Introduction to continuing revelation

Reading: 3 Nephi 8-11

These are great chapters.  There is excitement, destruction, darkness, light, repentance, everything you want in a good drama.  When I read through these chapters I was impressed that the concept of continuing revelation was introduced here.  Up until this point, the continuing revelation had much to do with 'repent and stick to the same sacrificial ordinances.'  There was the Law or Commandments given to Moses, and laws having to do with how to carry out the sacrifices.  Any addition to the laws came from the Pharisees or others who took it upon themselves to add to the law, but the changes did not come from the Lord.  But in these chapters, the Lord wakes the people up, in a major way, to get their attention and speaks to them, telling them to repent and get ready for new revelations.

Chapter 8 tells of the major destruction that occurred.  This destruction was so extensive it changed the face of the land.  Then there was darkness for the space of three days.  This wasn't just any darkness, but a "thick darkness" where the ability to even make light was lost.

In chapter 9, the voice of Christ is heard by the people telling them who and what had been destroyed, but tells those who remained:

 13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
 14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

I was struck by this because the remained of the people are not perfect.  They were more righteous than those who were destroyed, but still had some things to repent of.  This, to me, is a hopeful discovery and just goes to show that the Lord is interested in giving us a lot of chances to prove ourselves, to repent and become better.

Then the introduction of continuing revelation, by way of abolishing the Mosaic Law:

 18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
 19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
 20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Here is your first revelation straight from the Lord: Do not sacrifice animals as your fathers have done for thousands of years before you, but offer a more personal and perhaps more difficult sacrifice of your broken heart and contrite spirit.  What this means to me is, not only is this the first of many revelations to come, it is a revelation that commands people to listen for more revelation: to follow Him humbly and submit your will to His.

The voice of Christ continues is Chapter 10 and gives one of my favorite visuals:

 5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.
 6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

Many people think this is about the gathering of Israel, and it definitely applies.  But this has always been a more personal plea to me.  If I come to Him, he will gather me under his wing and protect me.  I picture baby chicks who explore away from their mother, but multiple times a day, she gathers them in to make sure they are safe.  But in order to be safe they have to listen to their mother and look to her and run to her.  Christ is telling us the same thing: if we look to Him, listen to Him and run to Him, He offers protection, peace, security and a haven.  AND He will do this often!  OFTEN!  We need it often.

Then the "crowning event of The Book of Mormon" occurs in Chapter 11 (read it all), where Christ comes to visit the Nephites who had repented and were faithful.  In Sunday School, this verse was pointed out after reading that he came to them.

13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:
 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.
 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.

The Savior let the people feel his hands and feet as a testimony that He is who He is. And He did it one by one.  Someone in class said there were thousands of people there and if they each took 10 seconds to feel His hands and feet, He would have been doing only that for over 7 hours.  This is a representation of how the gospel is a personal gospel.  In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have many programs and group activities and there are many discussions about the church as a group, but it really comes down to how each person comes to know Jesus Christ.  This event is a strong symbol of how the Lord will give us His time as we individually need it.

The first doctrine Christ teaches is that of repentance and the authority and method of baptism and as such are supremely important.  The first step in a having a broken heart and contrite spirit is to follow His example and be baptized, submitting our will to His.  If we do so, we will receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost, the Father and the Son all have the same purpose: to help you in this life. If you take on His will, here is His promise:

 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.

Not bad.