3 Nephi 10
10:1-6 - The Lord has called all those who are still alive to repent and come to him and be healed, even after all that craziness, and “after these saying there was silence in the land for the space of many hours; For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain.” Now that’s an interesting reaction from the people who have just lost much of their society, they are called to repent and they are so surprised that they let their mourning pause for a little bit. I guess if it was me and I had survived this horrific natural disaster and then there was a voice from heaven I could see being really surprised. Jesus gave the people plenty of time to reflect on what he said, in their current state of physical darkness “therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours.” He wanted them to see what their wickedness had caused all that destruction and to sit in the consequences of it for a while. After several hours the Lord begins to speak again, giving the hen and chickens analogy, “how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.” In the context of this sentence he’s asking them to reflect on the ways in which he’s already blessed the house of Israel. Moses taking them out of Egypt is the best example and he literally “nourished” them with manna. This is a common reoccurring theme throughout the scriptures, “remember that the Lord brought our fathers out of bondage.” He’s also reminding them that the Nephites specifically were gathered by the Lord to the promised land under his divine protection, and literally nourished them by making the meat sweet so that they didn’t have to cook it in the wilderness. Then there’s the spiritual nourishment that he’s given them the whole time, when they would receive it, how many prophets he’s sent to them knowing that they would be murdered, just to give them the opportunity to repent. The IM teaches that “the comparison between a hen gathering her chicks and the Lord gathering His people offers some interesting insights. A hen cares for her chicks and would sacrifice her life to protect them. When danger threatens, she gathers the chicks under her wings for protection. In a similar way, the Lord loves His people, the house of Israel. He gave His life for His people and has sought to gather them together so he could protect and nourish them. In many occasions, however, Israel has chosen to forsake the Lord. Commenting on 3 Nephi 10:5-6, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency testified that the Savior will help those who are trying to come to Him: ‘More than once He has said that He would gather us to Him as a hen would gather her chickens under her wings. He says that we must choose to come to Him in meekness and with enough faith in Him to repent ‘with full purpose of heart.’ One way to do that is to gather with the Saints in His Church. Go to our meetings, even when it seems hard. If you are determined, He will help you find the strength to do it.” I testify that this is true, there are so many blessings and teachings he’s just waiting to give us, but to respect our agency, he won’t do it until we’ve indicated with our hearts that we’re ready to receive it. He does give strength to grow and to overcome and to heal and to move forward, like we learned yesterday, even when we don’t know it. I was an angry hateful bitter person for many many years, but I’m not like that so much anymore and it’s because Jesus has healed me, I gave just the slightest indication that I was ready and he started working his way through my heart, and it’s honestly been a miracle. I know what it’s like to be the awful, to live a life of anger and regret, and it was awful, and I’m so grateful that He’s been there for me every step of the way, even when I ran away from him screaming. Another, I’m not sure just how relevant , point is that when the Lord says that he will gather his people like a hen gathers her chicks, he’s putting himself in a nurturing role, he doesn’t assume this identity of some overbearing powerful man image, he’s saying “hey I’m just like a mother hen,” in fact that’s what the saying is right? “Oh she’s just a mother hen,” and that’s the image that people associate with the term “mothering” a mama hen overseeing and protecting and parenting her little chick. If he wanted to say “I will protect you I will feed you I will provide for you,” and still wanted to come across as a manly man like our society perpetuates today, he could have said “I will protect you like a lion protects his pride,” or “I will provide for you the way a wolf provides for his cubs.” But that’s not the image he chooses to portray at all, he doesn’t want to be seen as the violent type, as the “I’ll shed blood” type, he wants to be seen as a mother hen, nurturing, protecting, invested, deeply involved in the welfare of her babies, he’s under no pressure to seem like the savage blood thirsty God of vengeance that many have portrayed him to be, in fact it’s just the opposite. I guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t know of many men who, in a leadership position, would compare himself to a female animal. It’s actually quite degrading if you think about it, I don’t know if it would just be a lack of reference or what, but I don’t think that most men would see any similarities between themselves and a female animal. But the Lord does, and I guess if I really read into it, it’s pretty validating to women, the Lord assuming the same characteristics, makes them kind of celebrated I guess. And if he wanted to appear strong and unintimidating, then the mother hen is definitely a good choice, no one is threatened by a chicken, quite the opposite in fact, but she’s fiercely loyal and protective and kind and concerned. But if the mother hen spreads out her wings, only the chicks who go under them and stay there will be protected and provided for. Jesus promises us protection, peace, and nourishment “if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.” Like I said earlier, we have to show Jesus with our hearts that we are ready, and with a full purpose of heart means that we are ready to embrace him in full. The scriptures say that no man can serve two masters, the man who is torn is unstable. We have to be ready to give it our all, even if that effort is pathetic at best. We sow our best efforts and he allows us to reap with abundance, there’s no fence sitting, we can’t do it half way, we have to do our best, and still be patient with ourselves.
