1 Nephi 13:34 - 37, NC 1 Nephi 3 par. 23
And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying, Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel (and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father), wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment and smitten them by the hand of the gentiles, and after that the gentiles do stumble exceedingly because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which has been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb, I will be merciful unto the gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them in mine own power much of my gospel which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb. For behold, saith the Lamb, I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious. And after thy seed shall be destroyed and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up to come forth unto the gentiles by the gift and power of the Lamb. And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation. And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the holy ghost. And if they endure unto the end, they shall be lifted up at the last day and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb. Yea, whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be!
The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim 1 Nefi 3 par. 23
And it came to pass that the angel of yhwh spoke unto me, saying, Behold, says the Lamb of Elohim, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Isra’el (and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of your father), wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment and smitten them by the hand of the Goyim, and after that the Goyim do stumble exceedingly because of the most plain and precious parts of the besorah of the Lamb which has been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, says the Lamb, I will be merciful unto the Goyim in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them in my own power much of my besorah which shall be plain and precious, says the Lamb. For behold, says the Lamb, I will manifest myself unto your seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious. And after your seed shall be destroyed and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of your brothers, behold, these things shall be hid up to come forth unto the Goyim by the gift and power of the Lamb. And in them shall be written my besorah, says the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation. And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Tziyon at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Ruach HaKodesh. And if they endure unto the end, they shall be lifted up at the last day and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb. Yes, whoever shall publish shalom, yes, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be!
After visiting the remnant of Lehi in judgment by the hands of the gentiles, the angel tells Nephi that the Lord has declared that He will be merciful unto the gentiles because they stumble exceedingly.
The Lord uses a phrase that is very definite and descriptive about how He acts mercifully to the stumbling gentiles. He declares, I will bring forth unto them in mine own power much of my gospel which shall be plain and precious.
What is meant by the Lord bringing forth much of His plain and precious gospel "in mine own power"?
My present understanding is that we are reading here concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon because the Lord declared, I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious. And after thy seed shall be destroyed and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up to come forth unto the gentiles by the gift and power of the Lamb.
Again even in this declaration the Lord repeats that what the seed of Nephi records, that will come forth to the gentiles "by the gift and power of the Lamb".
What was the process that brought the Book of Mormon forth by Lord's "own power" or in other words "by the gift and power of the Lamb"?
The three witnesses testified to that power.
And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore, we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates, and they have been shewn unto us by the power of God and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness that an angel of God came down from Heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. (Testimony of Three Witnesses, Book of Mormon Forward, NC Testimony of Witnesses )
Again we have the voice of the Lord declaring to the three witnesses that they must testify to the world that the Gold Plates were translated into the Book of Mormon "by the gift and power of God".
Why be so specific that the Book of Mormon came forth by the gift and power of God?
Two thoughts come to mind right off concerning this matter.
1) The Lord God is able to do His own work.
Later in Nephi's record we read more details concerning the events Nephi is pointing out in his vision here in the following.
But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book, Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may shew them unto the learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say, Bring hither the book and I will read them. And now because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God. And the man shall say, I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed. Then shall the learned say, I cannot read it. Wherefore, it shall come to pass that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say, I am not learned. Then shall the Lord God say unto him, The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore, thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee. Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time, for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work. Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men. For behold, I am God, and I am a God of miracles, and I will shew unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and for ever, and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith. (2 Nephi 27:15 - 23, NC 2 Nephi 11 par. 20)
The Lord declares in no uncertain terms that He does His own work.
We have spoken a lot in this blog concerning the promises that the Lord made to the ancient Fathers, beginning with Adam and on down, concerning what He, the Lord, would do for the salvation of the children of men on the earth and what He would do to bring to pass a full restoration of all things at the end of the world.
My present understanding is that the Lord intends to do the work; all of it.
When all is said and done I believe that as the whole human family looks back through this eternal round and they are shown an untainted knowledge of things as they are as they were and as they are to come for the history of this world they will be compelled, by this knowledge, to declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that He has performed all of the works that He was called to perform for the salvation of the children of men.
Even those of the human family who have cooperated with the Lord in all of these works will gladly proclaim that the Lord brought His miraculous works about.
My present understanding is that all glory will be given to God and the Lord in that day and to no one else; when every knee shall bend and every tongue confesses the Lord.
He, the Lord, finished His preparations to the children of men by performing the miraculous work of the Atonement.
