3 Ne 16:1 I have other sheep, which are not of this land
After king Solomon, the
kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the kingdom of Ephraim to the
north and the kingdom of Judah to the south. Between 740 and 720 BC, the ten
northern tribes were sacked by the Assyrians in a series of conquests (2 Kgs
17). The inhabitants were taken north. Over the subsequent years, some of them
were scattered all over the earth, but a group of them retained their identity
and were able to preserve that identity for generations. A knowledge of them
has been hidden from the world, much like the knowledge of the descendants of
Lehi has been hidden from most of the world. They have been known as the lost
ten tribes, but they are not lost unto the Father,
for he knoweth whither he hath taken them (3 Ne 17:4). From the Book of
Mormon, we learn that these ten tribes retained their own identity, were taught
directly by the Savior, had their own prophets and their own records (2 Ne
29:12-14).
Bruce R. McConkie
“The Lost Tribes are not lost unto the
Lord. In their northward journeyings they were led by prophets and inspired
leaders. They had their Moses and their Lehi, were guided by the spirit of
revelation, kept the law of Moses, and carried with them the statutes and judgments
which the Lord had given them in age past. They were still a distinct people
many hundreds of years later, for the resurrected Lord visited and ministered
among them following his ministry on this continent among the Nephites. (3 Ne.
16:1-4; 17:4.) Obviously he taught them in the same way and gave them the same
truths which he gave his followers in Jerusalem and on the American continent;
and obviously they recorded his teachings, thus creating volumes of scripture
comparable to the Bible and Book of Mormon. (2 Ne. 29:12-14.)
“In due course the Lost Tribes of
Israel will return and come to the children of Ephraim to receive their
blessings. This great gathering will take place under the direction of the
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for he holds the
keys of ‘the gathering of Israel from the four parts
of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.’
(D. & C. 110:11.) Keys are the right of presidency the power to direct; and
by this power the Lost Tribes will return, with ‘their prophets’ and their
scriptures to ‘be crowned with glory, even in Zion,
by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.’
(D. & C. 133:26-35.)” (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 455-8)
3
Ne 16:3 they shall hear my voice, and shall be
numbered among my sheep
Neal
A. Maxwell
“…the splendid Book of Mormon advises
that a third scriptural witness is yet to come from the lost tribes (see 2
Nephi 29:12-14). Its coming is likely
to be even more dramatic than the coming forth of the second testament. Those who doubt or disdain the second
testament of Christ will not accept the third either. But believers will then possess a triumphant triad of truth (see
2 Nephi 29:12-14). Were it not for the
Book of Mormon, we would not even know about the third set of records!
“We do not know when and how this will
occur, but we are safe in assuming that the third book will have the same
fundamental focus as the Book of Mormon-‘that . . .
their seed [too] ... may be brought to a
knowledge of me, their Redeemer’ (3 Nephi 16:4). If there is a title page in that third set
of sacred records, it is not likely to differ in purpose from the title page in
the Book of Mormon, except for its focus on still other peoples who likewise
received a personal visit from the resurrected Jesus (see 3 Nephi 15:20-24; 3
Nephi 16:1-4).
“Thus, in the dispensation of the
fulness of times there is not only a ‘welding
together’ (D&C 128:18) of the keys of all the dispensations, but
there will also be a ‘welding together’ of
all the sacred books of scripture given by the Lord over the sweep of human
history. Then, as prophesied, ‘my word also shall be gathered in one’ (2 Nephi
29:14). Then there will be one fold,
one shepherd, and one stunning scriptural witness for the Christ!” (Book of
Mormon Symposium Series, First Nephi, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and
CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 15)
3
Ne 16:4 if it so be that my people at Jerusalem…do
not ask…that they may receive a knowledge of you
One
reason we are not given knowledge of the mysteries of godliness is that we
don’t ask for it. Many of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were given
in response to specific questions that Joseph Smith asked of the Lord. Granted,
it is important to know what question to ask the Lord, but if the ancient Jews
had inquired as the whereabouts of scattered Israel, we have no doubt but that
he would have told them. But they failed to exhibit faith enough to ask. At the
last day, some of us might murmur, “why didn’t the Lord tell us that earlier?”
The reason, of course, will be because we never asked.
