into the water. Then, calling them by name, the person appointed to
perform the ordinance should say, "Having authority given me of Jesus
Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then," said Jesus, "ye shall immerse them in
the water, and come forth again out of the water."
For a long time the Savior stood up in the midst of the Nephites
teaching them the glorious principles of the everlasting Gospel. Then
He told them to go to their homes, but to meet again on the morrow,
when He would pay them another visit and give them further instructions.
But they had no desire to go away. They stood looking pleadingly at the
Lord, wishing in their hearts that He would tarry with them a little
longer. Tears were coursing down their cheeks, and on seeing His people
weeping, the Savior was filled with compassion for them.
He asked them if there were any sick among them, and on being told
there were many. He requested that they be brought to Him. At His
Divine command the blind received their sight, the lame were made to
walk, and the sick were restored to perfect health. So grateful were
those who were healed that they knelt down before the Lord, kissed His
feet and bathed them with their tears.
Jesus then told the Nephites to bring their little children to
Him. They did so. He requested all present to kneel with Him upon
the ground. Then the voice of the Lord was heard in prayer, and so
marvelous were the words which He uttered that no one was permitted to
make a record of them. After prayer, the Savior blessed each of the
little ones, when immediately the heavens were opened and angels came
down and ministered unto them.
Christ then instituted the sacrament among the Nephites, and, after
giving them much good counsel, He dismissed them. That was the most
glorious day in the history of the Nephites. When we read of the
wonderful things which took place on that occasion the wish arises
in our hearts that we had been there, to behold the face of our
resurrected Lord, and to hear the glorious truths which fell from His
libs.
THE THREE NEPHITES.
After ministering to the Nephites, Jesus returned to His Father in
Heaven. Then the people went to their homes. The news of the Savior's
visit, and of the wonderful things which He had done, was carried
to all the Nephites. There were many of them who did not go to bed
that night. They had to get ready for the next day, for the Lord had
promised the Nephites that He would visit them again on the morrow.
The day following, when all the people had assembled together, there
were so many that they had to be divided into twelve bodies. Jesus had
chosen twelve disciples to preside over the Nephites and to teach them
the Gospel. These ministers of the Lord knelt down with the people upon
the ground and prayed with all their hearts to God for the gift of His
Holy Spirit. Their prayers were answered. They not only received the
Holy Spirit, but angels came down from heaven and ministered unto them.
Then, to the great joy of all the people, Jesus descended and stood in
their midst. He requested them to kneel down upon the ground, and when
they had done so the Lord and His disciples prayed for them. When their
prayers were ended the people arose. Jesus brought forth bread and wine
and they all partook of the sacrament. The Savior remained with them a
long time, teaching them many glorious principles--things which you, my
children, will learn as you grow in years.
One day the twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen met together to
fast and pray. While thus engaged in worshiping God, the Lord appeared
in their midst. He asked them what they would like Him to do for them
after He had returned to His Father.
Nine of them said the desire of their hearts was that, after having
fulfilled their mission on earth, they might be permitted to go to the
Lord in His kingdom. Jesus was pleased with their request, and He told
the nine that when they were seventy-two years old He would take them
to heaven, to live in peace and happiness forever.
The Lord then turned to the three disciples who had not spoken. He
asked them what they desired Him to do for them. They did not answer
Him, for they were afraid to tell Him the desire that was in their
hearts.
But Jesus knew their thoughts. He told them they desired to have power
over death, that they might live till He would come in His glory, and
spend their days in the service of God. The Lord blessed them, and
promised them that they should never taste of death, neither would they
have any more pain or sorrow.
Jesus touched the three Nephites with His finger, and then left them.
Immediately the heavens were opened, and the three disciples were
caught up into heaven, where they saw and heard many wonderful things.
Later they appeared again on earth and began to teach the people the
things which the Savior had commanded them.
These three men were the greatest of all the Nephites. They were filled
with the Spirit and power of God, and death had no power over them. One
time they were cast into prison. They commanded the prison to fall,
and, to the astonishment of all the people, the prison fell, but the
three Nephites walked forth unharmed.
On another occasion they were cast into a furnace, but the fire had
no effect upon them; they came out unhurt. Then they were thrown into
a den of wild beasts. Their persecutors expected to see them devoured
immediately, but, to their great surprise, the beasts became as gentle
as lambs and the three disciples played with them.
I suppose you would like to know what became of the three Nephites. I
believe they are still on the earth. They are to minister among all
nations, without being known, and shall perform great and mighty works
before the Lord shall come.
THE REIGN OF PEACE.
I am going to tell you this evening of some of the great blessings
which came to the Nephites, after the visit of the Savior to them. The
twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen established the true Church in
all parts of the land. It was called the Church of Christ. The Lord
told His disciples that that was to be the name of the Church.
In order to become a member of the Church, a person had to repent
of his sins. He had to confess to the Lord that he had broken His
commandments, that he felt sorry for having done so, and that in future
he would live a good life.
Then he would be ready for baptism. A man, who had authority to
baptize, would take him down into a pond or river. He would call the
person by name, and repeat the words which the Lord had told His
servants to use: "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize
you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen." Then he would immerse him in the water and bring him up again
out of the water.
