3 Nephi 23

3 Nephi 23

Commission to Search the Scriptures

3 Nephi 23:1–3

1 And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.

2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.

3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.

Comments

Jesus has recently quoted extensively from Isaiah, and therefore it is appropriate that he reiterate that “ye ought to search these things.” Surely, we can take the phrase “great are the words of Isaiah” as applying to the whole book, but in the present context, it was Isaiah’s prophecies of the gathering that were the most important. Even though his speaking of the gathering was particularly important for scattered Israel, they also speak of the role of the Gentiles in the last days, therefore: “he must speak also to the Gentiles.”

Jesus affirms their value by declaring that “all things that he spake have been and shall be.”

3 Nephi 23:4–5

4 Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have told you; and according to the time and the will of the Father they shall go forth unto the Gentiles.

5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things.

Comments

Jesus has been speaking of a gathering of Israel that was important information for those in Bountiful, but was nothing that would occur in their lifetimes, nor of any descendants they would ever know. What did it mean for them?

It meant that they were part of God’s plan, and that their current part was much more easily understood: “And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things.”

Although this admonition to repent and be baptized is the succinct summary of Christ’s gospel, it clearly included more that they should learn to do. Therefore, they were to search the prophets, for the prophets knew of the lessons that the people should learn.

Admonition to Write Additional Prophecies

3 Nephi 23:6–13

6 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he said unto them again, after he had expounded all the scriptures unto them which they had received, he said unto them: Behold, other scriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not.

7 And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept.

8 And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said:

9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?

10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?

12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.

Comments

Jesus tells the people that he wants to augment their scriptures, so he has Nephi₃ bring them. He declares, “other scriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not.” One way to read that phrase is that they are supposed to write scripture that they have not written. The other way, and the way that explains what is to come, is that they are to write things they do not have. In other words, “other scriptures I would that ye should write, that [ye do not have].”

One of the reasons it is read as a fault of recording is that the first example is something that they neglected to write. It is not uncommon to suppose that they had neglected anything Samuel had said, but that is not what Jesus says. He specifically says that it was the part about “many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minster unto them.”

They corrected that error. However, Jesus continues. 3 Nephi 24:1 states: “And it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given unto Malachi.” These were words that they “had not,” or didn’t have.

Quotation and Commentary on Malachi 3–4

3 Nephi 23:14

14 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had expounded all the scriptures in one, which they had written, he commanded them that they should teach the things which he had expounded unto them.

Comments

This verse was originally part of the next chapter. Orson Pratt moved it to this chapter to allow him to make our chapter 24 more tightly correlate to Malachi 3.