The Lord continues quoting Isaiah 54.
He addressed the “afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
comforted.” He will “lay stones with fair colors and lay thy foundations with
sapphires” (3 Nephi 22:11).
“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the
city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
“And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished
with all manner of precious stones. “The first foundation was jasper; the
second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
“The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,
chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus;
the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate
was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were
transparent glass” (Revelation 21:18-21).
All their children will be taught of the Lord. “Thy people
also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land [OR earth] for ever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified”
(Isaiah 60:21).
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their
inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they
shall be my people.
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
Through this teaching, there will be great peace among the
children. “Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it
so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved,
even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous
need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so
be as by fire” (1 Nephi 22:17).
“For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause
a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will
spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by
fire” (2 Nephi 30:10).
“And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but
before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall
cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great
tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve”
(Moses 7:61).
“Jesus subsequently turned his attention next to the sacred
promises made by the Father and the Son to their covenant people. Just as he
had given the Sermon at the Temple on the first day (3 Nephi 12–14)
instructing the people concerning their obligations in their covenant
relationship with God, on the second day he gave another uninterrupted sermon
of close to the same length (3 Nephi 20–22, appropriately called the
‘Father’s Covenant People Sermon’) detailing the irrevocable commitments that
God makes as his part of this two-way covenant relationship. Indeed, in these
three chapters the dominant words are the Father (39 times), covenant (16
times), and people (35 times). The Father and the Son can be counted on,
absolutely, to keep their side of the covenant, sworn in the temple that day.
They will never forget. They will ‘lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy
foundations with sapphires, . . . and all thy children shall be taught of the
Lord.’”[1]
They will be established in righteousness. “For the
righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright
[OR the upright shall behold his face]” (Psalms 11:7).
“He loveth righteousness and judgment [HEB justice]: the
earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (Psalms 33:5).
“Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows”
(Psalms 45:7).
“And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 12:6).
They will be far from oppression, fear, and terror.
The wicked will gather against the righteous. “And every
nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one
against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare
the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and
that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that
great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the
fall of it” (1 Nephi 22:14).
They that come against them will fall for their sake.
He created the smith that heats the coal in the fire that
will bring an instrument for his work.
No weapon will stop their prosperity. They will condemn
those which revile against them. “This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord” (3 Nephi 22:17).
“Throughout the scriptures, the Lord uses the word servant to
refer to prophets, apostles, missionaries, priesthood holders, temple workers,
and saints of all ages. Because the adversary wishes to thwart the plan of
happiness, he and his followers seek to attack Zion. The Lord's servants often
suffer persecution as part of their mission on earth. But the Lord will not
allow oppressors to be successful against Zion.”[2]
[1] 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): 50.
[2] Redeeming
the Desolate Woman: The Message of Isaiah 54 and 3 Nephi 22, Cynthia L.
Hallen, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies
7/1 (1998): 40.
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