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.
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