Lesson 13
The Book of
Mormon
Another Testament
of Christ
Ministry of Jesus
to the Nephite Nation
3 Nephi:11-28
Jesus
continues to love the people whom He knew in the preexistence. He stood in the great council and offered
Himself for the children of God. Now as
the Book of Mormon has been revealed and translated for us in our day, we again
have another witness of Jesus Christ, another book that verifies that He lives,
that He is the Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth and sacrificed
Himself for the children of God by taking upon Himself the sins of the world,
giving us the atonement of His blood.
The Book of Mormon is another witness of Christ, that the world may know
His work, His sacrifice, His love for all mankind.
Through
out the entire Book of Mormon there are teachings that come directly from the
Savior of the World. He teaches Nephi,
Alma, Ammon, Jacob, Moroni, and many other prophets His word. These prophets are commanded to teach these
words to the people. The Book of Mormon is filled with teachings of Jesus
Christ, His word, His light, His love.
As you read the Book of Mormon, you learn these things about our Lord
and Savior and within its pages it tells us that “we labor diligently to engraven these words
upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive
them with thankful hearts....for this intent we have written these things, that
they may know that we know of Christ.” (Jacob 4:4)
During our
travels we have visited many countries, one of which is France. In the city of Paris, you can climb
the steps to the Butte Montmartre, and there are a lot of steps, you
come to
a spectacular church, The Sacred Heart Basilica, know in
Paris as Sacre-Coeur. There are some
different things about this church that touched me as we visited. The outside of Sacre-Coeur is made of a white
stone. This is a special type of stone
that when it rains, it beaches white.
Thus represents the purity of our risen Lord, the inside of the church
throughout it are pictures of the Jesus risen from the dead. I don't exactly remember if there are some
crucifixion pictures, but what stood out to me the most was all of the pictures
of the risen Lord. I love that the
emphasis is on the ascension of the Savior as opposed to His death. This risen Son of God is He who visits the
Nephites in the 3rd book of Nephi.
In the 3rd
book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, Jesus comes and visits the Nephite
people. They have been a wicked and
adulterous generation, and have been warned over and over to repent and come unto
Christ. It is prophesied that the Savior
will come and visit the righteous people.
But it is difficult for the people to be obedient, and many fall away
from the teaching of the prophets of Jesus Christ. In chapter 11 of 3rd Nephi, He
comes after a great destruction of the land, earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds,
tumultuous days, and many days of complete darkness. The Savior comes to visit the people of the
Nephite land.
He shows Himself
to them, His hands and His feet, and tells them, “I am Jesus Christ the Son of
God. I created the heavens and the
earth, and all things that in them are.
I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and
in me hath the Father glorified his name.
I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are
fulfilled. And as many as have received
me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as
many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in
me is the law of Moses fulfilled. I am
the light and the life of the world. I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” (3 Nephi 9: 15-18)
John 10:16
tells us “ 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.” In the Book of Mormon Jesus
tells the Nephites that they are that fold: “And verily I say unto you, that ye
are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold....And
they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles... But
behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me, and ye are numbered among
those whom the Father hath given me.” (3 Nephi 15: 21-24)
“Then 'in
the ending' of that year” (thirty and fourth year, 3 Nephi 8) “(3 Nephi
10:18-19), several months after the Ascension on Olivet, Jesus ministered
personally among the Nephites for many hours on many days. He came as a ”Man descending out of heaven”;
introduced himself as the God of Israel; permitted the multitude to feel the
prints of the nails in his hands and feet and to thrust their hands into his
side; called a quorum of twelve; gave them keys and powers and authorities;
healed the Nephite sick and introduced the sacramental ordinance in the Western
Hemisphere; taught the people in plainness and with excellence surpassing much
that was done in his Palestinian ministry; gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost;
and ascended to his Father.”( McConkie, B.4, p. 307)
What an amazing
work He did and shared with the Nephite people.
They enveloped Him with loving hearts, and believed. He blessed their children and was encircled
with fire as the angels ministered to them.
