Judiciary
Article VII of the NAC includes, almost in its entirety, the text of the judicial process and powers given in the original Articles of Confederation (AOC), except that a new procedure is put forth for determining who will be the judges when the parties cannot agree as to who will form the court. Apart from that, everything else is pretty much the same. The effect is a super-scaled down version of a judiciary from the all-powerful SCOTUS we have today, which the authors of the Federalist Papers (which really should have been named the Nationalist Papers) called the weakest branch of the constitutional government, but which currently wields vast powers over the people and the States in its decisions.
In Federalist No. 78, Hamilton says that the Judiciary branch of the proposed government would be the weakest of the three because it had “no influence over either the sword or the purse, …It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.” There was little concern that the judiciary would be able to overpower the political branches; congress controls the money flow and the President controls the military. Courts, on the other hand, do not have the same clout from a constitutional design standpoint. The judiciary depends on the political branches to uphold its judgments. Legal academics often argue over Hamilton’s description of the judiciary as the “least dangerous” branch. Hamilton also explains how federal judges should retain life terms as long as those judges exhibit good behavior. (Wikipedia entry on Federalist No. 78)
In conjunction with Article VII, there is also this section:
Article X. Section 5. As the decisions of the supreme court of the former national government were made according to that law which was the United States Constitution and its treaties, which law is no longer binding upon the States, nor upon the people thereof, neither shall such decisions be binding upon any of the States, nor upon their people.
These two parts of the NAC then, which deal with Congressional judicial matters, grant Congress extremely limited judicial jurisdiction, just as the AOC did, and negate all the prior SCOTUS decisions. (See, for example, this list of Twenty-Five Landmark Cases in Supreme Court History to get a feel of what will be wiped out by the NAC.) Nevertheless, some things that SCOTUS ruled on will be retained by the NAC. For example, the following two rulings, regarding the right to remain silent, are addressed by the NAC:
Miranda v. Arizona, 1966
“You have the right to remain silent …”After police questioning, Ernesto Miranda confessed to kidnapping and raping a woman. The Court struck down his conviction, on grounds that he was not informed of his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Hereafter, the Miranda warnings have been a standard feature of arrest procedures.
SCOTUS ruling: Silence can be evidence as guilt
A 5-4 ruling upheld the murder conviction of a Texas man who bit his lip when an officer asked him about shotgun shells
Here is how the NAC addresses them:
Article II. Section 2. (13) the right to remain silent shall not be violated, and shall be self-executing, being claimed merely by refusing to speak or communicate, and no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself nor to communicate in any way;
But all the other judgments will be null and void, including this recent doozy by SCOTUS:
Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held in a 5–4 decision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Wikipedia entry on Obergefell v. Hodges)
For the most part, the States will judge all matters, though they will also be constrained by the NAC, per this section:
Article X. Section 10. These articles of Confederation, and all the treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the united States in Congress assembled, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Laws or Constitution of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Powers
Article VIII contains a list of Congressional powers and also deals with the powers granted to the United States Committee when Congress is not in session.
Now, the main difference between the USC and the NAC when it comes to their respective powers is that under the USC, government power has become, in effect, unlimited. This is because of a perversion in reading the “general welfare” clause of the USC, as well as other clauses that have been interpreted as granting enormous powers. The NAC, though, keeps everything very limited, quite enumerated, and makes no allowance for generalities. It literally shackles the government and says, in effect, “You can do this and nothing more.” So, on the one hand we have the behemoth of the national government (the USC’s incorrectly named “federal” government,) which ostensibly claims that the USC grants all this power legitimately, and on the other hand we have a very small, but extremely effective (truly) federal government (the NAC’s Confederacy), which wields very limited power, but in a way that is quite useful, yet not oppressive to the people. Limited government, then, is represented by the NAC and not by the USC.
As there is not much else in this article that, in my opinion, is revolutionary, except maybe for the fact that Congress must turn a profit on their business operations, I will proceed to the next article.
War with the Super-Armed Society
Article IX is the war article and it surely IS revolutionary. The NAC completely alters the war activities of the nation from how they exist under the U.S. Constitution. To begin with, the USC allows a standing army during peacetime and also military conscription, while the NAC does not:
Article II. Section 2. (3) because of the extreme danger posed to liberty, there shall be no standing army in times of peace, and military conscription shall be abolished forever;
On the surface that would seem to make the American people insecure, but in reality, it makes them more secure. Remember, the NAC creates a super-armed society:
Article II. Section 2. (1) as a well-armed populace, skilled in the use of all weapons, is essential for the security of the United States—in order to wage warfare against any enemy, foreign or domestic, that should threaten any of their rights—the right of the people to make, keep, bear and carry all manner of weapons of every kind, openly or concealed, shall not be infringed nor regulated;
Article IX Section 9. When men enlist in the armed forces, they shall have power to bring with them all their weapons of war, if they have them, and to retain and use them during battle, and Congress shall also supply the armed forces with other weapons and ammunition, and with other needed supplies, that the armed forces shall have all it needs, in abundance, to defend the Confederacy lands; and if the supplies of the armed forces are greatly reduced during wartime, each State shall open its militia supplies to the armed forces, by writ of Congress, to defend the land, and after a war is over and peace has been declared by Congress, all weapons and supplies, which are left, shall be returned to the rightful owners.
