Spiritual Extra Credit or the Main Assignment

3 Nephi 14

When I much younger, I looked at the whole, Judge not, that ye be not judged, a little differently than I do now.  I always liked the idea that we shouldn't be judging others.  I had seen how doing this could destroy the lives of the victims of judging.  But I also really liked the next phrase,  "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."  

That looked like a good deal to me.  If I did not judge others harshly, I myself would not be judged harshly, and that would be like some spiritual extra credit.  As a conscientious student in school, I was rarely perfect, but with a little extra credit, my grades could be perfect just the same.  

But as I have gone through life, I have discovered that this "Judge not" commandment is not extra credit.  It is the main assignment.  As in, love God and love your neighbor and all the law and prophets hang on these two commandments.  Not judging is a part of loving others with the perfect love with which Christ loves us.  It cannot be ignored. It is mandatory.  And it feels a lot better than judging anyway.  

1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

 7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

 8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

 9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

 12 Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

 20 Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.

 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?

 23 And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—

 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—

 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

That Ye May Be the Children of Your Father in Heaven

3 Nephi 12

This chapter is dense with doctrine.  While Christ begins by saying the people will be blessed if they believe his teachings, he says that they are "more blessed" if they believe the twelve disciples he has just called to preach and baptize.  And if they believe the disciples and repent and are baptized with water they will also be baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

The wonderful thing is that we know everyone he was preaching to would indeed believe both him and his disciples,  be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, live in peace, and then live with God in eternity.  What a singular occurrence in the history of the world, at least the history that we know about.

When Jesus gave the Western Hemisphere version of the Sermon on the Mount, did he think about his loved ones in Jerusalem who may not have accepted his ministry and his words and who would not be with him in the next life?  Did he have any?  For all that believed him in Jerusalem, there must have been many who did not. There were many he loved that deserted or betrayed him.

In verse 44 he says, "But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good."

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth simply won't do if you want to be the children of your Heavenly Father.  

And after he said to love everyone, even your enemies, he said, "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."

Jesus knows about enemies.  He knows about love.  He knows about perfect.  

He promises us that if we can love everyone like he loves everyone, we can be the Children of our Father in Heaven.  

He even asks us to pray to Heavenly Father to be filled with love and adds that then we will be like him.  

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."  Moroni 7:48.  

One by One

3 Nephi 11
verses 13-41

I will never forget the testimony of a beautiful and confident young women in my freshman ward at Ricks College.  She told of a dream where she and many others were standing and gazing up into heaven as Christ descended and then stood among them.  She was shocked when Christ called her by name.  She said that it had never occurred to her that Christ not only came down here for everyone, but also specifically for her.

In these verses of 3 Nephi,  Christ invites each person  " to come forth and that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."

Each person.

One by one.

Check out this devotional to more fully understand the concept of "one by one."

And then there is Nephi.  Nephi the fearless.  Nephi who just won't stop talking about Jesus or healing the sick or raising the dead.  

Christ called Nephi up to him by name, and Nephi, overcome as anyone would be,  falls to the ground and kisses his feet.  Jesus commands him to arise and Christ gives him power to baptized the people and he tells him very specifically how to do it and warns them not to dispute over how to do it, because that is just not how the people of God do things.   

Then he sums up his gospel.

"And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."

And then he tells us the way to being the kind of people we need to be.

"And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

 38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

 39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them."

Twice he says repent, be baptized and "and become as a little child."  He promises that if we do that , the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.  That is quite a promise. 

When we read about what happens in this chapter, it is easy to feel Christ's love for each of us.  The Hymn, "This is the Christ" helps me to feel the ministry of Christ to each one of us, separate and eternal.  I hope you can feel his love for you.  And if you can, then do as the Lord commands in the last verse. 

"Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth."

Will do.  

I am the life and the light of the world.

3 Nephi 11

Verses 1-12

I was once asked, "If you could choose anytime to live in the history of the world, when would it be?"
My answer was either at the time of 3 Nephi 11 or now.

No description of any event anywhere has made me long to be there as much as this one in 3 Nephi 11.

The chapter opens up with the people standing around the temple in Bountiful and talking about this Jesus Christ who had spoken to them.  That is when they hear a voice.  I think it is important to note that these people were:   a) at the temple and b) talking about Jesus when this event occurred.

"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."

But this voice didn't belong to Jesus.  This voice was the Father.  The third time he spoke, they understood his words.

"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him."

