1 AND now it came to pass [ This is the second day of the Savior teaching the Lehites. Verses 1-5. ] that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto them, both great and small. [ What is significant about expounding things “both great and small”? (3 Nephi 26:1). God is in the microscopic details. God is also in the macrospheres of cosmic and spiritual order. ]

2 And he saith: These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations. [ Us - our generation. The reason for teaching the people these things is for their future generations. He will quote the writings of Malachi, an Old Testament prophet who lived nearly 200 years after Lehi left Jerusalem. So Malachi’s teachings would not have been on the plates of brass since he lived 200 years after Lehi left Jerusalem.]

3 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come [ How does seeing “all things even from thebeginning until the time [Jesus] should come in his glory” help people to live righteously and happily? (3 Nephi 26:3). It is faith-promoting to know that God knows the end from the beginning. He has a plan. He rules and reigns with justice, mercy and equity, for time and for all eternity. ] in his glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, [ Nuclear weapons have this capability. ] and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;

4 And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

5 If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, [ Mercy is the time required for the individual to develop the kind of character God has, it is what makes God -God. So mercy will act over time in order for you to satisfy the demands of justice, or a time when you have developed the character that makes God God, if you have exercised faith unto repentance, which is the change of your character. ] , and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the world began.

6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people; [ We have some commentary from Moroni ]

7 But behold the plates of Nephi [ Or the large plates of Nephi. ] do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people. [ So Mormons abridgement is not as detailed as the plates of Nephi. ]

8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

9 And when they shall have received this, [ This is the Lord talking to Mormon. This account in 3rd Nephi ] , which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, [ The Lord tells Mormon that he is not to write everything that he has been taught about the last days, but to only write what we have here. The Lord also provides the reason, it is so that we have enough to know that God is in charge, and that we need to go forward with faith, not knowning everything to come - at this time. Or those who will spend the time to gain a testimony of these things that we do have will have the faith to go forward. ] and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. [ The onus is on us. I have come to believe that what he is implying here is that if we will study these things that he will manifest what they mean and their importance further through the spirit. Or we need to work in order to know them, and understand them, and if we will do that he will allow us to see deeper and with greater clarity. So the Lord in essence is also saying that if you will not study the Writings of Isaiah which are the things that God taught the Nephites but were not allowed to be written then, you would not accept anything else that I might give you. What does it mean "greater things will be made manifest unto them"? the footnotes on the 1981 edition BofM contain references to passages dealing with the sealed portion of the plates. This passage might be referring to the revelation of the sealed portion of the plates, but it may not. The phrase "greater things" is defined in Ether 4:13 as "knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief", which is really quite ambiguous. Moroni says of the vision of the brother of Jared "there never were greater things made manifest" , cf. Ether 4:4. Samuel said the angel told him there would be many people who saw "great things", speaking in reference to the signs of Christ's birth and death, cf. Hela. 14:28. so, the phrase "greater things" doesn't necessarily refer to the revelation of the sealed plates, but it might. ]

10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, [ How do we come to believe them? We need to study them, we need to pray if they are true, we need to feast upon them. ] then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.

11 Behold, I was about to write them, [ Mormon thought they were important enough to write them down; but the Lord said no. What is contained in these records that will make it so that people would need less faith? as it says in the end of this verse. ] all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people. [ This is the second time that the Lord has referred to having a limited portion of the word in order to try his people. To see if would would do as we were told to do to study it. See vs 9. ]

12 Therefore I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me.

13 Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them. [ Or taught them the importance of the sacrament. ]

14 And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter.

15 And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven—the second time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the Father, [ So this is the end of the second day. ] after having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures among them, and raised a man from the dead, and had shown forth his power unto them, and had ascended unto the Father—

16 Behold, it came to pass on the morrow [ So the third day. ] that the multitude gathered themselves together, and they both saw and heard these children; yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things; [ So we might conclude that a good portion of what the little children taught was beyond what the Savior had taught them. They were most likely explaining thing which they still remembred from the pre-existance, these things would have still been fresh on their minds. I suppose that is the reason why they were prohibited from writing them down. ] and the things which they did utter were forbidden that there should not any man write them.

17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.

19 And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another. [ This living the law of consecration expands to all of the Lehites 4 Ne. 1:1-3 ]

20 And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them. [ Can we really fathom what has happened here? What significance do you find in the fact that Jesus ended his second appearance to the Nephites, first, with the renewal of covenants again with the sacrament, ministering again unto the children, healing again all the sick, letting the children speak, baptizing those who cameforth, seeing that they shared all things in common and that they did all things as they had been commanded. ]

21 And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ.