The Book of Mormon’s Pinnacle Temple Text: 3 Nephi—Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog, I suggested several questions:

• Who assembled at the Bountiful Temple and how were they “chosen” to be there (did they simply “self-select” or randomly show up or were they invited)?

• Why were they at the temple (as opposed to some other place)?

• Did Mormon use an ancient Israelite temple rite to structure his composition of Third Nephi? If so, why?

• Did the Lord reveal to and authorize His servants to administer, as part of the Law of Moses-prescribed New Year festival complex celebrations, a temple drama or instruction that looks a lot like the LDS temple endowment? Might elements of this drama have predated Moses and been part of “those ordinances” that existed “from before the world was" (D&C 124:37-38) and were practiced by the ancient patriarchs (see Abraham, Explanations 2 and 7 of Facsimile 2)?

• Were Lehi and Nephi, who held the Melchizedek Priesthood, commanded to bring these ancient temple rites practiced in Solomon’s temple with them to the New World? Did Nephi “build a temple” and “construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon” (2 Nephi 5:16) to administer these ordinances? Did the priesthood and such ordinances continue to the time of Christ’s appearance?

• How did Christ’s appearance to the Nephites “fulfill” the events depicted in this ancient Israelite temple rite and drama?

As we bring questions like these to our study of Third Nephi, our appreciation of God’s love for ALL His children increases. Not only did He “[give] his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), but I believe He has revealed His ordinances and called and authorized prophets and other priesthood leaders to officiate in the ordinances of exaltation throughout the dispensations to those who will receive them.

3 Nephi Christ in the Land Bountiful Simon Dewey

What physical changes to the temple and changes to their temple ordinances would the “fulfillment” of the Law of Moses have required? In His address to the Nephite and Lamanite survivors during the three days of darkness, “the Saviour . . .  gave two instructions” from heaven, Baker and Ricks note, both of which had to do with the temple.

The first involved the fulfillment of the law of Moses: “In me is the law of Moses fulfilled.” “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:17, 19-20).

Here, Baker and Ricks explain, the Savior is quoting from two Psalms: “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Psalms 51:16-17);” and “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalms 34:18; see also 2 Nephi 2:5-7; 4:31-32). “One can hardly wish for a stronger evidence that the Nephites knew and understood the [context] of the Psalms in their [temple] ceremonies, for here the Savior himself” reminds them of His teachings in the Psalms.[1] 

How did the prophet or presiding high priest, Nephi₃ , and those over whom he presided respond to the Savior’s announcement that He had fulfilled the Law of Moses? Mormon does not tell us. Scholarly opinions about what kind of changes to the temple and its ceremonies Nephi₃ may have implemented vary, in part, depending on how one interprets 3 Nephi 10:18-19, in which Mormon appears to give contradictory explanations about when the Savior appeared.

Was it (1) “in the ending of the thirty and fourth year,” when “the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads”? or (2) “soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven,” when “he did truly manifest himself unto them—Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them”?

In other words, did Christ appear only days, or as Welch suggests, “several weeks, [or maybe a few] months, after the signs of Christ’s death”? In which case there would have been little time to act on the Savior’s instructions. Or, as Baker, Ricks and several other scholars believe, not until about one year later at “the ending of the thirty and fourth year,” which would have been “the next New Year’s festival”? The record is not clear.[2] 

What is clear, however, is that for Nephi₃, who would have been responsible (together with other priesthood leaders in council) as the prophet and “president” of the Church to interpret and implement the Lord’s directive, the ramifications would have been both “complex and very far reaching.” For one thing, “blood sacrifices pre-dated the Law of Moses” and were later “incorporated in the Law. The first sacrifice was performed by Adam soon after he left the Garden.”

But assuming Nephi₃ understood that all “sacrifices” and “burnt offerings” previously performed as part of their temple ceremonies were to “be done away,” then they would have needed to “make significant changes in the temple and temple grounds.”

