Latest / Scripture Central / 3 Nephi 8–11 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource

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3 Nephi 8–11 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource · Scripture Central

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Hello there my name is Tyler Griffin and this is scripture
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study insights by Scripture Central today 35 chapters 8
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through 11. This particular chapter is or
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set of chapters, especially when you get to Chapter 11 is
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sometimes referred to as as a symbolic holy of holies in the
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in the Book of Mormon. Because we have been looking
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forward to his coming to the manifestation of Jesus Christ in
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the flesh. The resurrected Lord coming to
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these people for 400 and 2025 pages up to this point.
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And now we finally get the veil to be parted and the Son of God
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to descend and begin his his ministry among the Nephites and
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Lamanites. So it's important to note that
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we're treading on very sacred ground here in these chapters.
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And the lifelong learning overlay that I wanted to kind of
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use as an approach to these these 4 chapters is taken from a
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statement by President Russell M Nelson when he said this.
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I plead with you now to take charge of your own testimony of
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Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Work for it.
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Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth.
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Don't pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men
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and women. As you make the continual
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strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest
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priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.
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And the reality is, is life. Your testimony could be
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diagrammed in a variety of ways. They're they're ups and downs
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along the path of life. There are high points of
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revelation and low points of, of frustration and discouragement,
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maybe even depression at times where you feel like you're,
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you're struggling to believe. But you'll notice in this
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particular depiction, there's a general upward trend in our
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Scripture block today. You, you will find that the
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people have really been struggling in their belief in
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and willingness to follow the Lord based on what we covered
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last week in 35, one through 7, especially in chapters 6 and
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seven leading up to the destruction we're going to see
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in verse or in chapter 8. And So what the Lord always
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seems to be doing is finding people wherever they are.
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X marks the spot. This is where you currently
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happen to be. Now we're using them as an
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example. And He gives opportunities and
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invites them to go to the next level in their belief in their
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conversion, in their testimony of Him.
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And if they respond accordingly, then they are given more
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opportunities. And sometimes we stay on a
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spiritual plateau for a long time.
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And sometimes we're able to rapidly progress from level to
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level in our belief in our testimony, ultimately leading to
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our conversion, our our consecration of our life to him.
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So in these chapters, starting in chapter 8 through 11, today,
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we are going to go on this journey of testimony discovery
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with these people by proxy. And as we watched them go
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through this process, hopefully by the time we're finished, you
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and I will conclude our study of these chapters, both in an
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episode form like this, but mostly in your own individual
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efforts to seek heaven's inspiration and aid as you
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personally or as a family go through these chapters on your
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own, that the Lord will take you to an A higher and higher level
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of your faith in Him. And your testimony will be
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strengthened as you take charge of building that testimony and
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you feed it truth and you don't pollute it.
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Because just like this path is going upward because of agency,
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you and I have the option to also go the other direction and
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lose our testimony and give up on our faith.
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So as we jump in, it starts with giving you the time stamp of the
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30 and 30 year being passed away and then in the 30 and fourth
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year in the first month on the 4th day of the month.
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Which gives us a little bit of a fun crossover between the
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Nephite calendar system and the Old World calendar system, which
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then helps us Orient on our current Gregorian calendars that
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we flip over a new year. On January 1st.
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The Nephites have this great storm arise at the crucifixion
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of Jesus Christ. So if you use Matthew, Mark, and
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Luke's timing, we know that the Savior is crucified the day
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after those Passover lambs were killed in the temple.
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If you use John's timing in the Bible, then the Savior is
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crucified on Calvary's Hill on the same day that those lambs
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are being killed. So he's he's crucified on
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Passover. Passover occurs on the first
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full moon after the spring equinox, equinox being sometime
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around March 20th, 21st every year.
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So depending on the lunar cycle, it would be somewhere late
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March, early April. So it kind of gives us a a sense
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of of the Nephite timing here. This is sometime in the the
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spring right around just after spring equinox on the 4th day of
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their first month, there arose a great storm, such an one as had
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never been known in all the land.
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Thus it begins at the crucifixion of the Savior.
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Samuel Lamanite prophesied that all of these things would happen
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and you now read in verse 6 through 16 about all of the
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terrible destructions that the cataclysmic upheavals that take
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place in the Americas. And, and if we're not careful,
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we might look at this and think, wow, this is cruel.
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This is over the top. In reality, what is happening in
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the physical world is simply a physical manifestation, an an
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object lesson, if you will, for spiritual consequences.
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They have these people have made significant choices, having gone
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through the pride cycle multiple times, spiraling further and
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further downward in their testimony to the point where you
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you look closely at the the things that are happening in
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verse 6 through 16. And if you were to mark each of
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those events, consider them as what I said a a physical
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manifestation of a spiritual consequence.
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So it's a, it's an object lesson in a, in a big physical way of
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what can happen on an individual basis for us today if we choose
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to not follow the Lord, if we choose wickedness rather than
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righteousness. So verse 17 says this.
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Thus the face of the whole earth became deformed because of The
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Tempest and the thunderings and the lightnings and the quaking
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of the earth. Everything is broken up,
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everything that these people in their wickedness had been
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striving to build. Brothers and sisters, when we
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build up anything or gain anything of the world, all of
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the treasures, all of the exceedingly fine workmanship of
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the hands of men and women today, none of that has lasting
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power. None of that will see us through
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to the eternities. It it's all mortal.
