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LESSON #1 I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
OBJECT
For an object lesson you’re going to need to get a set of blindfolds or eye masks for your students. These are a fairly inexpensive purchase if you want to order some from Amazon before your lesson. The following link will take you to a place where you can purchase 100 eye masks for around 20$, so it’s not too bad. And if you have a smaller class and don’t need that many there are numerous other options there. And those are going to come into play a little bit later in the lesson.
ICEBREAKER
And for an Icebreaker I like to relate this little scene from C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia”. It happens near the beginning of “The Silver Chair”. And in that book, a girl named Jill finds herself in Narnia. And the first thing she notices is that she is incredibly thirsty. And as she walks through the trees, she hears the sound of running water from a nearby stream. She follows the sound and finds the stream, but as she walks towards it, she stops dead in her tracks because right there at the streams edge lies a giant lion. He stares at her and then says, “If you’re thirsty, you may drink”. Because animals can talk in Narnia. She hesitates and then asks:
"May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill. (I’ll just read straight from the book now)
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
"Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"Do you eat girls?" she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.
Now I love that little scene as it reminds me of a very important principle I feel is taught in 3 Nephi 8. Keep that story in mind as we study here, and then we’ll come back to it. Chapter 8:5-18 relates the account of the great destruction prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite back in Helaman. Storms, fires, earthquakes, whirlwinds, and for about the space of three hours, cities are leveled, sunk, buried, and burned, completely altering the face of the land. And after all of that destruction, there is darkness. A thick mist or vapor of darkness covers the land. And Mormon really seems to emphasize the fact that it's dark.
SEARCH-MARKING ACTIVITY
Now I want you to see this. Read 3 Nephi 8:19-23 and mark every single phrase that suggests darkness, and let’s count them up. See what number you come up with.
19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.
20 And it came to pass that 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;
(So I think we get it right. It’s dark. They can’t see. But watch how he belabors the point)
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.
Wow. What number did you come up with? I came up with 18. 18 different ways of saying that it was dark. Do you get the message? It’s almost impossible to miss it. If there is anything that Mormon wants you as the reader to understand is that they could not see light, no matter how hard they tried to do it on their own. Even with their exceedingly dry wood. It was impossible to see light.
Now put yourself in their shoes at this moment. What do you think it must have been like during those three days? What do you imagine their experience was like? And it’s at this point in the lesson that I would pass out the eye masks to my students. You want them to take some time pondering what these people must have been going through. To give them just a little taste of that experience. It’s not just dark. It’s pitch black. Like being in a cave. Like being blind. Have them put their eye masks on and describe the situation.
Remember the cities have been destroyed. Verse 17 tells us that the face of the whole earth had become deformed. So there you are, in the darkness, feeling your way around. And what do you find? Rubble? broken pottery? tree branches? bodies? You’re disoriented, you don’t know which way is North, South, East or West. Nothing familiar to grab on to. You’re completely lost, there’s nowhere to go, you’re alone, perhaps hurt, incredibly frightened, helpless, remorseful, thinking of past sins. There is a creepy, feeling, you’re trying to find family members and friends. You can hear other people weeping and mourning. Just ponder that for a while. And at this point, I would allow my students to just sit there for about three minutes in silence just thinking about what that experience must have been like. Maybe have some of them share how they would describe what they think it would be like. And you can tell them at the end of the three minutes that that’s all it was, three minutes. These people were in that state of being for three whole days. What would you do?! Eventually you’d probably just decide to sit there and wait. There’s nothing for you to do except think. It becomes monotonous, overpowering, and you become filled with despair.
Now there is a lesson in the darkness that we all can learn from.
As they sit there in that despair and gloom, they hear a voice; and it’s the voice of Christ. This is in chapter 9. And then what I would do is have my students keep their masks on and listen to a recording of chapter 9. And I would play that recording up through verse 17. And then I would pause it and ask them a key question. Now the voice begins by giving the people kind of a news report about what has happened in the land, remember, there’s no CNN for the people to watch. And the voice begins to list all the cities that have been destroyed and how. Fire, floods, landslides, terrible destruction throughout all the land. And within that message, Jesus introduces himself. And here’s the question you should ask. Jesus compares himself to many different things in the scriptures. There are quite a few "I Am” statements that he uses. I am the way, I am the truth, I am the good shepherd, I am the bread of life, I am the true vine, I am the living water. But here, which of all the “I am” statements do you think he’s going to use to introduce himself here, in these circumstances? Just take a guess. Now take off your blindfolds and check your answer in 3 Nephi 9:18. Did you get it right? How does he introduce himself? I am the light, and the life of the world. He’s the light. And in the depths of that darkness, do you understand why he chose that one here?
