Joseph Smith Jr. claimed the golden plates which he used to translate the Book of Mormon had a sealed portion which would be revealed later. Maurício Artur Berger claims to have translated the sealed portion in his 2019 book, The Sealed Book of Mormon. I found a website which claims he was able to translate the Sealed Book into English even though he doesn’t speak English. Another website claimed he predicted Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in detail before they happened, although the website didn’t provide any proof of this.

The Sealed Book itself is hard to read because it’s full of run-on sentences, jumps back and forth in time, and is obviously not written by a native English speaker (for example, he uses phrases like “how much many” and “coming to become”). If you haven’t read the Book of Mormon yet, many parts of it will be confusing (for example, The Sealed Book of Moses 3:10 assumes we’re already familiar with Lehi’s dream from the Book of Mormon). Also, who the first person narrator is changes suddenly (for example, in The Sealed Book of Moses Chapter 3, the narrator switches between Mormon, Moses, and the Lord).

Footnotes throughout refer to the Bible and both LDS and RLDS scriptures. I didn’t check all the footnotes, but of the few I checked, some matched the context of the passage and some seemed completely random. The footnotes start out thick, but become less common as the book progresses.

We start with a Preface which gives the story behind the book. It was translated by Maurício Artur Berger with two transparent stones that allowed him to see words in both his native Portuguese and in English. There were eight witnesses from the USA (including Joseph Smith’s great grandson Joseph Frederick Smith) and three witnesses from Brazil. Translation was difficult since he had “to choose between the many words that the stones presented in these pictures that appeared in my mind.” This is why anachronisms like steel appear in the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith Jr had to pick a word to stand in for a word that no longer exists that describes a metal alloy, and settled on “steel”. (I wonder why he didn’t just use “metal alloy” but whatever.)

Also, when the record quoted scripture, Berger wrote what already existed in his memory based on the Biblical translations he was familiar with, but with slight changes in some passages. This is why Joseph Smith rewrote parts of the King James Translation in the Book of Mormon.

Berger claims this book does not reveal new doctrine, just knowledge that was hidden from human understanding until now (how is that different?). Just like with the Book of Mormon, if you ask God in the name of Jesus Christ if this book is true, God will show you the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit.

42 plates were released with the opening of the first seals, but only 19 are translated in this book. The rest will only be revealed when the people of the church live in accordance with the teachings revealed here.

There’s a Testimony of Three Witnesses claiming they shook hands with the Angel Moroni on Mount Agudo and received the Golden Plates, the translating stones, and the Sword of Laban. (Berger has even published images of the plates and the sword.) There is also a Testimony of Other Witnesses who handled the plates and the interpreters. In their presence, the seals were removed which had bound the greater portion of the plates, but more parts of the plates still remain sealed.

The Sealed Book (at least the part of it that’s been revealed so far) contains only four books: Words of Moroni, The Sealed Book of Moses, The Twelve Apostles of Moses and the Promised Land, and Acts of the Three Nephites. Moroni and the Twelve Apostles are only one chapter long, so most of the book consists of Moses and the Three Nephites.

Words of Moroni

We’re told those who believe this book will gain true knowledge and become a pure and pleasing people (verse 2). There will be a full Restoration of all things among all people (verse 3) and things will be revealed to those who don’t harden their hearts (verse 4).

Verses 7-9 tells us Lehi (from the Book of Mormon) was the son of Shaphan (who is mentioned in 2 Kings 22:3). Shaphan was the scribe secretary of king Josiah when Hilkiah the high priest discovered a lost book of Moses (see 2 Kings 22:8). Lehi was commissioned to go to Nebuchadnezzar. The LORD appeared to him in a pillar of fire and after that he changed his name from Elasah (mentioned in Jeremiah 29:3) to Lehi (which is apparently an abbreviation of Eliasib).

Verse 11 tells us Moroni was commanded to separate the records into three sets to be revealed at three different times. (Presumably, this refers to the Book of Mormon, this book we’re currently reading, and a third book to be revealed later.) Those who reject this second portion will have the first portion taken away from them (verse 16). (I guess this means if you don’t believe in The Sealed Book, the Book of Mormon will somehow be taken away from you.)

