Faith to be Taught
READ 3 Nephi 17:1-3
How
does Christ know the Nephites do not understand His words?
They are not asking questions.
They are just staring back at Him.
They are not actively engaged, just
passively engaged; they will receive Him in a ceremony, listen to teachings,
observe His miracles but they are not ready to engage in true learning –
receiving further light and knowledge through direct revelation and application
of what they have learned in a life changing way.
In 3 Nephi 15:12-24, Christ has
just told them that the Jewish Apostles misunderstood His words and failed to
ask questions (specifically about the “other sheep who are not of this fold”);
Christ called this failure to ask “iniquity”; but after hearing that account,
the Nephite disciples do the same thing – they miss His point entirely! Christ will not give you knowledge unless you
ask because He will not violate your agency.
Why
can’t they understand all of the words Christ is commanded to speak to them?
They are “weak”.
They are physically, mentally,
emotionally and spiritually drained and exhausted from being in the presence of
the Lord.
They are not filled with enough light
and even though He has not come in His glory to them, being in His presence for
an extended period of time has made them weak.
Not being filled with enough light
or Holy Spirit or intelligence means that they cannot comprehend His words and
forcing more content into their heads won’t change that – they need to grow in
light first.
What does Christ
teach the Nephites about how to learn the Gospel?
Go home: leave the intense presence of the light but go to a place
where you can consider what you have just experienced.
Ponder: think deeply; search the scriptures; meditate upon them
with the eye of faith.
Ask the Father for understanding: pray and engage with Him –
listen to His answers and ponder them, too.
Prepare your minds for tomorrow: purify yourselves, repent of your
sins and turn to God, and live the gospel or the principles you have already
been taught.
Come again: go back to the source of living water – actively seek
for spiritual experiences with the Lord and His true messengers (see 2 Nephi
22:3); they cannot be “conjured” but you can do things which will increase the
probability of meeting with them again (the Lord spent a lot of time alone in
the early morning hours or late at night communing with God during His ministry;
intense prayer and meditation; actively studying the scriptures and engaging
with God while doing so by asking questions and seeking answers; loving and
serving others – healing, protecting, teaching, blessing - particularly if it
can be done anonymously – including intervening with Heaven on their
behalf. All of these things can increase
the chances that you will have another direct interaction with the Lord).
READ 3 Nephi 17:5-10
Christ
is ready to leave, so what compels Him to change His mind and stay?
His compassion for them.
While they lack the faith to be
taught and to understand the truth and change their beliefs and behavior to the
degree that the Father wants them to on this day (as they must have “real
intent” to receive answers or in other words, they must be fully committed to
change), they still have a great desire to be with (abide with) Christ.
What
do the Nephites have sufficient faith to do and what does this teach us about
having faith to be taught?
They have sufficient faith to
witness and receive Christ’s miracles of healing.
They do not have faith to be taught
(any more, at least).
Exercising faith to be taught is
much more difficult than demonstrating faith to receive miracles.
Because faith to be taught changes
you fundamentally, while miracles change you physically; there is no “fairy
dust” the Lord can bless you with to give you a mighty change that does not
require a great sacrifice and effort on your part (as well as on His…).
READ 3 Nephi 17:14
What
wickedness specifically is Christ so troubled about?
Their unwillingness to learn – to
be taught by Him – which is really a lack of desire and faith.
You are unwilling to be taught if
you are unwilling to ask God questions – to seek, ask, and knock.
One of the reasons they are
unwilling to ask God is because they lack the faith that He will answer them –
although this sounds crazy in the context that He is right there before
Him.
Asking questions is the way those
who are ready identify themselves as such to heaven – they keep “calling” –
they keep “bothering” heaven with their inquiries, like a little child with a
constant stream of questions.
READ 3 Nephi 17:11-13
Who
does Christ call forward and why?
He calls forward the children.
They are the only Nephites who have
the faith, curiosity, and purity to truly be taught by the Lord, at this time.
The others had been “sent home” but
were permitted to stay and witness the Lord’s ministry to their children.
