1 Nephi 13 - Paraphrase | The Book of Mormon

A Vision of the Nations

The angel told me to look. I saw nations and kingdoms spread out before me. 'What do you see?' the angel asked. 'I see nations and kingdoms,' I answered. 'These are the nations of the Gentiles,' he explained.

The Corrupt Church

Among these nations I watched a massive church begin to form. The angel said: 'Look—this church is more corrupt than any other. It kills God’s holy people. It tortures them, chains them with iron, and drags them into slavery.' I saw this terrible church, and I saw that the devil himself had built it. I saw gold and silver, expensive silks and scarlet cloth, fine linen and fancy clothes—and prostitutes everywhere. The angel explained: 'All this wealth—the gold, silver, silk, scarlet, fine linen, expensive clothes, and prostitutes—these are what this corrupt church craves.' 'They destroy God’s people and enslave them just to win the world’s approval.'

The Discovery of America

I looked and saw vast oceans separating the Gentiles from my brothers' descendants. The angel said: 'God’s anger burns against your brothers' descendants!' I saw a man among the Gentiles, separated from my brothers' descendants by the ocean. God’s Spirit moved him powerfully, and he sailed across the waters to reach my brothers' descendants in the promised land. God’s Spirit moved other Gentiles too. They escaped from captivity and crossed the ocean. I watched huge crowds of Gentiles fill the promised land. God’s anger fell on my brothers' descendants—they were scattered and struck down by the Gentiles. But God’s Spirit rested on the Gentiles. They thrived and took the land as their own. They were white, strikingly fair and beautiful—just like my people had been before they were killed.

I, Nephi, watched these Gentiles who had escaped captivity humble themselves before God. His power stayed with them. Their mother nations gathered armies on land and sea to attack them. But God’s power protected them. His anger fell on all the nations that gathered to fight them. I watched as God’s power freed these escaped Gentiles from every other nation.

The Bible Among the Gentiles

They flourished in the land. I saw a book being carried among them. 'Do you understand what this book means?' the angel asked. 'No,' I said. 'It came from a Jew,' he explained. 'This book you’re seeing is the Jewish record. It contains God’s promises to Israel and many prophecies from the holy prophets. It’s like what’s written on the brass plates, though not as complete. Still, it holds God’s promises to Israel—priceless for the Gentiles.'

The angel continued: 'When this book first came from the Jew, it contained the clear, simple gospel of the Lord—the same gospel the twelve apostles testified about. They testified the truth about the Lamb of God.' 'These teachings went from the Jews to the Gentiles pure and true, just as God gave them.' 'After the twelve apostles carried it from the Jews to the Gentiles, that corrupt church formed—the worst of all churches. They ripped out many parts that were clear and precious. They removed many of God’s promises.' 'They did this to twist God’s truth and blind people’s eyes, to make their hearts hard.' 'So after this corrupt church got their hands on the book, many clear and precious truths were gone from the book of the Lamb of God.' 'With these truths missing, the book spread to every Gentile nation—even across the ocean to those Gentiles who escaped captivity. Because so many clear truths were removed—truths that anyone could understand—countless people stumble. Satan gained tremendous power over them.'

God’s Mercy to All Nations

'But look—those Gentiles who escaped captivity have been lifted by God’s power above every other nation on earth. They live in the choicest land—the land God promised your father for his descendants' inheritance. So God won’t let the Gentiles completely destroy your descendants living among your brothers.' 'He won’t let them destroy your brothers' descendants either.' 'And God won’t leave the Gentiles forever wounded and lost because that corrupt church hid the most precious parts of the Lamb’s gospel.' 'The Lamb of God says: 'I will show mercy to the Gentiles when I bring powerful judgment on the remnant of Israel.''

The angel continued: 'The Lamb says: 'After I judge the remnant of Israel—your father’s descendants—after the Gentiles strike them down, after the Gentiles stumble terribly because that corrupt church of prostitutes hid the clearest truths of my gospel, then I will show the Gentiles mercy.' '’I will reveal myself to your descendants. They will write what I teach them—clear and precious truths. After your descendants are destroyed and fall into unbelief, along with your brothers' descendants, these writings will be hidden away. Then they’ll come to the Gentiles through my gift and power.'' '’These writings will contain my gospel,' says the Lamb, 'my foundation and my salvation.'' '’Blessed are those who work to build my Zion in that day! They’ll have the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. If they endure to the end, they’ll be raised up on the last day and saved in the Lamb’s eternal kingdom. Those who proclaim peace and announce great joy—how beautiful they’ll be on the mountains!''

