3 Nephi 27-4th Nephi

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LESSON #1: I KNOW THIS CHURCH IS TRUE (3 NEPHI 27)

ICEBREAKER-HANDOUT

I like to begin this week with a small quiz about world religions and let’s see how well you do. As a teacher, you may wish to do this as a handout, which I’ll make available this week.

1. How many different religions are there in the world?

2. 50

3. 1200

4. 3600

5. 4300

6. What is the largest major religious group in the world?

7. Christianity

8. Islam

9. Buddhism

10. Atheism

11. What percentage of the world’s population identify themselves as part of a religion?

12. 27%

13. 53%

14. 84%

15. 96%

16. What is the world’s fastest growing religion?

17. Islam

18. Jehovah’s Witnesses

19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

20. Atheism

21. How many people worldwide are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

22. 13.6 Million

23. 17.2 Million

24. 18.2 Million

25. 20.3 million

Information taken from the following websites:

• https://www.theregister.com/2006/10/06/the_odd_body_religion/#:~:text=There%20are%20some%204%2C300%20religions,size%20of%20the%20world's%20religions.)

• https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

• https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics

So, maybe some surprises there for you. I think it’s a significant fact though that a vast majority of the world’s population considers themselves to be religious. And with all those choices out there, you can see why it would be confusing for many to determine what to believe. I remember having this photo taken on my mission when I was temporarily reassigned to serve in the Eugene, Oregon mission for a few months before I served in Brazil. And there I worked in the small rural town of Silverton. And even in that tiny town, it seemed like there was a church on every other corner. With so many religions, and so many different denominations within those religions, you can see why it’s easy for many in this world to get confused.

In 3 Nephi 27, Jesus is going to give us some indicators that will help us to know which church is truly HIS church. Three ways that will help us to recognize it.

SEARCH

So a SEARCH activity here. Study the following verses and look for the three things that will help us to recognize HIS church, according to the Savior himself.

1.     3 Nephi 27:7-8

2.     3 Nephi 27:(last phrase of 8-11)

3.     3 Nephi 27:21, 27

Indicator #1:  3 Nephi 27:7-8

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

So what’s the first one? We will know the true church by its name and if the things we do in the Church are in his name. So, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, we perform ordinances in the name of Jesus Christ, we testify in the name of Jesus Christ, and we call the church by his name. Therefore, the true church must bear the name of Jesus Christ. Which makes sense right? As Jesus himself reasons, if I call the name of the Church after somebody else, then it’s somebody else’s Church, not his.

And if there’s one thing that our current prophet has made clear right from the very beginning of his presidency, it’s that the name of the Church matters and how we refer to it matters. As we well know, for many years the church has predominantly been referred to as the Mormon Church, or the LDS Church or we’ve referred to ourselves as the Latter-day Saints. And over the years we’ve seemed to grow accustomed to those monikers and have even embraced them. But, as a living church that over the years is maturing and learning, and developing, in 2018, President Nelson clarified to the Church that this is a habit that must change and that an effort needs to be made to correct it.

He said:

“ . . .first let me state what this effort is not:

* It is not a name change.

* It is not rebranding.

* It is not cosmetic.

* It is not a whim.

* And it is not inconsequential.

Instead, it is a correction. It is the command of the Lord. Joseph Smith did not name the Church restored through him; neither did Mormon. It was the Savior Himself who said, “For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

. . .

Thus, the name of the Church is not negotiable. When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with, “Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious. And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended.”

(Conference Report, October 2018)

As wonderful a man as Mormon was, and as honorable as it is to be connected and called by him, it isn’t Mormon’s church, any more than it’s Joseph Smith’s church, or Russell M. Nelson’s church or even the Latter-day Saint’s church. It’s the Church of Jesus Christ. And even though it has been a bit of an adjustment that I’ll admit, I balked at a little bit at first, mainly because of the length of the full name of the church, but I have since embraced the idea that we need to refer to it as such. And I think I’ve started to get the hang of it. Now, I don’t refer to myself as a Mormon, but a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. And I’ve noticed, there is a different feel to that declaration now. There is something about uttering the name of Jesus Christ more often that makes my membership deeper, and more meaningful, and I, for one, am grateful to associate myself more often with His name.

