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3 Nephi 11:8-10 — The Savior introduces himself to the Nephites

8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending 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.
9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

Before Jesus’s birth, when the angel spoke to Mary, he instructed her, “thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus (Luke 1:32).”

“Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Joshua,” which means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah saves.” Our LDS Bible dictionary adds “Savior” to the meanings. The name was carefully chosen. It was both a given name and a name-title. This was made clear by the angel who spoke to Joseph. He said, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

When Jesus introduced himself to the Nephites gathered at the temple, they probably did not register the name Jesus as a given name, but rather heard it as a title: “I am the Joshua Messiah — I am the Savior Anointed.” That is who they were looking for, and that is what they would have understood him to say.

“Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Messiah.” It means “The Anointed One.” Israelite kings and priests were anointed, and the Savior’s name-title “Messiah” is at least an acknowledgment of Jehovah’s kingship and priesthood as ruler of the Israelite people. But it is much more than that.

The word “Messiah” is only found twice in the Old Testament (Daniel 9:25-26), but the Hebrew word that is translated “Messiah” is found many times. Except in all the other instances it is translated as “anointed” and almost all of those references are about “the Lord’s anointed,” that is the king of Israel (as in Psalm 18:50).

There are two places in the Old Testament that speak of Jehovah’s premortal anointing.

One is Isaiah 61which reads:

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound?
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1-2).

The Savior cited those verses in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:4, 3 Nephi 12:4), and again at Nazareth, where he said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:17-21).

President Joseph F. Smith, in D&C 138, by quoting the passage differently, makes it clear that the Isaiah reference is to Jehovah and not to Isaiah.

42 And Isaiah, who declared by prophecy that the Redeemer was anointed to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound…(D&C 138:42).

In the gospel of John, Jesus identifies himself to the woman at the well as the promised Messiah (John 4:25). The frequent references to “Jesus Christ” in the Book of Mormon also assert that the Nephites understood that he is the “Anointed One” (Mosiah 3:8, 12 are examples).

The Lord also identified himself as the “Anointed One” (Messiah) to Enoch. He said,

53 And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith—I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy (Moses 7:53).

It is likely that Jehovah’s anointing was portrayed in the ancient Israelite Feast of Tabernacles temple drama. But the psalm that depicted his anointing is no longer in the collection, or if it is, I cannot identify it. However, there is a psalm that takes place in the Council in Heaven immediately after Jehovah was anointed. I say immediately after because the perfumed anointing oil with which he was anointed is described in that psalm. The following is our discussion of that aromatic anointing oil: Paul quoted verse 7 as a testimony of the Savior’s kingship (Hebrews 1:9).

Then, in the [temple drama], the prince does exactly what protocol would require him to do next. He turns to Jehovah, his most immediate superior, and does obeisance to him.

The prince does obeisance to Jehovah:

7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness:
therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,
out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad
(Psalm 45:7-8).

The chain of command was Elohim at the top, then Jehovah, then the king. So our prince (who on the earth will be king) first paid homage to Elohim, then to Jehovah. It is apparent from the words that in an earlier part of this scene, the Father had already anointed Jehovah to be the Eternal King and Protector of Israel. Even though the psalm that tells that story is no longer in the canon (or if it is, it cannot be identified), we can know that Jehovah had just been anointed because his garments were still fragrant with sacred scented anointing oil. We know the king was addressing Jehovah in these verses because of the words, “thy God [Elohim], hath anointed thee [Jehovah].”

The reference to his fragrant smell is very important. Even though the Old Testament editors and writers do not describe the oil with which the kings of Israel were anointed, the record does show an explicit recipe for perfuming the oil with which the High Priests were anointed. The formula is given along with the command that this sacred oil may be used for no other purpose (Exodus ch. 30 & 40).
We see a similar situation in verse 8 of Psalm 45, for the prince acknowledges that Jehovah’s garments still smell of the fragrant perfumes of the anointing oil. In doing so, he also gives us the formula by which the sacred oil was perfumed: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia.” This was a very meaningful formula. The oil was, of course, olive oil, the product of the fruit of the olive tree, which in ancient Israel represented the Tree of Life. Myrrh is a perfume made from the sap of a bush or small tree. Aloes is a perfume made from the heartwood of another tree, and cassia is a perfume made from the bark of still a different tree. So on the stage, one representing Jehovah had just been anointed with a sacred oil whose fragrance were a composite of all the parts of a tree—either an acknowledgment or a declaration that Jehovah is the Tree of Life (Baker and Ricks, Who shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 2nd edition, 207-208).

We are taught that ordinances that pertain to this world must be performed in this world. Peter tells us that Jesus was also anointed while he was in a mortal body. His testimony is:

37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree (Acts 10:37-39).

We also have the testimony in Doctrine and Covenants 132:

7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead (D&C 132:7).

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3 Nephi 11:1-7 — LeGrand Baker — The Father introduces His Son

3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice 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 small voice it did pierce 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.
4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.
5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open 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.
6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.