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
There is a lesson in that. What message do you think both Mormon and Jesus want us to get from this story, and the people who experienced it as well?
There is no other light but Christ’s. Without Christ, without his gospel, without his atonement, our lives will forever be filled with blackness. We were told that the people attempted to create their own light. The scriptures mentioned candles, and torches, and fires and their exceedingly dry wood. But that didn’t work. They couldn’t create their own light, no matter how hard they tried. The same is true of us spiritually. Even with the exceedingly dry wood of our own ingenuity, and effort, and diligence, and intellect. It won’t work. Without Christ and his truth, we too will remain in spiritual darkness. It’s not until we realize this truth that we can truly become committed disciples of Christ. As long as I think that the answers, and the happiness, and the truth lies somewhere else out there, I can never devote myself entirely to Him.
It reminds me of that powerful scene in John 6 where Jesus is teaching a multitude of people in the synagogue of Capernaum. And he’s taught some rather difficult things for the people to accept. And they complain and say, “This is an hard saying, who can hear it” and they turn their backs on Christ and walk out. Jesus has told them that he is the bread of life, and they seem to respond back and say “And I’m very sure that your bread is good and healthy and right for some. But it’s a little too hard for me, a little too grainy, I’m going to go out and find my own bread. Or Jesus says, I am the way, and they say, “Sure, sure, but your way is quite narrow and difficult to stay on. Instead, I prefer to go out and find my own way. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. And they say, Your light may be right for some, but I’m going to go out and make my own. Kindle my own fire, light my own candle, create my own torch. And Jesus seems to sadly reply back to each. “You don’t understand. There is no other bread. Eat or die. There is no other way. Walk my path, or forever be lost. There is no other light. Receive mine, or forever feel your way through darkness. Like Jill and Aslan. Aslan represents Christ in Lewis’s books. Drink from his stream, or die. There is no other stream.
Now at that heartbreaking moment in John 6, as all the other former disciples are filing out the door, Jesus turns to the apostles and asks “Will ye also go away?”. And I love Peter’s answer. He gets it. He understands this principle taught in the darkness to the Nephites. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” . So, Peter in a sense says, Lord, I know your way is difficult, your bread a little hard to swallow, your light, a bit bright for our eyes. But where else can we go? The world cannot provide what you can. See, Peter has come to the moment of true commitment. It’s a moment that we all must arrive at if we wish to become true disciples of Christ.
TRUTH
We must choose Christ and his light, or forever remain in darkness. There is no other light.
TAKING IT TO HEART
So a question to ponder here:
Are you committed to Christ? Are you a “to whom shall we go” disciple? Do you look for truth, or happiness, or guidance from other sources? Or have you come to the realization that there is no other source besides Christ?
I know of a man who thought money would bring him light and happiness. It didn’t.
I know of a woman who thought drug use would bring her light and happiness. It didn't
I know of a man who thought attaining the highest position in his career would bring him light and happiness. It didn’t.
I know of a woman who thought having an affair would bring her light and happiness. It didn’t.
I know many boys and girls who think certain music, movies, clothing styles, and language will bring them light and happiness and popularity, but in their place find only emptiness and a loss of the Spirit.
THE TAKEAWAY
Please, don’t seek for light in places where it’s impossible to find it. There is no other way. There is no other bread. There is no other stream. There is no other light. The sooner we come to that realization, the better.
LESSON #2 COME UNTO CHRIST
OBJECT
A fake candle. Now it’s against church policy to have open flames inside church buildings. So you shouldn’t bring in an actual candle. But these battery powered ones have the exact same effect. If you’re interested in purchasing one that looks like this, I’ll put a link to one in the video description below.
