3 Nephi Chapter 10

1 And now behold, it came to pass that all the people of the land did hear these sayings, and did witness of it. And after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours;

2 For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours.

verses 3-7 After "many hours" of silence, the Lord begins to speak again.

3 And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear, and did witness of it, saying:

4 O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.

5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.

6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

verses 4-6 The repeated use of the image in these verses of the hen's calling after her chickens to come to the shelter and safety of her wings portrays the love of the Savior for his children and his desire to keep them safe and shelter them from the storms of life. He expressed similar sentiments for the Jews in the Old World (Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 13:34-35) and even in our own dispensation he has expressed the same thoughts (D&C 43:23-25). It is pertinent to note that the hen can raise her wings to offer protection, but her chicks must choose to come to her. Another image which helps us understand the Savior's intense desire to gather his people around him is that of the human mother who is happiest when her children are gathered safely around her where she can see them and touch them and nurture them and reassure herself that they are safe.

Note in these verses the three tenses of the verb to gather: "how oft have I gathered you," "how oft would I have gathered you," and "how oft will I gather you." One may regard these usages as representing the timelessness of the Savior's love for us. His call to repent is extended past, present, and future. His arms are always extended in love and mercy.

7 But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers.

verse 7 The Lord had made a covenant with the Book of Mormon people to protect them so long as they were obedient. Now this remnant of the seed of Israel (largely of the tribe of Joseph) were in danger of breaking their covenants and thus being destroyed from off the land. If they do not repent, then they are no longer his children according to the covenant. Then they would have no claim to an inheritance either temporally or spiritually.

8 And now it came to pass that after the people had heard these words, behold, they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of their kindred and friends.

9 And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.

verse 9 "the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land" The verb "dispersed" implies a breaking up or scattering and may refer to the dispersion of a cloud of volcanic ash and gases.

"the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease" This implies that the seismic activity continued throughout the three-day period of the Savior's entombment, perhaps as a series of aftershocks.

10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.

verse 10 "the earth did cleave together again, that it stood" To cleave, of course, means to cling or adhere closely. This colorful language means that the earth stopped shaking, groaning, crumbling, and collapsing.

11 And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.

verse 11 This great cataclysmic destruction had been foretold by Nephi (1 Nephi 12:4; 2 Nephi 26:6), Zenos (1 Nephi 19:11-12), and Samuel the Lamanite (Helaman 14:20-28).

12 And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared-

13 And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.

verse 13 Though this verse is referring to the survivors of the great "storm," it implies that some of those killed were "overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness." Dr. Hugh Nibley has written:

Most of the victims of the great catastrophes of Pompeii, St. Pierre (Martinique, 1902), and Mount Pelee (1906) died of suffocation when earthquake dust, volcanic ash, steam, and hot gases (mostly sulfurated hydrogen gas) took the place of air. In some areas, the Book of Mormon reports, people were "overpowered by the vapor of smoke and darkness"-and so lost their lives. There it is, this vapor of smoke and darkness that comes down. It shuts everything out. Even without volcanic accompaniments, however, major earthquakes kick up a terrible dust, according to Sieberg. They're accompanied by phenomenal vapors and astonishingly thick air (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 3, 321).

When ash from a volcanic eruption "begins to fall back toward the earth, it is accompanied by many gases, including hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, carbonic acid, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. If the ash fall is heavy, people will naturally suffocate, not only from the ash content itself but from these gases, which are lethal in large quantities" (Bruce W. Warren and Thomas S. Ferguson, The Messiah in Ancient America, Provo, Utah: Book of Mormon Research Foundation, 1988, 42). In a few instances in modern times people, animals, and vegetation have been killed by volcanic gases which collected in low spots (Carla W. Montgomery, Environmental Geology, 3rd edition, Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown, 1992, 105-106; G. A. Macdonald, Volcanoes, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1972, 25-52, 257).

14 And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.

verse 14 The reader is counseled to search the scripture to reassure himself that these events have indeed been foretold there (see the commentary for verse 11).

15 Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things.

16 Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because they testified particularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed.

verses 15-16 "These things" refers to the signs associated with the death of the Savior. Verse 16 suggests that perhaps Zenos and Zenock, ancient prophets who wrote upon the plates of brass, were both of the tribe of Joseph, and that the Nephites descended from them. For further information regarding these prophets see the commentary for 1 Nephi 19:10, 1 Nephi 5:16, and the introductory commentary for Jacob 5.

17 Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of Joseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem?

verses 17 Do we have in our Bible a prophecy by father Jacob concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph? We do not! See the interesting commentary for Alma 46:24.

18 And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them-

verse 18 The reader should pause for a moment and ponder the blessed privilege that these Nephites and Lamanites will have in actually seeing the resurrected Savior and receiving in person his teachings. Your author has been guilty of envying them.

Bear in mind that these Nephites and Lamanites were the righteous among the people and had been prepared for this experience. The wicked were slain in the great destruction (3 Nephi 9:12-13; 3 Nephi 10:12-13). Some of these righteous survivors had seen the signs of the Savior's birth some thirty-three years previously, and all of them had recently seen the signs of his death. They had survived the three hours of terrible storm along with its terrible tempests, the shaking of the earth, the lightning, the crumbling of buildings, the shearing of huge rocks, and the landslides and collapse of mountains. They had also endured three days of a thick vapor of darkness and had heard the fearful moanings, groanings, and shriekings hundreds of thousands of human beings, many of whom were being crushed and maimed in the tumult. They had heard the voice of the Lord speaking to them in the darkness, declaring that all this had happened because of the people's wickedness. They were ready to see, hear, and worship their Lord.

It is instructive to contrast the Savior's brief but glorious ministry in the New World with his mortal ministry among the Jews in the Old World. There in the Holy Land walked the very Son of God, the Creator of the earth, the God of Israel. But most of the Jews were not prepared, and they did not appreciate the glorious privilege of having him live among them (John 4, 8; Luke 11:30-32; Matthew 13:16-17). Those in the New World, in contrast, were prepared and consequently received teachings, blessings, and spiritual experiences that far exceeded those given the Jews (see 3 Nephi 19:31-36).

This verse states that Christ appeared to the Nephites "in the ending of the thirty and fourth year." Since his crucifixion took place "in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month" (3 Nephi 8:5), did the Savior wait almost a year to appear to the Nephites in Bountiful? Joseph Fielding Smith has suggested that Christ appeared shortly after his crucifixion and not a few months later (Answers to Gospel Questions, 4:26). He cites as evidence the phrase contained in this same verse: "Soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them." Also, he points out that just before the Lord's appearance at the temple in Bountiful, the people were "marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place" during the great storm that had just occurred (3 Nephi 11:1). The text does obviously contain some ambiguity on this point. Yet, as we compare the dates in this verse and in 3 Nephi 8:5, we seem to be taught that his appearance to the people was, indeed, almost a year after his crucifixion. More discussion of this point follows-see the commentary for 3 Nephi 11:1.

19 Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them; and an account of his ministry shall be given hereafter. Therefore for this time I make an end of my sayings.

verse 19 We know that the principle authors of the book of 3 Nephi were Nephi, the son of Nephi, and the prophet Mormon. Which of the two is writing here? Your author does not know for sure. Perhaps the prophet simply Mormon suspends his editorial comments at this point and begins to abridge the unedited writings of Nephi.