It is not necessarily because the
children are more righteous, after all, they lack the knowledge to have
progressed farther than their parents in becoming like the Lord – which
requires obeying commandments and being filled with light (are the children more
righteous than Nephi III, for example?); and children are not inherently more
righteous, it’s just that young children are decreed pure, innocent and
blameless by Christ because they are too young to understand sufficiently and
be accountable for their behavior.
But in this case, they are more
open to the Lord – they’ve not said “it is enough, Lord”; their desire to be in
His presence and their hunger for more light/intelligence, makes them better
candidates for continued ministering than the adults, whose minds have
apparently been blown and whose bodies are physically exhausted by the
experience with Christ.
What
does Christ do with the children?
He organizes them into a Prayer
Circle (a Medicine Wheel or portal?), with Himself in the middle as voice.
READ 3 Nephi 17:15-17, 23-24
What
does Christ say and do in His prayer?
Things that cannot be written.
He pronounced a blessing upon the
people.
He opens the veil and brings the
children through it.
They are encircled in fire or glory
and the angels are now able to minister to them directly.
The children were taught by the
angels things that the parents were not ready to hear because they lacked the
faith and desire to know, but the children were ready and willing – we know
this because the Lord will not give anything to anyone that they are not
prepared to receive or do not desire with real intent.
The things you really should want
to know must be learned by going to God, parting the veil and entering into the
presence of those who can teach, show, and minister to you.
The adults do not, in fact cannot,
participate in the rites being administered through the veil, although they can
see through it to their children, the glory and the angels who are there with
them.
Christ Institutes the Sacrament
Among the Nephites
READ 3 Nephi 18:1-2
What is the
sacrament for?
We are remembering the gospel covenant that we have made - that we
are willing to offer a broken heart and contrite spirit, willing to keep the
commandments with our whole souls, etc. and witnessing to the Lord that we are
still willing - still abiding in covenant (18:10-11).
We are not "re-covenanting" unless we've been out of
covenant, which could be because of serious sin or because we've not been
willing to offer our soul until that point or because we’ve removed our hearts
from Him so that we can follow our own wills; but it's not like we're in
covenant as long as we don't sin.
What
is the symbolism of the bread?
Bread is the “staff” or support of
life; just as Christ is for us.
The bread is broken as Christ’s
body was broken or killed to give us life.
The bread must be consumed to
support life and we must be sanctified by Christ’s Spirit, having it within us
to be saved (and His Holy Spirit sustains our lives from moment to moment
anyway – Christ is the “observer” whose will or intent keeps this entire
creation [the “unified field”], including our bodies, in order and stops it
devolving into chaos as per Quantum Theory; see Mosiah 2:20-21).
What
is the symbolism of the wine?
The grape is crushed and its juice
is spilled; as Christ’s was in the Garden of Gethsemane.
It is allowed to ferment or decay
over time; as Christ’s body laid dead in the tomb for three days.
It is then changed into something
new (while related to grape juice, wine is no longer grape juice as its
molecular structure has been changed); Christ was resurrected and His body was
renewed but the body that walked through walls and ascended to heaven had
different properties to the one He used to walk the earth during His mortal
ministry.
The new creation, wine, has
properties that affect the senses when consumed – it “gladdens the heart” (see
Psalms 104:15); Christ’s salvation, enabled by the Atonement and Resurrection,
gladdens the heart of all those who receive it unto themselves.
The Lord
told Joseph Smith that water was a substitute only if they could not make their
own wine, for fear of poisoning at the hands of evil men – for this reason the
Mormons in Utah created a “Wine Mission” in Southern Utah (see D&C 27:3-4)
until Heber J Grant elevated the Word of Wisdom from wise advice to commandment
and constraint because of his personal views (see D&C 89:1-2) but you have
to wonder what the Church has lost by not reflecting each week on the symbolism
inherent in wine.
READ 3 Nephi 18:3-7
Why
is the sacrament sacred enough to be celebrated by the Lord with people who are
in His very presence?
Christ commanded them that
they should eat or partake of the bread, not just invited them; so taking the
sacrament is a commandment.
