3 Nephi 26
3 Nephi 26:1–2
1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto them, both great and small.
2 And he saith: These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations.
Comments
The modern chapter division separates these verses from their important context. It was done to make the Malachi chapters match the King James Version chapters and verses. However, these verses serve to confirm that the intent of Jesus’s examination of the Nephite scriptures was to add what they did not have. One of those things was the fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecy that the dead would rise from their graves and be seen, an event that would have happened between the beginning of the year when the destructions occurred and now. This is because they were a witness that the destructions signaled Christ’s death, which also signaled that he would rise from the dead.
The important verse is verse 2, which closes the adding of scripture by noting that Jesus had given them scripture which they “had not with [them].”
3 Nephi 26:3–5
3 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;
4 And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
5 If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the world began.
Comments
The phrase “the elements should melt with fervent heat” echoes the same phrase in 2 Peter 3:10. The phrase “earth should be wrapt together as a scroll” echoes Isaiah 34:4: “the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll.” These are descriptions of the final days, and therefore fit the description that Jesus “did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory.”
That coming in glory will also signal the beginning of the final judgment, where the dead would “stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.” As with Alma2’s doctrine of restoration, good on earth is restored to good in Heaven, and evil to a “resurrection of damnation.”
This was the end of the chapter in the original Book of Mormon. Orson Pratt moved these verses to the beginning of the next chapter to be able to preserve the chapter and verses for the quoted Malachi chapters (see 3 Nephi, chapters 24–25 in our current edition).
Mormon Only Writes What Is Permitted
3 Nephi 26:6–10
6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;
7 But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.
8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.
Comments
Verses 6–13 are an insertion into the text. In these verses, Mormon the narrator is replaced by Mormon the editor, the one who selected the texts to be recorded. He notes that it is impossible to write everything that happened on his plates, but there is a more complete account on the plates of Nephi. When Mormon uses the term plates of Nephi, he is referring to what we call the large plates of Nephi. He doesn’t mention the small plates of Nephi except in Words of Mormon, where he specifically introduces them.
Mormon notes that he has had to make selections from the material available to him and reiterates that his guiding principle in making those selections was “to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles.” The statement that they would come from the Gentiles indicates that he knew, as he wrote, something of how the Book of Mormon would come forth in the latter days.
Verses 9 and 10 speak to those future descendants of the New World house of Israel who would receive the Book of Mormon.
3 Nephi 26:11–13
11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people.
12 Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.
13 Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them.
Comments
Mormon began this discussion of his writing by noting that he couldn’t write the hundredth part of what the plates of Nephi contained. At the end of the insertion, he notes that he wanted to write more but the Lord constrained him. It is important to note that Mormon said: “And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.” There were things he was commanded to write in addition to those things that he was not to write.
When he says that he makes an end of his sayings, he is declaring that the insertion of his own thoughts as the editor or historian are ended, and he is returning to his role as the narrator of events.
The Savior Continues to Minister
3 Nephi 26:14
14 And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter.
Comments
At the beginning of the second day of his visit, Jesus had miraculously provided bread and wine and more clearly taught the Sacrament. He then spent time explaining the goal of the gospel, explained by describing the ultimate ending of this earth life and the meaning that this life holds for the next.
After that explanation which included both scripture they had, and scripture they did not have, Mormon explains that there were things he could not write (verse 11 of this chapter).
As Mormon returns to Jesus’s actions of the second day, he gives another event that he could describe without the specifics of the words. The children had their tongues loosened, “and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things.”
This was an evident miracle. We do not know the age of the children involved, but it was young enough that they would not have known the things which they spoke, and they probably would not have been capable of speaking the more sophisticated language that is implied.
3 Nephi 26:15
15 And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven—the second time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the Father, after having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the dead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father—
Comments
At the end of the day, Jesus repeats the healing of the sick and even raised one from the dead. While he had performed healing miracles on the first day as well, there were new people the second day, and they too deserved, by their faith, to be healed.
Then, having accomplished these things, Jesus “ascended unto the Father.”
The Name of the Church Revealed
3 Nephi 26:16–21
16 Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the multitude gathered themselves together, and they both saw and heard these children; yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; and the things which they did utter were forbidden that there should not any man write them.
17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.
19 And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.
20 And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.
21 And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ.
Comments
The beginning of the third day followed the model of the second day. The twelve taught the doctrine of Christ: repentance and baptism. After having their God physically present with them for two days, it is easy to imagine that the people were both teachable and anxious to accept the doctrine of Christ. Therefore, even more were baptized.
Less clear in these verses is a shift between verses 16 and 17. In verse 16, Mormon is describing the third day’s visit; then he stops.
In verse 17, we pick up on the aftermath of Christ’s visit. The apostles continued to preach and to baptize. This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition, and is a mildly unfortunate division, because 3 Nephi 27:1–22, which originally ended this chapter, really is part of the discussion of the twelve after Christ ascended after the third day. If there were to have been an artificial division, it would have been better to have begun at verse 17 of this chapter in order to keep the story of the twelve together.