ICEBREAKER
And to continue with the theme of light in the darkness, you could try the following simple object lesson. Turn out all the lights, and cover the windows as much as possible. Have your class sit in the darkness for a while and then, turn on the candle. Then ask them, “What did your eyes do immediately after I turned on the candle?” And what they should notice is that their eyes are instantly drawn to that light. We almost can’t help it. Light draws us towards it.
SEARCH-HANDOUT
In 3 Nephi 9, while the people are sitting in the darkness, they hear that voice, and immediately after the “news report” of all the destruction that’s taken place, it extends an invitation. And you could approach this section of the lesson as a study question handout. Give your students time to go through each question, then go back and discuss their answers as a class.
1. What was the Lord’s repeated invitation to the Nephites in the darkness?
(3 Nephi 9:14, 9:20, 9:22)
It’s come unto me. Right? That’s the Lord’s invitation. To go towards him, since he is the light of the world. When you’re in the dark, even the smallest amount of light is comforting. Because it’s real, it’s tangible. Darkness is not tangible. It’s just mere void. It’s the absence of light. That’s the difference between Satan’s power and God’s. Satan has nothing to provide us. His promises, his offerings, his so-called rewards are just empty. They’re void of life and substance. If you were in total darkness, and somebody lit a candle or turned on a flashlight, even if it were a mile away, your eyes would immediately focus on it, and you would naturally be drawn towards it. This the great solution, the alternative to darkness and destruction. You may have also noticed the theme of repentance in those invitations as well. Christ is extending his arm of mercy towards them. We could add verse 13 to our list here too where he uses a different word but a similar message. Return unto me. So, these people that have been spared still have some work to do. It’s not that all of them were necessarily righteous people, I’m sure there were, but many still needed to repent and change. That verse tells us that they were spared because they were more righteous than those that were destroyed, but not righteous either. Chapter 10:12 gives us a little more detail about them. It says:
12 And 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—
So they hadn’t sunk to the level of killing prophets and murdering saints, but they still needed to repent. And so that’s the great invitation. Jesus Christ calls to all of us, on many different levels of righteousness to come out of the dark, to emerge from the ruins of sin we all encounter and come unto Him.
2. But why? What reasons—motivations does he give to encourage us to come or return unto him. In verse 13. So that I can heal you. If you’ve have been wounded by life, by sin, by the adversary in your spiritual battles, come unto me, because I am the great healer and I will bind up your wounds and heal your sicknesses. In verse 14, come unto me so that I can give you eternal life. So that I can receive you and bless you. In verse 17, so that you can become the sons of God, and I would include daughters of God as well here. Redemption will come to you. In 20, come, so that I can baptize you with fire and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is often symbolized in the scriptures as fire. But not a destructive fire. A fire that lights, warms, and purifies, but doesn’t destroy. Like the burning bush that radiated light and warmth, but was not consumed. So Christ promises, “Allow me to fill your life with the warmth and light and power of the Spirit.” That promise stands in stark contrast to the darkness and destruction surrounding the people at this time. And then in verse 22, come, so that I can receive you and save you.
So Come Unto Christ! He has so much to offer us. But I never want to leave it at just that because there may be some of your students who understand this principle in theory but maybe not in practice. In real life. So it’s a nice thought to say, “Come Unto Christ,” but how does one actually do that? I mean, Christ lived 1000’s of years ago. How can I go to someone that I can’t physically meet on the earth anymore? So question #3 is:
3. How does one “Come unto Christ”? What does that look like?
A few hypothetical suggestions. Maybe it looks like calling your bishop to speak about repentance. Maybe it looks like falling to your knees for the first time in years and praying with true sincerity. Maybe it looks like getting back to church. Maybe it looks like recommitting yourself to the commandments and building your faith. Maybe it looks like abandoning bad habits and sins. Maybe it looks like getting baptized and joining yourself to Christ’ Church. There are many different manifestations of Coming unto Christ. But in all cases, the blessings are real, the healing comes.
So in the darkness, I come unto Christ. But he desires that I come in a certain way. I don’t come reluctantly, I don’t come pridefully, I don’t come dejectedly, I don’t come sorrowfully.
Question #4: How do I come unto him according to 9:20 and 22?
I come with a broken heart. I come with a contrite spirit. And I come as a little child.
That leads us right into question #5: What do you think it means to come with a broken heart? Why would he ask us to bring that?