So that’s indicator #1. His church should bear his name. BUT that’s not all, that’s not enough. There are plenty of other church’s out there that do in fact have Christ’s name in them and many throughout the world consider themselves Christians.  So Jesus adds another qualification at the end of verse 8.

Indicator #2: 3 Nephi 27:(last phrase of 8-11)

Which includes the last phrase of verse 8 and then continues through verse 11. Let’s pick it up where it says “but if it be called in my name then it is my church,  (so that’s our first one that we just talked about, but then Christ adds)

if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.

Now that’s an important qualification for recognizing His church. His church must not only bear his name but must also be built upon his gospel, not the works of men, and certainly not the works of the devil.  

That leads us to the obvious next question. What is his gospel? We find the answer to that question in verses 13-21. Verse 13 begins with the statement  "this is the gospel which I have given unto you", and then verse 21 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel.” So what we find between those two statements is what he considers to be his gospel. What does he talk about in those verses? As a teacher I would just simply summarize the message we find there. His gospel is his mission to do his Father’s will (so obedience to the Father’s  is a fundamental aspect of the gospel). His gospel is founded upon his atoning sacrifice, our eventual judgment and then we’re going to see a reference there to each of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. So we have faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. That’s what the church must be built on. Those are the fundamentals of his gospel. His church must be built on those truths. Does our faith fit that description? I’ll let you be the judge of that, but I believe it does.

Indicator #3: 3 Nephi 27:21, 27

Ok. The third indicator, and in my opinion, the most important. I think he saved the best for last and actually; this last idea is found throughout the chapter and is even hinted at in the first two indicators that we already looked at. How are people really going to know which church is the true church? Let me introduce this idea with a small challenge.

See if you can fill in the following blank from this quote from Bruce R. McConkie, former member of the First Presidency.

 "The essence of true worship is _____________, the ___________  of the works and labors of Christ

(McConkie, The Promised Messiah 568-69).

If you’re not sure what it is, allow me to give you a hint by telling two stories. And I know I briefly mentioned this first one a few weeks ago, but allow me to give a little more detail. When I was a newer father, my oldest son got a little plastic lawn mower for Christmas. Later that year, I went out to mow the lawn. As soon as my son saw this, he ran into his room and grabbed his toy lawn mower and brought it out and set it right next to mine. I poured some gas into mine while he took his sippy cup and pretended to pour water into his. I reached down and yanked on the pull cord. His didn’t even have a pull cord, so he pretended to grab an imaginary cord and made a yanking motion with his hand. Well, off I went mowing the lawn, and here came my little son after me following a few feet behind. When I turned, he turned, when I stopped, he stopped. And on and on like that until I was finished. Now I ask you, why did he do that? Because he wanted to be like me. He wanted to do the things that I could do.

Another example. I remember when I was younger, that my best friend really got into basketball. And something he would do whenever he was driving towards the basket for a lay-up is that he would stick out his tongue. Now, for anyone who grew up in the late 80’s, early 90’s, can you guess why he did that? Because that was something that basketball great Michael Jordan used to do when he drove to the basket. He’d stick out his tongue. So why would my friend do that? Because he wanted to be just like Michael Jordan. Like Mike.

So back to our quote. With those two stories in mind, what do you think Elder McConkie would say true worship consisted of? He said, “The essence of true worship is emulation, the imitation of the works and labors of Christ. If you said either of those two words or something like them, you got it right. We might say that my son “worshipped” me, or that my friend “worshipped” Michael Jordan.

So how are people going to be able to recognize the true church?

Verse 21:

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

He says it two times in a row in that verse!

And then verse 27, he asks a question, and gives the moving answer.

What manner of men (and women) ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

