(Marci-red; Kathy-green Marci blue 2020) orange 7/21 Brown, 2022/23
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 through 26.
Chapter 11
The Father testifies of His Beloved Son—Christ appears and proclaims His Atonement—The people feel the wound marks in His hands and feet and side—They cry Hosanna—He sets forth the mode and manner of baptism—The spirit of contention is of the devil—Christ’s doctrine is that men should believe and be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. About A.D. 34.According to research, communication in our world today--texting/letter writing-least intimate; phone call-more intimate (you can at least hear tone of voice!); face-to-face-most intimate-facial and body cues, expressions, physical contact.
1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude agathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; Notice, that either the temple had not been destroyed in all the massive destruction, or....it had been rebuilt and this was not immediately after the 3 days of destruction. and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the cgreat and marvelous change which had taken place. The temple is a wonderful place to gather; to marvel and to wonder and to show one another the marvelous changes that take place in us!
2 And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the asign had been given concerning his death. These same people had witnessed the sign of Christ's birth (and many other signs) and now had witnessed the signs of His death. Surely, "this Jesus" whom they had heard prophesied about since the beginning of time - was real! They had heard His voice and now they were going to see and feel Him. 1-2 What a natural location for people to want to gather--the Temple, which is the House of the Lord. Families and loved ones who were spared, were seeking one another out to minister to and receive succor from them. I would think that after a natural disaster, people would find healing and solace gathering together. I think they also were seeking to know whether everyone had heard the same thing from Jesus.
3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a avoice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a bsmall voice it did cpierce 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. Is this what it will be like to KNOW that you have heard the voice of the Lord? I recognize it is small and not harsh or loud, but am not at the point where it pierces me to the center, causes me to quake or my heart to burn...Noticing the difference between hearing the voice and understanding the voice.
4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they aunderstood it not. How often do we "hear" but "understand not"? vs 3-4: A voice speaks to them that penetrates to each heart with a burning fervor, but they couldn't understand it. (I remember standing and watching at a bedroom window about 35 years ago here in Sandy at about 3:00 in the morning, during a remarkable electrical lightning storm, and as the lightning and thunder were simultaneously and constantly going on, I could hear a small whisper voice throughout the air. It made my skin tingle! It was almost as if nature was testifying that God is in charge of everything.)
5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did aopen their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came. It seems like it's significant that it took 3 times before THEY opened their ears to hear. What happened the third time within themselves to cause them to open their ears? They seemed curious the first two times, but maybe didn't believe that the reason they couldn't hear was within themselves. It says they looked "steadfastly" towards heaven, so maybe they were not fixing their gaze on heaven before. Maybe they were looking around or down or up, but only for a moment at a time. Maybe this time, they fixed their eyes heavenward in faith and belief the voice was from heaven and no where else. A few ministering lessons - sometimes it takes more than a few times for others to hear us, or the message from God that is coming through us. Sometimes they may think the message is from us or some other source, but not "hear" it as from God. We can help them fix their gaze heavenward. Also, to hear the voice of the Lord, we must fix our view towards heaven and the prophet "from whence" the voice of the Lord comes. Stay fixed there steadfastly until understanding comes.
1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude agathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; Notice, that either the temple had not been destroyed in all the massive destruction, or....it had been rebuilt and this was not immediately after the 3 days of destruction. and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the cgreat and marvelous change which had taken place. The temple is a wonderful place to gather; to marvel and to wonder and to show one another the marvelous changes that take place in us!
2 And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the asign had been given concerning his death. These same people had witnessed the sign of Christ's birth (and many other signs) and now had witnessed the signs of His death. Surely, "this Jesus" whom they had heard prophesied about since the beginning of time - was real! They had heard His voice and now they were going to see and feel Him. 1-2 What a natural location for people to want to gather--the Temple, which is the House of the Lord. Families and loved ones who were spared, were seeking one another out to minister to and receive succor from them. I would think that after a natural disaster, people would find healing and solace gathering together. I think they also were seeking to know whether everyone had heard the same thing from Jesus.
3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a avoice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a bsmall voice it did cpierce 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. Is this what it will be like to KNOW that you have heard the voice of the Lord? I recognize it is small and not harsh or loud, but am not at the point where it pierces me to the center, causes me to quake or my heart to burn...Noticing the difference between hearing the voice and understanding the voice.
