and thankfulness unto the Lord Jesus, their Redeemer.
The horrors of the desolation past was succeeded by the most glorious age in Nephite history. The extreme of misery was followed by a fulness of joy. The crucified Redeemer himself appeared and ministered among the people; with His own voice he explained the beauties and harmonies of salvation's wondrous plan. The simple, heart-reaching truths of the everlasting Gospel He repeated in the same plain and gentle terms in which He had taught His disciples at Jerusalem, and even greater truths did He announce and greater works perform, because of the more abundant faith of the Nephites. He also organized His Church in their midst, and called twelve Disciples, who became His special representatives and the presiding authorities of His Church. These are to sit in the great day of judgment as the judges of the seed of Nephi, and be themselves judged by the Twelve Apostles whom He had called from among the Jews.
First of these Nephite Twelve stood Nephi, who, by virtue of his seniority, his previous position, or his goodness, or, perhaps, all combined, was recognized by the Savior on various occasions as the foremost of his race. Nephi, at this time, was most probably advanced beyond the middle age of man, as he had held the records more than thirty-three years after his father's departure from this earth, and as that event occurred when the elder Nephi was quite aged, and Nephi was his eldest son, it is presumable that, if he were one of those who died when he was seventy-two years old, his day on the earth was not a long one after the departure of his Divine Master.
Though Nephi had himself been baptized, and had in times past baptized many, yet a new dispensation being now opened, Jesus commanded