It was probably important that they did not understand the words the first and second time. The first time they were surprised by it. What they needed — and what they received was the sure witness of the Holy Ghost that the sound they heard was of God, that it was truth, and that it had great value.
The second time they were not surprised but listened in anticipation. Then, the third time, they were ready to understand the words.

The scriptures rarely quote the words of the Father except when he testifies that Jesus in his Beloved Son. Examples are:

Jesus’s baptism: Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-12, Luke 3:21-22, D&C 93:14-16.
The accounts differ slightly. Matthew quotes the Father as saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mark and Luke read that the Father’s words were addressed to Jesus personally: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father’s voice was heard “out of the cloud” (veil, shechinah) saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:6-8, Luke 9:34-36)

The apostle Peter, who was present, gives a personal account. It contains interesting elements of priesthood, kingship, and coronation.

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount (2 Peter 1:16-18).

And Joseph Smith’s First Vision is the most recent example:

17 … When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (JS-History: 17)

The one in 3 Nephi is unique because it introduces the resurrected Christ as having already achieved the Father’s purposes:

7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him (3 Nephi 11:6-8).

However, there are some notable examples where the Father himself speaks to the prophets. One is when God explained to Moses:

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down (Moses 4:2-3) .

Another is this where Nephi quotes both Jehovah and his Father in what appears to be a three-way conversation.

11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do….
14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. …
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen (2 Nephi 31:11-21).

In the name-title “My Beloved Son,” “beloved” may be read as an adjective, but it is probably not meant to be. Rather the phrase “Beloved Son” is probably a name-title that denotes nobility and birthright. If that is correct, “Beloved” distinguishes him from others and defines him as the Father’s heir.

Psalm 2 is widely acknowledged as the psalm sung by the congregation at the time the king of Israel was anointed as king. There the lines “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” are seen as a conformation of the adoption of the king by Jehovah, and the name title “son” as the royal king-name. If that is correct then we may surmise that “Beloved Son” is also a king-name; but denoting true legitimacy rather than sonship by adoption. (See Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, the chapter called “Psalm 2, The Ancient Israelite Royal King-name.”

3 Nephi 9:15-18 — LeGrand Baker — The Savior’s eternal biography

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting today. The assigned subject was the Savior’s life, teachings, Atonement, and resurrection. And I had 15 minutes to do it. I chose to quote scriptures that focused on the Savior’s eternal priesthood and his eternal kingship. Several people asked me for a copy, so I thought some of you might like one too.
——————————–
(3 Nephi 9:15-18)

The Savior introduced himself to Nephi by saying:

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.
17 And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.
18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

In those few verses the Savior gives us a snapshot view of his entire eternal autobiography. I would like to review that biography with you. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in the Inspired Version of the Bible, wrote:

1 In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made.
4 In him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men (JST John 1:1-4).

We learn that at the Council in Heaven, in the beginning,

24… there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. (Abraham 3:24-25);

1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth (Abraham 4:1).

Speaking about the creation, the psalmist sang:

1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! ….
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the gods, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalms 8:1-9)

Thus Adam and Eve were placed upon the earth and the first thing they were taught after they left the Garden was to understand the Savior’s Atonement. In the book of Moses we read that:

6 …after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore (Moses 5:4-8).

That scripture is familiar to most of us, but in a somewhat different context. Thereafter, Adam and Eve taught the gospel to their children, and Jehovah himself taught his prophets. He showed himself to the brother of Jared and said:

14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:11-14).

Many hundreds of years later the Lord comforted Nephi with these words:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets (3 Nephi 1:13).

30 [several months before that] the angel [came to Mary and ] said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:26-39).

51 And …his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:51-52).

Later, John the Baptist testified,

11 …. I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us (D&C 93:11).

15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, (D&C 93:15-17).

After Jesus organized his church and called the 12 apostles,

1 Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light…
5 … a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17:1-5).

Peter who was present with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, bore this testimony of the event:

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount (2 Peter 1:16-18).

Nevertheless, as Isaiah testified:

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed…
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth (Mosiah 14:1-12) .

32 [At the conclusion of his ministry, the Savior and the Twelve] came to a place which was named Gethsemane:(Mark 14:22-46).
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:28-49).

Of that agony, Jesus himself testified: that the

18 … suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men (D&C 19:16-19).

The prayer he spoke at that time is found in section 145 of the D&C:

3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life (D&C 45:1-5).

After his death on the cross, he visited the spirit world of the dead:

18 While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;
19 And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance (D&C 138:18-19).

After 3 days,

11 …Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: —-she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master (John 20:1-17) .

He spent 40 days teaching the apostles and others. Then, “while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9-11).

Paul testified that after that the Savior was crowned king and priest over everything. Paul wrote,

20 [The Father] raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all (Ephesians 1:20-23.).

The Prophet Joseph Smith testified:
And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.
And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav’n,
He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that careen in the heavens so broad.
Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers.
(“The Vision,” Times and Seasons, Feb. 1, 1843)

That is my testimony also.

3 Nephi 11:1– LeGrand Baker — ‘changes’ at the temple

1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.

