2 Nephi 30:3-5

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 30:3-5

3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.

4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

Quote for Discussion

Many shall believe

In the year 1827 Joseph Smith was living in Palmyra, New York, and it was at the Hill Cumorah, not far from his home,…[w]hen the people of the neighborhood learned that he was contracting with a local printer to publish the book, they did everything possible to discourage it. They declared the work was a fraud and determined to prevent its publication, nad in order that the venture might be a financial failure, they tried to make the distribution impossible by agreeing that they would not read the book.

Years later, when I went back to that section of country I found the only copy of the Book of Mormon thereabouts was the printer’s copy that was owned by one, Pliny T. Sexton, who was Chancellor of the University of New York and a banker at Palmyra. It had never been cut and was kept in a glass case. The people in that section had never read the Book of Mormon, and thus had apparently kept their word insofar as their threat was concerned about not reading it.

Notwithstanding the threats that were made Joseph placed the manuscript containing this prophecy in the hands of the printer for publication (II Nephi, 30th Chapter and 3rd, 4th and 5th verses)….

It is interesting to note that notwithstanding the animosity of the people, and the threat not to purchase the book, it did not deter the youthful Prophet from publishing the prediction that had been made by Nephi, “There shall be many which shall believe the words which are written.” Let us see if that promise of the Lord has been fulfilled….

The estimate now [1936] is that considerably more than a million copies have since been distributed among the nations of the earth. The demand for it increases as the days go by, and it fills my heart with joy to know that every man who will read it prayerfully, every man who will desire to know whether it be of God or not, has the promise of our Heavenly Father that they shall know of a surety that it is of God.

George Albert Smith, Sharing the gospel With Others, selected and compiled by Preston Nibley [salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1948], 100-103