1 Nephi 13:29

29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.

So here are the consequences of all these plain and precious testimonies being taken from the Bible. A great many do stumble because the testimony is not plain. Some of it is just plain hard to get. If you don’t understand something, it’s much easier to be deceived, or at least be influenced by someone else’s opinions. It takes a lot of effort and study to understand the gospel from just the Bible alone. I’ve known people who come amazingly close, but it takes dedication and serious study. That’s why The Book of Mormon is so important. As a second witness of Christ, unfiltered by multiple translations, still containing those plain and precious testimonies of Christ, it makes understanding the Bible and the Atonement much easier. The two testaments together clarify much and make the gospel easier to understand.

• D&C 76:75 (71–79)

1 Nephi 13:28

28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.

The plain and precious parts of the Bible that were removed before it became generally available surely had to do with Jesus Christ. Surely the Old Testament alone was more direct in its testimony of Christ than it is now. What could be more precious than the Atonement and a testament to Christ’s role in that? Most of the references to that found in the Old Testament are hidden in symbolism, which by definition, is not plain. Amulek specifically mentions Zenos, Zenok, and Moses in their testimonies. (Alma 34:6–7) Jacob told Sherem that if he believed the scriptures but not in Christ, he didn’t understand them, “for they truly testify of Christ . . . that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.” (Jacob 7:9–11) The Pearl of Great Price is a great example of how detailed the ancient scriptures might have been. The book of Moses is much more specific and detailed than any of the five books credited to him in the Old Testament. And we don’t even have a Book of Abraham in the Old Testament. Many plain and precious things were surely taken away from this book, but many were originally just not included either.

• 1 Nephi 14:23
• Jacob 7:9–11
• Alma 34:6–7

1 Nephi 13:27

27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.

For so many years during the Great Apostasy the clergy was the only source of knowing anything about God’s covenant. The general population had to learn it from the priests because there were no scriptures generally available, and not that many people knew how to read anyway. Monks laboriously copied The Bible by hand. This is why I believe the printing press to be one of the most important inventions in history. It changed the way people thought and how they learned. Even at that it was centuries before reading became common. Anyway, with the people depending completely on the priests for their spiritual knowledge, they were at the priests’ mercy. Some of these priests abused that power “that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men,” as this verse says. Christ did the same kind of thing, but for a much different reason. He spoke in parables so that only those who were spiritually in tune and prepared for the truth could find it. In that way He protected those who were not ready to accept it by making it so they were no accountable for the truth. That is way different from perverting the right ways of the Lord in order to blind eyes and harden hearts.

• Matthew 13:13–17

1 Nephi 13:26

26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

Given the history of Christianity, this formation of “that great and abominable church” is most likely after the Great Apostasy is complete. It is described as being “most abominable above all other churches,” not because the members were necessarily more wicked than any other church, but because they pretended to be the church of God. Some outside government may have imposed the actual formation of this church, but the members themselves laid the foundations. Clearly the early Christians had apostatized. Most of the New Testament is written to stop or prevent this Great Apostasy. So the real formation of the great and abominable church took place before the formation of the organization of what would become the Catholic Church. That’s why it’s not right to simply label a single church as the great and abominable one spoken of in this chapter. That was just an official organization attached to what had already been formed.

It is interesting, however, that this church was “most abominable above all other churches” (emphasis added). That includes churches that blatantly and openly worship Satan? Yes. I think this is true because this one is so deceptive. It may talk of Christ and the Atonement (or at least part of it), but they have changed or removed the ordinances and covenants that make the full benefit of that Atonement available. Some promise great and eternal blessings, but they have not authority or ability to deliver on those promises. They have enough truth to give hope, but not enough to deliver the object of that hope. The most plain and precious parts have been removed, thus causing confusion and even deception. In short, they are counterfeits of the true church of God. The deception is what makes them more abominable than other churches. They took this beautifully simple gospel and made it complex and political. So now people have a hard time comprehending that the gospel is simple. There has to be more to it than believing and acting faithfully on that belief, they reason. So, much like the ancient Jews, they “look beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14), and they suffer the consequences. In this case, though, maybe they fall short of the mark and try to make more of it than there is.

• Isaiah 24:5
• Matthew 7:21–23
• Matthew 21:43
• John 6:66
• Jacob 4:14
• Mormon 8:33
• Moses 1:41

1 Nephi 13:24–25

24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.

25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.

The Bible, as originally set forth, was not just a history, but a manual for returning to Heavenly Father. It still is that, of course, but just not as complete or accurate. Our eighth Article of Faith states that we believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. Wouldn’t it be nice to have no need of that clause about correct translation? Of course, we would still need the Book of Mormon as a second witness of Christ, but I think a book with pure doctrine in it, like the Bible originally had, would be more difficult to misinterpret. And yet it has been, which has resulted in the scripture we have today.

• 2 Nephi 29:4 (4–6)
• D&C 3:16
• Articles of Faith 1:8

1 Nephi 13:21–23

21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?

22 And I said unto him: I know not.

23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

This is an obvious reference to the Bible. There is an interesting phrase in verse 23 that says the record of the Jews referred to is like the plates of brass, “save there are not so many.” There are likely several reasons for this. One reason could be that they are two different records, kept by two different groups of people: the house of Judah and the house of Joseph. They were both royal lineages, so both would have kept official records. But they could easily have been completely different histories after the time of Moses. In fact, it’s possible that each tribe kept an official record of their particular tribe. For example, the brass plates obviously contained a genealogy of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. The record of the Jews (or Judah) wouldn’t necessarily contain that to any great detail. Another reason the brass plates contained more records than the Bible would be that some records were just lost in the course of all the Jews went through in their history. Another reason could be that scribes and translators purposely left things out for one reason or another. The brass plates obviously had records of Zenos and Zenock, which are not in the Bible. But we don’t know why these important testimonies of Christ are not in the Bible. It could be any of the reasons just outlined, or something entirely different. We do know, though, that even though the Bible does not contain as many writings as the brass plates, it was and is still of great worth to the Gentiles. It has served well as the link to the covenants the Lord has made with His chosen people.

• Ezekiel 37:16–17
• 1 Nephi 5:10 (10–22)
• 2 Nephi 3:12
• 2 Nephi 29:6 (4–12)

1 Nephi 13:20

20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.

I believe that based on what we have been studying, the early settlers of this country kept the commandments as best they knew how. That’s not to say that all of them kept all the commandments all the time, nor does it say that there weren’t wicked people among them. However, the majority must have done the best they could. They didn’t have the fullness of the gospel, but just this book, which was obviously the Bible. And here are those words, so often said in The Book of Mormon, and always associated with keeping the commandments; the gentiles “did prosper in the land.”