People will know we are his disciples because we will be like him. We will do his works. We will share his attributes and qualities. True disciples of Christ are defined by their character. Yes, there are things that we do as disciples, but all of the DO’s are in pursuit of the greater goal, the BE. We do certain things, motivated by the idea and goal of becoming something. That’s the connection between verses 21 and 27. And you know, there’s a bit of common advice that I’ve often heard people give when it comes to determining what they should do, and who they should be. They say, “Just be yourself.” And you know, I think that’s terrible advice. Because, what does that even mean? Just be yourself? Does that mean, just do whatever comes naturally to you? Well, that’s not good. The natural man is an enemy to God. Somebody could say, “Well, I really enjoy just playing video games all day and eating Cheetos. Hey, I’m just being myself.” And Heavenly Father is up there shaking his head, saying, “Oh, you have the potential to be so much more. That isn’t YOU. That’s not being yourself. You are what you have the potential to be! Which is unlimited.”  Now if “Just be yourself” means “be authentic, be sincere,” then OK, I think that’s good but still, I don’t think that’s the extent of the goal we ought to be striving towards. When Jesus answered his question, he didn’t say to his disciples, “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, “Just be yourselves”.  Not that’s not what he said, is it. He said be “even as I am.” I’ll give you a better self. I’ll give you myself. My example, my works, my words. We will know the true church based on the character and type of people who are in it, collectively speaking and not individually. The greatest testimony we have of the truthfulness of the Church is the kind of people that we are. And I know I’ve talked about this idea before, but I think it’s an idea worth repeating.

When Jesus spoke to the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper he made an important statement about how people would know that they were His disciples. And I know you’re all familiar with it because it’s part of the lyrics of a very well-known hymn that we all sing. By this shall men know ye are my disciples . . .and what comes next? Is it, they’ll know because of what you believe, they’ll know because your doctrine will be so sound and understandable? Is it, they’ll know because the gospel will make so much sense that logically you will be able to prove it to them? No. They’ll know you’re my disciples, if you have love one to another. They’ll know by how you treat one another. By the kind of people that you are.

You can see this idea reflected in the first two indicators as well and indeed all over this chapter. With the name of the church, go back to verse 5. It says:

5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

He doesn’t really begin by saying that the organization needs to be called by his name, but that his people should be called in his name, and the things that they do should be done in his name. When we are baptized, and every week as we partake of the sacrament, we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. It’s a focus more on our actions and character than what we are called as an organization. In fact, you could make the argument that the Church is really his people, not an abstract idea or even a group of people or institution. We are the Church of Jesus Christ. Not the buildings, not the signs, not the structural aspect of the church. The people are the church. So we must bear the name of Jesus Christ and DO things in his name. That’s why that distinction is important. We aren’t Mormons trying to be like Mormon. We are Christians, trying to be like Christ. Maybe that’s why we get a little rankled when the rest of the Christian world wants to exclude us from that designation.

What about being built upon his gospel? Verse 9.

9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

So once again, the focus is on us as a people, rather than the Church as an organization. The Father shows forth his works in it, through his members. Because if we are doing the works of Christ, we are doing the works of the Father, because that’s what Christ did. Christ was the living object lesson of what his Father is like. He says that in verse 13. (Show marking). In that way, the works of the Father are shown in his church through the actions of its members. Yes we know the church is true because of its true doctrine, and true authority, and true ordinances, and true organization. But more importantly, we know it’s true because of its true disciples. We, as individuals, must be built upon his gospel.

Over the centuries though, since Christ first visited this world in the flesh, unfortunately, Christianity has seemed to emphasize belief over character. It seems that what you believed about Christ was more important than the kind of person that you were. And things like crusades, inquisitions, schisms, indulgences, and executions that were all done as a result of people not believing the right things.

Now don’t get me wrong. I feel that what we believe matters. Good doctrine leads to good behavior. But in the grand scheme of things, I think our Father in Heaven is far more concerned with the type of people that we are than with what we claim to know.

What manner of men and women ought we to be? Even as he is. Every week in the sacrament we promise to take upon ourselves his name; to represent him. And for how long? Until the end. When we talk about enduring to the end, what end are we referring to? The end of our lives? The end of our journey towards his kingdoms of glory? I think the end that’s he's referring to, is the end of our personal spiritual development. That end is becoming like Christ. So I need to endure to that end, to becoming a being like he is—to endure to the end of his character—to emulate and imitate him perfectly. Therefore, how are we going to know which Church is true? It’s going to be the church that has the most Christlike members, where people are developing his qualities. That’s going to be the Church that’s most likely the true Church of Jesus Christ.

Professor Arthur Henry King taught this idea beautifully when he said, “We symbolize [good] in a real individual—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is a man, not a principle, a man who includes all principles. . . . And following a man is very different from following a principle. . . . We do not have to work out philosophical complexities of ethics. It has nothing to do with that. We have to study the Gospels, see what Christ did, and try to identify ourselves with what he did. It is because we catch the spirit of the Master, the Master’s love, and because we have soaked ourselves in the gospel, that we know what it is that we must do. The gospel which we have stored within us enables us at any moment to feel what we should do in a certain situation.” The Abundance of the Heart (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1986), 123

Do you see how that works? We imitate. We emulate. And we become like Christ.

