Blog

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.”
——————————
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.

—————————-

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.

3 Nephi 9:18 — LeGrand Baker — ‘light and life of the world’

The Savior introduced himself to the Nephites by saying:

3 Nephi 9:15-18
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.

“The light and the life of the world” is a nice phrase and easily read — and too easily read without thought — but its implications are so huge that they reach to both ends of our eternity.

The Savior is the “Creator God” of the Old Testament as is clearly explained in the books of Moses and Abraham in the pearl of Great Price. And the Gospel of John also testifies:

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:3-4).

D&C 93, which is an elaboration of John’s testimony, is even more explicit:

8 Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—
9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.
10 The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and OF HIM (D&C 93:8-10).

“Of him” means what it says— all things are made of him — not of his person but of the enormous aura of light that surrounds his person. That is, his light is the substance from which all things are made. D&C 888 states that without equivocation.

5-6 Jesus Christ his Son — He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;
7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also HE IS … the light of the sun, and … the light of the moon, and … also the light of the stars [we are talking galaxies here], and the power thereof by which they were made;
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, WHICH IS THE SAME LIGHT THAT QUICKENETH YOUR UNDERSTANDINGS;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God TO FILL THE IMMENSITY OF SPACE —
13 The light which is in all things, WHICH GIVETH LIFE TO ALL THINGS, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (D&C 88:5-13-45).

Light, truth, and the Savior’s love each fill the immensity of space — that is, this entire universe. Therefore all three occupy the same space at the same time or they are different aspects of the same thing. The scriptures tell us they are equivalents and are the fundamental substance and energy of our existence.

The light we are talking about is more than just photons. It is the fundamental element of which all things are made. Scientists call it “energy” because it is dynamic rather that static. Whether one uses Einstein’s famous E=mc2 or the more recent string theory, the basic conclusions are the same. The fact that all things are made of the Savior’s light is attested in many places in the scriptures.

The word “word” has three doctrinal meanings in the scriptures: (1) It is the name/title of the Savior in John chapter 1. (2) It is the words of God’s the commandments, teachings, and covenants. (3) It is a way of describing priesthood because speaking words is the way priesthood was exercised from the beginning (God said, ‘let there by light’) to every blessing and covenant performed in this life.

D&C 84 equates “the word of the Lord” with “truth,” and with “light,”and with “Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” It says:

44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
45 FOR THE WORD OF THE LORD IS TRUTH, AND WHATSOEVER IS TRUTH IS LIGHT, AND WHATSOEVER IS LIGHT IS SPIRIT, EVEN THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST.
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.
48 And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world (D&C 84:44-48).

This suggests that God’s word, which is his priesthood power, which is truth, which is light, which is Spirit are all the same thing. That may explain why Abraham and his descendants are personified as priesthood in this verse:

11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal (Abraham 2:11).

(That asks an intriguing question: Does the priesthood to which we were ordained in the premortal world remain an integral part of who and what we are?)

We have seen that the Savior’s light, truth, love, priesthood, and Spirit fills “the emensity of space.” To know the magnitude of that, we have the Prophet Joseph’s personal testimony that I like so much and that I often quote. +It was he published in the Times and Seasons as part of a poem that he wrote after the pattern of D&C 76.

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.
[“A Vision,” Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843]

3 Nephi 9:15-18 — LeGrand Baker — ‘believe on my name’

Verse 15, which we discussed last week, is a necessary introduction to verses 16-18.

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.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled. …
17…and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

The scriptures are “fulfilled” in the same way the Law of Moses is “fulfilled.” That is, the terms of a covenant or contract are completed and satisfied. Quite simply it means that up until that time, the Savior had finished all that the covenant required that he should do.

17 And as many as have received me,

“Receive” is an active verb and certainly does not have a passive or casual meaning here. To receive presupposes that a gift has been offered, and requires that the recipient affirms his acceptance of that gift. In gospel terms, that affirmation always requires both an ordinance and a covenant.

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,

It is significant that in this and the following examples, Jesus does not say “believe in me.” Rather he says “believe on my name.”
There is always a new name with each new covenant (ss in baptism and the sacrament when we take upon ourselves the name of the Savior). Anciently, exchanging new covenant names was an evidence of the validity of the covenant. For example, when Peter was given the sealing power the Savior said:

18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).

