3 Nephi 16

3 Nephi 16:1

1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.

The Nephites are the “other sheep” of whom Jesus spoke in the Old World. However, they are not the only “other sheep.” Jesus notes that there are yet others who fit this designation. For the Nephites, this information should add to their comfort that they are not forgotten, and in this case, not unique. They remain separated from Israel, but they are not alone. There are others who share a similar fate.

Textual: This verse is artificially separated from its context. There was no chapter break in the 1830 edition at this point, and this section should have followed directly on the section describing the Nephites as “other sheep.” The two sections belong together, as this unit grows out of the previous one.

3 Nephi 16:2

2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.

3 Nephi 16:3

3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.

Just as the Nephites were “other sheep” who were to hear the voice of their shepherd firsthand, there are yet other “other sheep” who similarly will have the opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord first hand. The Lord does not identify those people, and to this day we do now know who they were, or where they were. Perhaps their records have not yet been found, or perhaps they were completely lost. Certainly we understand that there will someday be “one fold, one shepherd” as a physical reality. Until that time, there the unity of the “fold” is metaphorical, and relates to our ability to receive the same gospel.

3 Nephi 16:4

4 And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.

Jesus commands the twelve to write. Specifically, they are to write about this fulfillment of the prophecy of the other sheep for the benefit of those in Jerusalem. If those in Jerusalem do not discover them through righteousness, then they shall know of them from the writings left behind. The Savior’s requirement that these things be written for the benefit of future generations, and particularly for the convincing the Jews provides an interesting parallel to one of Nephi’s earliest prophetic experiences:

1 Nephi 13:38-42

38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.

39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.

41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.

42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

Both Nephi and the Savior are speaking of the same events, and interestingly enough, some of the same language appears, namely the “one fold, one shepherd” imagery in 1 Nephi 13:41.

3 Nephi 16:5

5 And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.

The written words of these apostles are precursors to the gathering of Israel. This is no doubt something to which the apostles looked forward, but which they had been told was still in the future. The gathering will take place, and the Nephites will have a place in that gathering, but not quite the one that they had hoped for. Their words will be important precursors to that gathering. They may or may not have understood at this point that they as a Nephite people would not be part of the gathering.

3 Nephi 16:6

6 And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father.

3 Nephi 16:7

7 Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them.

3 Nephi 16:8

8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles—for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them;

Literary: The typical clarity of the Book of Mormon appears to fail us in verses 6-11. The English text is difficult to follow, and the sentence structure is almost hopelessly convoluted. There is powerful meaning here concerning the future role of the scriptures in the understanding of the gospel, but the language in which that meaning is couched requires effort to comprehend. Of the keys to this section is an underlying parallelism that has been hidden in the current flurry of words explaining the meaning of the parallelism.

One of the hallmarks of the Sermon on the Mount has been the sets of antithetical parallels used to teach particular points. Such a parallel lies under this text, but deeper than in the more obvious, shorter statements of the Sermon on the Mount.

The first parallel set is the blessing/cursing of the Gentiles. We have:

6 And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me (3 Nephi 16:6)

8 But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles (3 Nephi 16:8)

The first conceptual outline is related to the Gentiles. The Gentiles appear in the future history of the scriptures as both being blessed and cursed. They will have a role in the spread of the scriptures and the truth, but that role will be both good and bad, with the good first, and the bad second.

The second antithetical parallel is set up in verse 7, but not completed until verses 10 and 11:

…in the latter day shall the truth come unto the Gentiles (3 Nephi 16:7)

…; 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. And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. (3 Nephi 16:10-11)

The two themes are therefore the blessing and cursing of the Gentiles related to their position to the scriptures. The second antithetical parallel deals with the direction of the movement of the scriptures. They will go among the Gentiles, and then from the Gentiles. The Gentiles are therefore blessed because of their favorable retention of the Old World scriptures. However, when the time comes that the Gentiles will begin to reject the teachings of those scriptures, the scriptures will moved from the Gentiles to the Jews.

The movement of the scriptures is also antithetical. They come from the Jews and go to the Gentiles. Then they go from the Gentiles and are returned to the Jews.

Our final piece in understanding this textual puzzle is the location of this section in the greater discourse of the Savior to the twelve. This unit began with the concern of the divided Israel. The “other sheep” section confirms that Israel is scattered, and that the gathering or unification of Israel still lies in the future. As part of the explanation of the process by which this would happen, Jesus explains the role that the Nephites will play in this larger scene of the gathering. Their writings will be a factor in this process, and interestingly, will first be to the Gentiles.

Schematically, verse 4 tells us that what the Nephites write down will be taken to the Gentiles, and through the Gentiles will be a tool for teaching the gospel to remnants of the House of Israel.

Verse 5 indicates that the hoped for gathering will take place after this future event.

Verse 6 sets up the Gentiles as the purveyors of the benefits of the Gospel. This is important precisely because it would be unexpected. The very definition of a Gentile is an unbeliever, so the presence of the gospel, and more specifically the scriptures, in the hands of the Gentiles is an indication of a reversal of expected order in and of itself. The House of Israel should be the keepers of both gospel and scripture. Thus the theme of antithesis is strengthened by this very future fact.

Verse 7 is the beginning of the directional antithesis of the scriptures. They go from the Jews to the Gentiles.

