Br. Martins' Lecture Notes for Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 1-5

Questions for Review:

1. What great miracle was witnessed by the inhabitants of the Americas at the time of the Savior Jesus Christ's birth? (3 Nephi 1:15-19)

2. What strategy did the Gadianton Robbers use to gain new members to their secret criminal organization? (3 Nephi 1:29)

2. What seems to be the long-term effect of miracles in the human mind? (3 Nephi 2:1-3)

3 Nephi 1
Birth of Jesus Christ
& Beginning of the Christian Era

Nephi, son of Helaman II and great-grandson of Alma, the younger, leaves the land and ... "puff!" (1-2, 2:7-9)

Nephi, son of Nephi, and great-great-grandson of Alma, the younger, becomes the new record keeper and (apparently) president of the Church (2)

Wicked rulers threaten the lives of the believers. Nephi pleads with the Lord on their behalf, and the Lord announces his birth (9-14)

. These wicked unbelievers found an excuse to get rid of the people who might be potential obstacles to their sinful political agendas

. The general tendency among wicked rulers is to alter the laws so they will conform to their wicked desires (read Mosiah 29:23; Helaman 7:4-5; 8:3)

The signs of the birth of Christ are given just as Samuel the Lamanite had prophesied--the sun sets but the night is still bright (15-19)

There were still some attempts to rationalize (or secularize) the miracle, but most of the people believes and accepts baptism (22-23)

Misinterpretations of the Law of Moses have to be corrected (24-25)

The Gadianton robbers become almost invincible (27-28)

Lamanite youth are fooled by the false propaganda and join the robbers (29)

Have you seen this "film" somewhere? Think about our modern-day organized crime and urban gangs ...

3 Nephi 2

The problem with miracles: after a while they lose their initial impact, and those who were converted because of them abandon their belief (1-3)

The Nephites change their calendar (8)

Gadianton robbers become a worse problem (11)

Converted Lamanites become "white" and take upon themselves Nephite citizenship (14-16)

Dismal situation of the Nephite nation (19)

3 Nephi 3

Giddianhi, leader of the robbers, writes a presumptuous letter demanding Nephite surrender (6-8)\

The false assertions of the criminals (9-10) \

Lachoneus, a righteous chief judge of the Nephites, devises an inspired battle plan to face the robbers (12-15)

. Notice that Lachoneus plan had both temporal and spiritual aspects

. This is a good analogy with our battle against evil: In order to be successful in overcoming evil we need: unity, temporal fortresses, and spiritual fortresses

In times of righteousness, the Nephites chose individuals with the gift of prophecy as their leaders. Lachoneus, the chief judge, and Gidgiddoni, the general, were two of those prophets (19)

The Nephites gather in one body in the land of Zarahemla (22-23)

3 Nephi 4

The robbers can't rob; their only way to survive is by attacking the Nephites (3-4)

The greatest battle since the time when Lehi left Jerusalem. Giddianhi, the robber is killed. (7-14)

The Nephites finally destroy the Gadianton robbers (17-33)

3 Nephi 5

Widespread righteousness in the Nephite nation (1-3)

Nephite jurisprudence: repent and be free, or face full consequences of the law (4-6)

Many things happened that were not recorded in the Book of Mormon. The Nephite language itself was an obstacle to an accurate record-keeping (8-10, 18; also read Ether 12:23-26)

Mormon introduces himself and his work (11-17, 20)