Lesson 37 - Whosoever
Will Come, Him Will I Receive
Scriptures
Read, ponder, and pray about the
following scriptures:
&
3 Nephi 8. Great destruction occurs
in the Americas at the time of Christ’s death. Many cities are destroyed.
&
3 Nephi 9–10. Survivors hear the
voice of the Lord inviting them to return to Him, repent, and be converted.
&
3 Nephi 11. The resurrected Savior
descends from heaven and teaches the people.
Observations
We are entering the most important part of the Book of
Mormon, Christ’s appearance to the Nephites.
This lesson lays the foundations for His ministry among the people.
Chapter 8 is very important because it records the
destruction that had been prophesied. At
the time of their destruction, the Nephites were a wicked people who refused to
accept the Lord. After all the warnings,
the suffered the consequences of their decisions.
In the Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol.
4, Third Nephi through Moroni, Joseph
Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top comment that that chapter
8 gives us a guide to prepare for the second coming of Christ. We are warned of the destruction and
wickedness that will be around us at the time this occurs. Knowing what we should prepare for will help
us better face the challenges of the future.
Chapters 9 & 10, the people hear the voice of
Christ. In chapter 9, the first ten
verses outline the destruction. The last
set of verses, carrying over to chapter 10, Christ calls on the people to
repent and accept Him.
Chapter 11 is where Christ appears. He begins teaching the people and calls the
Nephite twelve.
This set of chapters are all very important to our
understanding of the gospel.
Chapter 8
Mormon Testifies the Record is True;
Dissension Among the People (vs. 1-4)
·
The most significant event in the Book of Mormon
is about to occur.
·
Mormon begins by testifying about the record.
o
He knows it’s a true record, because:
§
A just man kept the record.
§
He did many miracles in the name of Jesus.
§
No man could to miracles in His name unless they
were righteous.
·
It has been 33 years since the signs of Christ’s
birth were received.
·
The people were beginning to look for the signs
Samuel gave concerning Christ’s death.
o
As with Christ’s birth, there were disputes and
doubts among the people.
The Destruction Among the Nephites (vs. 5-25)
·
At the beginning of the 34th year,
there was a great storm.
o
“[S]uch an
one as never had been known in all the land” (v. 5).
o
Nephi1 wrote of the destruction in
the New World.
§
For thus
spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at
that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great
joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his
power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the
opening of the earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up.
And all these things must surely
come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and
because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the
sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature
suffers.
1
Nephi 19:11 - 12
·
For a more complete listing of the destruction,
see Handout I.
·
The whole face of the land was changed.
·
Nephi prophesied:
- And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of
the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and
earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and
the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and
I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many
cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with
fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking
thereof.
And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of
darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw
multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of
the Lord.
And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of
heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.
1 Nephi 12:4 - 6
·
Many died in the destructions.
·
The storms, tempests, and quaking lasted for
three hours.
·
A thick darkness came upon the face of the land.
o
It was so thick, it could be felt.
o
Candles, torches, and fire could not be lit.
o
The Sun, Moon, and stars could not be seen.
o
See Quote #1
o
The darkness lasted for three days.
·
There was howling, weeping, and mourning among
the people.
o
They cried out that, had they repented, their
brethren would have been spared.
o
If we had repented, not killed and stoned the
prophets, not cast them out, their wives, daughters, and children would have
been spared.
