1 AND now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words, behold, there were men who were judges, who also belonged to the secret band of Gadianton, and they were angry, and they cried out against him, saying unto the people: Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth, that he may be condemned according to the crime which he has done? [ Why do they feel that they need to shut him up? Because he tells the truth and they do not want the people to have a change of heart. Everything is going so well for the, IT is the way of Satan - he wants everyone to act one way and if they go against his way then they must be destroyed. This is the difference in the two plans from the beginning. The plan of God was to allow man to be an agent unto himself. Satan claims to but in the end does not want to allow choice. He acts by demand, he enforces his subjection to his principles and will use force to bring them forward. First the law is passed to make the action legal, then the law is followed up with provisions to enforce the law, and then the law is used to compele all to live by the new law whether you like it of not, whether it goes against your religious beliefs or not. They discount religion saying that it is merely an attempt for you to skirt around the law and hence they can destroy your ability to practice your religion. ]

2 Why seest thou this man, and hearest him revile against this people and against our law?

3 For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; [ Perhaps were their laws contrary to the laws of God? Is there a lesson for us here? ] yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God.

4 And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly [ Why is it that those who are doing wrong and they know it get so angry when they are called on it? ] unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them. [ Thus we see that there were still some righteous amoung them, some that still had principles and would stand up to them. ]

5 Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this people, [ Corrupt judges accused Nephi, great-grandson of Alma, of being un-Nephite, claiming he reviled against the people and the law, while they themselves belonged to Gadianton’s secret band dedicated to usurping the power of government. Flatterers and king-men will . Rarely speak specifics or directly state their intentions, Use vague and nebulous terms that encourage the audience to hear what they want to hear while reserving private definitions that allow for different explanations later, Disarm the opposition by appearing to side with them when they really harbor opposite intentions, and Speak in frothy, feel-good, cotton-candy platitudes. The prideful seeking power know they can never show their true agenda because, as Mosiah said, the greater part of the people will choose the right if given a clear choice. Therefore, they cannot and do not trust the people. As a measure of our culture today, can you think of an adjective that more frequently modifies the word agenda than the word hidden? ] even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our great cities shall be taken from us, that we shall have no place in them.

6 And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are powerful, and our cities great, therefore our enemies can have no power over us. [ So do whatever you can to slander, and discredit Nephi - social propaganda is used instead of coming right out and throwing him in jail for some trumpted up charge. ]

7 And it came to pass that thus they did stir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among them; for there were some who did cry out: Let this man alone, for he is a good man, and those things which he saith will surely come to pass except we repent; [ some are mad at Nephi for even saying what he said; while others have come to his defense. Polar oposites. We can see here that there is a real division between the people. ]

8 Yea, behold, all the judgments will come upon us which he has testified unto us; for we know that he has testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he knoweth as well all things which shall befall us as he knoweth of our iniquities;

9 Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things. [ some claim him to be a prophet; others claim he is a law breaker. ]

10 And it came to pass that those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear, that they did not lay their hands on him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had gained favor in the eyes of some, insomuch that the remainder of them did fear.

11 Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?

12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may know concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent?

13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, [ He has given direction and is support by some pretty good company. ] and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.

14 Yea, did he not bear record that the son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.

15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

16 And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.

17 Yea, and behold, Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.

18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.

19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.

20 And behold, also Zenock, and also Ezias, [ Who is Ezias? There's no canonized record of Ezias. Here he is naming these prophet in chronological order and this would also be were Hosea would fit. Is it possible that the name Ezias was rendered incorrectly by some clumsy scribe or an overenthusiastic poet got too carried away, the Hebrew letters in Hosea (3W71) could potentially spell out Ezias (1713), just in reverse order such that Hosea was really Ezias? Call it an anagram. Or perhaps Joseph's scribe heard it wrong. A stretch maybe, but it is suspicious that Nephi goes on to preach about natural consequences, just like Hosea does. Nephi writes that the people are "heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of judgement."(Hel. 8:25) This sounds like Nephi might be reading the very same version of Hosea that Paul was quoting from when he said the people were "treasur|ing] up unto themselves] wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."(Romans 2:5) If Limhi, Nephi and Paul were all reading from a fuller, brass plates version of Hosea, then it might explain why they all sound so much alike. It's apparent that Hosea was on the brass plates, but whether or not he is the mysterious prophet Ezias well we just don't know for sure. Nephi also reads on the brass plates that this Ezias character was a Messianic prophet, which doesn't match Hosea. Or does it? Not in the traditional biblical canon, no it doesn't. However; we find in the apocryphal Book of the Bee it records the following about Hosea: Hosea the son of Beeri, of the tribe of Issachar, (was) from the town of Be'elmâth. He prophesied mystically about our Lord Jesus Christ who was to come; saying that when He should be born, the oak in Shiloh should be divided into twelve parts; and that He should take twelve disciples of Israel. He died in peace, and was buried in his own land. (Book of the Bee 32:2) Here, again, a prophet preaches about the Messiah and the dividing up of the covenant, but we don't read about it in the traditional canon. Whoever Ezias was, the Nephites enjoyed his Messianic prophecies, thanks to the brass plates. Suspiciously, Hosea must have been on there, too, to pass on his metaphors and allegory to Limhi, Alma, and perhaps Nephi the son of Helaman. ] and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the son of God come, according to his prophecy?

21 And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all—

22 Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he testified of these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the coming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his day which is to come.

23 And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come.

24 And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie, therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected all these things, notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.

25 But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and rebelled against your holy God; [ Those who know the truth and then rejected it for whatever reason, even to the point where they rebell against it. ] and even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which is unclean, [ Or the eternal Law which states that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. (3 Ne. 27:19; Alma 11:37; 1 Ne. 10:21; 1 Ne. 15:34; Alma 7:21; Moses 6:57; Eph. 5:5-6) ] ye are heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of judgment.

26 Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon. [ I am sure that really made them love him even more. ]

27 Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat.

28 And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose author is Gadianton and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men.