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4 For it came to pass in the commencement of
the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my
father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in
that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people
that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be
destroyed.
5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father,
Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all
his heart, in behalf of his people.
6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the
Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him;
and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard
he did quake and tremble exceedingly.
7 And it came to pass that he returned to
his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed,
being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.
8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit,
he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw
the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon
his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude
of singing and praising their God.
9 And it came to pass that he saw One
descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that
his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
10 And he also saw twelve others
following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the
firmament.
11 And they came down and went forth upon
the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my
father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.
12 And it came to pass that as he read, he
was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto
Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did
my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the
inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should
be carried away captive into Babylon.
14 And it came to pass that when my father
had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things
unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God
Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and
goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because
thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee
that they shall perish!
15 And after this manner was the language
of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his
whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which
the Lord had shown unto him.
2 Nephi 5
26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi,
did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should
be priests and teachers over the land of my people.
Jacob 1
17 Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these
words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained
mine errand from the Lord.
18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had
been consecrated priests and teachers of this
people, by the hand of Nephi.
“This is not a reference to Nephi’s brothers receiving the lesser, or
Aaronic, priesthood, for there were no Levites in the Lehite
colony.”
Mosiah 18
12 And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood
forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy
servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart.
13 And when he had said these words,
the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from
the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into
a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body;
and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto
you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from
the foundation of the world.
14 And after Alma had said these words, both Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose
and came forth out of the water rejoicing, being filled with the Spirit.
15 And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second
time into the water, and baptized him according to the first, only he did not
bury himself again in the water.
16 And after this manner he did baptize
every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number
about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in
the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God.
17 And they were called the church of God, or
the church of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass
that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was
added to his church.
18 And it came to pass that Alma,
having authority from God, ordained priests; even one
priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and
to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God.
19 And he commanded them
that they should teach nothing save it were the things
which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy
prophets.
20 Yea, even he commanded them that they
should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the
Lord, who had redeemed his people.
21 And he commanded them that there should be
no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye,
having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together
in unity and in love one towards another.
22 And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they
became the children of God.
23 And he commanded them that they should observe
the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they should
give thanks to the Lord their God.
24 And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had
ordained should labor with their own hands for their support.
25 And there was one day in every week that was
set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach the
people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in
their power, to assemble themselves together.
26 And the priests were not to depend upon the people for
their support; but for their labor they were to receive
the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having
the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and
authority from God.
27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church
should impart of their substance, every one according to that which
he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of
him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had
not should be given.
28 And thus they should impart of
their substance of their own free will and good desires towards
God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked
soul.
29 And this he said unto them, having been
commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting
to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and
their wants.
30 And now it came to pass that all this
was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was
near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon,
the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there
came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for
they shall sing to his praise forever.
3 Nephi 11
19 And Nephi arose and went forth,
and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet.
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give
unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when
I am again ascended into heaven.
22 And again the Lord called others,
and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize.
And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall
be no disputations among you.
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise
shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the
water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words
which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 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.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water,
and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in
my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me,
and the Father and I are one.
28 And according as I have commanded you
thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among
you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among
you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
Moroni 8
16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord
after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak
with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man
can do; for perfect love casteth
out all fear.
Mosiah 21
32 And now since the coming of Ammon, king
Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people,
to serve him and keep his commandments.
33 And it came to pass that king Limhi and
many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the
land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this
thing, considering himself an unworthy servant.
34 Therefore they did not at that time form
themselves into a church, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now they
were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the
wilderness.
Mosiah 25
15 And Alma did speak unto them, when they were assembled
together in large bodies, and he went from one body to another, preaching
unto the people repentance and faith on the Lord.
16 And he did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren,
all those that had been delivered out of bondage, that they should remember
that it was the Lord that did deliver them.
17 And it came to pass that after Alma had taught the
people many things, and had made an end of speaking to them, that king Limhi
was desirous that he might be baptized; and all his people were desirous that
they might be baptized also.
18 Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and
did baptize them; yea, he did baptize them after the manner he did
his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize
did belong to the church of God; and this because of their belief on the
words of Alma.
19 And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto
Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the land of
Zarahemla; and gave him power
to ordain priests and teachers over every church.
20 Now this was done because there were so many people
that they could not all be governed by one teacher; neither could they all
hear the word of God in one assembly;
21 Therefore they did assemble themselves
together in different bodies, being called churches; every church having their
priests and their teachers, and every priest preaching the word
according as it was delivered to him by the mouth of Alma.
22 And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches
they were all one church, yea, even the church of God; for there was
nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in
God.
23 And now there were seven churches in the land of
Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them
the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;
24 And they were called the people of God. And
the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed,
and prospered in the land.
Mosiah 26
7 And it came to pass that they were brought before the
priests, and delivered up unto the priests by the teachers; and the
priests brought them before Alma, who was the high priest.
8 Now king Mosiah had given Alma
the authority over the church.
Alma 5
3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by
my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God,
he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold,
I say unto you that he began to establish a church in
the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was
called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters
of Mormon.
44 For I am called to speak after this
manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ
Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the
things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are
to come.
Alma 6
1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had
made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which was established
in the city of Zarahemla, he ordained priests and elders,
by laying on his hands according to the order of God, to preside
and watch over the church.
2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not
belong to the church who repented of their sins were baptized unto
repentance, and were received into the church.
3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to
the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves
before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their
hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that
their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.
4 And thus they began to establish the order of the church
in the city of Zarahemla.
8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto
the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the
revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and
according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to
the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to
redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was
called. And thus it is written. Amen.
Alma 43
1 And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go
forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also,
himself, could not rest, and he also went forth.
2 Now we shall say no more concerning their
preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth, according to
the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy
order of God by which they were called.
Heleman 8
18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only
knew of these things, but there were many before the days of
Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the
order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a
great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come
unto them.
Ether 12
10 Behold it was by faith that they of old
were called after the holy order of God.
3 Nephi
5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he
said unto the disciples: Behold there shall one
be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he
shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of
my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.
36 And it came to pass that when Jesus had
made an end of these sayings, he touched with
his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one,
even until he had touched them all, and spake unto
them as he touched them.
37 And the multitude heard not the words
which he spake, therefore they did not bear record;
but the disciples bare record that he gave them power to give
the Holy Ghost. And I will show unto you hereafter that
this record is true.
Heleman 10
4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which
thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared
the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not
feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought
my will, and to keep my commandments.
5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I
will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith
and in works; yea, even that all things shall
be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou
shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.
6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare
it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over
this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with
pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.
7 Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever
ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye
shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have
power among this people.
8 And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be
rent in twain, it shall be done.
9 And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.
10 And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this
people, it shall come to pass.
11 And now behold, I command you, that ye shall go and
declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord
God, who is the Almighty: Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even
unto destruction.
4 Nephi
14 And it came to pass that the seventy and first year
passed away, and also the seventy and second year, yea, and in fine, till the
seventy and ninth year had passed away; yea, even
an hundred years had passed away, and the disciples of Jesus, whom
he had chosen, had all gone to the paradise of God, save it were
the three who should tarry; and there were
other disciples ordained in their stead; and also many of
that generation had passed away.
Alma 13
11 Therefore they were called after this holy order,
and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white
through the blood of the Lamb.
12 Now they, after being sanctified by
the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white,
being pure and spotless before God, could not look
upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many,
exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the
Lord their God.
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