[color-box]For comparison purposes, the original Book of Mormon text is supplied (italicized and indented) after each Modern Book of Mormon verse.[/color-box]

Nephi explains things from Lehi’s tree of life vision to his brothers.

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1 After the Spirit had shown me all these things, I went back to my father’s tent.

1 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the Spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father.

2 And I saw my brothers arguing with each other over the things my father said to them.

2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them.

3 He said a lot of great things to them that were hard to understand unless you asked the Lord. And because their hearts were hardened, they didn’t ask the Lord like they should have.

3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought.

4 Now I, Nephi, was sad that their hearts were so hard. I was also sad because of the things I had seen, and I knew they would definitely happen because of the wickedness of humanity.

4 And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men.

5 And I was overcome by sorrow. I felt that my problems and sorrows were great than anyone else’s because of what I had seen regarding the destruction of my people.

5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.

6 After I regained my strength, I went and spoke to my brothers to know why they were arguing.

6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.

7 And they said, We can’t understand what father said about the natural branches of the olive tree and the Gentiles.

7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.

8 And I asked them if they had asked the Lord?

8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

9 They said, We haven’t, because the Lord hasn’t revealed anything like that to us.

9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

10 And I said to them, How can it be that you don’t keep the Lord’s commandments? How can it be that you will die because of how closed off your hearts are.

10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?

11 Don’t remember what the Lord said? As long as you keep the commandments and keep your heart open and ask with faith, believing that you’ll get an answer, these things will make sense to you.

11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

12 The Spirit of the Lord, which our father had in him, compared house of Israel with an olive tree. And haven’t we been broken off from the house of Israel, and aren’t we a branch of the house of Israel?

12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?

13 When our father talks about grafting in the natural branches through the Gentiles in the last days (when our descendants have stopped believing), he means that many generations after the Messiah was on the earth, the entirety of his gospel will come to the Gentiles, who will then bring it to our descendants.

13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—

14 Then the remainder of our descendants will know that they are part of the house of Israel and that they are the Lord’s covenant people. Then they will also know about their ancestors and the gospel of their Redeemer, which he taught their ancestors. They will learn about their Redeemer and his doctrine, and about how to come to him and be saved.

14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.

15 Don’t you think they’ll then celebrate and praise God, their rock and salvation? Won’t they be strengthened and nourished by the true vine? And won’t they come to the true church of God?

15 And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?

16 The answer to all of those is yes. They will again be remembered as being the house of Israel. They, as a natural branch of the olive tree, will be grafted into the true olive tree.

16 Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree.

17 This is what our father meant when he said that it won’t happen until they have been scattered by the Gentiles. He meant that it will happen through the Gentiles so that the Lord can show his power to the Gentiles because of his rejection by the Jews, or the house of Israel.

17 And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.

18 Our father hasn’t spoken just about our descendants, but about all of the house of Israel, indicating the covenant which will be fulfilled in the last days. It’s the same covenant that the Lord made to our father Abraham, when the Lord said, All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants.

18 Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

19 And I, Nephi, said a lot of things about this to my brothers. I spoke to them about the restoration of the Jews in the last days.

19 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days.

20 And I repeated to them the words Isaiah said regarding the restoration of the Jews (or of the house of Israel): And after they were restored, they couldn’t be confused or scattered again. I said a lot of things to my brothers, and they were pacified, and they humbled themselves in front of the Lord.

20 And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again. And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did humble themselves before the Lord.

21 They asked me again, What does that thing that our father saw in a dream mean? What does the tree mean?

21 And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth the tree which he saw?

22 And I said to them, It was a representation of the tree of life.

22 And I said unto them: It was a representation of the tree of life.

23 They asked, What does the iron railing that led to the tree mean?

23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

24 And I said that it was God’s word, and that whoever would listen to God’s word and hold on to it tightly would never die, and the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary (which blind people and lead them away to destruction  will not affect them.

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

25 And I encouraged my brothers to listen to the Lord’s word. I encouraged them with everything I had to hear God’s word and remember to keep his commandments whenever they did anything.

25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

26 They asked, What does the river that our father saw mean?

26 And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?

27 And I said that the river was filth. He was so caught up in looking at everything else that he didn’t notice how filthy the water was.

27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

28 And I told them that it was an awful abyss, and that it separated the wicked people from the tree of life and the saints of God.

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

29 I said that it represented the awful hell that the angel told me was prepared for the wicked.

29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

30 And I said that our father also saw that God’s justice divided the wicked and the righteous. The justice was as bright and blinding as a fire, and it  rose up toward God endlessly.

30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.

31 The said to me, Does this refer to the agony of the body while it’s here on the earth, or does it refer to the final state of the soul after death?

31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal?

32 And I said that it represented things both spiritual and here on earth, and that the day would come when they would be judged by the things they did when they were alive on earth.

32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.

33 I said that if they would die while wicked, they would be thrown away, spiritually speaking. They would be brought to God to be judged for their works. If their works were filthy, they themselves would be filthy, and no filthy thing can be in God’s kingdom (because then God’s kingdom would also be filthy).

33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

34 But the kingdom of God is not filthy, and no dirty thing can enter into God’s kingdom, so that means that there must be a filthy place prepared for things that are filthy.

34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.

35 There is a place like that, and it is the awful hell that I’ve talked about, and the devil is the one who prepared it. The final state of man’s soul is to either live in God’s kingdom or be thrown out because of the justice that I have talked about.

35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.

36 The wicked people are separated from the righteous people and also from the tree of life, which has fruit that is more valuable and desirable than any other fruit. It is the greatest of all of God’s gifts. And that is what I said to my brothers.

36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.