{"product_id":"2940014084895","title":"Divine Ministry, The First Gospel: Jesus Among The Nephites: Book of Mormon Commentary, Volume 5","description":"Introduction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA study of the Life of Christ, or of the New Testament Gospels,\u003cbr\u003ewould be incomplete if it did not include the contribution of the\u003cbr\u003eBook of Mormon. President Ezra Taft Benson gave the following\u003cbr\u003ecounsel to the members of the Church:\u003cbr\u003eThe Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to \"sweep\u003cbr\u003ethe earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect\" (Moses 7:62). This\u003cbr\u003esacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our\u003cbr\u003epreaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and\u003cbr\u003eseminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must\u003cbr\u003enot be followed by the Church members in their personal and family\u003cbr\u003estudy. We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a\u003cbr\u003eman \"nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.\"\u003cbr\u003e[History of the Church, 4:461]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd when we are called upon to study or teach other scriptures, we\u003cbr\u003eneed to strengthen that undertaking by frequent reference to the\u003cbr\u003eadditional insights which the Book of Mormon may provide on the\u003cbr\u003esubject. (See 1 Nephi 13:40; 2 Nephi 3:12.) [CR, October 1988, 3]\u003cbr\u003eThird Nephi, the account of Jesus' ministry to the Nephites, especially\u003cbr\u003eprovides extensive additional insights to an understanding of the\u003cbr\u003eteachings of our resurrected Lord and Savior.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJesus ministered for three years among the people of Palestine as\u003cbr\u003ea mortal being. This will be referred to as his \"mortal ministry\" in this\u003cbr\u003eDivine Ministry--The First Gospel Jesus Among the Nephites  The writer of the Gospel of John made a similar statement: \"And there are also\u003cbr\u003emany other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen\" (John 21:25).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough there is a wide variance among scholars in the dating of the writing of\u003cbr\u003ethe New Testament Gospels, the traditional dates of the four Gospels being written are about: Mark A.D. 65–70.; Matthew A.D. 75–80; Luke A.D. 80–85; John A.D. 95–100.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, 1 Nephi 13:24 indicates the records were written much earlier than the\u003cbr\u003etraditional dates, probably during and following Jesus' ministry. The Nephite account of his ministry, from which Mormon made his abridgment, was also made at the time of the Nephite ministry (see 3 Nephi 26:7–8).\u003cbr\u003eThe gospel is defined in 3 Nephi 27:13–22. We will discuss the definition given\u003cbr\u003ethere in chapter 14 of this work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis ministry in the Americas following his resurrection in\u003cbr\u003eJerusalem will be referred to as his \"divine ministry.\" He ministered\u003cbr\u003efor just three days as a divine, resurrected being among the more\u003cbr\u003erighteous of the Nephites who were spared from the destruction at the\u003cbr\u003etime of his crucifixion. Although Mormon, the abridger of the records\u003cbr\u003etells us, \"there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part\u003cbr\u003eof the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people\" (3 Nephi\u003cbr\u003e26:6),1 what is provided gives us a basis of understanding the four\u003cbr\u003eNew Testament Gospels.\u003cbr\u003eAs pointed out by President N. Eldon Tanner, \"3 Nephi gives us\u003cbr\u003eadditional information in more detail than the four Gospels in the\u003cbr\u003eNew Testament, and preserves the doctrines, teachings, and compassion\u003cbr\u003eof the Lord. For this reason there are many who refer to Third\u003cbr\u003eNephi as the fifth Gospel\" (CR, April 1975, 52). Acknowledging the\u003cbr\u003einsight of those who call it the fifth Gospel, Third Nephi would more\u003cbr\u003eaccurately be viewed as the first and foremost Gospel of Jesus Christ.\u003cbr\u003eBased upon the theories of the world it was written before the New\u003cbr\u003eTestament Gospels,2 but more importantly, it defines and explains the\u003cbr\u003egospel per se, as well as many other teachings of the Savior.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn addition to defining the gospel,3Third Nephi interprets and\u003cbr\u003eclarifies many New Testament teachings, which further justifies\u003cbr\u003edesignating it as the first Gospel. Third Nephi 8 through 28:12 and\u003cbr\u003eMoroni 2–6 (an appendage of the Savior's teachings to the Nephites\u003cbr\u003eadded by Moroni) contains as much information about Jesus'\u003cbr\u003eteachings as there is in any of the four New Testament accounts.","brand":"Mary Ann Nyman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145866690800,"sku":"2940014084895","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014084895_p0.jpg?v=1763600331","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014084895","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}