3 Nephi 8:6-19 Physical upheavals testify of Christ

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles cited the increase of major earthquakes as one of the signs of the Second Coming: “Signs of the Second Coming are all around us and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity. For example, the list of major earthquakes in The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004 shows twice as many earthquakes in the decades of the 1980s and 1990s as in the two preceding decades (see pages 189–90). It also shows further sharp increases in the first several years of this century. The list of notable floods and tidal waves and the list of hurricanes, typhoons, and blizzards worldwide show similar increases in recent years (see pages 188–89). Increases by comparison with 50 years ago can be dismissed as changes in reporting criteria, but the accelerating pattern of natural disasters in the last few decades is ominous” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004). 

3 Nephi 8:20-22 Thick darkness

“This, like much else in the account (e.g., that God ‘did send down fire and destroy them,’ 3 Nephi 9:11), suggests nearby volcanic activity. And indeed, in many cases earthquakes are the preparation for the volcano that follows, as in the Chilean 1960 quake, which triggered the activity of long-dormant volcanoes in the area. Most of the victims of the great catastrophes of Pompeii, St. Pierre (Martinique, 1902), and Mt. Pelee (1906) died of suffocation when earthquake dust, volcanic ash, steam, and hot gasses (mostly sulfureted hydrogen gas) took the place of air. In some areas, the Book of Mormon reports, people were ‘overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness,’ and so lost their lives (3 Nephi 10:13). Even without volcanic accompaniments, however, major earthquakes kick up a terrible dust and, according to Sieberg, are accompanied by phenomenal vapors and astonishingly thick air. In the Assam earthquake such contamination ‘reduced [visibility] to a few feet and made breathing a nightmare.’

“According to 3 Nephi 8:20-21 the ‘vapor of darkness’ was not only tangible to the survivors, but defeated every attempt to light candles or torches for illumination. At present, intensive studies are being made of the destruction of the Greek island of Thera (today Santorini) in 1400 B.C. This catastrophe, well within historic times, is thought to have been eight times as violent as Krakatoa and is described in terms exactly paralleling the account in 3 Nephi. Among other things it is pointed out that the overpowering thickness of the air must have extinguished all lamps.” (Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, p. 236)

3 Nephi 9:14 Come unto me

“‘Come,’ [Christ] says lovingly. ‘Come, follow me.’ Wherever you are going, first come and see what I do, see where and how I spend my time. Learn of me, walk with me, talk with me, believe. Listen to me pray. In turn you will find answers to your own prayers. God will bring rest to your souls. Come, follow me” (Jeffrey R Holland in Conference Report, Oct. 1997).

3 Nephi 9:19 Your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away

‘It is an interesting reflection that up to the time of Christ, apparently, the peoples of the world . . . worshiped with the ritual which in reality . . . looked forward to the sacrifice of the Son . . .

The sacrifice was always vicarious. Animals were, with some, sacrificed, as under the Mosaic Law, for the sins of the individual and for the sins of the people, and among other and pagan religions, human sacrifice was made for the same purpose, but it was always a vicarious sacrifice, apparently with little actual sacrifice except for the value of the animal sacrificed, but the individuals themselves, to cancel the debt, so to speak, against their lives and living in the eyes of the Almighty One. The sinner, seemingly, in general, took on no obligation to abandon his sins, but took on only the obligation to offer sacrifice therefore.

But under the new covenant that came in with Christ, the sinner must offer the sacrifice out of his own life, not by offering the blood of some other creature; he must give up his sins, he must repent, he himself must make the sacrifice, and that sacrifice was calculated to reach out into the life of the sinner in the future so that he would become a better and changed man.’ (Behold the Lamb of God, by J Reuben Clark, Jr., pp. 107-108)

3 Nephi 9:20 A broken heart and a contrite spirit

‘True worship begins when our hearts are right before the Father and the Son. What is our heart condition today? Paradoxically, in order to have a healed and faithful heart, we must first allow it to break before the Lord. “Ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit,”  the Lord declares. The result of sacrificing our heart, or our will, to the Lord is that we receive the spiritual guidance we need.

With a growing understanding of the Lord’s grace and mercy, we will find that our self-willed hearts begin to crack and break in gratitude. Then we reach for Him, yearning to yoke ourselves to the Only Begotten Son of God. In our brokenhearted reaching and yoking, we receive new hope and fresh guidance through the Holy Ghost.’ (Neill F Marriott, General Conference, October 2015)

3 Nephi 10:6 Gathering

“More than once [Christ] said that He would gather us to him as a hen gatherers her chickens under his wings. He says that we must choose to come to Him in meekness and with enough faith in Him to repent ‘with full purpose of heart .’

One way to do that is to gather with the Saints in His Church. Go to your meetings, even when it seems hard. If you are determined, He will help you find the strength to do it.” (Henry B Eyring, “In the Strength of the Lord.”)

3 Nephi 10:12 They who received the prophets

‘On one occasion [Karl G. Maeser] was leading a party of young missionaries across the Alps. As they slowly ascended the steep slope, he looked back and saw a row of sticks thrust into the glacial snow to mark the one safe path across the otherwise treacherous mountains.

Something about those sticks impressed him, and halting the company of missionaries he gestured toward them and said, ‘Brethren, there stands the priesthood. They are just common sticks like the rest of us—some of them may even seem to be a little crooked, but the position they hold makes them what they are. If we step aside from the path they mark, we are lost.’