This
verse also shows that the Lord, in his mercy, makes provision for us—even in
our faithlessness. In the case of the unbelieving Jews, he brought forth the
Book of Mormon so that later generations might, if they would believe, know
about the Nephites, know about the other tribes of Israel, and be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.
3 Ne 16:5 then will I gather them…and then will I fulfil the
covenant
The gathering of Israel and
the Lord’s fulfilling his covenants with the house of Israel are concepts so
intertwined as to be inseparable. Neither can take place without the other.
None of the glorious promises, many of which were given by Isaiah, can have their
fulfillment without the gathering.
Indeed the gathering itself was part of the covenant which was made
(Deut 30:1-5). An example of the relationship between these two concepts is as
follows:
‘For a small moment
have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee…
For the mountains shall
depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart form thee,
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy on thee…
And all thy children shall
be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
In righteousness shalt
thou be established.’ (Isa
54:7,10,13,14)
3 Ne 16:7 because of their belief in me…in the latter day shall the
truth come unto the Gentiles
Interestingly, this passage
shows that it was the faith of the Gentiles which earned them the privilege of
having the fullness of the gospel brought to them in the latter-days. In other
words, prior to the Restoration, the Gentile Christians of North America were
to be privileged to have the Book of Mormon come forth among them because they
had exhibited greater faith in Christ than the Jews of the early 19th
century. Here we see that the Lord recognized the faith of all those
Christians, whether Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Catholic.
Individually, their faith is counted and weighed by the Great Judge. We should
remember that it was the institutions of religion and their professors to which
the Lord was referring when he said, “they draw near
to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for
doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny
the power thereof.” (JS-Hist 1:19)
Other passages also acknowledge the faith of pre-Restorational
Christians (see 1 Ne 13:9).
Also, this helps us to
understand how the word “Gentile” is used in the Book of Mormon. Typically, the
latter-day Gentiles are the peoples of North America and Europe (excluding the
native American Indians). Often, the term Gentile will be used to refer
specifically to the people of North America (see 1 Ne 13-14).
3 Ne 16:8 wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles
The definition of the term,
“Gentiles,” as given above is now very important. The Lord is about to give a
terse warning to these “Gentiles,” so who are they? They are the Europeans who
first abused and scattered the natives of North and South America as explorers
and imperialists. They are the people of North America who abused and scattered
the American Indians in the 19th century. Because of the Lord’s
focus on the promises and prophecies which apply to the New World, we may
safely assume, that this warning to the Gentiles applies primarily to the
non-believing peoples of North America.
3 Ne 16:9 I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to
be smitten
“From the time Columbus landed in the West Indies, the
destruction and driving of the Indian people began. The extent of this destruction
has only recently started coming to full light. For example, Wilbur R. Jacobs a
noted historian, refutes the earlier projections made by European and American
scholars of the Indian population at the time Columbus arrived in the Western
Hemisphere in 1492. Estimates used to place the Indian population of North
America at about a million, and in both North and South America at no more than
8 million. However, according to Jacobs, modern projections which are widely
accepted today place the total at 90 million for the whole of the Western
Hemisphere and nearly 10 million in North America alone. (See “The Indian and
the Frontier in American History—A Need for Revision,” Western Historical
Quarterly, Jan. 1973, p. 45.) When this total of 10 million Indians living
in North America is compared with the estimated 235,000 who were alive at the
turn of the twentieth century, one begins to glimpse the scope of the tragedy…
.”…That story
was repeated numerous times at the hands of men like Cortez, Pizzaro, and
DeSoto, in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. The scenes viewed by
Nephi six hundred years before Christ were fulfilled with horrible reality. As
one author put it:
“’Here was a race in process of being engulfed in an
irresistible flood of peoples of an utterly different culture. Dislocated from
their accustomed seats, transplanted again and again, treated by whites as
hostile encumbrances of the fertile earth to be brushed aside or destroyed,
bewildered by a type of economy for which they were unprepared, decimated by
disease and vices to which they had built up no resistance, repeatedly seeing
solemn treaties violated, subject to shifting governmental policies, preyed
upon by incompetent and greedy officials, and at times demoralized by an excess
of well intentioned but ill directed paternalistic kindness, it is a wonder
that the Indians survived.’ (Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of the
Expansion of Christianity, The Great Century, vol. 4, p. 323)” (Book of
Mormon Student Manual, 1981, pp. 34-5)
3 Ne 16:10 when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall
reject the fulness of my gospel
The Savior himself is
prophesying that the Gentiles would reject the fulness of the gospel. In this
context, this means that they will reject the Book of Mormon and the gospel
message carried by the missionaries. This event is very important for it marks
when the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled, when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall
break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my
gospel; But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn
their hearts from me because of the precepts of men. And in that generation
shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (DC 45:28-30).
The phrase “the first shall
be last and the last shall be first” is applicable. In the meridian of time,
the Savior declared that the gospel was to go first to those of the House of
Israel and second to the Gentiles. In the last days, the order is reversed, the
fulness of the gospel is to go to the Gentiles first, and secondly to the House
of Israel. Given that many of the House of Israel (particularly of Lamanite and
Nephite descent) have already turned to the Lord, we can see that the times of
the Gentiles is coming to a quick close. Furthermore, the scourge spoken of in
DC 45:31 is already upon us, demonstrating that we are the generation in which
the times of the Gentiles is to be fulfilled.
Joseph Fielding Smith
“’TIMES
OF GENTILES’ TO BE FULFILLED. We go unto them with a message of peace, of
truth, of eternal salvation, calling upon them to repent of their sins and
enter into the true fold, where they may receive rest. When they will not do
this, but to the contrary, will listen to the unrighteous and condemn the
truth, then God will withdraw the gospel from among them. In that day the times
of the Gentiles will be fulfilled and the gospel will be carried to the Jews.
For, this gospel must be preached to them as well as to the Gentile nations;
and a remnant of the Jews will gather-as they are gathering since the
dedication of their land for their return-in Palestine, and as a remnant of
Ephraim and his fellows are now gathering to the land of Zion.” (Doctrines
of Salvation, vol. 3, p. 8)
3 Ne 16:10 Gentiles…shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts
above all nations
The phrase, “the Gentiles…shall be lifted up in the pride of their
hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth,”
is an excellent description of America in the year 2000. Americans consider
themselves invincible. For the most part, they are not concerned with God
because they don’t need him—so they think. Yet, the Lord has stern warnings for
those with false pride, The lofty looks of man shall
be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone
shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be
upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one
that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low (Isa 2:11-12).
Neal A. Maxwell
“Scriptural
warnings often couple pride and selfishness. (See, for example, D&C 56:8.)
Pride can be characteristic of a whole race and will cause one of the
hingepoint happenings in human history. As far as the spread of the gospel is
concerned, the time will come when the Lord will take His gospel elsewhere from
the proud and resistant Gentiles. He told the Nephites: ‘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.’ (3 Nephi 16:10.)
“Before
the millennial time when the arrogancy of the proud will cease, the Gentiles
will be in a circumstance of ‘great pride, unto
boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and
murders, and all manner of iniquities.’ (Helaman 13:22.)
“The
gigantic, global collapse that is yet to come will not be that of a failing
stock market, but the fall of hardened mind-sets and collective pride when it
all finally tumbles. Nephi testified: ‘It came to
pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the
pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the
destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight
against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’ (1 Nephi 11:36.)” (Meek And
Lowly, p. 53)
3 Ne 16:10 if they shall reject the fulness…I will bring the fulness
of my gospel from among them
Like many prophecies, this
one will be fulfilled in more than once. The Gentiles now have the opportunity
to accept or reject the fulness of the gospel. Most of them will eventually
reject the gospel, at which time the gospel shall be taken from among them and
taken instead to those of the House of Israel. The context of 3 Nephi 16, 20,
and 21 indicates that this prophecy will be fulfilled completely around the
time of the Lord’s Second Coming. However, Orson Pratt describes how the
prophecy was fulfilled, in part, in his day.
Orson Pratt
“The
Lord has told us in this saying that if the Gentiles should not believe in this
book--the fulness of the Gospel--and should be lifted up in their pride above
all nations, and be filled with all manner of lyings, mischiefs, whoredoms,
abominations and every kind of evil, that he would bring the fulness of his
Gospel from among them. I wish to state that when I read this in 1830 it was a
great mystery to me. Recollect this was written and printed before there was
any Latter-day Saint Church in existence, and yet here was a prophecy that the
Lord would bring the fulness of his Gospel from among the Gentiles if they did
not receive it. When the Lord commanded us to go up and settle in Jackson
County I thought to myself—‘Well, if we build up a great city here, according
to that which is predicted in the Book of Mormon, we shall be right in the
midst of the Gentiles, and how will it be possible for that prophecy ever to be
fulfilled?’
“It
was a mystery to me, I could not see it. I knew it was true, for God had given
me a witness and evidence that I knew as well as I knew that I lived that that
book was true; but yet I could not understand how the Lord would bring the
fulness of his Gospel from among the Gentiles if we were going to be permitted
to build up a city in Jackson County, Missouri, and stay there. But some
seventeen years after the rise of this Church circumstances rolled round by
which the Lord fulfilled this prophecy in taking the main body of the people
from among the Gentiles…we were brought out west here to these mountains, and I
do not know of another place on the face of this vast continent where we could
have been so completely isolated from the Gentiles, the wicked who had rejected
the Gospel, and we were by coming out en masse to this land. ‘If the Gentiles shall sin against the fulness of my
Gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from
among them.’ It was done, the prediction was fulfilled to the very
letter.”(Journal of Discourses 17:300)
3 Ne 16:13 if the Gentiles will repent…they shall be numbered among
my people
B. H. Roberts
“Notwithstanding
the list of their abominations (3 Ne 16:10) -- great as it is --
notwithstanding their rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the people of
God, yet, if they will but repent, God promises to renew their lot and their
part in the glories of this great Latter-day work.
“Shall
we not, then, proclaim to our nation and to all the inhabitants thereof this
glorious promise that is held out of the Lord unto them? And the fact that we
have eight missions established within the boundaries of the United States, and
are laboring with all diligence to make proclamation of the Gospel -- is it not
good evidence that God is willing that we should continue our labors among the
people of the United States?
“…This,
then, is what I think constitutes the national phase of our mission to the
United States -- to make proclamation unto the inhabitants of all the land that
these are their opportunities and their blessings if only they will extend
their hands and receive them. And, on the other hand, woe be unto them if they
hearken not unto the message of God, after all His great mercies unto them.” (Conference
Report, Oct. 1922, pp. 18-19)
3 Ne 16:15 if they (the Gentiles)
will not turn unto me
Hugh Nibley
“The
Gentiles will have their innings; they will be ‘lifted
up by the power of God above all other nations, and prevail against the other
inhabitants of the land’ and so forth….Then it will be their turn, ‘if it so be in that day they harden their hearts’
(1 Nephi 14:6). After the Gentiles take over completely and remove all rivals,
then they become the endangered ones: ‘And then, O
ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye . . . repent
and turn from your evil ways?’ (Mormon 5:22). For then, ‘the Lord God shall cause a great division among the
people, and the wicked he will destroy . . . by fire’ (2 Nephi 30:10).”
(The Prophetic Book of Mormon, p. 530)
3 Ne 16:15 my people, O house of Israel…shall go through among them,
and shall tread them down
The punishment for rejecting
the truth is severe. Speaking to the wicked Gentiles of the latter-days, Moroni
said, Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over
you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon
you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer (Mormon 8:41). While
some have thought that this scripture prophesied of an impending “Lamanite
uprising,” this is not correct. When the Lord speaks of my people, O house of Israel, he is speaking of those who are
the descendants of Lehi, others of Jewish descent, and those Gentiles who have
repented and been adopted into the house of Israel. In this context, the house
of Israel are the servants of the Lord in the latter-days. See commentary for 3
Nephi 20:15-20.
Elder McConkie explains that
this prophecy will be fulfilled in part prior to the Second Coming. However,
the prophecy is not completely fulfilled until Christ comes to fight for his
people according to the promise, when the Lord shall
appear he shall be terrible unto them, that fear my seize upon them, and they
shall stand afar off and tremble. And all nations shall be afraid because of
the terror of the Lord, and the power of his might (DC 45:74-75).
Bruce R. McConkie
“These
things lie ahead; they are pre-millennial; as the great destructions and wars
unfold that shall usher in that reign of peace, then we shall learn how and in
what manner they shall be fulfilled. Our feelings are that the Gentiles will
not repent and that there will be a day when Israel shall triumph over her
ancient enemies according to the promises.” (The Mortal Messiah, book 4,
p. 318)
Bruce R. McConkie
“In
the full and true sense, Israel shall triumph over her foes only when the
Millennium is ushered in, only when her Messiah comes to deliver them from the
aliens, only when the wicked are destroyed and the Lord reigns gloriously among
his saints.