He prays for the Nephite people and wept because His joy was full, and
blessed them because of their faith. He asked for the people to return to their
homes, and He would ascend to His father, “And it came to pass that when Jesus
had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and
behold they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would
ask him to tarry a little longer with them.” (3 Nephi 17:5) Oh how they loved Him!! He did stay with them a little longer.
The Book of
Mormon is filled with His teachings, 3rd Nephi is filled with His
ministry to the Nephite people, His love for them, and their love for Him. In a Sunday School class I attended in high
school, I remember the teacher asking us what was our favorite book in the Book
of Mormon. At that time, I had not
determined what that book was for me.
One of my closest friends shared her love for 3rd Nephi and
why. It touched me to the heart, and I
knew I must study that book and find out why she loved it so much. Today, I can testify, that Jesus is my
Savior, your Savior, the Son of the living God, who loves us. He came to this earth to live, and to die for
each and every one of us. He came to
atone for our sins, so that through His grace we can live with Him and our
Father again.
Elder Jeffrey
Holland gave a powerful address in October 2009 on The Book of Mormon. He called it our “Safety for the Soul.” He testifies that it is “One of the Lord's
most powerful keystones” of our religion.
He continues “I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this
latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in
these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon
and the Lord, Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies... I want it absolutely clear
when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world...
that the Book of Mormon is true.” (Holland, Safety for the Soul, General
Conference, October 2009)
President
Monson in his last conference address in April 2017 gave us a powerful testimony
of the Book of Mormon.
“This
morning I speak about the power of the Book of Mormon and the critical need we
have as members of this Church to study, ponder, and apply its teaching in our
lives. The importance of having a firm
and sure testimony of the Book of Mormon cannot be overstated.
We live in a
time of great trouble and wickedness.
What will protect us from the sin and
evil so prevalent in
the world today? I maintain that a
strong testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of His gospel will help see
us through to safety. If you are not
reading the Book of Mormon each day, please do so. If you will read it prayerfully and with a
sincere desire to know the truth, the Holy Ghost will manifest its truth to
you. If it is true—and I solemnly
testify that it is—then Joseph Smith was a prophet who saw God the
Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Because the
Book of Mormon is true, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the
Lord's Church on the earth, and the holy priesthood of God has been restored
for the benefit and blessing of His children....
My dear
associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study
and ponder the Book of Mormon each day.
As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit,
to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven's help
in our lives. I so testify with all my
heart in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. (Monson, “The Power of the Book of
Mormon.” General Conference, April 2017)
This brings
us back to the introduction of this study.
As a young seventeen year old girl reading the Book of Mormon and
finishing my reading on the eve of Easter morning, how God testified to me the truth of this
testament of Jesus Christ. This book has
made me who I am today, what I believe as truth, and why I believe in Jesus
Christ and His resurrection. I love this
book!
It isn't
hard to say the Book of Mormon is my favorite book of all time. It has literally changed me, especially when
during one of my many readings of the book, I marked in blue anything that had
to do with Jesus Christ. What an amazing
journey it took me on, and it is enlightening to notice how many times Jesus is
referred to, quoted, and as well as His ministry on the western
hemisphere. This is quite a journey, to
get to know this very Messiah, the Prince of
Peace by reading the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon
Another Testament of
Jesus Christ
Prepare
Read from the Book of
Mormon every day
Share
your love for the Book of Mormon and why.
Share
the events that took place in 3rd Nephi.
What
did he do while he visited the Nephites?
What
is your testimony of this great book?
Remembering
Place
a copy of the Book of Mormon out for all to see.
Read
the Book of Mormon as a family.
Make
the Book of Mormon a part of your personal
daily
study, a commitment for every day of your life.
Each
time you read the Book of Mormon, challenge
yourself
to
find a new way to read it, such as marking scriptures that
pertain
to just one topic, or several topics,
or
mark only the scriptures or words that pertain
only
to Jesus Christ.
Act of Service
Challenge
yourself to share the Book of Mormon with
someone. Sometimes this is one of the hardest
thing
we will ever do in our lives. But the
miracles that
happen
after you have done this will be beyond measure
because
of this great act of service you have done, to share
the
truth with others, testifying that you know
Jesus
is the Christ.
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