TRUTH

I will recognize Christ’s true Church by:

Its name (called after Jesus Christ)

Its teachings (built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ)

And the character of those who are members of it (those who most closely resemble the character of Jesus Christ)

TAKING IT TO HEART

Which of the three indicators has helped you most to recognize the true Church of Christ?

Who is someone you know that exemplifies some aspect of the character of Christ? How?

I WILL GO AND DO

Think of a characteristic of Christ that you wish to better emulate. What is one thing you could do this week to imitate it?

THE TAKEAWAY

In conclusion, to really sink the importance of imitating Christ’s character deep into the hearts of my students, I like to lead them through the following mental exercise. I try to imagine the final judgment. And let’s say that a Catholic woman walks in to be judged. And there’s Christ. And he says, “You know what, I’m afraid that you got my doctrine wrong. You didn’t understand the true nature of the Godhead, or the importance of living prophets, you completely misinterpreted the nature of heaven and hell, and the way your baptism was performed was incorrect. But you know what, we can fix that really easy in a matter of minutes. Here’s the truth. Da, da, da, da, da. That’s the true doctrine. However, you know something, you were one of the kindest, most charitable, forgiving, self-sacrificing and honest people that I know of. You tried very hard to be like me. You’re the kind of person that belongs in my kingdom. Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into my rest.

On the other hand, I could see a scenario like this playing out as well. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes in to be judged. And Christ says, you know what, you believed all the right things. You understood the true nature of the Godhead, you knew the plan of salvation backwards and forwards, you believed the Book of Mormon was true and you had an incredible understanding of Church history and doctrine. Good job. However, you know something, you were one of the most prideful, judgmental, selfish, and angry people that I know of. You tried very little to be like me. I can’t fix that. I can’t change you. I’m not sure that you would be very happy or comfortable in my kingdom.

Now that’s a dramatization and I don’t know exactly how the final judgment is going to play out, but I could see that kind of thing perhaps taking place at the judgment. Wouldn’t it be far better to not only know that the church is true, but to be true to the church. Or rather, be true to Christ and his character. I personally believe that it’s more about becoming than believing. I’m convinced that how we treated others and how we developed ourselves will matter far more than what we knew. By THIS shall men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. What manner of person ought ye to be? Even as he was. Even as Christ. Now there’s some good advice. Be . . . like . . . Him.

LESSON #2: MAKE A WISH (3 NEPHI 28)

Now I don’t usually spend a lot of time on Chapter 28, but I would like to give you a brief idea for that chapter. Its focus is on the Three Nephites,  or The Three Disciples rather. They’re actually never referred to as the three Nephites in the Book of Mormon, so maybe they weren’t even Nephites. But here were three men who truly and deeply imitated Christ and his character. But how did they come to be known as THE three Nephites? What distinguished or set them apart from the other nine?

OBJECT

A suggested object you could use here: A magic lamp. Or, I mean, one of those middle eastern looking lamps like the kind we associate with the story of Aladdin. You can actually purchase one of these fairly inexpensively on Amazon if you’re interested and I’ll provide a link to one in the video description below.

(https://amzn.to/3XXpX6b)

ICEBREAKER

Then for an icebreaker, I pull out that lamp and ask my students what they would wish for if they were given only one wish.  BUT, the four rules from the Disney movie Aladdin apply here. Do you remember what those were?

You can’t wish for more wishes

You can’t bring anybody back from the dead

You can’t kill anyone

and you can’t make anyone fall in love with you.

So I then let a few of them share what their wishes would be, and it can be kind of fun discussion.

But then I tell them that there were some individuals in the Book of Mormon that were actually given that very opportunity by Jesus himself. After chapter 27 where Jesus told them what he wanted from them, he then turns the tables and says, “Ok now, what do you want from me?” In other words, “Make a Wish”.  Those individuals were none other than the twelve Nephite apostles. And what did they wish for? We can split them into two groups. Nine wished for one thing, while three wished for another. What were the two wishes?