4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they aunderstood it not. How often do we "hear" but "understand not"? vs 3-4: A voice speaks to them that penetrates to each heart with a burning fervor, but they couldn't understand it. (I remember standing and watching at a bedroom window about 35 years ago here in Sandy at about 3:00 in the morning, during a remarkable electrical lightning storm, and as the lightning and thunder were simultaneously and constantly going on, I could hear a small whisper voice throughout the air. It made my skin tingle! It was almost as if nature was testifying that God is in charge of everything.)
5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did aopen their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came. It seems like it's significant that it took 3 times before THEY opened their ears to hear. What happened the third time within themselves to cause them to open their ears? They seemed curious the first two times, but maybe didn't believe that the reason they couldn't hear was within themselves. It says they looked "steadfastly" towards heaven, so maybe they were not fixing their gaze on heaven before. Maybe they were looking around or down or up, but only for a moment at a time. Maybe this time, they fixed their eyes heavenward in faith and belief the voice was from heaven and no where else. A few ministering lessons - sometimes it takes more than a few times for others to hear us, or the message from God that is coming through us. Sometimes they may think the message is from us or some other source, but not "hear" it as from God. We can help them fix their gaze heavenward. Also, to hear the voice of the Lord, we must fix our view towards heaven and the prophet "from whence" the voice of the Lord comes. Stay fixed there steadfastly until understanding comes.
6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them: vs 5-6: The footnotes for the word 'open,' as in 'did open their ears to hear it,' leads us to Job and D & C, which talk of hearts softening, so my understanding is that on the third time the voice speaks, they are ready to understand, as they look to Heaven.
7 Behold my aBeloved Son, bin whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. In the "Guide to the Scriptures" on lds.org it says: "There are few recorded instances of God the Father appearing to or speaking to man. The scriptures say that He spoke to Adam and Eve (Moses 4:14–31) and introduced Jesus Christ on several occasions (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28–29; 3 Ne. 11:3–7). He appeared to Stephen (Acts 7:55–56) and Joseph Smith (JS—H 1:17). Later He appeared to both Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon (D&C 76:20, 23). To those who love God and purify themselves before Him, God sometimes grants the privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves that He is God (Matt. 5:8; 3 Ne. 12:8; D&C 76:116-118; 93:1)"That's not a lot of times, but enough to give us faith the the Son can actually lead us to the Father. Elohim speaks and introduces His Beloved Son. Very few earthlings until this time, have heard the voice of the Father.
8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they asaw a Man bdescending 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. Father just introduced Him, and yet, they don't know who He is! Extraordinary! They are growing in faith in the very moment.
9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, He knows they don't know who He is and think He's an angel whom the prophets testified always confirming his words shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the alight and the life of the world; It is no small statement that He is the "light" of the world. There is so much we don't understand about light. But information can be coded into light waves and sent around the world in an instant. We are swimming in non-discernable light waves and only can decode them when we are "tuned" into the special frequency of that wave." It is no small thing that we all possess the "light" of Christ and that the Holy Ghost operates through this "light". So maybe the Holy Ghost operates through a special "frequency" of light and that is why we have to be "in tune". and I have drunk out of that bitter bcup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father remember Satan said "the glory be mine"...in ctaking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the dwill of the Father in all things from the beginning. Here is our perfect ministering example. "suffer the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." and our perfect example from here to New Jerusalem...
7 Behold my aBeloved Son, bin whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. In the "Guide to the Scriptures" on lds.org it says: "There are few recorded instances of God the Father appearing to or speaking to man. The scriptures say that He spoke to Adam and Eve (Moses 4:14–31) and introduced Jesus Christ on several occasions (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28–29; 3 Ne. 11:3–7). He appeared to Stephen (Acts 7:55–56) and Joseph Smith (JS—H 1:17). Later He appeared to both Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon (D&C 76:20, 23). To those who love God and purify themselves before Him, God sometimes grants the privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves that He is God (Matt. 5:8; 3 Ne. 12:8; D&C 76:116-118; 93:1)"That's not a lot of times, but enough to give us faith the the Son can actually lead us to the Father. Elohim speaks and introduces His Beloved Son. Very few earthlings until this time, have heard the voice of the Father.
