The Lord visited His "other sheep," not of the eastern fold, whose existence He had affirmed in that impressive sermon concerning the Good Shepherd and His sheep. Those other sheep who were to hear the Shepherd's voice and eventually be made part of the united fold were the descendants of Lehi who, with his family and a few others, had left Jerusalem 600 B.C. and had crossed the great deep to what we now know as the American continent.
As already set forth in these pages, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem had been made known to the Nephite nation on the western hemisphere by divine revelation. Samuel the Lamanite, who through his faithfulness and good works had become a prophet, mighty in word and deed, duly chosen and commissioned of God, had coupled with his predictions of the glorious occurrences that were to mark Christ, prophecies of other signs—of darkness, terror, and destruction—by which the Savior's death on the cross would be signalized.
Every prophetic word concerning the phenomena that were to attend the Lord's birth had been fulfilled. Many people had been brought thereby to believe in Christ as the promised Redeemer. Many among the Nephites "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"
Thirty and three years had sped their course since the illumined night and the other signs of Messiah's advent. There arose a great and terrible tempest, with thunderings, lightnings, and both elevations and depressions of the earth's surface. The highways were broken up, mountains were sundered, and many cities were utterly destroyed by earthquake, fire, and the inrush of the sea. For three hours the unprecedented holocaust continued; and then thick darkness fell, in the which it was found impossible to kindle a fire. The awful gloom was like unto the darkness of Egypt, in that its clammy vapors could be felt.
This condition lasted until the third day, so that a night a day and a night were as one unbroken night, and the impenetrable blackness was rendered the more terrible by the wailing of the people. Then, piercing the darkness, came a Voice, before which the frightful chorus of human lamentation was silenced. "Wo, wo, wo unto this people" resounded throughout the land. The Voice proclaimed increasing woes except the people should repent.
The extent of the dread calamity was detailed. Cities that had been burned with their inhabitants, others that had sunk into the sea, yet others buried in the earth, were enumerated. The identity of the Voice was thus made known: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God"
The Lord commanded that the people should no longer serve Him with bloody sacrifices and burnt offerings. The only acceptable sacrifice would be the broken heart and the contrite spirit. The humble and repentant the Lord would receive as His own. "Behold," He said, "for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved"
A second time the Voice was heard, as in sorrow over those who had refused to accept the Savior's succor. On the morning of the third day the darkness dispersed, seismic disturbances ceased, and the storms abated. As the pall was lifted from the land the people saw how profound had been the convulsions of earth, and how great had been their loss of kindred and friends. In their contrition and humiliation they remembered the predictions of the prophets, and knew that the mandate of the Lord had been executed upon them.
Christ had risen; and following Him many of the righteous dead on the western continent rose from their graves, and appeared as resurrected, immortalized beings among the survivors of the land-wide destruction. The prevailing spirit of the assembly was that of contrition and reverence. While thus congregated they heard a sound as of a Voice from above; but both a first and a second utterance were to them unintelligible.
As they listened with rapt intentness, the Voice was heard a third time, and it said unto them: " Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" While gazing upward in reverent expectation, the people beheld a Man, clothed in a white robe, who descended and stood among them. The multitude prostrated themselves in adoration for they remembered that their prophets had foretold that the Lord would appear among them after His resurrection and ascension.
As He directed, the people arose, and one by one came to Him, and did see and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and the spear-wound in His side. Moved to adoring utterance, with one accord they cried: "Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God!" Then, falling at the feet of Jesus, they worshiped Him. Summoning Nephi and eleven others to approach, the Lord gave them authority to baptize the people after His departure.
The people in general, and particularly the Twelve, chosen as stated, were impressively warned against contention over matters of doctrine. The spirit of contention was declared to be of the devil, "who is the father of contention" The Twelve were warned not to "disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been"
The doctrine of Jesus Christ was set forth in simple yet comprehensive summary. Repentance, and humility akin to that of the innocent trusting child were the prerequisites for baptism, without which none could inherit the kingdom of God. "Behold, verly, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me"
With the incisiveness and simplicity that had characterized His teachings in Palestine, the Lord thus instructed His newly chosen Twelve: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine" Then, turning to the multitude, Jesus admonished them to give heed to the teachings of the Twelve, and continued with a discourse embodying the sublime principles He had taught among the Jews in the Sermon on the Mount.
The Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the same splendid array of ennobling precepts are set forth, in both Matthew's and Nephi's versions of this unparalleled address. But a significant difference is observed in every reference to the fulfilment of the Mosaic law. Where the Jewish scriptures record the words as pointing to a fulfilment then incomplete, the corresponding expressions in the Nephite account are in the past tense, the law having been already fulfilled in its entirety through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Many marveled over this matter, wondering what the Lord would have them do concerning the law of Moses. Jesus, conscious of their perplexity, proclaimed in plainness that He was the Giver of the law. His affirmation is particularly explicit: "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses"
"The covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled," says Jesus. "But the law which was given unto Moses, hath an end in me" "Because of stiffneckedness and unbelief," they had failed to comprehend His words, the Father had commanded Him to say no more with reference either to the Nephites or to the third fold"
Even the Jewish apostles wrongly supposed that those "other sheep" were the Gentile nations. Great, however, will be the Lord's mercies and blessings to the Gentiles who accept the truth. All of them who comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel shall be numbered in the house of Israel. Their conversion and enfoldment will be as individuals, and not as nations, tribes, or peoples.
The adoring multitude, numbering about two thousand five hundred souls, thought that Jesus was about to depart; and they tearfully yearned to have Him remain. Voicing the compassion He felt, the Lord directed the people to fetch their afflicted ones, the lame, halt, maimed, blind and deaf, the leprous, and the withered; and when these were brought He healed them, every one. Then, as He commanded, parents brought their little children, and placed them in a circle around Him.
The multitude bowed in prayer; and Jesus prayed for them; "And," wrote Nephi, "no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man" The prayer being ended, Jesus bade the multitude arise; and joyfully He exclaimed: "Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full." Jesus wept. Then He took the children, one by one, and blessed them, praying unto the Father for each. "And when he had done this he wept again, and he spake unto the multitude, and saith unto them, behold your little ones"
The Lord Jesus sent for bread and wine, and caused the people to sit down. The bread He brake and blessed, and gave thereof to the Twelve. These, having eaten, distributed bread to the multitude. The wine was blessed and all partook, the Twelve first, and afterward the people.
The Lord forbade the sacrament of bread and wine to all but the worthy. The bread is the sacred emblem of His body, the wine the token of His blood that had been shed. "For," He explained, "whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth damnation to his soul"
The people were forbidden to cast out from their assemblies those from whom the Sacrament was to be withheld, if so be they would but repent and seek fellowship through baptism. The necessity of prayer was explicitly emphasized by the Lord, the commandment to pray being given to the Twelve and to the multitude separately. Individual supplication, family devotions, and congregational worship were thus enjoined.
The Lord then touched with His hand each of the Twelve, investing them, in words unheard by others, with power to confer the Holy Ghost. On the morrow a yet greater multitude assembled in expectation of the Savior's return. A cloud overshadowed the people, so that the Lord was hidden from their sight. But the twelve disciples "saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven"
Throughout the night messengers had spread the glorious tidings of the Lord's appearing, and of His promise to again visit His people. So great was the assembly that Nephi and his associates caused the people to separate into twelve bodies, to each of which one of the disciples was assigned to impart instruction and to lead in prayer. Led by the chosen disciples the whole vast concourse approached the water's edge. Nephi, going first, was baptized by immersion; he then baptized the eleven others whom Jesus had chosen. When the Twelve had come forth out of the water, "they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and with fire"
Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples and ministering angels. At His command the Twelve and the multitude knelt in prayer; and they prayed unto Jesus, calling Him their Lord and their God. Jesus separated himself by a little space, and in humble attitude prayed, saying in part: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen"
The disciples were yet fervently praying to Jesus when He returned to them. A second and a third time Jesus retired and prayed unto the Father. While the people comprehended the meaning of His prayer, they confessed and bare record that "so great and marvellous were the words which he prayed, that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man" The Lord rejoiced in the faith of the people, and to the disciples He said: "So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews"
Both the bread and the wine were provided without human aid. Jesus declared Himself to be that Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold, and the Christ of whom all the prophets had testified. This was followed by instructions concerning the covenant people, Israel, of whom the Nephites were a part, and of the relation they would bear to the Gentile nations in the future development of the divine purpose. The sanctity of the ordinance was thus expressed: "He that eateth this bread, eateth of my body to his soul"
The future of Lehi's descendants was pictured as a dwindling in unbelief through iniquity. The Gentiles would grow to be a mighty people on the western continent, even though that land had been given as an ultimate inheritance to the house of Israel. The establishment of the then future but now existent American nation, characterized as "a free people," was thus foretold. God's purpose therein explained: "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father"
As a sign of the time in which the gathering of the several branches of Israel from their long dispersion should take place, the Lord specified the prosperity of the Gentiles in America. It was made plain that all Gentiles who would repent, and accept the gospel of Christ through baptism, should be numbered among the covenant people. The New Jerusalem would be established on the American continent. The joyful account of gathered Israel as Jehovah had given it aforetime through the mouth of His prophet Isaiah, was repeated by the resurrected Jehovah to His Nephite flock.