Article XII. Section 6. Any State that has one or more international points of entry, or an international land or sea border, shall have power to restrict, according to law, imported goods brought through such entry points and borders, by any person, excepting personal weapons.
America under the NAC will be the most weaponized society of the entire world. Not only will all Americans possess a great deal of weapons, and of all types, but they will also be free to walk around fully armed pretty much anywhere they like. This alone, will be a huge deterrent to foreign invaders and domestic conspirators alike. A disarmed populace is easy pickings, while one that is armed is a great deal harder to overthrow and conquer. But the super-armed society that the NAC creates the conditions for is a would-be conqueror’s worst nightmare.
The NAC doesn’t just address firearms, but all manner of weapons of every kind. Why is this important? Because firearms require bullets. When your bullets run out, what do you do? Just surrender? No. You reach for your javelin, and bow and arrows, and boomerangs, and throwing stars, and darts, and slings and stones, and swords, and axes, and everything else you’ve amassed. You don’t surrender, YOU KEEP FIGHTING, with your other weapons. The NAC fully arms the people with everything they need to defend the land by allowing them to exercise their right to fully arm themselves and defend the land. It does not mandate that the people arm themselves, because it does not need to. It only needs to allow them to exercise their rights and they will arm themselves. Remember what Joseph Smith said when asked how he was able to govern such a vast people? “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” Well, if you allow a people to arm themselves with all manner of weapons of every kind, they arm themselves. Why? Because that is just the nature of things.
The entire populace as the standing army
This, then, causes the whole freaking populace to be the “standing army” in times of peace. Who in their right mind wants to face 380 million, fully armed people?! No one. It is easier to conquer a nation when there is a standing army of half a million professional soldiers. When you defeat the professional soldiers, you win the war, and the people’s leaders issue the official surrender in behalf of them. Easy as pie. But facing 380 million people? That’s a hard pill to swallow.
Besides being wrong, conscription is ineffective
Everyone knows that military conscription is bad for soldiering. (Or everyone should know.) Those forced to fight do so reluctantly and make poor soldiers; they will desert at first opportunity, are bad for troop morale, etc. Military conscription is not a good policy, despite the fact that it violates the people’s rights. If you want to properly defend the land, you must have a policy that causes people to volunteer for service.
The NAC does just that. How? By creating the conditions for justified war. When men feel like they are justified in taking up arms against an enemy, they volunteer in droves. Justified war is defensive war and that is what the NAC is all about.
A restricted eligibility
Got a hankering for blood? Wanna be able to crack open some heads and shoot you some people and not hafta go to jail? Well, then, boy, the U.S. Armed Forces is the place for you! We’ll send you to plenty of places overseas in conflicts and undeclared wars where you can have plenty of opportunity to kill to your heart’s content, even women and children, too! All under the guise of protecting American interests, so you won’t be brought up on any charges. Heck, if you get transferred to some of the prime prison locations we offer, you can even torture people, too!
Such is the sadistic state of military affairs under the USC.
The NAC corrects this trend toward barbarity by issuing the following decree:
Article IX. Section 9. Paragraph 2. Men who are reluctant to contend with their enemies, and who are sorry to take up arms against them, and who are sorry to be the means of sending them out of this world, who do not delight in the shedding of blood, but who are willing to shed blood to defend their country, who are of sound mind and body, and who are of the strength of the Confederacy, even the young men and the middle-aged men, who are people of the States, shall be eligible to enlist in the armed forces. Men of blood shall at all times be barred from enlistment and if any blood-thirsty men are found within an army, or any that delight in bloodshed, their commanders shall promptly remove them from the ranks, or their commanders shall face charges and be held responsible for their murderous actions. Congress shall have power to extend, by law, enlistment to old men, and to women, and so forth, who are also people of the States, only if necessity requires it due to facing an enemy of overwhelming numbers, to marshal the entire population to defend the land, provided none such are blood-thirsty.
In other words, the honorable act of warfare, in which one defends against an attacker, is going to be restored back to its noble and civilized origins, under the NAC. Warfare under the NAC is to defend, not to murder in order to further certain political or secretive agendas. The NAC will take warfare out of the hands of the conspirators and put it back into the hands of the people. The cause of war must be just (defending the land from an invading force) and also the defenders must be just (no would-be murderers allowed.) The NAC then sets up the conditions for a righteous army.
