- 19After Jesus ascended into heaven, the people dispersed; and every man took his wife and children and returned to his own home. 2And it was immediately and widely reported among the people, before it was dark, that they had seen Jesus and He had ministered to them and He would visit them the next day as well. 3News about Jesus spread the whole night. The news spread abroad so much that there were many, a great many, who traveled all that night to be at the place on the next day where Jesus would visit the people.
- 4The next day, when a large crowd of people had gathered, Nephi and his brother he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son whose name was Jonas, and the brothers Mathoni and Mathonihah, and Kumen, Kumenonhi, Jeremiah, Shemnon, Jonas, Zedekiah, and Isaiah which are the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen, went forward to stand in the middle of the crowd. 5But the crowd was so large that they had them separated into 12 groups. 6And the twelve taught the crowd. They had the crowd kneel on the ground and pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. 7The disciples also prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus. Then they got up and ministered to the people. 8When they had reiterated the same words Jesus had spoken, not varying from what Jesus had said, they knelt down once more and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus. 9And they prayed for what they most desired: they asked for the Holy Ghost to be given to them. 10After they had prayed for this, they went down to the water’s edge; and the crowd followed them. 11Then Nephi went down into the water and was baptized. 12And he came up out of the water and began to baptize, and he baptized all those Jesus had chosen. 13When they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost fell upon them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. 14And they were surrounded by what seemed to be fire, which came down from heaven. The crowd witnessed it and testified of it. Angels came down from heaven and ministered to them. 15While the angels were ministering to the disciples, Jesus came and stood in the middle of them and ministered to them. 16He spoke to the crowd and commanded them to kneel again on the ground, and also for His disciples to kneel down on the ground. 17When they all knelt down, He commanded His disciples to pray. 18And they began to pray; and they prayed to Jesus, calling Him their Lord and God.
- 19Jesus left them and went a little way off and bowed down on the ground, saying: 20Father, I thank You that You’ve given the Holy Ghost to these whom I’ve chosen. And it’s because of their belief in Me that I’ve chosen them out of the world. 21Father, I ask You to give the Holy Ghost to all those who will believe in their words. 22Father, You’ve given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in Me. And You see that they believe in Me because You hear them, and they pray to Me; and they pray to Me because I’m with them. 23Now Father, I pray to You for them, and for all those who will believe in their words, so they can believe in Me, so I can be in them as You Father are in Me, so we can be united as one.
- 24When Jesus had prayed this to the Father, He came to His disciples, and they continued to pray to Him without stopping. Yet they didn’t repeat any words, since the things they were to pray for were inspired; and they were filled with hope. 25Jesus blessed them as they prayed to Him. And His countenance smiled upon them, and the light of His countenance shined on them. They were as bright as Jesus’ countenance and clothes. And its brightness exceeded everything that is white; indeed, nothing on earth could be as brilliantly white. 26Then Jesus said to them: Pray on. And they never did stop praying. 27Then He turned away from them again and went a little way off and bowed down on the ground, praying again to the Father: 28Father, I thank You that You’ve purified these that I’ve chosen because of their faith. I pray for them and also for those who will believe in their words, so they can be purified in Me through faith in their words, like these are purified in Me. 29Father, I don’t pray for the world but for those whom You’ve given to Me out of the world because of their faith, so they can be purified in Me, so I can be in them as You Father are in Me, so we can be united as one, so I can be glorified in them. 30When Jesus had said these things, He went back to His disciples, and they prayed to Him intently, without stopping. He smiled upon them again. And they were shining, just like Jesus.
- 31Then He went again a little way off and prayed to the Father. 32And no tongue can speak the words He prayed, neither can anyone write the words He prayed. 33But the crowd heard and testified of it. Their hearts were open, and they understood in their hearts the words He prayed. 34Nevertheless, the words He prayed were so great and awe-inspiring that they can’t be written, neither can they be spoken by any person. 35When Jesus had finished praying, He went back to the disciples and said to them: I’ve never seen such great faith as yours among the Jews. Therefore I couldn’t show them such great miracles because of their unbelief. 36Truly I say to you: None of them saw such great things as you’ve seen, neither have they heard such great things as you’ve heard.
