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Annotations |
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Chapter 28
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1 Now it came to pass that after the sons of Mosiah had
done all these things, they took a small number with them and returned to
their father, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that
they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi
that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might
impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites—
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2 That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of
the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and
that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that
they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might
become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions
in all the land which the Lord their God had given them.
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3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared
to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish;
yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment
did cause them to quake and tremble.
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According to D&C 19:6-12 the words “endless” and “eternal”
do not mean without end when it comes to “endless torment” or “eternal
damnation”. These verses in the D&C explain that these words are used
because, “it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon
the hearts of the children of men.” When people read these words in the Book
of Mormon, how do they likely understand the words “endless” and “eternal”?
Is this honest communication if D&C 19 reveals the actual meaning of
these words?
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4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for
they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite
mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because
of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast off
forever.
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5 And it came to pass that they did plead with their
father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi.
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6 And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he
should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word.
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7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many
shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will
deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.
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8 And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might
go and do according to their request.
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9 And they took their journey into the wilderness to go up
to preach the word among the Lamanites; and I shall give an account of their
proceedings hereafter.
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10 Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon,
for there was not any of his sons who would accept of the kingdom.
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11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on
the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which
he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having
translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of
gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him
by the hand of Limhi;
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Mosiah 28:11-16
Notice that when there are writings that the people cannot read or interpret
by the skills of men, the people of God can apparently take the writings to
the seer to get the interpretation. That’s what the early LDS Church did as
it brought things to Joseph to interpret.
The LDS Church today sustains 15 seers, yet much is left un-interpreted.
- The Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar of the Kirtland
Egyptian Papers.
- The Kinderhook plates the Church had/has in its
possession. The Church claimed for decades that these were authentic
ancient engravings providing evidence of the prophetic calling of
Joseph. That is, they claimed this until technology revealed that these
were indeed a 19th century creation and a hoax that Joseph fell for.
- The rediscovered Egyptian papyri. Does it contain any of
the writings of the Book of Joseph that Joseph Smith said were contained
in the full set of papyri? Why, after rediscovery in 1966, did the
Church have scholars examine this instead of the seers?
- Other writings of lost languages throughout the world.
What if some of these are from the lost tribes?
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12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his
people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people
who had been destroyed.
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Annotation for Mosiah 28:11-16 above
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13 And now he translated them by the means of those two
stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.
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Annotation for Mosiah 28:11-16 above
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14 Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and
were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of
interpreting languages;
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Annotation for Mosiah 28:11-16 above
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15 And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of
the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the
land the iniquities and abominations of his people;
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Annotation for Mosiah 28:11-16 above
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16 And whosoever has these things is called seer, after
the manner of old times.
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Annotation for Mosiah 28:11-16 above
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17 Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records,
behold, it gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time
that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the
time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered
abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back
until the creation of Adam.
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This declares the Tower of Babel account a literal and
factual event. If true, this would mean that until about 4,200 years ago
(according to Bible chronologies I’ve seen including those published by the LDS Church like this Old Testament Chronology)
there was only one language on the earth, then at the Tower of Babel event,
all languages were confounded (except for the Jaredites). This is not
compatible with what we know about the evolution of language. (See also the
second paragraph to the Introduction to the Book of
Mormon, Omni 1:22,
Helaman 6:28, Ether 1:33)
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18 Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to
mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave
them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice.
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19 And this account shall be written hereafter; for
behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are
written in this account.
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20 And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had
done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he
had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the
records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and
commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record
of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they
had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.
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