Sunday, April 19, 2020

Brant Gardner on 3 Nephi 16:6-11



3 Nephi 16:6-11, a record of an eschatological prophecy from Christ Himself, reads thusly:

And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father. Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them. But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles-- for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them; And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them--And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them. And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

Unlike much of the Book of Mormon, there is a lack of perspicuity contained in this pericope. Commenting on this passage, Brant Gardner wrote:

The clarity that typically characterizes the Book of Mormon text falters in verses 6-11. The English sentence structure if puzzlingly convoluted. To sort out the meaning, identifying the underlying parallelism is helpful. A hallmark of the Sermon on the Mount has been its set of antithetical parallels. Such a parallel though al less obvious one, underlies this text.

The first parallel set is the blessing/cursing of the Gentiles:

And blessed are the Gentiles because of their belief in me. (v. 6)
But so, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles. (v. 16)

The Gentiles appear in the future history present in the scriptures as both blessed and cursed. They will have a role in spreading the scriptures and, hence, the gospel, but that role will consist of both good and evil functions.

The second antithetical parallel is set up in verse 7, but not completed until verses 10 and 11:

 . . . in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles (v. 7)
. . . and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them. And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. (vv. 10-11)

The first theme is the blessing and cursing of the Gentiles relative to the scriptures. The second antithetical parallel deals with the scriptures’ direction or movement. They will go among the Gentiles, and then go from the Gentiles. The Gentiles are therefore blessed because hey preserved the Old World scriptures. However, when the Gentiles begin to reject those scriptures’ teachings, the scriptures (the gospel) will be taken from them and given to the Jews. The movement is alto antithetical: first, from the Jews to the Gentiles, then from the Gentiles back to the Jews.

Another important clarification is the larger context of the Savior’s message to the twelve. He began with concern over divided Israel. The “other sheep” section confirms that Israel is scattered and that its gathering lies in the future. The Nephite scriptures will play a role in this gathering and interestingly, will first go to the Gentiles (v. 4). Through the Gentiles (v. 6), the Nephite scriptures will teach the gospel to remnants of the house of Israel before the gathering (v. 5). This development is unexpected. The very definition of a Gentile at that time was an unbeliever; thus, Gentile possession of the gospel (more specifically, the scriptures) reverses the expected order. This future act constitutes another antithesis.

Verse 7 establishes the directional antithesis; the scriptures go from the Jews to the Gentiles. Verse 8 proclaims woe on the unbelieving Gentiles—the antithetical parallel to the Gentiles’ blessing. In both clauses, the blessing and the cursing are caused by the Gentiles’ treatment of the scriptures and the gospel. They are blessed for preserving them and cursed or straying from their teachings.

Verse 8 introduces a new theme—the Gentiles’ maltreatment of the Jews. These persecutions occur after the Gentiles fail to understand the scriptures and gospel and are under woe. The maltreatment (also v. 9) serves as an antithesis of expectation. As the covenant people, the Jews should merit better treatment, but they have rejected the scriptures and the gospel. While the Gentiles possess the scriptures and gospel, they are blessed. While the Jews do not have the scriptures and the gospel, they are persecuted. However, persecuting the Jews shows that the Gentiles have departed from the scriptures and the gospel; such persecution therefore heralds another reversal.

The final reverse begins in verse 10 when the gospel is taken from the Gentiles and given back to the house of Israel. (Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 5: Helaman Through Third Nephi [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 480-81)