- 20Then He commanded the crowd of people to stop praying, and His disciples as well. But He commanded them to continue praying in their hearts. 2And He commanded them to get up and stand on their feet. They arose and stood on their feet. 3Then He broke bread again and blessed it and gave it to the disciples to eat. 4When they had eaten, He commanded them to break bread and give it to the large crowd of people. 5When they had given it to the people, He also gave them wine to drink and commanded them to give it to the people. 6Now no bread or wine had been brought by the disciples, or by the people either. 7But He truly gave them bread to eat and wine to drink. 8He said to them: Anyone who eats this bread eats of My body to their soul. And anyone who drinks this wine drinks of My blood to their soul. And their soul will never be hungry or thirsty but will be filled. 9When the people had all eaten and drunk, they were filled with the Spirit. And they cried out loudly as one, giving glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.
- 10When they had all given glory to Jesus, He said to them: Now I’ll fulfill the commandment of the Father to Me regarding this people, who are a remnant of the house of Israel. 11You remember I spoke to you about when Isaiah’s words will be fulfilled. You can see they’re written down and you have them. Therefore study them carefully. 12In truth I tell you: When they’re fulfilled, then the covenant the Father has made for His people, O house of Israel, is also fulfilled. 13Then the remnant scattered throughout the earth will be gathered in from the east, west, south, and north. They’ll be brought to know the Lord their God who has redeemed them. 14And the Father has commanded Me to give you this land as your inheritance. 15I tell you that if the Gentiles don’t repent after the blessing they will receive after having scattered My people, 16then you, a remnant of the house of Jacob will rise up from them. You’ll be mixed in with them, who will outnumber you. You’ll be among them like a lion among his prey in the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who moves unopposed to take down and tear to pieces. 17Your hand will be against your opponents and all your enemies will be cut down. 18I’ll then gather My people together like a farmer harvesting grain to the storehouse, 19for I’ll empower those of the Father’s covenant with iron horns and brass hooves to beat down many people. I’ll use their wealth to honor the Lord and take their property for the Lord of the whole earth. And I Am the one who does it. 20The sword of My justice, says the Father, will then threaten them. And unless they repent, it will strike them, says the Father, including all the Gentile nations.
- 21I’ll establish My people, O house of Israel. 22I’ll establish you in this land to vindicate the covenant I made with your father Jacob; that includes a New Jerusalem. And the Powers of heaven will help you, and I’ll also be helping you. 23I Am the one Moses described, saying: The Lord God will raise up a prophet to you from your brethren, like me; listen to whatever He’ll say to you. And it will follow that every soul who will not hear that prophet will be cut off from among the people. 24Truthfully I say to you: All the prophets from Samuel and those following after, as many as have prophesied, have testified of Me. 25And now you are the children of the prophets, and part of the house of Israel, and you have part in the covenant the Father made with your fathers, when He promised to Abraham: Through your posterity all the families of the earth will be blessed. 26The Father has raised Me up before all men and sent Me to you covenant children first, to bless you and turn you from your sin. 27Now this blessing to you is to keep the Father’s covenant He made with Abraham, saying: Through your posterity all the families of the earth will be blessed. The Holy Ghost will be poured out on the Gentiles through Me, and this blessing given to the Gentiles will give them power to scatter My people, the house of Israel. 28However after they receive the fullness of My gospel, then if they harden their hearts against Me, I’ll cause them to experience the same fate of being scattered, says the Father. 29I’ll remember the covenant I made with My people. I’ve covenanted with them that I would bring them back together at the right time; I’ll give them back the land of their ancestors as their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land for them forever, says the Father.
- 30The time will come when the fullness of My gospel will be preached to them. 31And they will believe in Me, that I Am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they will pray to the Father in My name. 32Then their lookouts will sing the same message together as a chorus, agreeing eye to eye. 33Then the Father will gather them together again and give Jerusalem to them as an inherited land. 34Then they’ll break out in joyful song, singing together with all the scattered remnants from Jerusalem, for the Father has brought comfort to His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 35The Father has vindicated His covenant for all to witness, and everyone to the ends of the earth will see He has saved His people. And the Father and I are united as one. 36Then this prophecy will be fulfilled: Wake up, wake up again and dress yourself with strength, O Zion. Put on your clean garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. From now on none of the faithless or uncircumcised will try to enter. 37Shake all the dust off yourself, stand up and then rest, O Jerusalem. Take the chains off your neck, O imprisoned daughter of Zion. 38For the Lord declares: You’ve sold yourselves for nothing and you’ll be set free without charge.
