And they heard a voice

1
And they heard a voice

• 3 Nephi 8-11

2
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder David Bednar
3
Moses 7

• 54 And it came to pass that Enoch cried unto
  the Lord, saying When the Son of Man cometh in
  the flesh, shall the earth rest? I pray thee,
  show me these things.
• 55 And the Lord said unto Enoch Look, and he
  looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on
  the cross, after the manner of men
• 56 And he heard a loud voice and the heavens
  were veiled and all the creations of God
  mourned and the earth groaned and the rocks
  were rent and the saints arose, and were
  crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man,
  with crowns of glory
• 58 And again Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord,
  saying When shall the earth rest?
• 60 And the Lord said unto Enoch As I live, even
  so will I come in the last days, in the days of
  wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath
  which I have made unto you concerning the
  children of Noah
• 61 And the day shall come that the earth shall
  rest, but before that day the heavens shall be
  darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the
  earth and the heavens shall shake, and also the
  earth and great tribulations shall be among the
  children of men, but my people will I preserve

4
3 Nephi 8

• 5 And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth
  year, in the first month, on the fourth day of
  the month, there arose a great storm, such an one
  as never had been known in all the land.
• 6 And there was also a great and terrible
  tempest and there was terrible thunder, insomuch
  that it did shake the whole earth as if it was
  about to divide asunder.
• 11 And there was a great and terrible destruction
  in the land southward.
• 12 But behold, there was a more great and
  terrible destruction in the land northward for
  behold, the whole face of the land was changed,
  because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and
  the thunderings and the lightnings, and the
  exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth
• 13 And the highways were broken up, and the level
  roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became
  rough.
• 14 And many great and notable cities were sunk,
  and many were burned, and many were shaken till
  the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth,
  and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the
  places were left desolate

5
(No Transcript)
6
3 Nephi 8

• 20 And it came to pass that there was thick
  darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch
  that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen
  could feel the vapor of darkness
• 21 And there could be no light, because of the
  darkness, neither candles, neither torches
  neither could there be fire kindled with their
  fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there
  could not be any light at all
• 22 And there was not any light seen, neither
  fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon,
  nor the stars, for so great were the mists of
  darkness which were upon the face of the land.

7
The Sequence of Events

• Destruction
• Darkness
• The Voice

8
(3 Nephi 99.)

• 9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which
  was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I
  caused to be burned with fire because of their
  sins and their wickedness,
• which was above all the wickedness of the whole
  earth, because of their secret murders and
  combinations for it was they that did destroy
  the peace of my people and the government of the
  land
• that the blood of the prophets and the saints
  should not come up unto me any more against them.

9
Praise to the Man

• Praise to his memory, he died as a
  martyrHonored and blest be his ever great
  name!Long shall his blood, which was shed by
  assassins,Stain Illinoiswhile the earth lauds
  his fame.
• Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of
  heavenEarth must atone for the blood of that
  man.Wake up the world for the conflict of
  justice.Millions shall know "brother Joseph"
  again.

10
Beginning of the Civil War

• "The word of the Lord to us was 'Gather up my
  people, and flee to the mountains, and hide
  yourselves, and there wait until you shall see
  the hand of the Lord made bare, and the wrath of
  the Almighty poured out upon the wicked nation
  that has consented to the death of my prophets.

11
The voice continued

• 19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the
  shedding of blood
• 20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a
  broken heart and a contrite spirit. him will I
  baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even
  as the Lamanites,
• because of their faith in me at the time of their
  conversion, were baptized with fire and with the
  Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

12
Question

• How could they Lamanites not know they had been
  baptized by fire?

13
40 Days later- Another Voice

• the people of Nephi, round about the temple which
  was in the land Bountiful
• they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven
  and they cast their eyes round about, for they
  understood not the voice which they heard
• and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a
  loud voice nevertheless, and notwithstanding it
  being a small voice it did pierce them that did
  hear to the center,
• insomuch that there was no part of their frame
  that it did not cause to quake yea, it did
  pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their
  hearts to burn.

