LeGrand L. Baker

3 Nephi 17:18-22

18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.
20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
22 And when he had done this he wept again;

Language is everything; but language is much more than words. Words say only what the listener can hear. Sometimes words are intended to convey meaning, sometimes they are used deliberately to obscure meaning. Sometimes words tell facts but entirely distort truth. Sometimes words tell truth, but obscure it by speaking only facts.

Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have a music of their own as sweet as that of viol or of lute. Mere words! Was there anything so real as words? (Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray, chapter 2)

In Hamlet, King Claudius answers Oscar Wilde’s question. The king mocks his own prayer by lamenting:

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go (Hamlet Act 3 Scene 3).

Sometimes words tell truth only to those who know how to hear them. I have mentioned before that the Book of Mormon is written in two different languages, but both are English. The surface text is truly wonderful and can be read and appreciated by anyone who is literate. The subtext is in code. The code is the temple and anyone who knows the temple knows the code if they will pay attention. But for those who do not know, the encoded text does not exist. {1}

Some words were not originally intended to be code words. They have become code only because our contemporary English does not carry the same meaning as the words did when the author wrote them. In this short essay I wish to explain why the Savior’s words in 3 Nephi 17:20 might be understood as:

Blessed [enjoying the state of the gods] are ye because of your faith [because of the eternal and present covenants we have made together, and because you have kept those covenants]. And now behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept.

While the scene portrayed in that verse is very moving, the words that express the Savior’s feelings do not convey to the modern reader what the writer apparently intended them to say. “Blessed” conveys very little meaning to most readers. If we stop to think about it, it asks rather than teaches us what the blessings might be.

When W. F. Albright, and C. S. Mann were translating Matthew for that volume of The Anchor Bible, and were trying to find a suitable synonym for blessed in the Beatitudes, “fortunate” was the best that they could settle upon. So in the Anchor Bible the Beatitudes read:

3 Fortunate are the humble in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Fortunate are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled. 5 Fortunate are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall he satisfied. 7 Fortunate are the merciful, [and so on].

Their use of “fortunate” is even more perplexing because they knew what the original Greek word meant, but they did not believe that meaning would be appropriate in their translation. In a footnote, they explain why they chose the word fortunate:

3. Fortunate. The word in Greek was used in classical times [to mean] of the state of the gods in contrast to men. The usual English “blessed” has more and more come to have liturgical or ecclesiastical overtones, and we have chosen “fortunate” as being the best translation available to us. ( W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, The Anchor Bible, Matthew ]Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1971], 45.)

When Stephen Ricks and I were writing Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, we cited the footnote when we were discussing the Beatitudes in 3 Nephi. However, Stephen, who is a Greek scholar in his own right, enlarged the phrase to read “enjoying the state of the gods.”

If the Savior used the same Nephite word in 3 Nephi 17:20 where it is translated “blessed,”as he used in the Beatitudes where that is translated “blessed,” then our verse might read, “Enjoying the state of the gods are ye because of your faith.”
—————————–

In modern English “faith” is as ambiguous as is “blessed.”

The distinguished Biblical scholar David Noel Freedman, in his article on “faith” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, points out that the Christian concept of faith “distinguishes faith from fidelity.” He wrote:

Faith is a peculiarly Christian concept. While other religious traditions have aspects of what the churches have come to name “faith,” none has the specific quality of intellectual assent that distinguishes faith from fidelity. The problem of faith and the central discussion of it arises in the context of the medieval attempts to codify and integrate the Christian experience into the emerging philosophical language of the scholastics. (“Faith,” article by David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Bible Dictionary [New York, Doubleday, 1992], 2: 744-745.)

Some Mormons have sought to solve the problem of the lack of fidelity by attaching the necessity of “works” to the meaning of faith in order to give the word a more concrete substance. This avoids the typical Christian dilemma of “faith” meaning “belief without evidence” but it still leaves faith as essentially undefined. In New Testament times that was not a problem. There, as in the Book of Mormon, the Savior’s word “faith” stands alone, having substance in itself.