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And in a a few hours of destruction, consider all of
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those treasures that these people had built up that are now
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either broken up, burned, crushed, buried, sunk into the
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sea, drowned. They, they are no more.
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All of that effort came to naughty versus what the prophets
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invite us to do, which is to lay up for ourselves treasures in
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heaven to to echo what the Savior taught in his Sermon on
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the Mount. So it's it's a starting point
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for these people to now turn to God and to turn to him in a, in
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a lasting way. So you see that it says in verse
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19 lasted for about the space of three hours and it was said by
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some that the time was greater. Nevertheless, all these great
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and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours.
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So I think it's important to note that what these people have
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spent a lifetime building up and even generations in their
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families, it's it's lost in in nearly an instant, in the space
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of three hours, all of this destruction takes place.
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And then the howling and the weeping and the mourning of the
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people kick in, which is in direct fulfillment of the
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prophet Samuel, Samuel the Lamanite, his words back in
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chapter 13, especially verse 33. He gave them the script five
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years previously. This is what you're going to
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say. And lo and behold, this is
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exactly what they say in fulfillment of that.
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Now you go to Chapter 9. And it opens with them hearing a
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voice after those three hours of destruction.
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And the voice says, Woe, woe. Woe unto this people, woe unto
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the inhabitants of the whole earth, except they shall repent.
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For the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the
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slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people.
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And then he gives the reason for all that destruction and it is
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because of their iniquity and abominations that they are
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fallen. So verse one gives you the first
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because and if you look in Chapter 9, look in verse five
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verse 789101112 start starting in in verse 7:00.
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Every single verse up to 12 gives you a reason using words
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like to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my
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face, or because of their wickedness and their their sins,
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or that the blood of the prophets and the Saints should
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not come up to me anymore against them.
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Those are the reasons that all of these destructions came.
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It's a it's a direct cause and effect in this case.
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Now we need to be careful not every natural disaster that
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occurs in the world is a sign of of divine disfavor of God's
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justice and judgement being poured out upon the earth as it
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is in this situation which is a fulfillment of of God's prophets
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talking to these people. Now those who were saved, look
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at verse 13, O all ye that are spared, because so he gave the
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reasons why all the destruction took place in all those verses
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that we listed back to verse 12. And now he gives the reason why
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those who were spared, why they weren't destroyed as well.
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He says, O all ye that are spared because you were more
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righteous than they, will you not now return unto me and
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repent of your sins and be converted that I may heal you.
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So he finds them there in their their level of belief, their
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level of testimony. And he's now giving an
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invitation to turn to him and come to a new level of
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understanding in their testimony of him.
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They've witnessed the destruction.
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They've seen those prophecies fulfilled.
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They've heard the morning, they've participated in those
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lamentations. So their testimony is slowly
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trending in the right direction. Now this voice giving all of
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this reason for the destruction and then the invitation to them,
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You're more righteous than those who were destroyed, but you need
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to repent and return unto me so that I can heal you.
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So he then gives this incredible promise to them.
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Yeah, verily I say unto you. Now it's important to note here
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the pronoun I, the person who's speaking to them, the Lord Jesus
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Christ, if we were to to do our cross comparison with what's
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going on over in the old world in the Bible, He has just given
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his life for us. He's just been slain on the
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cross, which means he's now in the spirit world, and he's
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putting this much attention and effort into these people half
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the world away on the other side of the earth.
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He says, Verily I say unto you, if you will come unto me.
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This is right after moments after completing his infinite
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atoning sacrifice for us, suffering infinite amounts of
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pain. And he's now turning his full
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attention to these people in the Americas.
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And what does he say? Come unto me.
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If you will come unto me, ye shall have eternal life.
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Spoken from one who just gave up his physical mortal life for us
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and for them. He's promising them eternal life
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if they'll just come unto him. Behold, mine arm of mercy is
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extended toward you, and whosoever will come, him will I
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receive, And blessed are those who come unto me.
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Those arms that moments before had been stretched out by by men
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on that cruel cross now refers to his arm of mercy being
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extended to these people. The symbolism of the timing and
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this atoning one being the one saying these words, it it
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amplifies the significance of what these people are hearing.
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Then he says in verse 15, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the
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Son of God. I created the heavens and the
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earth and all things that in them are I was with the Father
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from the beginning. I am in the Father and the
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Father in me, and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
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And then he tells them a little bit about his experience in the
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old world. I came unto my known or to my
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own, and my own received me not, and the scriptures concerning my
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coming are fulfilled. So again, the significance of of
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the Savior's message in that instance as he enters the the
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spirit world now speaking to these people halfway around the
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world makes it so that if you were to ask them right after he
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finishes speaking, how, how's your testimony?
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What, what do you think? What do you believe about Jesus
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Christ? I think most of these people
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would say, wow, I have a firm testimony.
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I, I know Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that he was
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slain for the sins of the world. I think they would say my
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testimony is strong. And yet we're just beginning on
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this process of strengthening their testimony.
