Today’s Reading: 3 Nephi 21:1-15
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;
When I was looking for quotes to go along with this block of scripture, I came across a reference to a talk given by President Nelson in 2010. The part that caught my eye wasn’t actually anything in the talk, although it is a wonderful talk, but rather, something that was in one of the footnotes. President Nelson referenced verses 1-7 of 3 Nephi Chapter 21 and next to that reference it said, “Verses 1-7 comprise one sentence.” One sentence! Holy smokes! That is a long sentence. So I decided to look closer at this one sentence.
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; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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. (italics added)
There is so much information in this sentence that was spoken by our Savior; it would be impossible for me to write about all of it in just one post. So I would like to just focus on the parts that I italicized.
“…if they will not harden their hearts…repent…come unto me…be baptized in my name…know of the true points of my doctrine…”
This is instruction to us–from the mouth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we choose to do these things, then we will be numbered among the house of Israel. What a blessing that is! And what a blessing it is for us to have the Book of Mormon which gives us this knowledge regarding the gathering of the scattered tribes of Israel.
I want to be numbered among the Savior’s House of Israel. So it is my choice to not harden my heart, to utilize the Atonement in my life so that I may repent when I say and do stupid things, to come unto the Savior and study His doctrine so that I may know the truth that lies therein. Then as I strive to strengthen my testimony, I will hopefully be able to assist the Savior in sharing the good news of His gospel and helping Him gather those that are lost.
“The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign to the entire world that the Lord has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil.” -Russell M. Nelson
I grew up the oldest of 5 children in the blazing heat of Southern Utah. After high school and some college experience I met and married Mark Ogden and we are the parents of four children. I have owned and operated my own home-based preschool for more than a dozen years, and I consider myself an accidental author as well. When I am not in my minivan transporting children from one activity to the next, I enjoy playing the piano, blogging, speaking about my life’s experiences, and feeding my insatiable crafting disease.