3 Nephi 17:4-10

17:4-10 - Ok I’m better, last night was pretty rough but I’m doing ok now. Jesus is telling the Nephites that he’s going to have to go, tells them what to do to be prepared for his next visit tomorrow, and then says, “but now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.” Pretty small, simple verse but the IM has quite a bit to say about this one little verse, “Although the scattered tribes of Israel are lost to the knowledge of man, they are not lost to God. He knows where they are, ‘for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.’ His knowledge of them and the Savior’s visit to the lost tribes of Israel suggests the possibility that we will someday have access to other accounts of Jesus’s visits to His sheep. Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed: ‘Lost books are among the treasures yet to come forth. Over twenty of these are mentioned in the existing scriptures. Perhaps most startling and voluminous will be the records of the lost tribes of Israel. We would not even know of the impending third witness for Christ except through the precious Book of Mormon, the second witness for Christ! This third set of sacred records will this complete a triad of truth. Then, just as the Perfect Shepherd has said, ‘My word also shall be gathered in one.’ There will be ‘one fold and one shepherd’ in a welding together of all the Christian dispensations of human history.’” It’s really interesting to consider all the world religions and look at all the ways that they are similar and all the ways in which they are different and consider their origins. When he says that at the end of the day when all the records and compiled and available, we will be able to see all the “Christian dispensations of human history,” I think that we will be very surprised to see who was visited and who wasn’t, who had the gospel established among them and who didn’t, I believe that there is much out there that we will be surprised to know and will help us all be able to view each other as valuable children of God more clearly. It’s funny because I imagine this as a “no you hang up” moment, where he’s like “ok I’m really going to go now,” but the Nephites are not taking that well because Jesus “beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as in they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them. And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.” He feels badly for them, he loves them and wants them to be happy but also can’t stay with them forever. Jesus continues, “Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that you faith is sufficient that I should heal you.” I wonder how the Nephites knew that Jesus had healed people in Jerusalem, and I wonder why they wanted to see what the others had seen. Maybe the prophecies had said it and so they wondered about that, I don’t know, but I always thought that even if I didn’t have any serious physical ailments, I would have gone up to be healed anyway, and I think that maybe that’s what Jesus wanted and maybe even what happened, but I always imagined that I would like to be emotionally or spiritually healed by Jesus at that time. The IM taught, “Evidence of the great compassion Jesus felt for the people, His brothers and sisters, is shown in 3 Nephi 17:5-10. He asked for the sick to be brought to Him, and He healed them all. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland focused on the power of this spiritual moment: ‘Calling for the sick and the blind, the halt and the maimed, the leprous and the withered, those that were ‘afflicted in any manner,’ Christ asked that they be brought forward that he might heal them… Sensing with divine insight that these people desired to behold the miracles he had performed for their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, and recognizing instantly that their faith was sufficient for them to be healed, Christ responded to each need within the multitude, ‘and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.’ In response to such an outpouring of compassion and mercy, all of the congregation, the healed as well as the whole, did ‘bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come… did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.’” I liked that he teaches that Jesus saw them as his brothers and sisters, and it’s interesting because I was just thinking “it’s nice that Jesus healed those people but what about the rest of us?” In an April 2009 general conference entitled “His Arm is Sufficient,” Barbara Thompson taught, “Throughout His mortal life the Savior taught that we should care for one another and help one another. He healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, restored sight to the blind, and unstopped the ears of the deaf. He taught the people the gospel. He blessed the people and performed many mighty miracles. There are opportunities everywhere to help those in need. I submit to you that at some time in our lives, each of us will be poor in some way and will need the help of another person. For ‘are we not all beggars?’ President Spencer W. Kimball said: ‘God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other.’” I had not considered that Jesus performs miracles of that magnitude as well, it’s just that He himself doesn’t always doing the manual labor part of it, and if the Nephites bathed Jesus’s feet with their tears, maybe that should be an indication to how we should treat those who serve us as Jesus’s hands. HN also had a theory that Jesus healed the people as part of their preparation for hearing new information tomorrow. He said that it would have been difficult for them to hear, learn, and understand when they are physically ailed. I hadn’t heard this theory before and while I’m not convinced that that was Jesus’s primary mission for the healing, it definitely says something to us about the physical body either helping or hurting our spiritual growth. When we are whole and healthy, we understand more, have minds which are “clear and active” as HN says, but when we are unhealthy, our attention and energy is shifted from spiritual growth to physical recovery. Interesting insight there, and some motivation for me to become healthier.