The Doctrine of Christ
Book of Mormon Notes - Wednesday, January 3, 2024, 3 Nephi 11 (continued)
After Jesus introduced Himself and declared the fulfillment of His mission, the whole multitude afell to the earth. I see in this event the direct fulfillment of Lehi’s vision (and Nephi’s vision) of the Tree of Life:
And now I, Nephi, do not speak aall the words of my father.
But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the arod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. (1 Nephi 8:29-30)
Lehi and Nephi saw in vision and recorded symbols that point to events during the Book of Mormon timeline that also point forward to events in the latter days. Surely the response of the multitude to Christ’s appearance was natural and appropriate, and it is also foreshadowed by the response of King Benjamin’s people to the message from the angel that he delivered:
And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the aangel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had bfallen to the earth, for the cfear of the Lord had come upon them.
And they had aviewed themselves in their own bcarnal state, even cless than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the datoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be epurified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who fcreated heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men. (Mosiah 4:1-2)
In connection with these events, consider the experiences of Moses, Isaiah, Paul, Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah, and the Prophet Joseph Smith:
And the apresence of God withdrew from Moses, that his bglory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he cfell unto the earth. (Moses 1:9)
and
¶ Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)
and
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:4)
and
And as I said unto you, as they were going about arebelling against God, behold, the bangel of the Lord cappeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a dcloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them. (Mosiah 27:11-12)
and
He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy? (JS-History 1:20)
The LDS Topical Guide footnote for elaborating upon the meaning of the multitude’s reaction to the Savior’s appearance to them points to reverence. Although I am sure that the whole multitude afell to the earth out of reverence, I believe that they also fell to the earth for the same reasons that Joseph Smith, Alma the younger, the sons of Mosiah, Paul, Isaiah, and Moses fell to the earth. These are also the reasons why those who held fast to the rod of iron in Lehi’s vision (and Nephi’s vision) fell down and partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and why the whole multitude of those survivors who witnessed the Lord’s condescension from Heaven and His introduction to them also afell to the earth.
The multitude fell to the earth, but the Lord invited them to arise:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may athrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may bfeel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the cGod of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. (3 Nephi 11:14)
This, in my mind, is also what the Temple is all about. It is significant that the survivors were gathered around the Temple and speaking to each other about Jesus Christ and the signs that had been given when Jesus Christ Himself appeared unto them and invited them to come unto Him. The Lord revealed Himself unto them, making known His name, His true identity as the Light of the World, the cGod of Israel, and the God of the whole dearth, and the fulfillment of His mission.
After the people went forth one by one to touch and to know Jesus Christ, and after they shouted Hosanna and praised God, they again fell down, this time not so much out of fear, shock, or surprise as in reverence, awe, and respect. When Jesus called Nephi to come forth from the crowd, he also kneeled in reverence and worship, kissing the Lord’s feet.
The first thing that the Lord did after inviting each person to come unto Him and feel and know Him personally, was to call Nephi and others and to empower them to baptize. Jesus taught the correct manner of baptism and commanded that there should be no disputations among them concerning the points of His doctrine. Our Savior’s doctrine is clear and simple, but one might reasonably wonder why such a clear and simple doctrine would also require admonitions that there be no disputations about that clear and simple doctrine.
In the meridian of time as well as in the last days, disputations have sometimes arisen regarding the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Ironically, even some who claim special knowledge of and access to the doctrine of Christ even cause disputations regarding the doctrine of Christ, which is already something that is directly counter to the doctrine of Christ. Our Savior Jesus Christ denounces the spirit of contention. The spirit of contention is not of God, but of the devil. The devil is the father of contention who stirs up the hearts of men to contend with anger one against another. The Lord does not stir up the hearts of men to content with anger, but instead commands that such things ashould be done away.
Can you think of anything in our modern world that has been set up in order to cause contention and to stir up the hearts of men with anger? I’m sure that we could make a very long list of such things. What philosophies, ideologies, personalities, politicians or technologies aim at contention and stirring up anger? These things must be abolished and give way to Jesus Christ’s true doctrine:
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my adoctrine.
And this is my adoctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear brecord of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the cHoly 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.
And whoso believeth in me, and is abaptized, the same shall be bsaved; and they are they who shall cinherit the kingdom of God.
And whoso believeth not in me, and is not abaptized, shall be damned.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso abelieveth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him bwith fire and with the cHoly Ghost.
And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the aHoly Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are bone.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and abecome as a blittle child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little achild, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my adoctrine, and whoso bbuildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the cgates of hell shall not prevail against them.
And whoso shall adeclare 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 bsandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth. (3 Nephi 11:31-41)