3 Nephi 8-10

3 Nephi 8

5 And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.

If you do the math, you can see this great storm was no coincidence. On the other side of the world, Jesus Christ was crucified, and the earth was mourning. Prophecy to the Nephites was being fulfilled.

The Nephite lands weren't the only ones quaking. In the New Testament, Matthew recorded that the earth was quaking and mourning over in Jerusalem.

Matthew 27:50, 51, 54

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

The people in the Americas experienced a longer, more intense and violent version of this earthquake & storm. The Book of Mormon tells us there was sharp lightening and thunder that shook the whole earth. Earthquakes flattened buildings. The whole city of Zarahemla caught fire. The city of Moroni sunk into the depths of the sea. A mountain fell on top of the city of Moronihah and buried it. The storm was so great that “the whole face of the land was changed (v. 12).” Can you imagine??

Obviously the people in the city of Zarahemla, Moroni, and Moronihah were all killed in the destruction, but “there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were many in them who were slain (v 15).”

This all took place in about three hours, and then everything was still and a thick, impenetrable darkness settled over the land.

I hiked with my family to Timpanogos Caves a couple weeks ago. These awesome caves were discovered in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s in the mountains near my home and they are now a national monument and the Park Rangers give cool tours inside. At one point during the tour, they turn off all the lights and let you experience complete and utter darkness – a darkness that is hard to achieve or replicate above ground - a darkness that doesn’t have one speck of light, which means your eyes will never ever adjust and you can’t see your hand right in front of your face.

THAT is what this darkness was. 

20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

I don't think God sent the darkness to be cruel or vengeful - there is always some symbolic or literal purpose in His works. The Son of God, the Savior of the World, the LIGHT of the World had just been crucified. I think the total darkness was a direct parallel to the spiritual/emotional darkness that the world would experience without the light of Jesus Christ.

3 Nephi 9

In this complete and utter darkness, a voice is heard by everyone.

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.

18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.

Pretty powerful! The voice of Christ explains that all the wicked cities were destroyed in the storm in order “to hide their iniquities and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.” We often ask how God could let bad things happen to good people, and I don’t think we will know all the answers in this life, but this at least illustrates that God is fully aware of and concerned for the pain that is caused to his children. He goes on to say:

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 wanted to highlight these two verses because of two really important principles they teach. First – Christ heals. I mean, imagine what these people have just been through. Basically they were in the middle of an apocalyptic/Armageddon type of storm where cities were burned and flooded and buried, and thousands of people died. The survivors are wounded, and mourning, and frightened, and just sitting and waiting in pitch blackness. But the Savior heals them – you will see. He has healed me from all sorts of emotional pain, and I know He can for anyone.

Second principle—Christ accepts anyone and everyone who follows Him. It’s an open invitation to everyone, and He hopes everyone will accept it.

3 Nephi 10

After three days the darkness disperses, and the earth stops quaking. The crying and mourning of the people turns into gratitude and praise to the Lord, and they are about to have the most sacred and wonderful experience of all the people in the Book of Mormon (stay tuned for chapter 11!). They say the light comes after the darkest point of night – this is a perfect example.

I just want to point out something important I learned from this chapter. It’s usually difficult to understand why the Lord lets awful, violent things happen. I mean, in this case they mostly happened to the “bad guys” which is a lot easier to accept, but it can still be hard to picture God doing or allowing these things. But then you have to realize –wait, God chose prophets to warn, perform miracles, preach, reprimand, and prophesy over and over and over again. And the people made a conscious decision to ignore them. It says in this chapter:

11 And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.

12 And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared—

 14 And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.

In other words, none of this was a surprise – or it shouldn’t have been. God sent prophets to warn the people and try to get them to change so many times… and eventually God had to make good on his word and fulfill the prophecies that the wicked people were deliberately snubbing.
 

3 Nephi 6-7

3 Nephi 6

The Nephites and Lamanites are in a state of total peace, “and they began again to prosper and to wax great… and there was great order in the land” (v4). 

Mormon (the background narrator/summarizer) makes an interesting comment that “there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from prospering continually, except they should fall into transgression.” (v5) How often are we the cause of our own destruction? 

Within just a few short years, the people start being “lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceedingly great riches” (vs. 10) and they start being jerks about it and persecuting the people who are not rich. Not everyone was that way… but tragically many people within the church were that way.

 13 Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God.

 14 And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

 15 Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.

 18 Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did willfully rebel against God.

This makes me sad – sad that the people had experienced so many blessings and so much help from God, and within a few short years chose to ignore it. It particularly makes me sad because this could so easily happen to anyone. I think this happens a lot.

And to follow sad news with really sad news, some of the people who are seeking power start up the “secret combinations” that brought on the awful war with the robbers that just recently ended. This secret brotherhood begins to kill the men of God who preach of Christ, and their ultimate objective is to destroy the government and establish one of their men as king over the land.

3 Nephi 7

The new band of secret brethren succeeds in murdering the chief judge, but instead of one of their men becoming king as they hoped, the government dissolves completely and the people fraction into various tribes. Whoa!

The majority of the people have become wicked now, when less than 10 years ago almost everyone believed faithfully in God. Nearly everyone rejects the prophets, but that doesn’t keep Nephi from trying!

17…Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.

18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.

I think these verses teach us that it isn’t enough to believe – you have to change because of your beliefs. These people couldn’t help but believe because Nephi’s faith and miracles were so strong, but it just made them angry because they had chosen to live contrary to what they knew. That reminds me of James 2:19 in the Bible:  “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” So I guess the first question for each of us is “What do I believe?” but an even more important question is “How do my beliefs change me or direct my choices?"

