Lesson 37 - Whosoever Will Come, Him Will I Receive
Scriptures
Read, ponder, and pray about the following scriptures:
3 Nephi 8. Great destruction occurs in the Americas at the time of Christ’s death. Many cities are destroyed.
3 Nephi 9–10. Survivors hear the voice of the Lord inviting them to return to Him, repent, and be converted.
3 Nephi 11. The resurrected Savior descends from heaven and teaches the people.
Observations
We are entering the most important part of the Book of Mormon, Christ’s appearance to the Nephites. This lesson lays the foundations for His ministry among the people.
Chapter 8 is very important because it records the destruction that had been prophesied. At the time of their destruction, the Nephites were a wicked people who refused to accept the Lord. After all the warnings, the suffered the consequences of their decisions.
In the Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 4,Third Nephi through Moroni, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top comment that that chapter 8 gives us a guide to prepare for the second coming of Christ. We are warned of the destruction and wickedness that will be around us at the time this occurs. Knowing what we should prepare for will help us better face the challenges of the future.
Chapters 9 & 10, the people hear the voice of Christ. In chapter 9, the first ten verses outline the destruction. The last set of verses, carrying over to chapter 10, Christ calls on the people to repent and accept Him.
Chapter 11 is where Christ appears. He begins teaching the people and calls the Nephite twelve.
This set of chapters are all very important to our understanding of the gospel.
Chapter 8
Mormon Testifies the Record is True; Dissension Among the People (vs. 1-4)
· The most significant event in the Book of Mormon is about to occur.
· Mormon begins by testifying about the record.
o He knows it’s a true record, because:
§ A just man kept the record.
§ He did many miracles in the name of Jesus.
§ No man could to miracles in His name unless they were righteous.
· It has been 33 years since the signs of Christ’s birth were received.
· The people were beginning to look for the signs Samuel gave concerning Christ’s death.
o As with Christ’s birth, there were disputes and doubts among the people.
The Destruction Among the Nephites (vs. 5-25)
· At the beginning of the 34th year, there was a great storm.
o “[S]uch an one as never had been known in all the land” (v. 5).
o Nephi1 wrote of the destruction in the New World.
§ For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up.
And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.
1 Nephi 19:11 - 12
· For a more complete listing of the destruction, see Handout I.
· The whole face of the land was changed.
· Nephi prophesied:
o And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof.
And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.
And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.
1 Nephi 12:4 - 6
· Many died in the destructions.
· The storms, tempests, and quaking lasted for three hours.
· A thick darkness came upon the face of the land.
o It was so thick, it could be felt.
o Candles, torches, and fire could not be lit.
o The Sun, Moon, and stars could not be seen.
o See Quote #1
o The darkness lasted for three days.
· There was howling, weeping, and mourning among the people.
o They cried out that, had they repented, their brethren would have been spared.
o If we had repented, not killed and stoned the prophets, not cast them out, their wives, daughters, and children would have been spared.
Handout I - Destructions at the Death of Christ
(Chart 49, Charting the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch)
Element of Destruction / City Destroyed / Reference/ Moronihah / 3 Nephi 8:10; 9:5
Gilgal / 3 Nephi 9:6
Gadiomnah / 3 Nephi 9:38
Jacob / 3 Nephi 9:8
/ Some people were carried away in the whirlwind / 3 Nephi 8:16
/ Zarahemla / 3 Nephi 8:8; 9:3
Jacobugath / 3 Nephi 9:9
Laman / 3 Nephi 9:10
Gad / 3 Nephi 9:10
Josh / 3 Nephi 9:10
Kishkumen / 3 Nephi 9:10
/ Moroni / 3 Nephi 8:9; 9:4
Onihah / 3 Nephi 9:7
Jerusalem / 3 Nephi 9:7
Mocum / 3 Nephi 9:7
Samuel the Lamanite’s Prophecies
(Chart 48, Charting the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch)
As the time neared for Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies to be fulfilled, Nephi3 witnessed the growing skepticism of the people … Nephi3 paid careful attention to documenting their exact fulfillment. Nephi3 also tracked Samuel’s prophecies concerning Christ’s death and their fulfillment.
Concerning Christ’s Death / Reference / FulfillmentNo light for 3 days / Helaman 14:20, 27 / 3 Nephi 8:19-23
Thunderings and lightnings / Helaman 14:21 / 3 Nephi 8:6-7
Earth will shake, tremble, and be broken up / Helaman 14:21-22 / 3 Nephi 8:12, 17-18
Mountain will be laid low and valleys raised / Helaman 14:23 / 3 Nephi 8:10, 13; 9:8
Resurrected people will appear to many / Helaman 14:25 / 3 Nephi 23:9-14
Chapter 9
A Voice is Heard (vs. 1-2)
· In the darkness, the people heard a Voice.
· See Quote #2.
· The voice told the people:
o “[W]o unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent” (v. 2).
o The devil laughs and rejoices over those who have died.
o It is because of their sins they have fallen.
The Voice Describes and Explains the Destruction (vs. 3-12)
· The Voice describes and explains the great destruction among the Nephites.
· Abinadi had warned the people of their pending destruction.
o And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations.
Mosiah 12:8
The Voice is Identified and Are Called to Return to Him (vs. 13-16)
· Those that were spared “were more righteous than [those who died], will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?” (v. 13).
· If they come to Him, they will have eternal life.
· Nephi1 taught that the Savior:
o [D]oeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.
Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
2 Nephi 26:24 - 28
· During His ministry, Christ told the people:
o For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
· The Voice is “Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name” (v. 15).
· Abinadi taught:
o “I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—
The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—
And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.
Mosiah 15:1 – 4
· Christ came to “my own” but the rejected Him.
· The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith:
o Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
D&C Section 6:21
The Law of Moses is Fulfilled in Christ (vs. 13-)
· The Nephites had been living the Law of Moses.
o Christ tells the people that “in me is the law of Moses fulfilled” (v. 17).
· They are no longer offer up sacrifices and burnt offerings.
· He will no longer accept these offerings.
· Abinadi told the Nephites this day would come.
o And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses.
And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.
Mosiah 13:27 - 28
· Amulek testified:
o Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the claw of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.
Alma 34:13
· We are to offer a broken heart and contrite spirit as a sacrifice.
o Those that do will be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost.
o The Psalmist wrote:
§ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalms 51:16 - 17
· He has come to redeem the world and save it from sin.
o We are to repent and be as a little child.
§ “[F]or of such is the kingdom of God” (v. 22).
· Christ has laid down and take up his life.
o Repent and be saved.
o King Benjamin taught:
§ For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
Mosiah 3:19
· The Savior said:
o As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be cone fold, and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.