. I saw gold, silver, fine silk, fine linen and all types of expensive clothing, and I saw many prostitutes.
The angel said, "All these things that you see are what the great, abominable church desires. Its members capture and destroy God's saints for the praise of the world."
Then I saw a great ocean (Atlantic), which divided the Gentiles from my brothers’ descendants. The angel said, "You will see that God's anger is upon your brothers’ people."
I saw a man among the Gentiles (Christopher Columbus). He was separated from my brothers’ descendants in the promised land by the great ocean.
I saw the Spirit of God come upon him and inspire him to sail across the great ocean.
Other Gentiles, who had been in bondage (Puritans, Pilgrims, etc.), also sailed across the ocean to the promised land inhabited by my brothers’ people.
Then I saw multitudes of Gentiles upon the promised land. God's anger was upon my brothers’ descendants (Native South, Central and North Americans). They were scattered before the Gentiles and many were killed, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon the Gentiles.
The Gentiles prospered and obtained the land for their inheritance. They were white, very fair and beautiful, like my people had been before they were all killed.
Now these Gentiles who had gone out of their captivity and had crossed the ocean were humble before the Lord. Because of their humility, the Lord's power was with them.
Then their native (European) kings became angry, and gathered their armies and navies to battle against the Gentiles in the promised land.
But God's anger was upon all those who fought against the Gentiles, for I saw the Gentiles delivered out of the hands of all other nations by God's power.
And I, Nephi, saw that the freed Gentiles prospered in the land.
I also saw a book that they carried among themselves.
Then the angel asked, "Do you know the meaning of this book?”
"No," I answered.
The angel said, "This book, (which will be known as The Holy Bible), is a record of the Jews. Because this book will contain the covenants that the Lord made to the house of Israel, it will be of great value to the Gentiles. It will also contain many prophecies of the holy prophets, like those engraved on the brass plates, but not as many.
Now when this book first went from the Jews to the Gentiles, it contained the fullness of the gospel, of which the twelve apostles testified in all truth. So according to the truth of the Lamb of God, this book went from the Jews to the Gentiles in purity.
After this true, pure book went from the twelve apostles, or Jews, to the Gentiles, you saw the formation of that great, abominable church, which is the most abominable of all the churches.
This church took out of this book, and out of the gospel, many plain and precious parts. They also took out many parts containing the Lord's covenants with His people.
They did this in order to distort the right ways of the Lord, which made it easier for them to blind the people's eyes and harden their hearts against the true, pure gospel of the Lamb."
The angel then said, “Because of that great, abominable church, the Gentiles’ Holy Bible will no longer contain many of the plain and precious things that the Book of The Lamb of God will have once contained.
Their Holy Bible will first go to the nations of the Old World in Europe. Then it will be taken across the ocean to the promised land, to your brothers' descendants, the Lamanites.
Now you see that because so many plain and precious things will have been taken out of the gospel of the Lamb, multitudes of people, both Gentile and Lamanite, will stumble in darkness, and Satan will have great power over them.
The Gentiles, who were brought out of captivity and made powerful by God, will not be allowed to completely destroy your people, who will mix with your brothers’ people. This is because the Lord God made a covenant with your father, Lehi, that his descendants would have this choice land for their inheritance forever.
Also because of this covenant, the Lord will not allow the Gentiles to remain in their awful state of blindness to the true gospel, which you see they are in because of their incomplete Bible, distorted by that abominable church."
The angel continued, "The Lord will be merciful to the Gentiles by bringing His judgments upon the Lamanites, who will not be mighty before them.
The Lamb of God says, 'I will be merciful to the Gentiles by bringing much (not all) of my gospel to them, and I will restore many (not all) of the plain and precious parts of the gospel to them.’
The resurrected Christ will appear to your descendants in this promised land.
They will write many plain and precious things that He will teach them.
At a later time, when your people are destroyed, these writings will be buried.
And in the last days, when your brothers’ people are faltering in unbelief, these writings will come forth to the Gentiles (Latter-day Saints), through God's gift and power.
These ancient writings, which upon being translated will be known as The Book of Mormon, says the Lamb, will contain my gospel--my rock and my salvation.
Those who seek to bring forth Zion at that day will be blessed, for they will have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost. If they continue in righteousness throughout their lives, they will be lifted up at the last day and saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb.
And those who publish peace at that day, even tidings of great joy, will be beautiful upon the mountains of Zion."
After the angel said this, I saw the Gentiles take The Holy Bible to the Lamanites. I also saw other books being taken to the Lamanites.
These books came forth by the gift and power of the Lamb to the Gentiles (the Latter-Day Saints). I saw these books convince other Gentiles, Lamanites, and Jews who were scattered over the earth, that the records of the prophets and twelve apostles were true!
Then the angel said, "These last records (other books) you see among the Gentiles will establish the truth of The Holy Bible, as written by the twelve apostles to the Jews. They will make the plain and precious things, once removed from the twelve apostles' writings, known again. They will declare to all the people of the earth that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, the Savior of the world, and that all people must come to Him to be saved.
For all must come to the Lamb according to His words, which will be found in your descendants’ record (The complete Book of Mormon), and in the twelve apostles' record (The Holy Bible).
These books will be as one, for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
The time will come when He will first make Himself known to all nations—to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. In the last days, He will first make Himself known to the Gentiles, and then to the Jews."