14
Orson Hydes Journal

• The voice of God came from on high, and spoke
  to the council, rousing every latent feeling
  and melting every heart
• Saying Let my servant Brigham step forth and
  receive the full power of the Presiding
  Priesthood in my Church and Kingdom
• Orson reports that the twelve did hear and
  feel the voice from heaven, and we were filled
  with the power of God.
• Men, women and children came running where we
  were, and asked what was the matter. Their houses
  shook and the ground trembled, and they did not
  know but there was an earthquake.
• The Twelves response?
• The Lord was only whispering to us a little,
  and He was probably not far off

15
3 Nephi 11

• And it came to pass that again they heard the
  voice, and they understood it not.
• 5 And again the third time they did hear the
  voice, and did open their ears to hear it and
  their eyes were towards the sound thereof and
  they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from
  whence the sound came

16

• 8 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.
• 9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his
  hand and spake unto the people, saying
• 10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets
  testified shall come into the world.

17

• Legends of the Aymara Indians (Incas in Peru) say
  that the Creator God Viracocha rose from Lake
  Titicaca during the time of darkness to bring
  forth light.
• Viracocha was a storm god and a sun god who was
  represented as wearing the sun for a crown, with
  thunderbolts in his hands, and tears descending
  from his eyes as rain. He wandered the earth
  disguised as a beggar and wept when he saw the
  plight of the creatures he had created, but knew
  that he must sustain them.

18

• Quetzalcoatl was the Lord of
  Healingof the arts, poetry, and all
  things good and beautiful. Lord
  of Hope and Lord of the Morning Star.
  the god of life and gave penitence, love, and
  exemption from rituals of
  sacrifice...

19
Spencer W.Kimball,1966

• May I conclude with this experience of my
  friend and brother, Boyd K. Packer, as he
  returned from Peru. It was in a branch
  Sacrament meeting. The chapel was filled,
  the opening exercises finished, and the
  Sacrament in preparation. A little Lamanite
  ragamuffin entered from the street. His two
  shirts would scarcely make one, so ragged they
  were, torn and worn.
• Calloused and chapped were the little feet which
  brought him in the open door, up the aisle, and
  to the Sacrament table. There was dark and dirty
  testimony of deprivation, want, unsatisfied
  hungersspiritual as well as physical. Almost
  unobserved he shyly came to the Sacrament table
  and with a seeming spiritual hunger, leaned
  against the table and lovingly rubbed his
  unwashed face against the cool, smooth, white
  linen.

20

• A woman on a front seat, seemingly outraged by
  the intrusion, caught his eye and with motion and
  frown sent the little ragamuffin scampering down
  the aisle out into this world, the street.
• A little later, seemingly compelled by
  some inner urge, he overcame his timidity
  and came stealthily, cautiously down the
  aisle again, fearful, ready to escape if
  necessary, but impelled as though directed by
  inaudible voices with "a familiar spirit"
  and as though memories long faded were
  reviving, as though some intangible force were
  crowding him on to seek something for which he
  yearned but could not identify.

21

• From his seat on the stand, Elder Packer
  caught his eye, beckoned to him, and stretched
  out big, welcoming arms. A moment's hesitation
  and the little ragamuffin was nestled
  comfortably on his lap, in his arms, the
  tousled head against a great warm hearta heart
  sympathetic to waifs, and especially to little
  Lamanite ones.
• It seemed the little one had found a safe
  harbor from a stormy sea, so contented he was.
  The cruel, bewildering, frustrating world was
  outside. Peace, security, acceptance enveloped
  him.
• Later Elder Packer sat in my office and, in
  tender terms and with a subdued voice, rehearsed
  this incident to me. As he sat forward on his
  chair his eyes glistening, a noticeable emotion
  in his voice, he said, "As this little one
  relaxed in my arms, it seemed it was not a single
  little Lamanite I held.

22

• It was a nation, indeed a multitude of
  nations of deprived, hungering souls,
  wanting something deep and warm they could
  not explaina humble people yearning to revive
  memories all but faded out
• of ancestors standing wide-eyed, openmouthed,
  expectant and excited, looking up and seeing a
  holy, glorified Being descend from celestial
  areas, and hearing a voice say Behold, I am
  Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the
  heavens and the earth, and all things that in
  them are. . .and in me hath the Father glorified
  his name. . . .