3 Nephi 9

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Chapter 9

In the darkness, the voice of Christ proclaims the destruction of many people and cities for their wickedness—He also proclaims His divinity, announces that the law of Moses is fulfilled, and invites men to come unto Him and be saved. About A.D. 34. Chapter 9 is short, but all of it, in my opinion, is ministering of Christ, by His voice, to the survivors.

  1 And it came to pass that there was a ^avoice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying: This is Him speaking. For verses 3-10, He is ministering to their needs by informing them of the extent of the destruction, which they haven't seen yet, because of the darkness. I think this is to prepare them for what they will soon see, and why it was done.
  2 Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth Is there significance to 3 wo's for "this" people and 1 wo for the whole earth? Does it have to do with the knowledge they had received and rejected vs. the rest of the world? except they shall ^arepent; for the devil ^blaugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen! Satan laughs at our destruction after he deceives us into following him. He does not support us or deliver us from the judgments of God. No ability to save. This is why the "great and spacious building" in Lehi's dream has no foundation. It will not support us in the end. If the devil really had power and could receive honor for that power, he would deliver those who follow him from God's judgments. But his goal is only to destroy souls by keeping them from God. He cares nothing for mankind and can only deliver misery. As we minister, we need to expose Satan and his traps and deceptions and help others see that salvation is only in and through Jesus Christ.
 3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I ^aburned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.
 4 And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be ^asunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.
 5 And behold, that great city ^aMoronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.
 6 And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth;
 7 Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of ^aJerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and ^bwaters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the ^cblood of the prophets and the saints shall ^dnot come up any more unto me against them.
 8 And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made ^ahills and valleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I burie up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.
  9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their ^awickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their ^bsecret murders and combinations; for it was they that did ^cdestroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to ^ddestroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them. Here, Jesus reinforces the truth that secret combinations are what destroy governments and peace. Hello.... This makes me think that when nuclear bombs fall, they need to fall on the centers of the sex traffickers...Notice that Jesus is clear that HE is the one that caused all this prophesied destruction.
 10 And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations. God himself sends people to warn others to repent. When they say "repent or be destroyed" they are prophesying, which makes them a prophet. These are the people that were cast out and stoned for their testimonies. Will we see that again in our day? I think so. 
-Zarahemla, Jacobugath, Laman, Josh, Gad and Kishkumen are all destroyed by fire
-Moroni is sunk into the ocean.
-Moronihah is covered up with earth.
-Gilgal, Gadiandi, Gadiomnah, Jacob, and Gimgimno, are all sunk into the earth.
-Onihah, Mocum and Jerusalem are all flooded and covered with water. 
I wonder if there will be a list one day that the Savior might describe to survivors in the land of our day--Chicago, New York City, Boston, Albany, Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, etc.  Add to this list of natural disasters in Nephi's day, the plagues, famines, etc., and it will probably be much longer than these 16 cities. Notice the list of destruction is much more detailed by the Lord than in the previous chapter. It must have been important to Mormon to have this part detailed twice to impress upon our minds the reality and magnitude of the destruction that took place - a forewarning for our day...
 11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down ^afire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my ^bface, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me ^cfrom the ground against them. Notice the righteous were either cast out, or murdered or removed by God so just like in the days of Noah, none righteous were left and all could be destroyed. We are told our day will be "as in the days of Noah" as well, so I expect that before the final "burning" all the righteous will be gathered out so that there are "none righteous among" the wicked. 
 12 And ^amany great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.  These things were done to hide the wickedness and abominations of the people, and so that the blood of the prophets and saints would not cry out anymore against the people. He says this each time; that HE caused all this destruction and death to come upon the people BECAUSE of their wickedness and for killing, stoning, or casting out the saints and the prophets. 