8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they asaw a Man bdescending 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. Father just introduced Him, and yet, they don't know who He is! Extraordinary! They are growing in faith in the very moment.
9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, He knows they don't know who He is and think He's an angel whom the prophets testified always confirming his words shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the alight and the life of the world; It is no small statement that He is the "light" of the world. There is so much we don't understand about light. But information can be coded into light waves and sent around the world in an instant. We are swimming in non-discernable light waves and only can decode them when we are "tuned" into the special frequency of that wave." It is no small thing that we all possess the "light" of Christ and that the Holy Ghost operates through this "light". So maybe the Holy Ghost operates through a special "frequency" of light and that is why we have to be "in tune". and I have drunk out of that bitter bcup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father remember Satan said "the glory be mine"...in ctaking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the dwill of the Father in all things from the beginning. Here is our perfect ministering example. "suffer the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." and our perfect example from here to New Jerusalem...
12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude afell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should cshow himself unto them after his ascension into heaven. Once again, we are receiving testimony that ALL that has been prophesied WILL be fulfilled. We must look at the prophesies that precede the Second Coming and KNOW they will also be fulfilled. Don't minimize or rationalize them away. Literally! vs 9-12: He confirms who He is, and all that He has just completed for the souls of man. His personal ministry to them has begun and they fall to their knees.
13 And it came to pass that the aLord spake unto them saying:
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may athrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may bfeel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the cGod of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. Always an invitation for us to act. Don't just listen. Get up. Move closer. Experience. vs 13-14: It's been proven through the years that the more senses you can involve when teaching a student a concept, the more likely the student is to internalize the concept, and it takes its place in the long-term memory in the brain. The Savior is using the senses in so many ways to confirm to these people His divinity. They have had witnessed to their ears through the voice, now, they see Him, and then, He invites them to come and touch Him, and feel those nail prints. I've always wondered about the word 'thrust' (push suddenly or violently), about the spear wound. I guess I'll find out when I have my encounter with the Lord. Kathy, one possibility for the use of the word 'thrust' may come from this definition: "When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system." Perhaps what the Lord is teaching is that the power or intensity of faith with which we reach into the body or life of Christ, will cause an equal power to come from Christ into our souls." Thank you for asking the question!
13 And it came to pass that the aLord spake unto them saying:
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may athrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may bfeel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the cGod of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. Always an invitation for us to act. Don't just listen. Get up. Move closer. Experience. vs 13-14: It's been proven through the years that the more senses you can involve when teaching a student a concept, the more likely the student is to internalize the concept, and it takes its place in the long-term memory in the brain. The Savior is using the senses in so many ways to confirm to these people His divinity. They have had witnessed to their ears through the voice, now, they see Him, and then, He invites them to come and touch Him, and feel those nail prints. I've always wondered about the word 'thrust' (push suddenly or violently), about the spear wound. I guess I'll find out when I have my encounter with the Lord. Kathy, one possibility for the use of the word 'thrust' may come from this definition: "When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system." Perhaps what the Lord is teaching is that the power or intensity of faith with which we reach into the body or life of Christ, will cause an equal power to come from Christ into our souls." Thank you for asking the question!
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and adid 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. Everyone accepted the invitation to come. Everyone 'thrust' their hands into his side, so that they had a powerful experience and witness. It's important to know they went 'one by one' for that is how we come to know Christ. We are being invited to minister 'one by one' as well. Our invitation to those we minister to is, "Come and see!" I think it's important to note that Mormon is testifying again that the words of the prophets will all be fulfilled. We must know what those words are and heed them. Some of those 'words' are the words of Isaiah, since his words were given to us twice (Bible and Book of Mormon) and speak of things to come. Here is the famous phrase 'one by one.' Jesus was ministering by giving of His time, His testimony, His whole self, by patiently and lovingly allowing thousands to come before him to see for him/herself the veracity of these things. I'm sure so much more was involved in this personal interaction than just touching those points--eye contact, smiles, tears, feeling the tangible love He had for each individually--it's no wonder this experience changed their lives forever.
16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Father in Heaven wants each one of us to know for ourselves.
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did aworship him. Having had this physical affirmation, and hearts were welled-up in awe and gratitude, their cry together of praise and adoration and worship, is the ministering they can offer Son of God. Does this have any correlation to the Hosanna Shout we do in the temple dedications?