Earlier, when the Savior spoke out of the darkness of the storm, he gave this command to the Nephites:

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no 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.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice 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 baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 9:19-20)

.Sacrifice does not mean to give something up, it means to make something sacred. Lundquist observed that, “the purpose of the sacrifice is to seal and to sanctify the covenant. ( Lundquist, “Temple, Covenant, and Law,” 300) The Savior’s atoning sacrifice had sealed and sanctified the covenant of his Father (Moroni 10:32-33).

What remained–indeed, what always remains–were the sealing and sanctifying of the covenant on the part of the people. The sacrificing of animals had symbolized the Savior’s act of ratification. Now that act was accomplished, no such symbolism was required. However, the act of ratification on the part of the people remained. That ratification, too, had to be sealed and sanctified by sacrifice–in a manner similar to the way the Savior’s was–with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

For the Saints in the New World, if sacrifices and burnt offerings were to be done away, then that would require that they make significant changes in their temple and the temple grounds. The great sacrificial altar that no doubt dominated the courtyard of the temple had to be dismantled and removed. The temple would have to be cleaned because blood would no longer be sprinkled in the temple and the Holy of Holies, and incense would no longer be burned since those practices were a part of the sacrificial ceremonies. The barns to hold the sacrificial animals would have to be removed, and many of the tools and implements that had been used in the services would have to be put away. If those Saints were like modern-day Saints, they would not have just torn down the old structures, and left the empty places. Rather, they might plant flowers in their place, refurbish the temple, and beautify its grounds.

The second instruction the Savior gave when he spoke in the darkness had to do with making changes in the temple drama. The Feast of Tabernacles temple drama took eight days to complete. Those days were filled with ceremonies and sacrifices. With the animal sacrifices eliminated, it would have required revelation from the Lord for the people to know what changes were to be made and how the ceremonies were to be performed. Then, like now, the temple would have been closed while these changes were made.

In all, it took a full year to make the preparations to open the temple again. Mormon is careful to tell us that. He reports, “in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land” (3 Nephi 8:5). Later, Mormon is just as specific when he tells us that the people gathered at the temple “in the ending of the thirty and fourth year”(3 Nephi 10:18). H writes:

1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place” (3 Nephi 10:18, 11:1).

The remodeling of the temple and temple grounds in Bountiful would have required a rededication. If such were to occur it should have happened at the juncture of the end of one year and the beginning of the next, because that is when temples were dedicated. It would have been during the next New Year’s festival because that was the occasion of the dedication of Solomon’s temple. (2 Chronicles 7:8-10) About that, Snaith claims that “Solomon would have no choice as to the date when the Temple should be dedicated. He was bound to wait until the next annual feast after the completion of the building operations. It was in the proper month and at the proper full moon that the people would appear with their gifts.” (Norman H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival, 53). An important part of the temple drama of the new year festival was to reestablish the legitimacy of the reign of the king, so that would also have been the appropriate time for the Savior to establish the theocracy of 4 Nephi.

When Mormon reports the gathering of the people at the temple, he does not tell us whether the “changes” had to do with the adaptations in the temple drama, or the refurbishing of the building and grounds. Dil Rust wrote an excellent essay a few weeks ago saying he believes it was the former. I think Dil is correct, but I also think that it would probably be safe to believe that both kinds of changes were made.
(Much of the above was quoted or paraphrased from Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord)

3 Nephi 10:3-6 — LeGrand Baker — under the cherubim wings

3 And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear, and did witness of it, saying:
4 O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.
5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.
6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

I grew up on a farm where we had chickens and all sorts of other animals. The hens had an interesting relationship with their little ones. When the chicks were old enough to learn to scratch, he would take them to likely place, cluck and then start to scratch the dirt. They would come and pick in the freshly overturned dirt for what bugs and worms they could find there. Those who got behind her at the wrong angle were scooped off the ground by her fast moving feet and tossed head over heels like a little fuzzy ball. It didn’t hurt them and they were soon up and at it again, but they had learned something important about those feet.

One day I heard her squawk loudly, this was not a loving clucking sound. She squatted down, lifted her wings. The chicks, almost as one, fled to the cover of her wings. She settled down protectively over their little bodies and raised all her feathers giving her the appearance of being twice as big as she really was. She was looking toward the sky and my eyes followed hers. There was a hawk making a wide circle around the farm yard. We both watched, the hen and I, until the hawk flew away. Then she made a gentle cluck and the little ones came out from under her wings, scattering themselves about to find whatever bugs looked good to eat.

I was out in the yard one cloudy day when I heard her squawk again. This one was different. It seemed to lack the sense of panic but it was severe and not to be misunderstood. Again the chicks ran to their squatting mother and tucked themselves under her outstretched wings. This time when she settled herself over them, she folded here feathers down flat against her body like a shield and ducked her head under a wing. I was surprised when the hail began to fall all around me. Some hit the chicken and bounced off of her tightened wings. I wasn’t so interested that I wanted to wait and see what happened next, but made a dash to the house to get out of the storm. I did not know that the hail was coming, but that wise mother hen knew just what to expect.