Handout I - Destructions
at the Death of Christ
(Chart 49, Charting
the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch)
|
Element of Destruction
|
City Destroyed
|
Reference
|
|
|
Moronihah
|
3 Nephi 8:10; 9:5
|
|
|
Gilgal
|
3 Nephi 9:6
|
||
|
Gadiomnah
|
3 Nephi 9:38
|
||
|
Jacob
|
3 Nephi 9:8
|
||
|
Some people were
carried away in the whirlwind
|
3 Nephi 8:16
|
|
|
|
Zarahemla
|
3 Nephi 8:8; 9:3
|
|
|
Jacobugath
|
3 Nephi 9:9
|
||
|
Laman
|
3 Nephi 9:10
|
||
|
Gad
|
3 Nephi 9:10
|
||
|
Josh
|
3 Nephi 9:10
|
||
|
Kishkumen
|
3 Nephi 9:10
|
||
|
Moroni
|
3 Nephi 8:9; 9:4
|
|
|
Onihah
|
3 Nephi 9:7
|
||
|
Jerusalem
|
3 Nephi 9:7
|
||
|
Mocum
|
3 Nephi 9:7
|
Samuel the
Lamanite’s Prophecies
(Chart 48, Charting
the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch)
As the time neared for Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies to
be fulfilled, Nephi3 witnessed the growing skepticism of the people
… Nephi3 paid careful attention to documenting their exact
fulfillment. Nephi3 also
tracked Samuel’s prophecies concerning Christ’s death and their fulfillment.
|
Concerning Christ’s Death
|
Reference
|
Fulfillment
|
|
No light for 3 days
|
Helaman 14:20, 27
|
3 Nephi 8:19-23
|
|
Thunderings and lightnings
|
Helaman 14:21
|
3 Nephi 8:6-7
|
|
Earth will shake, tremble, and be broken up
|
Helaman 14:21-22
|
3 Nephi 8:12, 17-18
|
|
Mountain will be laid low and valleys raised
|
Helaman 14:23
|
3 Nephi 8:10, 13; 9:8
|
|
Resurrected people will appear to many
|
Helaman 14:25
|
3 Nephi 23:9-14
|
Chapter
9
A Voice is Heard (vs. 1-2)
·
In the darkness, the people heard a Voice.
·
See Quote #2.
·
The voice told the people:
o
“[W]o unto
the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent” (v. 2).
o
The devil laughs and rejoices over those who
have died.
o
It is because of their sins they have fallen.
The Voice Describes and Explains the
Destruction (vs. 3-12)
·
The Voice describes and explains the great
destruction among the Nephites.
·
Abinadi had warned the people of their pending
destruction.
o
And it
shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly destroy them from off
the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them, and I will
preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this
will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations.
Mosiah 12:8
The Voice is Identified and Are Called
to Return to Him (vs. 13-16)
·
Those that were spared “were more righteous than [those who died], will ye not now return unto
me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?” (v.
13).
·
If they come to Him, they will have eternal
life.
·
Nephi1 taught that the Savior:
o
[D]oeth
not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world,
even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall
not partake of his salvation.
Behold, doth he cry unto any,
saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say
unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk
and honey, without money and without price.
Behold, hath he commanded any that
they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
Hath he commanded any that they
should not partake of his salvation?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and
he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any
that they should not partake of his goodness?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto
the other, and none are forbidden.
2
Nephi 26:24 - 28
·
During His ministry, Christ told the people:
o
For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
·
The Voice is “Jesus
Christ the Son of God. I created the
heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the
beginning. I am in the Father, and the
Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name” (v. 15).
·
Abinadi taught:
o
“I would
that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children
of men, and shall redeem his people.
And because he dwelleth in flesh he
shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of
the Father, being the Father and the Son—
The Father, because he was
conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming
the Father and Son—
And they are one God, yea, the very
Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.
Mosiah
15:1 – 4
·
Christ came to “my own” but the rejected Him.
·
The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith:
o
Behold, I
am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am
the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and
the darkness comprehendeth it not.
D&C Section 6:21
The Law of Moses is Fulfilled in Christ (vs.
13-)
·
The
Nephites had been living the Law of Moses.
o
Christ tells the people that “in me is the law of Moses fulfilled”
(v. 17).
·
They are no longer offer up sacrifices and burnt
offerings.
·
He will no longer accept these offerings.
·
Abinadi told the Nephites this day would come.
o
And now ye
have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye
should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall
come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses.
And moreover, I say unto you, that
salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement,
which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that
they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.
Mosiah 13:27 - 28
·
Amulek testified:
o
Therefore,
it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall
there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood;
then shall the claw of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all
fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.