Ordinances are symbolic outward
performances meant as authorized invitations to experience the “real thing”;
but God uses them in heaven as well as on the earth because of their symbolic
nature and ability to teach and remind the participant what the Lord has done
(see Revelation 4; 1 Nephi 1:8; Isaiah 6:1-4), in other words, they are also a
form of worship.
Ordinances are also a form of
worship, as we remember the meaning of the symbols which lead us to consider
how the Lord has done great things for us which leads us to pour out our hearts
in gratitude and praise to Him.
The sacrament is a “witness” or
testimony or promise that we make to the Father that we will always remember
Christ and His atonement.
This witnessing to the Father of
our remembrance of His Son is something that will qualify us to return permanently
to His presence, not just in mortality but in eternity if we keep our covenant.
What
does it mean that the people ate and were filled?
Either it means that the disciples
had brought a lot of bread and the symbolism of the royal heavenly feast was more
literally played out (see Matthew 22:1-14).
Or it means that they were filled
miraculously with a small amount of bread because when we share food with one
another, we become part of the same material or substance and this bread came
from Christ’s hands and was blessed by Him enabling us to become one with Him.
Or it means that they were filled
with the Holy Spirit or Christ’s light when they partook of the bread; when a sacral
meal is shared, life is shared indeed through the light, intelligence or glory
of Christ (see 3 Nephi 12:6).
It is interesting and significant
to note that this group has just experienced the Second Comforter, have
performed a Hosanna Shout, have listened to the Sermon on the Mount, and
watched their children be taken through the veil to be ministered to by angels
but it is in taking the sacrament that they are “filled”.
Why
are we to remember the body of Christ?
It is through His body that He, the
living sacrifice, shows us the way.
It is with a mortal body or “tabernacle
of clay” that Christ condescended to come to earth to be the infinite and
eternal sacrifice.
When you remember His body, you
remember the scars from His death and the perfect life He had lived previously
– He was the embodiment of the Sermon on the Mount and is our example in all
things.
When you remember His body which He
has shown unto you, you remember His victory over death and hell because you
have seen Him living again before you.
When you remember His body, you
should remember the sum of His life and mission – it is a testimony of life,
obedience, sacrifice, cruelty, forgiveness, death, resurrection, immortality,
power, and glory.
READ 3 Nephi 18:8-11
Why
do the disciples partake first and then give to the multitude?
It is not possible to pass along
what has not first been received yourself.
They must first be purified or
sanctified before they can administer to others, so that those who receive it
from them know that those who administered it are already clean – to avoid the
Donatist Heresy which calls into question the validity of ordinances because of
the unworthiness of Church administrators.
It is not about giving the
sacrament first to a presiding authority in a show of deference to a man; it is
about ensuring that those who administer are pure before they administer to or
serve others. All of these men were
nothing compared to Christ (including Nephi III); in Christ’s presence the idea
of deference to a man with authority (that is not Him) should be seen to be the
obvious folly it truly is – there is none “good” but God and Christ.
Perhaps this is why the Lord only
gave one person (who goes unnamed – see 3 Nephi 18:5) the power to bless the
sacrament; that person was likely Nephi, who had the Lord’s trust and who was
living a sanctified life.
What
is the thing the people have done for which the Lord blesses them, and what is
the blessing?
Partaking of the sacramental wine.
Symbolically partaken of His blood.
They are those who “thirst” after
righteousness; and have a promised to be “filled”.
Witnessing or testifying to the
Father that we DO remember Christ.
The blessing (which is received
through covenant) is to always have Christ’s Spirit (light) to be with them
(see D&C 84:45-47; D&C 88:5-13); it is to be anointed by Christ – not with
the symbol of oil but with the reality of His Spirit.
It is the blessing of a linkage
between the individual whose own spirit has become holy, the Son through His
Spirit, and the Father who accepts them and seals them up to eternal life (see
D&C 138:14).
READ 3 Nephi 18:12-14
How
does one build upon the rock of Christ?
By observing the ordinances
established by Him.
By living the covenants associated
with those ordinances, in other words, to keep His commandments or follow His
way.
By experiencing the “real thing”
promised in the covenants and symbolized in the ordinances; the blessings
associated with the covenants, i.e. to be remembered by Him in the Day of
Judgement or to have His Spirit to always be with us – now and then.
Why
would we not build upon the rock of Christ?
We look for something more; we
despise the simplicity of it all or distrust the seemingly illusive
spirituality of it and crave more concrete performances to do and proofs to
receive – usually from men; we fail to receive the power of God but instead
want “more”; we put fences around the Law and worship at the altar of what can
be seen and measured like standards and works (see D&C 58:31-33); we want
to “use” the atonement to clean ourselves up, as we see fit – to retain control
and be saved by our “great” works.
We want to do something less; we
are unwilling to look to Christ to be saved – to offer Him our whole souls,
broken hearts and contrite spirits – to submit to Him in all things; we
want “easy grace” to save us or “fairy dust” to change us and make us precisely
like Him (see 1 Nephi 17:41); we change the ordinances to be more “relevant” to
us today because we do not care to do the spiritual labor required to
understand them, thereby robbing them of the very power they were intended to
confer, which we need to understand the deeper mysteries they represent, so
that we can experience them for ourselves (see Isaiah 24:5).
We will not keep His commandments, which
the Father has laid out as the way of salvation (see Moses 4:2); we do not love
or trust Him enough – we prefer to follow our own way.
3 Nephi 18:15-20
What
does the devil tempt us to do?
Sin.
Do more or less than Christ has
instructed us to do; he just needs us to be “off” by a little – this is
particularly true with changing ordinances (see Isaiah 24:5).
Doing good things but “out of
season”; i.e. Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge
before they were told to; sexual intercourse with a fiancé, etc.
Satan does not need us to commit a
“big” sin, as a little one will work just as well – since no unclean thing can
enter the presence of God.
Who
are Christ’s Church?
Those who repent.
Those who are baptized in His name.
And if they truly repent and offer
their whole souls at the time of their baptism by water, they will be given the
baptism of fire (see 3 Nephi 9:20) and they will know that they are in Christ’s
church because they have entered the Gate and have been changed – although no
one else might know.
What
does Christ tell us His role is?
To be our example – the leader (or
servant) who goes first – He is the prototype of the saved being.
To be our light – the guide who
“lights” the way and will walk with us and support us while on it.
To be our savior – we are saved
only by His merits and mercy; true messengers follow His way so that they can
point to Him and testify with personal knowledge that He has saved them – and
if them, why not us as He is no respecter of persons.
What
does it mean that Satan desires to have us, that he may “sift us as wheat”?
Satan wants us – to control us and
make us his slaves; he wants to be the god of this world – our god, by any
means necessary.
Wheat was “sifted” using a sieve to
separate grain from husks, tares, stones and chaff; the wheat was kept and the
rest discarded; sifting was vigorous or violent and tossed the grain around to
separate it.
The image suggests being completely
under Satan’s control, being tossed about like a puppet and then discarded, as
he does not support his children or those in his control, after he has finished
with them – it is a horrifying image.
Whenever you find compulsion,
dominion, control or force being employed, you have found Satan (see D&C
121:37-41); since he forfeited the right to gain power in a godly way, he seeks
now to gain it in an ungodly way.
Satan tries to cut us off from
Heaven; he uses control to limit access to the heavens; people who voluntarily
surrender their responsibility to follow, seek and find the Lord have
unknowingly chosen to bind themselves and are in Satan’s power.
What
does it mean to “watch and pray” lest we enter into temptation?
To “watch”, in this case, is to be
observant and vigilant about detecting elements of control, dominion,
compulsion, temptation, addiction, and “lesser” sin that will lead us into
bondage.
Satan is best in subtly; when he
has to be obvious, we have more of an obvious choice before us (which makes it
easier to detect him and choose not to follow him for those who initially want
to follow God but are now faced with temptation), so we must watch for his
subtly – be careful when you see rationalization, comforting but false ideas
(“follow the prophet as he CAN’T be led astray” and “odds are we’ll be
exalted”), flattery over righteousness, pride in our learning or bloodline or
priesthood, etc.
We should always keep the Lord’s
teachings in mind and we should watch our own behavior to make sure it is in
line with those teachings.
To “pray always” is to retain a
personal connection with heaven; particularly to have the Holy Ghost and
Christ’s Spirit always with you.
Associating with someone on a
regular basis usually draws you closer to them; it is the same with prayer and
the Father; and as in all relationships, it is dynamic not static so you must
continue to engage in the relationship or it can grow stale (not on His end but
on ours); also, relationships are a two-way street – not a one way “voice-mail”
message to heaven.
What is prayer
for?
To obtain the will of the Lord - that what we ask for will be
"right"; to align our will with His (3 Nephi 18:20).
To be protected from Satan (18:15,18-19).
To labor in the spirit - spiritual work, for which we will receive
the blessings for ourselves and our families/stewardships that the Lord has
prepared for us/them (18:21), which requires us to ask for them, as He will not
violate our agency by just giving them unsought for.
To build a relationship with God through the veil, so that someday
your faith will be such that the veil cannot contain you - to separate you from
Him (see Ether 3:19-20).
It is not to change the will of the Lord to our will (18:20).
If
prayer is to obtain God’s will not petition Him for your own, why does Christ
say that you will receive “whatsoever ye shall ask” for?
There is a qualifier = “which is
right”.
“Right” means that it is aligned
completely with God’s will.
Inspired requests to God will come
to you by inspiration and revelation.
Those who are given an opportunity
to ask anything of Christ have been sealed up to eternal life by the Father
already (see 1 Kings 3:5; 3 Nephi 28:1); they will not “seek their own lives”
but submit completely to the Father’s will because they have aligned themselves
so well with it anyway (see Helaman 10:4; D&C 19:18-19; 3 Nephi 11:11).
If you acquire an understanding of
what is “right”, then by asking for it, you submit to the Father’s will; even
if you would shrink, cower and beg that it might pass from you, when you ask
for whatsoever is right despite your personal desire for things to be
otherwise, you are going to become one with God and Christ and become like Them
(see Ether 3:9-20; TPJS 171:2); your overriding desire has become Their will
not your own – your eye is single to their glory and work, which is the
immortality and eternal life of yourself and all of us.
3 Nephi 18:21-23
What
does this passage teach us about how we should be doing missionary work?
The unbaptized, unrepentant and
unprepared are to be welcomed to public meetings – they should not be excluded.
If they are persistent enough to
return frequently, then you have an obligation to pray to the Father for them –
to intercede on their behalf.
If they continue to show interest
and come oft of their own free will, you can baptize them if they desire; they
are more likely to truly repent before baptism if this is the process that is
followed.
And they would continue to return
because the light the believers possess is attractive to them – not a social
conversion but a spiritual one because they come not just to bask in others’
light but to obtain it themselves – they are enticed by what they find is
desirable (Christ’s “fruit”).
There is no aggressive sales
approach, slick marketing campaign, “friend shipping” or numbers that must be
hit each month.
3 Nephi 18:24-25
What
is “our” light that we are to let shine unto the world?
It is not our light at all but it
is Christ and what He has made of us or given to us (His transformative light);
He is the light and we are the “window” through which it shines or the “candle”
upon which it is burning.
It is His doctrine that we preach,
His redemption that we testify of, His resurrection that we witness of, His
prophesies and messages that we relay – otherwise it is priestcraft (see 2
Nephi 26:29).
Why
are we commanded to come unto Christ?
That we might “feel and see” for
ourselves that He is the God of Israel, and the whole earth and was slain for
the sins of the world (see 3 Nephi 11:14).
That we might KNOW Him with a
SURETY (see 3 Nephi 11:15).
To know Him with a surety is to
“feel and see” Him in the flesh during our mortal lives.
We must know that He lives again in
the flesh in this mortal world, which is different that meeting Him in heaven
after you are dead, where all are dead, including perhaps, Christ. The wounds He bears could not have been
administered to Him without causing His death (which is one of the reasons He
embraces you so you can simultaneously feel the wound in His side that would
have inflicted death had He not already given up the ghost, and this while He
is holding you to Him and you are feeling the warmth of His body and feeling
His living breath on your skin). His
body testifies that He died, and yet He stands before you, a living man (see
D&C 132:21-25; D&C 130:3).
And then bear record or witness to
the world of what you now know, not just merely believe; this knowledge does
not come cheaply or without risk to our reputations in this telestial world,
who know not God.
Who
is commanded to come unto Christ?
All have been commanded to come and
know Him.
None have been commanded to go away.
None of the Nephites in 3 Nephi 11
were perfect, either; and some might have been “come from behind” victories
with serious past sins or had serious personality flaws.
He is no respecter of persons.
And it has nothing to do with
“callings” or leadership positions in a Church…as 2500 men, women and children
all received this “sure knowledge” in Bountiful.
What
happens if you fail to testify in plainness of what you have experienced with
the Lord?
If you fail to testify of what you
now know and do not invite “the world” to likewise come “that they might feel
and see” Him too, you “break this commandment (to be an active witness) and
suffer (yourself) to be led into temptation”.
Vague innuendo and veiled language
with plausible deniability is unacceptable before the Lord – this is NOT being
valiant in the Testimony of Jesus.
Those who know Christ have a duty
to bear their witness to others because the testimony of the one who knows with
a surety is what plants the seed in the minds of all those who hear it but
would otherwise never even contemplate the truth about God and His plan; they
would not know that they can and must also come unto Him and be redeemed from
the fall (see LoF 2:54-56; Ether 3:13).
3 Nephi 18:26-27
If
Christ is our example in all things, what do these verses teach us?
Christ did not come to do His own
will but submitted to the will of the Father.
In turn, we are invited to submit
to the example and teachings of Christ, that we might be spiritually reborn and
become His Sons and Daughters – and He becomes our Father.
3 Nephi 18:28-32
Why
does someone “eat and drink damnation to their soul” if they partake of the
sacrament unworthily?
Because partaking of the sacrament
constitutes a testimony to the Father of the person’s witness of Christ and
fidelity to Him; but if the person is unworthy (i.e. the person is untrue to
Christ), the testimony is of their unworthiness and they have just testified of
that to the Father and justice must be served.
We are our brother’s keeper and
should warn people not to make such a testimony unless they are worthy to do so
– this is kindness, not discrimination or punishment.
Note this pertains to those who are
“knowingly” unworthy – it is not up to Church members to spy and police each
other’s behavior – that is God’s job...
What
is the disciple’s duty with regards to those who partake of the sacrament
unworthily?
Not to cast him out.
To intercede on his behalf unto God
– to pray for him, that the Lord will forgive him.
To minister unto him in patience
and love.
What
is the disciple’s duty with regards to the unrepentant man bent on destroying
Christ’s people?
To no longer number him with
Christ’s people.
To continue to fellowship with him
even after you have (carefully and meekly) determined that he has no intention
of repenting, even after he is no longer numbered among the Lord’s people or
family, even while he is attempting to destroy the Lord’s people.
To still not cast him out from
among your company.
In case he might repent and you
might be the catalyst.
3 Nephi 18:36-37 and Moroni 2:1-3
What
is the difference between the power to give people the Holy Ghost and the power
to bless people to receive the Holy Ghost?
The power to give the Holy Ghost
means that everyone who received the laying on of hands by these men who had
received this power directly from Christ, actually obtained the Holy Ghost at
that time without any additional task on their part.
The power to bless someone to
receive the Holy Ghost is an admonition to the person to do what is necessary
(offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit – their whole soul)
to obtain the gift they have now received an authorized invitation to obtain;
but it is completely dependent upon them.
The power to give the Holy Ghost is
only a power that one can be given directly by Christ – only He has this right
and authority and it is only given to those who have received the Second
Comforter and will submit to the Lord’s will in all things; notice it is given
to them via Christ’s touch, not just His voice or command.
Notice
that confirming them a member of a Church is never mentioned by Christ; this is
an earthly ordinance of membership to an earthly Church – it is not the same as
becoming a member of Christ’s heavenly Church of the Firstborn.
Day Two: Initiatory and Endowment
READ 3 Nephi 19:1-3
What
responsibility did those who had witnessed Christ’s resurrection feel toward
those who had not?
To work tirelessly through the
night telling as many people as they could that they had seen the resurrected
Christ and that He would return the next day – so there could be as many
personal witnesses as possible of the risen Lord.