- 39For I declare to you that My people will know My name, and on that day they’ll recognize I Am the one who told you about this. 40And then they’ll say: How beautiful shall His presence be upon the mountains! For He brings good news, announces peace, proclaims deliverance, brings salvation, and declares to Zion: Your God reigns! 41And then the shout will be heard: Depart, depart, get yourself out of there, and don’t touch anything unclean, get away and be clean before you receive the sacred rites of the Lord. 42But you can’t act in haste, nor run faster than your ability, for the Lord will lead you and the God of Israel will move you along. 43You’ll see that My servant will proceed wisely, He’ll be exalted and extolled, and be above others. 44People are astonished at Your appearance, Your suffering was greater than any man can endure, for it would kill all other men — 45so He’ll cleanse many nations. The kings will be at a loss for words not knowing what to say because of Him, for they’ll see what they were never told, and be forced to consider what they never expected. 46Now I promise you: All these things will happen exactly as the Father has commanded Me to declare. This will conform to the Father’s covenant with His people; and Jerusalem will again be inhabited by My people, as a land of their inheritance.
- 21I tell you the truth. And I’ll give you a sign to identify the time when these things are about to happen, when I will gather My people, the house of Israel, from their long-scattered state, and will again establish My Zion among them. 2This is the sign for you: When the things that I’m declaring to you now and after this by the power of the Holy Ghost that are given to you by the Father are then revealed to the Gentiles, and taken as a message through them to you, that is when the Father’s covenant is being fulfilled. You are descendants of Jacob and will be scattered by the Gentiles. 3But the Father will reveal these things first to the Gentiles, then from them to you. 4It’s the Father’s plan for the Gentiles to be established in this land as a free people through His power, to allow the history and prophecies to come from them to a remnant of your descendants. That vindicates the Father’s covenant with His people, O house of Israel. 5Therefore the record of these events, and the events that will take place among you after this, will come from the Gentiles to your descendants. But your descendants will first fall away in unbelief because of iniquity. 6That’s an essential part of the Father’s plan. The covenant requires this record to come from the Gentiles, so the Gentiles will understand His direct involvement. Then the Gentiles, provided they don’t harden their hearts, will be able to repent and come to Me and be baptized in My name and know the true points of My doctrine, so they can be included with My people, the house of Israel. 7When these things happen, and your descendants begin to know these things, it will be a sign to let them know the Father’s work is underway, to fulfill the covenant He made to everyone who’s part of the house of Israel. 8When that time comes, kings will be at a loss for words not knowing what to say, for they’ll see what they were never told about and be forced to consider what they never expected.
- 9At that time, to advance My cause, the Father will begin a work, which will be a great and awe-inspiring work among them. There will be many who won’t believe it, although a man will tell it to them. 10But the ministry of My servant will be led by My hand; therefore they won’t be able to harm his work, although he’ll be opposed and discredited by them. Yet I’ll support him; I’ll show them My wisdom is greater than the accuser’s deceitful scheming. 11Therefore those who won’t believe in My words, and I Am Jesus Christ, which the Father will give and empower that servant to set before the Gentiles, it will result exactly as Moses said: They will be cut off from My people who are part of the covenant. 12And then you, a remnant of the house of Jacob, will rise up from them. And you’ll be mixed in with them who will outnumber you. You’ll be among them like a lion among his prey in the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who moves unopposed to take down and tear to pieces. 13Your hand will be against your opponents and all your enemies will be cut down. 14Yes, woe to the Gentiles unless they repent: For when that day comes, says the Father, I’ll take away your strength from you, and I’ll destroy your security. 15Your cities will fall and I’ll break open your guarded borders. 16Your sciences and learning will turn into foolishness, and your false beliefs will cause your failure. 17I’ll expose the fraud of those in authority, and your trusted institutions will lose everyone’s loyalty. 18False prophets and false ministers will be brought to shame and humiliation. 19All lying, deceiving, envying, strife, priestcraft, and whoredoms will come to an end. 20At that time, says the Father, I’ll cut down anyone who won’t repent and draw near to My Beloved Son to preserve My people, the house of Israel. 21I’ll take vengeance and unleash My fierce anger on all the unbelieving, beyond anything they expect.
Chapter 9