Voluntary and freedom of choice
The voluntary nature of the enlistment allows the people themselves to decide the justness of any war. If, for any reason, a war is deemed unjust by the populace, Congress will be unable to raise up an army, because all recruits must be voluntary and Congress will be unable to hire mercenaries or foreign forces. Additionally, a recruit gets to pick the army he wants to join, “according to the commander they desire to follow into battle.” This creates cohesion among the troops as friends and family will join the same units.
The restoration of Minutemen
The NAC also brings back the Minutemen, which are first responders in any given emergency.
The land is to be fortified
As the armed forces under the NAC cannot go beyond the land and sea borders
Article IX. Section 13. Paragraph 1. at no time shall the armed forces go beyond the boundaries of the land and sea borders, for warfare shall never be fought upon enemy lands, nor upon neutral lands or seas, but only upon Confederacy lands and seas, for the armed forces shall only drive an invading force from the Confederacy land and sea borders, and there shall be no retaliation.
all fighting must be done upon our own lands and seas, therefore the NAC provides for fortifications to be built around the lands, cities, borders, with walls and lookout towers, etc., so that when it comes to war, we are prepared to defend. These operations are all defensive in nature, as they are on our own lands, thus negating all offensive warfare that currently goes on under the USC. This will be a total change in conditions which will create a sense of justified warfare that will resound in the hearts of the people.
No more spying upon the American people
Good-bye drones and all other things used to spy upon the American people under the USC. The NAC does away with these things:
Article IX. Section 12. Paragraph 1. no watchmen, nor anyone in the employ of this Confederacy, shall spy upon the people of the several States, nor shall any device of the Confederacy be operated to the same effect
Good-bye mercs, Blackwater and other security firms
Article IX. Section 12. Paragraph 1. Congress shall not have power to employ private security firms, nor those who are not the people of the States.
Good-bye military-industrial complex
Article IX. Section 12. Paragraph 1. Congress shall not have power to employ private manufacturing firms
Good-bye undeclared conflicts
Article IX. Section 13. Paragraph 3. Congress shall have no power to assemble the armed forces except upon a declaration of war.
Letters of Marque and Reprisal are to be used
Article IX. Section 13. Paragraph 2. when there are enemies of small numbers of less than a state or nation, consisting of one or more persons, or small groups or gangs, or when American prisoners have been taken captive abroad, Letters of Marque and Reprisal shall be issued to retrieve the prisoners or to deal with these small numbers of enemies, and not the armed forces, for the United States shall never use its armed forces to invade foreign lands.
While the USC has power to issue letters of marque and reprisal, in practice they are never used, for we’ve got a standing army that we can send overseas to build up the American empire. So, these letters are pesky annoyances to would-be tyrants. But the NAC makes them mandatory in certain situations. Yet another shackle upon government.
No more sabre rattling
Article IX. Section 13. Paragraph 1. If any nation, tongue or people should proclaim war against the Confederacy, or any one or more of its constituent States, Congress shall first lift a standard of peace, through its ambassadors, to that people, nation or tongue; and if that people does not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, Congress shall be justified in waging war against them and shall declare war on them and prepare for war
We are not to be a belligerent nation, but a peaceful nation, trying to sue for and propose peace to those who wish to do us harm. Three times Congress must do this and only then can they declare war. This wording, enshrined in law, will make all nations view America as a land of peace, and not a land of war, despite the Americans being armed to the teeth. This can only reduce the number of conflicts we will have with other nations.
Go in peace with a covenant of peace
Many of these enemy nations are using men who are conscripted or otherwise reluctant to fight us. This NAC policy will cause many of them to put down their weapons against us:
Article IX. Section 14. All prisoners of war that surrender their weapons with a covenant of peace—that they shall never again come against the Confederacy, or any of the States, or the American people, to war—shall be deported as free men, but no enemy soldiers shall be allowed to surrender their weapons, nor be afterwards released, unless they first take such an oath or covenant, except in the case in which an enemy force has also captured American soldiers, in which case enemy soldiers shall be allowed to surrender without an oath of peace, to be used as a ransom for the exchange of prisoners.
In fact, this may cause many of such men to not only leave in peace, but to come back as Americans, wanting to join the land and people who lift up such standards of peace. In other words, enemy nations will be hard-pressed to convince their people to take up arms against the Americans, because of our peaceful natures manifested even during wartime. The NAC sets up these curious conditions which can only have the effect of making Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In other words, the NAC will make “being an American” in vogue in foreign lands and many will want to think of themselves, and also call themselves, “Americans.” Foreigners will again come to love America and Americans. No more will we be regarded as “the great Satan” by certain factions, or be spoken of in terms of empire building and pride, but many who now say we are in sin and error will have a change of heart and think, “It appears the Americans have repented.” Friendly relations with all nations and people will go forth throughout the world and the eyes of all people will be on America.
