1 The ^aworks, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be ^bfrustrated, neither can they come to naught.

2 For God doth not ^awalk in crooked paths, neither doth he ^bturn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his ^ccourse is one eternal round.

3 Remember, remember that it is not the ^awork of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;

4 For although a man may have many ^arevelations, and have ^bpower to do many mighty works, yet if he ^cboasts in his own ^dstrength, and sets at naught the ^ecounsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and ^fcarnal desires, he must fall and incur the ^gvengeance of a ^hjust God upon him.

5 Behold, you have been ^aentrusted with these things, but how strict were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were made to you, if you did not transgress them.

6 And behold, how ^aoft you have ^btransgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the ^cpersuasions of men.

7 For, behold, you should not have ^afeared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and ^bdespise his words—

8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and ^asupported you against all the fiery ^bdarts of the ^cadversary; and he would have been with you in every time of ^dtrouble.

9 Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt ^afall.

10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art ^aagain called to the work;

11 Except thou ^ado this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other men, and have no more gift.

12 And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight and power to ^atranslate, thou deliveredst up that which was ^bsacred into the hands of a wicked ^cman,

13 Who has set at naught the counsels of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and ^aboasted in his own wisdom.

14 And this is the reason that thou hast lost thy privileges for a season—

15 For thou hast suffered the counsel of thy ^adirector to be trampled upon from the beginning.

16 Nevertheless, my ^awork shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has come unto the world, through the ^btestimony of the Jews, even so shall the ^cknowledge of a ^dSavior come unto my people—

17 And to the ^aNephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers—

18 And this ^atestimony shall come to the knowledge of the ^bLamanites, and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who ^cdwindled in unbelief because of the ^diniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy their ^ebrethren the Nephites, because of their ^finiquities and their abominations.

19 And for this very ^apurpose are these ^bplates ^cpreserved, which contain these records—that the ^dpromises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his ^epeople;

20 And that the ^aLamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the ^bpromises of the Lord, and that they may ^cbelieve the gospel and ^drely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be ^eglorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.