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.