The Restoration of Truth

I watched my brothers' descendants receive the book of the Lamb of God—the one that came from the Jew. The Gentiles brought it to them. After that, I saw other books come through the Lamb’s power from the Gentiles. These books convinced the Gentiles, my brothers' descendants, and the scattered Jews everywhere that the prophets' records and the testimonies of the Lamb’s twelve apostles are true.

The angel said: 'These later records you see among the Gentiles will confirm the first records from the twelve apostles. They’ll restore the clear, precious truths that were removed. They’ll show every nation, language, and people that the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the world’s Savior. Everyone must come to him or they can’t be saved.' 'They must come according to the Lamb’s words. These words will be revealed in your descendants' records and in the twelve apostles' records. The two will become one—because there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.' 'The time will come when he reveals himself to everyone—Jews and Gentiles alike. After he reveals himself to the Jews and Gentiles, he’ll reveal himself to the Gentiles and then the Jews again. The last will be first, and the first will be last.'

13:5 — Revelation 17:7 (KJV)
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
13:11 — Romans 1:18 (KJV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
13:14 — Hebrews 11:9 (KJV)
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
13:16 — Acts 11:21 (KJV)
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
13:19 — 1 Peter 1:5 (KJV)
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
13:23 — 2 Peter 3:2 (KJV)
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
13:27 — Acts 13:10 (KJV)
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
13:27 — John 12:40 (KJV)
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
13:28 — John 1:29 (KJV)
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
13:34 — Revelation 17:5 (KJV)
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
13:34 — 2 Timothy 2:8 (KJV)
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
13:37 — Romans 15:13 (KJV)
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
13:37 — Matthew 24:13 (KJV)
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
13:37 — John 6:40 (KJV)
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
13:37 — 2 Peter 1:11 (KJV)
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
13:37 — Luke 2:10 (KJV)
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
13:40 — Mark 2:20 (KJV)
But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
13:40 — Acts 15:1 (KJV)
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
13:41 — 2 Maccabees 2:1 (KJV)
It is also found in the records, that Jeremy the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified:
13:41 — Revelation 21:14 (KJV)
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
13:41 — Mark 12:32 (KJV)
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
13:41 — John 10:16 (KJV)
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
13:42 — John 16:25 (KJV)
These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
13:42 — Matthew 19:30 (KJV)
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

13:1-42
Both Joseph Smith’s father and Nephi’s father are described as having multiple dreams. In her book, Lucy Mack Smith recounts several of her husband’s visions, which were likely shared often within the family. One of these dreams is dated sixteen years before Joseph Smith obtained the plates:

"In 1811, we moved... to the town of Lebanon, New Hampshire. Soon after arriving here, my husband received another very singular vision, which I will relate..."

Readers have noted similarities between this account and the dream of Lehi in the Book of Mormon.

The following outlines parallels between Joseph Smith Sr.’s dream, as recorded in Lucy Smith's Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations, and Lehi’s dream in 1 Nephi 8, along with Nephi’s expanded description of the same vision in 1 Nephi 11-14.
1. Both Joseph Smith's father and Lehi state they were traveling (1 Nephi 8:8; Smith, p. 58).
2. Both mention a field (1 Nephi 8:4,9; Smith, p. 58).
3. Both dreams compare the field to a world (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
4. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi have a guide (1 Nephi 8:5-6; Smith, p. 58).
5. Both mention a broad road or roads (1 Nephi 12:17; Smith, p. 58).
6. Both mention a narrow path (1 Nephi 8:20; Smith, p. 58).
7. Both mention a stream of water (1 Nephi 8:13; Smith, p. 58).
8. Both mention something extending along the bank of the stream (1 Nephi 8:19; Smith, p. 58).
9. Both mention a tree (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
10. Both mention the beauty of the tree (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
11. Both trees bore fruit (1 Nephi 8:10; Smith, p. 58).
12. Both compared the whiteness of the fruit to snow (1 Nephi 11:8; Smith, p. 58).
13. Both Joseph Smith Sr. and Lehi ate of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
14. Both found the fruit to be delicious (1 Nephi 8:11; Smith, p. 58).
15. Both wanted their families to partake of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, p. 58).
16. Both families came and partook of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:16; Smith, p. 58).
17. After eating the fruit both experienced great joy (1 Nephi 8:12; Smith, pp. 58-59).
18. Both mention a spacious building (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
19. Both indicate the building reached high into the air (1 Nephi 8:26; Smith, p. 59).
20. Both buildings were filled with people (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
21. In both buildings the people were finely dressed (1 Nephi 8:27; Smith, p. 59).
22. In both cases the people in the building pointed the finger of scorn at those partaking of the fruit (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
23. Both state they ignored the people in the building (1 Nephi 8:33; Smith, p. 59).
24. Both state the meaning of the fruit is the pure love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22; Smith, p. 59).
25. Both state two members of the family are not present (1 Nephi 8:17; Smith, p. 59).
26. Both mention the fall of the building (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59)
27. Both imply that pride was connected with the building or its inhabitants (1 Nephi 11:36; Smith, p. 59).
For a full treatment of this subject, including a side-by-side comparison of the above references, see Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, pp. 161–163.
13:40
"There are thirty-two interesting parallels between material found in three books of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon story of Nephi....Interestingly, twenty-eight of the thirty-two parallels to the Apocrypha are found in the first five chapters of the Book of Mormon. This constitutes an extraordinary cluster of similarities..." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 29.

