CHAPTER TWELVE

Structure of III Nephi -- That Which Shall Be, According to that Which Hath Been

The Lord designed the temporal and spiritual parallels in Book of Mormon history to play a crucial role in preparing the faithful for the greater things and in helping them respond appropriately the to issues set forth by this pivotal juncture in time. For this reason, He has provided many prophetic witnesses in the scriptures, to testify that the parallels are indeed intended and important. As with the parallels, the scriptural witnesses have been veiled, reserved to come in a time concurrent with the parallels.

As we carefully examined 3 Nephi 20, we discovered some amazing treasures hidden there. Considering the entire Third Nephi account of Christ's visits yields similar results. Within those gems are remarkable conclusions that not only foretell the unveiling of the parallels, but verify the primary theme they set forth: that the religious and the political realms of God's kingdom (refer to Table 2 in Chapter 3) are interrelated and supplementary.

A Summons to the Reader

Below, we go through an in-depth analysis of 3 Nephi chapters 11 through 30. A similar analysis, using similar techniques can reveal equally amazing witnesses in other sections of scriptures. Two of the best examples are (a) Matthew 24 (JST) plus D&C 45, and (b) Second Nephi chapter 25 through 31:1.⁽¹⁾ Both of these sources point to the parallels in Book of Mormon history, indirectly and directly. It is recommended that the reader study these after going through the following analysis of 3 Nephi 11-30. By going through these two sections mentioned above, the reader will have the opportunity to discover for himself (through the Spirit) profound scriptural evidences as to the truthfulness of these things. By doing this, the reader will obtain a greater personal conviction regarding these things and will become a more valuable instrument in God's hands in sharing these pivotal principles with others.

The "Keyhole" Verses

In our previous discussion, we considered the chiasm that Jesus created by altering the order in which he quoted the verses of Isaiah 52. Upon further study, we find that the entire account of Jesus' visits to the Nephites is organized into numerous chiastic structures: large, small, superimposed, overlapping.

In considering these various chiasms, we should bear in mind a most fundamental chiasm. It is simply,

        The first
                shall be last,
                and the last
        shall be first

The Lord said that this is the pattern in all things that he has created. (D&C 29:30.) Is this why the Lord uses chiasms so extensively? "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first" is essentially the basis of the chiastic structure.

The Lord apparently uses the chiastic literary technique as a means of providing us with a "key" for unlocking precious treasures in Third Nephi. With chiasmus as the key, what we will call the "keyhole" is found in 3 Nephi 26:12,13. These two verses signal to us where we need to look to find the over-arching structure of Third Nephi. In these two keyhole verses, Mormon tells us that the things he recorded in Third Nephi were "the things which [were] commanded [him] of the Lord." (26:12.) The Lord specified to Mormon which teachings and which events to include in the "less than a hundredth part" of what could have been included in the record we now have as the Book of Mormon. (26:6.) Because the Lord so meticulously selected the things that were to be recorded, we are obliged to the Lord to match that effort in our meager way and painstakingly examine the things which are laid before us. When we carefully research the structure and content of Third Nephi and observe the correlations with other scriptural sources, we see the unquestionable signature of God, for this would have been impossible for any mortal to synthesize. The correlations traverse continents of land and time that mortals cannot forge.

The second of these two keyhole verses states, "Therefore" (a word which signals a conclusion derived from the previous thought) "I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days...." (26:13.) In other words, God specified to Mormon what he was to write, and the three appearances of Jesus are where we should look to discover the reason why the Lord commanded him to write the things he wrote. The three appearances of Jesus to the Nephites turn out to form the core of the "Third Nephi structure."

An Overview of the
Third Nephi Structure

Usually, when we think of a chiasm, we imagine several consecutive verses of scripture organized in ascending, then descending order of elements that correspond one with another. A chiastic pattern is followed in 3 Nephi 11 to 26:11, which is an account of the first two appearances of Jesus to the Nephites. However, this chiasm does not cover just a few verses. Some of the individual points of correlation cover several chapters. The entire chiasm spans 14½ chapters. This chiasm is delineated in APPENDIX L, "A Chiasm Covering the First and Second Appearances of Jesus Christ." The ascending points refer to his first appearance; the descending points refer to his second appearance.

The keyhole verses (3 Nephi 25:12,13) occur precisely at the point where this chiasm ends and immediately before the account of the third appearance begins (26:14 to 28:15).

The third appearance is tied in to the previous two appearances with restatements of events from the second appearance and then from the first. These ties to the first two appearances are also organized in a chiasm.

The closing remarks by Mormon in the last two chapters of Third Nephi (29,30), also appear to be an important and intended conclusion of the Third Nephi Structure.

Endnotes:

1. The two sources listed here frequently utilize the literary tool of parallel intersection. In the analysis below, chiasmus and ommission are the two main tools we consider. We saw a parallel intersection in Chapter 11, when we looked at 3 Nephi 20. While 3 Nephi 20 was treated in the previous chapter, note that it is part of the Third Nephi structure.

"Would God that ALL the Lord's People Were PROPHETS"

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