For many years after that, when I read what the Savior said about being invited under the wings, I remembered those scenes and thought that was what he was referring to. Perhaps he was, but now I think that was not the only thing he was trying to say, and it probably was not even the thing the Nephits were thinking about when they heard his words.

In the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple — and since the Nephite temples were patterned after Solomon’s, this would have been true of Nephite temples also — the throne representing the throne of God sat against the back wall. It was overshadowed by the wings of two large cherubim. I think that when he spoke to the Nephites, the Savior was inviting them, as sacral kings and priests, to sit upon that throne under the security of those wings. Stephen and I discussed that in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. This is what we wrote:

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At the conclusion of the coronation ceremony of the ancient Israelite Feast of Tabernacles temple drama, the veil of the temple was parted the king entered the Holy of Holies, the most sacred of all earthly sacred space. It, like its predecessor in the Tabernacle, was a perfect cube. It contained no furniture except a throne on the back wall.
In the Tabernacle, Moses had built a small prototype of God’s throne on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, with two Cherubim whose wings stretched over the invisible throne, called the Mercy Seat. Below the lid, in the Ark itself, he placed the stone tablets on which the Lord had written the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron which was a symbol of his priesthood, and a jar of manna which represented the bread of life—the law (kingship), the staff (priesthood), and the bread of life (power of salvation).
Solomon’s Temple throne was like that, but much larger. In the Temple’s Holy of Holies, on either side of the throne were two great golden cherubim. Their wings touched the sides of the walls and made a kind of canopy that stretched over the throne; over whoever sat upon that throne; and over the Ark of the Covenant which now sat in front of the throne as its footstool (1 Kings 6:24, 8:6-7). The phrases that God “dwellest between the cherubims (Psalm 80:1 and Isaiah 37:16), and “sitteth between the cherubims” (Psalm 99:1), are references to God sitting on his throne, either in his heavenly or in his earthly temple.
The throne was patterned after a chariot (1 Chronicles 28:1-21), representing God’s ability to move among the clouds, and the symbolism of cherubim’s overshadowing wings represented the powerful wings of the celestial cherubim, upon whose majesty God himself is also said to have ridden. For, “he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind” (Psalm 18:10 and 2 Samuel 22:11). And upon whose wings he invites his children to ride also. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Josephus’s description of the interior of the Temple is the most complete. He writes:

“Now when the king had divided the temple into two parts, he made the inner house of twenty cubits every way, to be the most secret chamber, but he appointed that of forty cubits to be the sanctuary; and when he had cut a door-place out of the wall, he put therein doors of Cedar, and overlaid them with a great deal of gold, that had sculptures upon it. He also had veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and the brightest and softest linen, with the most curious flowers wrought upon them, which were to be drawn before those doors. He also dedicated for the most secret place, whose breadth was twenty cubits, and length the same, two cherubim of solid gold; the height of each of them was five cubits they had each of them two wings stretched out as far as five cubits; wherefore Solomon set them up not far from each other, that with one wing they might touch the southern wall of the secret place [the Holy of Holies], and with another the northern: their other wings, which joined to each other, were a covering to the ark, which was set between them; but nobody can tell, or even conjecture, what was the shape of these cherubim. He also laid the floor of the temple with plates of gold; and he added doors to the gate of the temple, agreeable to the measure of the height of the wall, but in breadth twenty cubits, and on them he glued gold plates. And, to say all in one word, he left no part of the temple, neither internal nor external, but what was covered with gold. He also had curtains drawn over these doors in like manner as they were drawn over the inner doors of the most holy place; but the porch of the temple had nothing of that sort” (History of the Jews 8:3).

It was there, in the Holy of Holies, at the throne of God, that the final scenes of the festive drama were conducted.

The cherubim who surround the celestial throne of God are represented as having wings, by Isaiah (6:2), Ezekiel (1:6-11), Daniel (7:4-6), and John (Revelation 4). But we were told by the Prophet Joseph that “wings are a representation of power, to move, to act, etc.” (D&C 77:4). That is also probably a way of describing their priesthood power.
Because the throne and its overshadowing wings were symbolic of the reality and power of priesthood and kingship, they were also symbolic of the invitation to receive the gift of eternal life. The Savior used that symbolism repeatedly, as a lament addressed to those who would not accept the invitation. He said:

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
(Matthew 23:37, see Luke 13:34, 3 Nephi 10:4-6, D&C 43:24).

And also as a promise to those who would:

2 [The Savior] will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer (D&C 29:2, see 10:65).

Nephi’s statement, resounding as it does with the clarity of the ancient enthronement ordinances, is a testimony of the validity of those ordinances, and an example of their fulfilment:

25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them (2 Nephi 4:25).

The wings have a further and expected symbolism. It is the association of the ideas of enthronement with the promise of security and peace, as Nephi prophesied

Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name (2 Nephi 25:13).