The sealed book of Moses, written by Moses in scrolls of hides and sealed by his signet ring, was found by Hilkiah along with the Book of the Law referred to in 2 Kings 22. (I believe most Biblical scholars consider the Book of the Law to be Deuteronomy.) He consulted with the prophetess Huldah to know if any of the terrible events described would happen in his days (verse 27).

Lehi (a.k.a. Elasah) was a secretary and scribe to the king of Judah. He knew the Phoenician and Chaldean languages, as well as Egyptian writing (verse 29). Lehi was told to cross the great waters (the Atlantic Ocean) after returning from delivering a letter to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon (verse 30).

Moroni lets us know there’s also a book called the Acts of the Three Nephites (included in this book) and a book called Prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite written by Nephi at the command of Jesus which has not been revealed yet (verse 36). Also not yet revealed is one-third of the Revelations of John written by the Three Nephites (verse 37).

In the writing of the Book of Mormon peoples (the Jaredites and the Nephites), one character can stand for more than one word. The Lord commanded Moroni to compile the remainder of Jaredite plates not included in the Book of Mormon. He did it using a mixture of Nephite and Jaredite letters (verse 39). The book named after the brother of Jared (the Book of Morian-Cumer) will remain sealed, as well as the rest of the Revelations of John (verse 41).

The Sealed Book of Moses

Chapter 1
The Lord will punish the proud by making them drunk with obstinacy but reward the humble by refining them like gold.

Chapter 2
During the reign of Josiah, king of Judah, the high priest Hilkiah found the sealed book of Moses and gave it to Shaphan the father of Lehi. Upon learning what’s in the book, king Josiah tears his garments because they don’t have a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The king orders a delegation to go to Huldah the prophetess to fix this. Huldah tells them God is mad at them for haughtily accepting a minor priesthood, but will be merciful upon the king and give him a peaceful death.

“It happened then, that the high priest Hilkiah, proceeding from the house of Aaron; together with Ahikam and Achbor; Shaphan and Asaiah, they went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Haras, whose lineage was in designated of supervising the ones in charge of the garments of the Levites, and your he house was in the second part of the city, between the street that was designated to the washers and dyers of the priestly garments.”

The Sealed Book of Moses 2:7

Chapter 3

Moses was caught up and came to Mount Zion in the Heavenly Jerusalem and gained knowledge of all things and began to record them in his sealed book. Ahiah the angel (whose name means “brother of Jehovah”), leader of anointed cherubim and chief commander of the flaming stones, sought to do evil and was cast out of the holy mountain of God to heavenly Zion. (He was cast out of the highest heaven, but not out of the heavenly realms entirely.) The Lord Almighty already gave dominion of earth to Ahiah and could not undo an ordinance He already established.

Ahiah wanted to make humanity as wretched as he was by making them unable to fully enjoy free will. He led fellow heavenly beings astray as well as Adam and Eve and came to be called devil. God cursed Adam and Eve with mortality, but provided a means of redemption in the form of the priesthood of the Son of God (but this fact will be kept secret until the last days).

If Adam and Eve hadn’t transgressed, they’d still be immortal, but unable to have children. They needed to know evil in order to know good. Adam was able to fulfil the Father’s requirement to be fruitful by falling. However, no man is able to resist the devil. So God made Adam the first Priest according to the order of his Son. In order to escape the yoke of slavery and death, a virgin also needs to bear the Designated Seed (verses 14-20).

Cain, tricked by the devil, created dogmas concerning the Designated Seed in order to generate hope for a future restoration. Cain proposed that the fruits of the earth be the symbol of the Designated Seed so those working the land by the sweat of their brow would remember the cursed state of man and burn some of the fruits to remember the promised descendant (verses 25-28).

Abel thought bloodshed was a better symbol of the Designated Seed since in the Edenic dialect, God said the serpent would “bleed the heel” of the offspring of the promise. (Also “sacrifice” means “office of bleeding” in Hebrew and “sacrament” means “bleeding” in the Nephite language.) God commanded sacrifices be made as a symbol of the future sacrifice of the Only Begotten, so sacrificing fruits doesn’t work. It must be a sacrifice of blood (verses 29-32). God considered Abel’s sacrifice to be a better symbol than Cain’s (verses 33-37).