SEARCH

Take a look in 28:2-7, and 9

The first wish made by nine of them. That they could speedily come to Christ’s kingdom. That’s a great desire. And Jesus commends them for it and blesses them with it. He tells them that they will live to be 72 and then they would immediately rejoin him in his kingdom. So basically, they would skip the Spirit World and return directly to the presence of Christ and dwell where he dwells.

But what about the other three?

Well, I think it’s interesting to note that verse 5 tells us that they sorrowed in their hearts to speak their desire, and I’ve often wondered why. Perhaps they wondered if it would hurt the Savior’s feelings by not wanting first and foremost to return speedily to Him, like the others. Was it because they had just witnessed Jesus’ pleasure and approval of the desire of the nine, and knew that they felt differently? I don’t know but it’s an interesting question. One thing I do know is that Jesus is pleased with their desire too. They are also going to be greatly commended for what they want. And that teaches me a fascinating principle. That we can have different righteous desires as disciples of Christ. Not everybody has to feel the same way about every aspect of the gospel.  We aren’t all meant to be exact duplicates or Xeroxed copies of each other. There is a lot of room for uniqueness amongst Christ’s disciples. We have different strengths, different paths to take in life, different desires, but all are good and acceptable to God.

But what was their desire? Sometimes I’ve heard people answer that it was to live forever, to not taste of death. But that’s not it. Living forever was more of a side effect of their wish. Their real desire was something much greater. Verse 9 reveals it. They "desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand”. Verse 6 tells us that they had the same desire as John the Beloved. We know from Doctrine and Covenants 7 that his exact wish was “Lord, give unto me power over death, “that I may live and bring souls unto thee”.  They didn’t want to live forever out of sense of curiosity about the future or out of some selfish “fountain of youth” type fantasy. They wanted to live forever so that they could continue to do what they loved most. To proclaim the gospel, to be missionaries, to bring souls unto Christ.

This, I believe is the real lesson of the Three Disciples and John the Beloved for that matter. I know it’s kind of fun to think that there are these four immortal beings walking around the earth and what their lives might be like. The rest of Chapter 28 teaches us some interesting facts about them, and I’ll include a list of them here. But I wouldn’t really make this the focus of my lesson. Nor would I turn it into a speculative story time either. Over the years I’ve heard a lot of stories and speculation about the three Nephites or disciples. I know of people who are absolutely convinced that they may have met one of them. Usually the story revolves around some mysterious visitor who shows up at the right time to help a certain member of the church. Now those stories may or may not be true, but we shouldn’t get the impression that their major mission is to wander the earth helping members of the church out of trouble. That’s not really why they wanted to tarry on earth. It was to bring souls to Christ. So what are they doing right now? They’re out there doing missionary work. Preparing people for the truth, advancing the gathering of Israel, opening up hearts and areas for the teaching of the restored gospel. That’s why they wanted to stay and I’m sure that when all things are revealed, we’re all going to see how big a role they've played in the growth of the church. The real lesson the three Nephites teach us is the joy of missionary work. How wonderful is it? It’s the kind of work that’s worth living forever to do. The kind of work you never tire of. These were men that understood the principle of Doctrine & Covenants 18:15-16

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

The Three Disciples understood the joy of bringing souls to Christ. It’s the kind of work that you could engage in for a lifetime and even if you only brought one soul to Christ, it would still be worth it.  Well, they were willing to live many lifetimes doing that work. They know that joy. And joy is the idea most associated with missionary work in the scriptures. In 3 Nephi 28:10 Jesus says to the three:

10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;

TRUTH

So for our truth, I like to display the simple principle that the desire of the Three Nephite Disciples exemplifies. I think that’s what they can teach us, and we can learn from them by patterning our desires after theirs even if we won’t live forever like they do. The truth: Missionary work=Joy. 

TAKING IT TO HEART

So at this point I like to ask my students if they have ever felt the joy of the Three Disciples?

Have they ever had an experience where they felt that joy? And to please share.