Sometimes during the covenant making process names are exchanged. There are several places in the D&C that seem to be the same sort of thing, but the covenant name is not always different from the given name. For example, the Lord said to Joseph:

9 Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall (D&C 3:9).

Here are two examples where both covenant names are given:

20 Behold, thou art Oliver….
21 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God…. (D&C 6:20-21).

23 Behold thou art Hyrum, my son; …
28 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world….
30 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen (D&C 11:23-30).

Another example that uses even more explicit language is in a revelation given through Joseph Smith to Orson Pratt in 1830 — well before Orson was chosen to be an Apostle. It reads:

1 My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer;….
3 Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God. Wherefore you are my son…. (D&C 34:1-3)

That sounds very much like the Lord’s covenant with Moses:

3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; …
4 And, behold, thou art my son;….(Moses 1:3-4)

King Benjamin explained the significance of using the Savior’s name as a covenant name. He said:

7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters (Mosiah 5:7).

The Savior said essentially the same thing to the brother of Jared:

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 3:14).

The Savior expressed the same principle in the Beatitudes:

9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called [named] the children of God (3 Nephi 12:9).

It is apparent that the phrase “believe on my/his name” is about believing in and acting on priesthood covenants and the ordinances associated with them. The Bible quotes John as writing:

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12).

But the Prophet’s Inspired version is even more explicit:

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God; only to them who believe on his name (JS John 1:12).

Here are a few examples where the word “name” can be replaced by the word “covenant” to clarify without changing the meaning of the scripture:

26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you (Moroni 7:26).

30 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen (D&C 11:28-30)

2 I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one (D&C 35:2).

Perhaps the most striking example is D&C 45:8. It reads:

8…unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life.

The context of that statement is the Savior’s own explanation of the Atonement. Here it is in that context:

1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given; hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being.
2 And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
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.
6 Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together, and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts;
7 For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world—a light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
8 I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life.
9 And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me (D&C 45:1-9).

3 Nephi 9:15 — LeGrand Baker — Jesus’s autobiographical introduction

3 Nephi 9:15
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.

Wilfred Griggs once told me that he asked Hugh Nibley if he had ever considered writing a commentary on the gospel of John. Nibley replied that he had not because it would take 300 or 400 pages before he got to verse 6.

This verse in the Savior’s self-introduction is like that. It reads like a review of Christ’s eternal mission which is the same as his eternal biography.

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The Nephies would not have heard the English words “Jesus Christ.” They would have had no meaning for them. He would have used the Hebrew equivalent of “Jesus” which is “Joshua.” It means “Jehovah Saves,” or as our Bible dictionary says, “Savior.” “Christ” is equivalent to the Hebrew “Messiah” which means “The Anointed One.” What the Nephites would have heard is “I am the Savior Anointed, the Son of God.”

Christ was anointed to be the Savior at the Council in Heaven. In the beginning, he was the First Born and Birthright Heir of his Heavenly Father, just as he was the Only Begotten Son and Heir in this world.

I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

Those first five verses of John say it just a bit differently:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1-5).

The Prophet Joseph’s personal testimony says it still more powerfully:

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.{1}

I was with the Father from the beginning.

Many scriptures testify this is true, but The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (an ancient apocryphal writing that may well have been written by Enoch) says it a more explicitly: “even before the very beginning.”{2}

I am in the Father, and the Father in me;

We have already discussed this beautiful doctrine as it is explained by Abinadi in Mosiah 15:1-7.

and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

That has multiple references from the Council in Heaven; To Christ as the Creator acting as his Father’s agent; To Christ’s life on this earth where John records the Father’s testimony:

26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (John 12:26-28).

To Gethsemane; to the cross, To the Savior’s authorizing the righteous spirits to teach the gospel To those in the spirit prison; To his resurrection; To his final coronation after his resurrection as recorded by Paul.

19… according to the working of his [the Father’s] mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he 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 1:19-23).

A careful study of 3 Nephi 9:15 would take way more than 400 pages.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FOOTNOTES

{1}The Vision, a poem by Joseph Smith published in the Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843.

{2}Book of the Secrets of Enoch, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, 2 vols. Translated and edited by R. H. Charles. 2: 431-69. Oxford: Clarendon, 1976. The quote is from 24:2.
Enoch was considered as scripture in New Testament times: Jude 1:14-15 is a quote from The Book of Enoch 1:9.