The Lord sent an angel to Cain to tell him God had not rejected him and would not cease hearing his prayers just because he worshipped in the wrong way, however He did remove the power of the priesthood from him due to the erroneous worship. Killing an innocent animal is a better way of remembering the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ, also known as “the descending fiancé” (verse 38). (I think fiancé probably comes from a translation of bridegroom.)

However, Cain stayed aloof from God due to feelings which decreased the power of his priesthood. These feelings are contrary to the feelings instituted by God to control the priesthood and even guide those without the priesthood towards justice and charity. However, Satan has interposed in the human heart an emotional parallel that causes us to confuse divine feelings with our own desires. True happiness comes from within, while false happiness only temporarily fills the void (verses 40-44).

God made Cain know that Satan knew that his offering would be rejected before it happened, but Cain didn’t care. Satan promised to serve Cain’s personal interests in exchange for Cain tricking his brothers into worshipping the devil. Satan would perform signs and wonders through Cain. Satan promised to give Cain all of Abel’s goods and make him supreme master in the order of the priesthood Mahan. However, Cain would have to kill Abel to establish the covenant (verses 45-48). (Mahan comes from the Book of Moses Chapter 5 found in the Mormon scripture the Pearl of Great Price.)

The two priestly castes, the wicked priests of Mahan and the righteous priests of the Son of God, existed from the beginning and will exist until the end of time. God commands Moses to keep this secret so the people of Israel will harden their hearts and lose the holy priesthood. They will only have the lesser priesthood until God’s descendent comes. Moses will establish a class of Levites to keep the book secret until another Moses comes (verses 50-53). (Is Maurício Artur Berger meant to be the other Moses?)

When the people of Israel were surrounded by the carriages of Pharaoh and the waters of the sea, fear and doubt occupied their thoughts, but Moses remained hopeful and summoned the Lord’s presence not in words for God’s name cannot be pronounced by the human mouth (I guess our mouths weren’t made in God’s image then?), but by invoking the feeling of God in his heart, the most elevated feeling there is, unconditional love (verses 54-57). The priesthood was called the priesthood of Melchizedek so no one would usurp the name of the Son of God (verse 58).

“This is, therefore, the key to the priesthood and the mystery that will be sealed in this book until the time of the end, because there is nothing more sacred to be revealed to men in the flesh than this knowledge, that the name of God can be invoked in their hearts, and that one can not evoke the powers of the heavens in the holy priesthood of the Son of God, unless it be through sentiments derived from the love of the Only Begotten Son of the Father, each one correspondent to his ministry, because to some, as the Spirit leads, produce sundry feelings, which we call God’s gifts.”

The Sealed Book of Moses 3:60

Charity is the purest expression of the love of God among the children of men. No one can perform a miracle such as healing without compassion in their heart. But this must be kept secret until the last days (verses 62-66). The Lord does not work with the children of men except according to faith (verses 69-70). When the members of the church have unity, they will become one in God. (verse 72)

Nothing is impossible for those united in a common goal with unconditional love and faith. Moses was able to part the sea doing this (verses 73-74). (Wait, didn’t verses 54-57 say the children of Israel doubted during the parting of the sea? How is this an example of unity of purpose?)

Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters as wife and lived east of Eden with many of his brothers in the land first inhabited by Nod, one of the first sons of Adam. Cain built a city and named it Enoch after his son. He taught his children that Satan was god and God was evil (verses 75-76).

Satan incited Cain’s descendent Lamech to have two wives and thus polygamy began. Lamech sealed his covenant with Satan by shedding the blood of a righteous man named Gibeah. Lamech took Gibeah’s goods, becoming the first thief. (Wait, verses 45-48 told us Cain took Abel’s goods after killing him. Isn’t Cain the first thief then?). Lamech also killed his brother Irade to keep their secret combinations among the priests of Mahan (verses 77-79).

Adam had a son named Seth who was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 69. The priesthood presidency of the Son of God belongs to literal descendants of the chosen seed, except when there is no worthy heir (verses 80-84).

Chapter 4

Cain’s descendants erroneously invoke God verbally rather than with their hearts, leading to them making idols named after Jehovah’s sub-names (verse 3). The descendants of Seth spread the gospel wherever they go. This infuriated Satan who brought wars by means of secret combinations to prevent this (verses 4-5).

