Nephthys

“ She seemed to imagine herself on an equality with the man beside her, who, despite his inanity, was still a man. Altogether, Kāra was disappointed in her, although his grandmother had warned him that the training of European women imbued them with peculiar ideas, to which he must defer in his association with them.
As he watched the girl, Nephthys rose several degrees in Kāra’s estimation. ”

“ He turned to Nephthys.
“Go out,” he commanded, in Coptic, and the girl arose and passed under the arch.
Then he went to a part of the wall and removed a loose stone, displaying a secret cavity. From this he took a small vase, smooth and black, which had a stopper of dull metal. Carrying it to Hatatcha, he knelt down, removed the stopper and placed the neck of the vase to her lips. The delicate, talon-like fingers clutched the vessel eagerly and the woman drank, while Kāra followed the course of the liquid down her gullet by watching her skinny throat. ”

“ Wipe thou the impurities which are on them upon our hair and come thou to us having no recollection, of that which hath caused thee sorrow. Come thou in thy attribute of 'Prince of the earth,' lay aside thy trepidation and be at peace with us, O Lord. Thou shalt be proclaimed heir of the world, and the One god, and, the fulfiller of the designs of the gods. All the gods invoke thee, come therefore to thy temple and be not afraid. O Rā (i.e., Osiris) , thou art beloved of Isis and Nephthys ”

“ He also took along with him the plates of brass, and the ball that guided them in their former wanderings in the wilderness by the Red Sea, and was their compass to steer by across the ocean. Being thus separated they became the heads of separate tribes. The Nephites soon grew into a numerous people, and built a temple "like unto Solomon's." They, like their father Nephite, for many generations were good christians, hundreds of years before Christ was born, practising baptism and other christian usages. Nephi here accounts for the color of the aborigines. ”

“ Now, there were a great many of the Nephites who had broken the commandments of God. Because of that, they had lost their membership in the Church, and were not numbered among the people of the Lord. That was a terrible thing. But their condition became much worse when they turned traitors, joined themselves to the Lamanites, and began to fight against their Nephite brethren.
The chief captain over the armies of the Nephites at that time was a young man named Moroni. He Avas a God-fearing man, and a prophet. He was also a great general. In time of peace he prepared for war. ”

“ When the Nephites perceived them coming they bowed before the Lord in prayer. The robbers, seeing their action, counted it as a sign of fear, and set up a horrible shout and rushed upon them. The slaughter was terrible; never had there been so much blood shed in a single fight since the day that Lehi's children first inhabited the land. At last the Nephites were victorious, and pursued their foes to the borders of the wilderness, giving no quarter. ”

“ Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"
We can judge from this language how little they knew about God, or His power. Nephi again had to become their teacher. He encouraged them to go up again to Jerusalem, and to be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for, said he, He is mightier than all the earth, and of course mightier than Laban and his fifty, or even his tens of thousands. He quoted to them what Moses had done, and asked them how they could doubt when an angel had spoken to them. ”

“ IN THE second generation the Nephites began to grow numerous, and iniquity made its appearance among them. It was then that Jacob their priest, prophesied: The time speedily cometh, that except ye repent, they [the Lamanites] [Pg 311] shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you. This prophecy was completely fulfilled, if not on previous occasions, about 300 years or so afterwards, when Mosiah, by the command of God, led the righteous Nephites out of the land of their inheritance—the land of Nephi—down into the land of Zarahemla. ”

“ They considered him to be a great prophet, a man of God, with great power and authority given to him from God.
And Nephi's brother, Lehi, was just as righteous.
The Nephites started to prosper in the land again and to rebuilt their cities. They multiplied and spread out, covering the whole face of the land from the north to the south, and from the western to the eastern seas. Throughout the year 16 BC, there was peace.
Fifteen BC was also a peaceful year, and the church spread throughout the land. Most of the people, both Nephites and Lamanites, belonged to the church and enjoyed great peace. ”

“ The Nephites who were once enlightened, had fallen from a more elevated standing as to favour and privilege before the Lord, in consequence of the righteousness of their fathers, and now falling below, for such was actually the case, were suffered to be overcome, and the land was left to the possession of the red men, who were without intelligence, only in the affairs of their wars ”

“ It's more important for much to be done among the Nephites because they are so hard hearted and blinded with pride. In spite of this, God is very merciful to them and has not yet swept them off the land.
Many Nephites have many revelations, for not all of us resist the Holy Spirit. Those who do not resist have communion with Him according to their faith. ”

“ The years that Nephihah judged the Nephites were of great material progress. Many new cities were founded, and a wide stretch of country reclaimed from the wilderness. He passed away to the realms of the blest in B. C. 68, having, according to the sacred historian, "filled the judgment seat with perfect uprightness before God." Alma had such great confidence in him that he desired to intrust him with the sacred records. This honor and responsibility Nephihah declined, and Alma conferred these treasures upon his son Helaman. ”

“ We cannot do better than use its language:
"The first [error] is that the founders of the Nephites 'belonged to the tower of Babel.' The Nephites sprang from Nephi, the son of Lehi, who came to this land from Judea, in the reign of King Zedekiah. The Jaredites, whose history is briefly given in the Book of Mormon, were a distinct and preceding race; they descended from a colony that peopled this country after the dispersion from Babel. The term 'lost tribes' is also incorrect, as the Nephites had no identity with the lost tribes of Israel, being descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob. ”