Once again, the understanding of the scriptures hangs on the meaning of “faith.” So once again, let me quickly say that it was not until the Christian apostasy of about 100 or 150 A.D. that “faith” came to mean unsubstantiated belief— believing without sure evidence. During New Testament times the word translated as faith meant exactly the opposite of that. It meant trust based on adherence to the terms of a contract or covenant The Greek word in the New Testament is pistis and its nearest synonym in modern day English is probably “contract.” It means making and keeping the terms and conditions of the “covenant.”{2}

Code words in the scriptures are intended to instruct the learner and enlighten the initiated. Faith is a code word that was not intended to be such, but because the meaning has changed over time, it now acts like other code words. That is, in the surface text it has one meaning but in the subtext it has the same meaning it had when the New Testament was written.

“Faith” in the Book of Mormon now has the same double meaning as “faith” has in the New Testament.

The congregation that surrounded Jesus described in 1 Nephi 12:10 was extraordinary. The people—even the children and the teenagers— somehow had qualified in the previous life and in this one to be where the Savior was. For example, 600 years before they were born Nephi was told,

10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are [present tense] righteous forever [very future]; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are [present tense] made white in his blood (1 Nephi 12:10).

Nephi understood those men as the Savior did in sacred time. There is no question about whether those twelve had their agency, but this clearly says that they had always and would always exercise that agency in righteousness (zedek) —that they had done so before they came to this world, they would while they were here, and would always hereafter— which is the attribute that qualifies one to be in the presence of God. God knew them in sacred time, and gave them earthly assignments accordingly. That may have been true of the others who were present as well.

When our verse is read that way:

Blessed [enjoying the state of the gods] are ye because of your faith [because of the eternal and present covenants we have made together, and because you have kept your part]. And n ow behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept.

The testimony of the Savior’s words is that Jesus recognized these people as his friends who had kept their premortal covenants, are keeping their present day covenants, and will always do so. In other words he sees them as his friends in sacred time—knowing them as they were and as they are, and knowing that they will always be true to that friendship—hesed. In that light, it is little wonder that the beauty of the moment evoked his tears of joy

————-
FOOTNOTE

{1} See “code words” in the index of Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

{2} In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, see the chapter called “Meaning of ‘Faith’ — pistis” (p. 1007 first edition, or p. 697 second edition) The second edition has larger and therefore fewer pages than the first.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

3 Nephi 17:23-25 

23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

It is only two verses, yet, for many of us it presents our most vivid and moving image in the entire Book of Mormon. What the parents saw was the light with the angels who surrounded their children. What the child saw was whatever or whomever was within that light—that is, they saw the person or persons who were behind the veil. Many of those children would live and continue to bear testimony to their own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—and those testimonies would sustain the Nephite culture of consecration until the end of the forth generation.

For me, that image became even more realistic and consequently took on even greater significance when I was able to identify the source and meaning of the light or fire that surrounded the children. It is the shechinah—the veil of light that separates man from God, and through which man must pass in order to come into the presence of God.

The word is found in the dictionary of the LDS edition of the Bible, with this definition:

Shechinah. The Presence. A word used by the later Jews and borrowed from them by the Christians to denote the cloud of brightness and glory that marked the presence of the Lord, as spoken of in Ex. 3:1-6; 24:16; 1 Kgs. 8:10; lsa. 6:1-3; Matt. 17:5; Acts 7:55. The Prophet Joseph Smith described this phenomenon in connection with his first vision, as a “light.. .above the brightness of the sun,” and said that he saw two Personages whose “brightness and glory defy all description,” standing “in the light” JS-H 1:16-18.

The Shechinah is the first thing one sees, and sometimes the only thing the prophets mention, when they are brought into the presence of God. It is described many ways—sometimes as a fire, but more frequently as a cloud. Examples are Lehi’s report that “there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him” (1 Nephi 1:6); 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). In the book of Moses God explains:

2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence (Moses 1:2).

Moses explains further:

11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him (Moses 1:11).

