3 Nephi 14:7-8

Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

This is one of the most oft-repeated commandments in scripture: ask, seek, knock. Whole books could written on this topic. Here are just two thoughts:.

Jesus promises that everyone who asks, receives. Not just the smart people, or the rich people, or those with pioneer ancestors, or those who have perfect families, or those who have never sinned, or those who have important callings. Everyone means everyone. No one who asks in sincerity, humility and faith will be denied an answer.

The key is to learn to ask the right question, meaning the right question for you. It may take some time to learn, but the Holy Ghost will teach us if we ask for his help and listen.

3 Nephi 13:34

Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.

Each day contains enough evil and temptation to keep our attention fully occupied without worrying about tomorrow's possible trials and afflictions. We are not to put our heads in the sand, but we are to get the most we can out of the day at hand. We have many opportunities each day to serve and do good. We must put everything we've got into making today the best day possible and don't leave any chips on the table. God gave us our strength for this day, and he will give us strength for the next day when it comes. One day at a time is all we can do.

3 Nephi 12:48

Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Jesus commands us to be perfect. Now, we know that he gives no commandments unto the children of men save he prepare a way for them to keep the commandment with his help (see Nephi 3:7). We can therefore assume that he is ready to help us and that perfection is achievable. "Ask Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes you cannot develop them without His help" (PMG p. 115).

What he does not give us in this commandment is a timeframe. He doesn't say when we have to reach perfection. He gives no deadline. It takes as long as it takes, and we each move along the path to perfection at our own pace. As long as we are striving to stay on the path and make progress through the grace of Christ, we are keeping this commandment. It does not matter whether we achieve the goal in this life or the next. We are judged by trajectory, not speed. We must have patience and not get discouraged and give up. Christ is in this with us for the long haul.

3 Nephi 12:30

For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell.

To take up our cross is to sacrifice the things of the world that take us away from Christ. We have to give up the sins for which he went to the cross to pay on our behalf. We take up our cross when we accept his cross.

3 Nephi 12:26

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost senine. And while ye are in prison can ye pay even one senine? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Nay.

We are faced with a troubling paradox: we cannot get out of prison unless we pay the fine, yet we cannot pay the fine while we are in prison. What is the solution? Someone else must pay the fine for us. We cannot redeem ourselves. We need a mediator. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.

3 Nephi 12:20

Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

We have to keep the commandments to be admitted into the heavenly kingdom where the Father and the Son dwell. But Christ knows we cannot do it on our own. So he invites us to come to him, lean on him, depend on him, draw strength from him, and accept his offer of redemption, justification, and sanctification. He will help us to qualify for eternal life. It is after all his work and glory. He can do almost everything for us except the one vital part of the equation -- we, and only we, can and must choose to come to him. If we will but make that one choice, he will do all in his infinite power to see to it that we succeed. No wonder the gospel is good news!

3 Nephi 12:19

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled.

The law of the gospel is simple to understand. The law, however, cannot be kept without gifts from God. Belief and faith in Christ are gifts. Repentance is a gift of the Christ's atonement. We cannot come fully unto Christ without the gift of the Holy Ghost. Nor can we manufacture a broken heart and a contrite spirit. God in his mercy gives us the law of happiness and then provides the gifts and means to keep it. Our test is whether we will choose his way and then ask for help.

3 Nephi 12:2

And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.

As marvelous as it would be to see the resurrected Christ face to face, we are just as blessed (even more so) if we can humble ourselves and believe without seeing. We are not second-class citizens of the kingdom because we have not seen Christ in open vision or heard his audible voice in our ears. Faith is not measured by what we have seen but by what we do.

3 Nephi 11:6-7

And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.

Twice a voice from heaven spoke to the people, trying to get their attention. The first time, only a few understood the voice. The next time the voice spoke, perhaps a few more understood and tried to get those around them to hear. Everyone finally stopped talking and started listening, this time anticipating the voice with ears ready to hear and minds ready to understand. When the voice spoke for the third time, everyone heard for everyone was prepared to listen. How many messages do we miss because we are preoccupied, or we don't think the Spirit will actually communicate with us, or we hear but we question what we heard?