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Now, sometimes for some people or for some groups of people,
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you see this progression occur within a matter of a few
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moments, over spread over a few chapters, and sometimes it's
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spread over lifetimes. The timing is less important
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than the direction and the focus of our lives being on the
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Savior. If it takes decades, as long as
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we're moving in His direction and coming unto Him and
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overcoming the world, we will find rest.
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That is the promise from our prophets.
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So He goes on to to tell them that the old law is now
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fulfilled. Verse 19.
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You shall OfferUp unto me no more the shedding of blood.
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Yeah, your sacrifices and your burnt offering shall be done
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away. For I will accept none of your
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sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
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We're done with that. Now we're going to go to the
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higher law. You shall offer for a sacrifice
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unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and whoso
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cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, Him
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will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the
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Lane Knights, because of their faith in me at the time of their
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conversion. So He gives another incredible
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promise on their progression along this covenant path that's
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leading to higher and higher degrees of their testimony.
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Which now brings us to chapter 10.
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It says that after he had finished saying these things,
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there was silence in this in the land for the space of many
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hours. And then the voice came again
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and verse 3 tells you that all the people did hear.
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This is one of those unique moments in Scripture.
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Brother Dwayne Hough at the Logan Institute years ago
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pointed this out to me. I thought this was a beautiful
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insight that he's speaking in verse 4 to people who have
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passed, who have been destroyed in those destructions.
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He's speaking to people in the spirit world, and people that
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are living are hearing it as well.
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Verse 4, O ye people of these great cities which have fallen,
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who are descendants of Jacob. Yeah, who are of the House of
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Israel? How OFT have I gathered you as a
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hen gatherers her chickens under wings, and have nourished you?
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Everything in verse 4 is past tense.
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How many times did I pick you up?
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How many times did I protect you?
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How many times did I forgive you?
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So he's referring to all the things in the past that he's
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done for them. And then he goes on in verse 5
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to shift to the present. Again, how OFT would I have
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gathered you? As a hen gathers her chickens
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under her wing, so this is present and forward, future
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tense looking. O ye people of the House of
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Israel who have fallen, you people who are no longer living.
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O ye people of the House of Israel, ye that dwell at
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Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen.
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Yeah, how OFT would I have gathered you as a hen gathers
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her chickens, and ye would not. And now he speaks to the living
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in verse 6. O ye House of Israel, whom I
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have spared, how OFT will I now we're future looking.
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How OFT will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under
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her wings, if you will repent and return to me with full
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purpose of heart. So he's finding them where they
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are and remember what they've already experienced, all the
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destruction. And then the the voice in the
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darkness in Chapter 9, they they've been introduced to him.
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He told them who he was and why he's done this destruction.
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And now he's telling them, I'm ready for you to go to the next
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level, but you have to repent. Verse 7.
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But if not in other words, I'm not going to make you repent.
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I'm not going to make you love me.
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It's a free will choice coming on the heels of his free will
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offering. He freely sacrificed his whole
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life for them, and now he's asking them if they will freely
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sacrifice theirs for him. Not in a physical way, but in a
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broken heart and a contrite spirit sort of a way, he says.
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But if you don't choose to do that, O House of Israel, the
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places of your dwelling shall become desolate until the time
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of the fulfilling of the covenant to your Father's.
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And then after he finishes with that invitation, that message of
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hope for the future, he gives them three days of darkness to
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think about it. So there's there's some
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pondering time to see what are you going to do?
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How are you going to choose to respond?
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And then that sets up the stage for the incredible event in
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Chapter 11. Many people have assumed that
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Chapter 11 then happens immediately after those three
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days. That's possible.
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We do not know for absolute certainty when Chapter 11 occurs
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in relation to the destructive events surrounding the death of
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Christ. Let me show you what I mean.
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In chapter 10, verse 18, he says, and it came to pass in the
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ending of the 30 and 4th year. Behold, I this would be Mormon
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the abridger talking to us. Behold, I will show unto you
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that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who
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had been called Lamanites who had been spared, did have great
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favors shown unto them. Did you catch the timing there
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in the ending of the 30 and 4th year?
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I will show unto you that they had these these great favors
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shown unto them. Well, we know that the
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destruction took place on the 4th day of the first month of
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that new year. So if the incredible
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manifestations are going to occur in the ending of that
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year, that would be from our calendars perspective, you know,
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10/11/11 and 1/2 months later. So almost a year later.
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But then it gets confounded a little bit.
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He says they would see these great blessings poured up on
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their heads in so much that soon after the ascension of Christ
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into heaven, He did truly manifest Himself unto them.
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Now you have to say, is that immediately after His arrival in
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the spirit world and then His resurrection initially, that He
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soon after that showed Himself? Because if that's the case, then
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it's a matter of a few days or a week at the most after the
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destruction destructions occurred.
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Or is it referring to the ascension into heaven?
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That was 40 days after his resurrection, right before the
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Pentecost over in the Old World. At the end of the day, we don't
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know. And rather than getting caught
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up in the calendar questions, let's stay focused on the fact
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that these people, whatever amount of time he gave them,
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kind of like the three days to ponder this after the darkness
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in chapter 10, whatever amount of time it was, it was exactly
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what they needed. Whether it was 40 days, whether
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it was three months or whether it was 11 1/2 months.