The effect of all these war policies
On the one hand, the NAC will reduce or altogether eliminate war and conflict between Americans and other peoples. Peace, freedom, liberty, these will be the things people think of when they think of America under the NAC. The enslaved masses, enslaved by rights infringement and also economically through taxation will come to love what America represents. So, the motivation for war will be almost entirely eliminated.
On the other hand, the NAC will create unheard of prosperity in America. Which means that manufacturing will come home. Which means that the American economy will finally be fully unleashed upon the world. Which means that America will once again, and permanently, dominate the economic landscape, world-wide. In every area. This will cause disruptions in the manufacturing industries in China, and in the petroleum production of the Middle East, and in the textile-making industries around the world, and in the currencies markets, etc. The NAC’s passage will send economic shockwaves throughout the world, causing all the world’s societies to enter a new, previously unknown condition, in which the entire world suddenly finds that their economic hats have been handed to them by the Americans. That kind of total economic disruption can only destroy the economic power bases of some very powerful entities currently existing in the world. These powerful entities are NOT going to like this.
Also, the rest of the world is taxed to the hilt and the plans are to increase them even more. The NAC will eliminate all federal taxes and open up the opportunity to eliminate even the State taxes. This, along with the enticement of living a life with full rights and privileges, will cause a mass exodus of all the world’s people toward America. Some very powerful entities currently existing in the world need these masses of people, as taxpayers and also to enslave, through the infringement of their rights. These very powerful entities are NOT going to like this.
A world war like no other
Now, the fortification of America, militarily, under the NAC, and the policy of “come and get us if you want a fight,” gives a home court advantage to America. An invader has to cross one of the two oceans of water that surround us on either side. This is costly and dangerous. Invading America is a logistical nightmare. But these very powerful entities are not going to sit idly by while America robs them of all their economic and population wealth (money and people.) The passage of the NAC will be seen as if the prize (America) was snatched from their clutching fingers in the very moment they were closing their grasp tight to hold it forever. While the world’s people will be cheering the NAC’s passage in the streets, these powerful people will, behind closed doors, be throwing a temper tantrum. Like Amalickiah before them, they will be
exceedingly angry with [their] people, because [they] had not obtained [their] desire over the [Americans]; [they] had not subjected them to the yoke of bondage. Yea, [they will be] exceedingly wroth, and [they will] curse God, and also [the Americans], swearing with an oath that [they will] drink [their] blood (Alma 49:26-27)
As the NAC completely undoes the secret combinations and other conspiracies in government, found here in our land, destroying their ability to control America from the inside, this means they will have only ONE option, upon passage of the NAC: invade from the outside.
This other hand that I am describing, then, paints a picture of inevitable war, in which extremely powerful entities will use their people as fodder to regain control of America, by crossing the oceans to conquer us, by force of arms.
To the north, we have socialist Canada, which, ostensibly, is our friend. Sure the people are friendly to us, but the government, and the powerful entities that control it, are friendly to us only at present. Under the USC, we are under, essentially, a proto-socialist government, marching forward towards Marxism at an ever increasing rate. Thus, Canada, and America under the USC, have much in common. But when the NAC is installed, socialist Canada and the free American Confederacy will have NOTHING in common. The friendship between the two nations will soon thereafter end.
To the south, we have corrupt Mexico, whose people love America, but whose government is corrupt from top to bottom, and whose drug cartels defy everyone. This government, to our south, is also ostensibly friendly to us. But corrupt Mexico and the corrupt national government of the USA have much in common currently, namely, corruption. Enter the NAC and that commonality goes by-by. The NAC will be able to eliminate corruption on the federal level, and also on the State levels (through grand jury presentments), making the new Confederacy squeaky clean from the start. Also, the newly super-armed American populace will have all they need to deal with the drug cartels, as well as the street and criminal gangs found among them. Do you think the Americans will not move immediately to eliminate these sources of corruption? Do you think that criminal gangs are not going to have their options severely reduced by the American people upon passage of the NAC? Surely they will. The Americans, upon finding themselves free from the tyrannies of the national government will certainly turn their eyes to every observable corruption found among themselves, and they will organize themselves and deal with the gangs and cartels in a hot minute, sending all the criminals left alive running to the borders.
Thus, Canada and Mexico, upon passage of the NAC, will no longer be as friendly as they formerly were. And the socialists of Canada will then conspire with other powerful foreign entities, to take out America. (For Canada is too weak to take us on alone.) And the cartels and corrupt interests in Mexico will use their government influence to conspire with other powerful foreign entities, to take out America. (For Mexico is too weak to take us on alone.)
Now, neither Canada, nor Mexico, working together, can deal with America under the NAC. No, sir; they will most certainly need help. And help they will get, because those two oceans of water create too much of an obstacle for the conspiring powerful people. A proper invasion needs to come from the land. And from the land, as well as from the sea, it will inevitably come, for these powerful foreign entities will conspire with Canada to enter into America from the north, and with Mexico to enter into America from the south, as well as sending their troops over the waters.
