A thorough look at 3 Nephi 20:26-28

I have learned that when similar statements are repeated, the small differences might be meaningful. Therefore I have been looking at 3 Nephi 20:26-28 on and off for days. I'm still not sure I have fully understood the passage. But there is a certain repeated structure in these verses that I will try to dissect with color-coding. I also break it up into 4 sentences, a bit different from the verse breaks.

And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people.

Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.

 

Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.

 

Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance.

Each segment starts with "the work" of/with the Father commencing. The work has been explained already in this chapter and it consists of God fulfilling his covenant with the House of Israel (see verse 7). The work will occur "among" someone, but it varies in the different segments. Finally, there is a description of an occurrence involving these people.

One thing I noted is how the verses start out with "this people", then there is "my people" and finally "his people", referring to the Father. In other words, "the work" expands in scope and those involved. 

As you can see, there are four "work shall commence" statements but only three variations in references to people and three descriptions of occurrences. This is because the second sentence is only a clarification of who "the dispersed of my people" really are. They are "the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. The "work shall commence" statement is just repeated before the description of what will happen to them. So the Father's work of fulfilling the covenants with the House of Israel, as described in these verses, can be summarized as follows.

People	Occurrence
A remnant of the Nephites/Lamanites	The gospel shall be preached among them
The dispersed of Christ’s people, the lost tribes	Come unto Christ and call on the Father in His name
The Father’s people among all nations	Gather to the land of their inheritance

Like I said, I don't know if I understand everything about this, but I find it interesting that after "this people" hear this gospel preached, Christ starts talking about "my people". And after Christ's people pray to the Father, he starts talking about the Father's people. 

These verses also teach us that the work of fulfilling the Father's covenant with the House of Israel is all about gathering, both spiritually and physically. The spiritual gathering happens when "the dispersed" come unto Christ. The physical gathering happens when they gather to the land of their inheritance. This does not happen by force but by preparing the way. As the link explains, preparing the way enables the transition from a wilderness to a fruitful place, from spiritual wasteland to Zion.

Desolate and inhabited

Whenever I notice that certain words tend to appear several times in certain context, I have often found it worthwhile to study it more closely. This is the case with the word "desolate". It often seems to appear when there is a curse, destruction or scattering, especially in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon. Given the meaning of the word, that shouldn't come as a big surprise, but it seems that the authors sometimes go out of their way to include the word.

Here are some examples

Ammonihah

Alma 16 tells about the destruction of Ammonihah. In verse 11 we read 

And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.

This is what happened to a people that Alma called "highly favored" (which I believe to signify a covenant people) that had fallen into transgression.

Nephites at the time of Christ

We see a similar pattern when Samuel the Lamanite warns the inhabitants of the great city of Zarahemla. Samuel declares

And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate. (Helaman 14:24)

And now, my beloved brethren, behold, I declare unto you that except ye shall repent your houses shall be left unto you desolate. (Helaman 15:1)

This is what would happen to a people that Samuel called "a chosen people of the Lord" (Helaman 15:3). In 3 Nephi we read the fulfillment of this prophecy.

And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate. (3 Nephi 8:14)

The Jaredites

The Brother of Jared was also "highly favored" (Ether 1:34). He was given a land of promise along with his brother and their families.

And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance. (Ether 1:38)

Ether 2 and Ether 13 are also full of promised land/covenant language. The Jaredites are a chosen people who should serve God. Eventually they fall, just like the Nephites. The Book of Ether tells us about their complete destruction. This happens in the land that the Nephites later referred to as the land northward. What was this land called? Desolation!

And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken (Alma 22:30)

It started out as a promised land and an inheritance for a favored people, but because of wickedness it became Desolation.

Biblical connections

When a voice is heard from heaven after the signs of Christ's death and the destruction among the Nephites, it says:

6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.
7 But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers. (3 Nephi 10)

This is an echo of something Jesus had told his disciples a little more than a week earlier.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23)

In Matthew, Jesus goes on to talk about the destruction of Jerusalem and scattering of the Jews by the Romans. Keep in mind the other examples shown here that all ended with destruction. Jesus also goes on to talk about the last days culminating in his second coming. Notice the addition in 3 Nephi: "until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers". This leads me to the following insight: When desolation is used in the scriptures, it often describes a promised land not inhabited by its original covenant people. It does not necessarily mean that it is empty. It only means that the covenant people that God established there broke the covenants and were cursed, bringing destruction upon themselves. The scattering of Israel happened in several promised lands with several branches at different times. But in the latter days, they will be restored. That is "the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers".

There is a lot of desolation language in the Old Testament, often connected to the scattering of Israel as a result of disobedience or breaking covenants. The prophet Jeremiah states

4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. (Jeremiah 22)

Psalm 69 is another example. This is a Messianic Psalm and contains prophecies about the Jews being scattered for rejecting the Messiah

25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

A few verses later, the Psalmist describes "the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers". 

35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

This is a latter-day reversal of the various "desolations". We find plenty of this language in Isaiah too, both the desolation as a covenant curse/scattering and the regaining possession of the promised land/desert blossom as a rose/building Zion etc. in the latter days as a renewal of the covenants. But I think the examples given here suffice for now. I will let Nephi have the final word, though.

36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.
38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.
39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.
40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt. (1 Nephi 17)

The tree of life and the living waters -- Part 2

Part 1 is found here. The background for these two post is learning that the possible Hebrew origins of the name, Mormon, is the fountain of living water. The Hebrew equivalent of the letters, 'm' and 'r' have the symbolic meaning 'water' and 'head/source', respectively. Judaism connects the Torah to the tree of life. So we have the word of God, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, connected to the tree of life and the living waters. This image helped me connect the dots of a few previous posts and make sense of some things I didn't understand before. All that is written in part 1.

Another realization is the strength of the connection between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. My mental image after this realization looks something like this:

I created links for that image but it didn't work when I copied over. The point is that these connections have more or less been addressed individually in previous blog posts. I am just seeing the bigger picture here. Here are the links:

Gathering of Israel (physical)

Restoration of the gospel (spiritual gathering of Israel)

Zion

Gathering of scriptures

Gathering of all things in Christ

Eternal life

Being filled

There are probably multiple previous posts that could have been linked to each item. The pattern we see is also one I mention in one of the linked posts: Our Heavenly Father created a world of dualism for us to learn and grow. Part of that journey is to ultimately gather into one. The Hebrew word for father, "aba", displays this pattern. Since Hebrew letters also are used as number, we get 1-2-1. We start in unity in the pre-mortal existence, enter into this dualistic/multi-faceted world (notice all the heaven-earth, light-darkness, day-night, water-land, etc. in the creation account), but with the purpose to gather and become united with out Father once again.

The Bible and the Book of Mormon stand as pillars representing this gathering into one. They themselves shall be gathered into "one in thine hand" (Ezekiel 37:17). They are the word of God, leading us to the tree of life and living waters. In a sense, they are the tree of life and living waters, because the word is the Son, the ultimate expression of the Father's love for us. 

Eating and drinking symbolism, like the tree of life and fountain of living waters fit this gathering pattern. When we eat or drink, we take something external and put it inside of us, making it part of us. There is a 2-1 transition. Partaking of the tree of life and living waters marks the ultimate 2-1 transition. We become united with God, as we were meant to be, never to be separated again.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)

ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst. (Alma 32:42)

He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. (3 Nephi 20:8)