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But it's going to going to be somewhere in that in that time
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range that then Jesus Christ manifests himself.
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And we watch these people rapidly grow in their testimony
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of Jesus Christ. And their testimony, by the way,
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is pretty secure at this point, but it's not nearly as good as
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it's going to be when he finishes the events of Chapter
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11. So Mormon, after abridging
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chapter 10, he he took a bit of an editorial pause and he says,
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therefore for this time, I make an end to my sayings.
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So he took some sort of a little pause after chapter 10.
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And now we go into one of the most significant chapters of
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Scripture anywhere, Chapter 11. Now it came to pass that there
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were a great multitude gathered together, the people of Nephi
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round about the temple which was in the land bountiful.
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And what are they doing? They're marveling about the
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change. And verse 2, they're also
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conversing about this Jesus Christ of whom the sign had been
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given concerning his death. So if it was a few days after,
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that wouldn't surprise us. If it's forty days later, and
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that's a little more surprising. If it's towards the ending of
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the the year, that's even more surprising that now we're a year
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into it almost. And they're still bringing more
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people to the temple in Bountiful.
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They're still talking about the changes that have taken place
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and they're still conversing about Jesus Christ.
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Their focus is still on him. So knowing that they're at the
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temple, knowing that their focus is on Christ becomes a beautiful
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lens through which we can read the rest of these verses in this
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chapter. This becomes, if you will, a a
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temple text. We see similarities to us going
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to the temple today. And if our focus is on the great
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changes that the Lord is causing to take place among us, and if
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our focus is on Him, then we too can increase in our testimony of
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Him and our conversion to Him. Verse three, It came to pass
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that while they were thus conversing one with another,
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they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven.
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The implication is they're not sure where the voice is coming
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from. It's this new experience and as
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they're listening to the voice, so you get you get this group of
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people on the earth. Here comes this voice as if it
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came from heaven. And notice the response of the
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people as they hear that voice and don't understand it.
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It says they cast their eyes roundabout for they understood,
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not the voice which they heard. How often do you and I do the
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exact same thing? We cast our eyes roundabout when
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we get a revelation, a flash of inspiration from heaven and we
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look earthward. We we look horizontally to try
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to find answers because we're confused.
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We're trying to find somebody who doesn't look confused.
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And the reality in the situation is everybody is equally as
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confused. Nobody knows what that voice
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said, it seems. And so the second time the voice
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comes in verse four, and they understood it not.
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And now the third time comes and it says they did open their ears
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to hear it and their eyes were towards the sound thereof, and
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they did look steadfastly towards heaven from whence the
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sound came. That is a powerful concept for
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us in a teaching setting to consider what you and I might be
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able to do, to apply the principles here, to stop relying
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so much on the wisdom and the the voices of the world, and to
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spend more time turning to God, looking heavenward.
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What does it mean for us to open our ears to hear it?
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What does it mean to turn our eyes towards heaven and intently
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seek to understand what it is that God is saying to us?
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He's the one who's speaking, so let's turn to Him as he's
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talking to us. That that's the polite thing to
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do in any conversation. Well, in this case, that's the
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only reasonable way to find out what's really being said.
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And when they did that the third time, they did understand.
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Behold, my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I've
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glorified my name. Hear ye Him.
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There is so much and encapsulated in in verse 7 the
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voice of God the Father bearing testimony of his only begotten
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son. Can I suggest to you that that
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is the most powerful testimony of Jesus Christ in the entire
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Book of Mormon. When God the Father says this is
30:14
him, this is the Christ, this is my son, hear ye him.
30:21
Nobody can bear a more powerful witness than God the Father, the
30:26
Father of us all telling us, this is the one I want you to
30:30
focus on, hear him. So I love the fact that now you
30:36
would ask the question, how is their testimony doing?
30:40
I think it just went to the next level.
30:43
They heard the voice of God bearing witness that it's that
30:46
it's his Son. So they've found a new level for
30:52
their testimony. Then they look up and they see a
30:55
man descending out of heaven clothed in a white robe.
30:58
And everybody is very, very reverent, very quiet.
31:03
Nobody wants to say anything because they think that it's an
31:06
Angel that has come down among them.
31:09
It's OK for us to struggle with that revelatory process and to
31:16
to maybe not understand fully what God was trying to
31:20
communicate to us when he speaks to us, even when we understand
31:25
his voice, even when we know what is being said and we still
31:30
maybe don't connect all the dots to the end.
31:33
God's OK with that being a process rather than rebuking us
31:39
for missing the message. And so these people as they're
31:43
standing there looking at who they think is an Angel, and then
31:47
they watch this Angel stretch forth his hand and he speaks
31:51
under the people as he stretched his forth his hand.
31:54
Those who are standing closest to him.
31:57
Because keep in mind, he descended in the midst of them,
32:02
probably not away from them up on a stairway of the temple or
32:09
up on a hill. But it says in verse eight that
32:12
he descended in the midst of them or in the middle of them.
32:15
Those who are closest can probably see the marks in his
32:17
hands. And he then says, behold, I am
32:22
Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the
32:28
world. Can I suggest to you that in my
32:31
opinion, that is the second most powerful testimony in the entire
32:35
Book Mormon, The first being God the Father bearing witness of
32:39
the Son, and the second being the very Son of God himself
32:45
bearing witness of his true identity.