There appears to be an equivalency relationship between that transfiguration, entering behind the veil, and seeing God. That may have to do with the Lord’s statement that

19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live (D&C 84:19-22).

The shechinah is usually believed to have been represented in Moses’s Tabernacle and in Solomon’s Temple by the beautifully embroidered veil that stood before of the Holy of Holies. But perhaps more likely, it was represented by the second veil that Paul mentions but is not described in the Old Testament.{1} Paul wrote:

1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly (Hebrews 9:1-5).

The psalms say God covers himself “with light as with a garment”(Psalms 104:1-2). In the Book of Abraham, Facsimile No. 2 shows us that Figure 3:

Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed (Facsimile No. 2, Fig. 3, from the Book of Abraham).

An ancient Jewish tradition holds that Adam and Eve were clothed in a garment of light before that ate the forbidden fruit, and which Nibley suggests that clothing was the Shechinah. {2}

———————–

FOOTNOTES

{1}  For a discussion of the shechinah as the veil of the temple see, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, the chapter called “Act 2, Scene 10: The King at the Veil.”

In Alfred Edersheim’s monumental work, he tells us, “The Rabbis speak of two veils, and say that the high-priest went in by the southern edge of the first veil, then walked along till he reached the northern corner of the second veil, by which he entered the Most Holy Place.” (Edersheim, Temple at the Time of Christ Chapter 2, FN 29. Matt. xxvii. 51).

{2}   Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981, 2000), 373.

—————————————————

It is fascinating to me to see the various ways that the
SHECHINAH IS REPRESENTED IN THE SCRIPTURES. Below are two groups of scriptures. The first are the ones cited in the bible dictionary. The second group are others that probably also represent the veil of light that separates us from god.

Exodus 3:1-6

2 And 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 [shechinah], and the bush was not consumed…..
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Exodus 24:15-18

15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud [shechinah] covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire [shechinah] on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud [shechinah], and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

1 Kings 8:10-15

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud [shechinah] filled the house of the Lord,
11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud [shechinah]: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

Isaiah 6:1-4

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke [shechinah].

Matthew 17:1-6

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, ….
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud [shechinah] 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.

Acts 7:54-56.)

55 But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory [shechinah] of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

OTHERS THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE DICTIONARY ARTICLE:

2 Kings 2:9-11

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire [shechinah], and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Acts 2:1-5

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire [shechinah], and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Genesis 3:22-24

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword [shechinah] which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Acts 1:9-11

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud [shechinah] 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.

Mark 9:6-8

6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
7 And there was a cloud [shechinah] that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Luke 9:33-36

34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud [shechinah], and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud [shechinah].
35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Mosiah 27:10-12

10 And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king—
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 [shechinah]; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.

3 Nephi 18:37-39

38 And it came to pass that when Jesus had touched them all, there came a cloud [shechinah] 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.

Ether 2:4-6

4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud [shechinah], and the brother of Jared saw him not.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud [shechinah], and gave directions whither they should travel.

Ether 2:14

14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud [shechinah] and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.

Ether 3:6-20

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, 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; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear…..
19 And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil [shechinah]; and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.
20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil [shechinah]; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him.

Doctrine and Covenants 34:7-8

7 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud [shechinah] with power and great glory.
8 And it shall be a great day at the time of my coming, for all nations shall tremble.

Doctrine and Covenants 45:44-45

44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds [shechinah] of heaven, clothed [shechinah: Psalm 104:1-2] 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 [shechinah].

Doctrine and Covenants 84:4-5

4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation.
5 For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud [shechinah] shall rest upon it, which cloud [shechinah] shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.

Exodus 13:20-22

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire [shechinah], to give them light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud [shechinah] by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

1 Nephi 1:5-6

5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.
6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire [shechinah] and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.

Helaman 5:22-47

22 And after they had been cast into prison many days without food, behold, they went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them.
23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire [shechinah], even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.
24 And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire [shechinah], and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.

3 Nephi 9:20

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 [shechinah] 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.

