“11 For thus spake the prophet: The Lord
God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with
his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and
salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his
power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke,
and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and
by mountains which shall be carried up.
12 And all these things must surely come, saith the
prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because
of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the
sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature
suffers.”
Nephi prophesies about the
birth and death of the Savior. In this revelation given unto him from the Lord,
Nephi also receives the words of Zenos, a lost prophet whose teachings are
preserved only through the Book of Mormon record. These two verses more
specially describe the destruction of the land when Christ was put to death. It
is interesting to note the strong physical reaction the earth exhibits. In a
way, the earth is personified and “groans” because of the loss of its Savior.
From other prophecies, we know that ultimately the earth itself will “receive
its paradisaical glory” and become celestialized much like man who, through his
obedience and the Atonement of Christ, can too be exalted.
The second verse provides
another interesting insight. It references the “kings of the isles of sea” who
will witness this great destruction. In 2 Nephi 10:20, Jacob teaches the
Nephite people that though they “have been driven out of the land of [their] inheritance…the Lord
has made the sea [their] path, and [they] are upon an isle of the sea.”
It is probable that especially during the days of Nephi and Jacob, the people
considered their place of living an isle of the sea because of its surrounding
geography and tropical environment. However, it is important to recognize that
this verse also suggests that there are other isles of the sea as well.
According to the Book of Mormon Student Study Guide put out by the church, it
explains that Hagoth (see Alma 63) and his people who sailed away settled the
pacific islands. These other isles also were privy to witness the signs of the
Savior’s death. Additional analysis about the origins of the Polynesian people
can be found from Dr. Parsons, a religious professor at BYU (see link below).
Ultimately, these verses
show not only that the destruction would come, but also that it would carry a
greater spiritual significance. Christ is the God of this world. As Zenos and
Nephi prophesied, the kings, through the spirit, would understand suffering of
Christ. In connecting that to our day today, each person should strive to not
only comprehend the Savior’s pain, but also why He had to suffer at all. I
personally have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It happened and
through His death, we all may live again. I think that’s a beautiful dichotomy.
Though we will have destruction in our own lives, if we repent and follow the
words of the Lord, we can overcome the darkness and receive that “great joy and
salvation.”
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