32:49
I am Jesus Christ. And then notice his qualifier
32:54
there in verse 10 is whom the prophets testified shall come
33:00
into the world. He's once again validating and
33:03
turning to his prophets. Many of you have probably
33:09
noticed that as we've gone through the Book of Mormon this
33:11
year, I've I've emphasized the role of prophets and it's not
33:16
because I'm having to dig deep and trying to find ways to talk
33:21
about this. It just keeps coming up again
33:24
and again and again. If you want a fun exercise, do a
33:29
word search in all of the scriptures on prophet or
33:34
prophecy or prophecy or prophets and just look at all of the
33:40
instances in scriptures and see how the Lord refers to His
33:46
chosen servants. And then don't stop there.
33:50
Pause and perhaps ask yourself the question on your own journey
33:54
of discipleship along the covenant path as you take charge
33:58
of your own testimony to ask the question, to what degree have I
34:03
been tuning my ear to God's will through the words of his living
34:08
prophets? He he loves his prophets and we
34:14
live in a world that doesn't love prophets.
34:17
So the question is where do we fall on the scale from the way
34:22
the world sees prophets to how Jesus Christ refers to his
34:27
prophets? And then he gives further verse
34:30
11 Behold, I am the light and the life of the world, and I
34:34
have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given
34:37
me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the
34:43
sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the
34:47
Father in all things from the beginning.
34:51
Now at this point, we've taken leaps and bounds in our
34:57
testimony with this group of people standing there.
35:01
And you can picture what would your reaction be?
35:03
What would you do now that you realize, wow, this is him, the
35:08
being that has been prophesied for all these, all these
35:11
hundreds of years leading up to this event.
35:14
And and now I'm here with him at the temple on this beautiful
35:18
morning. What would you do?
35:22
Well, this group of people didn't rush forward.
35:27
They didn't go and and embrace him.
35:32
They recognized, oh, we are standing on very sacred ground.
35:39
And verse 12 says it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken
35:42
these words, the whole multitude that would be 100% of them fell
35:47
to the earth, for they remembered that it had been
35:50
prophesied. There's another prophecy again
35:54
among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his
35:57
ascension into heaven. So this seems to be a falling to
36:02
the earth in verse 12 as a reaction.
36:11
They're they're reacting to this realization.
36:15
Wow. We're in the presence of Jesus
36:18
Christ who was prophesied would come and their their response is
36:22
to fall to the earth. It it's a sign of reverence and
36:27
respect. And they're they're in a state
36:31
of awe, it seems. And now on the ground you hear
36:36
him say, Arise and come forth unto me, that you may thrust
36:43
your hands into my side, and also that you may feel the
36:46
prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that you may
36:49
know that I am the God of Israel and the God of the whole earth,
36:52
and have been slain for the sins of the world.
36:55
Now hold on a moment. I thought they already knew who
36:59
he was. I thought they already
37:02
understood that this is Jesus Christ who was slain for the
37:05
sins of the world. They experienced the
37:09
destruction. They heard His voice back in
37:12
chapters 8-9 and 10. They've gone through the
37:17
experience, coming to the temple and hearing the voice of the
37:20
Father bear witness. This is my beloved son.
37:24
They've seen him descend and they've heard him introduce
37:27
himself. So why would he say, I want you
37:30
to come and thrust your hands into my side and fill the Prince
37:34
of the nails in my hands and my feet, that he may know that I am
37:39
the God of Israel and the God of the whole earth?
37:42
Brothers and sisters, I think this discussion of our of our
37:47
testimonies and the strength of our conversion to him is rooted
37:53
in degrees of knowing. These people know that he is the
37:58
Christ, but he wants them to know at a different level.
38:04
He doesn't want them to say, OK, I've arrived.
38:08
I don't need to progress any more spiritually in my in my
38:12
knowledge of God and in my testimony of Jesus Christ.
38:16
He as we hear re echoed by President Nelson's invitation,
38:23
he is inviting them to take charge of their own testimony of
38:27
Jesus Christ and his gospel to work for it, to nurture it so
38:31
that it will grow and defeat it truth.
38:34
And he happens to be doing that in person with them.
38:37
He's taking them from where they are and saying, you can come to
38:42
know that I am the Christ even more than you already do.
38:48
Now, that lesson is applicable to every one of us.
38:52
It doesn't matter where we are on that path of testimony or
38:56
that path of conversion to where we would say, oh, there's
39:01
nothing else I can, I can possibly experience that would
39:04
strengthen my connection with Christ or my resolve to follow
39:08
him or my testimony of him. And so the people it says in
39:14
verse 15, which by the way, incidentally, happens to be my
39:19
favorite all time verse of any scripture pass of, of anything
39:24
that's ever been written anywhere.
39:26
Verse 15 is my favorite because it's so infinite and yet so
39:32
personal in connecting these people and by extension
39:37
connecting you and me and ultimately connecting me with
39:42
the Savior. Verse 15 it came to pass that
39:46
the multitude went forth all of them and thrust their hands into
39:53
His side and did fill the Prince of the nails in his hands and in
39:57
his feet. This is often portrayed in film
40:01
as Jesus walking through a crowd and people reaching through as
40:05
he passes by, which doesn't really represent what's going on
40:10
here. The the new Book of Mormon
40:13
videos does a better job of showing the one by one nature of
40:18
this experience where it says this they did do going forth 1
40:23
by 1. Until they had all gone forth.
