Wednesday, April 13, 2016

A Record of the Kings

As Nephi prepared to die, he "anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people" (Jacob 1:9). The people had such a deep love and respect for Nephi that "whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people second Nephi, third Nephi and so forth" (Jacob 1:11).

At this point, that's as much as the world knows about those subsequent kings. Even had the 117 pages not been lost, we still wouldn't have the actual record. The 117 pages were Mormon's abridgment of the Kings' actual record. The small plates contain the actual wording from Nephi, Jacob, etc. with no abridgment.  The actual record of the Kings is still hidden from the world.

However, in 2 Nephi 30:16 it gives us hope and excitement of what will be revealed in a future day, "Wherefore, the things of the nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men. There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed."

Knowing Nephi, he wouldn't choose a slouch or someone who was apathetic in his testimony of the Gospel. Whoever Nephi chose and anointed as his successor had to be a valiant man of God. Someday it will be a great blessing to read their testimonies, prophecies, and teachings as well.

The Lord has given us an incredible record with the Book of Mormon to try us and our faith. If we remain valiant in our testimony, someday we'll see, study, and be familiar with the record of the Kings and many other records.