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 is, the words of the brother of Jared concerning what transpired on the mount. The Printers Manuscript and in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, the words that now make up Ether 4:1 read as follows: "and for this cause did king Benjamin keep them. Was this a mistake in the translation process? It is hard to explain how Joseph Smith could make such a mistake. Perhaps it wasn't a mistake, especially if what king Benjamin possessed amounted to the record of the brother of Jared and not the twenty four gold plates of Ether. Ether after all was a descendant of Jared (Ether 1:6-33), and not a descendant of the brother of Jared. It was the brother of Jared who was entrusted with making a record of his experiences (Ether 4:1).] 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 [ Moroni ] have written upon these plates [ In other words, he has written the brother of Jared's vision on the identical plates upon which he's continuing to write, not on later plates. ] the very things which the brother of Jared saw; [ So he saw what he saw he is not coping down the words of what he saw. somehow the symbols used by the brother of Jared and the prophet Ether used for writing upon plates actually caused events to be "shown" to the reader. Moroni used the Urim and Thummim or 'interpreters' to provide the revelatory translation of Ether, he had to do it by the gift and power of God the same way that Joseph Smith did. A person using the Urim and Thummim in order to obtain the information would therefore see the events inscribed on the plates. Perhaps that is why people who have the ability to access the events of ancient records are called "seers." Using an abbreviated form of writing--a set of codes--a seer writing upon plates would in that case not be required to write a description of each event. He would simply write the symbols that caused the Urim and Thummim to show their user the events themselves. That might explain why Moroni wrote what he did "according to my memory" (Ether 5:1), not according to a verbatim account. Moroni himself saw the events, both those in the past and in the future. In other words, Moroni wrote down "the very things which the brother of Jared saw" (Ether 4:4), not necessarily the things the brother of Jared had written. Moroni saw what the brother of Jared had seen. ] 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; [ Why? Because John is the one who was assigned by God to provide the writing. See vs 16; Moroni wrote his account of the vision of the brother of Jared on the abridgment plates of Mormon, but he was commanded by the Lord to "seal up" this account (Ether 4:4-5). Joseph Smith was commanded not to translate this sealed portion. It is not absolutely clear what portion of the plates of Mormon was sealed. Joseph Smith simply said: "The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed" (History of the Church, Vol 4., p. 537). George Q. Cannon said that "about one-third" was sealed (Young Peoples' History of Joseph Smith, p. 25), whereas Orson Pratt maintained that the sealed portion comprised "about two-thirds" of the plates (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p. 347). Neither of these two brethren indicate where they obtained their information. ] 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, [ so how do we - the Gentiles become sanctified? We have to learn to exercise faith in the lord like the brother of Jared did. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, stated in "Christ and the New Covenant" that "Those sealed plates constitute the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith did not translate. Furthermore, they will remain sealed, literally as well as figuratively, until future generations "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." ] then will I manifest [ Manifest: of or relating to conscious feelings, ideas, and impulses contained in hidden material; the manifest content of a revelation as opposed to its visible content. ] unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, [ What was one of the things that the brother of Jared saw? He had learned how to exercise faith to the point that he saw God. He received much of the same knowledge that was held by Enoch, and Melchizedek. The knowledge that allowed them to be in the presence of God. This is to be our goal as well (think Temple). When will that be? When we exercise faith as did the brother of Jared, when we become sanctified. ] saith Jesus Christ, the son of God, [ He is not the son of Joseph. He is not the son of a man. This title the son Of God means that his Father is literally God our Father in Heaven. ] the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are. [ In summary of verses 1-7 we find from the foregoing that the record of the brother of Jared was made known to the Nephites during that righteous period after the Savior ministered to them (see Ether 4:2). But when they fell into wickedness after some 200 years, the information was taken away from them and will only be made known again, through the sealed plates, when we are ready. ]

8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; [ 1) doomed to destruction or misery 2) separated from the faithful~ cast out of the church~ excommunicated 3) worthy of the curse] and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.

10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know [ In Hebrew, the word for "know" is the word yada, which means not only learning about something or someone but experiencing something or someone. It is not a superficial experience of God but a profoundly intimate experience. In the Israelite worldview, The Old Testament is the foundation of this experience. ] that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.

11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.

13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. [ The purpose of this chapter is to identify the knowledge of God which is hid up from men and women because of unbelief and then to show the pattern of performance required for believers to find the great things laid up for them. Ultimately, the message of the Book of Mormon is that the Lord can show all things to each individual believer.