Alma
34:13
·
We are to offer a broken heart and contrite
spirit as a sacrifice.
o
Those that do will be baptized with fire and the
Holy Ghost.
o
The Psalmist wrote:
§
For thou
desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt
offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalms
51:16 - 17
·
He has come to redeem the world and save it from
sin.
o
We are to repent and be as a little child.
§
“[F]or of
such is the kingdom of God” (v. 22).
·
Christ has laid down and take up his life.
o
Repent and be saved.
o
King Benjamin taught:
§
For the
natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will
be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and
putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of
Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient,
full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to
inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
Mosiah 3:19
·
The Savior said:
o
As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the
sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
there shall be cone fold, and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay
it down of myself. I have power to lay
it down, and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my Father.
John 10:15 - 18
Chapter
10
·
People throughout the land heard Christ’s words.
o
When He finished, there was silence throughout
the land for hours.
·
The people were astonished by these words.
o
The mourning and lamenting stopped.
·
The Voice was heard again.
·
Christ laments he wanted to gather, protect, and
nourish His people.
o
Nephi1 explained:
§
And thus
we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the
children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and
strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which
he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did
sojourn in the wilderness. (1 Nephi 17:3)
o
Jacob, quoting from Zenos’s Allegory of the Tame
and Wild Olive, taught:
§
And he
said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of
ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree
hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought
forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others. (Jacob
5:25)
·
Christ was willing to gather them “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings” (v. 5).
·
This echoes Christ’s lament to the Jews.
o
O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37)
·
Christ will “gather
you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and
return unto me with full purpose of heart” (v. 6).
·
See Quote #3
·
If they don’t,
“the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the
fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers” (v. 7).
o
The covenant mentioned was made between Enos and
the Lord.
§
And it
came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord
said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy
faith.
And now behold, this was the desire
which I desired of him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites,
should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the
Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of
my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it
might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps,
they might be brought unto salvation—
For at the present our strugglings
were vain in restoring them to the true faith.
And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would
destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.
Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord
God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had
said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall
receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.
And I had faith, and I did cry unto
God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would
bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.
And I, Enos, knew it would be
according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.
And the Lord said unto me: Thy
fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them
according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine.
Enos 1:12 – 18
·
The words ended and the people began to mourn
again for the loss of family and friends.
·
At the end of three days, the darkness ended and
the earth stopped trembling.
·
The mourning ended.
·
It turned into joy and thanksgiving to Christ,
their Redeemer.
·
The scriptures and words of the prophets were
fulfilled.
·
Again, we look at Nephi1’s words that
were quoted earlier.
o
And the
God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were
preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a
man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of
Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried
in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the
three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those
who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who
are of the house of Israel.
For thus spake the prophet: The
Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his
voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and
others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by
fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and
by mountains which shall be carried up.
And all these things must surely
come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the crocks of the earth must
rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles
of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of
nature suffers. (1 Nephi 19:10 - 12)
·
Peter taught the people:
o
But those
things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that
Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until
the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of
all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:18 - 21)
·
The more righteous part of the people were
saved.
·
They had received the prophets, did not stone
them, and didn’t kill the saints.
·
See Quote #4
·
Mormon wants us to understand.
o
Those that have the scriptures, search them.
o
See if all the deaths and sufferings were not
the fulfilling of the prophecies and words of the prophets.
o
Nephi1 prophesied:
§
And they
that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow
them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and
whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush
them to pieces and grind them to powder.
And they shall be visited with
thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions,
for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they
shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord
of Hosts. (2 Nephi 26:5 - 6)
·
Many prophesied about the coming of Christ and
were killed for their words.
·
Zenos and Zenock testified of these things
because they concerned the Nephites.
·
We come to the ending of the 34th
year.
·
Mormon will show us the both Nephites and
Lamanites had been spared.
·
They received great favors and blessings of the
Lord.
·
“[S]oon
after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto
them—“ (v. 18).
Jesus Christ did show
himself unto the people of Nephi, as the multitude were gathered together in
the land Bountiful, and did minister unto them; and on this wise did he show
himself unto them.
