"Come Unto Me"

This week's lesson focused on 3 Nephi chapters 8-11. The Savior's visit to the Americas is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture. The Nephites experienced three days of darkness and destruction that corresponded with the time between Christ's death and resurrection. During this time, at least 16 Nephite cities were completely destroyed by fire, flood, or being buried in the earth "to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face" (3 Nephi 9:8).

During the three days of darkness, Christ spoke to the people who had been "spared because [they] were more righteous" than the wicked who had been destroyed (3 Nephi 9:13). If you think about it, that's not really a glowing endorsement to say someone is more righteous than those who had "[cast] out the prophets, and stone[ed] those whom [God] did send" (3 Nephi 9:10).

Imagine a voice calling out of the darkness, "...will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." (3 Nephi 9:13-14)

I love the imagery in those verses. I picture the Savior standing with his arms outstretched, wanting so much to heal us if we will only come to him. It ties in wonderfully with Chapter 10 when He uses the imagery of the mother hen. "...how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you." (3 Nephi 10:4) Then again, "...how oft would I have gathered you..." (3 Nephi 10:5, notice the change in verb tense between these three passages). And again "...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." (3 Nephi 10:6).

The other part from this week's lesson that touched me was 3 Nephi 9:20:

"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost..."

Before I get into that one, I want to lead in with another scripture. This one is from Isaiah 53:5, where he speaks of Christ, "...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (See also Mosiah 14:5)

The Hebrew word for 'bruised' is actually dakka, which means 'to be crushed'. Christ was not merely bruised for our sins, he was crushed under their weight. Remind me later and I'll talk about the significance of this with respect to Gethsemane...

Why do I bring this up? Because the Hebrew word for 'contrite' is dakka. This, for me anyway, ties together the sacrifice offered by Christ with the sacrifice He asks of us. Fortunately, this is a qualitative comparison and not a quantitative one. There is no way we can ever carry the burden He bore for us, but it seems that we are expected to be crushed, or brought down, with the weight and recognition of our sins as we come unto Christ. If we don't realize how much of a 'tab' we have accumulated, we will never really appreciate what Christ has done in settling our account.

In contrast to the Law of Moses where one could sacrifice an animal on their behalf, Christ now asks us to sacrifice of ourselves. He lovingly invites us to give Him our broken hearts so that he make us whole again.

Patterns For Our Day

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “In the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period, we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet. … Can anyone doubt that this book was meant for us and that in it we find great power, great comfort, and great protection?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 5–6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6–7).

This week's lesson dealt with the decades leading up to Christ's visit to America (1 AD - 33 AD), and there are a few things I think are quite relevant to our day that, if applied, will help us stay in good shape.

1. Signs & Wonders
Samuel the Lamanite prophesied the coming of a "day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night" (Hel 14:4). Five years later the sign came, indicating the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. When the sign came, people could not dispute it. They knew the sun went down, but there was no darkness. However, "there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen..." (3 Nephi 1: 22)

So many people say, "I'll believe it when I see it" but what a frail support upon which to base our faith (don't even get me started on how unreliable eye-witness testimony is). Many people observed the sign, but were lead afterwards not to believe, even to the point where they "began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven..." (3 Nephi 2:1). The Savior taught that in the last days there would be "famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matt 24:7, see also Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11), but in our day we say "it's just another earthquake".

2. "...unite with [the] brethren..." (3 Nephi 2:12)
As the Gadianton Robbers became more prevalent, the righteous Lamanites united with their Nephite brethren "for the safety of their lives and their women and their children... and also to maintain their rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship, and their freedom and their liberty" (3 Nephi 2:12). Only when they were united together did they gain any advantage over the Gadiantons. In 3 Nephi 3, the Nephites went so far as to gather together in one place, which eventually led to the defeat of the Gadianton Robbers. They hearkened to Lachoneus, a righteous leader, repented, and were spared.

Wilford Woodruff once taught, "the very moment that men in this kingdom attempt to run ahead or cross the path of their leaders, no matter in what respect, the moment they do this they are in danger of being injured by the wolves. … I have never in my life known it to fail." (Journal of Discourses 5:83)

3. Beware of Pride
The Nephites went from a state where "there was not a living soul among [them] who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled." (3 Nephi 5:1). They knew Christ had come and they "did serve God with all diligence day and night". (3 Nephi 5:3). Fast-forward a couple of years and we see "some were lifted up unto pride and boastings" (3 Nephi 6:10). A year later they are "in a state of aweful wickedness.

"Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them... therefore they did wilfully rebel against God." (3 Nephi 6:17-18)

I like to think that my faith and testimony are strong enough that I'll be able to withstand the trials that are ahead. But then I read this and I can't help but wonder how many of the Nephites felt the same way in 3 Nephi 5:1. If you would've walked up to anyone on the street and told them in 6-7 years, they'd be "wilfully rebel[ing] against God", they would've shared a strong and fervent testimony of their faith and devotion to God and how they'd never give that up. But the truth is that most of them did fall away. The trick is learning from their experience to prevent the same mistakes in our own lives. As President Benson taught, Beware of Pride.

4. Great Faith
A few years later, things had digressed to the point where the people killed the prophets who came to warn them and call them to repentance. Nephi went out undeterred, and "began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." (3 Nephi 7:16)

The people became angry with him for a few reasons. First, "because he had greater power than they" (3 Nephi 7:18). They recognized in him a real power, not the fleeting mist of political power to which they aspired, but eternal and binding power. And, rather than bring their lives back in accordance with eternal principles (remember, a few years ago these had all been faithful and righteous people), they resented Nephi and wanted to destroy him, "for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words" (3 Nephi 7:18).

