3 Nephi 8-11 "Arise and Come Forth Unto Me" Come Follow Me Study

A detail from Jesus Christ Visits the Americas, by John Scott
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/image/jesus-nephites-8ddd1aa?lang=eng

3 Nephi 8-11 covers an incredible moment in the history of the scriptures, when over 600 years of prophecies are fulfilled, regarding the coming of the Savior. When he finally appears, in 3 Nephi 11:8, the people "durst not open their mouths, even one to another ... for they thought it was an angel that appeared unto them."

Then the Savior speaks in 3 Nephi 11:10-11, saying,

"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world." 

"And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." 

When we have no exact timeline on prophecies, imagine how it felt for those that had been specifically warned by Samuel the Lamanite, when the Savior came only 34 years after his warnings.

At first, with some of the early signs, some of the people made excuses, and chose to ignore them, but by 3 Nephi 8, when the great city of Zarahemla caught fire, the city of Moroni sank into the sea, and so forth, there could be no more denying these signs. It says in 3 Nephi 8:24-25, 

"And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren been spared ... And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and hand not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howling of the people great and terrible."

While these great tragedies could have been avoided if the people had only listened to the repeated warnings of the very prophets they killed and ran off, the Lord was always merciful. He repeatedly sent new prophets and gave people the opportunity to repent. I have talked about this in my last few posts so I won't keep repeating the same scriptures again but one of the truths that the scriptures teach me is that it is because our Father in Heaven loves us so much that he kept sending and keeps sending prophets to warn and guide us. The guidance is not unusual or difficult to follow. I think some people depict or think of religious as oppressive or controlling but when you look at the commandments, e.g. love others, don't covet what others have, don't murder, don't be prideful, it's not about oppression about but using our free agency for good.

In 3 Nephi 11:29, the Savior says,

"For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to content with anger, one with another."

How are we responding to the great issues in the world today? Do we respond with love and compassion? Or do we respond with contention and anger, and an unwillingness to try to understand another perspective? Do we put labels on our righteousness and condemn another in anger? Do we say, "I'm a Nephite therefore I am more [righteous/fill in the blank] than you?" Or do we say go forth with "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" (3 Nephi 9:20) and look to be more like the Savior in what we say and do? 

I love the analogy of the hen gathering her chickens under her wings repeatedly (3 Nephi 10:4-6). He did that for us, and does that for us, repeatedly and protectively. We have such a loving Father in Heaven, we just have to listen and follow. It's easy to forget but we have a Perfect Example we never did, and we experienced our trials tenfold, thus he has personal empathy and compassion for us. 

We can Come unto Christ as we remember that we have the opportunity and the wish from our Father to be a light unto the world, and to follow in the Savior's footsteps.