“It
is in this setting -- a millennial setting; a day of millennial glory; the day
when peace prevails because the wicked have been destroyed -- it is in this
setting that Jesus says: ‘Then’ -- in
the day of which we speak – ‘the words of the
prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled.’ These are the words: ‘Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice
together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall
bring again Zion.’ We are establishing Zion now, but our Zion is only
the foundation for that which is to be. We are laying a foundation; the
promises relative to the glorious Zion of God which shall yet stand upon the
earth shall be fulfilled after the Lord comes. ‘Break
forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem,’ Isaiah
continues, ‘for the Lord hath comforted his people,
he hath redeemed Jerusalem.’ The true and full redemption of Jerusalem
must await the day of the Lord's return. ‘The Lord
hath made bare his holy arm in the eye of all the nations; and all the ends of
the earth shall see the salvation of God.’ (3 Ne. 16:4-20.) Again, we
have made a beginning, but the glorious fulfillment lies ahead.” (The
Millenial Messiah, p. 241)
3 Ne 16:16 I…give unto this people this land for their inheritance
Hugh Nibley
“What
could be clearer? This land has been given to that particular branch of Israel
as an inheritance for their children in perpetuity—it is their sacred
obligation to hold it for their children; they cannot possibly sell it or allow
it to be taken from them. That would be unthinkable, and that we never seem to
understand.” (Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, p. 85)
3 Ne 16:18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice
Melvin J. Ballard
“I
rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to belong to a Church that has watchmen, who
sing together in unison, who indeed have the vision, the light, and the
inspiration of the living God, to direct this people…We are not groping in the
dark, and we live in the day that Isaiah was talking about when upon the
mountains of Ephraim, where we stand, the watchmen shall sing together in
unity; the day when the waste places shall be redeemed; and Jerusalem, as we
heard at this conference, stands on the threshold of her redemption, for the
Lord hath decreed it.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1922, pp. 82-3)
3 Ne 16:18 the Lord shall bring
again Zion
“The
words of Jesus in 3 Nephi 16 are instructive in that a prophecy from Isaiah is
given a unique interpretation. The inheritance of the land of America by the
descendants of the tribe of Joseph and the establishment of a holy people there
is seen to be a fulfillment of the prophecy that the Lord ‘shall bring again Zion.’ In the early revelations
to the Prophet Joseph, a similar notion of Zion as a holy community or a
society of believers is evident. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were
instructed in April 1829: ‘Keep my commandments, and
seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion’ (D&C 6:6; 11:6;
12:6; compare 14:6)…
“Zion
was not and is not today a man-made enterprise. It is more, far more than a
city that focuses on social problems and solutions in fallen man’s social
programs. ‘Other attempts to promote universal peace and happiness in the human
family have proved abortive,’ [Joseph
Smith] stated; ‘every effort has failed; every plan and design has fallen
to the ground; it needs the wisdom of God, the intelligence of God, and the
power of God to accomplish this. The world has had a fair trial for six
thousand years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand Himself.’ The Prophet
also added: ‘In regard to the building up of Zion, it has to be done by the
counsel of Jehovah, by the revelations of heaven.’ (Teachings, pp. 252,
254.) Elder John Taylor added that human enterprises ‘have failed, and
they will fail, because, however philanthropic, humanitarian, benevolent, or
cosmopolitan our ideas, it is impossible to produce a true and correct union
without the Spirit of the living God, and that Spirit can only be imparted
through the ordinances of the Gospel’ (in Journal of Discourses 18:137).”
(Joseph Fielding McConkie, The Choice Seer, chapter 22)
3 Ne 16:20 the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations
Isaiah’s descriptive phrases
are sometimes so figurative as to have obscure meanings. Often this is because
they have a dual meaning. The implications of verse 20 differ depending on your
perspective. The wicked will see the Lord’s holy arm of justice at that day in
that they will fear him and tremble at his power. The righteous will see his
holy arm of mercy at that day in that they will be granted all the promises
given to the House of Israel. The scriptures teach us of both perspectives. The
holy arm of justice will fall on those who forget God, The
Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon
the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the nations that forget God,
and upon all the ungodly among you. For he shall make bare his holy arm in the
eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of their God (DC 133:3). Nephi teaches us of his holy arm of mercy, I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the
kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in
the eyes of all nations. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his
arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his
gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel (1 Ne 22:11).