pgs. 442 and 443...it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit...

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 18

Jesus institutes the sacrament among the Nephites—They are commanded to pray always in his name—Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood unworthily are damned—The disciples are given power to confer the Holy Ghost. [A.D. 34]

1 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his Disciples that they should bring forth some ^abread and wine unto him.

2 And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.

3 And when the Disciples had come with ^abread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the Disciples and commanded that they should eat.

4 And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.

5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the Disciples: Behold there shall one be ^aordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall ^bbreak ^cbread and bless it and give it unto the people of my ^dchurch, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.

6 And this shall ye always observe to ^ado, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you.

7 And this shall ye do in ^aremembrance of my ^bbody, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

8 And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his Disciples that they should take of the ^awine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it.

9 And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled.

10 And when the Disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are ^awilling to do that which I have commanded you.

11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in ^aremembrance of my ^bblood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

12 And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my ^arock.

13 But whoso among you shall do ^amore or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall ^bfall, and the ^cgates of hell are ready open to receive them.

14 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and ^apray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

16 And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my ^achurch, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the ^blight; I have set an ^cexample for you.

17 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his Disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them:

18 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for ^aSatan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.

19 Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;

20 And ^awhatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

21 ^aPray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.

22 And behold, ye shall ^ameet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not;

23 But ye shall ^apray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if it so be that they come unto you oft ye shall pray for them unto the Father, in my name.

24 Therefore, hold up your ^alight that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the ^blight which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.

25 And ye see that I have commanded that ^anone of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might ^bfeel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.

26 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he turned his eyes again upon the ^aDisciples whom he had chosen, and said unto them:

27 Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you another commandment, and then I must go unto my ^aFather that I may fulfil ^bother commandments which he hath given me.

28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to ^apartake of my flesh and blood ^bunworthily, when ye shall minister it;

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and ^ablood ^bunworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

30 Nevertheless, ye shall not ^acast him out from among you, but ye shall ^bminister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood.

I must have been 16 or 17 when I heard my Mom use a wonderful analogy about the sacrament while bearing her testimony on a Fast Sunday. She said that she knew her sins were being forgiven as she participated in the ordinance and the way it uplifted her felt like "helium in her heart." I have thought about that so many times since because the image is so powerful to me. Unfortunately it can be easy to become nonchalant about the sacrament because we get so used to it. This reading is a reminder that it is such an amazing gift and blessing. For these Nephites it represented the end of the law of Moses and the sacrificing of animals and the beginning of exercising faith in Christ's sacrifice. This must have been such a powerful transition for them.

pgs. 440 and 441...and they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet and worship him.

17 And then the ^awords of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say:

18 ^aThy ^bwatchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 17

Jesus directs the people to ponder his words and pray for understanding—He heals their sick—He prays for the people, using language that cannot be written—Angels minister to and fire encircles their little ones. [A.D. 34]

1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my ^atime is at hand.

2 I ^aperceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot ^bunderstand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.

3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ^aponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and ^bprepare your minds for the ^cmorrow, and I come unto you again.

4 But now I ^ago unto the Father, and also to ^bshow myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not ^clost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.

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 ^ain tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.

6 And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with ^acompassion towards you.

7 Have ye any that are ^asick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or ^bleprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will ^cheal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your ^afaith is ^bsufficient that I should heal you.

9 And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their ^ablind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.

10 And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did ^akiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.

11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their ^alittle children should be brought.

12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.

13 And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should ^akneel down upon the ground.

14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am ^atroubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.

15 And when he had said these words, he himself also ^aknelt upon the earth; and behold he ^bprayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.

16 And after this manner do they bear record: The ^aeye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;

17 And no ^atongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the ^ajoy of the multitude that they were overcome.

19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.

20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And ^anow behold, my joy is full.

21 And when he had said these words, he ^awept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and ^bblessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

22 And when he had done this he wept again;

23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and ^aencircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

25 And the multitude did see and ^ahear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.

When I was 14 our stake went to BYU for Youth Conference one summer. It was an amazing experience but more than anything I remember the "price of admission." The stake agreed to pay for any young man or young woman who would read the books of Helaman and 3rd Nephi. I had never read just those books in just that order and as I look back now I am reminded of how inspired that assignment was. I enjoyed those pages so much even as a youth. These past few entries as I have tried to comment on these climactic chapters in 3rd Nephi I am constantly reminded that words are not always adequate or enough for expressing spiritual feelings. But just as I learned back when I was 14, one does not need to be a scholar or even a mature adult to feel the simple power of the Savior's love for these 2500 Nephites who wet His feet with their tears. This account of the interaction between the Savior and those who loved Him is an indescribable gift to any and all who will take the time to study it.

pgs. 438 and 439...then will I fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.

