Millet on The Law of Witnesses

From "The Doctrine of the Living Christ," by Robert Millet,
a Book of Mormon lecture,
part of the FARMS Prophets of the Book of Mormon video series.

This is the introduction to Dr. Millet's discussion of 3 Nephi 12-14

In chapter 11 – I hadn't planned to say anything about chapter 11, but I reread it last night –there seemed to be a message weaving itself through this. I'd like to call this first message "the law of witnesses." Let's pick up with verse 8. The Father has introduced his beloved son, and now it says:

And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying. . . (3 Nephi 11:8-9)

I found myself reading this last night and thinking about the anticipation and eagerness there must have been. These are the first words of the risen Lord to the Nephites, other than his voice being heard in the previous chapters. Now he has appeared, and the opening words would seem to be very important.

. . . 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 . . . (3 Nephi 11:10-11)

Which bitter cup? This is the same message given in Isaiah and modern revelation, where the Savior said, "I . . . have trodden the wine-press alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (D&C 76:107). Our Savior has been to Gethsemane; he has been to Golgotha. He has experienced what he never experienced before–the withdrawal of the Father's Spirit from him. He has known the agony of the atonement now, which he could not have known, even as the mighty Jehovah before the world was formed. So he says: "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 so, the first illustration of the law of witnesses is the Savior's witness of himself. What follows is interesting to me. I was reflecting on this last evening. The Lord then calls for the people to come forward one by one and become witnesses of the resurrection. There is, in a limited sense, a congregation of 2,500 people who now become apostles in their own way, because they become witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus.

Verse 14 says: "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." Though the words are not here, you would have to know that another attribute of the risen Lord was his patience. I don't know how long this took, but it had to take several hours. I have been in stake conferences where apostles and prophets have stood to shake hands with everyone that would, and they have stayed for an hour or two. This could have taken several hours for every one of those 2,500 people to pass by. I suppose that even if they only took a few seconds, it would have taken a long time–and some of us would be prone to take more time than that. So, we now have a people who become witnesses.

Verse 15 reads:

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and .did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

That is the same kind of language that John the Beloved used in his epistle. He was writing as one who had seen and felt and experienced. As these people went home at the end of a long and full day with the Savior, what interesting things they must have told family members about what they had experienced!

Let's now go to 3 Nephi 11:27-30; I call this "the importance of a united witness":

"And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one."

Let's stop there for a second. What do we learn from this? This is an interesting thing. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one. "I am in the Father, the Father in me," he says. What's going on? What is the doctrinal message here? What is he saying?

Student answer: To me, it seems he is saying how one these people are and how these people have gathered together at the temple as one. He is trying to say to them, "You came as a group, as one, just as we [the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost] are one. To me it is symbolic of the unity of the group along with the unity of the godhead.

Excellent insight. We go to great lengths, as Latter-day Saints, to stress that there is a Father, that there is a Son, that there is a Holy Ghost, and that they are separate and distinct individuals, that they are not somehow mystically intertwined as one spirit essence. But the fact of the matter is that they are infinitely more one than they are separate. They happen to be separate in body, separate distinct individuals, but they are one. The Father is in Christ; Christ is in the Father. That is describing that indwelling relationship that exists between them. And I like your comment about the oneness of the people. I remember Elder Bruce R. McConkie talking in The Promised Messiah about this. Why such stress, why such emphasis on oneness and unity among the members of the godhead? How much more graphically could we illustrate that there is only one way–that people must be united in the faith and that we are to come unto God?⁽¹⁾

Let's continue with verse 28:

And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

You may recall that in the first chapter of Alma, we have an incident in the history of the Nephites wherein certain of the members of the church who are being confronted and attacked, because of their belief, by anti-Christians choose to attack back. They become kind of anti-antis. The account is very descriptive concerning what takes place. They lose the Spirit of the Lord and are eventually cut off from the faith. When we contend in this way, in terms of argument or debate, about the truthfulness of the gospel, we have stepped out of context. The Lord doesn't operate that way. It is as if he is saying, "I don't care if you are right. You are wrong if you do it this way." Going on, verse 30 says: "Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

The other example of the law of witnesses I see in chapter 11 is found in verses 21 and 22, where the Savior appoints Nephi and calls twelve others to do what? It is interesting to note that these are twelve leaders of the Nephites, and what is their first assignment? What is the Lord going to have them do? Baptize. Of all the things that an apostle can do, what is his first responsibility? To baptize. It is interesting that in Doctrine and Covenants 20:38, the revelation simply says, "An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling [duty] to baptize." We speak often of the Nephite Twelve as "disciples" and try to distinguish them from the Twelve Apostles of the Lord in the Holy Land. The fact is, these Nephite disciples have apostolic duties, they have apostolic responsibility, and they have apostolic power.

References:

1. See Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah , pp.131-2.