3 Nephi 19

Marci red 2018 ; blue 2020 orange 7/21 Brown 2022/23

Chapter 19

The twelve disciples minister unto the people and pray for the Holy Ghost—The disciples are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and the ministering of angels—Jesus prays using words that cannot be written—He attests to the exceedingly great faith of these Nephites. About A.D. 34.

  1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the multitude did disperse, and every man did take his wife and his children and did return to his own home. This is the Lord's pattern/order
  2 And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had ministered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the ^amorrow unto the multitude.
  3 Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus; and insomuch did they send forth unto the people that there were many, yea, an exceedingly great number, did labor exceedingly all that night, that they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.  How wonderful that the people who had been blessed to see and be ministered by Jesus were so anxious that others be able to see Him too! If I had not been in the first group to see Him, I would have felt soooo bad that I had missed Him! It makes me think that when Jesus descended and ascended to heaven that somehow that could not be seen if you were not there. I wonder how that works?
  4 And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his ^abrother whom he had raised from the ^bdead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiah—now these were the names of the ^ddisciples whom Jesus had chosen—and it came to pass that they went forth and stood in the midst of the multitude. Three of these are still here!
  5 And behold, the multitude was ^aso great that they did cause that they should be separated into twelve bodies. Sounds like there were a lot of people that survived the destruction.
  6 And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should ^akneel down upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus.
  7 And the disciples did pray unto the Father also in the name of Jesus. And it came to pass that they arose and ministered unto the people. What does this look like? Before this it says they "taught" them...is this "ministering" something different?
  8 And when they had ministered those same words which Jesus had spoken—nothing varying from the words which Jesus had spoken—were they teaching from written pages or memory? I think Jesus told them to write what He said down. Did they make 11 copies or did they all write it down the first time? behold, they knelt again and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus. It sounds like, in this instance, that the way they "ministered" was to teach the words of Jesus. Why the word "taught" wasn't used again...why "ministered" instead? 
  9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the ^aHoly Ghost should be given unto them. Why was this the thing that they most desired? They had just spent time with the risen Lord. What did He teach them about the Holy Ghost that made them desire it more than anything else? I think this is just the 12 we are talking about here...If so, are they saying that even with all they had experienced with Jesus so far, they had not yet "received the Holy Ghost"?
 10 And when they had thus prayed they the 12 went down unto the water’s edge, and the multitude followed them.
 11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down ^ainto the water and was baptized. By whom?
 12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen. the 12
 13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come ^aup out of the water, the ^bHoly Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. No laying on of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost? They just received it? Immediate "baptism of Fire?" This shows the baptism by fire comes from God and not man. Sounds like what happened at the baptism of Jesus. The Holy Ghost immediately descended "as a dove". This kind of explains why they desired the Holy Ghost, because they had not yet been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Had they really not been baptized? It certainly was done before Jesus came? Why did they have to do it again? Was it being baptized into a “new” church, since the Law of Moses kind of church was done away with? Are we baptized again into the Church of the Firstborn?
 14 And behold, they the 12 were ^aencircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them. the 12. Perhaps this is where they had hands laid on their heads?...
 15 And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them. the 12  We can be the 'angel's that minister to others in preparation for Jesus to minister to them Himself:) What should we be teaching them?
 16 And it came to pass that he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth.
 17 And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray. Something important about kneeling here...
 18 And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God. Did they command them to pray to Him? or did they just do that instinctively?
 19 And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and ^abowed himself to the earth, and he said:
 20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have ^achosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world. Is there more to believing in Jesus than just saying you believe in Him? Elder Bednar, in Oct 2022 GC just said this about being chosen: “Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.” I believe the implication of these verses is quite straightforward. God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few.   Instead, our hearts, our desires, our honoring of sacred gospel covenants and ordinances, our obedience to the commandments, and, most importantly, the Savior’s redeeming grace and mercy determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen...As we appropriately seek for the spiritual gift of eyes to see and ears to hear, I promise that we will be blessed with the capacity and judgment to strengthen our covenant connection with the living Lord. We also will receive the power of godliness in our lives—and ultimately be both called to and chosen for the Lord’s feast.