Everything that stems from that act, all promises that are in play for the children of men from the beginning of the world to the end because of the atonement, are brought about by His power.
The works, and designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught, for God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither does vary from that which he has said; therefore, his paths are straight and his course is one eternal round. Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the works of men, for although a man may have many revelations and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boast in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his will and carnal desires, he must fall to the earth and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him. (D&C 3:1 - 4, T&C 2 pars. 1 - 2)
Isn't it evident here that even someone who, by faith, has many revelations and is given power to do many mighty works is still just a mortal who can only succeed in cooperating with God as he/she follows the counsels of God?
Isn't God performing all the work here by counseling the cooperative individual and then giving them power to perform the mighty works and to receive the revelations?
Don't we have this example in the life of Nephi son of Helaman who after being given the promise that whatever he said would be done used that power to get on his knees to ask God if He would do a work to stop the slaughter that was going on by the sword among the people?
If asked, who do you think Nephi would say to give credit to for stopping the war?
What about this?
Zion will be God's work, and in the end it will be His and His alone. He will own it; He will
bring it; He will be the author of it, and He is the one who says that He will take credit for it.
When it happens, however, it will conform to a pattern. So the pattern is important to understand
so we can recognize the first stirrings of Zion’s return. ("Zion Will Come", Denver Snuffer 4-10-16
Moab, Utah, pg. 4)
I believe this statement.
All credit for bringing to pass Zion will go to the Lord God because He promised He would bring it about at the end of the world to fulfill His covenants with the ancient Fathers.
This is the declaration of the Lord, Himself.
The earth groans under the wickedness of mankind upon her face, and she longs for peace to come. She withholds the abundance of her bounty because of the offenses of men against me, against one another, and against her. But if righteousness returns and my people prove by their actions, words, and thoughts to yield to my spirit and hearken to my commandments, then will the earth rejoice, for the feet of those who cry peace upon her mountains are beautiful indeed, and I, the Lord, will bring again Zion, and the earth will rejoice.(Teachings and Commandments, Section 157 par. 63)
One more thing I would like to present showing that For behold, I am God, and I am a God of miracles, and I will shew unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and for ever, and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith, are the words of King Benjamin.
And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. Behold, ye have called me your king. And if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then had not ye ought to labor to serve one another? And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service and yet has been in the service of God, doth merit any thanks from you, oh how had you ought to thank your Heavenly King! I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole souls have power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another — I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and art preserving you from day to day by lending you breath that ye may live, and move, and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another — I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole soul, yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments. And he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments, ye should prosper in the land. And he never doth vary from that which he hath said. Therefore, if ye do keep his commandments, he doth bless you and prosper you. (Mosiah 2:17 - 22, NC Mosiah 1 par. 8)
Even if we are faithful and cooperative with the Lord we are unprofitable servants in His work.
Even the faithful and cooperative with the Lord are still sustained by His power from moment to moment so that any works they are commanded to perform and do perform are still performed by His power.
Let's add to this Nephi's declaration.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying, Behold, I have dreamed a dream in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem. For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of thy forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass. Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban and seek the records and bring them down hither into the wilderness. And now behold, thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold, I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord. Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord because thou hast not murmured. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father, I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceeding glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord. (1 Nephi 3:1 - 8, NC 1 Nephi 1 par. 10)
As I understand Nephi here, Nephi is declaring that the Lord is the one who prepares a way for the children of men to accomplish what He commands them to do.
He, the Lord, is always the one doing His own work.
He is preparing the way for the commanded work to be accomplished.
And as the scriptures clearly state He does His own work by miracles among the children of men according to their faith in Him.
In my opinion, we would do very well to always remember this.
2) Things brought forth by the power of the Lamb of God are works that cannot be frustrated and are done to make His words and salvation readily available to all the children of men.
Remember from the above words of Nephi how the Lord declared to the unlearned man, I am able to do mine own work; wherefore, thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee. ?
What does that mean for the Lord to give the words unto Joseph?
Consider the following.
When I taught the Book of Mormon for the fourth year, I was able (in a 50 minute class) to cover one or two verses. We were assigned like eight chapters, and I said, “Okay, eight chapters—you can read the material. I want to delve into the meaning of this verse.” And for 50 minutes I talked about one verse or sometimes two verses. Because the Book of Mormon has that much to say.