 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

3 Nephi 17:1-3
1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand.
2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.
3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

In the book of Alma, Mormon quotes extensively from what appears to be Alma’s journal. Mormon is following that same pattern here. It was Mormon who gave this portion the title of “Third Nephi,” and he identifies its author as the legitimate heir to the Nephite throne:

The book of Nephi the son of Nephi, who was the son of Helaman. And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah.{1}

Mormon gives Nephi the appropriate credit for his writing:

9 But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings of this people; and a shorter but true account was given by Nephi.
10 Therefore I have made my record of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the plates of Nephi (3 Nephi 5:9-11).

But all of 3 Nephi was not written by Nephi. Mormon carefully leaves his own editorial signature on some very important passages. For example:

18 And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record; nevertheless there are many things which, according to our language, we are not able to write.
19 And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and proceed to give my account of the things which have been before me.
20 I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it save it were himself and those whom he brought out of that land) and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls (3 Nephi 5:18-20).

Mormon is a truly great historian and editor. He does not pretend to be “unbiased” as many modern historians do by presenting “both sides” of the story—but with one just a bit more positive than the other. Mormon has a purpose and he states it clearly and honestly: His intent is to report Nephite history, and to do it in such a way that he teaches the gospel and illuminates the ancient Nephite temple rites.{2} But his primary purpose is to testify that Jesus is the Christ the Eternal God. He tells us:

6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;
7 But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.
8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.
11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people.
12 Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me (3 Nephi 26:6-12).

Mormon continually reminds us that his role is to be our teacher and mentor. (It is indicative of Mormon’s foresight that he taught his son Moroni to both keep the record and to continue the role of our teacher and mentor.) Mormon’s style was to combine the doctrinal sermons he quoted with stories that supported those same principles. Sometimes he makes very sure we know what he is doing by adding, “and thus we see” to the story and then reiterating his point.

He does something very like that at the beginning of 3 Nephi 17 by quoting the Savior’s instructions to the congregation about preparing for the nest day’s events. By our following the other examples of the way Mormon writes, we can see that he quotes these instructions both to tell us what the Savior said and also to warn us that we must prepare ourselves to appreciate what many believe to be the most endearing story in the entire Book of Mormon. Significantly, the beauty of this story is in what it suggests rather than what it actually says. That is why we must read it properly. Because, as Mormon tells us, the words of human language can never carry the real meaning of what he is about to describe:

15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father (3 Nephi 17: 15-17).

So it is, with great care, that Mormon bids us to “prepare our minds” so that we may feel—even if we cannot fully understand—the glory of the experience he is about to describe.

1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand.
2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.
3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again (3 Nephi 17:1-3).

————————-
FOOTNOTES

{1} There are two apparent breaks in the Nephite royal line. The first is Alma, but Mormon clarifies that by writing “…Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man.(Mosiah 17:2)” Later Alma is given the rule of the Nephites as though it were his by right—as it probably was.

The second apparent break was Mormon himself. But again he clarifies that by tracing his genealogy to the first Nephite king: “I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi (3 Nephi 5:20).” “I am the son of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi (Mormon 8:13).” “And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father’s name was Mormon)(Mormon 1:5)”

Given the importance of the patriarchal system to the ancients, those statements are sufficient to convince me that Mormon was both prophet and king by right of birth.

{2} The second half of Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord carefully illustrates that the Nephites practiced the same temple rites as were practiced in Solomon’s Temple, and that the subtext of the Book of Mormon is a temple text.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

In 3 Nephi chapter 16 the Savior gave the Nephites an encapsulated view of what would follow in the next 2000+ years. Like most prophecies of such a wide scope, this one is best understood from hindsight. As we read it, the Christian apostasy that followed the Savior’s death is not difficult to recognize. We can also see references to the European conquest and colonization of the Americas and then the restoration of the gospel. We recognize those events because they are in our past but the events he mentioned that are still in our future are much more difficult.