Seth’s descendant Enoch saw myriads of angels upon Mount Zion and erected a city there (verse 8). In a vision, he saw the Lord coming in the last days to judge the world and punish the wicked. Enoch is told to command the people to repent. There will be no resurrection until the Only Begotten comes and then men may repent (verses 9-14).

Man has been given a probationary time according to the plan of redemption which cannot be realized without probationary time without which men would not learn of the plan of redemption (verse 15). (This is a bit circular.)

Enoch protests that he’s just a boy (a boy who builds cities?) and he’s weak in speech (even though he’s been preaching throughout the earth before this?), so he shouldn’t be the Lord’s servant. The Lord responds that he’ll put the right words into Enoch’s mouth and while he’s still a boy, the Lord has found favor in the man he’ll become (verse 16).

Enoch is special, more pleasing to the Lord than anyone in history. He bears the likeness of the Only Begotten. The Lord will have Adam give him the priesthood of the Only Begotten (verses 17-20).

At God’s command, Enoch anoints his eyes with clay and washes them. As Enoch traveled by the eastern sea in the flaming carriages of the cherubim, Enoch saw a vision of the vastness of heaven and the importance of the Name of God, and gifts to drive away the powers of darkness (verse 21).

In order to evoke the many names of God, it is necessary to develop the gifts and the corresponding feelings for each one, but also protect against evil feelings which cause a stupor of thoughts (verse 23). Faith nullifies opposing feelings and creates the priesthood in man. In this way, the Only Begotten Son will come into the world, glorify the name of the Father, so others can have this Gift, so they can have hope, so they can have faith, so they can have the keys to open or close all situations (verse 24).

We need to know the names of God to learn His attributes which are also the characteristics of our fellow man. We are God’s representatives on earth. If we take the name of his Son, whose name equals to yours, we will walk with God through the Priesthood (or the grace of God for women or men without the Priesthood), then all things will be possible and you can command the elements (verse 25).

However, Enoch was forbidden to tell anyone this, except those who were worthy, because if everyone knew the name of God, it wouldn’t be as effective (verses 26-27).

Sentinel angels of the watchers class can materialize in bodies. Under the influence of Anaquiel, (known among his fellows by Azazel) the principal of those who abandoned heaven (wasn’t his name Ahiah in Chapter 3?), some of the watchers had intercourse with women producing giants (verse 28). Due to an agreement between the Watchers, the rebellious angels would leave the covenant people in peace. Even to this day, one goat is for Jehovah and one for Azazel to remember this agreement (verses 29-32).

The giants lacked much reasoning and were dependent on their parents. To keep the giants from becoming slaves of men, the disobedient sentinel angels used earthly men to build cities with architecture that represented heaven (verse 33). From this, men learned how to work iron and make weapons. Women learned how to use herbs for healing (verse 34).

Enoch brought everyone to repentance except the people of Canaan. When they went to battle against him, he used the word of the Lord to make the earth quake and the lions roar together, making them afraid. Even the giants hid in caves and deep valleys (verses 35-37).

The Lord called Enoch’s city Salem. They were all righteous and none were poor (verse 41). The Lord lived in the temple built by Enoch and told him the city of Zion (wasn’t it called Salem in the last verse?) would be lifted up to heaven (verse 42).

God tells Enoch he will destroy the earth with a flood and imprison the disobedient spirits. He’ll leave ancient cities of the Watchers scattered around the earth so future people will realize a race of superior beings built them and may return to imprison man again. God will also leave the stone colonnade in the center of the city of Zion so future people will know where the city of Enoch was (verses 50-51, 53).

In the future, before Enoch and his city return, the Watchers (the way they’re discussed give me ancient aliens vibes) will send signs to the children of men promising to end disease, false prophets, and false scriptures and will gradually enslave men again (verse 52).

Enoch sees Noah and the coming of the Son of Man. He hears the earth lamenting because man destroys the earth (verses 55-57). Spirits in the spiritual prison receive the gospel. Some are saved and some remain in chains (verse 58).