Everyone thinks that the next world war (World War Three) is going to happen in the Middle East and that it will be the final conflict, even Armageddon. But there is a world war that is mentioned in the scriptures that is going to take place right here, in good ol’ America, after the NAC passes. For China and Russia and everyone else that wants a piece of the American pie, (which is everyone,) are going to conspire to take on the world’s first super-armed society, thinking that with their huge numbers it surely can be done. But, the NAC has already anticipated and prepared for that.
When those troops get here, there will be fortifications everywhere, even at the borders of Canada and Mexico, and in all the cities and lands. And many of these troops will know of our war policies, and how if they surrender their weapons with a covenant of peace, they can go. There will be very many defections of the invading army. There will be many who will switch sides in the midst of the conflict. The enemy, of course, will understand that this is a very likely possibility, so they will not extend the war, but will come with their limitless numbers to win a decisive and quick victory, if possible.
What will the outcome be? Why, victory for the Americans, of course:
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. (1 Nephi 13:15-19)
But behold, this land,
said God,
shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. And I will fortify this land against all other nations. (2 Nephi 10:10-12)
Notice that the prophecy says ALL other nations. So, this is going to be a war in which the nations of the entire world participate, a truly world war, fulfilling the prophecy in which “war shall be poured out upon all nations” (D&C 87:3.) And it is going to happen here in America. Not under the USC, but under the NAC (or something like it.)
The plan under the USC
The conspirators do not want to invade externally. They want to use the USC to entirely emasculate the male population of America, to the point that they just either voluntarily give up all their rights, or are too weak to stop the police state from taking whatever rights are still left. The coup d’état is planned to be done internally, with external support on an as needed basis, or, even better yet, just the threat of external support. This is why the land is almost entirely devoid of fortifications at present. The plan is to emasculate the men, take from them their rights and privileges, disarm them, and leave their cities, lands and borders completely defenseless, so that all who resist will be mowed down with minimal casualties on the part of the conspirators.
And, behold, the enemy is combined. And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction in process of time, and ye knew it not (D&C 38:12-13)
But let the enemy combine all they want. Their plan will not work, for the NAC completely demolishes this scheme, leaving them no other option except externally applied warfare, (for the conspirators will not allow America to slip through their fingers.)
This picture is not meant to alarm anyone
On the one hand I am painting a picture of reduced or eliminated warfare, while on the other hand the picture is one of a conspiracy-inspired, all-out, world war, initiated by extremely desperate and evil men. These are the two possible scenarios that may occur under the NAC.
Some may be tempted to think that the USC seems better if those are our two possible NAC futures. But the USC future is one of enslavement, in which we lose everything without even having the chance to fight. The NAC future is one of freedom, in which we gain everything without fighting, but then we will have to maintain our rights and privileges against those who will try to take them from us, by force of arms. Only those with a slave mentality, who don’t mind being a captive to tyrants, would choose the USC over the NAC. The NAC is superior to the USC because it gives us freedom and liberty that the USC does not give us, plus it gives us the very means we need to maintain these same freedoms and liberties, which, again, the USC does not give us. The USC only gives us a false hope and lip-service of freedom and liberty, without delivering the actual goods. The NAC delivers, but it will be up to us to use those goods to remain free. So, an effectual struggle is still ahead of us, and the NAC foresees this, and so it does not leave us disarmed and without fortifications, like sitting ducks, as the USC does.
Feel free to disagree on any point mentioned in this post. Bring your strongest reasons against the NAC and let’s have an open debate. And for those who like the NAC and want to install it as the Supreme Law of the land, here is my advice and prediction (and also see this comment, and this comment and this comment) :
A continual strategy of debate will install the NAC in this country and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. I say that Americans will jump at the chance to debate the NAC and to show that the Constitution is better, but, according to the rules of the debate, they will have to read the NAC first, and once read, they will be hard pressed to defend the Constitution. Thus, everyone who hears, or watches, or reads, or participates in, a NAC debate, will become convinced that the NAC is what this country needs.
To read the other parts of this series, click any of these links:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5,
Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10,
Also see: The New Articles of Confederation (NAC) and The Right to Abolish, Revert and Replace Amendment.
LDS Anarchy 
1 Nephi 13 & 14 commentary, using CTC’s view
On June 17th, 2008, Anthony E. Larson uploaded a post to this blog called, The Great and Abominable Church. A couple of weeks later a visitor called CTC claimed that 1 Nephi 13 & 14 spoke of a literal great and abominable church that had yet to make its appearance and that much of both of these chapters was yet to be fulfilled. He said he got this information from someone who he believed was a bona fide prophet of God. CTC did not use a chronological approach to Nephi’s prophecy. This made it easy for him to get around certain parts which posed problems to him as a future fulfillment. But I’m not going to take that approach. I’m going to read it chronologically and literally, and see where it takes me.