Parallel: In the second verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi says that he is going to make a "record." 2 Maccabees 2:1 speaks of some "records" which told of a commandment given by Jeremy the prophet. A three-word parallel is found later in 1 Nephi. "in the records" (Compare 1 Nephi 13:40 with 2 Maccabees 2:1).

For other parallels, please see: 1 Nephi 1:1, 1 Nephi 1:2, 1 Nephi 1:17, 1 Nephi 4:20-24, 1 Nephi 2:4-6, 1 Nephi 3:3, 1 Nephi 3:16, 1 Nephi 3:25, 1 Nephi 3:31, 1 Nephi 4:1-2, 1 Nephi 4:4-5, 1 Nephi 4:7-9, 1 Nephi 4:18, 1 Nephi 4:19-24 & 38, 1 Nephi 4:20, 1 Nephi 4:27, 1 Nephi 5:9, 1 Nephi 13:40, 2 Nephi 5:8, Mosiah 3:1, Mosiah 10:13, 4 Nephi 1:31.

For a full note on the use of the Apocrypha, please see the annotation at 1 Nephi 1:1.
13:40
After the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon was published, editors—presumably led by Joseph Smith—made several notable revisions that appear to reflect a developing theological understanding of the Godhead.

For example, in the 1830 edition of 1 Nephi 11:18 the text reads, “Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God….” In the 1837 edition, however, the wording was changed to: “Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God….”

A similar revision appears in 1 Nephi 11:21. The 1830 edition reads, “behold the Lamb of God, yea even the Eternal Father!” In the 1837 edition, this was changed to: “Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!”

The same pattern appears in 1 Nephi 11:32. The 1830 text reads, “yea, the Everlasting God,” while the 1837 edition changes the phrase to “yea, the Son of the everlasting God.”

Likewise, 1 Nephi 13:40 in the 1830 edition states, “the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Saviour of the world….” In the 1837 edition, this was revised to read, “the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world….”

Not every passage identifying Jesus as the “Eternal Father” was revised. For example, Mosiah 16:15 still retains this language. Nevertheless, the changes that were made raise several questions. Why were these particular passages altered? Were the revisions the result of new revelation? If not, who had the authority to modify the text? And if they were indeed revelatory corrections, this could raise further questions about the translation process described by the witnesses, as well as about the necessity of the golden plates themselves.

For those who believe that Joseph Smith’s theology evolved significantly—enough to prompt revisions to the Book of Mormon—there is an additional line of evidence worth considering. In Joseph Smith’s revision of the Bible, commonly known as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST), he altered the wording of Gospel of Luke 10:22. In the King James Version the verse reads:

“All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

In the JST, however, Smith changed the passage to read:

“All things are delivered to me of my Father; and no man knoweth that the Son is the Father, and the Father is the Son, but him to whom the Son will reveal it.”

Because Joseph Smith began his revisions to the King James Bible in 1830, this reading of Luke 10 aligns chronologically with the 1830 passages in the Book of Mormon that appear to identify Jesus more directly with the Father.

By 1844, however, Joseph Smith seems to have moved away from this earlier formulation. In his famous "Sermon in the Grove," Smith taught:

“I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always, and in all congregations, when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods… I have always declared God to be a distinct personage; Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father; and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit; and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods….” -History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 473–479).

Taken together, these developments illustrate a significant shift in Joseph Smith’s later teaching about the nature of the Godhead.

1 Nephi 12 1 Nephi 14

Mosiah 20