This is yet another proof that
while believing on the testimony of others who have seen Him is important – it
is only important to the extent that you follow the guidance of the witness and
come unto Christ and know Him with a surety yourself!
What
happened to those who did not heed the invitation?
They did not see and know the Lord
for themselves – as simple as that.
You must “come unto Christ” – if it
is the desire of your heart, you will do what it takes to meet your Lord.
It said an “exceedingly great
number” listened to the invitation but it doesn’t say everyone they spoke with
did.
READ 3 Nephi 19:8
What
did the disciples who had heard Christ’s sermon the day before teach to the
multitude?
Exactly what Christ had taught them
– the Sermon at Bountiful word for word, so they must have labored overnight to
write down the Lord’s words.
READ 3 Nephi 19:11-14
Had
Nephi III been baptized previously?
Almost undoubtedly.
He baptized people himself (see 3
Nephi 1:23) and baptism was practiced by the Nephites since the time of Lehi
(Helaman 16:3; 1 Nephi 10:8-10; 1 Nephi 20:1; 2 Nephi 31:4-5).
Had
Nephi III received the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost previously?
It would have been shocking if he
had not, as he was visited by angels, heard the voice of the Lord, ministered
to people with great power, and performed many miracles including raising his
brother from the dead – all of which are examples of gifts of the Spirit which
follow those who have been born again (see 3 Nephi 7:15-20).
He had to have received the gift of
the Holy Ghost, which is entering into the Gate or the first step back to
Christ – there is no way he hadn’t already received it before Christ’s visit to
the Americas.
So,
what is going on here and why are the twelve disciples Jesus had chosen the
only ones participating?
This is not a traditional baptismal
ceremony or outward ordinance.
This “baptism” is a ceremonial
washing.
What
immediately follows this washing rite?
An anointing of the Spirit or glory
of God.
Not ceremonial with oil but real
with the Spirit, which is what olive oil represents in ceremonies.
READ 3 Nephi 19:15-18
How
does the Lord organize the disciples in their prayer?
They are separate from the
multitude.
They are assembled around the Lord.
He is in the midst or middle of
them.
They are commanded to pray and
given the same words to say, calling Christ their Lord and their God (see v24).
They have made a sacred prayer
circle and are praying in the True Order of Prayer.
READ 3 Nephi 19:25, 30
What
is happening to the disciples?
Jesus blesses them.
He becomes bright as glory emanates
from His face and person until even His clothes are shining with light.
The light shines upon the disciples.
They become as white as Jesus.
Or in other words, they are clothed
in light by the Lord.
The proper “wedding garment” is
required of all who are to enter the presence of the Lord of the Wedding Feast
and sit down at His table, to have their shame removed (see Matthew 22:11-14;
Genesis 3:21; 2 Nephi 9:14; Revelation 3:18).
READ 3 Nephi 19:19-24, 26-32
How
many times does Christ leave the disciples to pray to God, Himself?
Three times.
Why
is Christ leaving the praying disciples to pray?
He is praying to the Father or
“knocking” at the “veil” three times.
Just as the people did not
understand the Father’s voice and He had to repeat Himself three times in 3
Nephi 11, there are three levels of separation between God in His Celestial
Kingdom and us living in this Telestial world.
It requires a three-fold petition
at the veil to bring a response or communicate between them.
READ 3 Nephi 19:33-36
What
happened next?
It is too great and sacred to be
written – so the details are completely left out of the narrative.
But the disciples “have seen so
great things” and “heard so great things” that none have ever heard or seen
greater.
What
things are so great that none are greater?
Some things are so great they MUST
be learned if one is to be exalted but they CANNOT be taught by one man to
another.
Being ushered through the veil into
the presence of the Father in the Heavenly Temple to receive the Testimony of
Jesus that they are clean from the sins of their generation and to be sealed up
to Eternal Life by the Father (see D&C 88:75; Mosiah 5:15; D&C
76:50-70) are the greatest things we can know – a more sure word or prophesy of
our future exaltation, which is to be precisely as Christ is, and nothing
else.
