4 Nephi--To the Ideal and Back Again

After Jesus Christ's visit to the Nephites there comes a time when everyone in the land is converted.

"...the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them and every man did deal justly one with another.  And they had all things in common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift." (4 Nephi 1:2-3)

This is the ideal.  I think it is what people imagine when they think of world peace.  The hard thing about it is, it cannot come without first all people having that change of heart--that conversion wherein their faith and hope in Christ is their guiding light.  It is a conversion in which they nurture charity instead of judgement and selfishness.  The people remained in such a state for over 150 years because as 4 Nephi 1:15 says "...there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."  4 Nephi 1:17 says, "There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God."

It does sound so very peaceful.  And then in verse 20 it mentions that there is still peace in the land except a small part of the people who had revolted from the church and taken upon themselves the name of Lamanites.  In the two hundred and first year from the coming of Christ things start to go south.  The main culprit mentioned is pride.  By 4 Nephi1:41 it says, "And they did still continue to build up churches unto themselves..."  So very sad.  By the end of 4th Nephi the people are wicked again.

Wouldn't it be lovely if only we could all realize the true way to the ideal and not fail to keep these things in our hearts?

3 Nephi 28:37--Made Manifest Unto Me

I love the examples in the scriptures that show us how the prophets learn through prayer.  I love it the most when they, in the process of writing come upon something they don't know, like in 3 Nephi 28:17 when Mormon says (speaking of the three Nephites):

"...whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not..."

Then in verse 37 he writes:

"...since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death..."

He goes on to say that he was told that the three Nephites did have their bodies changed but not to the degree to which they will be changed at "the judgement day of Christ."  So in asking, he received an answer and I think it is so cool that we have a front row seat to how prophets learn as they go.  What a great example to us!  It is awesome to know that we too can employ prayer to gain knowledge and get our questions answered.  I don't know where I would be without my Father in Heaven's guidance.  Even when I read and listen to great apostles and prophets I don't really learn that much until I say a prayer that He will help me to understand and know how I can apply the true principles that they teach in my own life.  The wonderful thing is that Heavenly Father knows us so well that he can teach us in just the way that we need to really understand.  It is sooo exciting!

3 Nephi 27:19 and Redemption

3 Nephi 27:19 says:

"...no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom..."

I taught a lesson in Relief Society recently that was based on Elder Christofferson's General Conference address given this last April (2013) entitled "Redemption."  That talk had some very interesting footnotes in it and this scripture in 3 Nephi reminded me of one of them.  (It is footnote #4 if you are interested in looking up the talk yourself.)  It reads:

  It is with respect to our own sins that the scriptures speak of some not receiving the benefit of redemption: “The wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death” (Alma 11:41). “He that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption” (Alma 34:16). If a man rejects the Savior’s Atonement, he must redeem his debt to justice himself. Jesus said, “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I” (Doctine and Covenants 19:16–17). An unredeemed individual’s suffering for sin is known as hell. It means being subject to the devil and is described in scriptural metaphors as being in chains or a lake of fire and brimstone. Lehi begged his sons to choose Christ’s Redemption “and not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom” (2 Nephi 2:29). Even so, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, hell has an end, and those who are obliged to pass through it are “redeemed from the devil [in] the last resurrection” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:85). The relatively few “sons of perdition” are “the only ones on whom the second death shall have any [lasting] power; yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:32, 37–38).

This is a gospel of hope.  I'm so grateful for the Atonement, and I plan to strive to take advantage of the Savior's gift everyday.

"Future Generations"--That's us!

In 3 Nephi 26:2, Christ says:

"...These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations."

It touches me to think of the centuries full of effort and sacrifice that have gone into the scriptures that I hold in my hands today.  When I really stop and think about it, I am in awe that the people in the time they were written didn't benefit from them as we do now.  They didn't have printing presses to churn out pages.  Therefore, so very many people were not able to hold these wonderful words and read them for themselves.  I am certainly grateful for all those who wrote things down for "future generations" because I just don't know what I would do without them.

3 Nephi 24--Fuller's Soap

3 Nephi 24 is to be compared to Malachi 3.  It is part of the words Jesus commanded the people of Nephi to write down when he appeared to them.  The beginning of the chapter speaks of the Second Coming and verse 2 caught my eye.  It says:

"But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth?  For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap."

I think we all understand what a refiner's fire does.  It is very hot and it purifies gold and silver.  OK that's pretty straight forward.  But what is fuller's soap?

After researching a bit online, I found a pretty good definition:  A fuller was someone who cleaned and thickened (to make it "full") freshly-woven cloth. The process involved cleaning, bleaching, wetting and beating the fibers to a consistent and desirable condition. Fuller's earth was a type of clay that was used to scour and cleanse the cloth. Fuller's soap was an alkali made from plant ashes which was also used to clean and full new cloth.

I thought that was very interesting.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

Sometimes I feel like I can't get anything right around my house.  I move from room to room trying to straighten up and motivate that room's occupant.  My voice starts out loving and reasonable.  My requests get ignored.  There is soon yelling on both sides and the room and it's occupant are left with a feeling of chaos even though the floor is now a little easier to navigate and the drawers are slightly more accessible.

Yesterday after three rooms and three similar results, I felt very disheartened.  I wish I could say I took a deep breath, put myself in Time Out, and went to rally my spirits with a little bit of scripture reading but I didn't.  In fact, by lights out I was feeling so contentious I couldn't listen to the boys' prayers because sometimes Isaac gives me a hard time when I say it's his turn and I honestly couldn't take any more. I left the room with, "Goodnight.  I hope you guys choose to say your prayers."

This morning I read 3 Nephi 23 and all that truly stood out to me was that Nephi made a mistake.  Jesus asks him why he didn't write about the many saints that arose from the dead and appeared unto many.  Nephi looks and realizes that it never did get recorded.  Jesus asks him to do so.  The End.  No fussing.  No yelling.  I wish I could be more like the Savior.  However, today instead of resolving to do better like I normally would.  I'm just sitting here thankful for proof that everybody makes mistakes.

3 Nephi 22--My Kindness Shalt Not Depart

3 Nephi 22 is a "Compare to Isaiah" chapter.  This one is Isaiah 54.  These chapters can be somewhat confusing, but this one I actually got.  I know the spirit helped, and I'm sure it didn't hurt that I read it soon after an awesome Relief Society lesson on missionary work because that is what this chapter is about:  "enlarging the place of thy tent" or expanding the stakes of Zion.

My favorite verse in this chapter is verse 10 which reads:

"For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."

It can be applied to all of life's trials, especially those which seem to shake our whole world, and yet we can still find peace in Him.

In the middle of verse 14 it says:

"...thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear..."

It really has made me think of how the two relate...Fear and Oppression.  Yep, definitely food for thought.