The Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 26

Christ Will Come to the People

After Christ rises from the dead, he will show himself to you, my children and dear brothers. The words he speaks to you will be the law you must follow.

I have seen that many generations will pass away. There will be great wars and fighting among my people.

Signs and Destruction of the Wicked

After the Savior comes, there will be signs given to my people about his birth. There will also be signs about his death and when he rises again. That day will be terrible for the wicked. They will die because they reject the prophets and kill the holy people. So the cry of their blood will go up to God from the ground against the wicked. So all who are proud and do wicked things will be burned up on that day, says the Lord of Hosts. They will be like dry grass. Those who kill the prophets and holy people will be swallowed up by the deep earth, says the Lord of Hosts. Mountains will cover them. Whirlwinds will carry them away. Buildings will fall on them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. They will be hit with thunder, lightning, and earthquakes. They will face all kinds of destruction. The fire of the Lord’s anger will burn against them. They will be like dry grass. The day that comes will burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts.

Oh, the pain and suffering of my soul for the loss of my people who have been killed! I have seen it. It almost destroys me before the Lord. But I must cry out to my God: Your ways are fair.

The Righteous Will Be Saved

But the righteous people who listen to the words of the prophets and don’t reject them will not die. They look forward to Christ without giving up, even when they face hard times. They watch for the signs. The Son of righteousness will appear to them. He will heal them. They will have peace with him for three generations. Many of the fourth generation will also die in righteousness.

After these things pass away, quick destruction will come to my people. Even though it hurts my soul, I have seen it. So I know it will happen. They sell themselves for nothing. Because of their pride and foolishness, they will reap destruction. They give in to the Devil and choose dark works instead of light. So they must go down to hell. The Spirit of the Lord will not always try to reach man. When the Spirit stops trying to reach man, quick destruction comes. This makes me sad.

Jesus Shows Himself to All Believers

I spoke about helping the Jews know that Jesus is the Christ. It must also be that the Gentiles know that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God. He shows himself to all who believe in him by the power of the Holy Spirit. He does this for every nation, family, language, and people. He works great miracles, signs, and wonders among people according to their faith.

The Last Days

But I tell you about the last days. I tell you about the days when the Lord God will bring these things to people.

After my children and my brothers’ children stop believing and are hurt by the Gentiles, after the Lord God fights against them all around and attacks them and builds forts against them, after they are brought down low into the dust so they are almost gone, the words of the righteous will still be written. The prayers of the faithful will still be heard. All who stopped believing will not be forgotten. Those who are destroyed will speak to them from the ground. Their speech will be quiet from the dust. Their voice will be like a whisper. The Lord God will give him power to whisper about them from the ground. Their speech will whisper from the dust.

The Lord God says: They will write the things that happen among them. The things will be written and sealed up in a book. Those who stopped believing will not have them. They try to destroy the things of God. So those who have been destroyed were destroyed quickly. The crowd of their terrible ones will be like dust that blows away. The Lord God says: It will happen in an instant, suddenly.

Those who stopped believing will be hurt by the hand of the Gentiles.

Pride and False Churches

The Gentiles are lifted up with pride in their eyes. They have stumbled because of their big stumbling block. They have built up many churches. But they reject God’s power and miracles. They preach their own wisdom and their own learning. They do this to get money and hurt the poor. There are many churches built up that cause jealousy, fighting, and meanness. There are also secret groups, just like in times of old, following the Devil’s plan. He is the founder of all these things. He is the founder of murder and dark works. He leads them by the neck with a thin rope until he ties them with his strong ropes forever.

God Invites All People

My dear brothers, I say to you that the Lord God does not work in darkness. He does not do anything except to help the world. He loves the world so much that he gives his own life to bring all people to him. So he does not tell anyone they cannot share in his salvation. Does he cry out to anyone, saying: Go away from me? I say to you, no. But he says: Come to me all you ends of the earth. Buy milk and honey without money and without cost. Has he told anyone they should leave the synagogues or houses of worship? I say to you, no. Has he told anyone they should not share in his salvation? I say to you, no. He has given it free for all people. He has told his people they should help all people to change their hearts. Has the Lord told anyone they should not share in his goodness? I say to you, no. All people have the same right. None are kept out.

Warning Against Priest-Crafts

He says there should be no priest-crafts. Priest-crafts are when men preach and set themselves up as a light to the world to get money and praise from the world. But they don’t care about the welfare of Zion. The Lord has forbidden this thing. So the Lord God has given a command that all men should have charity, which is love. If they don’t have charity, they are nothing. If they have charity, they will not let the worker in Zion die. But the worker in Zion will work for Zion. If they work for money, they will die.

Again, the Lord God has said that men should not murder, that they should not lie, that they should not steal, that they should not use the name of the Lord their God in vain, that they should not be jealous, that they should not have meanness, that they should not fight with each other, that they should not have sex outside marriage. They should not do any of these things. Whoever does them will die. None of these bad things come from the Lord. He does what is good among people. He does nothing except what is clear to people. He invites them all to come to him and share in his goodness. He does not turn away anyone who comes to him, black and white, slave and free, male and female. He remembers the heathen. All are the same to God, both Jew and Gentile.