I’m doing this because it interests me, not because I subscribe to this view, so please don’t take this as my interpretation of this chapter. As I’ve said before, my understanding of prophecy is that it is plain and speaks of real things, and also that it often has shadows or types. When CTC first posted his comments, I did not respond, because I hadn’t taken the time to really look at 1 Nephi 13, to see if the fulfillment that we normally assign to it could be a mere shadow. So, I remained silent and let others respond to him. However, recently I have found myself mentioning time and time again about a coming future captivity of the saints, which brought to my mind what Nephi had stated in 1 Nephi 13, which then brought to my mind what CTC had written in his comments.
All of which leads me to this post, in which I look at these chapters and attempt to interpret them as if their literal fulfillment was still future. So, let’s begin.
Chapter Thirteen of First Nephi
I will quote a part of the chapter, then give what is commonly assumed as its fulfillment, but as a shadow, and then I will give its literal future fulfillment. I will try to convincingly show why the shadow fulfillment does not satisfy the prophecy, meaning why the prophecy is not fulfilled every whit by the shadow, necessitating a future, literal fulfillment. I am using this as my Book of Mormon text.
The times of the Gentiles
This is obviously talking about the times of the Gentiles. But which times? The times of the primitive church with the twelve apostles, the times right after the death of the apostles, the times of Joseph Smith, the current times, or a future time of the Gentiles? Nephi isn’t clear on this point, but I will interpret this as a future time.
The formation of a church
Shadow past fulfillment: Some have stated that this is the Roman Catholic Church, a literal church, which would put its formation after the death of the apostles. Others have stated that this is the “church” of science, a metaphorical church, which would put its formation after the Roman Catholic Church. Others believe this is speaking metaphorically about all churches that are not the true saints of God, per the later verse of 1 Ne. 14:10, giving it a metaphorical “formation” and a metaphorical “captivity.” These must all be shadows because they do not fulfill the prophecy every whit.
Literal future fulfillment: This a real church, not a figurative or metaphorical church. And it exists among other, real churches. It literally kills and tortures real saints—or sanctified people who have entered into a covenant with God, witnessed by baptism—and literally binds them, puts real iron yokes upon them and brings them down into literal (not metaphorical) captivity.
To literally fulfill this prophecy every whit, living saints of God must be present during, or after, the formation of this church, and they must be killed, tortured, bound, yoked with iron, and brought into captivity. Also, there must be other, real churches present, which do not pertain to the abominable church.
This has not occurred, yet, for although there were people tortured, killed, put into iron yokes and brought into captivity, by various religious organizations in the past, these tortured souls were not saints of God, for the church of God was already non-existent by then and the saints and apostles were already dead. Therefore, this prophecy must pertain to the future.
Devil, materialism, worldy praise
The previous commentary applies to this section, as well, for if the church of God is not present, in order for this abominable church to bring God’s saints down into captivity and destroy them, it cannot be fulfilled literally.
Many waters
Shadow past fulfillment: The Gentiles of Europe are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: The Gentiles of Asia are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by “many waters.” The term “many waters” refers to that body of water called by the Nephites, Irreantum, which is the Pacific Ocean.
The Spirit of God upon a man
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentile, Christopher Columbus, “believed himself chosen by God to find [a new] land and deliver the light of Christianity to the natives there.” He sailed upon the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, all the way to the Lamanite remnant.
Literal future fulfillment: A man among the Asian Gentiles (not necessarily a Gentile man, nor Asian) will have the Spirit of God come down and work upon him. This man will be a holy prophet of God and will travel from Asia to North America, upon the Irreantum or Pacific Ocean, until he reaches the Lamanite remnant.
The Spirit of God upon captive Gentiles
Shadow past fulfillment: European Gentiles (Puritans) leave Europe and their religious “captivity” for America to partake of religious freedom. (Never mind that Europe was one of the freest places on the planet at the time.) They travel over the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: Asian Gentiles are wrought upon by the Spirit of God, becoming saints of God, and leave Asian captivity, meaning that they leave the captivity of the tyrannical Chinese, North Korean and other communist regimes and dictatorships, which bind the people down in literal captivity. They travel over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean.)
The scattering of the Lamanites
Shadow past fulfillment: Lots of European Gentiles are in America. The European Gentiles partially scatter the American Indians and gather them into reservations. The European Gentiles take possession of Indian and American land. Some prosper, some do not. The European Gentiles are white, fair and beautiful.
Literal future fulfillment: Lots of different Gentiles are in America. An unnamed group of (European?) Gentiles fully scatter the American Indians, off of the reservations, and smite them, so that the Lamanites are completely landless. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon a righteous group of (Asian?) Gentiles (saints) and they prosper and inherit the land. This righteous group of Gentiles is white, fair and beautiful.