The Messiah will ascend into heaven, but return again in the latter days. God will reveal what happens to a seer (Joseph Smith?), and later another seer (Maurício Artur Berger?) will reveal the sealed words (verse 59).

There will be a placed called Zion, a New Jerusalem. (I don’t think God explained the Old Jerusalem to Enoch yet, so He’s getting a bit ahead of Himself here.) Enoch’s Zion will return to the earth and will join 144,000 chosen in the spirit world who were born high priests and were ordained by angels (verses 60-62).

Every time the gospel goes into apostasy, God calls a seer to restore things (verse 63). The Lord will rule for 1,000 years (verse 64).

Chapter 5

Enoch lived to 430. (Why not 365 as in the Bible?) Methuselah didn’t go directly to heaven with the rest of the city of Zion to make sure the Chosen Seed would come from Noah’s loins. He begets Lamech who begets Noah. Noah’s eyes are different, so Lamech is afraid he’s the son of a Watcher, but the Spirit of the Lord assured Lamech that Noah is his son (verses 1-3).

God decides to destroy men because they’re wicked and because of the Watchers (verse 6).

Noah explains that when God said Adam would die on the same day he ate of the fruit, this is because one day to God is a thousand years to man. That’s why all the pre-flood people die short of a thousand years. After the flood, people will live only 70-80 years, unless they please God and he’ll allow them to live as long as 120 years (verses 7-9). (This doesn’t explain why the majority of people lived only 30-40 years for the majority of human history until the Industrial Revolution caused lifespans to start going up. Also, are people like George Burns, Kirk Douglas, and Bob Hope who lived to see 100 really more pleasing to God than the Mormon prophets, none of whom have lived to 100 yet? If 120 is the maximum age, how do you explain Jeanne Calment who lived to 122?)

The giants tried to kill Noah, but the Lord protected him. Noah told the people and the Watchers to repent, but they didn’t (verses 11-15). God says he’s going to destroy the Watchers and all their buildings because instead of hiding their flaming chariots in the clouds and reporting to God on the doings of men, they reproduced with women and the men worship them as gods (verse 16).

The wicked will be condemned by Gabriel, the upper sentinel of the order of the star D’alva which commands the seraphs with their chariots of fire (verse 17). The Lord will cause a flood to hide the cities erected in the likeness of the things in heaven so mankind will never discover them (verse 18). (If these cities are currently underwater, why haven’t submarines discovered them yet?)

Since Moses wrote about Noah’s flood elsewhere, he gives only a brief summary of it here. Foundations erected on the top of the mountains weren’t completely destroyed (verse 21). (Is this a reference to Macchu Picchu?)

There will be another Moses to bring forth the words of this book (verse 24). (I think Berger is referring to himself again here.) When Moses leaves the children of Israel, he will take the priesthood of His Son away lest they belittle this greater gift and desecrate its meaning. It will remain hidden until this book is revealed (verse 28). (So the priesthood of Jesus wasn’t even on the earth when Jesus was?) When this book is revealed in the future, only those who seek to understand the mysteries of God will understand it (verse 29).

The emotion of pity comes from the evil one, but empathy comes from God (verse 33). Many who read this book will be impregnated with evil feelings taught by their parents to inhibit their gifts (verse 36). Even those who fully understand these words will be in a constant struggle against feelings of fear, anger, envy, pride, and greed (verse 38).This book will not suddenly change the generation who first obtains it, but it will be preached to all nations by the new Moses and the next generation will be full of holiness (verse 40).

Chapter 6

On the second day of creation, God separated water on the earth from water in the sky. Dew rose from the ground to water all the plants every day and there were no deserts. When the Flood occurred, the springs of the earth were broken and the floodgates of heaven were opened (verses 1-2).

When the Flood ended, Noah woke the animals for the third (?) and last time. The animals were set loose to spread their seeds. They had all been fed on seeds (presumably a different kind of seed than what they were spreading) and fruit no matter the species. God commanded the descendants of Noah to feed on all that moves on the face of the earth (I guess all animals are kosher) and also for the animals not to die of hunger (verse 3).

God commanded Noah to sprinkle all the seeds on the flat roof of the ark. A wind blew and scattered the seeds to the four corners of the earth (verse 5). The descendants of Noah used the knowledge of Japheth in the building the ark to build fishing vessels and inhabit the islands. All spoke the same language, but each new place developed their own customs of speech (verse 6). The Flood baptized the earth. True worship was restored. Noah sacrificed several animals to Jehovah (verses 7-8).

