“Sacred Things Upon These Plates”

Monte S. Nyman

Nephi knows the importance and the sacredness of making a record for future generations. He acknowledges his weakness as a mortal man in keeping the record, but is not making excuses. He senses that he will be criticized by some no matter what he records. He laments the insensitivity of mortal man to sacred things, specifically when they trample the words of counsel from the very God of Israel. This is a sobering metaphor. To trample the God of Israel under our feet or setting at naught his words has been a problem in every age of the world. To set at naught his words is to ignore them either by failure to listen or refusal to read them. To not hearken is to be aware of what they teach, but to not do as they say. The Lord condemned the early Church in a similar manner.

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—
58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.
59 For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay. [D&C 84:54–59]

The condemnation was reiterated in the 1980’s through President Ezra Taft Benson. “In section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord declares that the whole Church and all the children of Zion are under condemnation because of the way we have treated the Book of Mormon. (vv. 54–58). This condemnation has not been lifted, nor will it be until we repent… . In our day the Lord has inspired His servant to reemphasize the Book of Mormon to get the Church out from under condemnation—the scourge and judgment.” We must learn the word of God and hearken to it. Whether it comes directly from him or from his servants it is still the word of God.

Book of Mormon Commentary: I Nephi Wrote This Record

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