Verse 8 is the wo statement to the unbelieving gentiles, and is the antithetical parallel to the blessing of the Gentiles. In both of these clauses, the blessing and the cursing are both related to the way in which the Gentiles relate to the scriptures and the gospel. They are blessed for preserving scripture and gospel, but cursed for straying from the teachings thereof. Verse 8 now introduces a new theme, which is the treatment of the Jews at the hands of the Gentiles. The Gentiles will treat the Jews poorly, and this poor treatment comes after they do not understand the scriptures and gospel, and after they are under the “wo” clause. The poor treatment of the Jews continues in verse 9.

The theme of the poor treatment of the Jews by the Gentiles serves as another type of antithesis. In this case, it is an antithesis of expectation. Since the Jews are the covenant people, one would expect that their treatment would be better, somehow commensurate with their position as a covenant people. However, this position is temporarily abrogated by their rejection of the scriptures and the gospel. When the scriptures and gospel are in the hands of the Gentiles, the Gentiles are blessed. When they are absent from the Jews, the Jews are persecuted. However, this very persecution of the Jews will be an indication that the Gentiles are not following the scriptures and the gospel, and therefore becomes the herald of another reversal.

The final reversal begins in the end of verse 10 when the gospel is taken from the Gentiles and given back to the House of Israel.

Translation: The themes and the structural reversals are indications of the plate text. Unfortunately, the English text appears to obscure some of this, and is probably due to Joseph’s understanding of this complex structural arrangement of themes. At one point in this set, Joseph as translator appears to lose control of the direction of his sentence, and creates some of our comprehension difficulties with an aside that follows the structure, but is couched in terms that create a branch that is never completely restored. In verse 8 we have the antithetical wo to the unbelieving Gentiles. Right after that we have an aside that begins with “for notwithstanding…” That conjunction would indicate a type of relationship of the following material to the previous material that simply never materializes. In the process of translation, Joseph has come upon a complex section in the plate text, and his English rendition of that complexity becomes even more complex as he attempts to make sense of the meaning from the plates. The “wandering sentence” structure here would appear to be related to Joseph’s Smith’s translation attempt rather than the underlying text. The discernible structure of that text suggests that there was a more concise text on the plates that lost some clarity in the translation.

3 Nephi 16:9

9 And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them—

This is a description of future events. Symbolically these calamities come upon the Jews because the true scriptures and gospel is not among them at this time. However, the fact that the Gentiles are doing this to the Jews is also an indication that they are moving away from the true scriptures and gospel, and they are about to lose them.

3 Nephi 16:10

10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: 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.

At the beginning of this section the Savior addresses the twelve directly and indicates that all of this explanation is given to them so that they understand this particular part of the message. “At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel … behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.” This is important knowledge for these men who represent the House of Israel. After the future promise of sadness for Israel, the true point of the message is one of hope. The Father intends that they understand the ultimate redemption of Israel. The fullness of the Gospel will come from the Gentiles, and will once again be the rightful inheritance of the House of Israel.

3 Nephi 16:11

11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

The Father will not forget his covenant with Israel. Although there will be a hiatus due to unbelief, there will be an ultimate reconciliation. The gospel will return to the rightful home in the covenant people.

3 Nephi 16:12

12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

The Savior’s words here have a double referent. He is speaking directly to the twelve, and therefore to the Nephites as representatives of the Nephite branch of the House of Israel. However, since they are apostles of the Lord, they also represent all of Israel. Thus the promise comes on two levels, first to the Nephites, and secondly to all of the House of Israel.

3 Nephi 16:13

13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.

At this point in the antithetical parallels, the Jews have the Gospel, and the Gentiles have lost it. However, the Father will include those believing Gentiles who accept the Gospel. They will no more be Gentiles, however, but “they shall be numbered among my people.” Thus in the end it will be Israel that has sole possession of the Gospel and the true scriptures, and all believing Gentiles will not longer be Gentiles, but be adopted and converted into the House of Israel.

3 Nephi 16:14

14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.

3 Nephi 16:15

15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.

Verses 14 and 15 complete another parallel. When the Gentiles had the true scriptures/gospel and the Jews did not, the Gentiles persecuted the Jews. This was a symbolic recognition that those with the gospel would be saved, and those without it destroyed. At the end, when the reversal comes and the Gentiles lose the gospel and it is reunited with covenant Israel, this destruction will also reverse. Those who have the gospel will be preserved and those who do not will be destroyed. Of course the Gentiles who believed will have become part of Israel by this point, so the destruction of the Gentiles is symbolic of the destruction of unbelievers.

It is important to note that these destructions are symbolic in their presentation, even though the persecution of the Jews at the hands of the Gentiles was sadly accurate. These verses are not predicting a future uprising of Jews against Gentiles, but rather the scene of the final entrance of the Triumphant Messiah when the righteous are preserved and the wicked destroyed.

3 Nephi 16:16

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me—that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance.

3 Nephi 16:17

17 And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say:

3 Nephi 16:18

18 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.

3 Nephi 16:19

19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

3 Nephi 16:20

20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.

Textual: Verses 18-20 are directly from Isaiah:

Isaiah 52:8-10

8 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.

9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

The conclusion of this instruction to the twelve underlines the eschatological reference of the ultimate redemption of Israel. It is in this greater context that we can understand the otherwise unattached verse 16 that reiterates the promised land of the Nephites. This discourse that is directed specifically to the twelve comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and comprises part of our current chapter 15 and all of 16. This discourse begins with issues of separation, and ends with issues of unification. Our current verse 16 here is a reiteration that the current role of the New World twelve is still one of separation, but that what they write will play an important role in the final unification of the currently divided Israel.

This is the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition.