Building upon the rock -- Part 2

We looked at scriptures about building upon the rock in BC times in part 1. When Jesus appears to the Book of Mormon people, we see this theme coming up several times. I noticed this a while back, but this time I tried to analyze it more closely. There is a pattern here that I will try to summarize.

In 3 Nephi 11, after he has appeared and the multitude has come forth and witnessed for themselves, Jesus calls Nephi and 11 others and speaks to them specifically about his doctrine. In verses 39-40, he says

39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

After this, Mormon creates a break in Jesus' words ("And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called..."). 

Then, Jesus again speaks to the multitude and gives the Sermon at the Temple that we know as the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5. As we know, this sermon ends with

24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (3 Nephi 14)

Again, immediately after this, Mormon breaks it up: "And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings". What follows is the talk on the other sheep and the gathering of Israel, healing of the sick, blessing the children and introducing the sacrament in chapters 16-18. After he has talked about the sacrament, towards the end of the first day of his ministry among the Nephites, Jesus says

12 And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.

13 But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.

After a few more verses, Mormon breaks it up again in verse 17: "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples...". This time Jesus says a few more words to the multitude before he gives his disciples the power to give the Holy Ghost and departs into heaven.

What did we observe here? Jesus repeats the theme of building upon his rock three times during the first day of his visit to the Nephites. These all somehow seem to mark the ending of a segment of that day. I find it peculiar and don't really know what to make of it. At the moment, I'm just fascinated by the complexity and structure of the Book of Mormon. Like I've said before, these intricate patterns are not created by a poor farmer dictating a text while looking in a hat. 

But the message is quite clear anyway: We must give heed to the words of Christ and do according to them. Then we build upon the rock and get a sure foundation. This is the way of life. The alternative is not doing what he says or doing "more or less". This results in a sandy foundation and is the way of death.