For one thing, the great sacrificial altar which was no doubt in the court yard of the temple must be dismantled and removed. Blood would no longer be sprinkled in the temple and the Holy of Holies, and incense would no longer be burned since those practices were a part of the sacrificial ceremonies. The barns to hold the sacrificial animals would have to be removed, and many of the tools and implements that had been used in the services would have to be put away.

The second instruction Baker and Ricks point to from the Savior’s heavenly announcement, which might have impacted their temple ceremony, was the explanation that “whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God.” The instruction, then, was to “repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved” (3 Ne. 9:21-22). While the highlighted words “come unto me” could “be read as only beautiful symbolic words, and not as instruction at all,” it could be interpreted in the context of their ancient temple drama as a literal invitation to come to the Holy of Holies where Christ and God are, through “the veil which separates man from God.” If so, this would “have had implications for remodeling the interior of the temple” that “would require additional revelation before it could be implemented.”[3]

Parallels to the Feast of Tabernacles Temple Drama in Third Nephi 11-18. So far, Baker and Ricks’ analysis of how Mormon weaves the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama in his Third Nephi narrative has covered days one through six of the drama—the destruction on the American continent and the three days of darkness corresponding with days four through six of the drama.

“On the morning of the seventh day, ” in Act 2, Scene 8 of the Israelite temple drama, “a new temple was symbolically created.” The people did this by walking around Jerusalem “in a great procession, . . . measuring it with their steps and redefining it as sacred space.” Moreover, as scholars have shown, throughout “the Near East, temple building/rebuilding/restoring is an all-but-quintessential element of state formation and often represents the sealing of the covenant process that state formation in the ancient Near East presumes.”

If, during the 34th year, Nephi₃ initiated the temple remodeling required by Christ’s command on the fourth day of that year to discontinue animal sacrifices, as Baker and Ricks conjecture, then the Bountiful temple would have needed to be rededicated. In addition, such rebuilding and rededication of the temple would have “been a necessary prerequisite to the establishment of the theocracy of 4 Nephi,” to be led by the 12 disciples Christ ordained during His visit.[4]

Thus, while in the Old-World drama Jehovah symbolically came to his temple, rededicated it and re-legitimized the reign of Israel’s king, Baker and Ricks argue that in the events Mormon describes in Third Nephi 11-18, Christ literally fulfilled these Law of Moses rites.[5] 

To fulfill does not mean to finish and make obsolete; it means to put into effect, to bring to fruition, to satisfy, to convert to reality. The promise that the prophecies of the Law of Moses would be fulfilled by the Savior meant that he would do, in reality, all of the things that the performances and ordinances of the Law symbolically predicted he would do—that promise included the actualization of all of the events symbolically represented in the Feast of Tabernacles drama.[6]

Thus, “even though a year had passed and we are at the beginning of a different New Year’s festival,” according to Baker and Ricks, Mormon “picks up the sequence” of the temple drama in 3 Nephi 11“in the same place where he left it” in 3 Nephi 10.[7] The following table focuses on further parallels Mormon draws between the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama and events that occurred on the first two days of the Savior’s sermon at the Bountiful temple in 3 Nephi 11-18, the events of which, as told by Mormon, paralleled the seventh and eight days of the Feast of Tabernacles celebration:

