Sealed up portion of the Brother of Jared

[setyourselffree]

So I was reading in the Ether chapter 4 with my family last night. And it got me thinking, is the sealed up portion of the brother of Jared accessible right now to people of great faith? Is Moroni talking to the individual or to us as a whole group? My thinking is it will be difficult, if not impossible for all people of earth to be righteous until the Millennium happens.

1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.

2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.

3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.

5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

[buffalo_girl]

I believe the answer to your question is found in 3Nephi 26, particularly verses 6-12.

As the 'Gentile Church', we received the lesser portion of the record in order to 'try our faith', as well as to bring the Gospel as recorded in The Book of Mormon to the ancestors of those the LORD is addressing in that chapter (v. 8). I believe the reception of 'greater things' will be determined by how well we pass the test.

I'd love to know other people's opinion on how well we are doing....

[Arenera]

I believe the answer to your question is found in 3Nephi 26, particularly verses 6-12.

As the 'Gentile Church', we received the lesser portion of the record in order to 'try our faith', as well as to bring the Gospel as recorded in The Book of Mormon to the ancestors of those the LORD is addressing in that chapter (v. 8). I believe the reception of 'greater things' will be determined by how well we pass the test.

I'd love to know other people's opinion on how well we are doing....

I think it is sealed to those who don't have the requisite faith. I haven't heard of anyone seeing the sealed portions, but they are probably under command not to divulge.

[setyourselffree]

I believe the answer to your question is found in 3Nephi 26, particularly verses 6-12.

As the 'Gentile Church', we received the lesser portion of the record in order to 'try our faith', as well as to bring the Gospel as recorded in The Book of Mormon to the ancestors of those the LORD is addressing in that chapter (v. 8). I believe the reception of 'greater things' will be determined by how well we pass the test.

I'd love to know other people's opinion on how well we are doing....

I think it is sealed to those who don't have the requisite faith. I haven't heard of anyone seeing the sealed portions, but they are probably under command not to divulge.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Maybe like a calling and election type of scenario. When you have the requisite faith then the sealed portion of the word is opened to someone.

[Teancum]

My thought is that he will reveal the contents of the sealed portion to individuals in a few different ways without the actual plates becoming unsealed:

1) Those who believe and ask in faith.

2) In the due time of the Lord, then he may grant a vision (this was how Nephi and many modern day prophets received it),

3) or in a dream symbolically or a literal interpretation given to the recipient.

4) Reading of scripture or other accounts or seeing something very similar and the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth and having pure knowledge given.

5) Prophetic words of leaders and others.

So, let me add that this is all an individual thing. The whole church collectively is not ready for the sealed portion. When it is ready, then I believe they (we) will be ready for the City of Zion as well.

Just a reminder, God has promised to reveal those things to any who ask, seek, knock, and properly prepare themselves to receive it.

[inho]

In the October 2011 issue of New Era there is a short piece with the following title:
What is the “sealed portion” of the Book of Mormon, and will we ever know what’s in it?
However, the article lacks in substance.

[inho]

On the mount Shelem the Brother of Jared and the Lord have a dialogue, which specifically mentions the veil. The Lord puts forth his hand to touch the stones that the Brother of Jared has brought. This initiates a series of questions from the Lord, starting with why the Brother of Jared has fallen to the ground and what he had seen. After the Brother of Jared’s faith and knowledge, he is admitted into the Lord’s presence, where he’s told that he’s now redeemed from the Fall, which puts the story of Adam and Eve as part of the backdrop. And then the Brother of Jared is given knowledge that can’t be shared with others, and so it’s put into the sealed portion of the gold plates.

Don Bradley's presentation in the FAIR conference 2012: Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages

[Alaris]

7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

That certainly sounds like the sealed portion can be made manifest line upon line ... to the unfolding of all His revelations. I believe the levels of mandkind's progression is one of the truths spelled out in the sealed portion and how ascending souls rule and administer new souls across creations.

[brianj]

Some church members convince themselves that only other people can have experiences like the ministering of angels, visions, prophecy, etc. I don't know why, as the scriptures and modern church history clearly demonstrate that any of us can have these experiences.

Jared's brother doesn't seem to have learned the things contained in the sealed portion of his writing line upon line, he received it all at once. And it seems evident that Nephi had a similar vision, going from the beginning of creation to the final judgement, but he didn't include the later items because they were to be recorded by other people.

We will grow line upon line until we qualify for the Celestial kingdom (hopefully). But we can have sudden jumps of knowledge, and I am sure that would be the experience of seeing what Jared saw. One of these days I will ask for a similar vision.

[buffalo_girl]

I believe, conversing face-to-face with the LORD would require an extremely stable state of spiritual integrity. HE would have to have 'proven' the reliability of the mortal in whom HE placed such trust.

Actually, James, Chapter 1 describes the method.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/james ... ang=eng#p5

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

[davedan]

"And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw,"

We seek Gods face in the temple and sanctification by keeping temple covenants. In the temple we can speak with God through the veil as the Brother of Jared did.

[clarkkent14]

"And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw,"

We seek Gods face in the temple and sanctification by keeping temple covenants. In the temple we can speak with God through the veil as the Brother of Jared did.

Yet this is not literal, it's only a ritual. The temple in Moses day was to point to the first coming of Christ and His sacrifice. The temple in our day is to point to the second coming, which will be a personal appearance. The priests of Noah taught that salvation came from temple ritual. Don't make the same mistake.

31 And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities, for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye?

32 And they answered and said that salvation did come by the law of Moses.

Don't settle for the ritual, seek Him or wait until it's too late.

"will ye believe in the day of YOUR visitation"

41 And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.

[Arandur]

I believe the answer to your question is found in 3Nephi 26, particularly verses 6-12.

As the 'Gentile Church', we received the lesser portion of the record in order to 'try our faith', as well as to bring the Gospel as recorded in The Book of Mormon to the ancestors of those the LORD is addressing in that chapter (v. 8). I believe the reception of 'greater things' will be determined by how well we pass the test.

I'd love to know other people's opinion on how well we are doing....

I think it is sealed to those who don't have the requisite faith. I haven't heard of anyone seeing the sealed portions, but they are probably under command not to divulge.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Maybe like a calling and election type of scenario. When you have the requisite faith then the sealed portion of the word is opened to someone.

That's almost certainly the case. The truths that were revealed to the brother of Jared can be revealed individually, according to the individual's faithfulness, diligence, and preparation, and the will and timing of the Lord. That's the case with basically all truth that hasn't been revealed to the church at large (see Alma 12:9-10, BG hinted at it). We develop and exercise faith and receive the truth we have, and more is given as we ask, seek, and knock. Whether it's done all at once in the same vision as the brother of Jared had, through a spiritual experience in which the sealed portion itself is revealed, given line upon line by way of the Holy Ghost, or revealed some other way doesn't strike me as important. In any case, Alma 12 definitely seems to suggest that revelation of that caliber is strictly confidential once received, unless specifically directed to share.

Based on how I'm reading Ether 4, the sealed portion itself, as a text, would likely be made accessible to an entire people who are worthy of it rather than to individuals. I'd imagine we haven't qualified yet, and have quite a bit of work to do before we get there. But as we become ready as a people, I'd imagine the Lord has caused/will cause that tidbits of the truths contained therein be made generally available to the church, though not necessarily in context of the brother of Jared's experience.

Interestingly, the brother of Jared doesn't seem to have been asking for the vision, at least not in the prayer immediately preceding the Savior's visitation. Ether 3:25-26 gives a noteworthy perspective.