1 Nephi 12

“Look,” the angel said again, “and see the descendants of you and your brothers.” I saw countless people who would be descendants of mine and descendants of my brothers, living in cities spread across the promised land to which we traveled. I saw wars and many generations of people killed in these conflicts. Ultimately, I came to see a mist of darkness fall across the face of the promised land, followed by huge storms and earthquakes that tore the mountains to pieces and broke the plains apart. Many cities were sunk, burned, and collapsed.

As the darkness lifted, I saw many people arise from the ruins who were not destroyed by God’s terrible judgment. To these people the Son of God appeared, descending from heaven. The Spirit of God fell upon twelve of these people and they were blessed. The angel said to me, “These twelve disciples are chosen to minister to your descendants and judge them, because of their faith in the Son of God. Do you remember the twelve apostles you were shown earlier? Those twelve apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Their judgments will extend to these twelve disciples who will minister to your descendants, because they are also descendants of Israel. They are righteous forever. Because of their faith in God, their garments are made white with his blood.”

“Look,” said the angel, yet again. I saw three generations come and go, living in righteousness and following the word of God. Their garments were pure white, like the garments worn by the Son of God and his disciples.

“Their garments are made white by the blood of the Son of God,” the angel said, “because of their faith in him.”

Four generations after the visitation of the Son of God, I saw that many people still lived their lives in righteousness.

“Now look at your descendants and the descendants of your brothers,” the angel commanded. When I looked this time, I saw these descendants gathered together in huge numbers, in preparation for war.

“Look now,” the angel said, “and see the fountain of dirty water, and the river that your father spoke of, the depths of which are the depths of hell. The mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil that blind the eyes and close the hearts of men. These temptations lead men down broad roads where they become lost and perish. The great building that your father saw represents vanity and pride. An enormous gulf divides this building from the tree of life to which you aspire. This gulf is the justice of God as recorded since the beginning of time, and extending throughout all eternity.”

As the angel spoke, I watched as the descendants of my brothers overpowered my descendants and spread forth across the land. I saw many more generations of war, and saw my descendants falter in their belief. As their belief failed, I saw them become dark and loathsome people who were filthy, idle, and abominable.