Former captors wage war against former captives; God saves former captives
Shadow past fulfillment: Many European Gentiles (in the American British colonies) are either deists or believe in God, Christianity and the Bible. The American Revolutionary War ensues. Despite hardships, lack of supplies, training, etc., the American Continental Army defeats the British.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles (who are converted saints of God)—who left their Asian communist countries, who traveled over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean), who are now living upon the land of America—humble themselves before the Lord and obtain the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost. Their mother countries (China, Russia and the rest) send warships upon the waters to battle them and gather together upon the water and also gather together upon the land. Divine intervention (miracles of God) takes place and the armies of the mother Gentile nations, as well as the armies of all those nations who were gathered with them to battle the former Asian Gentile captives, are defeated by the power of God, and not by any power of man.
A book, the record of the Jews
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentiles (now called American citizens) have a Bible—written by multiple authors, not a single Jew—which has been corrupted by that great and abominable church, you know, the Roman Catholic Church, or the science non-church, or the vast assembly of non-saint churches “church.” That church. Anyway, that church/non-church takes some plain and precious parts away from the Bible and then sends it out to all the European Gentiles, which then makes its way to America, since the European Gentiles have traveled there over the Atlantic Ocean. And because of this faulty Bible, many of the European Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles saints living in America have a book, written by a singular Jew, which contains a record of the Jews, the covenants of the Lord and many of the prophecies of the prophets. This book is like the plates of brass, except it doesn’t contain as much information as the plates of brass. It contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lord.
When the book first appears, written by the singular Jew, it will go to the Gentiles, presumably to the Asian Gentiles who were in captivity, since they will be carrying the book. After it goes to the Gentiles, the great and abominable church will be formed. That church apparently will get a copy of the book and make drastic changes to it, taking out plain and precious parts. Then they will publish the book far and wide, so that it ends up in every Gentile nation, including in America.
There will be, then, two editions of the book. One which is pure, carried by the Asian Gentile saints living in America, and the other which is corrupted, carried by the other Gentiles (living in America and elsewhere). Because of the corrupted version, many Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Another book, the record of the Nephites
Shadow past fulfillment: The Book of Mormon, an abridged record of the Nephites, was written, and came forth to the Gentiles that were stumbling, by the gift and power of God, and in it is God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it contains the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the Bible, as well as an abridgment of the ministry of the Savior to the Nephites. Those during the time of Joseph Smith were blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they sought to establish Zion.
Future literal fulfillment: An unabridged Nephite record (not the Book of Mormon) will be written, to come forth to the Gentiles that stumble, by the gift and power of God, and in it will be God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it will contain the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the book that is carried by the Asian Gentile saints. In the Nephite record will be “many things” that the Savior personally ministered to the Nephites. In other words, it will be an unabridged account of that ministry. Those during the time of the appearance of this unabridged Nephite record will be blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they seek to establish Zion.
Two records established in one
Shadow past fulfillment: The Bible written by multiple Jews went to the Lamanites. Later, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price went to the Lamanites, and these last records established the truth of the Bible (as far as it is translated correctly), which is a record of the four apostles of the Lord, and made known the plain and precious parts missing in it. Both volumes of scripture were established in one, by being bound up as a quadruple combination.
Literal future fulfillment: The unchanged book carried by the Asian Gentile saints, written by a singular Jew, will go to the Lamanites. Later, the unabridged Nephite record (as well as other records) will go to the Lamanites and will establish the truth of the unadulterated book that is carried about by the Asian Gentile saints, which is a record of all twelve apostles of the Lord, and will make known the plain and precious parts that are missing in the perverted edition of that record. Both volumes of scripture will be established in one.
Chapter Fourteen of First Nephi
The whole of 1 Nephi 14 is still future, according to my understanding, but since I’m using CTC’s view to interpret the prophecy, I will try to bring up anything that may coincide with what I wrote about chapter thirteen.
Numbering
Shadow past/present fulfillment: I suppose latter-day saints could interpret numbering among the house of Israel as fulfilled by getting their patriarchal blessings, which tell them what tribe they have been assigned to.
Literal future fulfillment: Numbering is a tribal function. I’ve already gone over this on this blog before, so I’m not going to elaborate on this topic again. Let it suffice that my understanding is that this pertains to the future and has not yet been fulfilled in any part, whatsoever.
The great and marvelous work
Shadow past fulfillment: The times of Joseph Smith in which he restored many lost truths and layed the foundation of the kingdom is often thought as the great and marvelous work.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvel work takes places after the numbering of the Gentiles among the house of Israel, therefore, it is still a future event.
The covenants of the Father to the house of Israel
I don’t really need to comment on this.