THE TAKEAWAY

And I’d like to testify that that joy is real. I’ve felt that joy as I’ve worked with non-members and less active members in my various wards over the years.  I feel that joy as I teach the youth of the Church and hopefully instill in them a love for the scriptures and for the Savior. I felt that joy as I served my full-time mission and saw the miracle of conversion in individuals and families. I’ve felt that joy through the comments that come through on this channel and emails that I’ve been sent where people express appreciation for what is being taught and how it’s bringing them closer to Christ. I encourage all of us to follow the example of the three Nephites. We may not be able to live forever bringing souls unto Christ, but we can seek to bring souls unto Christ during the years that are allotted unto us. If THEY can do it for centuries, certainly we can do it during our short sojourn in mortality.

FACTS ABOUT THE THREE DISCIPLES

28:7,8 They will never experience or feel the pain of death.

28:7 They will live to see all of earth’s history up to the Second Coming

28:8 At the Second Coming they will be immediately and instantaneously resurrected.

28:9 They cannot feel pain except for sorrow for the sins of the world

28:10 They are happy and full of joy

28:19-22 They cannot be killed, many have tried.

28:26 Mormon met the Three Nephites

28:27-28 They will work amongst Jews and Gentiles anonymously.

28:29 They are amazing missionaries and teach with great power

28:30 They can show themselves to whoever they like

28:31-32 They will accomplish many great and marvelous things.

28:37-38 Their bodies are different. They are transfigured beings.

28:39 They have not been resurrected yet, just transfigured.

28:39 Satan can’t tempt them

28:40 Once they are resurrected, they will return to live with God for eternity. They will be exalted.

SUMMARY CHAPTER 29-30

Now just a brief summary of chapters 29-30.

Chapter 29 reveals that one of the great signs that the gathering of Israel has begun, or that you are living in the last days, will be the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

Verse 1:

1 And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings (The Book of Mormon) shall come unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled.

There are also some stern warnings in this chapter against rejecting God’s words and his servants. 

And then one more interesting warning in verse 8:

8 Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn.

The warning there is to stop persecuting his covenant people, the Jews. You could argue that the Jews have been some of the most persecuted people in history. I remember visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and being overwhelmed with emotion and disgust at what the Jewish people suffered during World War II. I’ve also visited the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich and I’ve seen with my own eyes the ovens and the gas chambers and was appalled at what took place there. And then I read a book about Jewish history and was even more dismayed to learn that this kind of persecution and murder of Jewish people was not unique to World War II but has been going on for centuries. This verse clearly condemns such things. I’ve never been able to understand the persecution of the Jews or how supposedly Christian people could justify the atrocities that have been perpetrated against God’s original covenant people. There is no place for anti-Semitism in Christ’s gospel, indeed there is no place or justification for hatred or persecution of any people. Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Then Chapter 30 is just two verses long but invites the Gentiles to repent so that they can be “NUMBERED” amongst God’s people. That’s one of the 6 key words that we talked about last week right. 3 Nephi ends with THE great invitation to “Come unto Christ and be numbered among his people.” One by one. As individuals.  

LESSON #3: THE HAPPIEST OF PEOPLE, THE MOST MISERABLE OF PEOPLE (4th Nephi)

Now, 4th Nephi is a short but striking book. It’s a book of contrasts. It represents the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It has an inspiring beginning and a disheartening ending. It describes the best of times, and the worst of times. It’s the Book of Mormon version of the Tale of Two Cities and the lesson that each section teaches is heightened and emphasized by being placed right next to the other. It’s powerful, because it is short (even though it covers nearly 300 years of history. I would begin a study of this chapter by drawing a deep, dark line in between verses 19 and 20—that’s where everything changes. That’s the border! And we’re going to take a look at both sides of that line.

OBJECT

For an object, I like to give my students a little object to help them remember the lesson of 4th Nephi. I like to be able to give each one a little smiley face stress ball to take home. On the back, in permanent marker I write the following scripture reference: 4 Nephi 1:16. I wouldn’t hand that out to them at the beginning but would save it for the end of the lesson. If you’re interested in purchasing some of these in bulk, they’re not super expensive. I’ll provide a link to a good deal on Amazon to purchase 40 of them for around 20$.

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ICEBREAKER

But first, an Icebreaker. Another fill in the blank quote activity. What word correctly fills in each of these blanks.

“___________ is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi

“____________ is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” Joseph Smith

“Wickedness never was ____________”. Alma 41:10

What’s the answer? Happiness!