3 Nephi 11:3

And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

Often the feeling described when a person has a close encounter with the Holy Spirit is burning. The burning feeling is the pure elements of our soul reacting to the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost. It lights us up, and a byproduct of light is heat.

3 Nephi 11:29

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

Contention is more than an event, it is a spirit or attitude. If we let ourselves be drawn into one contentious situation, that spirit will soon spread to other parts of our lives. When we are drawn into contention, we focus on being right rather than being humble and teachable. The Lord cannot work with us in a state of pride.

3 Nephi 11:22

And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.

The Master wants his people to be unified. That does not mean we become robots. It means we learn from each other in humility and meekness. We do not contend for our opinion with hot emotions. Our discussions and councils are not about winning and losing but about coming to consensus as we are led by the Holy Spirit. This is how we avoid disputations.

3 Nephi 10:18

And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them.

The greatest favor God can pour out upon us is to reveal his gospel. The greatest favor we can do for ourselves is to accept it.

3 Nephi 9:20

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

By offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we sacrifice our pride and our will. We give them to God. We burn them on the altar of repentance and covenants. We show the Lord that what he wants is more important to us than what we want. Our agency is the one possession that is truly ours, the one thing God will not take from us involuntarily, and therefore the one thing we can give him that is a genuine sacrifice.

3 Nephi 9:17

And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

Like so much else in the gospel of Christ, becoming a son or daughter of God is a gift -- one for which we must qualify, but a gift nonetheless. When we come unto Christ through faith and ordinances, he begins the redemption process in us. As we repent, our redemption becomes more complete. We learn to sing the song of redeeming love. Our nature changes from carnal to spiritual. When we are truly converted, we are begotten unto God, born again in Christ, and thus he makes us a son or daughter. We are still not perfected, but we are on the path, through the gate, and in the fold. We recognize our Shepherd's voice, and we accept our relationship to him. We are past the servant stage and are on our way to being his friend.

3 Nephi 9:15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Eternity has no beginning or end, but Christ is the beginning of our section of eternity. As the first born of Heavenly Father's spirit children, Christ is the beginning of our generation. He is the beginning of hope, the beginning of the resurrection.

3 Nephi 9:14

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

Christ extends mercy to everyone, not just to General Authorities, not just to stake presidents or relief society presidents, not just to people who serve three missions or pay off their mortgage or have at least five children. Everyone who comes to Christ will receive mercy. He will receive everyone and turn no one away. No one has sinned too much or too long to be cast off by the Savior if they truly want to change and receive his mercy. He has paid for every single sin of every single person who ever has or ever will come to this earth. He has already paid for it all, so why would he turn anyone away and squander what he has already accomplished?

3 Nephi 9:13

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

With repentance and conversion comes spiritual healing. Christ can heal our pains and sorrows. He can heal the damage we have done to ourselves and to others and the damage that others have done to us. He can heal it all because he understands it all because he has suffered it all.

3 Nephi 8:20-21

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

When a person loses the light of Christ in his life, he can do nothing to create his own light. Christ is the Light, the only Light.

3 Nephi 7:17-18

And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority. And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

Nephi is an example of one to whom God granted great power to do good by degrees. Step by step he learned obedience, and with each step he gained more power. The more faithfully and righteously he used that power, the more power he received. Eventually God gave him all power on earth because he knew Nephi would do much good with it and would never abuse it. 

We gain power in the same way, step by step, in small degrees, one test at a time. If we want more power, we must use the power we now have in all diligence and in total obedience. We must recognize our gifts from God, honor them, and always ask God how he would have us use them. The better we use the power we have, the more power we will receive.

3 Nephi 6:14

And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

I love this description of the faithful Lamanites. They chose to be righteous when all around them wickedness prevailed. They knew the truth and they refused to give it up or consider other options. In the last days, this is how we must be: firm, steadfast, immovable, and diligent. To be firm is to be unyielding and unchanging. To be steadfast is to be resolute and dutifully unwavering. To be immovable is to be resistant to argument and pressure. To be diligent is to be conscientious and careful and to apply steady, energetic, and persistent effort.  These attributes will be required of the saints who want to remain faithful to their testimonies. Satan will be in overdrive to knock us down. Only the power of God and our righteous use of agency will deliver us.