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Annotations |
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Chapter 16
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1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other
sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither
in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.
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3 Ne 16:1-3
Jesus mentions sheep twice here, and it follows his reference to domesticated sheep of a fold in the previous chapter. Since there were no domesticated sheep in the Americas at
this time, the context of this term would have been meaningless to these people.
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2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet
heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 16:1-3 above
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3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I
shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered
among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go
to show myself unto them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 16:1-3 above
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4 And I command you that ye shall write these sayings
after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have
seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name,
that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the
other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write
shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the
fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered
forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought
in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.
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Jesus commands them to write about these sayings so that
they can be made available to the other sheep (presumably through the Book of
Mormon). Yet the Church’s essay on the “translation” of the Book of Mormon
currently admits that the “translation” was done without reference to the
plates or any other writing. What was the point of writing this down then? (Book of Mormon Translation)
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5 And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of
the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made
unto all the people of the house of Israel.
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6 And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in
me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the
Father.
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7 Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father,
and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day
shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things
shall be made known unto them.
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8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the
Gentiles—for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land,
and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people
who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have
been trodden under feet by them;
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9 And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles,
and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of
Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have
caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be
afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become
hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them—
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10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto
you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall
reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their
hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and
shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs,
and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms,
and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall
reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the
fulness of my gospel from among them.
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11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made
unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.
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12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the
Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto
you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness
of my gospel.
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13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me,
saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of
Israel.
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14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house
of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.
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15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my
voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel,
that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they
shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for
nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O
house of Israel.
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16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father
commanded me—that I should give unto this people this land for their
inheritance.
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17 And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be
fulfilled, which say:
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18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice
together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall
bring again Zion.
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19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of
Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem.
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20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.
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