By obedience to these commandments of the Lord, the person was cleansed
from all his sins, and became pure and holy in the sight of God. Then
the elders of the Church would place their hands upon his head and
confirm him a member of the Church, and say, "Receive ye the Holy
Ghost."
The Lord was highly pleased with His people. They all loved each other,
and took delight in helping one another. The elders of the Church had
great power. They were able, through the help of the Lord, to heal the
sick, open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, and even
raise the dead.
The Lamanites were converted also, and became members of the Church of
Christ. All the ill-feeling which they had towards the Nephites was
taken out of their hearts and the love of God took its place. Instead
of going to war with the Nephites, they went to Church with them, and
united in praising God for the great blessings which He had given them.
Those were the happiest days the Nephites and Lamanites had ever known.
All the people were just like the members of one family. There were no
rich nor poor among them, but all were equal. I will tell you how they
came to be in that condition.
When the Church was established, all the members who had money brought
it to the authorities and had it put into a common fund. All that was
made after that was put into the same fund, and each family received
from time to time the amount needed for its support. So, you see, that
made the people equal in temporal things as well as in spiritual things.
Through keeping the commandments of God, the Nephites became very
strong and very beautiful. They married and raised families. They
scattered all over the land and built up many fine cities. The farms
yielded abundance of food for man and beast and the orchards were laden
with fruit in the season thereof.
Every man dealt honestly with his neighbor. There was neither lying,
nor stealing, nor murdering, nor any kind of wickedness known among the
people. They loved the Lord and kept His commandments, and the Lord
loved them and poured down His blessings upon them without measure. In
that blessed state the Nephites lived for over one hundred and eighty
years.
Soon after that time a terrible change took place, which I will tell
you about in my next--my last--story.
THE LAST OF THE NEPHITES.
For almost two hundred years after the Savior's appearance among them,
the Nephites lived in a state of perfect peace and happiness. It seemed
as if heaven and earth had been joined together. From time to time
angels came down and ministered unto the people, bringing them glad
tidings from the Lord.
Then certain of the Nephites began to do things which were displeasing
in the sight of God. They did not attend to their prayers as they had
done, neither did they go to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day
to worship Him. They made mock of sacred things and persecuted those
who remained true to the faith.
The Lord took His Holy Spirit out of the hearts of those wicked people.
He also took the three Nephites away from them. He would not suffer His
servants to preach to them, for they had become so bad that they could
not be brought to repentance.
Then the Lamanites began to make war upon the Nephites. There was a
young man among the Nephites whose name was Mormon. He had led an
upright, godly life, and possessed great faith and courage. He was
chosen to lead the Nephite army.
Mormon armed his men and got them in readiness to meet the Lamanites.
The day of battle at last arrived. An army of fifty thousand Lamanites
came down upon the Nephites. In Mormon's army there were only thirty
thousand men. Before the battle commenced Mormon addressed his
soldiers. "Men," said he, "be of good courage, the victory will be
ours. Remember, it is for your wives and your children, your homes and
your lands that you go out to fight this day."
On hearing those inspiring words the heart of every soldier in the
Nephite ranks was filled with renewed courage. With swords unsheathed
they marched forth boldly to meet the foe. The battle commenced. How
long it raged I know not, but the Lamanites were finally beaten and
driven back with considerable loss. The Nephites regained possession of
their own lands, and lived in peace for a number of years.
Their victories over the Lamanites, instead of teaching the Nephites
humility, caused them to become proud and boastful. They did not give
any glory to God for the success which had come to them. They said it
was by their own strength they had defeated their enemies, and declared
they would fight the Lamanites till they had utterly destroyed them.
Mormon went among his people time after time and pleaded with them
to turn from their evil ways. He knew that if they did not do so the
judgments of God would come upon them. They paid no attention to his
pleadings, so he told them they could get another man to take charge of
their armies, as he would no longer act as their general.
The Lord saw that the Nephites did not appreciate the blessings which
He had bestowed upon them, and that they had no desire to serve Him.
He, therefore, turned away from them and left them to fight their own
battles.
Again the Lamanites armed themselves and proclaimed war against the
Nephites. Feeling confident of victory, the Nephites entered the field
of battle. But the Lord was not on their side, so they met with a
terrible defeat.
Other battles were fought, in which tens of thousands of Nephites were
slain. I cannot describe the sorrow of Mormon when he saw the awful
destruction which had been wrought among his people. He determined to
make another effort to save them. He again took charge of their armies
and went forth to meet the Lamanites. That was the last battle between
the Nephites and Lamanites. It was fought in the vicinity of the hill
Cumorah, and ended in the entire destruction of the Nephites, save one.
That man was named Moroni. He was the son of Mormon, and, like his
father, was a lover of righteousness. Moroni hid himself from the
Lamanites. He finished the history of his people, and then he, at the
command of the Lord, deposited it in the hill Cumorah.
There it lay for hundreds and hundreds of years. At last the time came
for it to be brought forth. Then the Lord sent His servant Moroni to a
young man named Joseph Smith, to tell him of the precious history which
had been kept from the world so long.
Four years later, Joseph was given the sacred record. By the power of
God he translated it into the English language. That record is the Book
of Mormon, from which I have taken these stories. May our Heavenly
Father sanctify them to your good, my children, is my prayer, in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.