18 And it came to pass that he spake unto aNephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.
16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Father in Heaven wants each one of us to know for ourselves.
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did aworship him. Having had this physical affirmation, and hearts were welled-up in awe and gratitude, their cry together of praise and adoration and worship, is the ministering they can offer Son of God. Does this have any correlation to the Hosanna Shout we do in the temple dedications?
18 And it came to pass that he spake unto aNephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.
19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and abowed himself before the Lord and did bkiss his feet. Though he was being called to be a great leader, he showed great meekness and humility.
20 And the Lord commanded him that he should aarise. And he arose and stood before him. I can only imagine the joy Nephi felt hearing his name called from those sacred lips. It also was a testament to the people that Nephi was indeed, the Lord's prophet.
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you apower that ye shall bbaptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. I have a question about this. I thought the Nephites were already baptizing with authority? Is being given 'power' different than 'authority'? Or...maybe Nephi had power given to him by his father, but Jesus wants to establish a new direct line of authority...Seems like they did a lot of re-baptizing in the Book of Mormon...
20 And the Lord commanded him that he should aarise. And he arose and stood before him. I can only imagine the joy Nephi felt hearing his name called from those sacred lips. It also was a testament to the people that Nephi was indeed, the Lord's prophet.
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you apower that ye shall bbaptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. I have a question about this. I thought the Nephites were already baptizing with authority? Is being given 'power' different than 'authority'? Or...maybe Nephi had power given to him by his father, but Jesus wants to establish a new direct line of authority...Seems like they did a lot of re-baptizing in the Book of Mormon...
22 And again the Lord called aothers, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be bno disputations among you.The Lord does not like contention!
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your awords, and bdesireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and cstand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having aauthority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the bFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Here the words are that they were given 'authority'. Did they not have authority before this time? If not, did they ever have it and when was it first given and/or lost? Again...these people were literally given authority "from Jesus Christ" so when they said those words it was very literal. Everyone after that would be given authority of Jesus Christ through another person.
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your awords, and bdesireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and cstand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having aauthority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the bFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Here the words are that they were given 'authority'. Did they not have authority before this time? If not, did they ever have it and when was it first given and/or lost? Again...these people were literally given authority "from Jesus Christ" so when they said those words it was very literal. Everyone after that would be given authority of Jesus Christ through another person.
26 And then shall ye aimmerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye abaptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are bone; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. They have also invited us to be one with them and commanded us to be one with each other. Christ gives Nephi and others the power and authorization to baptize, and outlines the qualifications and procedure for baptizing the correct way.
28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no adisputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of acontention is not of me, but is of the bdevil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things ashould be done away. We learned in 3 Nephi 6 that the church was rent with dissension. They must have been arguing about doctrine and the manner and mode of baptism. We must ever guard against this in our own wards and stakes. Apparently in the past, there has been some disagreement and arguing about points of doctrine, and the Lord makes clear in vs. 22 and 28-30, that contention is not of the Lord, and should be done away with. Ministering does include correction and counsel. We are faced with this in our own wards right now. There are disputations concerning the points of doctrine about gender and agency and following the prophet. How do we question without contention? Certainly we have to check our hearts for anger and root that out and replace it with mercy and compassion.
31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my adoctrine. Our doctrine originates from Christ, not man. He is the one who declares what it is.
32 And this is my adoctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear brecord of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the cHoly 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.
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is abaptized, the same shall be bsaved; and they are they who shall cinherit the kingdom of God.
34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not abaptized, shall be damned.
27 And after this manner shall ye abaptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are bone; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. They have also invited us to be one with them and commanded us to be one with each other. Christ gives Nephi and others the power and authorization to baptize, and outlines the qualifications and procedure for baptizing the correct way.
28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no adisputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of acontention is not of me, but is of the bdevil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things ashould be done away. We learned in 3 Nephi 6 that the church was rent with dissension. They must have been arguing about doctrine and the manner and mode of baptism. We must ever guard against this in our own wards and stakes. Apparently in the past, there has been some disagreement and arguing about points of doctrine, and the Lord makes clear in vs. 22 and 28-30, that contention is not of the Lord, and should be done away with. Ministering does include correction and counsel. We are faced with this in our own wards right now. There are disputations concerning the points of doctrine about gender and agency and following the prophet. How do we question without contention? Certainly we have to check our hearts for anger and root that out and replace it with mercy and compassion.
