We may not be able to be as perfect in ministering as Jesus was to the people in Bountiful in 3 Nephi 17, but we can each be like Jesus in our own limited way.
This article was written as my response to the Come, Follow Me lesson for 3 Nephi 17 for week 41 of 2024. After each scripture reference I discuss what I learned from the verses. The underlined part is what I talk about at the bottom of the article.
Christ’s example
Let’s look at a number of verses from 3 Nephi 17 to see what Jesus did to minister to the people who had gathered at the temple.
1 Jesus had just completed the message he had been commanded to give them by the Father, but as he looked at the people he saw that there was a lot going on in each of their hearts.
5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.
6 And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.
Jesus was well aware of his duties and his need to fulfill other commandments from his Father, but he was also acutely aware of the desires AND needs of the people he was addressing. It was their intense desire that he remain a little longer with them that stirred his bowels with compassion. He longed to satisfy their righteous desires.
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8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.
I wonder about the word used here – sufficient. The prophet Mormon didn’t say that their faith was great, but that it was enough. We don’t have to have the faith to move mountains to have enough or sufficient faith to be healed or to have our individual desire fulfilled.
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10 And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.
(My comments in this paragraph are not all documented with scripture, but I stand by my assertion that this is the nature of Christ, so I believe this is what happened.) It wasn’t until I watched the video and thought about the individual nature of healing each person one at a time that I realized that he probably called each of them by name, showing that he knew them. There was no mass healing here. He would have asked them what they desired of him and let them express themselves to him to show him where their faith was and their heart. This was very personal, very individual, and extremely intimate, for they had to bring to him their greatest weakness in order for him to heal them of it. They each had to confess what they lacked and ask for his help, which he was more than happy to give. Despite their numbers and the hours this would have taken to accomplish, Jesus stood his ground and spoke with each and every one of them, and they “did bathe his feet with their tears.” This tells me each person was given their time to express themselves in their own way.
4 These next six verses need to be read together to make my point.
12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.
13 And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.
14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.
15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
My thoughts tell me that this is the first scriptural example, after Christ’s intercessory prayer with his Apostles, where we see the Christ doing what a Messiah is made to do. He was acting as an intercessor for the children of God to God in their behalf. This example is probably typical of the kinds of things Jesus regularly says to God on our behalf. It is so splendid and touching that it is beyond our ability to comprehend what he does for us, to plead for us, and to open doors for us with God. Jesus is doing here what only he is capable of doing, interceding for us before the throne of God for our benefit. And he chose to do it in front of all these people when he was surrounded by their innocent children, those who were pure and free of sin naturally.
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20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
Does Christ care about how much faith we demonstrate in him? These verses indicate that the faith of these people filled him with joy, and he wept because of it. So yes, Jesus does care whether we show faith in him.
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24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
What we can learn from Christ’s ministering
I have listed just six different lessons about ministering demonstrated here by Jesus Christ (see the underlined portions of each section above). Here is one lesson we can learn from each of these six examples.
1 We should find joy in helping each person fulfill their righteous desires. That always takes time and effort on our part. This is rarely convenient for our own schedule, but it is of infinite worth to the person whose righteous desires are being fulfilled. This act can take place in the simplest of ways, being a listening ear, speaking kind words of comfort, helping with something that eases another’s burden, etc.
2 Christ is able to quantify our faith. We are not. That ability is beyond us currently. But we can act on someone else’s desire for goodness. When we are on the lookout for anything that promotes goodness in another’s life, and we help them fulfill that goodness, this pleases God. We don’t have to know how much faith a person has, only that their desire to accomplish something good is there. God rewards those who promote good.
3 Ministering can be done to the masses, like when we donate to worthy causes. But when we actively involve ourself in another’s life, that is when ministering becomes truly personal. Personal involvement in another’s life and struggles is where the greatest joys are found in ministering. It is here that we see people having their prayers answered in private ways. And when we can be a part of answering that prayer, well there is no price you can put on that reward.
4 We are not the Messiah, but we can plead for one another in prayer, relying on the intercessor of us all to apply our own faith and desires to the answers he gives us.
5 Never underestimate the power of putting our belief in Christ into action. It is transformative, and only Christ knows just how much can be done by doing it. This is why it is always wise to encourage one’s belief in Christ, for belief always acts as the catalyst to faith.
6 I choose to call what we can do for others our own version of God’s tender mercies to us. It is in the little things we do to show consideration, kindness, tolerance, patience, and tenderness that God is able to perform miracles in the life of another person. We can’t compare what we do with what Jesus did for the people of Bountiful, but we can do those things that are within our personal abilities, and let God amplify those efforts for good in the life of those whom we serve.
These are just some of the ways we can look at Christ’s perfect example of ministering and find ways to minister to each other every day.
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This was helpful – I had the same question you did — why did he call the children to gather around him first, and only THEN talk about the wickedness of the children of Israel and start to pray? I like your thought — that Jesus was interceding on behalf of the innocent in a time of destruction and trauma. This was also a helpful article to me: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1390&context=jbms. It also kind of suggested that the little children may have been participating in a kind of prayer circle with Jesus during that prayer, and that may have been comforting to Jesus as well.