THE BOOK OF MANTI

1And behold, this is the state of affairs in the land of the Nem of Mentina in the days of my stewardship. And the days of my stewardship have been long among my people and I am become old.

2And I have delivered up the seat of the High Priest unto the Great Council of Mentina and they have chosen my own son, Shimlei, to sit in the seat in my stead. And he is a righteous man and has assisted me in my work for forty years. Indeed, since he became a man and took to wife the granddaughter of Alma and Sabel of Corianton, he has always been at my side and has been a support and help to me in all the things the Lord has called upon us to do. Yea, he has been a counselor unto me and a great help in my labors.

3And now I give my last blessing and warning unto you who are my descendents. Remain faithful unto the statutes of the Lord and remember Him in all that you do. Yea, sing praises unto Him in all things and render up all your pride. Call upon Him in all things and trust only to the administration of the Holy Ghost for a guide to truth.

4For, I say again unto you, in the days that these writings shall come unto you out of the dust, there shall be great pride in all the land. And if it be the desire of your hearts to fulfill the commandments of the Lord and come out of Babylon, it shall be difficult for you to discern how you may begin to truly establish Zion in your hearts. But when you read these things and ponder them in your hearts, let the Holy Ghost teach you how that they may become a chart unto you. I know that, if you follow the ways of the Nem, or at least if you use our ways and apply them to your times, you shall be successful.

5Now, I bid you farewell. Remember me and all your grandfathers. Our hearts are turned unto you and, behold, if you will seek us, we will manifest ourselves unto you. Howbeit, if it be the Lord's will, we might be guides unto you in seeking the right ways of the Lord.

6For, the Spirit has testified to me that you shall build again a Zion in this land and it shall come to pass even as has been foretold. And this same Spirit has shown me in a vision that you shall build a place of peace, a place of safety, a place of understanding and of learning, a place of holiness to the Lord, even a High Place in the tops of the mountains. Wherefore, hearken unto the words of my mouth.

7For, the Lord has shown me the tabernacle in the wilderness that you shall build and that it shall be by and through those ordinances that you have received of my father Oug that this little tabernacle shall begin to grow and become a temple unto the Most High God. And the Sons of Levi, even the Peli, shall begin again to purify their hearts after the manner of the Ammonites of old and also in the manner taught by Jesus. And they shall once again begin to offer up a righteous sacrifice unto the Lord ere the end come.

8And this shall be a sign unto you that you do live in the time which I have seen and of which I have written unto you.

9The Sons of Levi shall build a tabernacle and shall place it in the wilderness, for there shall be no room for living sacrifice in the synagogues and temples in their day. Wherefore they shall build a temple and an altar in the wilderness. And it shall not be in the form of the temple in days of old, but it shall be made of stone that shall not have been cut by hand and of earth and of the covering as if of a tent. This shall be the first of many such tabernacles wherein the people of God shall resort to purify themselves and to prepare themselves to come out of Babylon.

10Yea, the altar shall not be of cut stones but of natural stones. And it shall be a depression in the center of the room which shall be a hearth wherein the stones of the first day of creation are laid. And the wall of the room shall not be the height of a man but shall require that a grown man must bow down unto the Lord to enter in the door thereof. And the roof shall be of timbers and twigs, as also of any suitable material that might be found at hand. And there shall be a path leading from the hearth toward a place of fire and this shall be toward the rising of the sun and shall be mounded up with stones. And at the end of the path there shall be a mound of earth upon which natural stones have been set up. But these stones shall not be cut by the hand of man, nor shall any man raise his tool to them, lest they be defiled. For, this is the altar of the temple.

11Yea, look and see! For, in the days about which I have spoken, they who are of the house of Levi and of Aaron shall once again build an altar of stones. And behold, it shall be for the purifying of the hearts of men and women unto sacrifice. And it shall appear unlike the great structures and mighty and beautiful buildings of the day. For, in it are the hearts of men and women purified and made ready to meet their God.

12And behold, within the room, when you look up upon the roof thereof, you shall see thirteen limbs or beams which shall extend from the wall thereof to a high place in the center. And it shall be bound with seven circlets of joined twigs. And upon these twigs shall smaller twigs be placed as a thatch. And upon this thatch shall earth be thrown up.

13And between the floor and the roof, there shall be suspended from twelve points a veil which shall have painted upon it the scenes of the creation as taught by my father Oug. This shall hang as a ceiling above the heads of they who will be seated in the room.

14And round about the walls of the tabernacle shall be a continuous seat which shall be of thrown mud and hardened. This shall be a place to sit and hear the Book of the High Place. And there shall also be a place upon the floor for to sit which shall encircle the hearth.

15And behold, this tabernacle shall be used by that little gathering of people as a place of resort and refuge against the teachings of the world and of Babylon. And they shall teach there the ordinances of the High Place and also they shall purify themselves in that place according to the purification of the Ammonites.

16Look for such a place among the people of your day, my children. For, in that day the Lord will complete and culminate His great work, even His strange work, even the restoration of all things that have been spoken by the mouths of the prophets since the world began.

17For, in that little tabernacle, the Lord shall accept the sacraments and the offerings of His people. Yea, a light shall begin to shine forth from the door of the lodge and a light shall fill the whole earth. And when it has filled the whole earth, none shall say: Behold, I am a Nephite or Lamanite or Ishmaelite or Mulekite or Ammonite. But all shall say: Behold, I serve my Lord. Yea, all shall be disciples of Christ.

18And the little flock that gathers unto such places as I have described, for you will build them in diverse places, shall begin to have all things in common and shall begin again to build anew a Zion unto the Lord their God.

19Rejoice in that day, my children! For, if you are among they who gather to such curious and unusual places, behold, it is because you have received the things that shall have been delivered unto you out of the dust of the earth from your grandfathers. Yea, rejoice exceedingly, for the coming of your Lord is nigh and you shall see His face!