Feast of Tabernacles Temple Drama	Mormon’s Narrative in 3 Nephi 11-18
Act 2, Scene 9: The Coronation Ceremony in Isaiah 61. “Jehovah was symbolically enthroned in his temple during the same ceremony as the coronation of the earthly king,” the five essential elements of which included (i) washing (removing ashes), (ii) clothing; (iii) anointing; (iv) giving of a new king-name; and (v) crowning (see Isaiah 61:3) See also Psalm 2:6-7, “which was sung at the coronation services of the festival drama”:                         Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.     I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said  unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. [336 & n.524-372; 633]	The Father’s announcement, “behold, my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name” (3 Nephi 11:7), “would have been understood by the people to be an announcement” not only that Christ is God, but “would have been understood as the ceremonial announcement that he is the High Priest and King of kings.” Such announcement would have been seen as a fulfillment of many Psalmic prophecies: “Yahweh’s enthronement day is that day when he ‘comes’ (Psalm 96:13; 98:9) and ‘Makes himself known’ (98:2), reveals himself and his ‘salvation’ and his will (93:5; 99:7), when he repeats the theophany of Mount Sinai (97:3ff; 99:7f), and renews the election (47:5) of Israel and the covenant with his people (95:6ff;99:6ff).”[8]
See reference to clothing above. “In ancient Israel, the royal robe of the king of Israel was apparently the same as the temple robe of the High Priest with its miter hat as a crown.”	After “descending out of heaven,” Mormon notes that Jesus was “clothed in a white robe” (3 Nephi 11:8), which the people would have recognized as “royal attire.”
	After introducing Himself as “Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (3 Nephi 11:10), whom the people would have understood “as both the son of God and also as the King,” “the people responded in the way one ought to respond, when receiving audience from a King,” “the whole multitude fell to the earth” (3 Nephi 11:12).
Act 2, Scenes 10-12 (The King at the Veil; The King Enters the Holy of Holies; “Establishing” the King’s Feet)“As follows during the festival ceremony, the great doors of the temple were swung open, the veil before the Holy of Holies was pulled back, and the king was brought into the sacred chamber. The king—the adopted son and legal heir of Jehovah—sat upon the golden throne with his feet “established” [on] the Ark as his footstool.” [635-36] “The throne in the sanctuary is considered as the image of the divine throne.” His feet would rest upon a footstool which contained sacred objects which represented both kingship and priesthood authority. (As they lined up and waited their turn to come before the Saviour, the Nephites might have sung, “God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness” (Psalm 47:1-9), just as they apparently did during the coronation rites of the Feast of Tabernacles.)	Mormon, perhaps because of its sacred nature, does not mention this detail in his narrative. However, Baker and Ricks suggest that after the people fell to the earth and Christ bid them rise, He “would have done precisely what the people would have expected him to do, that is, the veil before the Holy of Holies would have been pulled back, and their King—Jehovah, Messiah-the resurrected Savior [“I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 11:14)]—would have gone into the Holy of Holies and sat upon his own throne. If the room were arranged like the one in Solomon’s temple, the throne would have been elevated above the floor, and there would have been a footstool there, a sacred box akin to the Ark of the Covenant, containing emblems of priesthood and kingship—perhaps the sword of Laban, the Liahona, the [brass and/or] small plates.” The people would then have passed by the throne, “one by one,” and touched the wounds in his hands, feet and side (3 Nephi 11:15). [636-37]
	“Then Jesus, their King, did exactly what Jehovah was represented as doing during the temple drama. He appointed a new ruler to represent himself in his sacral kingdom (3 Nephi 11:18-21, 41).
Act 2, Scene 13: The King’s Lecture from the Throne of God. “Then there were sacrifices and feasting.”	“While in the Temple, and presumably while seated upon his throne, the Saviour delivered a lecture on the law.” Then there were sacrifices and feasting.
The 8th and final day of the Feast of Tabernacles celebration: Act 3 The Day of the Great Feast: Prelude to Eternal Peace and Prosperity (the 23rd Psalm). It was a day that symbolized the establishment of Zion and the beginning of an age of peace. Notably, “all the food was provided by the king himself. It represented his power and authority to rule with generosity, equity, justice, and mercy. Symbolically, in the drama this was a return to paradise where the people might eat freely of the tree of life.”	“In America, the day following the Savior’s first appearance, he came again, established Zion, blessed the people and provided for them a great ceremonial feast.” “Mormon made a point of telling us that the events of that day followed the same pattern. Jesus himself provided the food for the entire multitude.” “Now, there had been no bread, neither wine,  brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink” (3 Nephi 20:6-7). The emblems of the sacrament, which represented his body and blood (3 Nephi 20:8) also represented the tree of life and the waters of life that were in the Garden of Eden. “The symbolism was unmistakable. The Savior had symbolically—and literally—reintroduced the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve back into their paradisiacal Garden home, where they could be in God’s presence and eat freely of the fruit of the tree of life and drink of the waters of the waters of life.” [642-43]