Comprising chapters 11
to 26 inclusive.
Chapter
11
·
Some time has passed since they people first
heard Christ’s voice.
·
They are gathered at the temple in the land of
Bountiful.
o
This is may be some form of formal ceremony in
which the people are participating.
·
“[T]hey
were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another
the great and marvelous change which had taken place” (v. 1).
·
They were also discussing Christ and the signs
of His death.
·
A voice came out of heaven.
·
The people did not understand the voice.
o
The voice was neither harsh nor loud.
o
It was a small voice, but it did “pierce them that did hear to the center,
insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake;
yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn”
(v. 3).
·
Joseph Smith describes the “small voice.”
o
“… thus
saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things,
and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest…”
(D&C 85:6).
·
The voice was heard a second time, but it was
not understood.
o
They opened their “ears” and heard it the third
time.
·
The voice of the Father proclaimed: “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him” (v. 7).
·
This is similar to the Father’s declaration at
Christ’s baptism and at the Mount of Transfiguration.
o
“And lo a
voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”
(Matthew 3:17).
o
“While he
yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of
the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear
ye him” (Matthew 17:5).
o
Joseph Smith records during the First Vision:
§
“When the
light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the air.
One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the
other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
(JS-History 1:17).
·
Understanding
the words, they looked into the heavens.
·
“[T]hey saw a Man descending out of heaven; and
he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of
them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst
not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for
they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them” (v. 8).
o
This fulfilled the words of Nephi1.
§
“And I saw
the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came
down and showed himself unto them” (1 Nephi 12:6).
§
AND after
Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my
children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you
shall be the law which ye shall do” (2 Nephi 26:1).
§
“But the
Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they
shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and
many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness” (2 Nephi
26:9).
·
It is essential to remember that the people in
the Old World saw and heard Christ, the
man.
·
Now, as
He appears to the Nephites, they will be seeing and hearing. Not Christ, the
man, but Christ, the Deity.
o
“Abinadi said unto them: I would that
ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of
men, and shall redeem his people” (Mosiah 15:1)
·
He told
the multitude:
o
Behold, I
am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And
behold, I am the alight and the life of the world; and I have drunk
out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the
Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered
the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (v. 10-11).
·
During His earthly ministry, He said:
o
For I came
down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (John
6:38)
o
Saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42)
·
When He spoke his words, they fell to the earth.
·
They remembered it had been prophesied he would
appear to the Nephites.
o
“And many
of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should
come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his
resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness” (Alma
16:20).
·
Christ called the forth that they might “may thrust your hands into my side, and
also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that
ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and
have been slain for the sins of the world” (v. 13).
·
He did this when he first appeared to His
apostles after His resurrection.
o
And as
they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them,
Peace be unto you. But they were
terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye
troubled? and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my
feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:36 - 39)
·
The multitude did as he commanded.
·
They cried out:
o
“Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High
God! And they did fall down at the feet
of Jesus, and did worship him” (v. 17).
·
The Savior called for Nephi3 to come
forth.
o
He “went
forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet” (v 19).
·
After commanding Nephi3 to arise, He gave
him the power to baptize the people after He had ascended to heaven.
·
He also called others and gave them the same
authority.
·
Again, the words of Nephi1 were
fulfilled.
o
And I also
saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were
ordained of God, and chosen. (1 Nephi 12:7)
·
Christ instructed them how to baptize.
·
Anyone who had repented of their sins were to
baptized in this manner:
o
And now
behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
Having authority given me of Jesus
Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen.
And then shall ye immerse them in
the water, and come forth again out of the water. (v. 24-26)
·
This is the same manner the Lord instructed
Joseph Smith to baptize.
·
Baptism is to be administered in the following
manner unto all those who repent—
o
The person
who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go
down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for
baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of
Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then shall he immerse
him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water. (D&C 20:72
- 74)
·
The Savior commanded that there is to be no
disputes concerning His doctrines as there had been in the past.
o
He reminded them that the spirit of contention
is of the devil.
