Wednesday, June 10th, I taught the Institute class covering 3 Nephi 1-11 in the Book of Mormon. We covered the first 10 chapters looking at how quickly the people turned from being obedient, humble and righteous to prideful and wicked. We found good doctrine in the scriptures in these 10 chapters and discussed it.
Then we got to the 11th chapter. I asked the students to just listen while I read the first 17 verses of this chapter to them. Their instructions were to look and note things that touched them in these verses. Then, when I finished reading, they would teach me the things they felt and learned. It was a most tender experience.
The time frame for these verses is after the Atoning sacrifice of the Savior. There was great physical upheaval in the land of the Nephites at the time of the Savior's death. Cities were burned, sunk into the ocean, sunk into the land or raised up in mountains. The face of their land changed and they experienced three days of complete and total darkness. During this time they heard the voice of the Savior speak to them but they did not see him.
After the three days of darkness, the multitude gathered about the temple in the land of Bountiful. While they were there conversing about the things that had happened, about Jesus Christ, about the signs of his death given to them by prophets that had been fulfilled, they heard a voice. After the third time hearing this voice they understood it was Heavenly Father. They then saw a man descending out of the heavens. This was Jesus Christ. The multitude would fall to the earth when they knew who was with them. Jesus would let them feel the marks of the Atonement in his hands, feet and side one-by-one.
This is a very moving bit of scripture. After reading these 17 verses to the students, I asked them to share.
They were touched with Heavenly Father saying, "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him." We talked about the very few time in the scriptures that we actually read of Heavenly Father speaking. We talked of how pleased he must have been with this Son and His willing sacrifice for all of Heavenly Father's children. Very tender moment.
Someone pointed out the use of the word 'light'. The Savior descends in white robes to stand among the people. He tells them He is 'the light and life of the world'. We talked about that being a perfect name for the Savior.
Finally we discussed the Savior allowing each individual person to actually feel the prints in his hands, feet and side. We talked about the way the scripture says, "...they did see with their eyes, and feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record..." The use of so many senses to have a sure knowledge of the one who is speaking and a confirmation of the Atonement done for each of them. The fact that our Savior loves and knows each of us 'individually' is just powerful.
The Spirit was very strong during this part of our lesson. It was one of those moments when you know exactly why you are spending hours preparing lessons. Those moments when you know and you know each of those young people knows that they are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father that has a plan for them and loves them, that they have a Savior who willingly went through the Atonement as a perfect, sinless person so that we could repent and be forgiven, be resurrected having our spirit and our body reunited never to be separated again, and have that amazing enabling power of the Atonement help us to be more that we could ever be on our own. It was such a good experience and one I will treasure and want to remember and call upon when things just need a positive boost of energy.
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