The Savior’s “Lecture”—The Book of Mormon’s Consummate Temple Text. In a summary of his widely cited book-length treatment of “3 Nephi 11-18 as a Temple Text,” Brother Welch concurs with other scholars who suggest that the Nephites may have gone to the Bountiful temple in celebration of “one of their traditional holy day” festivals, as they had done faithfully throughout their lives in obedience to the ordinances and rites of the gospel as they knew it and “as the people of King Benjamin and previous faithful Nephites had done throughout their history.”[9]

If they came to the temple in obedience to the Mosaic law, then “by appearing at the temple,” Welch suggests, “Jesus demonstrated that all things would become new, not that the old things would simply be cast off.” In other words, the themes and instructional liturgy that the Lord had revealed to His prophets for use in the temple festivals and ceremonies under the law of Moses would be reemphasized and repurposed for the temple instruction and ordinances the Savior would give in His sermon at the temple.

If Baker and Ricks are correct that Mormon chose Mosaic law temple rituals, specifically “the ancient Israelite temple drama” enacted annually as part of Israel’s New Year festival, as a narrative template for framing Third Nephi generally and the sermon at the temple specifically, then this would suggest that Mormon also wanted his readers to connect these two ritual texts.

Indeed, Welch notes, “the main themes of the sermon at the temple,” viewed in “broad terms,” “are also the topics treated in the book of Leviticus, regarded by Jews as the most sacred of the five books of Moses.” Welch lists the following “main concerns” of the Law of Moses as outlined in Leviticus, themes which are echoed in the Sermon at the Temple—

• “Implementing the law of sacrifice (chs. 1-7, 17),

• “Bestowing the priesthood (chs. 8-10),

• “Assuring purity (chs. 11-16), holy living and loving one's neighbor (ch. 19),

• “Defining chastity (ch. 20),

• “Hallowing the sabbath days (ch. 23),

• “Eschewing blasphemy (ch. 24), and

• “Caring for the poor and consecrating property to the Lord (chs. 25-27).”

“I am he that gave the law,” Christ declared, “and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel" (3 Nephi 15:5). In other words, “the underlying purposes of the law,” with its temple rites and festivals, were the same as the “new” laws and ordinances Christ would impart in His sermon at the temple—to bind His people to Him through their covenants and invite them to receive the “power of godliness” to grow spiritually to become like Him.

Just as the rites and ordinances of the Mosaic law centered in temple worship, so, Welch argues, Christ’s teaching at the Bountiful temple in fulfillment of the law clearly suggest a “ritual context” or “ceremonial nature.”

For me, Baker and Rick’s analysis is helpful because it clearly places Mormon’s narrative of Christ’s appearance in the context of a specific Mosaic festival temple ceremony. Similarly, reading the bulk of Mormon’s narrative, 3 Nephi 12-16, as the temple “lecture” or instruction portion of that ancient Israelite ritual or ordinance (specifically Act 2, Scene 13 of the drama), which was directed to the “multitude” (and not just to his twelve disciples) (3 Nephi 12:1), helps me appreciate how the Savior’s 3 Nephi instructions apply to my own temple experience.[10] 

Brother Welch’s research also provides additional context about parallels between Christ’s temple teachings to the Nephites that echo elements of the LDS endowment, as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

• “The people fell down (see 3 Nephi 11:12);”

• “They all shouted Hosanna (see 3 Nephi 11:17), and others bowed themselves (see 3 Nephi 11:19), indicating a sacred environment and ritual actions;”

• “Ordinations were performed (see 3 Nephi 11:21-22; 12:1; 18:37);”

• “The absence of evil was assured (see 3 Nephi 11:28-30);”

• “Witnesses were called (see 3 Nephi 11:35-36; 17:25), and Jesus instructed the people to give strict heed to the words of his newly ordained disciples (see 3 Nephi 12:2);”

• “The people received instruction concerning the making of oaths (see 3 Nephi 12:33-37).”

• Christ’s instruction included “the offering of group prayers (see 3 Nephi 13:9-13),”

• “The wearing of true sacred clothing (see 3 Nephi 13:25, 28-31);” and

• “The entering into the presence of God through a narrow entrance (see 3 Nephi 14:13-14).”

• “The people identified Jesus as a divine heavenly being by experiencing the marks on his hands and in his side (see 3 Nephi 11:14-15),” reminiscent of “the Latter-Day Saint temple experience.”

• “The commandments issued in the Sermon at the Temple in 3 Nephi 12-13 are not only the same as the main commandments always issued at the temple, but they appear largely in the same order: obedience and sacrifice (see 12:19), evil speaking of the brethren (see 12:22), chastity and a higher understanding of marriage and divorce (see 12:28-32), love for one's enemies and obedience to the law of love or the law of the gospel (see 12:39, 41-45), and alms to the poor and consecration of one's life to the worship and service of God (see 13:1, 20, 24).”

• “Jesus instructed the people that before they might come to him they should first be reconciled with their brothers and sisters (see 12:23-24).”

• “He exhorted them to become ‘perfect’ (12:48), a word that implies not only ethical perfection but also the full initiation into the covenants of the religion and the achievement of full harmony with God.”

• “The Sermon at the Temple conveyed to people knowledge and power that was so holy it could not be [disclosed] to other people; the threatened penalty was death, ‘lest they . . . turn again and rend you’ (3 Nephi 14:6).”

• “In the end, the people were invited to make a three-fold petition (ask, seek, and knock) so that the Father might open and allow the righteous to ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (3 Nephi 14:21).”

• “Before the Sermon at the Temple ended,” the people had a celestial experience as “Jesus prayed unspeakable things on behalf of the parents and in turn blessed their children; this great blessing of the Nephite families occurred in the midst of fire, God, angels, and witnesses (see 3 Nephi 17:17, 21, 24-25).”

• And, finally, Christ “also gave them a new name (see 3 Nephi 18:5, 11).”[11]

In Part 3 of this blog, I will explore scriptures and apostolic statements as to whether worthy participants in the Israelite temple drama might have been “endowed” as we understand it

[1] Baker and Ricks, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? 620-21. For an excellent discussion of the meaning of the Hebrew words translated “broken heart and contrite spirit,” see Dana M. Pike, “3 Nephi 9:19-20: The Offering of a Broken Heart,” in Third Nephi: An Incomparable Scripture, 35-56 (“A literal translation of Psalm 51:17 thus reads, ‘The sacrifices of God are a spirit, a broken one; a heart, a broken and crushed one, O God, you will not despise.’” To offer such a sacrifice, Brother Pike explains, “we must break, smash, crush our heart to pieces to make an acceptable offering to the Lord because, as the scriptures teach, even though we are God’s children, each of us lives in a fallen world and has a fallen nature (see Mosiah 3:19). We all develop, to one degree or another, hearts that are ‘hard’ . . . sinful in orientation and lac[king] faith in Christ, [hearts that are] not readily penetrated by the Holy Spirit. A hard-hearted person resists the love and the will of God. . . . [A] hard heart is a proud and sinful heart, one that puts the things of self before the things of God, one that worships ‘other gods.’ Thus, by extension, a proud, hard heart can be viewed as an idolatrous heart.” He goes on to quote President Spencer W. Kimball: “Whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god; and if his god doesn’t also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry” (“The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976, 4).

Brother Pike’s observations about what it means to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit recalls President Russell M. Nelson’s teaching “not only why it is so important to draw upon the power of God to effect seemingly impossible changes in our psyche and character, but also how frequent service in the temple can help us do so. ‘Any addiction’ or compulsion, he taught, ‘be it gaming, gambling, debt, drugs, alcohol, anger, pornography, sex, or even food . . .offends God. Why? Because your obsession becomes your god. You look to it rather than to Him for solace.’” How we gain access to God’s power to do this—“overcome the natural man and become saintlier in our desires and personalities”—was, in my view, the central theme of President Nelson’s teachings, however that process was framed—whether “finding ‘rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world’ ‘by overcoming the world through your covenants with God” [Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” 97]; “increasing our ‘spiritual momentum’” [Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum”]; “reinforcing and strengthening our ‘spiritual foundations’” [Nelson, “Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation”]; “increasing our faith in Christ to move the mountains in our lives” [Nelson, “Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains”]; or “think[ing] celestial!” [(Nelson, “Think Celestial!”). In “virtually every conference message” he reminded us of the incomparable help available to us as we avail “ourselves as often as our circumstances allow of the temple, where ‘you are drawn closer to the Savior and given greater access to His power. There you are guided in solving the problems in your life, even your most perplexing problems” (Fluckiger, 49 & n.31, quoting from Nelson, “Think Celestial!”) [2] 3 Nephi 10:18 in its entirety reads: “And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared … did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them.” Scripture Central summarizes the ambiguity inherent in this verse as follows: “At first glance, it might seem like Mormon was saying that Christ visited the Nephites sometime near the end of the 34th year. Because Christ’s resurrection happened at the beginning of the same year (see 3 Nephi 8:5), this interpretation would require that most of the year had transpired between the two events. Another possibility, however, is that Mormon was simply saying that Christ’s ministry occurred sometime before or by the end of the 34th year. If so, then Mormon’s description of Christ visiting the Nephites ‘soon after’ his ascension would seem to support a timeframe closer to the beginning of the year.”

In a footnote, the Scripture Central team lists the following scholarly sources “who favor or assume a later date”: Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 5:327–330; S. Kent Brown, “When Did Jesus Visit the Americas?” in From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1998), 146–156; Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1987–1992), 4:50; McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, 4:307; J. N. Washburn, Book of Mormon Lands and Times (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 1974), 186; Sidney B. Sperry, Book of Mormon Studies (Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1947), 101; The Book of Mormon Testifies (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1952), 294; Book of Mormon Compendium (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1968), 401. It then lists the following “scholars who lean towards or assume an earlier timing of Christ’s visitation (although not necessarily immediately after his resurrection)”: Welch, Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple, 36–42; John A. Tvedtnes, The Most Correct Book: Insights from a Book of Mormon Scholar (Salt Lake City, UT: Cornerstone Publishing, 1999), 251–269; Reid E. Bankhead and Glenn L. Pearson, The Word and the Witness: The Unique Mission of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1970), 34; Milton R. Hunter, Christ in Ancient America (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1959), 97–98; James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, Reference Library mass-market edition (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1990; first published in 1916), 673.

Scripture Central writers then suggest that Mormon’s ambiguity may have been deliberate. Since Christ and His Father are “Endless” (D&C 19:10), living outside time “in the bosom of eternity” and “in the midst of all things” (D&C 88:13), “Mormon’s usual attention to chronology is replaced by a sublime focus on Christ’s temple-related teachings, covenants, and blessings. With Mormon as our guide, it’s as if we too get to enter a scriptural holy of holies, a place where time stands still and eternal principles and truths are manifested unto all who are spiritually prepared.” In other words, Mormon may be deliberately inviting us to look beyond a time-bound and perhaps short-sighted reading of these events from a merely historical, or “what happened?” point of view to a more eternal perspective. See Scripture Central, “Why Is So Little Said about the Timing of Christ’s Temple Ministry?” August 21, 2019, https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-is-so-little-said-about-the-timing-of-christs-temple-ministry.

[3] Baker and Ricks, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? 624-25; “3 Nephi as a temple text.” [4] Baker and Ricks, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? 628-30.

[5] Ibid. 628-29. [6] Ibid. 73.

[7] Ibid. 627.

[8] Ibid. 634, citing Mowinckel, Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 1:118. [9] Welch, “The Temple in the Book of Mormon,” 370. See also John W. Welch, Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple & the Sermon on the Mount: An Approach to 3 Nephi 11–18 and Matthew 5–7 (1999).

[10] See particularly Baker and Ricks’ discussion of the Beatitudes in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? 6 [11] Welch, “The Temple in the Book of Mormon,” 371-73.