W09 Assignment: The Savior's Visit to America
Part One (of Three)
Spend 2 hours studying the teachings of Christ found in 3rd Nephi chapters 11–18. Highlight important
teachings you find during your two focused hour of study. Don’t worry if you do not finish all of the chapters.
Study deeply rather than quickly.
Reference to Passage
SAMPLE Quotation from, and commentary on, something the Savior taught in these chapters.
found in 3 Nephi 11-18
3 Nephi 15:22-23 “And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they
understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching. And they
understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the
Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them
save it were by the Holy Ghost.”
I like how Jesus recognizes that even some of his most faithful disciples will not
understand everything he says in the moment he says it. It takes time, and sometimes
takes other events unfolding before we can understand all his words. While I think I
understand a lot more from the scriptures than I used to, I know I still have a long way
to go, and many things to learn about our Savior and our Heavenly Father’s plan. I want
to hear His voice!
Reference to Passage
First Quotation from, and commentary on, something the Savior taught in these chapters.
found in 3 Nephi 11-18
3 Nephi 11:10-12 “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And
behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that
bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon
me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things
from the beginning. And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the
whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had
been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his
ascension into heaven.”
The mission of the prophets is to bear testimony of the divinity and coming to the world
of Jesus Christ, the son of Heavenly Father, and his redeemer mission. Ours is the
attitude to remember always Jesus Christ, and keep his commandments, in preparation
for his glorious second coming; on the other hand, Jesus Christ glorified our Heavenly
Father in fulfilling of the promised he did to all of us in the premortal council when he
proposed the plan of salvation, and we must follow also His example, glorifying to our
Heavenly Father.
Reference to Passage
Second Quotation from, and commentary on, something the Savior taught in these chapters.
found in 3 Nephi 11-18
3 Nephi 11:29-30 "For verily, verily, I say unto you, he that has the spirit of contention is not mine, but of
the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirs up the hearts of men to contend
with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir the hearts of men
to anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be
abolished."
Jesus Christ taught us not to fight in anger with another; I have sometimes fought in
anger with other people, and the first consequence of doing so, was the loss of the
company of the Holy Spirit, and the rest of the story is not worth telling; instead, when I
have contained myself, and have not reacted with anger against my mockers or
enemies, I have received the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and my heart rejoiced in Jesus
Christ. Indeed, being a peacemaker has allowed the power of Heavenly Father to
manifest in my life.
Reference to Passage
Third Quotation from, and commentary on, something the Savior taught in these chapters.
found in 3 Nephi 11-18
3 Nephi: 12:3 “Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
To belong to the kingdom of heaven, it is not required to be rich in all the spiritual gifts
that are delivered by the influence of the Holy Spirit; any worthy person may be
appointed to callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to his
or her capacity; if a person does not have such abundance in spiritual gifts, but keeps all
the commandments of God, he will inherit the kingdom of heaven. In my case, I accept
any calling in His Church, because I know that He has prepared the way I must follow to
accomplish the task.
Part Two
Identify three flag phrases you that you highlighted and share why you thought they were important. This will
determine if you understood how to use the "Flag Phrases" Skill.
Reference to one of the
verses where the identified SAMPLE flag phrase, with explanation as to why it seemed important.
flag phrase is found.
3 Nephi 11:23 “Verily I say”
I looked up ‘verily’ and it means ‘truly’ or ‘certainly’. Maybe this is a way that the Savior
emphasizes a spoken statement. Maybe it’s kind of like an exclamation point, but at the
beginning of the sentence.
Reference to one of the
verses where the identified First flag phrase, with explanation as to why it seemed important.
flag phrase is found.
3 Nephi 12:4 “And again, blessed are…”
Jesus Christ repeated the condition of blessed, and emphasized it by saying ‘And again’,
as to say that even in harsh times a person can hope to receive blessings from God, who
does not forget His sons who love Him.
Reference to one of the
verses where the identified Second flag phrase, with explanation as to why it seemed important.
flag phrase is found.
3 Nephi 12:33 “(…), it is written”
Jesus Christ knew exactly what was written in the Torah, because he gave the law to
the prophets; With this flag phrase, Jesus Christ showed his audience that he was not
improvising, but was referring to issues that were in the domain of teachers of the law,
rabbis, scribes, Pharisees, and all people with access to the teachings on the Law of
Moses: using the scriptures is an effective tool to teach the gospel.
Reference to one of the
verses where the identified Third flag phrase, with explanation as to why it seemed important.
flag phrase is found.
3 Nephi 14:12 “Therefore”
The adverb “therefore” was used by Jesus Christ, overall, after the arguments in favor of
his thesis or commandment; it is a link between the cause and the effect.
Part Three
Practice the scripture study skill of visualization and pick one of the events described in the chapters you read
and share WHY you particularly wish you could have attended and write a 200- word essay about what it
would be and why.
Share the reference to where you found the event you chose to write about, and why you chose it/what you
learned as you visualized the event here.
Jesus Christ’s Gospel Speech to the Pre-Columbians
After the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, He visited a branch of the house of Israel in
Pre-Columbian America, organized His Church among them, and taught them the fulness of the
Gospel. The speech that Jesus Christ gave to the people around the Temple of Bountiful in America
is like the Sermon on the Mount given in Jerusalem at the beginning of his ministry, but the message
was translated in the Book of Mormon without errors or omissions, as surely the first four books of the
New Testament were written by their authors, prior to being translated and compiled in the Bible.
The first beatitude written in 3 Nephi 12:3, parallel to the one written in the Bible, is: “Yea,
blessed are the poor in spirit who come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This
phrase differs from that of the Bible by the words: "who come to me"; Those words refer to the plan of
salvation proposed by Jesus Christ in the premortal council, where he told us that if we are obedient
to the Heavenly Father, we will receive added glory forever and ever, in opposition to the proposal of
Satan, who would save to all, even without repentance, on the condition of giving him (Satan) the
glory, instead of giving it to the Heavenly Father.
Another wonderful verse is written in 3 Nephi 12:48: “Therefore I would that you were
perfect as I, or your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The respective phrase in Matthew 5:48
does not include "as I"; in the opinion of the Jews, Jesus Christ was only a great prophet, but they did
not consider him "perfect", and despite the wonderful miracles worked by Jesus Christ, they qualified
him only as the son of a carpenter, not as the son of God; It is clear that a member of the abominable
Church, omitted the phrase "just like me", due to his doubts about the perfection of the Lamb of God,
who was predestined from premortal life for the atonement of the humble who exercise faith in him.
Indeed, Jesus was perfect in his mortal stage, and if He commanded us to be perfect as He was
perfect, we can fulfill what He has commanded us, to develop love for Heavenly Father, by keeping
all His commandments, and be perfected by the purifying influence of the Holy Spirit.
The second coming of Jesus Christ will be like his visit to the nephites and lamanites, and, we
must keep all the commandments that he gave to the people gathered around the temple of Bountiful,
to be “like the wise man who built his house upon a rock—And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded
upon a rock.” (3 Nephi 14:24-25). We were elected to live at this dispensation, and have certain
divine mission to fulfill; I decided even to be born in a time where I can receive all the ordinances in a
temple to live in the celestial kingdom, and for this this reason I have an infinite gratitude for my Lord,
Jesus Christ.