Admonishing them to ponder the words of the prophets, which were of record amongst them, and to give heed to the new scriptures He had made known, the Lord informed them of the revelations given through Malachi. The prophecies so reiterated by Him who had inspired Malachi to utterance, were at that time obviously of the future, and are even yet unfulfilled in their entirety. The advent of the Lord, to which these scriptures testify, is yet future; but that the time is now near.
The personal ministry of Christ on the occasion of this second visitation lasted three days. He gave the people many scriptures, such as had been before given unto the Jews, for so the Father had commanded. He expounded the purposes of God, from the beginning until the time at which Christ shall return in His glory. In merciful ministration He healed their afflicted folk, and raised a man from the dead.
At later but unspecified times, He showed Himself among the Nephites, and "did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them." After His second ascension from among them, the spirit of prophecy was manifest among the people. The Twelve entered upon their ministry with vigor, teaching all who would hear.
On a certain occasion the Twelve were assembled in "mighty prayer and fasting," seeking instruction on a particular matter. As they supplicated the Father in the Son's name, Jesus appeared amongst them, and asked: "What will ye that I shall give unto you?" Their answer was: "Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church"; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. "And the Lord said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which
for by this name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the end. Therefore whatsoever ye shall do,Ye shall do it in my name; therefore - ye shall call the church in myname. And how be it my church, save it be called in my Name?
Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name. In such wise did the Lord confirm as an authoritative bestowal, the name which, through inspiration, had been assumed by His obedient children, The Church of Jesus Christ.
The Lord's explanation as to the one and only Name by which the Church could be appropriately known is cogent and convincing. It was not the church of Lehi or Nephi, of Mosiah or Alma, of Samuel or Helaman; else it should have been called by the name of the man whose church it was, even as today there are churches named after men. But being the Church established by Jesus Christ, it could properly bear none other name than His. Jesus then reiterated to the Nephite Twelve many of the cardinal principles He had before enunciated to them and to the people at large; and commanded that His words be written, excepting certain exalted communications which He forbade them to write.
The Twelve were told that they were to be the judges of their people. In view of such investiture they were admonished to diligence and godliness. The Lord was made glad by the faith and ready obedience of the Nephites. His joy, however, was mingled with sorrow because of the apostasy into which the later generations would fall. This He foresaw as a dire condition that would attain its climax in the fourth generation from that time.
In loving compassion the Lord spoke unto the twelve disciples, one by one, asking: "What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?" All but three expressed the desire that they might continue in the ministry until they had reached a goodly age, and then in due time be received by the Lord into His kingdom. To them Jesus gave blessed assurance, saying: "After that ye are seventy and two years old, ye shall come unto me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest."
He turned to the three who had reserved the request they ventured not to express. "Ye shall never taste of death, but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father," he said. The blessed three were assured that in the course of their prolonged life they should be immune to pain, and should know sorrow only as they grieved for the sins of the world.
For their desire to labor in bringing souls unto Christ as long as the world should stand, they were promised an eventual fulness of joy. The heavens were opened to their gaze; they were caught up, and saw and heard unspeakable things. Though they lived and labored as men among their fellows, preaching, baptizing, and conferring the Holy Ghost upon all who gave heed to their words, the enemies to the truth were powerless to do them injury.
Somewhat later than a hundred and seventy years after the Lord's last visitation, malignant persecution was waged against the Three. For their zeal in the ministry, they were cast into prison; but "the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain" They were incarcerated in underground dungeons; "But they did smite the earth with the word of God"
Mormon avers that in answer to his prayers the Lord had made known unto him that the change wrought upon the bodies of the Three, was such as to deprive Satan of all power over them. For nearly three hundred years, and possibly longer, the Three Nephites ministered visibly among their fellows. But as the wickedness of the people increased these special ministers were withdrawn, and thereafter manifested themselves only to the righteous few.
