28:1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as
the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely
come to pass.
28:2 And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of
great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed,
which is a remnant of the house of Israel.
28:3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are
built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other:
Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the
Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and
not unto the Lord—
28:4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall
contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and
deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.
28:5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they
say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for
behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done
his work, and he hath given his power unto men;
28:6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a
miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day
he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.
28:7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be
merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
28:8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be
merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little
sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words,
dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these
things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God
will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the
kingdom of God.
28:9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner,
false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their
hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and
their works shall be in the dark.
28:10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against
them.
28:11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become
corrupted.
28:12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false
doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are
lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.
28:13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the
poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and
the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.
28:14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride,
and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone
astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ;
nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because
they are taught by the precepts of men.
28:15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in
the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines,
and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the
Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they
shall be thrust down to hell!
28:16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and
revile against that which is good, and say that is of no worth! For the
day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of
the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they
shall perish.
28:17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their
wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord
of Hosts.
28:18 But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all
the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall
thereof.
28:19 For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to
it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp
them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and
perish;
28:20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the
children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.
28:21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal
security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion
prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and
leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
28:22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is
no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and
thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful
chains, from whence there is no deliverance.
28:23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell,
and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand
before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from
whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of
fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
28:24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
28:25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!
28:26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and
denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
28:27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no
more!
28:28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because
of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock
receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy
foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.
28:29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God,
and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
28:30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the
children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and
there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and
lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him
that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have
enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
28:31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his
arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts
shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
28:32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For
notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to
day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them,
saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm
is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.