Two churches only
Shadow past fulfillment: Some use this scripture retroactively, to apply to the thirteenth chapter of First Nephi. So, they define the great and abominable church as everything that isn’t the LDS church.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvelous work, which is still future, will cause a division among the people, so that there are no longer a multiplicity of churches on earth. Everything will either align itself with the great and abominable church, being absorbed by her, or join the saints of God in the now-called church of the Lamb of God. The church of the Lamb of God will be using, if you remember, the Book of the Lamb of God. In other words, that unchanged book written by a singular Jew, carried by the Asian Gentile saints, which contains the writings of the twelve (not four) apostles of the Lamb. Just as Mormons are called Mormons because of the book they carry and use and believe, so the Lamb of God church will be called by the name of their main book.
Headquarters in the midst of Irreantum
Shadow past fulfillment: Bad (non-LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and abominable church will be headquartered somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and will have global reach.
The church of the Lamb of God
Shadow past fulfillment: Good (LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The church of the Lamb of God will have global reach, but small membership, due to the other church’s wickedness.
Gathering of the whore to fight the Lamb
I ain’t gonna interpret this.
Power of God upon the saints and covenant people
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that at this point in the prophetic timeline, the covenant people of the Lord are still in their scattered state.
Worldwide wars
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that only now, after there are wars and rumors of war everywhere, after the numbering, after the unabridged Nephite record and the record of the twelve apostles of the Lamb come forth, etc., only after all these things happen does the work of the Father commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of His covenants with Israel!
The apostle John
Shadow past fulfillment: John the apostle wrote the Book of Revelation, which contains some of the things that Nephi saw and the Book of Revelation is found in the Bible, which was written by multiple Jews.
Literal future fulfillment: John the apostle will appear in the future, with a mission to gather the tribes of Israel, as a Jewish Elias, meaning an Elias of the tribe of Judah, and he will come and restore all things pertaining to the Jews.
It was for this reason that John was translated, that he might perform this latter-day work.
John, then, is the Jew, out of whose mouth the book, which Nephi saw in vision, would proceed. He is the “hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” which will write this book. Through John will proceed the record and testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lamb, and all the things which Nephi saw will be written by John, “and also many things which have been,” meaning that John will write things which preceded Nephi. The writings of John in the Bible do not cover all the things that the angel told Nephi John would write, which would be written in the book that proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, which is called “the Book of the Lamb of God.”
And this is the very reason why the angel prohibited Nephi from writing the rest of his vision. The Book of Revelation does not contain the vision that Nephi saw. If anything, it only contains a part of the vision, or an abridgement. Nephi could not write what he saw because it was not the proper time for that information to come forth. When John re-appears on the scene, he will dictate the book that Nephi saw the Asian Gentile saints carrying, which will contain the full vision of Nephi, as well as the covenants of the Lord, many of the prophecies of the prophets, the testimony of all twelve apostles, a record of the Jews and “many things which have been.” Yet, despite all that, it will still be less material than what the plates of brass contain.
John may, in fact, be the man who is wrought upon by the Spirit of God, who goes forth upon the many waters (Irreantum) to the promised land, who is followed by the Asian Gentile saints. John may be that man among the Asian Gentiles, who preaches to them and gives them the book that he will write, which they will carry with them to the promised land. John may be the very one who frees them from captivity, allowing them to leave their countries and come over the Irreantum to America.
Wrapping this up
Is any of this true? Could our standard interpretation of these two chapters be mere shadows? I will leave it up to the reader to figure that out for him or herself. One thing is for sure, if 1 Nephi 13 has yet to be literally fulfilled, we know what the very first thing mentioned is: the formation of a great and abominable church and the death, torture and captivity of the saints. Let us hope that none of the things I wrote above have any basis in prophetic reality.
Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist
December 29, 2012
Categories: Babylon, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, LDS, Patriarchal Blessings, Power of the Holy Ghost, Preaching the Gospel, Prophecy, Prophets, Repentance, Sanctification, Scriptural Expositions, Secret Combinations, Symbolism, Tribalism, Zion . Tags: America, American Indians, Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Baptism, Book of Mormon, Book of the Lamb of God, captivity, Christopher Columbus, Church, Church of the Devil, Church of the Lamb of God, covenants, Death, destruction, devil, Elias, Europe, Gathering, Gentiles, Great and Abominable Church, Great and Marvelous Work, history, House of Israel, Irreantum, Jesus Christ, Jew, Jews, John, John the Apostle, John the Beloved, Lamanites, Land of Promise, Last Days, Latter-days, Nephi, Nephites, Pacific Ocean, Prophecy, Prophecy Interpretation, Remnant of Jacob, saints, Saints of God, Scattering, Scriptural Commentary, Scriptures, Spirit of God, Torture, Tribes of Israel, War, Warfare . Author: LDS Anarchist . Comments: 58 Comments