Why did it take three times to understand the voice?  I have often wondered about this.  

In the margins of my scriptures it is written, "The spirit often testifies before there is comprehension."

I have found this to be true in my own life.  There have, at times, been a principle or even a nudging to the direction of my life that I have not understood, but I understood the truthfulness of it, despite my lack of understanding.

In verse 8 it says 

"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."

Have you ever been rendered speechless by a spiritual experience?  I couldn't talk for about half an our after the Nauvoo temple dedication. That is pretty much a no-talking recored for me.  

Jesus was about to explain that he was no angel, but the Son of God.  I can't imagine what that would have felt like.  

"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." 

11 

And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the willof the Father in all things from the beginning. "

This video does a good job of helping me to feel what it might have been like to live that day with the Savior.  I hope that your heart will be soft, and you will be able to feel Christ's love for you as you watch it.  I bear my testimony that he lives and you are known to him by name.  I have felt his love for me very powerfully at key times in my life and it is my greatest hope and prayer that my children and their children will feel his love for them, because if they do, they will feel love for everyone else as well, and then their course will be set, always seeking to be the best person they can be,  confident in the knowledge that they are of great worth to the one whose worth is greater than us all. 

The Light Always Comes

3 Nephi 10

I hate the dark.

I hate uncertainty.

I hate not knowing absolutely everything.

The hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light,"  reads,

"Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene--one step enough for me."

I want to feel that way.  I don't feel that way. 

This chapter of scripture finds the people in the dark.  Jesus had just spoken to them in a manner where all were able to hear and understand him, no matter where they were.  He told them of the destruction of the cities and explained who he was and how they could be saved.

They could hear him.  But they couldn't see him.    They couldn't see anything.

They were so surprised by what he said that it reads, 

"For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours."  (vs. 2)

When he speaks again, He says, 

"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.

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.

 7 But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers."

And Christ stops speaking and the people began to "weep and howl" again because of the loss of their kindred and their friends.  

After the three days passed away, the morning found it light once again, and the earth stopped rambling and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.

But a word about the chickens.

Christ states and restates how he desired to gather the people as a hen gathereth her chickens under his wings.  If they had come to him he would have protected them, nourished them, and raised them.  But it didn't work out that way.

People think Christ can do anything.  But he can't.

He can't take our free agency.  He can't make us want to choose the right.  He can't protect us from satan and his lies and the misery that will follow sooner or later.

"It has been a very common saying in the world that the Lord was able to do everything, that he could do anything he had a mind to do, and accomplish what he pleased; that he possessed universal power, and could accomplish what he undertook. But what says our text? 'How oft would I have gathered you, but you would not.--George Albert Smith--Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, page 212.

Mormon talks for the rest of the chapter about those people remaining and how they were spared because they did not shed the blood of the saints or shed the blood of the prophets.  And what those great people did not know, sitting in the darkness and weeping and howling because of the loss of their kindred and friends, is that they were saved.  They were Christ's.  His joy was full because not one of them would be lost.  

But it was dark and they couldn't see that yet. 

On a good day, I can at least slightly feel what is expressed in the third verse of, "Lead Kindly, Light"

 "So long thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone."

God has never failed to lead me to the best of places when I let him.   I don't imagine he'll start now.  

1. Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom;

1. Lead thou me on!
   The night is dark, and I am far from home;
   Lead thou me on!
   Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
   The distant scene--one step enough for me.
2. 2. I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou
   Shouldst lead me on.
   I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
   Lead thou me on!
   I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
   Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
3. 3. So long thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still
   Will lead me on
   O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
   The night is gone.
   And with the morn those angel faces smile,
   Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
4. Text: John Henry Newman, 1801-1890
   Music: John B. Dykes, 1823-1876

Sometimes You Just Need a Pep Talk

"...the fair sons and daughters of my people."

3 Nephi 9

You can read a verse of scripture a hundred times, and then you read it again and a much fuller meaning comes out of nowhere.  Except it isn't out of nowhere.

Today I read the 2nd verse in 3 Nephi 9,  and it hit me differently than it ever has before.

"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"

What did I see in this verse that I had not seen before?  Stick with this post and I will tell you. 

Chapter 8 was full of destruction and despair and darkness, and now in chapter 9 the people  upon all the land hear a voice.  

It is the voice of Christ, and it tells the people what has occurred in the cities of their land, and if sorrow for their own destruction was not heavy enough, it must have been added upon as they thought of those they loved who were far away.  