There’s a bunch of scholarly efforts to talk about the content of the Book of Mormon, but the Book of Mormon itself explains how the translation process was done. This is in 2 Nephi 27. Nephi has used the Isaiah material to testify about Nephi’s experience. He does not have a Jewish intent, an Isaiah intent, in using Isaiah’s words. Nephi has been prohibited from writing about the vision that he has had, but the angel tells him “others have seen this.” And so Nephi, intending to express his own testimony of what God has shown him, uses Isaiah’s words to tell you Nephi’s visionary experience. When he gets to chapter 27 of 2 Nephi, he begins to transition. He ceases to be directly quoting Isaiah, and he begins to paraphrase Isaiah in a transitional chapter 27 before he then gives you an explanation for why he said all of the Isaiah materials that went on before. And chapter 27 begins to be the transition from Isaiah quotes, Isaiah paraphrase, Isaiah meaning in the words of Nephi, in the experience of Nephi.
So in 27 we get to the Isaiah material where he talks about the words of a book that’s going to be delivered to someone who’s learned, who says he can’t read a sealed book, and then he’s going to go from there when the learned won’t do it. And God tells you how the Book of Mormon was translated: “I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee… I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work” (2 Nephi 11:20 RE). The translation of the Book of Mormon was not done by Joseph Smith; it was done through Joseph Smith. The translator of the text of the Book of Mormon was God. God told Joseph what was in the text of the Book of Mormon. You want to know who translated it? God.
Then we have the testimony of the Three Witnesses. This is what the Three Witnesses say:
“And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for His voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.” God translated the Book of Mormon. After God gave Joseph the words that God wanted to be included in the Book of Mormon, then the angel showed the plates to the Three Witnesses, and God vouched for the translation process that He had done, by the gift and power of God.
Joseph Smith once said that a man can get closer to God by heeding the Book of Mormon than any other book, and that it was the most correct book that there is, and that if you will abide its precepts, you will come closer to understanding God. ("44:Breaking the Chains", Denver Snuffer Podcast, Transcript, November 11, 2018)
And the following.
The title page goes on to say:
…written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Written, and sealed, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed; to come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof; sealed up by the hand of Moroni and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift and power of God.
Did you get that? Almost in rapid succession, twice we’re told to come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof, and the interpretation thereof by the gift and power of God. Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon; God translated the Book of Mormon and told Joseph Smith what He wanted that interpretation to say.
I’ve read as many source documents as are currently available to review in print. There are some source materials I haven’t looked at because they’re in private collections, and you have to travel to see those. But we have this fanciful narrative about how the Book of Mormon was translated.
One of the things that went on in Kirtland was a Shouting Methodist tradition. People would go into the woods, and they would shout praises to God in hopes that they obtain some kind of spiritual manifestation. The typical manifestation that they were able to create in this tradition was to be seized upon, bound up, and unable to move, which was considered a sign of God’s grace and redemption, because they were seized upon by some unseen power that had such marvelous power as to bind them up so they could not move. One of the other things that the Shouting Methodist tradition in Kirtland, Ohio encountered was the idea that as you’re out and shouting praises, oftentimes standing on the stump of a tree that’s been cut down, there would be a scroll or parchment that would flutter down from heaven, and when arrived, on the parchment there would be words written. And you would read the words, and after you’d read the words, the parchment would disappear. It would disintegrate. These were the kinds of manifestations that were the Shouting Methodist tradition, which when Mormonism came to Kirtland, some of the Kirtland Mormon converts had similar experiences.
Well, one of the stories that gets told about the translation of the Book of Mormon is that Joseph Smith would look in a hat, a parchment would appear, he would read the words off the parchment, and then the parchment would disintegrate as soon as the translation was written up, and then a new parchment would appear. Okay?
At a conference in Kirtland, Hyrum Smith introduced his brother, Joseph, and as Joseph was coming up to talk, Hyrum said, “And Joseph is going to tell us about how the translation of the Book of Mormon took place.” Joseph got up in front of the people, and he said, “It’s not appropriate. It was translated by the gift and power of God.” And then he went on. He refused to describe the process.
If you want to know how the Book of Mormon was translated, the Book of Mormon tells you how: by the gift and power of God. When pressed, after Joseph is dead and gone, and you want to sound like you know something, and you think back about the experiences of the Shouting Methodist tradition in the early days in Kirtland, well, why not say scrolls would appear, and then when you read them, they’d disintegrate?