When Nimrod the son of Cush descending from Ham heard how his grandfather discovered the nakedness of Noah, this caused him repugnance for his grandfather (verses 9-10). Because of his genealogy, Nimrod was outside the presidency of the priesthood and the promised descendant would not come from his seed (verse 11). Satan inspired Nimrod to become a mighty hunter which means in the language of the Hebrews “hunter of men” which means a man who enslaves other men (verse 12).

Chapter 7

One of the descendants of Ham (Nimrod?) killed men and took women and children captive, and enslaved those who didn’t agree with him. He made them farm, make buildings and walls, make weapons, and serve in the military. They settled in a valley in the land of Shinar (verse 2-3).

They built a tower to heaven to establish a door for the promised descendant to enter the dwelling of God. They thought Nimrod was the fated seed (verse 4). Nimrod represented himself as the son of God and chose a priestly caste who created hierarchies, priestly garments, signs, and handshakes (verse 7). They reversed the correct pronunciations of the name Nimrod for Marduk which means “the Lord” (verse 8).

He established a school to improve knowledge in writing, astrology, mathematics, architecture, construction, music, and religion. The school was free for everyone and also provided meals (verses 11-12). People throughout the land sent their children to the school, however it was a trick. The master-priests’ goal was to make the children believe the opposite of what their parents taught them (verse 13). If children saw their parents perform a miracle such as healing, they would call it witchcraft (verse 14). This mode of teaching was successful and the gifts of the Spirit of God ceased to exist in their fullness and were replaced by the spirit of Satan (verse 15).

Chapter 8

The Lord comes down to earth to see what’s happening. The people are building a tower. The only way to stop them is to confuse their language (verse 1). Men no longer understood one another, so they stopped building. Those who spoke the same language depart together (verse 2). There’s a list of Noah’s descendants, most of them living four hundred years (weren’t men supposed to die after 120 years after the flood?), although this decreases to around a hundred by the time of Abram (verse 4).

Chapter 9

Verse 1 starts with “When he returned from the battle” without telling us who “he” is (presumably Abram) or what battle he was returning from. (Later in the verse, there’s mention of the Battle of Chedorlaomer with a footnote directing us to Acts of the Three Nephites 2:1, but that verse doesn’t seem to have anything to do with this one.) “He” gives the tithe of the war spoils to Melchizedek, the king of Salem and high priest of the Most High God. Melchizedek then anachronistically prepares a sacrament of bread and wine to look forward to the sacrifice of Christ in the future.

Melchizedek confirms Abram to the office of High Priest before all the kings of the earth. Melchizedek covered the mouths of lions as a boy and “extinguished the fiery impetuous that consumed his village by the tyranny of the vassals of Nimrod” whatever that means (verse 4-5).

The priesthood used to be called the priesthood of Enoch, but since Melchizedek was greater than Enoch in the likeness of the Only Begotten, the name was changed to the Melchizedek Priesthood (verse 7-8).

When the gospel is distorted, a high priest “must be caught up to receive the keys of the same high priesthood in this body, as a slave marked by his Lord, as if it were, by an incandescent iron, both physically and spiritually” (verse 9). (So, high priests are supposed to be physically marked as if by an iron? I never learned about this in Sunday School.)

Abram gave tithes which exceeded his needs and God blessed Abraham (presumably the same guy as Abram, though the name change hasn’t happened yet) with riches and lands for an everlasting possession (verse 12). (So if we give God all the excess money we don’t need, God will give us riches in return? It’s a deal!)

Chapter 10

Lord God promises Abram the entire earth for an eternal inheritance. God shows Abram the Resurrection of the Son of Man (verse 1).

God says his people have not observed his anointing, burial (?), or baptism which was commanded and instead wash little children, and “the blood of the sprinkling” (?) and think the blood of Abel paid for their sins without understanding everyone is responsible for their own acts (verse 4). (Is this a subtle swipe at people who think they can sin all they want because Jesus already paid for their sins?)