The outline the Savior gave is kind of a catalog that creates a chronological pattern. The pattern is more easily seen from a distance than up close. That is, one can get a better notion of the Savior’s message if it is read as an entire picture rather than in its individual units. That is also true of most prophecies that describe a whole series of events. For example, Nephi’s tree of life vision covers those same 2000+ years, but he includes enough detail that it is relatively easy for us to understand—again from hindsight where we can attach known events to his predictions. The first few verses of Isaiah 2 seem easy enough but after that it doesn’t fit our hindsight so we have to take its story out of chronological order so it will fit our preconceived pattern. Isaiah 49 paints a beautiful picture of the restoration of the gospel and the temple, and then the gathering of Israel. Jacob 5 and Revelation cover those same 2000 years. They paint interesting pictures but it is difficult to attach events to most of their individual parts.

For those who were contemporary with the prophets who made the prophecies, who did not have the advantage of hindsight, interpreting them would have been more difficult than it is for us. For that reason it seems apparent that the prophecies were not intended to be so much descriptions of future chronological events as they were testimonies that everything was already fore-known by God and that nothing will frustrate his designs. Therefore in the end everything will turn out just right.

3 Nephi 16 is very much like that. Its purpose seems to be to paint a beautiful and encouraging picture to demonstrate that there is a God in Heaven who is in charge. And in the end he will make sure that those who are faithful to their covenants will come off triumphantly. But in the meantime, he will also permit all people (both the good and the bad) to be in an environment that gives them the opportunity to choose how they will define their own eternal nature by whether they disdain, appreciate, or love other people. (I think those attitudes pretty much map to the three degrees of glory.)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

3 Nephi 15:11-18

11 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he said unto those twelve whom he had chosen:
12 Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph.
13 And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.
14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.
16 This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them:
17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
18 And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them (3 Nephi 15:11-18).

This is a strange statement. Knowing what we do about the apostles of the New Testament, it is difficult to understand how they could be described with the words “stiffneckedness and unbelief.” I do not question the validity of the Savior’s statement, so that leaves me only to question the validity of how I interpret that statement. After carefully re-thinking that interpretation and this is what I came up with:

To suggest that the New Testament Apostle’s was a lack of faith (pistis = trust in and keeping the covenants) makes no sense to me, but to suggest that they did not know about, and therefore could not trust in the covenants the Lord made with other people is not only reasonable, but probably correct.

If the Apostles’ problem was not lack of belief, but a lack of information about the covenants, then there is no problem squaring what the Savior said and what we know about the Apostles in Jerusalem.

Intelligent questions must be based on prior understanding, otherwise even correct answers are unintelligible. If a child hears someone mention “neutron,” and asks “What is a neutron?” A careful explanation would not make any sense if the child does not know even basic science.

In the development of our thought patterns, knowing how to ask the right questions is almost the same as knowing how to get correct answers. The importance of intelligent questions is illustrated by the conversation between young Jesus and the doctors at the temple. The story makes more sense if we use both the King James Bible and the Prophet’s Inspired Version together.

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
JST Luke 2:46 And … they were hearing him, and asking him questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? (Luke 2:44-49).

Both versions tell the same story, they just tell it from different perspectives. Luke writes that Jesus was “sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.” The JST says “they were hearing him, and asking him questions.” That sounds to me like a very stimulating conversation. My point, though, is that he was seriously asking questions. “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”

When I was a student at BYU, Chauncey C. Riddle, my favorite teacher at that time and subsequently my dear friend, taught me that we must not only ask the right questions, but that we must ask them in the right order, or even the correct answers may make no sense. For example, there is no point in someone asking to be taught how to do long division if he does not know, and will not learn the times tables. “How do I do multiplication?” must come before “How do I do long division?”

Before that we have to learn to add and subtract. And all that doesn’t even begin to introduce us to calculus. Neither would it equip us to intelligently ask a question that could only be answered in terms of higher mathematics.

I think understanding the gospel is like understanding math. The more questions we ask the more we can know—but only if we ask them in the right sequence so we can understand the answers when we find them.

In a similar way, the people of Jerusalem could not even conceive of an intelligent question about the Nephites, never mind appreciated the correct answer.