3 Nephi 6:18-30 — LeGrand Baker — they did wilfully rebel

3 Nephi 6:18-30
18 Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God.

There are two kinds of apostasy. Both are dangerous, but one is more dangerous than the other.
The first is to “dwindle in unbelief.”
It may be a result of spiritual sluggishness. Boredom in reading the scriptures because we know the stories already; stop reading the scriptures; pray out of habit then not bothering to do so; refocus our lives on things that seem to be more important, more profitable, more enjoyable.

Mormon describes one of those processes with amazing clarity.

24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.
25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.
26 And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ.
27 And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness…..
34 Nevertheless, the people did harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity. And they did smite upon the people of Jesus; but the people of Jesus did not smite again. AND THUS THEY DID DWINDLE IN UNBELIEF AND WICKEDNESS, FROM YEAR TO YEAR, even until two hundred and thirty years had passed away (4 Nephi 1:24-34).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The second kind of apostasy is to wilfully rebel. Again we turn to Mormon for clarification:

35 And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two hundred and thirty and first year, there was a great division among the people…..

38 And it came to pass that they who rejected the gospel were called Lamanites, and Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites; and THEY DID NOT DWINDLE IN UNBELIEF, BUT THEY DID WILFULLY REBEL AGAINST THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST; and they did teach their children that they should not believe, even as their fathers, from the beginning, did dwindle.

39 And it was because of the wickedness and abomination of their fathers, even as it was in the beginning. And they were taught to hate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the children of Nephi from the beginning (4 Nephi 1:36-39).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Mormon uses that phrase twice more in his own autobiography — each time with an increasing sense of utter tragedy.

16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had wilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were taken away out of the land, because of their iniquity(Mormon 1:1-19).

15 And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away (Mormon 2:1-29).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

We can almost watch this apostasy happen in Nephi’s story of Laman and Lemuel:

8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?

9 How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?

10 HOW IS IT THAT YE HAVE FORGOTTEN that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?

11 Yea, and HOW IS IT THAT YE HAVE FORGOTTEN what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?

12 Yea, and HOW IS IT THAT YE HAVE FORGOTTEN that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him (1 Nephi 7:8-12).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

As we read the epistles in the New Testament, we see that Paul, Peter, and John had no hope for the survival of the pristine doctrines of the gospel. John tells of one in authority (perhaps a stake president) who would excommunicate anyone who acknowledged the authority of the Twelve:

9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God (3 John 1:9-11).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Satan’s willfully rebelled is the most striking example. It really bothers me when I hear people talk about Satan presenting an alternative plan. Such a statement exposes a total lack of rational thought on the part of those who parrot it. Satan did not present a plan that could exalt anybody. His assertions were a self-aggrandizing rebellion that utterly precluded his and his followers being able to remain in God’s presence.

3 Nephi 6:12-15 — LeGrand Baker — ‘a great inequality’

The inequality was not a result of the differences in wealth and education. Those differences were already in place. The inequality appeared as a result of the erosion of mutual esteem.

12 And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.
13 Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God.
14 And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.
15 Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.

These verses, in the first chapter of Alma, contain another of those amazingly profound statements that Mormon passes over as though there was nothing extraordinary about it. This time it is his definition of equality.

The notion that somehow all people are equal comes from very deep roots within our western culture. But it always sits in juxtaposition to the cold reality that people are not really equal at all. Let me give you a quick review of the ideas of equality that are a part of our western heritage. George Orwell’ phrase in Animal Farm, may not be an eternal truth, but it is certainly an accurate appraisal of this world’s reality: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

From our present Jewish version of the Law of Moses, we are taught that Jehovah is the God of everybody, but that he loves some much more than he loves others. That was not only true between Israelites and Gentiles, but between Israelites as well. For example, the Law, as we have it, provided that in ancient Israel, if a man were unable to pay his debts, he and his family could be enslaved by his creditor.

From the ancient Greeks we have inherited the tradition of participatory government. But the ancient Greek democracy was limited to the elite.

From the Romans we inherited our notion of equality before the law, but that was also a selective equality, based on wealth and political status.

The New Testament teaches us that we should love one another and submit to authority, and those doctrines were soon turned into a rationale for oppression.

Observing the almost universal use of religion to oppress the masses, the philosopher/historian, Will Durant, believed that religion was an invention of the aristocracy to control and weigh down the masses. He used the Christianity of the Dark Ages to make his point. He wrote that the poor were taught that if they would endure their poverty and be subservient in this world, then they would have glorious mansions in the next world. He believed that this tactic had been used by the elite of every ancient culture, and noted that the upper classes were always eager to guarantee to the lower classes every wealth and pleasure they could hope for in the next world – in exchange for their willingness to tolerate poverty in this world.

