3 Nephi 21
A Sign Is Given
3 Nephi 21:1–2
1 And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place—that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion;
2 And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign—for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them;
Comments
These verses cannot be properly understood unless we remember that the break between them and the previous chapter is artificial. These verses were part of that discourse, and part of the original chapter.
Thus, we remember that Jesus had been describing the time of the gathering of the house of Israel. Those who heard them clearly understood that they had not yet been gathered, and so the next most logical question was when that would happen. That is the question these verses answer: “I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place.” Jesus does not give a date, but a sign. That would not be a problem for a people who had lived through the signs of his birth and death, and now clearly understood that the signs, when fulfilled, would mean that the event they foretold was also real, and imminent.
What was the sign of the beginning of the gathering? It was the things that Jesus told them “shall be made known unto the Gentiles.” The Book of Mormon is the sign.
3 Nephi 21:3–6
3 Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from them unto you;
4 For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel;
5 Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;
6 For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may show forth his power unto the Gentiles, for this cause that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel;
Comments
The most interesting aspect of the Nephite record of Christ’s words coming to the future generations of those who were “established in this land, and . . . set up as a free people,” was that they would receive that word through the Gentiles. That was unexpected. Why would the word of the gathering of the house of Israel come through a Gentile?
Jesus says that it is so that “He may show forth his power unto the Gentiles.” In Nephi1’s vision of the future of the world, he saw that the Gentiles would be invited into the covenant. Having the Book of Mormon come first to the Gentiles was an invitation for them to be adopted into the house of Israel by what they could learn from the New World testament of Christ by the New World house of Israel.
3 Nephi 21:7–8
7 And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things—it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel.
8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Comments
When the Book of Mormon comes to the remnant of the house of Israel, those whom the modern Church calls Lamanites, that is the sign that the gathering is beginning. Those will be days of fulfilling prophecy, and for that reason Jesus reprises Isaiah 52:15, which he had quoted only nine verses earlier in 3 Nephi 20:45: “kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
3 Nephi 21:9–10
9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.
10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
Comments
This prophecy can be read in two ways. The first is that “a man” is literally a single man. That would clearly mean Joseph Smith would be the one to bring the record to light to provide its teachings. He would be persecuted, but Yahweh would protect him to be able to deliver the message. Of course, that happened.
The second reading is that “a man” is generic. It could apply to all of us who, believing, share our beliefs and attempt to spread the gospel. We too may be preserved in our efforts.
Of course, Joseph’s martyrdom declares that the divine protection covers a specific mission, and does not assure a life free from harm, difficulties, and eventually death.
3 Nephi 21:11
11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.
Comments
This is a transitionary verse which moves from the quotation of a positive prophecy of the future state of those who believe, to the future state of those who will not believe. The reference to what Moses said is in Genesis 17: 14: “And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”
It sets up the next quotation of scripture (verses 12–21 of this chapter), which quotes Micah 5:8–15.
3 Nephi 21:12–21
12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.
14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;
15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;
16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;
17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;
18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.
19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.
20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;
21 And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
Comments
These verses include quotes from Micah 5:8–15. Verse 12 adds the phrase “my people who” in order to include the audience in the prophecy that was given in the Old World. Micah was roughly contemporaneous to Isaiah, and his teachings would have been in the plates of brass.
There are some minor differences from Micah, the most important of which is that verses 19 and 20 are inserted, and do not appear in Micah.
In the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, there was a chapter break at this point, even though the sermon clearly continues. Orson Pratt combined the sermon, which is what we modern readers would expect. The original break appears to have been triggered by the end of the longer quoted passage from Micah.
A New Jerusalem Shall Be Built
3 Nephi 21:22–25
22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;
23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.
24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.
25 And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst.
Comments
Verses 22–25 continue to refer to the Gentiles. After discussing the fate of the unbelieving Gentiles, Jesus turns to the faithful Gentiles. They will be those who assist in the gathering. They will assist as the united house of Israel builds a New Jerusalem, which is a symbolic center for the New World gathered, just as the Jerusalem in the Old World serves as the symbolic center for the house of Israel in the Old World.
This assistance reprises Isaiah 49:22–23: “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.”
Nephi1 and his brother Jacob both quoted these verses with the emphasis on the way the Gentiles would aid the house of Israel (see 1 Nephi 21:22–23, and 2 Nephi 6:6–7 where Jacob is teaching). Thus, this allusion also serves to underscore what Nephi1 and Jacob taught.
3 Nephi 21:26–29
26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.
27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.
28 Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance.
29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.
Comments
The gathering will include all of the house of Israel and will commence after the publication of the Book of Mormon, which is the sign of the beginning of the process. Jesus had indicated that he would protect the “man” who taught these things (see verses 9–10 of this chapter). This is where that promise that could be read as a prophecy about an individual is clearly expanded to all believers. In this important work, Jesus declared: “I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward,” quoting Isaiah 52:12, which he had quoted more fully in 3 Nephi 20:42.
This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition.
