The Sensitive and Deep Feelings of Jesus

Book of Mormon Notes - Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 3 Nephi 17, Part 2

This chapter is so beautiful and profound that no human mind can fathom, nor human heart imagine, nor human language express even the smallest fraction of what Jesus did and taught during this time with the ancient Nephites at the Temple in Bountiful. Nevertheless, I invoke Milton’s muse, hoping not only to justify the ways of God to men, but also to point my readers toward the Light of the World, the Example of Jesus Christ, as recorded in passages that were unknown to Milton, and unknown unto the rest of the world until after 1830.

As I do so, I am reminded of Howard W. Hunter’s insightful and true observation:

"The world is full of people who are willing to tell us, 'Do as I say.' Surely we have no lack of advice givers on about every subject. But we have so few who are prepared to say, 'Do as I do.' And, of course, only One in human history could rightfully and properly make that declaration. History provides many examples of good men and women, but even the best of mortals are flawed in some way or another. None could serve as a perfect model nor as an infallible pattern to follow, however well-intentioned they might be.

Only Christ can be our ideal, our 'bright and morning star' (Rev. 22:16). Only he can say without any reservation, 'Follow me, learn of me, [and] do the things you have seen me do. Drink of my water and eat of my bread. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the law and the light. Look unto me and ye shall live. Love one another as I have loved you.' (see Matt. 11:29; 16:24; John 4:13–14; 6:35, 51; 7:37; 13:34; 14:6; 3 Ne. 15:9; 27:21).

As our ideal, our Bright and Morning Star, let’s follow Him and learn of Him as He teaches, heals, and blesses His disciples, and especially as He ministers to the little children and prays to His Father.

Can you imagine if our Savior came among us and ministered to us, and then told us that He had to leave us? How would you feel? Can you imagine that when He perceived our weakness, He would also command us to go to our homes and ^aponder upon the things that He had taught us?

Even Pascal asserted that all of mankind’s problems arise from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone (an assertion upon which I’ve meditated at some length beginning earlier in this same Substack). One may profitably debate with Pascal. But when Jesus Christ offers us the gift of His words and example, commands us to go to our homes and ponder His teachings, and invites us to ask of the Father, in His name, in order to understand and ^bprepare our minds for His return, it is a commandment and an invitation that, if obeyed, will result in promised blessings.

If we could imagine Jesus Christ with us - and He is, as Paul taught the Athenians from Mars Hill (Acts 17:27-28), never far from us - might we, like our ancient Nephite friends, look steadfastly upon Him in tears, yearning for Him to tarry a little longer with us?

Our Lord was filled with compassion for His yearning people, and particularly for those who were ^asick, lame, blind, halt, maimed, ^bleprous, withered, deaf, and afflicted in any manner, and He healed each one of them. His yearning to bless them met their yearning to be blessed, because their faith was sufficient. The combined faith and unity of the people was the catalyst not only for the Lord’s miraculous healing of the sick and the afflicted, but especially for the miracles that followed. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, is not our faith in Christ also the catalyst for the blessings and the miracles that we need in our own lives?

I believe so. But I also feel the pain and yearning of the father of an afflicted son who, when the Lord taught Him that all things are possible to him that believes, tearfully and desperately responded: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Jesus Christ mercifully responded to this man’s plea, and He mercifully responded to the plea of the family members and friends of the afflicted among the Nephites. Such overflowing mercy and compassion elicited from the multitude the only proper response: they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at the feet of Jesus and worship Him, ^akissing His feet and bathing His feet with their tears.

This beautiful scene of deep gratitude and true worship before the Lord reminds me of Elder Neal A. Mawell’s poignant observation:

[The Lord] rejoices in our genuine goodness and achievement, but any assessment of where we stand in relation to Him tells us that we do not stand at all! We kneel!

With tear-stained feet Jesus turned His attention to the rising generation. He had ministered to, healed, and blessed those to whom He had been sent, and their faith in Christ then called forth even greater blessings. Jesus commanded that their ^alittle children should be brought. Consistent with His ministry in the coasts of Judea by Jordan where He invited the little ^achildren to come unto Him in order to bless them (Mark 10), Jesus invited the little children among the Nephites to come unto Him. The people brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about Jesus. Jesus stood in the midst of the children as the multitude retreated. Jesus then commanded the multitude to ^akneel down upon the ground, upon which Jesus groaned within Himself.

In this portion of Mormon’s record we find some of the most exquisite descriptions of the deep and poignant emotions of our Savior’s perfect and sensitive soul. We would do well to consider why only after He was left in the midst of the children, and only after the people had knelt down upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself. The faith of the parents and adults among the multitude was sufficient for our Lord to manifest great miracles of healing, but the purity, submissiveness, meekness, humility, and faith of the little children who surrounded Him enabled our Lord to manifest His character, power, and glory on a much higher level.

In the midst of such a faithful and receptive audience, why did Jesus groan within Himself? Why was He ^atroubled by the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel in this particular moment? I don’t think that it is accidental that Jesus’ overflowing love for innocent little children was accompanied by His Divine groan. Even in His omniscience and omnipotence, Jesus Christ knelt upon the earth. He prayed to His Father with words ineffable. What did He pray? What did the people hear? This was their testimony:

And after this manner do they bear record: The ^aeye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;

And no ^atongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. (3 Nephi 17:16-17)

The people were overcome with joy unspeakable, and even Jesus Himself declared that His joy was full. In the infinite depths of His Divine soul wherein He groaned, mourning because of the wickedness of the House of Israel, Jesus also rejoiced because of the faith and righteousness of those who were present with Him on this occasion.

In fact, His joy was so complete that it overflowed in a remarkable way:

And when he had said these words, he ^awept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and ^bblessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

And when he had done this he wept again; (3 Nephi 17:21-22)

Only a short time before His visit among the Nephites, Jesus Christ had suffered and wept in Gethsemane, sweating blood from every pore. He had cried out from the Cross in incomprehensible agony. But now, after His Resurrection, Jesus Christ shed tears of joy. Like His Father, The God Who Weeps as the Givens attest, Jesus Christ is not just a God of body, parts, and passions, but also a God of deep and poignant emotions. In fact, He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the jealous God (“jealous” from the Hebrew qannah, meaning “possessing sensitive and deep feelings.”)

After weeping and blessing the children, Jesus then commanded the multitude to behold their little ones:

And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and ^aencircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

And the multitude did see and ^ahear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children. (3 Nephi 17:24-25)

A civilization that does not love, respect, bless, and protect innocent little children, whether inside or outside of the maternal womb, cannot long endure and will inevitably incur the wrath of Almighty God. Our Lord’s groans will translate into consuming fire upon anyone who harms innocent little children. Our Lord’s approval and tears of joy will be reserved only for those who, like these ancient Nephites, suffer the little children to come unto Him and forbid them not.