1 And now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words, behold there were men which were Judges, which 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 hath done?
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; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which were contrary to the commandments of God.
4 And those Judges were angry with him because he spake plain 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;
5 therefore they did cry unto the people, saying, Why do ye suffer this man to revile against us? For behold, he doth condemn all this people, 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.
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 which 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;
8 yea, behold all the judgments will come upon us which he hath testified unto us; for we know that he hath testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many; and he knoweth as well as 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.
10 And it came to pass that those people which 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, which 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 hath been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which was spoken by this man, Moses, which 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 which should come.
15 And as many as should look upon the 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 day 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 which were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shewn unto the people of 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 hath been many prophets that hath testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.
20 And behold, also Zenoch, and also Ezaias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet which 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 ye 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 that 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; 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, 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;
27 yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye 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 which seeketh to destroy the souls of men.