·
Thus did Alma1 teach his people, that
every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention
among them.” (Mosiah 23:15)
·
King Benjamin also warned against contentions.
o
But, O my
people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey
the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.
For behold, there is a wo pronounced
upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and
remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul;
for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed
the law of God contrary to his own knowledge. (Mosiah 2:32 - 33)
·
·
Remember, as we’ve studied the Book of Mormon,
contention among the people has been a leading reason for factions within
society and also responsible for many wars.
o
Contention will be at the root of the collapse
of the Nephite civilization 400 years from now.
·
Christ announces He will declare His doctrine.
o
And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine
which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the
Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father
and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to
repent and believe in me. (v. 32)
·
The Apostle John wrote:
o
This is he
that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water
and blood. And it is the Spirit that
beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are
bone.
And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three
agree in one.
If we receive the witness of men,
the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath
testified of his Son. (1 John 5:6 - 9)
·
The Savior taught:
o
He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark
16:16)
·
And
whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none
save it be of me. I am the same that
leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe
me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who
sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I
am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. (Ether 4:12)
·
The Father will bear record of Christ.
o
The Holy Ghost will bear record of the Father
and Christ.
·
We must repent, become as a little child, and be
baptized to receive these things.
o
Verily I
say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child,
he shall not enter therein. (Mark 10:15)
o
And now,
because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of
Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually
begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his
name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.
(Mosiah 5:7)
·
Christ then paraphrased the parable of the house
build on rock and sand.
Quote #1
Hugh Nibley explains the darkness.
According to 3 Nephi 8:20–21 the "vapor of
darkness" was not only tangible to the survivors, but defeated every
attempt to light candles or torches for illumination. At present, intensive
studies are being made of the destruction of the Greek island of Thera (today
Santorini) in 1400 B.C. This catastrophe, well within historic times, is
thought to have been eight times as violent as Krakatoa (!) and is described in
terms exactly paralleling the account in 3 Nephi. Among other things it is
pointed out that the overpowering thickness of the air must have extinguished
all lamps.[1]
Quote #2
Hugh Nibley writes:
"There was a voice heard among all the
inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land," the whole land.
Now, this isn't a soft, gentle voice that's going to follow. But you'll notice
an interesting thing here in this chapter in verses 2 to 12 and 13 to
22—exactly 10 verses each. That's a striking thing and quite a coincidence,
isn't it? Ten verses showing the Lord's severity and the next ten showing his
real nature, how men brought this on themselves, etc. Notice it divides right
in the middle here. He starts out with "Wo, wo, wo unto this people."[2]
Quote #3
Hugh Nibley explains:
Does one person need repentance more than another? Until we
have reached the shore, no one is home safe; a swimmer can drown fifty feet
from the shore as easily as a mile from it; and in this life, none have reached
the shore, for it is a probation right up until the last … While the great
storm and earthquake were raging, the people were still given a chance to
repent. "Wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth, except they shall
repent" (3 Nephi 9:2). "O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how
oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye
will repent. . . . But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your
dwellings shall become desolate" (3 Nephi 10:6—7).[3]
Quote #4
Richard Rust wrote:
Frequently, the people move through a
humility-prosperity-pride-collapse cycle. The preservation at Christ's coming
of the "more righteous part of the people" (3 Nephi 10:12) and the
calamitous destruction of many cities confirms the oft-repeated Book of Mormon
motto: those who keep the Lord's commandments shall prosper in the land of
promise, but those who will not shall be swept off (cf. 2 Nephi 1:9; 4:4, Alma
9:13; 50:20; and Ether 2:10). The reality of the second half of the promise is
confirmed vividly by Mormon and Moroni, who recount the descent of the Nephites
into total destruction.[4]
[1] Some Fairly Foolproof Tests, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed September 1, 2012.
[2] Lecture 90: 3 Nephi 9, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed September 2, 2012.
[3] Last Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the
Book of Mormon, Hugh
Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed September 3, 2012.
[4] Recurrence in Book of Mormon Narratives, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed September 3, 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment