Behold My Joy is Full 3 Nephi 17

Behold, My Joy is Full 3 Nephi 17 -19

3 Nephi 17: 1 -2 n Have you felt this way?

3 Nephi 17: 1 -3 What instructions were given? How have these instructions helped you grow in understanding?

Counsel for gaining understanding 1) Go home 2) Ponder the things you’ve been given 3) Ask of the Father 4) Prepare your minds 5) Come back again

Ponder n What does it mean to ponder? n How would pondering help the Nephites prepare for further instruction from the Savior? n How can pondering help us better understand gospel principles?

What can we do to improve our pondering? n As you read the scriptures, pause and visualize the characters and events. n Ask questions n Ponder and study by writing. n Find a time and place where you will not be distracted n Attend classes, study with others

“Pondering, which means to weigh mentally, to deliberate, to meditate, can achieve the opening of the spiritual eyes of one’s understanding. Also, the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon the ponderer”. n We are constantly reminded through the scriptures that we should give things of God much more than usual superficial consideration. n To soundly plant good seed in your heart requires prolonged, intense, unremitting pondering. It is a deep ongoing, regenerating process which refines the soul. n n Joseph B Wirthlin, Ensign, May 1982, 23

n When it comes to prayer and revelation, our minds need to be active and engaged if we hope to receive answers from the Lord. If we simply wait passively for something to come into our empty minds, we’ll wait a long time… Pondering and studying things out in our minds is part of that process. n Gene R Cook, Receiving Answers to Our Prayers, 38

n Pondering is more than reading words; it is searching for meanings that will help us as we relate to one another and as we make choices in our lives. It is allowing the word to move from our minds to our hearts. The Spirit bears witness to our hearts as we prayerfully seek to know the things of our Heavenly Father. When we have that witness and knowledge, we think and live and relate to each other in more Christlike ways” n Anne G Wirthlin, Ensign, May 1998, 10.

Go Home? n Free from distractions n Home and family can be the center for spiritual learning and understanding

Go Home n Even though the most powerful teacher who ever lived was in their midst and instructing these people, yet He, Jesus Christ, recognized that true understanding would come in the home. I find it powerful and significant that Christ emphasized the setting of the home as the place for understanding the doctrines of the gospel. n Elder David A. Bednar , BYUI Dev, June 4, 1998

"Can any parent ever ensure or guarantee that a child will understand? " The answer is, "No. " And again, inasmuch as parents have children of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. n For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized. (D&C 68: 2526) n

n I believe, brothers and sisters, that Section 68 verses 25 -26 are an admonition for parents to create a home that is a house of learning wherein the Spirit of the Holy Ghost can reside. In such a home the Holy Ghost can teach the children to understand. It is not the parents who do the teaching. The parents have a role; they create, invite, and facilitate. But who ultimately is the teacher? The Spirit of the Holy Ghost. And it is teaching by the Spirit that produces understanding n Elder David A. Bednar , BYUI Dev, June

What are some other ways we can “prepare [our] minds” to receive the Lord’s truths? n Ponder n Prayer n Study n Invite the Spirit n Humble ourselves n Ready physically n Attentive

To Learn and to Teach More Effectively Scott, Richard G. , August 21, 2007

Pray n How does prayer help us better understand gospel principles?

Outline Chapters 17 -19 These chapters are filled with prayer n n n n n Go home, ponder, pray and prepare for tomorrow Jesus heals all the sick and afflicted Jesus prays and blesses the little ones Jesus begins the sacrament among the Nephites Jesus teaches the multitude to pray Jesus gives commandments and power to the disciples The twelve disciples organize, teach and pray with the people The Savior appears and commands His disciples to pray The Savior prays for His disciples and US!

3 Nephi 18: 18 -24; 19: 6 -35 Strong counsel on Prayer 18: 18 We must watch and pray always lest we enter into temptation 18: 19 We must always pray unto the Father in his name 18: 20 Whatever we ask for that is right, believing, we shall receive 18: 21 We must pray unto the Father in and for our families 18: 22 -24 We must pray for those that meet with us and turn none away

3 Nephi 14: 7 -12; 18: 20 n How are we to understand the Savior’s promise that “every one that asketh receiveth”? n How have you learned that God knows what is best for you?

3 Nephi 18: 18 -24; 19: 6 -35 Strong counsel on Prayer 19: 6 kneel 19: 9 Pray for that which they most desired, the Holy Ghost Departed out of the midst of them 19: 19 19: 24 19: 30 Continue without ceasing, do not multiply many words, it was given unto them what they should pray He did smile upon them

n After quoting this verse, Elder Jeffrey R Holland stated: “The praying Christ. That is the example to which we are to point others. The Christ of humility. The Christ of spiritual communion. The Christ who is dependent upon his Father. The Christ who asks for blessings upon others. The Christ who calls down the powers of heaven. The Christ who submits, yields, and obeys the will of the Father. The Christ who is one with the Father in at least one way that we many be united with him as well – Through prayer. That is the light we are to show to the world. It is the image of Christ praying such unspeakable things. n For a Wise Purpose, 19 3 Nephi 18: 24

3 Nephi 11: 13 -15; 17: 5 -6, 9, 21; 18: 36 -39 n What do we learn from the Savior’s actions ? n How do these attributes of Christ apply to your life?

3 Nephi 11: 15; 17: 5 -6, 9, 21; 18: 36 -39 What attributes of Christ do we see? n One by one – They touch his wounds – He heals the sick and afflicted – He blesses and prays for the children – He touches the disciples He has chosen

n “[God] has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man [or woman] in the world” (Mere Christianity [1943], 131).

Interesting Sequence… John Welch …they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground about him, and Jesus stood in the midst… And … he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground. …And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father… And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about Teachings of the Book of Mormon Vol The Angels Ministering The Children The People Savior

He wept—he who had descended below all things, the Man of Sorrows, he who bore all our griefs. The height of his infinite capacity for joy is the inverse, mirror image of the depth of his capacity to bear our burdens. So it is with the enlarged caverns of feeling within our own hearts: as the sorrows of our lives carve and stretch those caverns, they expand our soul's capacity for joy. Bruce Hafen, Belonging Heart: The Atonement and Sorrow Relationships with God and Family, 315 Joy Loss Pain Love Charity

Then, when the Man of Sorrows turns our bitter tastes to sweet, our joy—and his—will fill the widened chambers of our hearts with what the scriptures call "fulness. " That is when we have accepted his Atonement and love with such completeness that his purpose for us is fully satisfied. Then will we know that we were made for this. Then will we know where, and why, and to whom, we belong. Bruce Hafen, Belonging Heart: The Atonement and Relationships with God and Family, 315 Sorrow Loss Pain Joy Love Charity

Evidence of the Savior’s compassion How the people responded Perceived their desire that he tarry Filled with compassion Brought the sick to be healed He healed every one Brought the little children to Him Blessed and prayed for the children Angels ministered to them Tears Looked steadfastly upon Him Brought their sick to Him Bowed down at His feet Worshipped Him Kissed His feet and bathed with their tears Knelt upon the ground Overcome with joy

3 Nephi 17: 7 -9, 10, 20 • What enabled the sick and lame among the Nephites to be healed by the Savior? n What did the people do after the sick and lame were healed? n How can we show our gratitude to the Savior for the blessings He has given us? n

3 Nephi 17: 23 -24 Angels did minister unto them

World’s view of angels On a recent news show an author who had just written a book about belief in God was being questioned about whether he personally believed in God. The author answered with something like this: “If I knew whether or not I believed in God, I wouldn’t have had to write this book. I have no idea whethere is a God, but I do know that religion has gotten a bad name from people who do things like worship cactus and believe in angels. ” That was it. That was his whole response. He didn’t know whether he believed in God or not, but believing in angels was clearly equal to worshipping cactus. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “For a Wise Purpose, ” Ensign, Jan. 1996, 12)

Peripheral Doctrine? n 655 times in scriptures n I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony of the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. They constitute one of God’s great methods of witnessing through the veil, and no document in all this world teaches that principle so clearly and so powerfully as does the Book of Mormon (Jeffrey R. Holland, “For a Wise Purpose, ” Ensign, Jan. 1996)

3 Nephi 18: 1 -11 What do we learn about the ordinance of the sacrament?

3 Nephi 18: 5, 11 3 Nephi 18: 7, 11; see also D&C 27: 2, 3 Nephi 18: 7, 10 3 Nephi 18: 4, 5, 7, 9 3 Nephi 20: 310 The sacrament must be blessed and passed by those who have been ordained to do so The sacrament is to be administered to all worthy members of the Church The bread and wine represent the body and blood of the Savior We covenant to always remember Him and are willing to keep His commandments, We will be filled with the Spirit Renew our covenants regularly

3 Nephi 18: 28– 29 When Are We Worthy to Partake of the Sacrament? n “If we desire to improve (which is to repent) and are not under priesthood restriction, then, in my opinion, we are worthy. If, however, we have no desire to improve, if we have no intention of following the guidance of the Spirit, we must ask: Are we worthy to partake, or are we making a mockery of the very purpose of the sacrament? ”

Let us qualify ourselves for our Filled? Savior’s promise that by X 3 Nephi 20: 3 -10 partaking of the sacrament we will ‘be filled’, which means that we will be ‘filled with the spirit’. That Spirit – the Holy ghost – is our comforter, our direction finder, our communicator, our interpreter, our witness, and our purifier – our infallible guide and sanctifier for our mortal journey toward eternal life. n Dallin H Oaks, CR Oct 1996, 82 n

The Light of His Countenance did shine upon them 3 Nephi 19: 25

n n How vital it is that each of us come to have a personal witness that we are led by living prophets. President Lee observed that someone once said, "That person is not truly converted until he sees the power of God resting upon the leaders of this church, and until it goes down into his heart like fire. " President Lee said this observation was "absolutely true, " adding that "until the members of this church have that conviction that they are being led in the right way, and they have a conviction that these men of God are men who are inspired and have been properly appointed by the hand of God, they are not truly converted. “ (Neal A. Maxwell, Things As They Really Are, p. 70 - p. 71)

3 Nephi 19: 18 n n “And they did pray unto Jesus” (3 Nephi 19: 18) To clarify why the Nephite disciples prayed to Jesus (3 Nephi 19: 18, 24– 25, 30), have class members read 3 Nephi 19: 22. You may also want to read the following statement by Elder Bruce R. Mc. Conkie: “The only scriptural instances in which prayers were addressed directly to the Son were when—and because! —that Holy Being, as a resurrected personage, was standing before the petitioners” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966– 73], 2: 79). Point out that Jesus Himself prayed to the Father at this time (3 Nephi 19: 19– 24, 27– 29, 31). All our prayers should be addressed to our Father in Heaven and closed in the name of Jesus Christ