The people who saw and heard the Savior fell to the ground. They
remembered it had been prophesied the Savior would appear to the Nephites. “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).
The Lord told the people to rise. He called on them to feel
the “prints of the nails in my hand and in my feet…” (3 Nephi 11:14). “Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but
believing” (John 20:27).
“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 [GR doubts, hesitation] 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).
“For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (D&C 129:2).
He told them to do this so they would know He was the God of
Israel and the whole earth. He had been slain for the sins of the world. “And I
will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God
of Israel” (Isaiah 45:3).
“Let all the saints rejoice, therefore, and be exceedingly
glad; for Israel’s God is their God, and he will mete out a just recompense of
reward upon the heads of all their oppressors” (D&C 127:3).
“And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the
city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease,
neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth
is the Lord’s” (Exodus 9:29).
“And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a
loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over
all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou
believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the
things which thou hast desired” (1 Nephi 11:6).
“If the most important instructions and experiences are
presented first in 3 Nephi, then the most important knowledge for the people
gathered at the temple was that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of God. He
was introduced by the Father himself, he declared his own witness of who he is,
and he personally demonstrated his identity by inviting each person to ‘arise
and come forth unto me, that ye 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’ (3 Nephi 11:14).”[1]
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and
thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his
hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they
had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands,
and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was
written by the prophets, that should come.
“At the conclusion of this recognition scene, we read this
statement regarding the participants: ‘[They] did see with their eyes and did
feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it
was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come’ (3 Nephi
11:15).”[2]
“Far from downplaying his crucifixion, Christ presents the
wounds left in his body as the characteristic marks of who he is and his
significance for humanity. Rather than beginning to teach, after extending this
invitation he underscores the importance of these wounds by waiting for what
may have been hours as ‘the multitude went forth . . . one by one until they
had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands’
(3 Nephi 11:15), in total ‘about two thousand and five hundred souls’ (3 Nephi
17:25). As believers in Christ who were not privileged to know him during his
mortal ministry, it is common for contemporary Mormons to imagine themselves in
the place of these Nephites.”[3]
Having done as the Lord commanded, they fell at His feet and
cried, “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!” (3 Nephi 11:17).
“‘Come unto me, that ye might feel and see.’ This was a
commandment that the Savior extended to the inhabitants of ancient America.
They felt with their hands and saw with their eyes that Jesus was the Christ.
This commandment is just as important for us today as it was for them in their
day. As we come unto Christ, we can feel and ‘know of a surety’—not with our
hands and eyes but with all our heart and mind—that Jesus is the Christ.”[4]
[1] The
Savior and the Children in 3 Nephi, M. Gawain Wells, Maxwell Institute
website.
[2] Treaties
and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of Mormon,
RoseAnn Benson and Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute website.
[3] Work,
Worship, and Grace, David L. Paulsen and Cory G. Walker, FARMS Review 18/2
(2006): 123.
[4] Learning
with Our Hearts, Elder Walter F. González, October 2012 General Conference.
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