God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and makes him a father of many nations (verse 5). The Lord establishes the covenant of circumcision for all generations of the earth. Children aren’t responsible until they’re 8 years old when they get baptized (verse 6).

Chapter 11

Israel’s blessings on his sons are given in Chapter 11. Joseph’s time in Egypt has already happened.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 flashbacks to Joseph giving a speech to his brothers in Egypt. (It appears the italicized summaries at the beginning of each chapter no longer summarize the chapter, but rather provide much needed context to understand what’s going on.)

Joseph predicts Moses and Lehi (verses 1-3). He tells us Lehi will be like Moses, then realizes he hasn’t told us who Moses is yet (verse 4).

The Lord predicts the death of Joseph Smith (“the arrow of death, a ray that I saw in the hand of the enemy’s shot down the esteemed seer”). Tells us he shall be like Joseph of Egypt (verse 7).

The Lord will raise up a Moses in the last days (presumably Berger) who will have “power over a rod” and the ability to write, but he won’t speak much (verse 9). He will be given a spokesman, as Aaron was spokesman for Moses (verse 10).

Chapter 13

We’re back to Moses being the narrator. When Moses was born, he was adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, but his birth mother Jochebed was his wet nurse and taught him about the Hebrew God. He was instructed in the Egyptian religion, but it didn’t seem right to him (verses 1-7).

Pharaoh dies. His daughter marries her half brother who names his bastard son successor to the throne to prevent Moses from getting the throne. Pharaoh’s daughter wants Moses to be the successor. The new Pharaoh wants to kill Moses (verses 8-13).

Because Moses was found in a basket floating down the river, the Egyptians consider him to have come from the gods (verse 14). Moses sympathizes with the Hebrews and renounces the throne to join them. He sees an Egyptian beating an Israelite. He kills the Egyptian and hides his body in the sand (verses 15-18).

Moses flees and lodges with the family of Jethro in a foreign land (verses 19-21). The Egyptians erase all records of the Biblical story, so that’s why there’s no references to Hebrews living in Egypt in Egyptian records (verses 22-24).

Chapter 14

Moses marries Jethro’s daughter Zipporah. He discovers the Midianites are descendants of Abraham and have the Melchizedek priesthood as well. Jethro gives the Melchizedek priesthood to Moses, however getting the priesthood didn’t make Moses better than he already was (verses 1-4).

Moses hears a loud noise like a thunderclap and sees light cross the sky, which is apparently female: “she walked in a straight line and without speed” (verse 6). “As she landed about me, a soft light descended from the sky, while that strong light who stood above me, was slowly disappearing.” The light is the presence of the Lord and it appears to make the bush burn (verse 7).

God promises to deliver the Hebrews from Egypt into a promised land: “to the place of the Canaanites and of Hittites, and of Amorites, and of Perizzites, and of Hivites, and of Jebusites. These are those tribes who have been infected in your progeny by Anakiel and his rebellious angels, before they were all thrown into prison, when they made a pact with Satan on Mount Hermon, just after the waters of the Flood to dry” (verse 11). (I thought the whole purpose of the flood was to wipe out the effects of the rebellious angels, but I guess it was pointless?)

God will exterminate the tribes that dwell in the promised land. The people of Moses will return to Mount Zion which is under the dominion of the Amorites who found the pillar of the city of Enoch which remained after the floods (verse 12).

Chapter 15

The Lord commands Moses to return to Egypt. The Pharaoh who ordered his death is himself dead, and all his officers were buried with him (verse 1). However, the new Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites go (verse 4). Moses turns his staff into a snake, but Pharaoh’s priests Jannes and Jambres are able to do the same thing with the occult knowledge of Mahan restored by Satan (verses 5-6).

He summarizes of the plagues sent against Egypt. He doesn’t retell the parting of the sea, but refers us to read the other annals written by Moses (verses 10-14).

The Lord doesn’t authorize Moses to give the Melchizedek priesthood to any of his people because they’re not worthy…except for the twelve, “and the rulers of a thousand; of one hundred; fifty-ten” (16:19 gives a similar list but written out as rulers of fifty and rulers of ten) but only Joshua had the integrity to maintain this active craft (verse 15).

