In this revelation we have the word of the Lord to guide the Nephite church throughout all its dispensations.
The same spirit is manifested in the instructions given by the Redeemer in his teachings to the Nephites. [34] They are full of love, mercy, and patience. On the other hand, they show that the church of God must not be defiled by countenancing iniquity or permitting that which is holy to be handled by the unworthy. Nearly four hundred years later, Moroni, speaking on church government, says:
And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and three witnesses of the church did condemn them before the Elders; and if they repented not, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not numbered among the people of Christ;
But as oft as they repented, and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.
From these quotations we perceive that the spirit of the ancient church on this continent, with regard to offenses and offenders, was uniform in all its dispensations and identical in its methods with those of the latter days.
FOOTNOTE:
[34] See Chapter xlvi.
