3 Nephi 24

I think it is ironic that Malachi received his words from Jehovah, and then in The Book of Mormon, the Mortal Messiah relays these same words to the Nephites.  I love these words - 

"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?

14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."  (3 Nephi 24:13–18)

3 Nephi 20

 The Savior spoke of the Abrahamic covenant saying - 

"...behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—

27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.

28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.

29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father."  (3 Nephi 20:25–29)

3 Nephi 19

 We read that as the Savior visited the Americas, His disciples -

"...began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus..."  (3 Nephi 19:18)

and that as they prayed -

"...Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him..."  (3 Nephi 19:25)

Some might find it disturbing as man is commanded to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

I believe it is the use of the word "pray".

As Peter began to sink as he was walking to Jesus - 

"...he cried, saying, Lord, save me."  (Matthew 14:30)

Why?  Because Jesus was there.  He was with Peter. He didn't pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Savior explained why His disciples prayed to Him - 

"...they pray unto me because I am with them."  (3 Nephi 19:22)

3 Nephi 14

 For those that believe that grace alone are we saved, the Savior taught - 

"Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits... "  (3 Nephi 14:13–16)

In my mind, it is clear that there are conditions and that each of us also has obligations.

3 Nephi 12

 Though we have heard these words many times, they still impressed me this morning - 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;

16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  (3 Nephi 12:14–16) 

I there any question on how we should live around others.

3 Nephi 10

 At the time of the crucifixion, with all the death and destruction in the Americas, the Lord said - 

 "...it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared—"  (3 Nephi 10:12)

I'm sure it will be the same at the second coming.

3 Nephi 8

 I find it interesting that as the Savior died, for three days - 

"...there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them."  (3 Nephi 8:20–23)

The Savior declared - 

"...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

Very symbolic

3 Nephi 4

 After the Nephites and Lamanites were preserved from the Gladiaton robbers, -

"...they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.

31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.

32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."  (3 Nephi 4:30–33)

Why did they eventually turn from this testimony?

3 Nephi 2

 Again, we see that - 

"...people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen—

2 Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing.

3 And it came to pass that the people began to wax strong in wickedness and abominations; and they did not believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did go about, leading away the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land."  (3 Nephi 2:1–3)

Again, it seems so relevant in our day!

Helaman 9

 I think it is interesting how the corrupt responded to the sign given by Nephi - 

 "Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with him."  (Helaman 9:19–20)

The wicked never sense accountability

Helamn 7

 A Nephi warns the people of Nephi in the quick turn to iniquity, he says - 

O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?

21 But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity.

22 And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies."  (Helaman 7:20–22)

Again, a great warning to us in our day.

Helaman 5

 Again, we see relevance and warning to us today as Mormon explains - 

"For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted."  (Helaman 5:2)

Helaman 3

 As he continues to abridge the records, Mormon comments - 

"Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.

28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out."  Helaman 3:27–30)

Helaman 1

 We see political upheaval even in the days of the Nephites where - 

"...Paanchi, and that part of the people that were desirous that he should be their governor, was exceedingly wroth; therefore, he was about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their brethren.

8 And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, he was taken, and was tried according to the voice of the people, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of the people.

9 Now when those people who were desirous that he should be their governor saw that he was condemned unto death, therefore they were angry, and behold, they sent forth one Kishkumen, even to the judgment-seat of Pahoran, and murdered Pahoran as he sat upon the judgment-seat.

10 And he was pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, so speedy was the flight of Kishkumen that no man could overtake him.

11 And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by their everlasting Maker, that they would tell no man that Kishkumen had murdered Pahoran.

12 Therefore, Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, for he was in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran. And Kishkumen and his band, who had covenanted with him, did mingle themselves among the people, in a manner that they all could not be found; but as many as were found were condemned unto death."  (Helaman 1:7–12)

Obviously, this could even happen in our day with secret combinations and desires for power.

Alma 60

In the Nephite political climate, Moroni taught - 

"...Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also."  (Alma 60:23)

And adding - 

"...I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country..."  (Alma 60:36)

I believe these principles are relevant today.

Alma 57

Helaman responds to the loss of those that had been slain in war - 

"...I trust that the souls of them who have been slain have entered into the rest of their God."  (Alma 57:36)

That is a very faithful statement.

Alma 55

 You can tell one of the righteous characteristics of Moroni was he did not seek revenge for - 

"...had they awakened the Lamanites, behold they were drunken and the Nephites could have slain them.

19 But behold, this was not the desire of Moroni; he did not delight in murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in the saving of his people from destruction; and for this cause he might not bring upon him injustice, he would not fall upon the Lamanites and destroy them in their drunkenness."  (Alma 55:18–19)

Alma 53

 You can sense wisdom as Moroni, - 

"...after the Lamanites had finished burying their dead and also the dead of the Nephites, they were marched back into the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city, Bountiful.

4 And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; and they cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding height.

5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands. Now Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor; and he desired all his forces when he should make an attack upon the Lamanites."  (Alma 53:3–5)

Alma 51

 We read that as the Nephites were enjoying their liberty that -

"...there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered."  (Alma 51:2)

They - 

"...were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land."  (Alma 51:5)

For they - 

"...who were in favor of kings were those of high birth, and they sought to be kings; and they were supported by those who sought power and authority over the people."  (Alma 51:8)

Sound relevant to our day.

Alma 47

 As I read this morning, even the many of the Lamanites were unreligious, they still seemed to be a trusting honest group with some standards.  But Amalickiah seemed almost satanic as we read - 

"...behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very subtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites."  (Alma 47:4)

Alma 46

 We find some interesting character traits of wicked individuals - 

"Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah.

4 And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were seeking for power.

5 And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people.

6 Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions..."  (Alma 46:3–6)

"Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.

10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous’ sake."  (Alma 46:9–10)

We need to be careful.

Alma 44

 I believe Moroni's words to Zerahemnah concerning his intent, evil vs. good, Godliness vs. Satan - 

"...we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.

3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith."  (Alma 44:2–3)

Alma 43

 For me, this seems so relevant to today with political parties - 

"For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage.

9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires."  (Alma 43:8–9)

Alma 41

 I think this chapter introduces the doctrine of restoration more than any other in ancient scripture.  In conclusion Alma teaches - 

"Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again."  (Alma 41:14)

Alma 40

 Alma tells Corianton - 

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life."  (Alma 40:11)

I believe this earth has been our home and may well be through the eternities.

Alma 39

 Alma asked Corianton - 

"...Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?

18 Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their children?

19 Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?"  (Alma 39:17–19)

In my mind, the term "infinite atonement", suggest infinite before and after the Savior's life.

Alma 38

 As I read these words of Alma to his son, Shiblon, I tend to picture him laying his hands on Shiblon's head and giving a patriarchal blessing.  I thing one of the most profound counsels he gives is - 

...see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love..."   (Alma 38:12)

In my mind, receiving the love of God, love for God, and love for his neighbors.

Alma 35

 This seems so relevant to me in our day as -

"...their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concerning their desires; therefore they found out privily the minds of all the people.

6 And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land; and they were many; and they came over also into the land of Jershon."  (Alma 35:5–6)

Alma 34

 As Amulek teaches true doctrine, he teaches - 

"...behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."  (Alma 34:33)

I believe the true doctrine is the word "improve".  We always must be striving forward through repentance for - 

"Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."  (Alma 34:34)

You have to be improving.

Alma 33

 Alma explained - 

"Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen."  (Alma 33:19–23)

Alma 32

 After Alma compares the word of God to a seed, he concludes - 

"Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you."  (Alma 32:43)

That fruit can be compared to personal revelation, redemption, etc.