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Annotations |
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Jesus Christ did show himself unto the people of Nephi, as
the multitude were gathered together in the land Bountiful, and did minister
unto them; and on this wise did he show himself unto them.
Comprising chapters 11 through 26.
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Chapter 11
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1 And now it came to pass that there were a great
multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple
which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one
with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change
which had taken place.
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2 And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ,
of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.
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3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing
one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they
cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they
heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice;
nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them
that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame
that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and
did cause their hearts to burn.
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4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and
they understood it not.
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5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and
did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound
thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound
came.
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6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice
which they heard; and it said unto them:
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7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.
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3 Ne 11:7-8
So these folks, “were also conversing about this Jesus Christ” (verse 2) when
they hear a voice so amazing that, “it did pierce them to the very soul, and
did cause their hearts to burn.”
The voice tells them, “Behold my Beloved Son.”
And then they don’t get who the guy is appearing to them?
Keep in mind that these are the more faithful inhabitants since the wicked
had just been destroyed.
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8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their
eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of
heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the
midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and
they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it
meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:7-8 above
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9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and
spake unto the people, saying:
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10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified
shall come into the world.
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11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world;
and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and
have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the
which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the
beginning.
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12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these
words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it
had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them
after his ascension into heaven.
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More falling to the earth out of astonishment.
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13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them
saying:
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14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your
hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my
hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the
God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
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15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and
thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his
hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until
they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their
hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of
whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
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In 3 Ne 17:25 we learn that there were 2,500 persons in
this multitude, and this verse tells us all lined up to feel Jesus. If each
person took only 10 seconds on average to thrust their hands into his side
and feel the prints of the nails on his hands and his feet, this would have
taken 6.9 hours. On the one hand it seems like a mere 10 seconds each would
make the experience like a monotonous and tedious activity sort of like
assembly line work. On the other hand, even at 10 seconds per person, would
the nearly seven hours of everybody waiting as each person looked and touched
be worth the time?
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16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for
themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
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17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And
they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
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18 And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi
was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.
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19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself
before the Lord and did kiss his feet.
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20 And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he
arose and stood before him.
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21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that
ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.
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3 Ne 11:21-26
In 3 Ne 7:23-25 we learn that in the 33rd year since the sign of the Savior’s
birth, Nephi and others he had ordained had already been baptizing those who
repented. But these verses would indicate that Nephi didn’t have the power to
baptize or know how to perform the ordinance until after Jesus appeared and
gave them this power and instructions. Which way is it?
Also of note is that the baptismal wording in “the most correct of any book
on earth” (Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon Introduction, sixth paragraph) is
different than the baptismal wording required today:
“Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen” (3 Ne
11:25).
vs.
“Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen” (D&C
20:73).
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22 And again the Lord called others, and said unto them
likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On
this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:21-26 above
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23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins
through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise
shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in
my name shall ye baptize them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:21-26 above
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24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say,
calling them by name, saying:
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:21-26 above
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25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize
you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:21-26 above
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26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come
forth again out of the water.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:21-26 above
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27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for
behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father
and I are one.
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28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye
baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto
been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of
my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
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29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the
spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of
contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one
with another.
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30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts
of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such
things should be done away.
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31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare
unto you my doctrine.
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32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which
the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the
Father beareth record of me, and the Holy 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.
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33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same
shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
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3 Ne 11:33-40
So according to this, Jesus declared “ye must repent, and become as a little
child, and be baptized in my name, or you can in nowise inherit the kingdom
of God . . . And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it
for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil.”
Yet, some think the Church declared more or less than this when the Church said
it was “revealed” to the prophet that children of a parent in a same-sex marriage
should be forbidden from receiving any LDS priesthood ordinance including
baptism, according to President Russell M. Nelson (Deseret News and CBS News).
But then, the LDS Church announced in April 2019 that someone had repented of this revelation, so now these children can be baptized (Church News).
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34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized,
shall be damned.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my
doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me
believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me,
for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the
Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father,
and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as
a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these
things.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be
baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise
inherit the kingdom of God.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my
doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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40 And whoso shall declare 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 sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand
open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
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Annotation for 3 Ne 11:33-40 above
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41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the
words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.
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