Second, he had the nerve to raise his brother Timothy from the dead "after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people" (3 Nephi 7:19). As a side note, this tells me that Timothy was actively preaching to the people as well. Just because we're faithful and obedient, doesn't mean we don't get a few rocks thrown in our direction.

Anyhow, back at the ranch... Nephi's faith sustained him and gave him the strength to be obedient even though he was vastly in the minority. Sometimes we think being the only LDS at work or at school is tough... Nephi had such great faith "on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily." (3 Nephi 7:18)

That's how strong our faith will need to be. Whether or not we get angels is up to God, but we'd better make sure our faith is strong enough if the time ever comes when we really need angelic assistance.

"... hide up [your] treasures unto me..."

There was a lot of ground to cover for last week's lesson (Helaman 13-16). Samuel the Lamanite came onto the scene and then left just as quickly. I think most are familiar with his prophecies concerning the birth and death of the Savior and the accompanying signs for those in the Americas.

One thing jumped out at me that I had never picked up before. Helaman 13:19 reads,

"For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me... for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous..."

This really got me thinking, and three questions worked their way to the surface.

1. What is our treasure?
2. How do we hide it up unto the Lord?
3. Why are we hiding it?

First, what is our treasure? Once I figured this out, the other two seemed to fall into place. Like many good insights, this one came to me as I was in sacrament meeting. Desperation? Maybe... Anyhow, I thought of the Sermon on the Mount when Christ taught,

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (3 Nephi 13:21, also in Matt 6)

It seems to me that the Lord is saying He wants us to hide up our hearts unto Him, as our hearts and treasures seem to be nearly synonymous. If our hearts aren't in the right place, we'll need to go through the "mighty change of heart" so we can hide it up to Him.

Second, how do we hide it unto the Lord? I think this means keeping our hearts safe from influences that would pull our desires away from the Lord.

Elder David A. Bednar taught in the April 2006 General Conference:

"The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing."

We need to protect our hearts as we would a precious valuable. We go to great lengths to protect our temporal treasures, there are industries devoted to safety and security. But how much protection do we place around our hearts?

Third, why do we need to hide our hearts? Something from this weeks lesson stuck out as I was driving around. 3 Nephi 6:15-16 tells of how "Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity...

"And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people..." (emphasis added).

The Nephites seem to have been "lull[ed]... away into carnal security" (2 Nephi 28:21) and let down their guard to the point where "they did willfully rebel against God." (3 Nephi 6:18).

If we hide our hearts unto the Lord, then they will be safe from the "fiery darts of the adversary" (Eph 6:16, 1 Nephi 15:24). We often have a tendency to neglect the areas of our lives which we feel are strong and impervious. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:

"Satan can ... attack us where we think we are strong -- in the very areas where we are proud of our strengths. He will approach us through the greatest talents and spiritual gifts we possess. If we are not wary, Satan can cause our spiritual downfall by corrupting us through our strengths as well as by exploiting our weaknesses." (Ensign, Oct. 1994, p. 12)

So, what is the Lord trying to tell us when he asks us to hide up our treasures unto him? I think it is an invitation to turn our hearts completely to him where they will be kept safe. And like anything else we willingly give to the Lord, he returns to us with increase.

“Why will ye die?”

There were so many things to cover from this week’s lesson, I had to decide between posting 5 pages of material and focusing on one thought. There was one theme that came up a few times during the lesson material (Helaman 6-12), and that was how quickly we tend to forget the Lord.

“For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to … wars… therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches… that they might be lifted up one above another…” (Hel 6:17)

It sounds like they’ve enjoyed the blessings for a long time, doesn’t it. How long was “so long”? Well, verse 1 says the 62nd year of the judges had ended, and things really fell apart in the commencement of the 67th year. For the Nephites, “so long” ended up being three years. For years, I’d read that and think, “those silly Nephites, why can’t they just keep things together?!” I don’t know when it changed for me, but I’ve been trying to think lately when was the last time I’ve been able to keep my act together for three years in a row. I’m pretty sure that my personal record for consecutive individual scripture study stands unbroken at 25 days. That doesn’t leave me with a lot of ground from which to judge the Nephites.

Why is it so hard to do the “small and simple things”? I can sit down and read a novel or even a motivational book for hours at a time, but somehow can’t seem to be consistent with scripture reading.

In Helaman 7, Nephi reproves the people who have gathered around him as he mourns over their wickedness.

“…ye are given away that the devil has got so great hold upon your hearts.” (vs. 15)

Is that why I have such a hard time with consistent daily scripture study? Is my heart not truly in it?

“Yea, how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo?” (vs. 16)

Well, when you put it that way it sounds all warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it?

“O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God…” (vs. 17)

Whatever that is in my heart instead of the desire to study the scriptures, is it worth dieing for?

“O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?” (vs. 20)

How many times in my life have I turned away after receiving blessings from the Lord’s hand? How many days have gone by without seeing me on my knees in gratitude for all I’ve received?

So here’s the plan. I’m going to make a real effort to see how long I can maintain my daily scripture study and personal prayers, starting today. President Ezra Taft Benson said in conference, “God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble.” (“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, 4)

Personally, I’d rather choose to be humble…