 13 O all ye that are ^aspared because ye were more ^brighteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may ^cheal you? Notice that the people spared were only "more righteous" and still needed to return and repent and be converted and healed. They had much progress to make, but were still spared. This should give us hope. Now, he ministers to their spiritual needs and invites them to let Him heal them by repenting and coming unto Him. They have no idea what kind of miraculous healing and blessings he has in store for them!! 
 14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will ^acome unto me ye shall have ^beternal life. Behold, mine ^carm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. Notice the invitation is always to come, receive mercy, and be blessed. It's not about condemnation, but about committing to change and receive Christ. Anyone can come. There are no restrictions as to who is worthy of His mercy. As we minister, we should not be selective or judgmental about who might respond to the invitation.  How could they refuse after what they've been through!
 15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I ^acreated the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. ^bI am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. Our goal in this life is to live a life "in" the Father and the Son.
 16 I came unto my own, and my own ^areceived me not. And the scriptures ^bconcerning my coming are fulfilled. ALL His words will be fulfilled. Know what they are. Have faith in them. 
 17 And as many as have received me, to them have I ^agiven to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me ^bredemption cometh, and ^cin me is the ^dlaw of Moses fulfilled. Notice that even though we are all spirit sons and daughters of God, that we must each "become" sons of God again. We do that by letting the natural man die with Christ and arising anew in Christ. I have to think that "believing" in Him, is more than just saying that you do...
 18 I am the ^alight and the life of the world. I am ^bAlpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Christ stays true to His manner of teaching by relating truth to tangible and current circumstances. They have just experienced darkness as they have never known it. No matter how they might try, they could not produce light. They could see nothing on their own. Then Christ comes and says, "I am the light". Just like the woman who came to the well to draw water so she would not thirst, and Jesus says "I am the water." We can minister by really seeing what people care about and relating the gospel to their lives personally. Christ identifies Himself to the masses throughout the land, who are remaining.  It is still dark.
 19 And ye shall offer up unto me ^ano more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. They have been taught for centuries that they must keep the law of Moses until Christ fulfills the law. Well...He did. It is finished. Does this verse confirm that the Nephites practice the blood sacrifices as the Jews did? We sure don't read about it like we do in the Bible....
 20 And ye shall offer for a ^asacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I ^bbaptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.  Notice that while we are baptized by water, by one given authority, Jesus is the one who baptizes with fire.  He also lets them know that there will be no more blood sacrifices, because of what He's done, and He explains the new sacrifice that will be required. I wonder why he gives the example of the Lamanites here.... Why did the Lamanites know it not? Was it not a singular "experience" to be baptized with fire? Did they know it not because they didn't recognize it or because they didn't know what to call it? I tend to believe the latter, but I don't know. Still not sure why he brings up this example. If He is going to baptize them with fire and the Holy Ghost "even as the Lamanites" is He saying they also will know it not? Or is He telling them so they will recognize it or know what to call it? Such a mystery...What Lamanite conversion story is He referring to here? Is it the one where Lehi and Nephi were in prison and the walls came down and they conversed with angels and the Lamanites prayed til they had faith in Christ and had a miraculous conversion? Did these Lamanites not "know" what had happened to them because they had not been taught about it?
 21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring ^aredemption unto the world, to save the world from sin. He tells of the Redemption He has just performed for all mankind.
 22 Therefore, whoso ^arepenteth and cometh unto me ^bas a ^clittle child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have ^dlaid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved. It is not enough to just approach the Savior. We must come to Him AS a little child. If we must first die in Christ, then we must be raised up as little children first - willing to submit to all the will of the Father as a child submits to his father.  We minister always in response to the will of the Father. Before He stops to let them think, He invites them to repent and come unto Him. I think we must not take lightly what it means to come before the Lord "as a little child - willing to submit". It is hard as an adult to truly say to the Lord, I will "submit" to whatever you would have me experience to know you and to prove my loyalty. We all want to stay comfortable and we fear saying this will move us out of that comfort zone. 

