3 Nephi
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3 Nephi 8-10
If the Book of Mormon is another "Bible" then the gospel part of this Bible sequel is contained in 3 Nephi from chapters 8 through 28.
In the year 33 the people began to eagerly await the sign which had been given by Samuel the Lamanite that there should darkness for three days over all the land. In the year 34 a terrible storm came with such thunder that it shook the earth.
The city of Zarahemla caught on fire.
The city of Moroni sank into the sea.
A volcano erupted inside the city of Moronihah until the city was covered by a great mountain.
Earthquakes leveled many other cities. Tornadoes carried many people away to parts unknown. Boulders were cracked in two. Roads were broken up, buildings toppled, and many people were killed.
All of these things happened in the space of three hours.
Then it was dark for three days, and no candle nor torch could be kindled to shed light. There was no sun nor moon nor stars.
Then a great voice was heard in the darkness taking credit for burning Zarahemla and drowning Moroni and covering Moronihah with earth to hide their iniquities from his face. He also mentioned causing the city of Gilgal to be swallowed up by the earth and a number of other cities to be covered by water. Other towns he destroyed with fire from heaven like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Everyone who was still alive, he said, was spared because they were more righteous than those cities. He asks if they will come to him and be blessed.
This is kind of like the Terminator killing everone in the police station, but leaving one or two cops alive and then saying, "Won't you be my friend?" Nice gospel there.
Who is this guy who destroys every major city in the Western Hemisphere, and then asks the survivors to be his pal?
"Behold, I am 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."
Must be a different Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible, aka the Prince of Peace, called some people vipers and white-washed sepulchres, and maybe turned over some tables and threw some moneychangers out of the temple with his whip, but that was the extent of his violence.
The Jesus of the Bible was also a great storyteller. The Jesus of the Book of Mormon sounded like a broken record sometimes:
3 Nephi 10:4
O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.
3 Nephi 10:5
And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.
3 Nephi 10:6
O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.
Apparently Joseph Smith needed to pad out his little religious tract into a full-blown scripture.
3 Nephi 11-15 The gospel in the Book of Mormon differs from the four gospels in the New Testament on many points. There was no infancy narrative or account of Jesus when he was a child of twelve. There was no traveling ministry. Instead of Jesus going with his disciples from town to town, everyone came to him in the land of Bountiful (named after the Bountiful in Yemen), as though it were a super-duper Sermon on the Mount. They were prepared for this by the Nephite prophets.
Jesus was introduced by the voice of God the Father: "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him." Then Jesus came down from heaven in a white robe and stood in the midst of the crowd.
Even though everyone in the crowd believed he was the Son of God who was prophesied from old and fell to the ground, Jesus bade them to arise, come forth, and put their hands into the holes left in his body from the crucifixion, as though everyone there was a Doubting Thomas. But even Doubting Thomas didn't need to put his hands into Jesus, instead, humbled, he fell to the ground in worship and said, "My Lord and My God". Nevertheless, every single member of the crowd did come forward and verify the marks of Christ's execution as they were commanded.
Then Jesus said, "Nephi come forth!" which would be like standing in a crowd of a million Americans and saying "John Smith come forth!" But the correct Nephi came forward, kissed Jesus' feet, and Jesus gave him the power to baptize. And then Jesus called an unspecified number of others to be certified for performing baptisms as well.
In 3 Nephi chapter 15 verse 5 Jesus says "I have come to fulful the law; therefore it has an end". And he demands in verse 10 that the people keep his commandments. That means he has established a new law. Reading through 3 Nephi I have found some precepts which are great advice (like don't worry about tomorrow) but these precepts seem to be commandments.
The Jesus of the New Testament gospels was not a stickler for the letter of the law, he tore at the skin of the law to get at the meat. People could ignore the Sabbath to do good works. Laws on handwashing were a waste of time if what came out of a man was unclean. He wanted people to obey the law in spirit, for as Paul said, "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life". But the Jesus of the Book of Mormon is very specific about how he wanted the people to be baptized.
1. He gave to Nephi and others that he called the power to baptize the people, using the words: "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then they were to be immersed in the water, and come out of the water again.
2. There were to be no disputes about his doctrine, because contention is Satanic.
3. It was Jesus' doctrine that actions which stir men to anger must be done away with. And Jesus said his doctrine came from the Father himself.
4. Repentance from sin must accompany baptism. Salvation depends on believing in Jesus and being baptized. Anyone who does not believe in Jesus and is not baptized will be damned.
5. Be reconciled with one's brother before asked to be reconciled with Christ.
6. Do not look on a woman with lust.
7. Do not divorce your wife except on grounds of unfaithfulness.
8. Do not swear oaths.
9. Do not resist evil.
10. When compelled to make a plaintiff whole in a civil suit, make more than full restitution.
11. When pressed into labor, do twice the work that is compelled.
12. Do not turn away anyone who asks to borrow.
13. Love your enemies.
14. Do not make a public display of alms-giving.
15. Do not make a public display of prayer or use vain repetition.
16. Do not visibly emphasize your misery when fasting.
17. Do not judge.
18. Ask God for all things through prayer with faith.
19. Do not follow after false prophets.
20. Jesus' words must be declared to the ends of the earth.
21. Ye shall call the church in my name (3 Nephi 27:7)
22. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house (3 Nephi 24:10)
23. Never cease to pray in your hearts (3 Nephi 20:1)
24. Suffer not any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily (3 Nephi 18:28)
25. Ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not (3 Nephi 18:22)
26. Always pray unto the Father in my name (3 Nephi 18:19)
27. Keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you (3 Nephi 18:14)
28. There shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name. And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you (3 Nephi 18:5-6)