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Happiness is the object and design of our existence. A related scripture, 2 Nephi 2: ,tells us that men are that they might have joy. We “might” have joy. Not that we will have joy. We might. It’s only possible if we recognize the truth in the third quote that wickedness never was happiness. Which means righteousness always is. 4th Nephi 1:16 tells us something critical about the people who lived during the 200 years following Christ’s visit. What do we learn?

16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

So these were the happiest people to ever live. Why? What made them so happy?

The Happiest of All People

SEARCH-GAME

To cover 4th Nephi 1-19 I like to give my students a little search challenge. I divide them up into teams of 4-6 people and give each the following handout. Their challenge is to find and mark as many things as they can from these verses that indicates what it is that brought these people happiness. And they have a time limit. How many can they find in 4 minutes? What is the recipe for a happy life?  And in that description, I think we’ll find the secret to our happiness as well.

And you can approach the challenge in one of two ways. Who can create the longest list in those 4 minutes? Or you can score it Scattergories style where you cross out any of the descriptions that are the same as other teams. So the winner will be the one that found the most unique answers. You decide as a teacher how you want to approach that.

Following are just some of the things they might find. Although they certainly may pull out different things as well. What’s the recipe for happiness.

V.1 Worshipping in the church of Christ will bring you happiness. Repentance. Baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

V2 Being converted unto the Lord

V.5  Seeking the blessings of the priesthood

V.7  Prosperity. There are pitfalls to prosperity, and we’ll see that later in 4th Nephi, but it is possible to be rich and righteous, wealthy and worthy.

V.8-9 Being industrious and working hard

V.11 Covenant marriages

V. 12 Keeping the commandments, fasting, prayer

V.16 Abandoning sinful behaviors

All of these things contributed to their happiness and will do the same for us as well.

BUT, if there was one main idea or repeated theme from these verses that I feel most contributed to the peoples’ happiness, it would be the thing that is repeated over and over in these verses. It’s like Mormon is signaling to us what he feels is the greatest secret to happy communities and marriages and families and people.  He keeps coming back and back to this idea. After the class challenge is over, I would highlight this particular idea to lead into the rest of the lesson.

V.2 No contentions or disputations. They did deal justly with each other.

V.3  They had all things common among them. There was no rich or poor, bond or free, they were all free and partakers of the heavenly gift.

V.4  There was peace in the land.

V12 They did get together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord

V.13 No contention.

V.15 No contention in the land because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

V.17 No divisions or –ites among them.  In one, children of Christ, heirs to the Kingdom of God.

V.18 There was no contention in the land

Do you see that emphasis there. Therein lies one of the greatest secrets to happiness. Unity, brotherly kindness, and equality made that happiness possible. There were no cultural or racial divides, no social classes, no labels, no political hostility, no factions, no tribes, religious partitions. They were “one”. The only classification that mattered was “children of Christ, heirs to the Kingdom of God and they celebrated that commonality. It makes sense to me that Mormon would emphasize that. He’s writing this in the midst of a very contentious, belligerent, and deeply divided society that we see in the concluding chapters of the Book of Mormon. He must have had a deep longing in his heart and yearning for that kind of world because he really seems to belabor that aspect of those years. “See", he pleads, “look what life can be like when we get along!”

The Shift-The Most Miserable of All People

But then, that warm nostalgic smile starts to fade from Mormon’s face as he continues to summarize the lead up to his own day. Now comes the shift in verse 20. We’ve just learned how to be happy. But let’s say I’m not interested in being happy. What if I want to be miserable? How do I attain that? The rest of the book of 4th Nephi holds the answer to that. Verse 20

20 And he kept it eighty and four years, and there was still peace in the land, save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land.

The first step is division. There begin to be labels again. There’s a cultural separation. Even though it starts small, there is a group that revolts, detaches itself from the main body and labels itself as separate.

Then what. Jump to verses 23

23 And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in Christ.

24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.

25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.

26 And they began to be divided into classes;

Now there’s another division and more labels. Now you have rich and poor. Economic separation creeps in and the pride that inevitably accompanies it. Social classes arise.

Then the next step also begins in that verse:

and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ.

27 And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness.

Now you have religious division in the society and religious labels. Many different churches competing and claiming to be the source of truth.  And once you have those divisions, look what it paves the way for:

:29   And again, there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among them.

