“Whosoever Will Come, Him Will I Receive”
The Arrival of Christ in America - David Meikle
The Book of Mormon is a handbook for safety and refuge in the Lord by means of obedience and sanctification. The Lord’s prophets, from the beginning of the world, have warned of the lethal consequences of ongoing, unrepentant sin. Such was the warning of Samuel the Lamanite to the Nephite people as they persisted in their downward spiral into the abyss of prideful worldliness and rebellious self-satisfaction. The people, blinded as to spiritual truth and deaf as to the clarion call to repentance, are consumed by the cataclysmic destruction that takes place at the time of the Savior’s death. The word of the Lord is thereby fulfilled, as it always is, “whether by mine own voice, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (see D&C 1:38). The events covered by these chapters of Third Nephi demonstrate anew that the wicked will be punished and the more righteous will be preserved. The Savior is introduced to the surviving multitudes by the voice of Elohim, our Heavenly Father, and shows Himself unto the people in an overwhelming manifestation of majesty and love. He then teaches the doctrine of the kingdom and encourages all to come unto Him through faith, repentance, and the ordinance of baptism by water and by fire—so that He might receive them as His own.
Teachings and Commentaries on the Book of Mormon, Ch 37, Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, Covenant Communications, Inc., 2003
Overview-3 Nephi 8-11:
Great destruction occurs in the Americas at the time of Jesus’ death. Survivors hear the voice of the Lord inviting them to return to Him. Jesus Christ descends from heaven and teaches the people.
Here is this week’s lesson handout: Book of Mormon Lesson 37.
Summary of the story in the chapters assigned:
- 3 Nephi 8. Great destruction occurs in the Americas at the time of Christ’s death. Many cities are destroyed.
- 3 Nephi 9–10. Survivors hear the voice of the Lord inviting them to return to Him, repent, and be converted.
- 3 Nephi 11. The resurrected Savior descends from heaven and teaches the people.
pax vobiscum
Filed under: Gospel Doctrine Tagged: | Christianity, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Doctrine, LDS, Mormon, Religion