Modern egalitarianism is based on that same assumption. Rousseau taught that equality was impossible because the natural human motivation is avarice and self-aggrandizement. He insisted that the best that could be hoped for was an imposed equanimity, with a self-defined and self-appointed moral elite controlling government, and the powers of both production and distribution. Communism and socialism are variations of his thinking. The problem is that when the same group controls government, production, and distribution, a two-cast system is established that belies the whole notion of a self-appointed moral elite.

As I observed two weeks ago, Jefferson believed equality meant that all people had the same innate sense of right and wrong, and upon that principle he justified a government created and elected by the people – believing that a government elected by the masses would have the same sense of right and wrong as the masses who created and elected it. There was nothing in Jefferson’s beliefs that suggested that all people had the same aptitudes or abilities. (See: Gary Wills, Inventing America, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence). He left it to American rugged individualism to sort out the practical implications of that equality.

Since Jefferson’s time, our society has invented several new slogan-like definitions of equality. They sound good, but have little practical meaning. “Equal opportunity,” and “equal rights” are concepts written into our laws, but not clearly defined; fought over in the courts, but never resolved; and thus they have become great political footballs.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Into that maze of conflict between philosophy and reality, Mormon quietly introduces the only fully rational definition of equality I have ever found.

26 And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.
27 And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.
28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.
30 And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.
31 And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church. (Alma 1:20-33.)

The key words are these: “and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, ”

“And thus they were all equal!” The “equality” they experienced was the product of their esteem for each other.

The only true equality between two humans is their mutual esteem. No social, economic, or political situation can alter that reality. For example, a Greek scholar might be captured and made that slave of a wealthy Roman. If the slave is contemptuous of the master’s harshness, the master, in the slave’s estimation, is lesser than the slave, and can never be the slave’s equal. It would make no difference how much authority the master exercised over the slave, in the eyes of the slave, the master can never be the slave’s equal until the slave esteems him as such. The college professor can never be the equal of the wise old farmer, until the farmer esteems him as such. Conversely, the farmer can never be equal to a professor until the professor appreciates the goodness and wisdom of the fine old man. And the cost of a lack of such esteem is subtracted from the richness of the life of the one who withholds it.

Our human condition being what it is, governments are necessary to enforce some sort of equanimity in our legal and economic systems, but “charitable” condescension or patronization are poor substitutes for esteem. Neither the powers of government, its laws, nor the courts can impose an equality of esteem upon any society. It is a product of the individual soul.

Similarly, it is impossible to create a Zion society, by proclaiming it “zion” and inviting people to come in. Rather “Zion is the pure in heart,” which I understand to mean people who esteem others as themselves, and who conduct their lives in accordance to that mutual esteem. A collection of that kind of people becomes a Zion society. But the individuals must be Zion, before a Zion society can become a reality. I can discover no difference between that concept of mutual esteem, and the law of consecration. And I can discover no difference between the law of consecration and love that is called charity. Obedience to the law of consecration is what one does – but only when charity is what one is.

The natural consequence is, “And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted….And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need….”

Thus these people had established and maintained Zion as a subculture withing a culture that was not Zion at all. And their Zion remained viable until the mutual esteem began to disintegrate:

12 Yea, he [Alma] saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. (Alma 4:12.)

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –
I wrote this with the help of with Tyson Hill.

Now the question is: “How do I esteem others as myself?”

One tends to define one’s Self in terms of one’s wants and needs. And therefore defines one’s esteem for others in terms of acknowledging that they have similar wants and needs. But what if one defined one’s Self in terms different from that. What if one believed this: “I am a person whom the Saviour loves, and the best evidence that I have that I exist is that I know he loves me and that I love him in return.” I love and accept love – therefore I am.

To the degree that one can identify and define one’s Self in terms of the Saviour’s love, to that degree one runs out of other alternative ways for identifying and defining other people

One can neither love others nor one’s Self unless one is comfortable with one’s Self. That requires faith, which leads to repentance, which leads to an even increasing sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, which promotes a self-honesty. It is, a never-ending spiral, whose object is to lead one so discovering who and what he is, that he may again, in this world, be true to the law of his own being.