40:27
So you start with the multitude coming, then you get the one by
40:31
one nature of the personal experience with Christ, and it
40:35
says until they had all gone forth.
40:38
So there seems to be this sense of everybody gets that
40:41
opportunity one by one. It's not a crowd having that
40:46
experience as a crowd, it's a multitude having that experience
40:52
1 by 1 with Jesus Christ. That's what I love about this.
40:56
His infinite Atonement has room and space and grace for me that
41:05
he's not just the Savior, which he is, but he's more importantly
41:10
for us. He is our personal Savior and
41:14
Redeemer. And it says until they had all
41:17
gone forth and did see with their eyes, did feel with their
41:21
hands, and did know of a surety, and did their record, that it
41:24
was He of whom it was written by the prophets.
41:29
I love that verse, that that incredible intimate nature of
41:34
Christ's relationship with us now that he has performed his
41:39
infinite atonement. And when they had all gone forth
41:41
and witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one
41:44
accord, saying, Hosanna, which is a plea for salvation.
41:49
Please save us now. Blessed be the name of the Most
41:53
high God. And they did fall down at the
41:56
feet of Jesus and did worship Him.
42:01
You'll notice that they did fall down at the feet of Jesus in
42:06
verse 17 and did worship him. Well, this is the second time
42:12
this group of people finds themselves on the ground because
42:15
back in verse 12 they fell down as well.
42:18
Can I suggest to you that one possible way to look at this
42:21
might be that in verse 12 it was a reaction.
42:26
It, it was almost involuntary. They, they fall to the ground in
42:30
reverence and in awe and respect.
42:33
But the falling down in verse 17 is less reactionary and more of
42:41
a of a conscience, a conscientious decision and
42:44
action, if you will, not a reaction that there's a worship
42:51
that is now going on. Why?
42:55
Because these people know the Lord Jesus Christ at a different
43:02
level. You might even say that before
43:05
they knew that Jesus was the Christ, but now they have come
43:10
to know Jesus the Christ. They've had that personal
43:16
experience, thrusting their hands into his side, filling the
43:19
wounds of the nails in his hands and his feet and in his wrists.
43:25
And they've tasted of his, his personal love for them, his, his
43:34
mercy. And so when they fall to the
43:37
ground this time after shouting Hosanna, oh save us now, It's a
43:44
beautiful reminder that when you come to know God more fully, the
43:51
more you want to be with him, the more you want to be like
43:54
him. The more you love him, the more
43:58
you trust Him, the more you will worship Him freely.
44:03
Not because the ground was shaking and caused you to fall
44:06
to your knees, but because your soul was shaking and your heart
44:13
was poured out in love for Him, in gratitude for what He's done.
44:17
Because you've come to taste of His love and His mercy.
44:22
I love this this section of scripture as fuel for us to move
44:28
forward in the fire of our faith to more fully follow this
44:34
pattern of continually seeking to come to know Him more, not
44:41
just know about Him, but to come to know him and recognize his
44:45
voice and his grace in our life more.
44:49
So here's an important point. Now these people have pled with
44:54
him after their one by one experience with him collectively
44:58
they all shouted, Hosanna, please save us now we want
45:01
salvation. So what does he do?
45:04
He says Nephi come forth. So Nephi arose and went forth
45:10
and bowed himself before the Lord, and to kiss his feet.
45:13
They asked the the group asked for salvation.
45:15
So the Lord starts with a prophet among them being called.
45:21
And he says in verse 21, I give unto you power, that ye shall
45:27
baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.
45:31
And again the Lord called others, and said unto them
45:33
likewise. And he gave unto them power to
45:34
baptize. And he said unto them, On this
45:36
wise shall ye baptize. So he first gives the authority,
45:41
the rights to perform this ordinance in a manner that it
45:44
will be valid in heaven. And then he shows them how to
45:51
perform the ordinance. He gives them the the handbook,
45:55
if you will, for how to perform those baptisms.
45:59
In verse 23, you get the descriptions of them standing in
46:03
the water, and in my name shall you baptize him.
46:07
And then he gives them the words in verse 25, and then in verse
46:11
26 tells them that they need to immerse them in the water.
46:15
This symbolic death, burial and resurrection.
46:20
Shortly after he himself laid down his life, was buried in the
46:24
tomb, and then rose again as we come into this newness of life.
46:30
If you've ever held a brand newborn baby, you see that sweet
46:39
touch of heaven in that face as you hold a little baby.
46:45
It's amazing. That baby's giving you nothing.
46:48
It's not paying you, it's not rewarding you in any way.
46:51
It's just often sleeping. And yet as you hold it, you feel
46:58
that you're holding more than just a little bundle of of human
47:04
cells put together into a body. You feel like you're brushing up
47:09
against a heavenly veil. You feel like you're holding a
47:13
piece of heaven. There's something enriching and
47:18
enlivening in that experience. Well, that's exactly what Jesus
47:23
Christ is inviting all of these people to do is to start a new
47:28
life, to be born again, born in him, accepting Him as the father
47:38
of their spiritual rebirth, to start afresh, to have that
47:42
heavenly outpouring given to each one of us as we then move
47:49
forward on that covenant path. We want salvation.
47:52
These people pled Hosanna, and he says, if you want to be
47:56
saved, let me get you a prophet, get some keys and some authority
48:00
for this ordinance and then teach you how to do this
48:03
ordinance. Then notice what he does after.
48:05
After all this baptism introduction it says, and after
48:11
this manner shall be baptized in my name.
48:13
For behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father and the Son
48:17
and the Holy Ghost are 1, and I am in the Father, and the Father
48:21
in me, and the Father and I are one.
48:25
I would just invite you and encourage you to cross reference
48:28
that with John chapter 17 verse 21, where Jesus Christ in His
48:34
intercessory prayer prayed to the Father that all of us might
48:40
become one as they are one, that we all might become one in them.
48:47
That word 1 is beautiful. Everything about His life is
48:52
about helping us to come to that oneness, that unity.
48:57
That's what the AT1 meant is all about.
49:01
And then he says, According as I have commanded you, thus shall
49:04
ye baptize. Don't make up something
49:06
different. Do as I have commanded you, and
49:09
there shall be no disputations among you as there have hitherto
49:12
been. Neither shall there be
49:14
distributations among you concerning the points of my
49:17
doctrine as there have hitherto been.
49:20
Brothers and sisters, can I invite you to consider in your
49:25
circle of influence to not surround yourself by people who
49:29
want to contend over doctrine or who want to debate over doctrine
49:35
in a matter of trying to prove who's right and who's wrong.
49:37
He makes it very clear in verse 29.
49:39
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of
49:44
contention is not of me, but is of the devil who's the father of
49:49
contention. And he stirreth up the hearts of
49:51
men to contend with anger one with another.
49:55
So one of his first major teachings to these people is
50:00
stop fighting over my doctrine, stop contending, stop bickering.
50:05
It's unity, it's oneness. Come together.
50:09
Focus on the most important things, which are focusing on
50:14
the Godhead and on connecting with them in a covenant way,
50:18
which is baptism. And then he goes on to say in
50:20
verse 31, Behold, verily, I send to you, I will declare unto you
50:26
my doctrine. This is significant because you
50:30
get a little section here in verse 32 down through verse 39.
50:36
So if you look at verse 32, it says, and this is my doctrine.
50:42
And then look at verse 39, Verily, verily, I send to you
50:44
that this is my doctrine. He just gave you bookends.
50:50
He just bracketed for us his definition.
50:54
It would be, it would be as if a General Conference speaker was
50:57
giving a quote where they say quote, then they read the quote,
51:00
then they say closed quote. That's what Jesus just did for
51:04
us is he said this is my doctrine in 32.
51:09
So now you read what is His doctrine, and you know that He's
51:13
giving you the core, the central part of what His doctrine is.
51:20
Number one, I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth
51:24
record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and
51:27
me, and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men
51:30
everywhere to repent and believe in me.
51:32
So He starts with the Godhead, the truth of Deity.
51:36
Then He goes to our need to repent.
51:38
And whosoever believeth in me, there's that faith in Christ,
51:42
that assurance in Him, and is baptized, the same shall be
51:46
saved. And they are they who shall
51:48
inherit the Kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me,
51:52
and is not baptized, shall be damned.
51:54
Their progression will be stopped.
51:57
Verily I send to you that this is my doctrine, and I bear
52:00
record of it from the Father. And whoso believeth in me,
52:03
believeth in the Father also. And on to him will the Father
52:05
bear record of me, For he will visit him with fire and with the
52:09
Holy Ghost. He keeps bringing the members of
52:12
the Godhead into his discussion here.
52:14
And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost
52:17
will bear record unto him of the Father and me.
52:20
For the Father and I and the Holy Ghost are one.
52:23
Are we getting it? We spend so much time talking
52:26
about how they're separate and Jesus spends so much time
52:29
talking about how they're unified, how they're one, how
52:33
everything in their purpose is 1 Now it's important to note
52:38
theologically speaking, that this can be a little bit
52:42
confusing for people wondering so.
52:44
So are we Trinitarian after all? And yet if you look closely at
52:50
the intercessory prayer and at other passages of Scripture
52:54
where he's talking about his relationship with the Father and
52:57
the Father being in him and him being in the Father and him
53:00
being in US and us being in him, you then notice in Scripture how
53:05
he uses the word one in other relationships.
53:10
He tells us all that we need to be 1 and if we're not one, we're
53:14
not his. He tells husbands and wives that
53:18
they need to become one. Again, he's not emphasizing what
53:22
makes them different. He's emphasizing their capacity
53:26
to become one. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the
53:31
the doctrine of Christ is focused on oneness, on coming
53:37
together, not in parsing out and bifurcating people into
53:42
different neatly packaged silos. He continues with his doctrine
53:47
in verse 37. And again I say unto you, you
53:50
must repent and be baptized in my name or you can no wise
53:55
receive these things. He's repeating the God had
54:00
concepts of oneness and he's repeating faith, repentance,
54:05
baptism so that you can get the gift of the Holy Ghost.