I bear witness, my brethren and sisters, fellow students, that in this Church men are as they indeed must be—called of God by prophecy. May we learn in our youth this lesson; it will see us faithful through all of the challenges of our lives. May we learn to follow the brethren.’ (Boyd K. Packer, Follow the Brethren, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, 23 Mar. 1965], p. 10)

3 Nephi 11:3 A small voice

“On the one hand, the voice of the Lord speaks softly, for it is a ‘still small voice,’ even ‘a still voice of perfect mildness’-‘a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper’; it is ‘not a harsh voice,’ neither is it a loud voice, but rather a voice that pierces to the very soul of man, causing the heart to burn. On the other hand, the voice of the world speaks loudly, imitating thunder, or some great and strong wind, the crashing earthquake, or the raging fire. The voice of the Lord says, ‘Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved.’ Indeed, it is the voice of the Lord that says to the righteous of every age: ‘I will not leave you comfortless,’ for ‘peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.’ The finger-pointing voice of the world, in contrast, is but the echo of the voice of Satan-the slanderer, that ‘accuser of [the] brethren’-and it is the voice of accusation, of naysaying, of character assassination, gossip, and falsehood; it is the voice of ridicule and scorn, always speaking against the cause of Christ, promoting vice in the name of some virtue, and, like Korihor, speaking with missionary zeal.” (Mark McConkie, The Father of the Prophet, p. 135)

3 Nephi 11:5-6 They did hear the voice

‘The people hear the voice speaking, but they don’t understand its words until the third time. This has other parallels in scripture; in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, for example, Eli does not understand that it is God’s voice calling Samuel until the third time the boy tells Eli that he heard a voice calling his name (1 Samuel 3:1–9).

And in Joseph Smith’s account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon (now canonized as part of the LDS book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price), the angel Moroni tells Joseph the same information about the golden plates’ history and significance several times with almost no variation.

It would seem that people need time to adjust to hearing divine voices and receiving angelic visitations; they are so overwhelmed at first that they are liable to miss the all-important spiritual message that is to be imparted. God and his messengers repeat their teachings so that people will have a chance to attend carefully to the words.’ (Jana Reiss, The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated and Explained)

3 Nephi 11:13-15 Arise and come forth unto me

‘This personal, intimate involvement of the Savior with 2500 people is a wonderful witness of his individual concern for us and our welfare. He had just descended from heaven. 2500 people had heard a whisper. He had told them who he was and what he was. There were no doubters in the crowd. And yet he extended this invitation.’ (Ted L Gibbons, LDSliving.com)

3 Nephi 11:22 There shall be no disputations among you

‘Brothers and sisters, if we are obedient to the commandment of love, there will be no disputations, contention, nor hatred between nor among us. We will not speak ill of one another but will treat each other with kindness and respect, realizing that each of us is a child of God. There will be no Nephites, Lamanites, nor other “ites” among us, and every man, woman, and child will deal justly one with another.’ (Robert F Orton, General Conference, October 2001)

3 Nephi 11:25 Having authority

“Some students have raised the question as to why the words of the baptismal prayer in the Book of Mormon differ slightly from the prayer listed in the Doctrine and Covenants. In this dispensation the Lord has counseled us to use these words in baptizing a person, after calling the candidate by name: ‘Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.’ (D&C 20:73.) The only difference in the two prayers is the introductory statement. In the Book of Mormon the disciples were counseled to say ‘having authority given me of Jesus Christ,’ whereas in this dispensation we are told to say ‘having been commissioned of Jesus Christ.’

“…[One] possibility for explaining this difference is that the disciples in the Book of Mormon received their authority directly from Jesus Christ; therefore, they rightfully could say ‘having authority given me of Jesus Christ.’ However, in this dispensation priesthood bearers have been given the power to baptize from John the Baptist, who was commissioned by Jesus Christ to come to earth and restore this authority. Therefore, in this dispensation we use the words ‘having been commissioned of Jesus Christ.’” (Daniel Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 262-3)

3 Nephi 11:29 Avoid contention

“Where people have that Spirit with them, we may expect harmony. The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention (see 3 Nephi 11:29). It never generates the feelings of distinctions between people which lead to strife (see Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 131). It leads to personal peace and a feeling of union with others. It unifies souls. A unified family, a unified Church, and a world at peace depend on unified souls” (Henry B Eyring, in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 86).

3 Nephi 11:32 The Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me

“…God’s love (understood as his desire for a relationship with us) is unconditional. In fact, God commands all men and women everywhere to repent and come to him (3 Nephi 11:32). He desires to redeem us, to glorify and exalt us equally and unconditionally. Does God desire to have an eternal relationship with all his children? Yes, and in this sense God’s love is unconditional. ‘All are invited, none is excluded.’ But it takes two people to have a relationship. A relationship, by definition, requires two points of reference, and only some of God’s children love him back and agree to enter into the desired relationship. He does not initially love them any more than the others, but in time the relationship of love that is possible with them is much, much greater than it is with those who reject him. They ‘abide in his love.’ (Jn 15:10)

“Many of God’s children will not love him. They will not accept the proposal of the Bridegroom, though he loves them dearly. They will never experience the joys the gospel marriage brings. However, that is not because God is unwilling or because they failed to meet conditions that would have rendered him willing. It is because they will not accept his proposal; they will not come to the wedding. Though he loved them first, they did not love him back, and by their choice the relationship will not be as great as it might have been-they refuse to ‘abide in his love.’” (Stephen R. Robinson, Following Christ, p. 149 – 150)