3 Nephi 4-5

3 Nephi 4

The war begins! –the robbers march out of their mountain hiding places and attack the Nephites full-force. The Nephites are prepared, and through their faith in God they win the battle—although not without a great and terrible loss.

And the Gadianton robbers aren’t giving up. Their next plan of attack is to camp outside the fortifications of the Nephites (remember how all the Nephites have gathered together to one city) and lay siege outside the walls until the Nephites have to come out and fight because they are out of provisions.

Well, this is just stupid of the robbers, because the Nephites are prepared with years and years' worth of provisions, and the robbers have nothing. So the robbers—who are laying siege outside the city—begin to starve to death, and “the Nephites were continually marching out by day and by night, and falling upon their armies, and cutting them off by thousands and by tens of thousands.” (vs 21)

So the robbers abandon the siege plans pretty quickly, and their leader Zemnarihah orders them to retreat northward. The Nephite armies chase after them, surround them, and conquer them – this is the battle to end the war. Every last robber is either killed or taken prisoner.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.

3 Nephi 5

It is a time of celebration and peace among the Nephites, and “there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled.” (vs. 1)

The Nephites take all the robber-prisoners and preach the gospel to them, and before long the “secret combinations” of the robbers are eradicated from among the people. Hurrah!

Then the second half of the chapter can get a little confusing, because Mormon starts talking. Remember that Mormon is basically the “historian” who is writing a summary from piles and piles and years and years of Nephite historical/religious records. That's why this is called the Book of Mormon (get it?). He isn’t just a historian. He is a man of God: “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.” (vs 13) 

In the next chapter he returns back to the story he has been summarizing-- right after this great war between the Nephites and the Gadianton Robbers.  

3 Nephi 2-3

3 Nephi 2

A total of 15 years pass in this chapter. Many of the Nephites stop believing the signs they had seen of Christ’s birth, and the Gadianton Robbers who live in the mountains are gaining a lot of power and influence. The Nephites and Lamanites team up against the Gadianton Robbers, but the war is intense and “the sword of destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of their iniquity.” (v19)

3 Nephi 3

The governor of the Gadianton Robbers, Giddianhi, writes a letter to Lachoneus, the governor of the combined Nephites/Lamanites, telling him that if the Nephites/Lamanites join the robbers they will be equal like brothers, but if not then the robbers will attack and wipe them out.

The letter is manipulative and subtly condescending. Notice how Giddianhi attempts to get Lachoneus to question his motives, his abilities, and his beliefs. I’ve highlighted some of his manipulative wording

2 Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defense of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.

3 And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word—Go down upon the Nephites and destroy them...

5 Therefore I have written this epistle, sealing it with mine own hand, feeling for your welfare, because of your firmness in that which ye believe to be right, and your noble spirit in the field of battle...

9 And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us.

10 And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.

This is a great example of how anything can be twisted to be “good” or “bad” to suit someone’s purposes. We have an important responsibility to analyze and determine what is truly right and pleasing to God, and what is wrong and only motivated by the selfish desires of man.

Lachoneus was a strong and “just man, and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber; therefore he did not hearken to the epistle of Giddianhi, the governor of the robbers, but he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them.” (vs. 12)

I think there is a key phrase in here teaching us how to handle people who try to persuade us to do or believe contrary to what we know is right – “he did not hearken.” And secondly, he "[cried] unto the Lord for strength." 

And so Lachoneus and his people stuck to their guns (kinda literally) and prepared to be attacked. Lachoneus sent a proclamation to all his people to gather together in one city—all together—so they could entrench and defend themselves.

3 Nephi 1

3 Nephi 1

You know the Christmas story in the Bible – you know how the shepherds near Bethlehem and wise men from the East saw the star proclaiming the birth of the Christ child and went to see the little babe. But did you know that far across the ocean to the west, the people in the ancient Americas also saw the same star? And in 3 Nephi 1, we read the story! The Nephites actually had 2 signs from the heavens – 1 was the star which you already know about, and the other was a day and night and day with no darkness, as prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite.

Back in the book of Helaman, Samuel prophesied that the sign of Christ’s birth would occur in 5 years, and the people haven’t counted exactly which day Samuel made the prophecy, and now the non-believers have started to say that the time has passed.

5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.

 6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.

 7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

 8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

I feel like this is a classic predicament of believers in any point of history – holding on to faith with a firm resolve, even though most of the people around them don’t believe and are even mocking them. However, these believers' predicament becomes very serious:

 9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

What?! How did the non-believers get the authority to do that?? I don’t know! Crazy things happened back in Bible times. And now the believers’ faith is really being put to the test.

The prophet, Nephi, is obviously very sad and concerned about the awful situation the believers are in. He goes to the Lord in prayer—intense prayer—and he receives this beautiful answer:

 13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

This always makes me smile. Can you imagine? The Savior of all mankind—past, present, and future—the Son of God, the promised Messiah since the foundation of the world will be born TONIGHT. And God just told Nephi in answer to his prayer. God is acutely aware of his children.

15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

 16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

 17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.

 18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.

 19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

 20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

 21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

There’s the star! Isn’t this a remarkable story? I just love it, and I like to review it at Christmas time – it’s another faith-building perspective on the birth of Christ, and it demonstrates to me how God speaks to his people in all times and in all places, not just in the Bible lands and times.

Now on a less happy note, even though the people were so astonished at the sign that they fell to the ground in amazement and fear, miracles don’t create believers! Anyone can talk/rationalize/reason their way out of believing in a miracle. And unfortunately, so did many of the Nephites.

22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen

So the question for you today is—have you observed a miracle in your life (or multiple miracles!) that you have chosen to discount or rationalize away? And the next question is, why have you chosen to reason it away?