20 And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them.

  21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: ^aOther sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one^bshepherd.

  22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the ^aGentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be ^bconverted through their preaching.

  23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the ^aGentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the ^bHoly Ghost.

  24 But behold, ye have both heard ^amy voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath ^bgiven me.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 16

Jesus will visit others of the lost sheep of Israel—In the latter days the gospel will go to the Gentiles and then to the house of Israel—The Lord’s people shall see eye to eye when he brings again Zion. [A.D.34]

  1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have ^aother sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.

  2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.

  3 But I have received a ^acommandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall ^bhear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.

  4 And I command you that ye shall ^awrite these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the^bGentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their ^cunbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a^dknowledge of me, their Redeemer.

  5 And then will I ^agather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the ^bcovenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the ^chouse of Israel.

  6 And blessed are the ^aGentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which ^bwitnesses unto them of me and of the Father.

  7 Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the ^alatter day shall the truth come unto the ^bGentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them.

  8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the ^aunbelieving of the Gentiles—for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have ^bscattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been ^ccast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them;

  9 And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be ^aslain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become ^bhated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them—

  10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall ^asin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be ^blifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and ^cmurders, and^dpriestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall ^ereject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.

  11 And then will I ^aremember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

  12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the ^aknowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

  13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be ^anumbered among my people, O house of Israel.

  14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.

  15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall ^atread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.

  16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me—that I should give unto ^athis people this land for their inheritance.

I read an interesting commentary in correlation with Chapter 16 verses 1-3 (which is understood to refer to the lost ten tribes because of the direct reference to them in the next chapter verse 4.) Did you know that in 1831 the Prophet Joseph Smith said that the Apostle John was at that time among the the lost ten tribes and preparing them for their return? (See History of the Church, volume 1, page 176.)  We also know that the Savior visited them after He visited the Nephites and someday look forward to reading that account.  For more information on the lost ten tribes and their return also read D&C 133:26-33.  

pgs. 436 and 437...Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live.

13 Enter ye in at the ^astrait gate; for wide is the gate, and ^bbroad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

  14 Because strait is the ^agate, and ^bnarrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and ^cfew there be that find it.

  15 Beware of ^afalse prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

  16 Ye shall know them by their ^afruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

  17 Even so every ^agood tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

  18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

  19 Every tree that ^abringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

  20 Wherefore, by their ^afruits ye shall know them.

  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall ^aenter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

  22 Many will ^asay to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?

  23 And then will ^aI profess unto them: I never ^bknew you; ^cdepart from me, ye that work iniquity.

  24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a ^arock—

  25 And the ^arain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it ^bfell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

  26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a ^afoolish man, who built his house upon the ^bsand—

  27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 15

Jesus announces that the law of Moses is fulfilled in him—The Nephites are the other sheep of whom he spake in Jerusalem—Because of iniquity the Lord’s people in Jerusalem do not know of the scattered sheep of Israel. [A.D. 34]

  1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye have heard the things which I ^ataught before I ascended to my Father; therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and ^bdoeth them, him will I ^craise up at the last day.

  2 And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying that ^aold things had passed away, and that all things had become new.

  3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become ^anew.

  4 Behold, I say unto you that the ^alaw is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.

  5 Behold, ^aI am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to ^bfulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.

  6 Behold, I do ^anot destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.

  7 And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come.

  8 For behold, the ^acovenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.

  9 Behold, I am the ^alaw, and the ^blight. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall ^clive; for unto him that ^dendureth to the end will I give eternal life.

  10 Behold, I have given unto you the ^acommandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly ^btestified of me.

  11 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he ^asaid unto those twelve whom he had chosen:

  12 Ye are my ^adisciples; and ye are a ^blight unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of ^cJoseph.

  13 And behold, this is the ^aland of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.

  14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should ^atell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.

  15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the ^aother tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.

  16 This much did the Father ^acommand me, that I should tell unto them:

  17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one ^ashepherd.

  18 And now, because of ^astiffneckedness and ^bunbelief they ^cunderstood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the ^dFather concerning this thing unto them.

  19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were ^aseparated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.

I wonder what it was like for these people of Nephi to change from living the law of Moses to living the new law that Christ was giving them.  They must have expressed some concern or surprise because he spoke so reassuringly in chapter 15 that the new law would lead to eternal life.  The only thing I can think to compare it to is the white handbook rules that missionaries are asked to live.  These rules are so much more restrictive than the commandments given to the general church but they lead to a wonderful outpouring of the Spirit to those who carry the mantle of the missionary calling.  I'm sure as time went on the Nephites were pleasantly surprised at the blessings which came from understanding and living this new and higher law.  They went from living in the light of the law of Moses to living in the even warmer and brighter light of Christ's law.