10:7-19 - He’s comforted them, telling them of the blessings that come with following him like they have been called to do, but now it’s time for the rest of the message, “but if not, O house of Israel, the places of your swellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers.” And this is when the people again see that all this destruction didn’t have to happen, they could have been spared, all their friends and family that were killed, it was because they rejected the Lord’s offer of protection and peace. With that realization “they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of their kindred and friends.” They are putting it all together, and the Lord gives them the rest of the three days to think about what he’s told them, but then after the three days “the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away… and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.” There’s probably a lot of symbolism here and I’m going to attempt it, though it’s probably not great. If we take it in a spiritual sense, the Nephites were punished for their sins, and that left them in mourning and despair, maybe even the gall of bitterness, it’s hopeless, it’s nothing but pain, and because we all sin, justice waits for us. We are all doomed for hopelessness, pain and despair because of justice but Jesus is telling us that it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s the light symbolically, Jesus was resurrected, the light came and the people rejoiced because there was hope again, the darkness was gone. Similarly, we can rejoice in the knowledge that through Jesus Christ, we aren’t doomed to an eternity of sorrow and despair, if we want to choose him, he makes it possible. It’s incredible, it’s honestly a miracle. The people are rejoicing “and it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared.” They were spared because they received the prophets. The IM quotes Elder M. Russell Ballard as teaching “It is no small thing, my brothers and sisters, to have a prophet of God in our midst. Great and wonderful are the blessings that come into our lives as we listen to the word of the Lord given to us through him… When we hear the counsel of the Lord expressed through the words of the President of the Church, our response should be positive and prompt. History shows that there is safety, peace, prosperity, and happiness in responding to prophetic counsel.” I was talking to my kids the other day about what makes our church different than other churchs and my daughter said “we have a prophet,” and I thought that’s absolutely true. It is no small thing that we have a prophet, a man who speaks with God and to us, it’s incredible. I’ve learned the hard way to follow the prophet, I’m not perfect at it, but I try my best. The IM continues by quoting President Boyd K. Packer as teaching “On one occasion, Karl G. Maeser was leading a party of young missionaries across the Alps. As they reached the summit, he looked back and saw a row of sticks thrust in the snow to mark the one safe path across the otherwise treacherous glacier. Halting the company of missionaries, he gestured toward the sticks and said, ‘Brethren, there stands the priesthood (of God). They are just common sticks like the rest of us,… but the position they hold makes them what they are to us. If we step aside from the path they mark, we are lost.’ Although no one of us is perfect, the Church moves forward, led by ordinary people. The Lord promised: ‘If my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place. But if they will not hearken to my voice, not unto the voice of these men who I have appointed, they shall not be blest.’ I bear witness, brethren and sistes, that the leaders of the Church were called of God by proper authority, and it is known to the Church that they have that authority and have been properly ordained by the regularly ordained heads of the Church. If we follow them we will be saved. If we stray from them we will surely be lost.” I think it’s important to note here that when he says that we will be saved if we follow the prophets, we have to understand that the prophets aren’t going to tell us to do arbitrary things that serve no purpose other than obedience. For instance, when the prophets counsel to avoid pornography, they don’t do it just to see how far they can push us before we don’t follow them anymore, we are told to avoid pornography because it’s dangerous and addictive, and they came out and said that long before it was a recognized life destroy by society at large. When we are told to not watch R rated movies, it’s because it’s a danger to us, and it was said long before the time when R rated movies were absolutely obscene, they were relatively mild compared to what we have today. We are blessed when we obey but we are also literally saved from the filth and will overcome and destroy us. It’s very important for us to understand that the counsel of the prophets serves a purpose and has meaning, we aren’t told to perform 500 jumping jacks a day to be saved just to test our devotion and our willingness to be obedient. Sure sometimes we are tested to prove our loyalty, but the counsel from the prophets are for our safety and salvation.
