3 Nephi —Come all Ye Saints of Zion

3 Nephi 1-2—Watching Steadfastly  Samuel Beckett 1949 existentialist play “Waiting for Godot”—shows the ‘craziness’ of waiting for God.  3 Nephi 1:4-9 These people probably felt a little crazy, too.  Key phrases  -fulfilled more fully (4) -time was past, rejoice over their brethren, faith hath been vain, put to death believers (5-9) -did watch steadfastly (8)—Elder Eyring sound byte “law of increasing returns” -ways we have to “wait for God” or “watch steadfastly” -came to pass, every whit; fell to the earth (15-20) Testimony: Waiting for God is a scriptural phrase (2 Nephi 6:7, 13; Lamentations 3:25-6; D&C 133:45) Waiting is worth it!

A Pattern In the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period, we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet. (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov 1986, 4).

Well, …That Didn’t Take Long… 3 Nephi 1:22  3 Nephi 2:1-2 Do we see people becoming “less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven” and “imagining up some vain thing in their hearts” as an explanation? Explain.

Book of Mormon Time Reckoning 3 Nephi 2:5-7 What are the three systems of reckoning years that the Nephites used? -since Mosiah (reign of the judges)—100 years -Lehi’s departure from Jerusalem—609 years -sign of Christ’s birth—9 years -Useful for future readers of Book of Mormon to reconcile the chronologies—nice, thoughtful gesture from Mormon. Joseph Smith’s cleverness in coming up with three different chronologies to add authenticity and weaving them together ;) –small external evidence

3 Nephi 3-5—The great gathering With a buddy, read the following verses that discuss the great gathering of the Nephites and the results of that gathering. 3 Nephi 3:13-16, 19-22, 25 4:4, 7-12, 14, 33 5:1, 3 Then discuss the questions: -Are we commanded to gather today? -In what ways? The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering -What lessons should we learn from the great Nephite gathering that apply to our gatherings today?