There is so much that has crept into the reconstruction of events that are accepted by the LDS church, that are accepted by historians, that are accepted by the scholars. There’s only two people— (I was going to say one person that knows how it was done, and that was Joseph, but there are two: the second one is God). How did God interpret the Book of Mormon? And, by the way, would— If you took only the etchings that are on the plates of the Book of Mormon and you rendered a word-for-word translation of that set of inscriptions, would it read exactly like the Book of Mormon that we have? Or, did God in His mercy, understanding the weaknesses of our day, give us an interpretation that helps us to understand things in our language maybe a little more clearly than if we had simply a word-for-word translation from the plates? These are things that Joseph may know, or he may not. But certainly God would know.
When people pretend to know everything there is to know about the translation of the Book of Mormon and then to mock the process, they’re really inviting— They’re putting their own foolishness on display, and they’re inviting the ire of God. The fact is that the witness to how that process unfolded confined what he had to say to “It was translated by the gift and power of God.” And the source of these other fanciful tales—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris (two of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon)—they were commanded to bear testimony, and their testimony was to consist of “the interpretation thereof was by the gift and power of God.” So when they go beyond that to give details that they probably have no way of knowing a thing about, they’re actually violating the restriction that God put upon it for a wise purpose.
Well, Joseph Smith was not the translator; it plainly states that God was the translator. It does not mean that what was composed by Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Omni, and others on the small plates and by Mormon and Moroni on the rest—and their abridgement is necessarily exactly what was composed by them, because God used the interpretation of the text that He provided to state what He intended, by His gift and power, to be the message that we receive today. It is literally God’s statement to us about the content He wants us to understand, adapted to our needs.("54: Abraham, Part 1", Denver Snuffer Podcast, Transcript, January 27, 2019)
Isn't the Lord God the only individual who would understand exactly what to state to reach His "sheep"; those who will hear and receive His voice?
Isn't the Lord the only one who would or could truly understand the situation of the human family at any given moment and the requirements for salvation in order to present what needs to be presented at the right time that it needs to be presented?
Isn't the Lord the one who would be able to detect faith among the children of men in order to be able to work among them according to that faith?
Even righteous people cannot see the human family the way the Lord sees them.
Oh that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption — that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might be no more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish, for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life. Yea, I know that he allotteth unto men — yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable — according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men, or he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless, but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. (Alma 29:1 - 5, NC Alma 15 par. 12)
My present understanding is that this is the case and so in every scriptural reference of Him bringing forth His words to the children of men, and in this instance that Nephi is pointing out concerning the Book of Mormon, it is all done according to His power; the power of the Lamb of God.
The seed of Abraham are the people that hearken to the same God that Abraham hearkened to. If you hearken to that same God, you’re the seed of Abraham. And the ministry that you’re supposed to bear is the testimony that that God lives, and that that God is the God over the whole earth, that His work began with Adam and won’t wrap up until the second coming of Christ in judgement on the world, to save and redeem those that look for Him.
We have to have the record of Abraham in order to understand the covenant that God made with Abraham, in order to vindicate the promise that’s made in the Book of Mormon.
One of the sharp edges of criticism of Mormonism is directed specifically at the Book of Abraham. There are a lot of intellectual arguments that are being made out there, a lot of challenges for why the Book of Abraham ought to be thrown out, and how the Joseph Smith papyrus that got recovered is really simply Egyptian Book of Breathings material that has very little to do with a record written by the hand of Abraham on papyrus, and so on. Well, if the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, the Book of Abraham was translated no differently, except by the gift and power of God. And it includes information that’s vital for us to understand in order for us to know what the covenants were that were made with Abraham, in order for us to inherit the same gospel that was given to Abraham, so that we can lay hold upon the same blessings that were given to Abraham, so that the covenants that were made with the Fathers can be understood, activated, realized, and we can obtain the blessings of those here in the last days. All this stuff fits together, and Joseph’s work had to necessarily include recovery of the covenants made with Abraham.("54: Abraham, Part 1", Denver Snuffer Podcast, Transcript, January 27, 2019)
Does this scriptural understanding of "translation" bring new meaning to the following?
Now Ammon said unto him, I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look and translate all records that are of ancient date, and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer. And behold, the king of the people who is in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God. And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet. And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also. And a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God. But a seer can know of things which have passed, and also of things which are to come. And by them shall all things be revealed, or rather shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. Thus, God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles. Therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.(Mosiah 8:13 - 18, NC Mosiah 5 par. 13)