Moroni, the last prophet of the Nephites, wrote concerning these three disciples of the Lord, that they "did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great, that the Lord would not suffer them to remain with the people" Their ministry was to be extended to Jews and Gentiles, amongst whom they labor unrecognized as of ancient birth. They are sent unto the scattered tribes of Israel, and to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, "that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them"
The Church of Jesus Christ developed rapidly in the land of Nephi. Populous cities replaced the desolation of ruin that had befallen at the time of the Lord's crucifixion. Even the hereditary animosity between Nephites and Lamanites was forgotten; and all lived in peace and prosperity. So great was the unity of the Church that its members owned all things in common, and "therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift"
Nine of the twelve special witnesses chosen by the Lord passed at appointed times to their rest, and others were ordained in their stead. Pride displaced humility, display of costly apparel superseded the simplicity of happier days. Man-made churches multiplied, and persecution, true sister to intolerance, became rampant. The red-skinned Lamanites reverted to their degraded ways, and developed a murderous hostility against their white brothers. All manner of corrupt practises became common among both nations.
For many decades the Nephites retreated before their aggressive foes, making their way north-eastward through what is now the United States. About 400 A.D. the last great battle was fought near the hill Cumorah. The degenerate remnant of Lehi's posterity, the Lamanites or American Indians, have continued until this day. Moroni, the last of the Nephite prophets, hid away the record of his people in theHill Cumorah, whence it has been brought forth by divine direction in the current dispensation. That record is now before the world translated through the gift and power of God, and published to the edification of all nations, as the BOOK of MORMON.
The South American continent in general is called, in the Book of Mormon, the Land of Nephi. Among the Beatitudes certain differences appear, in each of which the Nephite sermon is more explicit. Instead of, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:3), we read, "And blessed are all they who do hunger, and thirst for righteousness" (Nephi 12:3)
Instead of, "for righteousness' sake," (Matt.) we have "for my name's sake" (Nephi) For the difficult passage, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" (Matt. ), we have the clearer expression, "I give unto you to be the salt" (Matt). Instead of "one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," we have, "in me it hath all been fulfilled"
Nephi: "It is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than thatYe should be cast into hell" Matthew: "Those things which were of old time, which were under the law in me, are all fulfilled" John: "I would that I should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect"
3 Nephi 13.6:25-34 was spoken inferentially to the apostles; for they and not the people were to lay aside all worldly pursuits. In the sermon delivered to the Nephites the distinction is thus made clear: "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" etc.
Matt 7 opens with "Judge not that ye be not judged," without intimation as to its general or special application. A careful, verse-by-verse comparison between the Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Matthew, and the risen Lord's discourse to His people on the western continent is earnestly recommended to every student.
The baptism of the disciples on the morn of the Savior's second visit, was in the nature of a rebaptism, involving a renewal of covenants, and confession of faith in the Lord Jesus. It is possible that in the earlier Nephite baptisms some irregularity in mode or impropriety in the spirit of administering the ordinance may have arisen. As to second or later baptisms, the author has written elsewhere (see The Articles of Faith , vii:12-17) practically as follows.
In the Church today a repetition of the baptismal rite on an individual is allowable under certain specific conditions. In this case the apostle was evidently unconvinced that the baptism had been solemnized by due authority. When he tested the efficacy of their baptism by asking "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they answered him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Then asked he in seeming surprize, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" and they said, Unto John's baptism.
There is no ordinance of "rebaptism" in the Church distinct in nature, form, or purpose, from other baptism. In administering baptism to a subject who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony is exactly the same as in first baptisms. Bear in mind that Christ's ascension took place forty days after His resurrection.
Note 1 , end of chapter. 3 Nephi 11:7; compare Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 9:35; P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:17. See pages 234, 373, and 374 herein.
3 Nephi 21:1-7; for prophecies concerning subsequent events see remainder of chapter. Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple April 3, A.D. 1836, and committed to the Church the keys of authority for vicarious work in behalf of the dead. E.g. of Calvin, Luther, Wesley; see also "The Great Apostasy," 10:21, 22. Note the assurance of a similar commission promised the Jewish apostles: Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30. See also 1 Nephi 12:9. 3 Nephi 27:32 and references given therewith.
4 Nephi 1:3; read 1:23; see pages 705 and 718 herein. Near Manchester, Ontario county, New York. See Mormon, chapters 1-9; and Moroni, chapter 10. For more information, visit Mormon.org.