Helaman 8

 (All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 green6/21 9/22  Brown 11/23) 

 CHAPTER 8 

Corrupt judges seek to incite the people against Nephi—Abraham, Moses, Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lehi, and Nephi all testified of Christ—By inspiration Nephi announces the murder of the chief judge. About 23–21 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass that when Nephi had said these words, behold, there were men who were judges, who also belonged to the secret band of Gadianton, and they were angry, We definitely have those kind of men in government today! and they cried out against him, saying unto the people: Why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth, that he may be condemned according to the crime which he has done? Why do they want the people to seize him? They are "citizens" too...why couldn't they take him? Seems like they need the people to unite against them in order to to stay "popular" and rule unrighteously.
  2 Why seest thou this man, and hearest him revile against this people and against our law? Ever heard of free speech?
  3 For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God. ok here we have a “prophet” (don’t know if he was the prophet, but he is speaking about “politics”. And clearly God not only told him to, but commanded him to. He called out their corrupt laws. It’s time to do that in our day! (If God wills it...) If they did, they would probably be subject to the same reaction.
  4 And those judges were angry with him because he ^aspake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; yes! YES! let’s have our spiritual leaders “speak plainly” about the secret works of darkness! This is why Mormon is even telling us these stories! It’s supposed to give us direction in our day. But all we are getting is “obey, honor and sustain the law”....even if it’s corrupt! I don’t think for a minute that Joseph Smith was saying it was a tenant of our faith to obey corrupt laws and rulers. I think he meant we are only subject to them as they lead in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. Which is the constitution and other laws that sustain God given laws.  Here's are a few quotes from recent prophets on secret combinations:

"As bearers of the priesthood, we have been placed on earth in troubled times. We live in a complex world with currents of conflict everywhere to be found. Political machinations ruin the stability of nations, despots grasp for power, and segments of society seem forever downtrodden, deprived of opportunity and left with a feeling of failure." (Monson Apr 1988)

"I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. (See D&C 1:14–16; D&C 84:49–53.) It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world. (See Ether 8:18–25.)" (Benson Oct 1988)

"We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation.

We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization, just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives, their children, and the cause of liberty (see Alma 48:10). (Hinckley, Oct 2001)

nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them. Ah.....here’s a clue...these corrupt men “fear” the power of the people. So it is today. But they have the people duped into fearing them....so backwards! 
  5 Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this people, even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our ^agreat cities shall be taken from us, that we shall have no place in them.
  6 And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are ^apowerful, and our cities great, therefore our enemies can have no power over us. So...if you know that what Nephi is saying can't happen, why are you so bothered by his words? Just call him, "crazy" and keep walking...?
  7 And it came to pass that thus they did ^astir up the people to anger against Nephi, and raised contentions among them; for there were some who did cry out: ^bLet this man alone, for he is a good man, and those things which he saith will surely come to pass except we repent;
  8 Yea, behold, all the judgments will come upon us which he has testified unto us; for we know that he has testified aright unto us concerning our iniquities. And behold they are many, and he ^aknoweth as well all things which shall befall us as he knoweth of our iniquities;
  9 Yea, and behold, if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things. Hmmm...we are told “contention is of the devil and not of God” but these people who are standing for truth are part of a “contention”. By definition, contention simply means there are two opposing points of view. By that, wasn’t there a great “contention” in heaven? Were we not exposed to opposing opinions and asked to choose? God did not do something to stop this contention and He was not sinning in allowing it. In fact, under His presiding authority there was a great “war in heaven” - certainly the greatest degree of contention there is would be called “war”. So it can’t be true that to avoid contention we are to stay silent in the face of it. I think in God’s eye’s there is contention whenever the devil stirs people up in opposition to God’s will and laws. That is why “contention is of the devil”. And we are to avoid contention by not letting Satan stir us up in opposition to God’s will and ways. But we are to always stand for truth and that will be in the midst of contention because the very fact that we have to take a vocal stand is because Satan has already captured the minds and hearts of the people. The seed of contention exists even before you open your mouth. But you are not the source of contention when you do. Satan is and those that allow him to capture their attention. This is very tricky and Satan is using it to keep us silent. Actually, if the voice of the people were always heard speaking truth and promoting good, the only contention we’d have is by those speaking against it and they would be the ones accused of causing the contention. But Satan has flipped it...and the vocal ones are promoting evil and making it look like those who speak for truth and good are the ones causing contention and then trapping them in the dilemma of keeping the commandment to stand for truth at all times, in all things, and in all places and the commandment to not be the source of contention. We really have to understand this correctly. Really...
 10 And it came to pass that those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear, that they did not lay their hands on him; therefore he began again to speak unto them, seeing that he had gained favor in the eyes of some, insomuch that the remainder of them did fear. It made a positive difference that many spoke up in favor of Nephi in opposition to the words of the judges. We must not be afraid to speak in defense of truth.
 11 Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the ^aRed Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up? This confirms again that these people are Israelites.
 12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may ^aknow concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent? Surely, we will hear these kinds of words in our day at some point.
 13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.
 14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come. Just had a thought...maybe the reason Moses was told to make a brass serpent to raise on the staff is because the people so easily put their trust in things they could see (like the golden calf), so God met them where they were in their faith and made something they could see that would be a type of His Son?  
 15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should ^alive, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might ^blive, even unto that life which is eternal. Any attempts to ever use this type for anything other than looking upon Jesus Christ with faith is a false type. Those who have compared the shot to this type are completely off base. There is nothing in this shot except faith in man. Those who take it, knowing it’s bad, but having faith that because the prophet took it and urges us to take it and is shipping it to millions in other countries, that somehow the Lord will protect them from it’s effects are not exercising true faith in Christ for healing. Jesus doesn’t need any help from man to heal us or keep us healthy. He’s already given us amazing bodies and the word of wisdom. How about exercising faith in the body God created and God’s law of health before exercising faith in organizations who’s only goals is control and profit? Don't get me wrong, Jesus can protect you from its effects for he promises that one of of the signs that follow those who believe is that the poison of a serpent shall not hurt them. It is actually been shown that the shot literally comes from the poison of a serpent. So, you can be protected from its effects, but only if you sufficiently believe and have true faith in Christ. Does that mean all "good" people who are harmed by it don't have sufficient belief/faith in God? Hard to know for sure...but the scriptures testify "ALL things are possible to them that believe". Surely this is not exempt.
 16 And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also ^aall the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.
 17 Yea, and behold, ^aAbraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.
 18 Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were ^amany before the days of Abraham who were called by the ^border of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.
 19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet ^aZenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.
 20 And behold, also ^aZenock, and also ^bEzias, and also ^cIsaiah, and ^dJeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of ^eJerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? So these people didn’t believe Christ would come? Nephi is establishing the teaching that the words of past prophets are important and that they stand forever and they will all be fulfilled. We should never discount or ignore past prophets just because we have a living one.
 21 And now will you dispute that ^aJerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the ^bsons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were ^cMulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all—The Mulekites brought personal knowledge with them that Jerusalem had been destroyed.
 22 Our father Lehi was driven out of Jerusalem because he ^atestified of these things. Nephi also testified of these things, and also almost all of our fathers, even down to this time; yea, they have testified of the ^bcoming of Christ, and have looked forward, and have rejoiced in his day which is to come.
 23 And behold, he is God, and he is ^awith them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come.
 24 And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie, therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected all these things,  notwithstanding so many ^aevidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have received ^ball things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.
 25 But behold, ye have rejected the truth, and ^arebelled against your holy God; and even at this time, instead of laying up for yourselves ^btreasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt, and where nothing can come which is unclean, ye are heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of ^cjudgment. Mormon, seeing our day, knows that the Gentiles also reject the fullness of the gospel as these people did. You can’t reject something unless you have received it. This isn’t just about missionaries knocking on doors and being rejected. They are only people rejecting the invitation to receive of the fullness through covenants. Only those who’ve made covenants can reject the fullness. This is in the Book of Mormon to warn us that we (members of the church) will do the same thing. One possible meaning of "rejecting the fullness" is rejecting the opportunity/invitation to come into God's presence as the children of Israel did with Moses. The didn't "have" the fullness and reject it, they rejected the invitation to receive the fullness. Have we had that invitation extended to us as Moses did to his people? They were at the very foot of the mountain when it was extended to them. When we say the "fullness" of the gospel was restored, it may only mean that the scriptures reveal the pattern/path to receiving the "fullness" (God's presence) through covenants and ordinances. When we refuse to follow that path we are in essence, rejecting the fullness of the Gospel. Hmmm...
 26 Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders (abortion) and your ^afornication (pornography) and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon.
 27 Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he ^alieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered ^bby his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat. Hmm...is our VP going to be the one to take out our P? 
 28 And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose ^aauthor is Gadianton and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men. The secret combinations pretend to take an oath of loyalty to each other, but they have none. These two men were both "members" but one sought to kill his own brother for power.