“ But from the dates which are given, it is very evident they lived to a great age. Correct habits of living, with pure lives and the blessing of God upon them, promoted longevity. We think it is apparent from the record that, immediately after leaving Jerusalem, there was a remarkable increase in the duration of life among those who were called Nephites.
Jacob, who was born in the wilderness of Arabia, took charge of the plates after the death of his brother Nephi, and he bequeathed them to his son Enos. ”

“ Through keeping the commandments of God, the Nephites became very strong and very beautiful. They married and raised families. They scattered all over the land and built up many fine cities. The farms yielded abundance of food for man and beast and the orchards were laden with fruit in the season thereof.
Every man dealt honestly with his neighbor. There was neither lying, nor stealing, nor murdering, nor any kind of wickedness known among the people. They loved the Lord and kept His commandments, and the Lord loved them and poured down His blessings upon them without measure. ”

“ NEPHI, THE SON OF LEHI. One of the greatest prophets whose presence ever dignified this earth. He was one of the most lovable of men, true as steel, never wavering, full of integrity, faith and zeal; he loved the Lord with all his heart. It is seldom we find a character in the history of this fallen world that was as perfect or as complete as was that of Nephi. He was naturally a leader, his faith and courage made him so, while his devout humility gave him strength with Heaven. ”

“ The Spirit of the Lord now directed Nephi to slay Laban, telling him that it was better that one man should die than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief. This the Nephites undoubtedly would have done had they not had the law of the Lord with them; and this law was engraved on these plates. As we proceed we shall find that both the Lamanites and the people of Zarahemla sank in sin and dwindled in unbelief from this very cause,—they had no Divine records. ”

“ And it came to pass as he was pondering, -- being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities -- and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done: for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word which I have given unto thee, unto this people. ”

“ Satan continued to lead away the people, tempting them to do more wicked things. This continued through 9 AD.
And now a hundred years had passed since the days of the Nephite King, Mosiah. Six hundred and nine years had passed since Lehi had left Jerusalem, and nine years had passed since the sign of Christ's birth had been given. (The Nephites had begun to count their years from the time that Christ was born) .
Now Nephi was in charge of all the plates and sacred things. His father Nephi did not return to Zarahemla and could not be found anywhere in the land. ”

“ There is one noticeable feature in the record of the Nephites which strikes one who has lived only in our northern climate and zone: it is the rapidity with which they recovered from the disastrous effects of civil and religious commotions and bloody wars. The frequent allusions through the record to the wonderfully rapid prosperity which followed the cessation of strife is apt to strike the northern reader with surprise. ”

“ Alma was a remarkable character. He was the son of the Nephite High Priest of the same name. In his youthful days he had been exceedingly wayward, and had united with the sons of King Mosiah II, in their efforts to overthrow what they called the superstition of their fathers. Being young men of marked abilities and pleasing address, the mischief they did was appalling. The very pillars of the Church seem to be shaken by their audacious boldness of declamation against it. ”

“ OMNI. A Nephite prophet, son of Jarom, and a descendant of Jacob, the younger brother of Nephi. He lived in the land of Nephi, and was the custodian of the plates of Nephi from the 239th to the 283d year of the Nephite annals, or 44 years. He characterizes himself as a wicked man, who had not kept the commandments and statutes of the Lord as he ought to have done, but had been principally engaged in defending his people from the constantly recurring onslaught of the Lamanites. ”

“ In other words, after they leave this present life, and the time comes for them to sit in council in the midst of the Nephites, that instead of judging according to human wisdom and imperfect knowledge, that God would give them the spirit of judgment, or the spirit of inspiration more abundantly than what they were in possession of in this life; and in order that they may be entitled to judge all people, they were required to be pure and holy.
Let me say a few words in regard to another revelation that the Lord gave in the year 1830, on this same subject. ”

“ Sundry efforts were made by the benevolent Nephites "to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth." But it was all to no purpose. They continued to delight in wars and bloodshed, and cherished an eternal hatred against their brethren. To ward off their incursions, the people of Nephi had to fortify and protect their land with a strong military force.
Jacob, who had brought up his son Enos "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," when he saw his own decease approaching, gave him the plates and left him successor in office over the people of Nephi. ”

“ Their hearts were steeled against the voices of love and affection; they were insensible to every humane emotion and every human appeal. Nothing but the power of God could reach them, and they were soon made to feel that. After they had bound Nephi, the compass ceased to work, and they did not know in what direction they should steer the ship. A storm arose, and it continued to rage with such violence that they were driven back, apparently at the mercy of the waves and in great danger of being engulfed by them. This terrible tempest frightened Laman and Lemuel exceedingly. ”

“ But by the fourth day the tempest had become so frightfully fierce, that even Laman and Lemuel were terror-stricken and softened, and they repented and released Nephi. They had to be threatened with destruction and brought face to face with death before they would yield. During all this time, suffering from pain and in a condition so wretched, Nephi did not lose his patience and self-control. Great as were his afflictions he did not murmur against the Lord; but he looked unto Him and praised Him all the day long. He was in circumstances that many men would think dreadful and even unbearable ”