54:09
Verse 38 if we didn't catch it in verse 32 and if we missed it
54:14
in verse 37, here's verse 38 Again I say unto you, you could
54:19
maybe circle the word again. Again I say unto you, you must
54:24
repent and be baptized in my name.
54:27
That wasn't a conditional it it's if you think it's a good
54:31
idea, you can go ahead and do that.
54:34
He says you must repent and be baptized in my name and become
54:38
as a little child or you can in no wise inherit the Kingdom of
54:43
God. There's no other way.
54:45
You asked, you said Hosanna, you asked for the salvation.
54:50
I'm telling you how to do it. I've provided the means with the
54:54
the proper priesthood authority through the prophets and I've
54:58
taught them how to perform this ordinance to connect you with
55:01
me. And then I will walk with you on
55:04
the journey through the rest of, of time as I continually help
55:12
you come to know me better and come closer and closer to me.
55:16
And then he finishes with Verily, Verily truly, truly the
55:21
the word Verily in the Greek. So when you read Verily, verily,
55:25
in the New Testament, it comes from the Greek word Amen, Amen,
55:31
The Savior is the only one that I know of who opens His
55:35
thoughts, opens His sentences with an Amen.
55:38
Everybody else puts the Amen on the end.
55:40
The Lord puts it on the beginning.
55:41
So you could read this Amen, Amen, or truly, truly, verily,
55:45
verily, of a truth. I say unto you that this is my
55:51
doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock,
55:57
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
56:00
So have you ever gotten caught up in a, a topic movement within
56:09
the gospel of Jesus Christ that has become almost a gospel unto
56:12
itself, a doctrine unto itself, and it's become so important.
56:17
And every time you read your Scriptures, that's what you're
56:19
thinking about instead of these things.
56:22
Well, that's a caution. Be careful.
56:26
His doctrine is very, very focused on connecting us with
56:31
the Godhead through faith in Christ, repentance, baptism,
56:36
gift of the Holy Ghost. That's his doctrine.
56:39
And he goes on to say, Whoso shall declare more or less than
56:42
this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of
56:47
evil. And is not built upon my rock,
56:51
but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation.
56:53
And the gates of hell stand open to receive such, when the floods
56:56
come and the winds beat upon them.
56:59
Therefore because of this, go forth unto the people, unto this
57:03
people, and declare the words which I have spoken unto the
57:07
ends of the earth. I love these chapters for what
57:13
they teach me, not just about these Nephites and Lamanites
57:16
2000 years ago and their incredible temple experience
57:21
with the Savior, but it shows me there's a path that I can follow
57:26
today to come to know Jesus Christ more.
57:30
And that path involves faith in Him, repentance, baptism, gift
57:33
to the Holy Ghost, which is symbolically outlined every time
57:38
I go to the temple of our God. When we perform a temple
57:42
endowment, He's inviting all to come into that experience, the
57:46
multitude, so that they can 1 by 1 go through that veil
57:51
experience in the temple and enter into the presence of God
57:56
the Father and his Son Jesus Christ in a symbolic sense in
57:59
the celestial room. And that takes faith to come
58:03
into the temple. Repentance symbolized
58:07
beautifully by the altars in the temple that are symbolic of
58:12
sacrifice, where something had to die and be offered up to the
58:15
Lord that that natural man, The sacrifice for us of a broken
58:20
heart and a contrite spirit, followed by that baptism.
58:26
The beautiful Laver in the Tabernacle in the ancient temple
58:32
where the baptismal fonts today resting on the backs of 12 oxen,
58:36
the House of Israel. This message to the four corners
58:39
of the world for everybody to come followed by getting the
58:44
gift of the Holy Ghost, the the light of the Spirit that is
58:48
offered in the temple as we then come to the veil of the temple
58:53
that is symbolic of the flesh of Christ based on the book of
58:57
Hebrews and we get to then converse with the Lord with God
59:04
the Father symbolized on the other side of that veil through
59:08
the flesh of Christ, allowing us to enter into his presence. 3rd
59:13
and Ephy 11 is basically that experience in in person for
59:19
these people then becomes this symbolic journey for us on our
59:24
covenant path to experience these same things.
59:28
Hopefully every time we go, we take it to a higher and higher
59:35
level of faith in him, willingness to repent with that
59:40
broken heart and contrite spirit and willingness to make and keep
59:44
those those covenants that are made in the temple.
59:48
And that we make up baptism and at the sacrament table each
59:51
week, bringing us closer and closer.
59:54
So that every passing week leaves us more than ever before
1:00:00
able to say, I know that Jesus Christ lives, that he is the
1:00:07
Christ, the Son of God, the Creator of all things from the
1:00:11
beginning, and that he is. Our personal Savior and
1:00:16
Redeemer, and more importantly, that He is your personal Savior
1:00:23
and Redeemer and the arms of His mercy are outstretched towards
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you and towards Me, inviting all of us to take the next step in
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our progression on that covenant path with the help of His
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beloved prophets and and chosen leaders on the earth today, I
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leave that with you in the sacred name of Jesus the Christ,
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Amen. Know that you're loved.