THE BOOK OF MANTI

1And I now say unto you, Because that you have brought your hearts unto the Father, the hearts of the Fathers are brought unto you. Wherefore, you have received these writings and do ponder them in your hearts. I would beseech and admonish you to submit all these things unto the confirmation of the Holy Ghost. And if you do this, your mind will be enlightened and you will receive of Him the truth of the things you do read within them. And behold, if you do read them with good intent, having faith in that One who is mighty to save, then the Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of these records unto you.

2Now, I cannot say how this manifestation will come, for, the manifestations and gifts of the Spirit are many and diverse. But you shall know that the things that the Spirit does manifest are true because that to deny them will cause a great confusion in your mind and in your heart. And when the Spirit does manifest the truth of a thing, behold, you will have peace with regard to the matter. Remember, to deny such a thing is to deny the Holy Ghost. Deny not the Holy Ghost, for it is by the power of the Holy Ghost whereby the atonement is made whole and operative within you. And without this power there could be no New and Everlasting Covenant, no, nor atonement, nor righteousness in this creation. For, the covenant our Heavenly Parents made with Christ and with the Holy Ghost makes all things possible in this creation. Wherefore, without the Holy Ghost, our Father which is in Heaven would still be God, as also the Mother. And Jesus would still be the Christ. But what would such things matter to you and me? I say unto you, They would not mean a thing, nay, not one whit. In this covenant we may deny the Father and still be forgiven. Yea, and we may deny the Son and there is forgiveness. But, I say unto you, If you deny the Holy Ghost nothing in this creation matters and you must return unto your own.

3Wherefore, it is by the power of the Holy Ghost that you may know the truth of these things, as also the truth of all things. Rely not upon the words of any man, be he living or long dead, as I know that I shall be when you receive these records. And you should not rely upon the words of any person living at the time in which you shall receive them, but upon the Holy Ghost.

4For, how shall a man who has not received these things tell you of their worth? He may read them, but if he does not subject all things unto the confirmation of the Holy Ghost, he cannot know the worth of my words. Wherefore, you may not subject these things unto the wisdom of the wise, but unto that still small voice within you. The Holy Ghost is the only test of truth that you may rely upon in the day that you will receive these things. Yet, He is given unto you, wherefore, use this test in all things. For, if you relyupon the wisdom of the wise, you have fallen into a trap. If you cannot receive truth through the Holy Ghost, then you cannot think to be capable of serving God, for you are overcome by the Babylon in your heart. Repent and know God!

5Now, I am adamant in these things because I have seen your day and all that you do in it. Yea, it is by this same Holy Ghost that I have walked upon the Way and I have looked and seen you. And behold, the things that I have seen are not so different than those things which we see now and then begin to grow in the hearts of men. But behold, they have not taken hold in our communities, for we labor diligently to prevent it from doing so. But I say unto you, Should the day come, and I perceive that such a day will come unto my people, when we cease to diligently labor to keep such things out of our communities, then the same will befall our happy state and we will also succumb.

6I am thankful for the time in which I live, that I may be able to describe unto my descendents the great and blessed state in which we do live because of our strict adherence to the precepts which the Christ did teach us. I am also happy and consider myself blessed that I should be privileged to live in a time when the prophets of God do seek His face and also teach us to do so continuously.

7And I do consider the Nem blessed, for, not only do the Nem of Mentina enjoy blessings of prosperity and happiness, but we have also spread across the face of the land and all of our communities do also enjoy all those blessings which makes our lives so happy.

8Yea, and we do welcome the many people who continue to leave the Land Southward to join our communities. And behold, from the Land Southward even into the far reaches of the north, there are communities of the Nem. And when one travels over the great mountains into the east, there are communities of the Nem connected to that great city Corianton, and they are our brothers also. They,too, take unto them refugees from the Land Southward and their communities cover the face of the land. And all this in the space of but a few generations from the time Hagoth left the Land Southward.

9And we do enjoy commerce with the Land Southward and our brethren there, for they, too, grow and prosper at this time. But behold, their way of living the covenants of the Lord are different than ours and some strife does still arise from time to time which they labor diligently to subdue. And I believe that, if they would but adopt the Nem way of life, such things might be done away.

10But behold, lest I fall into the same pride that shall befall the people of this land in times to come, I must repent me of such thoughts. For, who am I to say that the manner in which the Nephites do live the laws of God are lesser or greater than our ways? For, they are also blessed of the Lord.

11Notwithstanding, they have all things in common and their property is administrate unto them as the governor sees fit. And if the governor remains strong in the faith, I see no impediment in this. But, if the day comes when the Gadiantons do again possess the land, as they did in times past, this system will not continue to bless the people as ours does.

12For behold, our system is governed not by one man, but by all the people and it is administered not as one wise man sees fit, but as the whole community deems necessary. And it is this system that has attracted men and women who have traveled from afar off to learn of us and our ways.

13Yea, we have entertained emissaries from over the sea both west and east and they have lived with us and learned of our ways. And behold, they have also taught us of their ways and have established trade routes with us and there is much traffic between our land and theirs.