3 Nephi 29-30

29:1-9 - Mormon makes a break from teaching about the translation of the 3 Nephites and goes into prophesying concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which I guess is safe to say that he had a vested interest in. In the beginning of the book of Nephi, we are unclear of the purpose of these plates but by now the purpose is pretty clear, especially to Mormon who knows “that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall come unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant with the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled.” The IM quotes Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as teaching, “Mormon concluded his description of this majestic season (the visit of the Savior among the Nephites)… by testifying that when a record of (Jesus Christ’s) visit would come to the Gentiles (in the form of the Book of Mormon), then all might know that the covenant and promises to Israel of the last days were ‘already beginning to be fulfilled.’… God’s covenant will be kept with all of his covenant people. No one will be able to ‘turn the right hand of the Lord unto the left’ on this matter. And the call to the Gentiles, for which Christ’s visit to the Nephites published in the Book of Mormon us the ultimate latter-day declaration, is for them to claim the same covenants and promises.” I don’t really understand a ton of this other than just the straight forward messages, so we’ll see; I might just end up quoting the IM. I found it a little bit confusing, the terminology “when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you.” I read it as if it meant “these sayings” as referring to the “covenants” but it means the Book of Mormon” which makes more sense. Mormon warns the readers of the Book of Mormon “Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by prophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost! Yea, an wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ! Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews.” To begin with, there are so many times when the Lord says that he is and always will be a God of miracles, and to me, it just doesn’t make sense that God would cease to be a God of miracles, because a just and merciful God would be consistent, would work miracles in all ages for all of his children. Interestingly, the Preach My Gospel manual teaches, “Relying on the Spirit is so important that the Lord warns us very strongly not to deny or quench the Spirit.” If we think back to the lesson that we learned that having the companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most valuable asset that we can have, this would make sense, especially in the context of miracles. The Holy Ghost brings “revelations of the Lord,” and “prophecy” and “gifts” and “tongues,” so our own personal ability to recognize and adhere to the guidance of the Holy Ghost is critical, which I find even more interesting because of the  recent lessons that I've been being taught. This most recent general conference had a heavy emphasis on personal revelation and I thought that it was incredible. I thought about verse 7 and why or how anyone would "get gain, (teaching) that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ." How does someone gain power or wealth by teaching that there are no more miracles, and I think that a lot of it is that if they take the power away from Christ, then they take it upon themselves. For instance, if a pastor teaches a follower that Christ can not heal them, that follower then becomes devoted to the pastor because they are the only beacon of hope for them and anything good that comes to them must have been wrought by the power of the pastor and not the power of God. Interesting. And finally, the IM gives us a little bit more clarity on the words "spurn" and "hiss," teaching, "In 3 Nephi 29 the words spurn and hiss are used to warn Book of Mormon readers in the latter days to not treat lightly the Lord's covenants with Israel. Spurn means 'to reject with disdain,' and hiss is 'to express contempt or disapprobation by hissing.' The use of such terms suggests that in the time of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon there will be a pronounced lack of understanding, belief, and reverence for both the reality of the Second Coming and the work of the Lord in gathering Israel (especially the tribe of Judah.)" Some interesting definitions there. Living where I do, Mormons are typically not viewed positively, at a minimum, we are usually met with disinterest, and many times with "WHAT?!" It is what it is and that's fine, but there is definitely a lack of understanding or even a desire to understand the work of the Lord. As I was reading this passage, I wondered if the "Book of Mormon" musical was irreverent concerning the work of the Lord, or if it did "treat lightly the Lord's covenants with Israel." A wildly popular play, even among some members, but still tragic in the sense that it was such a blatant blasphemy, but interesting how the Church used it to teach people the true meaning of the Book of Mormon, I even heard that they took out an ad in the playbill saying something like, "The book is better." Just another example of the teaching received by the Prophet Joseph Smith in D&C 10:43 when the Lord says, "I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil."

30:1-2 - There are only 2 verses in chapter 30, and, honestly, they seem like a repeat of the many exhortations from before, but the IM gives some very interesting insight on it, teaching, "At the conclusion of the Savior's visit among the Nephites, Mormon returned to what was the major theme of the Lord's instructions among the people- that in the last days the Gentiles will reject the teachings of the Lord and grow rapidly in wickedness to their destruction. The writings in 3 Nephi seem to have had a profound effect upon Mormon. In his final testimony, Mormon revisited the Savior's teachings and prophecies condemning the wicked and perverse and the pollutions and hypocrisies of the last days. In the last verse of 3 Nephi, Mormon offered the only antidote to these destructive conditions- come unto Jesus Christ and have faith in Him, repent of your sins, be baptized, and be filled with the Holy Ghost 'that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.'" I hadn't considered that Mormon was deeply affected by the prophecies concerning the last days, but I would assume that one reason why he was so deeply concerned is because he's watching us go through what his society went through. We know from reading previously that Mormon sorrows greatly because of the wickedness of his people the Nephites because they just wouldn't repent and be saved, so I could imagine that he had some of the same feelings regarding us. Righteous people don't want anyone else to suffer and will do whatever they can to prevent that suffering. They feel pain in their hearts when they see others suffering, especially if that suffering could have been prevented. Truly, Mormon's message in verse 2 is the only antidote to destruction, it's the only way to fill the hole in our hearts, through the atonement and power of Jesus Christ, we can all be saved, if we allow him to work miracles in our hearts and grow to become more like Him.