And it came to pass that after I, Nefi, had been carried away in the spirit and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father. And it came to pass that I beheld my brothers, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them; for he truly spoke many great things unto them which were hard to be understood except a man should inquire of yhwh. And they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto yhwh as they ought. And now I, Nefi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men. And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that my afflictions were great above all because of the destructions107 of my people, for I had beheld their fall.
And it came to pass that after I had received strength, I spoke unto my brothers, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations. And they said, Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father has spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree,108 and also concerning the Goyim. And I said unto them, Have you inquired of yhwh? And they said unto me, We have not, for yhwh makes no such thing known unto us. Behold, I said unto them, How is it that you do not keep the mitzvot of yhwh? How is it that you will perish because of the hardness of your hearts? Do you not remember the thing which yhwh has said, If you will not harden your hearts, and ask109 me in faith, believing that you shall receive, with diligence in keeping my mitzvot, surely these things shall be made known unto you?
Behold, I say unto you that the house of Isra’el was compared unto an olive tree by the spirit of yhwh which was in our father. And behold, are we not broken off from the house of Isra’el? And are we not a branch of the house of Isra’el? And now the thing which our father means concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the Milo HaGoyim110 is that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief — yes, for the space of many years and many generations after the Mashiach shall be manifested in body unto the children of men — then111 shall the fulness of the besorah of the Mashiach come unto the Goyim, and from the Goyim unto the remnant of our seed. And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Isra’el and that they are the covenant people of yhwh. And then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the besorah of their Redeemer, which was taught unto their fathers by him. Wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved. And then at that day, will they not rejoice and give praise unto their El Olam, their rock, and their salvation? Yes, at that day, will they not receive strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yes, will they not come unto the true fold of Elohim? Behold, I say unto you, yes, they shall be numbered again among the house of Isra’el; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree; and this is what our father means. And he means that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered112 by the Goyim. And he means that it shall come by way of the Goyim, that yhwh may show his power unto the Goyim for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Y’hudim, or of the house of Isra’el. Wherefore, our father has not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Isra’el, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days, which covenant yhwh made to our father Avraham, saying, In your seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
And it came to pass that I, Nefi, spoke much unto them concerning these things; yes, I spoke unto them concerning the restoration of the Y’hudim113 in the latter days. And I did rehearse unto them the words of Yesha’yahu, who spoke concerning the restoration of the Y’hudim, or of the house of Isra’el; and after they were restored, they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak so many words unto my brothers that they were pacified and did humble themselves before yhwh.
And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying, What is the meaning of this thing which our father saw in a dream? What is the meaning of the tree which he saw? And I said unto them, It was a representation of the tree of life.114 And they said unto me, What is the meaning of the rod of iron which our father saw that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word of Elohim, and that whoever would hearken unto the word of Elohim and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish, neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Wherefore, I, Nefi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of yhwh; yes, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of Elohim and remember to keep his mitzvot always, in all things. And they said unto me, What is the meaning of the river of water which our father saw? And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was tum’ah;115 and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the uncleanness of the water. And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf which separates the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the k’doshim of Elohim. And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful Gehinnom which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked. And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of Elohim did also divide the wicked from the righteous, and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire which ascends up unto Elohim for ever and ever and has no end.
And they said unto me, Does this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation? Or does it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body? Or does it speak of the things which are temporal? And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yes, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation. Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness, they must be cast off also as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining unto righteousness. Wherefore, they must be brought to stand before Elohim to be judged of their works. And if their works have been tum’ah, they must necessarily be unclean; and if they be unclean, it must necessarily be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of Elohim — if so, the kingdom of Elohim must be unclean also. But behold, I say unto you that the kingdom of Elohim is not unclean, that there cannot any tamé116 thing enter into the kingdom of Elohim; wherefore, there must necessarily be a place of tum’ah prepared for that which is unclean. And there is a place prepared, yes, even that awful Gehinnom of which I have spoken, and HaSatan is the foundation of it. Wherefore, the final state of the souls of man is to dwell in the kingdom of Elohim or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken. Wherefore, the wicked are separated from the righteous, and also from that tree of life whose fruit is most precious and most desirable of all other fruits; yes, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of Elohim. And thus I spoke unto my brothers. Amen.