When I read
about 3rd Nephi, I am convinced that righteousness is always
rewarded with special blessings. It is not surprising to me that 3rd
Nephi was placed in America’s history at such a time when the Saviour would
grace that continent with His presence following His resurrection and appoint
him as one of His Twelve Disciples (3
Nephi 12:1). If anyone deserved to have that privilege out of all the prominent
leaders of the Book of Mormon, 3rd Nephi did.
Consider
the Saviour’s description of this man: “Blessed art thou Nephi, for thou hast
with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee….thou hast
not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my
commandments…and because thou hast done this, I will bless thee forever; and I
will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even
that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou
shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will (Helaman 10:5).
Imagine the
Lord trusting you to such an extent that He would say to you: “Ask for what you
will and it shall be given you”. Now imagine one step further, that God would
obey you and do whatever you TOLD Him to do, because this is the promise he
gave Nephi, a promise He lived up to. After He gave Nephi power to smite the earth
with famine, with pestilence and destruction ‘according to the wickedness of
the people’, He took this power to the next level when He told him He shall
smite the people if Nephi tells him to (v 6,7,9).
One might think
that a person could only earn such trust from God if there was enough evidence
of submission to God’s will in his life. And that evidence certainly existed in
Nephi’s life for the Lord had seen it but there is something much deeper to
this. The evidence was in Nephi’s past actions but the trust of what he would
do in his future teaches us of the omniscience of God. Elder Neal A. Maxwell
taught that omniscience is one of the characteristics of God:
“The Lord
in a revelation for John Whitmer spoke of that which was in the latter’s heart,
which only the Lord and John Whitmer knew, witnessing that God was omniscient
concerning the needs of that individual (D&C 15:3).
“Paul said
to the saints at Corinth, ‘And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the
wise, that they are vain’ (1 Corinthians 3:20). In the period just before the
flood God saw not only the wickedness of man in the earth, but he saw also,
‘every imagination of the thoughts’ of men’s hearts (Genesis 6:5). He knows
‘the things that come into your mind’ (Ezekiel 11:5). Jesus himself said before
we pray, ‘Your father knoweth what things ye have need of (Matthew 6:8). Indeed
as Nephi said, ‘God… knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he
knows it’ (2 Nephi 9:20).” (Things As They Really Are [1978], 22)
It was the
omniscience of God that Christ possessed that enabled Him to honour Nephi’s
every word of command. Because He knows all things, can perceive all things,
can see all things in the past, present and future, God can form His judgment
of us at any given time. He knows what is in our hearts and in our minds. He
knows us at all times and in all situations. To Enoch He said: “I can stretch
forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made, and mine eye can
pierce them all…..” (Moses 7:35,36).
Who is a God like Thee
Jehovah, our King?
Who sees our frailties
And knows our needs.
Who is a God like Thee
Jehovah, our King?
Who knows our sins,
And pierces our souls
With eyes of mercy
His commands for us to heed.
Who is a God like Thee?
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
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