Here are my thoughts. When we hear the phrase broken heart, we might be tempted to conjure up images of torn valentines or unrequited love. But is that what Jesus is talking about here? What on earth would Jesus want with a bunch of sad hearts? No. I like the way I’ve heard my Father explain it. I know I’ve talked about this before, but my Dad worked on a cattle ranch when he was young. And I’m intrigued by his description of how they would break horses. Sometimes they would find wild horses out on the prairie, and they would bring them back to the corrals to break them. That’s the word they use. How did they do it? They would rope the horse and fit a bridle to it and then secure that rope to a cedar post sunk deep into the middle of the corral. And then they would step back and let the horse go. And the horses would buck and pull and hang on that rope to try and free themselves. But eventually they would tire and realize they were only hurting themselves, so they would let the rope go slack. Then, they would walk over to the horse and touch it, and talk to it, and pat it’s back. Sometimes that would set them off again and so they would back off and let the horse fight. Then the next step would be to get to the point where they could unhitch the horse from the post and try to lead it. Sometimes the horse would see that it was free, and it would run and break loose. So they would simply rope it again and tie it to the post. And on and on like this until, you could lay the end of the rope in your open palm and walk, and the horse would follow. That’s when they would determine that the horse was broken. I believe that may be part of what the Lord means when he says to come unto him with a broken heart, and a contrite spirit. A broken heart is a tame heart, a humble heart, a heart submissive to a loving master. Contrite means something similar. That description goes hand in hand with having a broken heart. It means to be repentant and willing to follow.
Now I think that some might be a little bothered by the word “broken”. “Breaking” something may carry some negative connotations with it. Perhaps a better modern word we could use would a tamed heart, because it’s not about controlling us, forcing us, or dominating us for God's use. It’s about lifting us to the full measure of our potential. Guiding our development as Gods in embryo, and offering us a better alternative to the “wild” where we are vulnerable to attack, hunger, and aimless wandering. Like the rancher with his horses.
What does the rancher provide the wild horse? He feeds it. He shelters it. He gives it meaningful work and purpose. He loves his horses. They are valuable to him. There is a very special relationship between horse and rider. Just talk to somebody who owns and rides horses. They’re not just tools. They become almost like family members, friends, a partnership where both parties mutually benefit the other. That’s what God wants to do for us. He wants to build that kind of relationship with us. But he can’t do that if our hearts are wild. Our "natural man" hearts are wild, undisciplined, selfish, only acting in their own best interest and seeking out the satisfaction of their impulses. Our hearts need to be tamed or broken. So I would plead with the wild heart, “Stop fighting against the Lord. Stop bucking against his commandments. Stop pulling away from the principles and truths that are set deep in the foundation of universal natural law.” We only end up hurting ourselves when we do that.
Now there’s another way he wants us to come unto him. In verse 22. He’s going to give us another metaphor. Come unto me as a little child. Why would he want us to be like a little child? I love this discussion. And remember he wants us to be childlike not childish. There’s a fine distinction there. So Questions #6. Why do you think he would ask us to come unto him as a little child? What childlike qualities do you think God wants us to emulate?
Here are a few suggestions.
They’re innocent and sinless”. We too can be innocent like this if we appropriately access the power of Christ’s atonement.
They are loving. One of my favorite things when my kids were little was saying good night to my children. My daughter in particular would just reach her little arms around my neck and say I love you daddy and give me a big kiss on the cheek. Ah, I just loved that. Children can be so loving; I think Christ would have us be that way also.
They are trusting. If you tell them about Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny, or the tooth fairy, they believe you. If you tell a child to do something, more than likely they will do it. If you tell a child to jump and you will catch them, more than likely they will do it without even thinking. I’ve taken many youth groups rappelling over the years. And if you’ve ever done that before, you know that it is a very unnatural thing to trust the rope and lean backwards over the edge of a cliff. We instinctively distrust that maneuver. And I’ve found that the younger the person, the more likely they are to trust me and do it. It’s the older youth or young adults that I’ve had more hesitation or outright refusal. We too need to develop that childlike faith in our Heavenly Father and his commandments to do the hard things.
They are eager to volunteer. If you walked into the primary and said: All right kids, I need a volunteer, who would like to help me? What would they do? Their hands would shoot up, and they’d jump up and down.
