3 Nephi
There is a dramatic change
between the emphasis on the covenant in Helaman and the emphasis in 3 Nephi.
While less than 1 percent of Helaman speaks of the covenant, nearly one fourth
of all verses in 3 Nephi do, and even this poignant comparison does not really
tell the story of the dramatic rise in covenant consciousness in 3 Nephi. If we
focus on the verses that cover Christ’s visit and teaching, one third of the
verses are about the covenant. The shift begins in 3 Nephi 10 when Christ began
to teach them about who He is. The Nephites heard a voice that reminded them
that they were of the House of Israel; God had wanted to gather them in the
past, and He wanted to gather them now, and in the future (3 Nephi 10:4-6).
Mormon himself followed up on Christ’s words by pointing out to the future
reader than those surviving Nephites had been spared because they were
descendants of Joseph, in fulfillment of promise made to Jacob (3 Nephi 10:17).
A year later, when Christ
personally came to the Nephites, HE did not begin His teachings with covenant
references. Instead, He focused on His doctrine and bore divine witness of
Himself and the other members of the Godhead. He also taught the Nephites the
gospel principles included in the Sermon on the Mount. After this, He was
unrelenting in teaching His covenants with the house of Israel and the topic of
gathering Israel.
It is worth noting that in the
midst of these teachings, Mormon informs us that he is writing the things that
the Lord commanded him to write (3 Nephi 26:12). This, while it seems sure that
the Savior taught a great number of things, the emphasis on the covenant with
Abraham and Israel was one that He wanted readers to see and realize.
These are some of the covenant
themes that Christ emphasized when teaching the Nephites:
1. The covenant was not yet
fulfilled, but would be, and Israel would eventually experience all the
blessings of the covenant (3 Nephi 15:8; 20:29-46; 22:1-17; 24:1-7, 17; 25:5-6;
29:3-9).
2. The Nephites were of Israel
and were in their own promised land (3 Nephi 15:12-13; 20:14, 22).
3. The Nephites shared a covenant
relationship with other branches of the house of Israel (3 Nephi 15:14-16:4).
4. Israel will be gathered (3
Nephi 16:5; 20:19-13, 18; 21:1-4; 28:28-29).
5. The Gentiles will help
promulgate the gospel and the covenant to scattered Israel (3 Nephi 16:6-10;
21:5-29; 26:8-10; 29:1-2).
6. The Gentiles can either become
part of Israel or be punished by Israel (3 Nephi 16:11-20; 20:15-21; 23:4-5;
30:1-2; 28:27).
7. Christ’s visit, then and in
the future, was part of fulfilling all the Father’s covenants with Israel (3
Nephi 11:14; 20:22-27).
In the second half of what Christ
taught the Nephites during the first two days of His ministry among them
(chapters 15-25), nearly 60 percent of everything He said was about the
covenant. Yet there is something more to be drawn from this. Jesus clearly
speaks of individual salvation during His Nephite ministry. He talks about the
need to become as children to be baptized, to repent, and so on. Yet His
teachings about the covenant do not really touch on individual salvation.
Rather, He forcefully and emphatically stresses the corporate nature of the
Abrahamic covenant. Yes, individual salvation depends on making and keeping
this covenant. However, Christ’s emphasis is on the need for all to recognize
that they can and must be part of this larger covenant, that He and the Father
will fulfill the covenant and its gathering. In Christ’s teachings to the
Nephites, the aspect of the covenant He emphasized most was His intent to
fulfill all of His promises to Israel, most especially the promise to gather
them back to Him.
It is clearly important to the
Redeemer of Israel that each individual focuses on his or her role in
fulfilling and experiencing the covenant in such a way that it helps others
experience covenantal blessings as well. He appears we intentionally try to
play our part in them. The gathering of Israel is a very important aspect of
our covenantal obligations. This is echoed in the teachings of Russell M.
Nelson, the current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. 3 Nephi is a ringing endorsement and reminder of the Abrahamic covenant
and its communal nature. Thematically, it appears that Christ enacted a
forceful corrective in corporate covenant consciousness among the Nephites. It
would even appear that the loss of that consciousness was part of what led to
their near destruction. Captain Moroni had certainly feared that. (Kerry
Muhlestein, God Will Prevail: Ancient Covenants, Modern Blessings, and the
Gathering of Israel [American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2021],
172-74)