After his ordination and anointing, the king was a living messiah—not the “Messiah,” but rather a “messiah,” meaning an anointed one, a king of righteousness, and the legitimate “son” and heir of God. He had been crowned with a “crown of pure gold” and accepted God’s invitation to sit upon his own throne in the earthly Temple. Mowinckel observes,

We know that Solomon had furnished the Temple with an (empty) cherub’s throne, which was certainly understood to be the throne of Yahweh. In the very old Psalm 110 Yahweh is the king, sitting on his throne and offering to his ‘son’, the earthly king, the seat of honor at his right side. In the likewise very old Psalm 68 the worshiper calls Yahweh ‘his king and his god.’ ( Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 1:125)

3 Nephi 9:19-20 — LeGrand Baker — ‘with fire and the Holy Ghost’

3 Nephi 9:19-20
19 And ye shall offer up unto me no 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.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice 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 baptize 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.

In this passage the Savior was referring to is one of the most remarkable events recorded in the Book of Mormon. It is when Nephi and Lehi were in the Lamanite prison. The account reads:

43 And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.
44 And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.
45 And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words.
46 And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:
47 Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.
48 And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.
49 And there were about three hundred souls who saw and heard these things; and they were bidden to go forth and marvel not, neither should they doubt (Helaman 5:43-49).

That story asks a number of questions. They are interesting to explore even if we don’t really know the answers. For example:

When the Savior referred to this event, why did he say, “and they knew it not.” The answer cannot be because they did not know the experience was real, but they probably did not know what it was. There was nothing in their religion that taught them to anticipate such an event. Therefore their language would have contained no word to describe it as a magnificent spiritual experience. It would have to have been after the fact, when they were taught both the gospel and the powers associated with it, that they could understand the full meaning of their own conversion experience.

Another question is “Why them?” After all, they were a wicked lot and had done nothing to merit such a powerful ordinance. The only answer I am satisfied with is the same as the answers to: Why Alma? and Why Paul?

I believe that the most reasonable answer is that at the Council in Heaven they made some very serious covenants, but (like the rest of us) those covenants had to be fulfilled when they were in their second estate, when they had no memory of the covenants, and no knowledge of how to fulfill them. So they lived their lives unaware of who they really were. Then, when the time was right, they were told in a way they could not fail to understand that the time for fulfilling the covenants had come.

The light the Lamanites saw had been seen by other. A similar story is in Acts 2:1-4: On the day of Pentecost “there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”

The Lord promised a Pentecost-like experience when the Kirtland Temple was dedicated.. “For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house (D&C 84:5). Many witnesses testify that the covenant was fulfilled.

The premortal covenants are very real. Therefore, to a much less dramatic degree, the church just now is full of people who have had life changing experiences as they have met missionaries and the Spirit has taught them that their premortal covenants included listening to those young men or young women.

It is a matter of some interest to note that the phrase used by the Savior, “baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost,” is only rarely used in the scriptures.

We find it in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16 where John the Baptist promises that the Savior will baptize the people with fire and the Holy Ghost. In Mark 1:8 and John 1:33 it simply says “with the Holy Ghost.” However, in both of those instances, in the Inspired Version of the Bible, the Prophet Joseph changed them to read “with fire, and the Holy Ghost.”

Reiterating the John’s promise in the New Testament, the Savior promised the Nephites: “…after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am (3 Nephi 12:1).”

It is likely that the fire mentioned by the Savior is what scholars call the shechinah (pronounced sha-ke-na). Shechinah means “the presence.” It is “a word used by the later Jews and borrowed from by the Christians to denote the cloud of brightness and glory that marked the presence of the Lord” (Quote is from the dictionary at the back of the LDS Bible).

The Shechinah is the veil that separates man from the presence of God. It was represented in Solomon’s Temple by the great veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. It is the first thing the prophets see, and sometimes the only thing they mention, when they are brought into the presence of God. It is described many ways, but always as a bright light—sometimes a fire, sometimes a cloud.

In the story of the exodus it was both: “In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire (Psalms 78:14).”

For Ezekiel, it was like a tornado: “I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire” (Ezekiel 1:4).

Another example is Lehi’s report that “there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him” (1 Nephi 1:6). Another is Moses’s experience when “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2).

Another example is the story in Ether where “Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not….and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel”[a third time] “the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him” (Ether 2:4-5, 14)
The forth time, the cloud is not mentioned. When the brother of Jared carried the stones to the top of the mountain and presented them to the Lord, “behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord (Ether 3:6).

A much more recent example is the Prophet Joseph’s “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me” (Joseph Smith-History:16). Joseph’s making a point of describing the Shechinah in connection with his account of the First Vision is another evidence that he was telling the truth.

Joseph also mentioned it in conjunction with the appearance o the Angel Moroni:

30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor (Joseph Smith-History 1:30).

Similarly, when the angel appeared to Alma and his friends, Mormon mentions the shechinah as a cloud.
11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood (Mosiah 27:11).

Joseph mentioned it again in connection with his ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood:

68 … While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying (Joseph Smith-History:1:68).

In the New Testament it is an important part of the account of the Mount of Transfiguration:

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17:5).

7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him (Mark 9:7).

34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him (Luke 9:33-36).

The shechinah was there again when the Savior ascended up to heaven:

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:8-13).

Have you ever driven in a snow storm with the brights on? The brightness of the shining snow is so intense that you cannot see beyond what appears to be its surface. I suspect the shechinah cloud is something like that. That might account for why the people in 3 Nephi could not see the Savior when he left them.