31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my adoctrine. Our doctrine originates from Christ, not man. He is the one who declares what it is.
32 And this is my adoctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear brecord of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the cHoly 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.
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is abaptized, the same shall be bsaved; and they are they who shall cinherit the kingdom of God.
34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not abaptized, shall be damned.
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso abelieveth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him bwith fire and with the cHoly Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the aHoly Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are bone. I love how Jesus is always pointing us to the Father, even though the Father has commanded us to believe in Christ. He also seems to be teaching us that it is the Father that visits us with 'fire and the Holy Ghost', though there are other scriptures that say it is the Son. Doesn't really matter, as they are 'one'. Christ declares and teaches the doctrine or repentance and baptism, which is the doctrine that all 3 of the Godhead bear record of.
37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and abecome as a blittle child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little achild, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Interesting that He changes the order the second time. Perhaps He's telling us that we first, repent, become as a little child and then make covenants. Since we are baptized 'unto' repentance, after our water baptism, we continue to repenting until our nature is changed and we have become as little children. vs 37-38: When God says the same thing twice, it's time to pay attention. We must repent, be baptized and become as little children. in order to receive the kingdom of God. The words "become as a little child" lead you to the scripture on charity that after becoming as a little child says, "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [them], even as a child doth submit to his father." We are entering a phase of growth where we will be tested to see if we are truly willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us. If it is done by our Father upon us as "children" we can trust that it is for our good, for that is what parents do for their children. Everything is for their learning and for their good. Sometimes it is saying "no"; sometimes it is making them work hard and delay gratification; sometimes it is making them leave home; but whatever it is, a child can know that it is for their good and out of love. We can know and trust the same of our Heavenly Father.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little achild, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Interesting that He changes the order the second time. Perhaps He's telling us that we first, repent, become as a little child and then make covenants. Since we are baptized 'unto' repentance, after our water baptism, we continue to repenting until our nature is changed and we have become as little children. vs 37-38: When God says the same thing twice, it's time to pay attention. We must repent, be baptized and become as little children. in order to receive the kingdom of God. The words "become as a little child" lead you to the scripture on charity that after becoming as a little child says, "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [them], even as a child doth submit to his father." We are entering a phase of growth where we will be tested to see if we are truly willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us. If it is done by our Father upon us as "children" we can trust that it is for our good, for that is what parents do for their children. Everything is for their learning and for their good. Sometimes it is saying "no"; sometimes it is making them work hard and delay gratification; sometimes it is making them leave home; but whatever it is, a child can know that it is for their good and out of love. We can know and trust the same of our Heavenly Father.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my adoctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the cgates of hell shall not prevail against them. Isn't this all we need to know to make it through the tribulations? Build your life upon "the rock" and Satan will not prevail!
40 And whoso shall adeclare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a bsandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. Somehow in our ministering and teaching we must always bring it back to repentance. When we teach truth, we are asking people to 'repent' or give up their old ways of thinking or their false beliefs and replacing them with truth. This is the gospel of repentance. This is the gospel of 'becoming'. vs 39-40: Nephi and the new leaders are taught to build upon this doctrine, nothing more or less, so that they can stand against all evil.
41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth. Pres. Nelson said, "think of your duty as God’s mighty army to help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. This is our charge. This is our privilege." The ministering of vs. 18-40 are apparently just to Nephi and the new leaders, and then were told to declare it throughout the world. This is the way of God--those who are ministered to, turn around and go minister to more.
40 And whoso shall adeclare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a bsandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. Somehow in our ministering and teaching we must always bring it back to repentance. When we teach truth, we are asking people to 'repent' or give up their old ways of thinking or their false beliefs and replacing them with truth. This is the gospel of repentance. This is the gospel of 'becoming'. vs 39-40: Nephi and the new leaders are taught to build upon this doctrine, nothing more or less, so that they can stand against all evil.
41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth. Pres. Nelson said, "think of your duty as God’s mighty army to help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. This is our charge. This is our privilege." The ministering of vs. 18-40 are apparently just to Nephi and the new leaders, and then were told to declare it throughout the world. This is the way of God--those who are ministered to, turn around and go minister to more.
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