10:7-19 - He’s comforted them, telling them of the blessings that come with following him like they have been called to do, but now it’s time for the rest of the message, “but if not, O house of Israel, the places of your swellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers.” And this is when the people again see that all this destruction didn’t have to happen, they could have been spared, all their friends and family that were killed, it was because they rejected the Lord’s offer of protection and peace. With that realization “they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of their kindred and friends.” They are putting it all together, and the Lord gives them the rest of the three days to think about what he’s told them, but then after the three days “the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away… and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.” There’s probably a lot of symbolism here and I’m going to attempt it, though it’s probably not great. If we take it in a spiritual sense, the Nephites were punished for their sins, and that left them in mourning and despair, maybe even the gall of bitterness, it’s hopeless, it’s nothing but pain, and because we all sin, justice waits for us. We are all doomed for hopelessness, pain and despair because of justice but Jesus is telling us that it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s the light symbolically, Jesus was resurrected, the light came and the people rejoiced because there was hope again, the darkness was gone. Similarly, we can rejoice in the knowledge that through Jesus Christ, we aren’t doomed to an eternity of sorrow and despair, if we want to choose him, he makes it possible. It’s incredible, it’s honestly a miracle. The people are rejoicing “and it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared.” They were spared because they received the prophets. The IM quotes Elder M. Russell Ballard as teaching “It is no small thing, my brothers and sisters, to have a prophet of God in our midst. Great and wonderful are the blessings that come into our lives as we listen to the word of the Lord given to us through him… When we hear the counsel of the Lord expressed through the words of the President of the Church, our response should be positive and prompt. History shows that there is safety, peace, prosperity, and happiness in responding to prophetic counsel.” I was talking to my kids the other day about what makes our church different than other churchs and my daughter said “we have a prophet,” and I thought that’s absolutely true. It is no small thing that we have a prophet, a man who speaks with God and to us, it’s incredible. I’ve learned the hard way to follow the prophet, I’m not perfect at it, but I try my best. The IM continues by quoting President Boyd K. Packer as teaching “On one occasion, Karl G. Maeser was leading a party of young missionaries across the Alps. As they reached the summit, he looked back and saw a row of sticks thrust in the snow to mark the one safe path across the otherwise treacherous glacier. Halting the company of missionaries, he gestured toward the sticks and said, ‘Brethren, there stands the priesthood (of God). They are just common sticks like the rest of us,… but the position they hold makes them what they are to us. If we step aside from the path they mark, we are lost.’ Although no one of us is perfect, the Church moves forward, led by ordinary people. The Lord promised: ‘If my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place. But if they will not hearken to my voice, not unto the voice of these men who I have appointed, they shall not be blest.’ I bear witness, brethren and sistes, that the leaders of the Church were called of God by proper authority, and it is known to the Church that they have that authority and have been properly ordained by the regularly ordained heads of the Church. If we follow them we will be saved. If we stray from them we will surely be lost.” I think it’s important to note here that when he says that we will be saved if we follow the prophets, we have to understand that the prophets aren’t going to tell us to do arbitrary things that serve no purpose other than obedience. For instance, when the prophets counsel to avoid pornography, they don’t do it just to see how far they can push us before we don’t follow them anymore, we are told to avoid pornography because it’s dangerous and addictive, and they came out and said that long before it was a recognized life destroy by society at large. When we are told to not watch R rated movies, it’s because it’s a danger to us, and it was said long before the time when R rated movies were absolutely obscene, they were relatively mild compared to what we have today. We are blessed when we obey but we are also literally saved from the filth and will overcome and destroy us. It’s very important for us to understand that the counsel of the prophets serves a purpose and has meaning, we aren’t told to perform 500 jumping jacks a day to be saved just to test our devotion and our willingness to be obedient. Sure sometimes we are tested to prove our loyalty, but the counsel from the prophets are for our safety and salvation.
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