3 Nephi 19 Just as this chapter goes into detail in explaining that there are things that cannot be comprehended by the mortal mind, or rather that are forbidden from being recorded, I am at a loss of words to describe the experience that it is for me this morning reading these verses. The feelings …
Category Archives: scripture study
I Am the Light
3 Nephi 18 (Note: There is a natural man repulsion to the doctrines found in this chapter. I feel that this is the adversary’s affront to some of the most important principles of the Gospel of Christ: Sacrament, Family Prayer, and Ministering. The reality is this chapter is a point of culmination in the Savior’s …
Through Christ Which Strengtheneth Me
Philippians 4:13 I was contemplating a similar phrase that was in my head, “through Christ who healeth me.” That is not scripture, but it was a more accurate description of my current state. But the actual scripture is richer in meaning. Footnotes take me to 1 Timothy and Alma 26: And I thank Christ Jesus …
The Eye Hath Not Seen, Neither Hath The Ear Heard, Before, So Great and Marvelous Things
3 Nephi 17 There is phrase in this chapter that has long left me puzzled as to its placement here. It is a lamentation of the House of Israel found in verse 14: And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am …
On the Gathering and Other Sheep
3 Nephi 15:11-24; 16 Now in the second half of chapter 15, the Savior takes pains to say that this people (the Nephite people) were those that Christ said would hear his voice. He repeats this in such a way as to suggest that this was a literal statement of fact. Clarifying the point further, …
Him Will I Raise Up
3 Nephi 15:1-10 At the end of the first verse, the Savior gives the promise of being raised up. The footnotes, show that this promise was reiterated by prophets throughout the scriptures, especial in the Book of Mormon and strongly ties obedience to the commandments of the Lord with the first Resurrection. The next nine …
I Will Liken Him unto a Wise Man
3 Nephi 14:24-27 (See also Matthew 7:24-27) In this simple comparison of persons is the powerful illustration of one absolute reality: Rains will fall, Floods will come, and winds will blow! In other words, there will be opposition regardless of your spiritual status in life. However, it is the outcome of such opposition that will …
I Never Knew You
3 Nephi 14:21-23 (See also Matthew 7:21-23) These three verses come to me after a week-long study on false prophets. There is for me a lot to unpack in so few verses. Footnotes are taking me in all directions, but the one thing that is really standing out to me this morning is the final …
By Their Fruits
3 Nephi 14:15-20 (see also Matthew 7:15-20) The Lord starts this block of teaching with a warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Gratefully the Lord gives us a way to discern or judge: by their fruits. So the question here is: what manner …
Strait Is the Gate
3 Nephi 14:13-14 (see also Matthew 7:13-14) In these verses, the strait gate is not defined. But Nephi clearly defines it in 2 Nephi 31:17-18, “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And …