:34 Nevertheless, the people did harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity. And they did smite upon the people of Jesus; but the people of Jesus did not smite again. And thus they did dwindle in unbelief and wickedness, from year to year, even until two hundred and thirty years had passed away.

Once you have those divisions and religious pride, it leads to the hardening of hearts and persecution. Not only am I separate from you, but I’m also better than you, and I’m going to physically show you how much better I am than you, how much more power I have than you, how much more important I am than you. I will physically exert my dominance and will over you.

Therefore verse 35:

And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two hundred and thirty and first year, there was a great division among the people.

You’ve got Nephites and Lamanites, Rich and poor, the Church of Christ and the Church of getting gain and power and denial and selfishness.

Then one of the saddest steps described in verses 38-39:

Then they teach their children not to believe and to hate. Therefore hatred and disbelief are preserved and passed on to the next generation. And that is eventually going to lead us into the final tragic books of the Book of Mormon. The end of the Nephite story is not a happy one. It ends in wickedness, war, and destruction.

So, do you see Mormon’s emphasis there? What seems to be one of Satan’s greatest tools for destroying societies and marriages, and families and assuring misery and destruction amongst the children of men?

Contention. Disunity. Division. Inequality. Prejudice. Pride. His goal is to separate us. When he successfully drives any wedge between us, he wins. Whether that’s cultural, socioeconomic, political, or religious, he wins.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

And now I ask you. Is the Book of Mormon relevant to our day in this? Do you see any parallels? Is disunity and contention a problem in the latter days? What examples could you give?

Now I know that there have always been divisions in our society, but it seems, to me, that things have gotten worse in this respect. Contention and disunity have been highlighted, especially in my country. Cultural and racial tensions are higher than they’ve been in decades, political contention is deep and bitter. Polite statesmanlike debate and bipartisan effort has given way to incivility and a refusal to compromise or seek middle ground. The division of rich and poor is becoming more and more pronounced. And I’m afraid that in all of these issues, modern media seems to only add fuel to the fire. We're increasingly turning to news sources that feed our fractures, and encourage our biases. There is great evidence that we are a deeply split society and world for that matter. I mean, it’s like we’re just inventing more and more ways to label and divide ourselves. Even things as silly as what sports teams we root for or where we go to school or what kind of music we enjoy can inspire deep hatred and even violence between people. And Satan just sits back and laughs at it all. Sometimes I’ve heard students express bitter and hateful words about students that happen to go to another school. And I say, really? Because they live on the other side of the street? Because their home just happens to fall in another school's boundaries, that’s enough to inspire such vitriol? 4th Nephi is a warning to us all. What will all this division lead to? Misery. Failing societies and nations. Hatred. Violence. War.

Maybe that’s why one of the very first things Jesus taught the Nephites was this. Even before he gets into the Sermon on the Mount material. He teaches them this 3 Nephi 11:28-30

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

What’s the message? Learn to get along! Satan is the father of contention. Of all his tools, that’s his hammer, that’s his bread and butter, that’s his nuclear weapon. To stir up people’s hearts.

TRUTH

Unity=Happiness, Contention=Misery

TAKING IT TO HEART

Some questions to consider asking your class during your discussion of 4th Nephi:

What evidence have you seen of the destructive nature of contention?

What helps you to avoid contention?

Is it possible to have cultural, political, economic, and religious differences and still be unified and non-contentious? How?

How is the Savior an example of these principles?

THE TAKEAWAY

My friends, the tragic ending of 4th Nephi sends us a sober warning from this voice out of the dust. If you want to be happy, don’t give in to the spirit of contention. Learn to get along. Work hard to stay unified. That’s true in marriages, that’s true in families, that’s true in wards, that’s true in communities and nations and the world itself. Seek for respect, learn to disagree without being disagreeable, learn to compromise and seek middle ground, be open minded, find ways to balance inequalities. Challenge your biases and viewpoints and seek first to understand before you’re understood. Meet together oft and be willing to work through issues and seek solutions. If we wish to build Zion, we’ve got to get rid of all the labels and divisions and contention and disputations prideful separations and start celebrating our common bond, that we are children of God. Remember the description of Enoch’s city of Zion from Moses 7:18

18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Unity was THE defining characteristic of that city, and we have been called in the Latter-days to build that same city. I pray that we too can become “one” and consequently be among the happiest of people who have been created by the hand of God.