It would never have occurred to the people in Jerusalem to ask about people in the Americas. They did not know the American continents even existed. For the Savior to have told them about the Nephites, he would have had to first change their entire mindset about the geography of the whole world.

Another thing that would have stood in their way of knowing is that they probably thought they already knew. The ten tribes are lost to us, but at least some were not lost to them. It had only been a few hundred years since the Assyrian and Babylonian wars had dispersed the tribes. James seems to know where they are. His letter begins:

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting (James 1:1).

Jesus says that they thought he was talking about the gentiles. If so, then perhaps they also thought that they could dismiss the question for now because it didn’t really matter.

The Jerusalem Saints clearly knew something about the location of some of the “lost” tribes. But it probably didn’t occur to them that they did not know about others that were scattered all over the world.

In short, the Christians at Jerusalem did not and could not know about the Nephites because they did not and could not know what questions to ask or even know that there were questions that could be asked. Therefore, they could not know about the covenants the Lord had made with those distant people.

There is a short scene in Hamlet that illustrates this beautifully. Hamlet is in his mother’s rooms when his father’s ghost enters. Hamlet and the ghost speak to each other and his mother asks, “To whom do you speak this?” Hamlet responds, “Do you see nothing there?” Then the queen makes the ultimate academic response, “Nothing at all; yet all that is I see” (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4).

Like the queen, there is a tendency among all humans to assert that there is nothing there if they cannot see it and that there is no truth if they perspnally cannot comprehend it.

That is what prevented the Jerusalem apostles from knowing about the Nephites. The sinfulness that the Savior called “stiffneckedness and unbelief” was probably simply their not knowing and not wishing to know, even though they were given the opportunity. The Savior said,

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father (John 10:14-18).

That might have been enough to stimulate their interest to cause them to ask “Who and were are those other sheep?” but they did not pursue the question. Consequently, the Savior let it drop and told them nothing more.

From this we have another example of a very basic principle: the Savior did not teach things his followers did not seek to know. Similarly, the Holy Ghost will not teach us things we do not diligently seek for. However, in some cases we must first ask for instructions so we will know what to ask. Then we must ask the right questions in the right order. If we assume we already have enough information to ask and understand complex questions, that causes us to ask the wrong questions or in the wrong order.

Then we, like the queen of Denmark, may comfort ourselves with: “I see nothing at all; yet all that is I see.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

3 Nephi 14:24-27 – 3 Nephi 15:1-10 

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.

My dear friend Beverly Campbell has been involved in Church affairs on the highest level for most of her life. Her devotion to the church and its leaders is absolute and unquestioned. She has said to me several times, and I have repeated it even more: “I know a thousand reasons to leave the Church, but only one reason to stay—It’s True! ”

That is the situation, plain and simple: It’s True!

I have been studying church history all my life and if I were to judge the truthfulness of the gospel or the validity of the Church by stories about some of the people who have been its members or among its leaders, I could probably come up with an easy thousand reasons without even going beyond 19th century church history. And then the reasons would multiply as we got closer to the present. (For example, I remember, when I was a boy, the mummers of amazement that rippled through the chapel when it was announced from the pulpit that a letter from the First Presidency contained instructions that women could now be called on to say the opening and closing prayers in sacrament meetings. That change in church policy really rattled some people’s lingering Victorian notions of cultural and priesthood propriety!)

The point is this: there is no legitimate rationale that can outweigh these facts: The gospel IS truth; the priesthood and its ordinances ARE real; and the church tends to be as correct as contemporary human culture will permit. There are excuses, of course: unanswered questions, hurt feelings, and sometimes sin on our own part. But even then, when one “leaves the church” he somehow insists “the church left him.” Occasionally that seems true because the differences appear to be irreconcilable, when one’s sense of right and wrong—or one’s prejudice—comes in conflict with church practices or doctrine. But in time and with patience those wrinkles will be ironed out. I know people who left the church because black men were not given the priesthood, and then after that, others who left the church because they were.