When we are given commandments, or callings, or opportunities to serve. Being called to serve a mission, what would be the childlike way of responding?
No prejudice, if I put a white child, and a black child, and Hispanic child, and an Asian child, and poor, and rich, and Christian, and Muslim, and Jewish baby in a room with toys. What would happen. Would they care about any of that? No, they would play together and have fun and not think about any of those labels that we seem to struggle with more in adulthood.
They forgive easily. I remember that when I had to put my son in a time out for bad behavior, I might be really frustrated and angry with him, and then 5 minutes later it’s as if nothing ever happened. They can get in a fight with their siblings, and then again, 5 minutes later, it’s water under the bridge.
And then my favorite quality, they imitate. My children will sometimes come and do exactly what I’m doing. I remember mowing the lawn one time and my son coming out with his little plastic lawn mower doing the exact same motions as me. Walking just a few feet behind me as I went back and forth across the lawn. We too need to learn how to imitate.
Well, you can make that discussion as long or as short as you want, but if we wonder what we need to do or become in order to return to our Heavenly Father’s presence, we need look no further than the little children around us. They are the perfect object lesson for our imitation. So let's go out and be childlike!
HOW OFT?
There is yet another metaphor given for how we can come unto him in the first verses of chapter 10. Question #7 is: What animal do you think would be the best choice to represent Christ? And that’s an open-ended question. No right or wrong answers. And it can be fun to hear all of their ideas. They say things like lions, eagles, or even a lamb.
But then our next question sends them into chapter 10 verse 4-6 and what animal did Christ choose to compare himself to here?" And my students are sometimes surprised to find that of all the animals he could have chosen from, he chose a chicken. Jesus is like a chicken. OR a mother hen to be more exact. Our next question then is Why? Why do you think Jesus decided to compare himself to that animal? Well, when danger appears, if a fox or a cat makes its way into the coop she will cluck and call and spread her wings wide. Now the smart little chicks will do something when they hear that call. When they hear the clucking they will come running to safety because they recognize the voice of their protector. And when they are gathered together, she will sit down and cover them with her wings. And what is it, really, that a mother hen has to offer her chicks as protection? Her life. That’s it. The fox may attack her, but she will protect her young. Do you see the parallel to Christ? Now it wouldn't make much sense for a mother hen to try and run around and gather all the chicks up herself. That would be chaos. No the smarter thing to do is just call and allow the chicks to come running to her. The protection is there, the invitation is made, but those little chicks have to make a decision for themselves. Are they going to heed, hearken, and listen to the clucking? Or are they going to ignore the invitation, and leave themselves vulnerable to attack and spiritual death. And that’s why Jesus laments here with the same thought uttered in the past, present and future tense. “How oft have, would, and will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but YE WOULD NOT.” Oh I hope that we will not be “ye would not” disciples. How foolish of us would it be to ignore the urgent and loving calls of the mother hen. So how else do we come unto Him? Like a baby chick to its mother’s wing. And we could add another marvelously descriptive phrase to our depiction of how to come unto him. It’s in verse 6. With full purpose of heart. No half measures here will do. It’s with “to whom shall we go” commitment that we must come
TRUTH
When I find myself in spiritual darkness, if I Come unto Christ, with a broken heart, as a little child, like a baby chick, and with full purpose of heart, then he will heal, receive, save, and protect me.
TAKING IT TO HEART
To help my students take this message more to heart, I would invite my class to watch or listen to some version of the hymn “Come Unto Jesus”. And as they listen or watch, to ponder their current relationship with the Savior. Have we come unto him? Are we in his presence? Have we put our faith and trust in him? I’ll include a link to a version of the hymn that I really like. It’s a rendition of the hymn by artist Madilyn Paige. You can click the link above if you’d like to watch that now.
THE TAKEAWAY
But I pray that we’ve become more and more convinced through our study here of chapters 9-10 to come unto Jesus. But to come unto him with broken hearts, contrite spirits, like little children, and like baby chicks. Remember that he’s calling out to us. If there’s anyone out there who feels like they’re in darkness right now. If feel like your world has been turned upside down, shaken, rent, or burned. If you feel like everything you’ve built has been reduced to rubble and ruins, then I plead with you to come unto Christ. He is there for you. He calls like a loving mother hen. Run to his open wings and find safety and light there.