Chapter 16

During the crossing of the sea, the nation of Israel, along with Egyptians who decided to serve Jehovah, underwent a baptism underneath the cloud of God (verse 1). The Passover prefigured the Church of the Lamb of God (verse 2). The 14th of the month Abib is a fixed and unchanging day, celebrating the liberation of Israel from Egypt and the founding of God’s Church in the days of Adam, regardless of the position of the moon. A footnote refers to D&C 20:1 which gives the day the LDS church was organized as April 6th (verse 3). If a church is founded on any day other than this, it’s not true (verse 4).

The children of Israel are punished for disbelief. The Lord allows the Amalekites to attack. The Lord tells Moses he’ll win if he holds the rod of the Most High and keeps his arms outstretched during the battle. Moses is old and can’t keep his arms raised that long. When he lowers his arm, the Amalekites prevail in the battle, when he lowers them, the Israelites gain the advantage. Aaron and Hur help Moses raise his hands and the Israelites win (verses 5-11).

The Lord commands Moses to organize his church (verse 14). (We were just told a church isn’t legit if it isn’t founded on the day the Israelites were freed from Egypt, and this happens less than three months later. Hmm.)

The Lord calls Moses’ father-in-law Reuel even though his name is Jethro elsewhere (verse 15). Moses creates a Mormon-church hierarchy. He appointed Jethro as Patriarch with Aaron and Hur as his first and second counselors. He appoints twelve unnamed apostles. (You’d think they’d be important enough to mention their names.) He appoints 70 in the likeness of the heavenly order (verses 20-22).

Chapter 17

Moses speaks to Jehovah on the Mount Sinai (verse 1). Moses learns this book he’s currently writing will remain sealed until a second Moses (Berger) reveals it in the future (verse 2). God appears before all the nation of Israel on his throne in a chariot of fire surrounded by fog under a polished layer of fine amber (verse 4). God commands that if even an animal touches the sacred mountain it must be stoned to death (verse 5).

The city of God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, is located upon a very high mountain above the clouds called Mount Zion (verses 6-7). Moses is given “permission to participate in the assembly of the elder sons of God, which is the church of the firstborn of the Father, that is, of those who already have their names written in heaven.” Moses is allowed to watch God preside at a universal conference (oh boy, nothing’s more fun than watching a Mormon conference!) to determine the reward of the just spirits, and he will get to see the Only Begotten Son of the Father (verse 8).

Moses can look God in the eye and live which is something only those with the priesthood can do (verse 9). God chose 144,000 high priests before the foundation of the world, chosen among all nations of earth, from among all times. They are remnants of the twelve tribes of Israel (verses 12-13) (If they’re from the twelve tribes, doesn’t that mean they aren’t from all nations and all times?)

God didn’t chose his only begotten, but rather he volunteered himself (verse 19). God has created countless worlds. Many have passed away, but the ones that do God’s will standeth forever (verse 21). God reminds Moses about the second Moses he mentioned earlier this chapter (verse 23). Our first person narrator then switches from Moses to Mormon son of Mormon, who introduces the next book (verse 25).

The Twelve Apostles of Moses and the Promised Land

God commands Moses to pick one man from each of the twelve tribes to send as spies into the land of Canaan (verse 1). Moses renames Hosea Joshua (verse 3). The spies return with a bunch of grapes to show how fruitful the land is (verses 5-7).

Caleb wants to take the land quickly. The others think the natives are too mighty. There are giants there, descended from the Nephilim (verses 8-11). (I guess the flood didn’t wipe them out after all?) Joshua and Caleb say they should attack. The people decide to stone Joshua and Caleb. The LORD shows up and says the twelve spies should have kept the might of the natives a secret (verses 12-14).

Moses begs the Lord not to destroy the Israelites (verses 15-16). The Lord forgives them, but says, “I swear by Myself” that those with evil feelings will not see the promised land (verse 17). Caleb will be rewarded. His seed will inherit the land he spied on for generations (verse 18).

Everyone 20 and older will die in the wilderness except for Caleb and Joshua. Those under 20 will lose the greater priesthood and only have the lesser priesthood. God will wait until “the end of all” to find a people ready to receive the greater priesthood (verses 20-21). (The Sealed Book of Moses 15:15 said only a select few had the greater priesthood anyway.)