Just as the Law of Moses had to work within the larger ancient Near Eastern culture, so Mormonism has to work within the many cultures where our members live. Within those diverse cultures, Mormonism is a mostly coherent subculture with its own established practices and policies. Sometimes some members dogmatically represent those policies as doctrine. There is a danger there. As the larger culture changes some church policies can be changed also. The spiritually mature among us can distinguish between cultural norms, and Mormon sub-cultural policies, and true doctrine, but not everyone can make those distinctions. For people who have defined church policies as doctrine, their testimonies may be shaken when the policies are changed.

In every era of church history, there have been major issues that call people’s fundamental beliefs into question—the beliefs they grew up with and still tenaciously hold dear. In our past it was polygamy. More recently it was whether every worthy man could hold the priesthood. {1} Now it’s about gay rights. There will always be something to test our spiritual resilience.

In 3 Nephi, to some Nephites, when they were told the Law of Moses was fulfilled, the issue may have been even bigger than any of those our church has faced, and that is what the Savior addressed next.

1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father; therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day.
2 And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.
3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.
4 Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
5 Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.
6 Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.
7 And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come.
8 For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.
9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.
10 Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me (3 Nephi 15:1-10).

While the specific issue the Savior addressed here is not one that concerns us now, the principle is very timely and exceedingly important.

The unqualified relevance to us is in the Savior’s words, “Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel…. Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” He gives no well-thought-out rational argument. He simply says, “I am the law.” There is no other argument needed to justify the changes he has made.

That was the whole issue and there was not any other. The Savior gave the Law of Moses to enable the people to individually be brought to salvation while they were WITHIN the restraints of their ancient Near Eastern cultural. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, but it also has to function within cultural restraints. As we have seen, when the restraints change, the policies can also be changed. However, salvation is always an individual matter. The Church provides us with the scriptures, the priesthood and its ordinances, and with many systems of support, but in the end each of us must learn to recognize and live the truth of the gospel notwithstanding the larger cultural conditions that impose themselves upon us. Because it is still true that “the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house,” and it is also still true that only if we have an individually secure foundation will we be able to survive.

—————
FOOTNOTE

From a sociological point of view, polygamy had an underlying importance that was not just about multiple wives and children. During the 1870’s and 80’s polygamy was a rallying cry—a kind of “tribal” identity that had to be sustained so that the “tribe” could remain a cohesive, definable, and a self-identifiable unit. That self-identity was necessary for the church’s survival while the federal government was trying to dismantle it. Congress disincorporated the church; took away its property (including temples) and put it in receivership to be disposed of. Federal officials jailed all the leaders they could capture; and Congress was discussing a federal disenfranchisement law like the one in Idaho. Polygamy became the symbol of Mormon resistence. Then, in 1888, Wilford Woodruff and the chairman of the National Republican Party met and struck a deal that would undo those congressional actions and make things normal again for the Church. In exchange, the national government got the Manifesto which was the Mormon bargaining chip. The church agreed to discontinue making NEW polygamous marriages. That was all the church gave up. Existing polygamous marriages were left in tact, the church was reincorporated, and Mormons were now defined again as legitimate Americans. In fact, the Church lost nothing. The doctrine of eternal marriage was not changed, but the practice of polygamy had run the course of its usefulness because after 1888 the focus of church policy turned to expansion rather than survival.

The other issue was similar. The Jim Crow laws were still enforced in the 1940’s and 50’s, and not challenged until the 60’s and 70’s. If the church had given black men the priesthood before it did, segregation laws would have required that we have black wards and black stakes, and white wards and white stakes—just like there were white and “colored” Baptist, Methodist congregations. That kind of segregation would have violated everything that is Zion. So the Mormons had to wait until American culture would permit a black man to be the bishop of a white ward before the Lord could instruct the prophet: “Now is the time.”

The necessity of these and other changes, and correctness of their timing are easy for us to see in hindsight, but at the time they gave real consternation to some members of the Church. The situation now is the same as it was in 3 Nephi: The Savior made the law and only he has the ultimate authority to change it.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>