Week 39 is scheduled for study Sept. 23-29, 2024. The call for each of us to “arise and come forth” is both individual and a collective summons as disciples of Christ.
Day 1
3 Nephi 8-11 – Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
I am struggling with today’s topic, not because I question its truth, but because I can’t seem to find the words to define or express adequately how Jesus is the light in my world.
In the most literal way possible Jesus is the light of the universe. As its creator, all the light that illuminates the stars, galaxies, and other light producing objects in the void – they all get their light from Jesus Christ. He is the source of their brilliance. Without his power they cannot function within the sphere of their creation. Christ’s power gives life to all things.
In the scriptures we are told that light is another word for truth, intelligence, and spirit. They are all used interchangeably. When Moses went to Sinai and spent 40 days with the Lord he received revelations, truth, and his mind was illuminated by the spirit of Christ. When he came down from the mountain his face glowed so brightly that it frightened the people and they asked him to put a sack over his head to hide the brilliance of his countenance.
I believe that it is a law of the universe that when we are infused with the influence of he who dispenses and keeps all truth, his light is so great that we cannot keep it within ourselves and we begin to shine. We don’t shine like Moses did, but people can see that our countenance has changed. It is brighter than before. How often have you heard of someone speaking of those who work in or attend the Temple often as having a countenance that glows or is bright?
What I am saying here is that in a very real way when we focus our life on Christ and the gospel he has given us, we change. Jesus is the giver and the source of all light. When we keep his commandments and live by his laws, his light fills our life and we see more clearly. We comprehend better the truths of eternity, and we find the joy he promises to those who follow him faithfully. His light is real. It is as real as the light from our sun, which also comes from him.
To reject Christ is to cast ourselves into darkness where it becomes increasingly difficult to perceive the difference between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. What is amazing to me is that with all the evidences of God’s light all around us we are still able to walk in darkness, because we have refused to see or accept His light. We can choose to walk in darkness and be spiritually blind. We can also choose to be obedient to all of God’s commandments and come to see His glory in our life. Christ is the giver of this light. It is real, and it changes who we are and how we perceive things.
Day 2
3 Nephi 9-10 – Jesus Christ is eager to forgive.
It is easy to remember all the times in the scriptures we are told that if we don’t repent we will be damned. This seems like such a harsh line to take. But what we fail to remember time and time again is that Christ is constantly telling us that his whole purpose in coming to earth was to atone or pay the price for our sins. You know, that price we can’t pay ourselves because we are incapable of paying for our disobedience and weaknesses. Christ promises us that if we will come to him with a contrite heart and in sincerity, he will forgive our sins and heal our soul.
Being forgiven of our sins and being healed doesn’t sound nearly so hard lined as being damned. But what does it mean to be damned? It merely means that we stop ourselves from progressing in the eternities by the choices we make here that prevent us from moving forward. It’s like the water of a river hitting a dam and not being able to move forward any longer. That is why we say it is damned or stopped in its progression. When we are damned it is because of our own choices.
If I don’t turn to Christ and repent of my sins then the only person who can wipe those sins from the books of judgment is left with the sins still written there. I will be condemned at the last day because I chose to let them remain in the book of life. When I repent Christ forgives me of the sin and that sin is blotted out. In the day of judgment it will be as though that sin never happened. I am considered clean and free of that sin forever.
“Jesus Christ is eager to forgive.” Eager sounds almost sappy. But why wouldn’t Christ be eager to forgive us? Isn’t that the very reason he allowed himself to suffer as he did, so he could forgive us of every sin? All through the scriptures he constantly invites us to come to him so he can forgive us and heal us. Why? Because it is through the process of repentance that we find and experience joy and eternal happiness. That is the reason behind the entire plan of salvation God gave us, for us to experience the happiness and joy God, Himself experiences. That plan is facilitated and made possible through the atoning sacrifice of God’s only perfect Son, Jesus Christ. So yes, Jesus is eager for us to turn to him and seek forgiveness, for he is eager to forgive us so we can find joy. He loves us and wants us to be as happy as God is. That happiness is a process that starts with repentance and faith in Christ.
Day 3
3 Nephi 9:19-22 – The Lord requires “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”
A broken heart and a contrite spirit is another way of saying we are sincere and humble in our desires to change and become better and more committed to following Christ. Jesus will not forgive a duplicitous heart, one that claims a desire to change, but is false about it. We must be willing to pay any price, and do whatever is required of us in order to be forgiven.
It was so easy to be forgiven in the law of Moses. You brought your animal sacrifice and offered it up to the priests who placed it on the altar of sacrifice, and you were forgiven, for the animal that stood in your place gave its life for your forgiveness. When Christ came the rules changed. He offered his life in exchange for ours. Unlike an animal sacrifice his was an infinite and eternal sacrifice, one that never again need be repeated. For us to receive forgiveness for sin and gain the ability to permanently change for the better we must offer to Christ a genuine sorrowing for our sins (broken heart) and a willingness to accept Christ’s requirements to be forgiven for our disobedience and mistakes. We must be contrite, humble. Now our salvation is a matter that is directly settled between us and our creator.
Day 4
3 Nephi 11:1-8 – I can learn to hear and understand God’s voice.
I recommend this article – Some Basics of Personal Revelation.
Day 5
3 Nephi 11:8-17 – Jesus Christ invites me to gain a personal witness of him.
Jesus taught the people of the true nature of testimony when he had each one of them come and individually experience for themselves the marks in his hands, feet, and side. This was a sure proof of his identity, and one that they were then commissioned to share with others who wouldn’t have that same opportunity. He didn’t get up on the level above them and show the crowd his scars. He had them all come up one at a time and see for themselves what had happened to him. Testimony is personal, even shared experiences cannot produce a shared testimony, for each one is individual to the person who receives it. Even when they each had the same experience of seeing and touching the Savior, each of them had to choose to soften their heart so as to accept the testimony Christ offered them.
It was just as difficult for someone who lived before Christ’s day to accept his Messiahship as it is for each of us today to do the same. All of us must accept his role in our life on faith. Even proof isn’t enough for us to gain a testimony. Some of us will have very little to go on, while others will have many witnesses. All of us, in any time period, have to choose to believe. What is important is what we do with what we are shown or given to know.
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