BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.
In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.
Book of Mormon: Arise and Come Forth
The story of Christ’s visit to the people of the Americas following His resurrection is so beautiful. In 3 Nephi 11:14, Christ stands before them, a resurrected being, and says “Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”
Though there is a very large group of people gathered, no one is denied the opportunity to spend a personal moment with their Savior. Verse 15 says, “And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come” (emphasis added).
Just as Christ invited the people living in the Americas in ancient times to come to Him one by one, He invites us today to come to Him personally. Despite the extremely large amount of people on this earth, He makes time for each one of us and cares for us deeply. Christ’s Atonement is not only infinite, extending to every human being, but intimate, catering to our every need and circumstance. We may often feel misunderstood or forgotten, but Christ truly understands our deepest hopes, sorrows, weaknesses, and desires. He will not leave us alone and continues to call out to us, “Arise and come forth unto me.”
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