37 And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record; but the disciples bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost. And I will show unto you hereafter that this record is true.
38 And it came to pass that when Jesus had touched them all, there came a cloud and overshadowed the multitude that they could not see Jesus.
39 And while they were overshadowed he departed from them, and ascended into heaven. And the disciples saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven (3 Nephi 18:37-39).

Just as the Savior left this world in a cloud in these verses and in Acts 1:9, so shall he return again “in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:27 and D&C 34:7). The Prophet Joseph’s revelation expresses it even more clearly:

1 For I say unto you, that ye shall not see me henceforth and know that I am he of whom it is written by the prophets, until ye shall say: Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord, in the clouds of heaven, and all the holy angels with him. Then understood his disciples that he should come again on the earth, after that he was glorified and crowned on the right hand of God….
26 For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be….
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory (Joseph Smith-Matthew:1, 26, 36).

The shechinah is a prominent part of the Savior’s second coming. He will come in a cloud of light.

44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.
45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud (D&C 45:44-46).

Both the dead and the living Saints will rise to meet him, will join him in within that veil of light: “That when the trump shall sound for the dead, we shall be caught up in the cloud to meet thee, that we may ever be with the Lord (D&C 109:75).” “For ye are the church of the Firstborn, and he will take you up in a cloud, and appoint every man his portion (D&C 78:1-22).

How about this! This body of mine finally got “old.” Its been trying to tell me that for quite a few years but the part of me that matters has a hard time taking it seriously. Collage students are still among my best friends and I still think of myself as their contemporary. But my body turned 75 last week, and people tell me that’s “old.”
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Scott Oberg have been friends since he was a student at BYU. He sent me this beautiful testimony this week, and I asked him if I could share it with you.

LeGrand, Hello my friend. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that this week’s comments on a Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit resonated with me. I know we have talked about it before and referenced it before, but the last several discussions of 3 Nephi 9 has just helped make the entire experience and the meaning of of the message all come to life. The words are indeed poetic and descriptive, but as I think of the Savior speaking these words with all the energy of his heart hoping that we understand the love that this whole message is communicated in leaves these words so understated on the page. I have felt many times that as Mormon was compiling the book how many tears he must have shed as he too wished he could communicate the power of the words and the love that all of this is communicated to us in. I don’t know what to say other than I continue to be amazed at how wonderful this book really is.

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3 Nephi 9:21-22 — LeGrand Baker — ‘redeem’ – to ‘come unto Christ’

21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.
22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me………..

A Meaning of “Redeem”— to “Come Unto Christ”

The entire message of the Book of Mormon revolves around a single concept. It is the same as the pivotal doctrine of the festival temple drama—the basic human need to return to the Garden and to the presence of God. All other discussions in those chapters are subsets of that most important doctrine. It is what Alma called “the plan of redemption” (Alma 12). In the Book of Mormon, the word “redeem” has a specific meaning rarely found in the Old Testament. The meaning is the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama which follows the pattern of the universal “cosmic myth— returning home triumphant.”
For each person who participated, the entire ancient dramatic temple presentation was a review of one’s own eternal odyssey. Its purpose was, as Amulek assures us:

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors (Alma 34:32)

The operative word here is “prepare.” For some this life is the time to meet God, but even for such, there are necessary preparations to be made. For the rest of us, that meeting will come later, and this life truly is the time to prepare. Speaking of our time, Nephi wrote,

32….wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved (1 Nephi 15:14).

That was the entire point of the ancient temple drama: to teach one how to come. As we approach the great mountain, those familiar with it’s heights can tell us that there is only one way to get to the top. We must walk that path, and that path only, or we will never reach the Holy of Holies at the summit. The path is described in brief this way:

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am (D&C 93:1).

The way is described in much greater detail elsewhere. The following are examples:

26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved (Omni 1:26).

The “power of his redemption” is the power to bring us back to him. In much of the Book of Mormon the realization of the drama’s crescendo—to become a son and heir of God, and return to his presence—is encapsulated in the single word “redeem.” For that reason, an analysis of the way the Book of Mormon often uses the word seems very much in order.
“Redeem” has a number of different meanings in the scriptures, and its context determines what its meaning is. In both the New and the Old Testaments the words translated “redeem” or “redeemed” mean to purchase (as one would purchase something in the market place) or to ransom (as to pay to get another out of prison or out of bondage). The connotation is that through his Atonement, the Lord has ransomed or purchased us from the consequences and the bondage of sin and death.
The primary difference between the meanings in the New and Old Testaments has to do with one’s relationship with the person who does the redeeming. In Hebrew thought, the debt is paid by a brother or other relative, and the family relationship is a necessary part of the word’s meaning. For example, when a man dies and leaves behind his widow and family, a “redeemer” might be a near kin who is obligated by law to care for the them. In the story of Ruth, Boaz married Ruth according to his family rights to redeem her in her widowhood because, as Naomi pointed out, he was their “kinsman.” It is significant that “kinsman” in that story, and “redeemer” in Job’s statement, “I know that my redeemer liveth” are translated from the same Hebrew word.
In the New Testament, the Greek meanings of the words that are translated “redeem” carry no connotation of family responsibility. Consequently, the word “Redeemer” is not found in the New Testament. Even though the Greek words do not convey the idea of a family relationship, almost all of the ways the words “redeem” and “redeemed” are used in the New Testament focus on the ideas of one’s being a child and an heir of God.
The most important meaning of the word in the Old Testament, and the one used by most writers of the Book of Mormon, is in the Book of Job:

23 Oh that my words were now written!
oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven
with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me (Job 19:23-27).