LESSON #3 ONE BY ONE (3 NEPHI 11)
OBJECT
Now for my favorite part of this lesson. 3 Nephi 11. And for an object, I bring in a telescope. If you don’t have access to a telescope, perhaps you could just show a picture of one.
ICEBREAKER
And for an Icebreaker I like to ask, “How big is the universe?” And then to help my students get a better grasp of the answer to that question, I pull out a dime from my pocket and I say. If I were to take this dime, and go outside at night and hold it up to the sky at arm’s length and turn it on its side. There would be a portion of space behind that dime that would be covered. In that space, if I were to magnify it many, many, many times over with a telescope, what would you see in that space? This is what you would see. And then I show them this picture taken from the Hubble telescope of deep space. And all those points of light, all those shapes you see, aren’t stars. Those are galaxies, each with billions of stars and planets within them. Trillions of solar systems. And that’s just one tiny portion of space. Imagine that every space of the entire night sky in every direction is filled with the same kind of pictures. And I ask you: How does that make you feel? I’ll tell you how it makes me feel. It makes me feel very small. Insignificant. It makes me wonder if myself, my life, this world, this little dust speck in the vast expanse of space really matters. Have you ever felt like that before? Ever had those kinds of thoughts? If you have. Read 3 Nephi 11. There is a message for you and me there that I believe will help.
We’ve just concluded that we need to come unto Christ if we wish to escape the darkness. But then, what will he do? 3 Nephi 11 holds the answer. And here, just look at the chapter heading. Christ appears and proclaims his atonement. That’s we’ll do for you and me as well. He will appear. He will manifest himself in our lives, and apply the power of the atonement to all of our pains, and sins, and sicknesses, and infirmities. Now, for the Nephites in this particular moment, it was a real physical appearance that they experienced. For us, at least for the time being, he'll manifest himself to us in a spiritual way, but the effect will essentially be the same.
SEARCH
But I’d like to invite you to read about that moment. It’s probably the best way to experience this most significant of events of the Book of Mormon. In fact, the introduction refers to this moment as the “crowning event” of the entire book. So, this is going to be a very simple activity. Please read, personally, 3 Nephi 11:1-17 visualizing what this experience must have been like for these people. Then, when done, please be prepared to share one of the following. A question, comment, thought, or feeling you have about what you read. This activity can open the way, hopefully, for a meaningful discussion of this story.
ONE BY ONE
In that discussion, one particular phrase that I would be sure to spend some time in before the discussion ends would be the one found in verse 15. This is my favorite phrase in this chapter. Jesus comes to us “one by one”. In the grand expanse of space, with all those galaxies, and worlds, and planets, and individuals on those worlds, God is still a "one by one” God. You matter to Him! As an individual. All lives matter to Him. And that can be incredibly impactful when it comes to the way we view each other, and the way we view ourselves. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God. The worth of individual souls is great in the sight of God.
I want you to visualize that moment. How many people are there in Bountiful experiencing this? 3 Nephi 17:25. 2500 people. That’s a large group. And yet, he gives each individual time with him. He gives all of them that personal moment of connection and attention. I’m not exactly sure how that must have taken place. Did they form a long line? Did they come up in small groups? Was it like a testimony meeting? Whatever way it happened; they all were given that moment. How much time that must have taken, and for heaven’s sake don’t turn it into a math equation, sufficeth to say that it took a long time. And in that experience, do you think some individuals might have lingered? Would they have embraced him? Would some have looked into his eyes for a look of forgiveness? And if they lingered, do you think Christ would have declined them? Would he have said, “Hey look, we’ve got a lot of people here, I need to move on? Or do you think he would have provided each and every one of them with the moment and the time that he knew they needed, as an individual. That’s what I believe he did. Because that’s how he works with us. And don’t ask me how he does it. The answer to that question is beyond our limited human understanding. How he can be just as personal and present in my life as he is in yours and the billions of his other children. But it works. We can connect with him personally, and he with us, on a daily, even hourly basis, or more.
If we jump ahead really briefly to 3 Nephi 17 we see this principle taught again. He tells them that it’s time for him to go, but that he’ll be back the next day. And still, look how they react?