 21 Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words. That's you and I...
 22 Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in ^ame; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them. Clearly, they were taught to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. But here is a time when it was ok to pray to Jesus - because He was with them...So if we sense that Jesus is with us, perhaps that is when we can "Pray"/talk to Him directly?
 23 And now Father, I ^apray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be ^cone. How is Jesus “in” us? One way is through the Light of Christ that "is in all things".
 24 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not ^amultiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should ^bpray, and they were filled with desire. What is it like to have what you pray given unto you? What does it mean to not "multiply" many words? Does it mean they didn't say very many words? Or they didn't repeat the same things over and over? What was their "desire"? (since they had received their desire for the gift of the Holy Ghost...)
 25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; I love that this happened "as" they prayed - in the very moment and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his ^bcountenance did ^cshine upon them, and behold they were as ^dwhite as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof. The footnote to 'white' makes it sound like they may have been transfigured. The whiteness could also be a result of increased light, which may have been transmitting pure truth to them. 
 26 And Jesus said unto them: Pray on; nevertheless they did not cease to pray. Brett said the way he reads this is that Jesus did not need to say "pray on" since they hadn't stopped praying...nevertheless...he said, "pray on"
 27 And he turned from them again, and went a little way off and bowed himself to the earth; and he prayed again unto the Father, saying:
 28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast ^apurified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, was this done when they were "white" from his  countenance? Or was it when they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire? (vs13) How did they come to this kind of faith, that purified them? and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me. The baptism by fire purifies us, through our faith on the words of Christ. I have faith in these words...so can I be purified even as they were? I do I show that faith?
 29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them. This is what I want. To be one that is given to the Savior, out of the world, because of my faith; to be purified in Christ; to be one with Christ and the Father; so they may be in me; to glorify their name. yes yes!
 30 And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were ^awhite, even as Jesus. It’s an interesting picture...to see them praying to Jesus (kneeling, eyes closed?) and He’s standing right there? Why not just talk to Him? Is it because through prayer, they could all talk at the same time and express what was in their hearts? 
 31 And it came to pass that he went again a little way off and prayed unto the Father;
 32 And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can be written by man the words which he prayed.
 33 And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their ^ahearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed. We should pray for "open hearts" that we may understand things "in our hearts". This is where information can be given to our spirits through light which I ears cannot hear, yet it is just as real.
 34 Nevertheless, so great and marvelous were the words which he prayed that they cannot be written, neither can they be ^auttered by man. Surely, this was one of Jesus Christ's most amazing moments among His children. And it was given to them to witness because of their great faith. Pres. Nelson has assured us the Jesus will do some of His greatest miracles between now and when He comes again. Our charge is to grow enough in our faith that we will be able to witness them. Is it possible the words Jesus spoke were the ones that made it possible for them to create/be Zion? Will He speak the same words to us when He comes?
 35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: ^aSo great ^bfaith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great ^cmiracles, because of their ^dunbelief. The Jews witnessed many miracles of healing, for which they had to have faith (we read He specifically asked them at the time if they had faith to be healed) but there were greater miracles they could have had if they had not been in unbelief. in greater miracles? There is faith and then there is greater faith. We sometimes think that we do not receive miracles only because it is not God's will because we feel like we have faith. And we do. But if we had greater faith, then perhaps there would be greater miracles. How do we grow to greater faith? Is it by ridding ourselves of all unbelief? Do you know where your own unbelief is? Honoring the Sabbath Day more fully was to help us increase in faith. Did that happen for you?
 36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard. Does this include his 12 apostles from Jerusalem? Did this greater faith come before or after his ministering and what they witnessed? Seems like it was after so maybe it was their response to witnessing His miracles that was different from the Jews response after they witnessed his miracles. If that is the case, what will be our response to miracles that we will see? It would be good to go back and read these chapters again, focusing on the people's response to all they saw and heard and decide to respond the same way in our own lives.