Job’s testimony is that because his Redeemer lives, Job shall see God. That same meaning is also found in the psalms. For example, in the 49th Psalm where to be redeemed is to be brought from the grave and into the presence of God:

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have
dominion over them in the morning;
and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave:
for he shall receive me.(Psalm 49:14-15).

Psalm 69 speaks of redemption before death comes. It reads:

16 Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good:
turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
17 And hide not thy face from thy servant;
for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:
deliver me because of mine enemies (Psalm 69:16-18).

That meaning is found throughout the Book of Mormon, where the words “redeem,” “redeemed,” and “Redeemer” usually mean the same thing as in Job: “yet in my flesh shall I see God.” It is the opposite of “second death,” which is to be excluded from the presence of God.
In the Book of Mormon, the “Redeemer” is the One who makes that return possible, because he is the God to whom one first returns.
The definition of “redeem” is given by Samuel the Lamanite when he said, “the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.” The context in which he said that is as follows:

14 And behold, again, another sign I give unto you, yea, a sign of his death.
15 For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.
16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness [zedek] (Helaman 14:14-18).

If to be redeemed means to be brought into the presence of God, then the phrase “plan of redemption” means the plan whereby one can be brought back into God’s presence and has the same connotation as the frequently repeated invitation to “come unto Christ.”
Nowhere is that more clearly explained than by the Savior when he introduced himself to the brother of Jared:

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:13-14).

A beautiful example of the fruition of that invitation is the one spoken by Lehi:

15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell [past tense]; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love (2 Nephi 1:15).

That is one of the most important verses in the Book of Mormon because it identifies a facet of the single most important doctrine of the gospel: by using the symbolism of an embrace it describes the Savior’s personal relationship with the righteous and incorporates into that same verse a number of other key words in addition to “redeemed.” The entire concept of this redemption is suspended on the past tense quality of the word “hath.” For Lehi, his redemption had occurred in his own past, but through the embrace it also continues as the vitality of his present and is the projected hope of his future.
The final phrase in our verse, “and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love,” is a reference to a physical embrace, a present and eternal token of friendship—a “hope” that brings the future fulfillment of the covenant into the reality of the present until it changes the very nature of one’s eternal being. (That, by the way, is how the meaning of the word “hope” in Moroni 7may be understood.)
The concept and the realization of “redemption” are together the most important doctrine of the gospel. It encompasses the power and meaning of the Atonement and of all our eternal relationships with the Savior—as a flower encompasses all of the promises of the seed that was planted, is the product of the stem and the hope of the nourishment from the roots and the leaves that grew from that seed – and that same flower is the promise of fruit which will produce other seeds, and thus the flower is both the glory of the past and the prefiguration of eternal lives in perpetuity. Redemption is the epitome of friendship, and the timeless light of all that is life. Another Book of Mormon example is Lehi’s blessing to his son Jacob:

2 Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.
3 Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.
4 And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory (2 Nephi 2:2-4a).

Here again, the power of the concept is in the verb: “I know that thou art [present tense] redeemed,” for “thou hast [past tense] beheld” God. Another example is Nephi, writing about himself, his brother Jacob, and Isaiah:

2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.
3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words (2 Nephi 11:2-3).

In another place Nephi wrote:

6 I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell [past tense].
7 I have charity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat (2 Nephi 33:6-7).

Alma left us with this testimony of being with God and thus being redeemed:

23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord [past tense]; behold I am born of the Spirit.
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
27 I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off.
28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God (Mosiah 27:23-28).

A favorite example is the conclusion of Helaman’s letter to Moroni. It gives us a subtle insight into the foundation and fruition of the very intimate friendship shared by these two great prophets:

41 And now, my beloved brother, Moroni, may the Lord our God, who has redeemed us and made us free [both past tense], keep you continually in his presence; yea, and may he favor this people, even that ye may have success in obtaining the possession of all that which the Lamanites have taken from us, which was for our support. And now, behold, I close mine epistle. I am Helaman, the son of Alma (Alma 58:41).

Abinadi’s entire instructions to Alma rest upon the importance of one’s becoming a child of God. In that context, one may assume that in his statement, “For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people?” Abinadi was using the word “redeem” to mean to be brought into the presence of God and also to teach Alma that one must become a child of Christ.
If the whole plan of salvation were reduced to a single sentence, the first part of that sentence would be about the Savior’s Atonement, and the last part might read: “that one might return and remain in the presence of God.” That was the promise from the beginning. After Adam and Eve left the Garden, they were taught the meaning of sacrifice:

9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will (Moses 5:9).