While there are many meanings of belief, we shall speak of casual belief and causal belief. Casual belief is a passive kind of belief that never stirs the soul to do anything more than think with the mind. It is the belief Jesus referred to when he said to those who professed faith or belief but did not want to do any works: “Therefore wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead and cannot save you? Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble; thou hast made thyself like unto them, not being justified” (JST James 2:18–19).

Causal belief is the belief that leads to action. The scriptures equate it with faith. It is the substance of hope, the mental assurance of things hoped for but not seen (JST Heb. 11:1). Faith and causal belief are a gift of God given to men and women who live the laws which entitle them to this endowment of power, for it is a power (D&C 130:20–21). There is an uncommon dimension of faith in a few men and women that, when exercised in a true belief of Jesus Christ, causes the elements to react both physically and spiritually. This uncommon faith has a catalytic power to direct all matter and make earthly energy sources submissive. In the gospel sense this causal belief or faith generates salvation and eternal life. The promise is absolute that the correct faith in Jesus Christ is the power base that leads to salvation and exaltation.

Another term we need to define is mystery. Mystery in Greek is "Musterion" which means: The counsels of God once hidden but now revealed, in the gospel or some fact thereof; the Christian revelation generally; particular truths or details of the Christian revelation. When we say "mystery" we might as well say ordinances. This is from Greek Mysterion (usually in plural mysteria) "secret right or doctrine (known and practiced by certain initiated persons only) consisting of purifications, sacrificial offerings, processions, songs, etc." from mystes "one who has been initiated," Myein "to close shut" (see nute(adj.)); perhaps referring to the lips (in secrecy) or to the eyes (only initiates were allowed to see the sacred rites). (Online Etymology Dictionary) So mystery as we know it today has been perverted to resemble something in a mystery novel when it came from the ancients to mean sacred rights, and initiations. So as we find in the scriptures that the word mystery is always tied to some form of Salvation and or sacred rights. It would have remained unknown were it not for special revelation that brought it to light. For example, God is a spiritual mystery to most of the world, but he has revealed himself to his prophets throughout the history of the world including those today, and we can exercise our faith in those revelations. ]

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief. [ Or it has come unto you because of your belief. How much do we limit the blessings that could be ours if only our belief was stronger? What boundaries are you placing on yourself because of unbelief? ]

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief [ Interesting choice of words - the veil of unbelief. What are the implications? That if we will believe enough; like the Brother of Jared; then the veil can and will be removed. Or when faith is strong enough the Lord cannot hide himself from us. When you quit reading the scriptures as a child, and really study them - looking for the hidden gems and the things that God is really trying to teach you. IF we believe that he can speak to us he will, if we don't believe that he can speak to us - he can't. How do I develop that kind of faith? Luke 17:5-6 ] which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you— [ Be revealed. ] —yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, [ Jesus Christ is speaking here. ] with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, [ Repentance. ] , then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John [ This is Jesus Christ here talking about John the Revelator who was the one who was given the assignment to document the end of times. ] be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. [ So the things which the Brother of Jared saw where most likely the same things which John saw; as well as others Abraham, Moroni and Moses. They were also pretty much the same thing as Lehi and Nephi saw because they recorded in 1 Nephi 14:26-29 the angel says to Nephi, "But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them". a statement by Oliver Cowdery to the effect that the sealed portion of the plates given to Joseph Smith "contains the same revelation which was given to John upon the isle of Patmos, and when the people of the Lord are prepared, and found worthy, then it will be unfolded unto them" (Messenger and Advocate, February 1835, p. 80) 1 Ne 14 Nephi sees this as well but he is commanded not to write about it. Here we have the last prophet in the Book of Mormon that has seen the same things and testify's that John was chosen to write about them. ] Remember, when ye see these things, [ So in the last days when you begin to see the revelations given to John unfolding then you will know that my coming is imminent, and you will have a better understanding of what they mean. Now go to Ether 8:23-25 for additional insite from Moroni. ] ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record [ The Book Of Mormon. ] ye may know that the work of the Father [ See 3 Nephi 21:26. Gathering of Israel and the Ten Tribes. ] has commenced upon all the face of the land.

18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; [ Why? Because if you do not believe on him then he does not have the power to save you because you have your agency. ] ; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.

19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.