After explaining the destruction, he explains that those who are left are the "more righteous" and he asks, "...will ye not return unto me, and repent of your sins and be converted that I may heal you?"  (vs. 13)

And then in verse 14 he gives them the same promise that he gives to you and me. 

 "Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.  Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." 

What an interesting contrast.  In verse 2 the devil and his angels laugh at the "slain" and in verse 14 Christ is offering the survivors eternal life.  

Death or Life.  

We choose.  

What struck me differently than any other time I have read verse 2 is that satan and his angels weren't just laughing at the physical destruction of the "fair sons and daughters" of the Nephites.  He was laughing because, much more tragically, they were spiritually dead, and they were spiritually dead when they departed from this life, which has rather long lasting implications for the next one.   The last part of verse 2 explains, "and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!" 

Notice the exclamation point at the end of the sentence, "...they are fallen!"

Just as satan and his angels laughed at their destruction, I can only imagine how Christ must have felt about it.  Through the atonement, he had just born the sins of every man and woman who would ever live on the earth, whether they chose to repent of them or not.  Yet here were so many of his people, beautiful and beloved people, who had chosen to follow satan, a being that held them in contempt, instead of following the one who loved them the most. 

How did the devil and his angels cause these fair sons and daughters to fall?  

It  was the probably the same spiel Korihor sold the people in Alma 30, or the same thing people say these days to convince others there is no Christ.

Why did Christ allow a great destruction before he visited the people?  I don't know, but ask yourself what would have happened if the more wicked part of the  people had not been destroyed.  How might this have changed what was to follow?

The rest of this chapter has Christ explaining who he is, how he has fulfilled the law of Moses, and the new way we should sacrifice to remember him.

"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." (vs. 20)

This broken heart and a contrite spirit is something I am still trying to understand more completely, but there are many  passages of scripture, and many talks like this, that are helping me.  

And then, in the last verse of the chapter, he asks them to repent and be saved.

"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved."

Perhaps the call to become like a little child is one step on the path to that broken heart and contrite spirit.  

So, in conclusion, here is that sad verse once again:

"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"

And here is the happy verse:

"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.  Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."  (vs. 14)

Good-bye iniquity and abominations.  Hello eternal life. 

I pray that we, along with our fair sons and daughters, will come unto him and be healed.  I bear my testimony that we can. 

A Just Man Who Did Keep the Record

3 Nephi 8

With all the action that happens in this chapter, I have always been the most impressed by the very first verse, which is really no more than an introduction of the timeline.

"And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the record—for he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity—"

While they did not give the name of the record keeper, they described him as a man who did many miracles in the name of Jesus, and they explained that to do a miracle in the name of Jesus, he had to be cleansed every whit from his iniquity. 

I find this impressive.  Not just the miracles.  Not just the "cleansed every whit from iniquity."  The man kept an accurate record.  Thats big.  

As someone who struggles to keep any record of anything up to date and accurate, I am intrigued.  

Our ward has a bishop, two counselors, and approximately a million clerks and secretaries.   That might be a slight exaggeration, but accurate record keeping seems to be a very important part of what we are supposed to be doing.  

In Moses 6: vs 5 we learn that even Adam and his family kept a book of remembrance.

 In every temple, there is a recorder. I don't know much, but in all temples everywhere I have ever been, he seems to be a Very Important Person.  When I think about how what he records has bearing, not just on earth, but for eternity, I can't quite wrap my mind around most of it.

I think about all the family history records of my own l must organize and the life history I should write, and my personal journal that is almost out of pages and must be replaced I feel overwhelmed.  But that is wrong.  I believe one of the ways the adversary stops us from doing things that are vitally important is to overwhelm us to the point where we give up and don't do anything because we are afraid of doing it wrong. 

Enough about records.

There is a lot of destruction that happens in the rest of the verse that follows the death of Jesus Christ, and in all the destruction there is terrible darkness.

 "And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

  And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them."  (vs. 22-23)

My mind wonders about how the darkness would feel and be like and what would have caused it.  I certainly don't know what the cause of it was, but as an Idahoan who has roamed the caves and lava fields of Craters of the Moon National monument, I find it fascinating that it's last eruption was 2000 years ago. 

Despite the darkness and destruction of these verses in chapter 8, the light that is coming will be such an amazing contrast for the surviving Nephites.  

I'm so glad someone kept a record of it.