The Savior, seeing the people desired Him to say, told the
congregation to bring their children to Him. In His mortal ministry, He
emphasized the deep level love He felt for children.
“Then were there brought unto him little children, that he
should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
“But Jesus said, Suffer [GR Allow, Permit] little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven”
(Matthew 19:13-14).[1]
“And they brought young children to him, that he should
touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
“But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said
unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for
of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:13-14).
He had them gather around Him. He told the multitude to
knell. And here begins one of the most sacred and spiritually powerful events
in the Book of Mormon.
He begins His prayer, telling His Father, “I am troubled
because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi
17:14).
It is interesting to note the sons of Mosiah and Alma2
were also troubled about the wickedness of the Nephites. They knew first-hand
the consequences of sin, having been among “the very vilest of sinners” (Mosiah
28:4).
“Now [the sons of Mosiah] were desirous that salvation
should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human
soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure
endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble” (Mosiah 28:3).
“For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of
iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful
because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites” (Alma 31:2).
He then knelt and prayed. Mormon tells us “the things which
he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him”
(3 Nephi 17:15). Why did Mormon choose not to share these words with us?
“On each of the three days, Jesus spoke words that could not
be written (3 Nephi 17:15; 19:32, 34; 26:6), perhaps not only because he
said so many things or because language was inadequate, but also because the
things they saw and heard were too sacred.”[2]
I favor the latter explanation.
Mormon quotes from the record.
“The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard,
before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the
Father;
“And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by
any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things
as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which
filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father” (3 Nephi
17:16-17).
After He finished His prayer, he stood. The joy of the
congregation was so great, they were overcome by the Spirit. He told them to
stand.
When they stood, He told them, “And they arose from the
earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now
behold, my joy is full” (3 Nephi 17:22). He wept with joy.
Like He did in Jerusalem, He took the children and blessed
them.
“But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said
unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for
of such is the kingdom of God.
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
“And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them,
and blessed them” (Mark 10:14-16).
“Are there any better insights to a personality than the direction
of inner longings? The Nephite record shows an eternal being still needing the
solace and strength of prayer. There the resurrected Savior is seen still
shouldering the emotional burden of caring for all peoples, and the Godhead
operating as a council of companionship … Third Nephi stresses that during his
American ministry Jesus called upon his Father in ‘great and marvelous’ prayers
(3 Nephi 17:16–17) … [H]e appealed for future blessings on innocent children (3
Nephi 17:21) and faithfulness on the part of their parents (3 Nephi 17:17).”[3]
He prayed for the children and He wept again.
He then turned to the congregation and told them to see
their children.
Then the miracle occurred.
“And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards
heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of
heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those
little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did
minister unto them” (3 Nephi 17:24).
“While we do not learn what the children may have taught the
adults when their tongues were loosened, the parents could not have escaped
noticing how precious the children were to Jesus or how much these children
needed to be taken into account. It would have been difficult indeed for adults
to ever overlook these children, having been witnesses of the events of those
three days. Even if only offered a brief glimpse, Jesus’s hearers were
privileged to see how children should be prized and instructed. Moreover, to
observe Jesus’s teaching and then to be taught by children may have focused the
parents’ attention on the qualities of the children that made them such ready
pupils. Their unabashed openness, tenderness, and desire to please Jesus were
tangible models to emulate. The adults could see what it looked like to become,
as mentioned earlier, ‘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’ (Mosiah 3:19).”[4]
“And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and
they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear,
every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five
hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children” (3 Nephi
17:25).
[1] “Then were there brought unto him little children,
that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them,
saying There is no need, for Jesus hath
said, Such shall be saved.
“But Jesus said, Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven” (JST Matthew 19:13-14).
[2] Seeing
Third Nephi as the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other
Restoration Scripture 19/1 (2010): 49.
[3] Imitation
Gospels and Christ’s Book of Mormon Ministry, Richard Lloyd Anderson,
Reprinted by permission from C. Wilfred Griggs, ed., Apocryphal Writings and the Latter-day Saints (Provo: BYU Religious
Studies Center, 1986), Maxwell Institute website.
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