Adam understood the full impact of “thou mayest be redeemed” and he said:

10 Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God (Moses 5:10).
It is significant that the Savior emphasized that same relationship in the Beatitudes:

Blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (3 Nephi 12:8-9).

The prophet Abinadi’s testimony to the young prince Alma uses different words, but carries the same message:

23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death (Mosiah 15:23).

In the 2007 October general conference, Elder David A. Bednar explained the importance of the phrase to “come unto Christ.”

The risen Lord next explained the importance of coming unto Him. The multitude gathered together at the temple was invited literally to come forth unto the Savior “one by one” (3 Nephi 11:15) to feel the prints of the nails in the Master’s hands and feet and to thrust their hands into His side. Each individual who had this experience “did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he” (v. 15), even Jesus Christ, who had come.
The Savior also taught the people to come unto Him through sacred covenants, and He reminded them that they were “the children of the covenant” (3 Nephi 20:26).
Repenting and coming unto Christ through the covenants and ordinances of salvation are prerequisite to and a preparation for being sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost and standing spotless before God at the last day.

(This is taken from Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord)

3 Nephi 9:19-20 — LeGrand Baker — broken heart and contrite spirit

None of the ideas the Savior expressed when he spoke to the people would have been new or strange to those who heard them. After identifying himself, the Savior gave two sets of instructions. Both had to do with the temple and both may readily be seen as instructions to help participants prepare for the final acts of the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama. He said:

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no 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.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit…. (3 Nephi 9:19-20).

The Savior had just reminded them of two psalms that were used in their Feast of Tabernacles temple service: :

18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18).

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:16-17).

To sacrifice does not mean to lose something or to give it away; rather, it means to set something apart, to remove it from the profane and make it sacred. An example is tithing. Tithing is a sacrifice in that it is set apart to be used for sacred purposes. If one is to sacrifice a broken heart and contrite spirit, it does not mean that these things are somehow to be lost to ourselves, but rather that they are to be made sacred. The Hebrew word translated “broken” means the same as the English word. For example, if two pots are sitting on a shelf, one an earthen pot and the other made of plastic, and something bumps the shelf and causes them to fall, the plastic one will bounce, but the clay pot will shatter. The difference is not the height from which they fall, nor the floor they hit, but their ability to maintain their structure. The plastic pot stays as it was, the earthen pot is not a pot any more.

In the ancient world, the heart is the cosmic center of the human being. It is the seat of both one’s intellect and of one’s emotions. That is easy to understand because when we learn something excitingly new, we do not feel the idea in our head, but in our heart, just as we feel all emotions in our chest area.(That is true of all emotions except pity or empathy. If you saw a puppy hit by a car, you would feel it right in the pit of your stomach. Thus the phrase, “the bowels of mercy.”)

The plastic pot is as one whose attitudes, preconceptions, and prejudices are well established and will not change, like a kind of spiritual and intellectual rigor mortis. The earthen pot is as one who is still alive—whose mind is still open to new ideas and who has cleansed his emotions from the debility of prejudice. It is one who can see the world—and more especially the people in it—as God sees them, as they really are in sacred time. Thus the clay pot is broken, but its little pieces might be put together and restructured into something different. A broken heart is like that—subject to becoming different from what it was before.

The word contrite is usually taken to mean downcast, or humble, but the meaning is much larger than that. The Hebrew and English words mean the same thing: to rub, to pulverize, or turn to powder. It is what a hammer would do to the clay pot, or what a new shoe would do to one’s heel during a long hike. It is not something the pot can do to itself because it can only be done by some external force.

The spirit is the spirit—it is the Self that animates and gives life to the body. For one’s spirit to be contrite, it must be hurt by others. For one’s sacrifice to be a contrite spirit, one must willingly take upon oneself the pain and sorrow of other people. An example might be when one hears a juicy bit of gossip and does not pass it on. Or when Junior comes home and tells dad he has just mashed the car. The Dad might dump the whole burden of the situation—its guilt and its costs—upon the boy, or he might put his arm around his son and say something like, “Did I ever tell you about the time I did that to my dad’s car?” In the latter case, the father does not take away the responsibility, but he does take upon himself the burden of the guilt and the hurt. The car can be dealt with after the pain is gone.

A broken heart might be likened to the Savior on the cross when all of his earthly and physical desires were subordinated to his need to die and accomplish the resurrection. A contrite spirit was when the Savior suffered for all of us in Gethsemane.

In short, what the Savior requires of us is the same sacrifice that he made—but a sacrifice that is within the limits of our ability. To sacrifice one’s Self is to set one’s Self apart from the world and make one sacred. The sacrifice is accomplished when our preconceptions and prejudices are opened to the Savior’s light so we see that others have real value and we extend our Selves to try to take away some of the hurt this world imposes upon them. To make that sacrifice is to open one’s Self to the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise:

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Then will the prayer of the psalms be made reality:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalm 51:10-12).

That was all taken from Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, second (paperback) edition, “3 Nephi 12:8 – Pure in Heart,” 670-79.