Käskyjen kirja luku 1
A Preface or instruction unto the Book of Commandments, which were
given of the Lord unto his church, through him whom he appointed to this
work, by the voice of his saints through the prayer of faith: This church
being organized according to the will of him, who rules all things, on
the sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred
and thirty:
- Harken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells
on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say, hearken
ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen
together; for verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there
is none to escape, and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear
that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated; and
the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, for their iniquities
shall be spoken upon the house- tops, and their secret acts shall be
revealed; and the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the
mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days, and they
shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded
them.
- Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants,
and my Preface unto the Book of my Commandments, which I have given
them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth:-- Wherefore fear
and tremble, O ye people for what I the Lord have decreed, in them,
shall be fulfilled. And verily, I say unto you, that they who go forth,
bearing these things unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power
given, to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;
yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall
be poured out upon the wicked, without measure, unto the day when the
Lord shall come to recompence unto every man according to his work,
and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured
to his fellow man.
- Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that
all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is
to come, for the Lord is nigh; and the anger of the Lord is kindled,
and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants
of the earth; and the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day
cometh, that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the
voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophet[s],
and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people: For they have
strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant,
they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man
walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image
is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance i[s] that of an
idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the
great, which shall fall:
- Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon
the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph, and spake
unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; and also gave commandments
to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world, and
all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets:
The weak things of the world should come forth and break down the mighty
and strong ones; that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither
trust in the arm of flesh, but that every man might speak in name of
God, the Lord, even the Savior of the world; the faith also might increase
in the earth; that mine everlasting covenant might be established; that
the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple,
unto the ends of the world; and before kings and rulers.
- Behold I am God and have spoken it: these commandments are of me,
and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner
of their language, that they might come to understanding; and inasmuch
as they erred, it might be made known: and inasmuch as they sought wisdom,
they might be instructed; and inasmuch as they sinned, they might be
chastened, that they might repent; and inasmuch as they were humble,
they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge
from time to time: after they, having received the record of the Nephites;
yea, even my servant Joseph might have power to translate through the
mercy of God, by the power of [G]od, the book of Mormon: And also, those
to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation
of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity, and out of darkness,
the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with
which I the Lord am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively
and not individually, for I the Lord can not look upon sin with the
least degree of allowance: Nevertheless, he that repenteth and doeth
the commandments of the Lord, shall be forgiven, and he that repenteth
not from him shall be taken even the light which he hath received, for
my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of hosts.
- And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth, for
I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh, for
I am no respecter to persons, and willeth that all men shall know that
the day speedily cometh, the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when
peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power
over his own dominion; and also, the Lord shall have power over his
saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment
upon Idumea, or the world.
- [S]earch these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the
prophecies and promises which are in them, shall all be fulfilled. What
I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself, and
though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away,
but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice, or by the voice
of my servants, it is the same: For behold, and lo, the Lord is God,
and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth
abideth forever and ever: Amen.
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