Learning from Those Who Remain

I am grateful for the opportunity to share today from Chapters 8-11 of 3 Nephi. In this passage, we begin with much destruction across the face of the land, as a sign of the death of the Savior, and in part as a sanctification of the land in preparation of His appearance on the American continent. Here is an excerpt from that great and terrible scene:

And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla.

And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible. --3 Nephi 8 : 19-25

In this passage, we can observe a few things that happened to the Nephites, and then make a comparison to our own lives. First and foremost, no one was prepared for the destruction that would ensue; or better said, it is possible that no one fully comprehended the calamity that would stretch across the face of the land, even if they knew it was coming. In Chapter 9 of 3 Nephi, the voice of Christ is heard across the land, declaring the destruction that was caused to come upon them, and why:
And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. 3 Nephi 9:12
But look further, to those who remained:

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, 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.

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.
...And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

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, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.

Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, 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. 3 Nephi 9: 13-15, 19-25


To those who remained, the Savior called to repentance, that they might be sanctified further through the Atonement which he wrought. In this moment, Christ was preparing the Nephites for something greater that would come to pass. This occurs in Chapter 11, when the Savior himself appeared and ministered unto the Nephites who remained in the Land Bountiful, near the temple that was built to worship Him. I know that this happened, as I can feel it in every fiber of my being as I write of it. Christ appeared to them in a pillar of light, and declared himself as the promised Savior.



And 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.

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:

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.

And 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.

And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him. 3 Nephi 11: 12-17

In this we see repentance and sanctification. The people were purified that they might behold the Savior of all mankind, resurrected and perfect in all ways. Note, however, that this is far from the end of the story:

And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.

And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did ^bkiss his feet.

And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.

And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. --3 Nephi 11:19-21

Christ goes on to call upon Nephi to be the chief among a new quorum of apostles, men of God with the authority to act in his name, performing the duties that Christ would perform if he were on the earth. This is the final piece: a call to serve. Although we only receive an account of Christ calling apostles, I believe that there were many other assignments made for the members of the Church to better serve others, and thereby work toward exaltation.

I hope that in reading this story you have seen a pattern, for there surely is one. We can learn from those who remained, and how they went through a progression toward their call to act and serve on behalf of the Savior. It began even before the destruction took place, as God was mindful of those he would spare, having a great love for them, and desire that they not be lost in mortality like those who would not be spared. It then went to the more righteous part of the Nephites, who were still unprepared for the trial that would come upon them. Nevertheless, they were able to endure the storms, tempests, and earthquakes, as well as the great mists of darkness that overcame them. They passed through regret for their sins, and were reassured that there indeed was hope for something greater. They repented of their sins, and were sanctified, and the Savior appeared unto them, and called them to serve. So, in sum:

LACK of PREPARATION
STORMS, TEMPESTS, EARTHQUAKES
SURVIVAL
DARKNESS
REGRET/REASSURANCE
REPENTANCE
SANCTIFICATION
CALLING

May we all think on where we are in this progression, and how we can move forward, diligently serving in the end. Have a great week!