17:5
5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.
And what does he do? Does he pull out his agenda and say, well, you know I’m so busy, I’ve got to go report to my Father, and I’ve got the lost tribes to visit, other worlds to go to, I’m booked”. No, he stays, and gives them two more chapters. And at one point, he gathers all the little children together and blesses them. How? 3 Nephi 17:21
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
One by one. That’s just how he works. He’s a one-by-one Savior. I know and I promise you, that he will work with you in the exact same way. He knows me, and he knows you by name. As a teacher, I have over 100 students every year. And I learn their names, and call them by name, during that year. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run into former students, and been a bit embarrassed that I don’t remember their name. I remember faces really well, but not names. It’s like my brain can only hold on to the names of the students I’m currently teaching, and then it offloads the rest. And I imagine that probably doesn’t feel very good to those former students. That I don’t remember them individually. Well, that’s NOT how it is with our Savior. When we meet Christ, I believe that he will call us by name, with great love and familiarity. We are precious to him. And he knows us.
TOUCH THE WOUNDS IN MY SIDE, MY HANDS, AND MY FEET
One more point. What was the exact experience he gave each one of them? 3 Nephi 11:14 He invites them to touch the tokens of his sacrifice; his atonement. The wounds in his hands and feet and side. What a beautiful literal and symbolic gesture. Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice is applied individually, one by one. I’ve often thought about the power of Christ’s atonement in a more general sense. That it covered all pain, and affliction, and sin, universally. Which it does. But more importantly. It covers my pains, my afflictions, my sins. And I love this point that I’ve heard my father make. When you picture that moment. Which of the three tokens do you envision the people touching? Hands, feet, or side? In pictures and art, which of the three is most often depicted? I envision the hands, don’t you? Reaching out and seeing and feeling those nail prints in his palms and wrists. But, without looking, which of the three do you think he invites them to touch first? Now check your answer. It’s his side, right? And when it says thrust your hands into my side he doesn’t mean the wound, but to put your hands into his robe and feel the wound. Now picture that, envision what that would be like. To slowly reach your hand out, and part his robe and place your hand right against his side, right next to his heart. That’s a deeply personal gesture and moment isn’t it. That he would allow you to do that shows you just how cherished and meaningful you are to Him. That you have that kind of a bond. And then, I imagine at that moment, he would stretch forth his arms and reveal the wounds in his hands and wrists. Picture a look of uttermost love and compassion in his eyes as he does this. And with great awe and wonder you would contemplate his incredible depth of commitment to you, as an individual to make that sacrifice. At that overwhelming point, you perhaps wouldn’t be able to stand anymore, and you would fall at his feet in adoration and worship. And there would be the third tokens, the wounds in his feet.
So how will he come to you? One by one, and as your personal Savior. Not just the Savior, but your Savior. I believe that this personal moment awaits all true disciples of Christ. Not just on a spiritual or metaphorical level either. But in reality. One day it will be my turn to come forth, and your turn to touch the tokens and bear witness with your own eyes and hands of his love and devotion and willingness to sacrifice for you. So yes, we are to Come unto Him as he calls “Come, follow me”. But let’s not forget, he will also come unto us as well.
TRUTH
Jesus is a one-by-one Savior. He knows and loves me as an individual. If I come unto Him, He will come unto me personally.
TAKING IT TO HEART
How has the Savior manifested himself to you?
How does it make you feel to know that the Savior is a one-by-one God and knows and loves you personally?
What do you look forward to most when you think of one day meeting the Savior in person?
THE TAKEAWAY
Well, we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. We get to learn directly from the lamb of God, and boy, does he ever have some incredible lessons to teach us. But let’s not forget his exclusive and person by person notice and care. In the vast expanse of space, with innumerable planets, and stars, and galaxies, Christ knows you. I bear witness of the awareness and that deep care that he has for all of us. I’ve felt that individual attention in my life and I pray that you have as well. And perhaps, when we finally do meet him in the flesh, which is a moment I believe awaits all faithful disciples of Christ, his face will be familiar to us, though we’ve only ever pictured him in our imagination or through art. But we’ll know. We’ll sense it. We’ll feel it. Because he is OUR Savior.
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