1 AND now behold, it came to pass that all the people of the land did hear these sayings, [ As was previously documented (in the previous chapter) all of the people in the land heard the voice. What is the implication when he instructs us that everyone heard the voice and not just the very righteous? It was a real voice, not just the whisperings of the spirit, ] and did witness of it. And after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours; [ A time to ponder what they had heard, allow it to sink in. Does this shed us any light on how we should study the voice of God? ]

2 For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours. [ So we might suggest that in some way there was a peace that overcame the people so much so that they stopped crying over the loss of their loved ones who had died. That must have been some very powerful overcoming of the spirit to allow people to have temporary relief from all their troubles. WOW I cannot comprehend. What do you think made the difference here? The voice was one of a familiar spirit, it was the voice of truth, the voice of peace, it brought them great comforst and assurance. Can you imagine that after all of the destruction and death, then to heard the voice of peace, would you almost not be caught up in a moment of silence to reflect on everything that has happened. ]

3 And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear, [ Again EVERYONE heard it. ] and did witness of it, saying:

[Verses 4-7 Compare to Matt 23: 37-38] 

4 O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you you [ Past tense. He says this 3 times in the next 3 verses. Why does the Lord want to gather us? Listen to what The prophet Joseph Smith taught that the main objective of gathering was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of his kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation Teachings PJS 307-8 ] as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you. [ One of the purposes for gathering us - to nourish us - to teach us. Some things are only to be taught in the temples. ]

5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you [ Conditional tense. ] as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; [ Reference to when God tried with Moses to gather the children of Israel to the temple(Mount Sinai) but they refused. If you relate this with what the prophet Joseph Smith said the reason for gathering was in the previous verse then there is added meaning to what the Lord is trying to do with us. ] yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.

6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, [ Meaning there was a reason why they were not destroyed. We learned earlier that they were spared so that they could repent but they were also spared so that they could be gathered so why else were they spared?  Answer: vs 4,5,6 So they could be gathered and Why does the  Lord gathered his people? –to enable us to be taught greater commandments, make greater covenants so that we can receive higher ordinances. See verse 4 quote from Joseph Smith. ] how oft will I gather you [ Future tense. With all of the tenses used it implies that Jesus is doing everything within his power to bring us back to him. ] as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and unto me [ So just how often will the Lord gather Israel? As often as they will repent and return to him. ] with full purpose of heart.

7 But if not, [ What is going to happen if they do not repent? If they do not repent and return unto him - then. ] O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers. [ Or your homes will set empty, the land will for the most part be empty for a time until it is the time to fulfill the covenant made with your fathers.What was the covenant to your fathers? Enos 1:12-18 The record would be preserved and that he (the Lord) would bring them (the records) forth in his own due time This fullfilling of the covenant would occur in the latter days. Do you think that Enos had an idea this would happen? ]

[ Note the ironic nature of people -  when the Lord blesses His people they tend to rebel against Him, and when the Lord punishes His people they tend to repent. ]

8 And now it came to pass that after the people had heard these words, behold, they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of their kindred and friends.

9 And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. [ What happened in the life of Jesus Christ during that 3 day period? “While the corpse lay in Joseph's rock-hewn tomb, the living Christ existed as a disembodied Spirit. We are justified in inquiring where He was and what were His activities during the interval between His death on the cross and His emergence from the sepulchre with spirit and body reunited, a resurrected soul. The assumption that most naturally suggests itself is that He went where the spirits of the dead ordinarily go; and that, in the sense in which while in the flesh He had been a Man among men, He was, in the disembodied state a Spirit among spirits.” James E. Talmage. “Jesus the Christ / A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy / Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern.” ] And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.

10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; [ The earthquakes and tremors stopped. ] and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.

11 And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets. [ Commentary from Mormon - teaching us that the words of the prophets will alway be fulfilled. The commentary continues with specific references of those perdictions and there fulfillment. v 14, 15 the destruction which would occur when Christ returns. ]

12 And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, [ Notice how low the bar was set as to those who where spared. ] and it was they [ Group one. ] who received the prophets and stoned them not; [ This is the group that believed, received the words that the prophets taught, they tried to repent and change, to believe in God. ] and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared— [ Group two, it was those who were not actively participating in the deaths of those who did believe. It does not say that they were doing any real good, just that they where not killing the prophets and the believers, but it makes no reference that they had any belief. ]

13 And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.

14 And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, [ Search the scriptures for what? interesting choice of words – “search them” – search the scriptures for answers to why things are happening (prophets foretold of them), search the scriptures to know how to live, search the scriptures to gain a testimony of them…search …search…search. This is true for our day as well, if we want to understand what is happening in the world and why, we need to search the scriptures. ] and see [ I will show you. ] and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies [ Where are the propehecies recorded? In the scriptures, so what is he saying? So in turn we could say unto the fulfilling of the scriptures. ] of many of the holy prophets.

15 Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things.

16 Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because they testified particularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed.

17 Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph. [ Zenos, Zenock (v. 16) and Joseph all testified concerning the remnant of the seed of Joseph, which is what the Lamanites are. ] And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of Joseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem? [ Mormon appears to encourage them to search out these things in the Brass plates - of coarse we don't have the brass plates at this time, but the testimonies and prophecies are contained therein. At this point in time Mormon does have access to them. ]

18 And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, [ End of the year here - 2033? How much time has past since the terrible destruction? almost a year has passed since “came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month” 3 Ne 8:5. The great cataclysmic destruction occurred on the fourth day of the first month and Jesus' appearance to them occurs at the end of that year. This means there was almost a year between the destruction of ch. 8 and his appearance to the Lehites in ch. 11. It appears as if the year spans from Passover to Passover. We know that Christ was crucified on Passover, and he appeared to the Lehites almost a year later, during a gathering of the people at the Temple in Zarahemla. Since the Passover was one of the Biblic Feasts of ingathering, with the timing being a year later and with the ingathering event in place it would suggest that it was during the Passover. ] behold, I will show unto you that 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, [ It does not say that he appears to them at the end of the 34th year - it only says that he gave them great blessings upon them. ] insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them— [ Implying that the time was short between the resurrection of Christ and his appearance to the Nephites. But how short is the time when the Lord uses the word short? It can vary in both the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible, sometimes it means years as in (1 Ne. 7:14, Hela. 8:26), sometimes immediate as in (Mosiah 8:6). To get an idea of this particular shortness see 3 Ne.8:5 & 3 Ne 10:18 ]

19  Showing his body unto them, [ If these verses are taken by themselves, it’s not clear whether he showed himself immediately after or towards the end of the year. But there’s another clue in 3 Ne 23:7-14 when Nephi is somewhat chastised by Jesus for not recording the resurrection of the Saints: “11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them? 12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.” After the massive volcanic eruption that buried so many cities, burned others, and sunk others into the sea with its subsequent earthquakes, I’m positive that everyone spent the next several months trying to get their life back in order. They attended to the injured, they buried the dead, they tried to get their food supplies back in order and were very busy just trying to get back to normal. They would not be immediately gathering to the temple after such a disaster because it was a wide area. They would only be going there for the required feast day after they were able to. There was no way that Nephi had time to write down the fulfillment of that prophecy in the midst of the aftermath of the disaster in those first few months but he would’ve had time after things got back to normal to write them down, and that’s why he receives the correction. I find it difficult to believe that Jesus would chastise him during those first couple of days when he was most likely out ministering to hundreds of people who had suffered so much. It only makes sense that he received that correction after forgetting to do it when he had time.  ] and ministering unto them; and an account of his ministry shall be given hereafter. Therefore for this time I make an end of my sayings.