My bowels are filled with mercy. 3 Nephi 17:7 17:7
Trivia: Who announced his own birth on the night he was born?
11:1-41
1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.
2 And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.
One day, a crowd gathered around the temple in the land of Bountiful, marveling and wondering about the great and marvelous things they'd seen lately and talking about Jesus.
3 It came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
While they were busy doing this, a voice came out of the sky.
So they cast their eyes about while listening to the voice.
It was not a harsh or loud voice, but a small voice that shook their bodies, pierced their souls, and caused their hearts to burn.
They heard the voice again, but again they couldn't understand it.
5And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.
But this time they opened their ears, looked up at the sky, and understood what the voice said.
6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name -- hear ye him.
Here's what the voice said:
Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. [2]
Listen to him.
8 It came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
9 It came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Then the crowd saw a man coming down from the sky.
He was in dressed in a white robe and looked like an angel.
10Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
12 It came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.
The man in white stretched out his hand, and said to them:.
I am Jesus Christ. [3]
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
Go ahead and stick yourr fingers inmy side and feel the nail holes in my feet and hands.
That way you'll know that I am the God of Israel and the God of the whole earth.
15 It came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
So everyone in the land of Bountiful went up, one by one, to Jesus and stuck their fingers in his side and feet until they all knew for sure who they were dealing with.
It was Jesus, all right. No question about it.
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
When everyone was done with that, they all cried out in unison:
Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!
18 It came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.
When the multitude finished, one by one, fingering Jesus's wounds, Jesus called for Nephi.
19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet.
20 And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.
So Nephi went up and kissed Jesus's feet.
So Nephi went up and Jesus gave him the power to baptize, which is a bit strange since Nephi had baptized pretty much everyone already (see 3 Nephi 1:23, 7:24-26, and 9:20).
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.
22 And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them -- Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
Jesus said to him,
I give you the power to baptize people. [4]
28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
Everyone must agree on everything with regard to religion.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
Whoever argues with anyone about anything is of the devil.
32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
This is my doctrine:
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
If you believe in me and get baptized, you are saved and will go to heaven.
If you don't believe in me and aren't baptized, you'll be damned to hell.
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
Whoever believes in me believes in my Father, who will visit the believer with fire and the Holy Ghost.
37And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a l ittle child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
So repent, get baptized, and become like a little child.
40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.
To believe more or less than this is evil.
Notes
This is the third time in three chapters that a voice speaks from the sky.
See chapters 9 and 10 for the first two speeches by the sky guy.
So this time the sky voice is Jesus's father, assuming that's who the voice means by "my beloved son."
Jesus never referred to himself in this way in the gospels. But I guess he learned his last name since then.
Jesuus gave Nephi the power to baptize, which is a bit strange since Nephi had baptized pretty much everyone already. (See, for example, 3 Nephi 1:23, 7:24-26, and 9:20.)
Favorite Phrases:
And it came to pass: 11:1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 15, 18
Behold: 11:6, 77, 8, 10, 11, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31
Yea: 11:3
(11:7) This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. -- Matthew 17:5
(11:11) I am the light of the world -- John 8:12
(11:25) baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost -- Matthew 28:19
(11:27a) the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. -- 1 John 5:7
(11:27b) I am in the Father, and the Father in me -- John 14:11
(11:27c) I and my Father are one. -- John 10:30
(11:32) God ... now commandeth all men every where to repent: -- Acts 17:20
(11:33) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. -- Mark 16:16
(11:34) but he that believeth not shall be damned. -- Mark 16:16
(11:36) the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. -- 1 John 5:7
(11:39) upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. -- Matthew 16:18
