The Three Nephites and Desire

The other day my wife and I were reading in the Book of Mormon about the three Nephites who desired to remain on the earth to preach the gospel until the Second Coming, and I contemplated the fact that the most likely name for one of those three is Jonas.  I said to her, “You know, there is a 45% chance that one of the three Nephites is named Jonas.”  This is because there are two of the twelve disciples listed in 3 Nephi 19:4 who are named Jonas; one is a son of Nephi and the tenth disciple listed is Jonas as well (so, assuming each of the twelve is equally likely to have been one of the three, the probability that at least one of the three is named Jonas is 1 – C(10,3)/C(12,3) = 5/11).  She responded quite appropriately, “Well, that doesn’t mean anything.”  And, she’s probably right.  My thought process began with the fact that the first Jonas is depicted as one of the three Nephites in the Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series, and as I have thought about it, it would be quite fitting that a Jonas be among those who “desired that [he] might bring the souls of men unto [Christ], while the world shall stand” (3 Nephi 28:9).  I say that because it would provide an opposite account from the one of Jonas/Jonah in the Old Testament (the ancient son of Amittai is spelled Jonah in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament he is referred to as Jonas, the Greek transliteration of “Jonah”, such as in Matthew 12:39).  The Jonas/Jonah of the Old Testament, when he was asked to go preach to the people of Ninevah, ran “from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa” and got a boat to escape.  So, at the opportunity to do missionary work and bring souls to God, whom he knew was “a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” to those who repent, this Old Testament prophet tried to flee.  The three Nephites, on the other hand, asked for the opportunity to spend thousands of years preaching the gospel because of the love they had for the children of men.  That one be named Jonas would make him indeed a scriptural foil to he who was sent to Ninevah.

            Obviously any speculation without revelation on the subject is useless, and as my wife suggested, it really doesn’t matter what the names of the three Nephites are.  But their story has a lot to teach us about desire, and that is crucial for all of us who seek to follow the Savior.  If you do a search on the word “desire” at scriptures.lds.org, the top result is indeed this chapter, 3 Nephi 28, about the Nephite disciples.  The Savior asked the twelve, “What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?”  For the nine, they responded, “We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom” (v1-2).  This was a good desire, and the Lord commended them for it.  The other three desired to remain on the earth like John, and Mormon taught us what a powerful effect that desire would have: “They shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled” (v29, italics added).  It is very telling that the Lord granted unto them their righteous desires; and this is what Alma taught us: “I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction” (Alma 29:4).  So what we truly desire is of extreme importance, for ultimately, whether we inherit the celestial kingdom, whether we truly change our natures to become like the Son of God, whether we find eternal joy, all hinges on our deepest desires.  This question of the Savior’s to His Nephite disciples—“What is it that ye desire of me?”—is one for all of us to ponder.  President Nelson also asked us to consider our desires in his recent Christmas message.  He invited us in these words, “During this season, I invite you to consider your own desires. What are your deepest desires? What do you really want to experience and accomplish in this life? Do you really want to become more and more like Jesus Christ? Do you really want to live with Heavenly Father and with your family forever and live as He lives?” At this time of New Year’s resolutions, perhaps these questions from President Nelson are the most important questions for us to consider—what gifts of God do we really desire to have, and how can we truly show the Lord that we are ready to receive them?  Do we want to hunker down in our selfishness as Jonah on the ship to Tarshish, or do we desire, like the three Nephites, “to bring  the souls of men,” including our own soul, unto Christ?  May we work to fulfill the desires of President Nelson for all of us in this coming year: “My deepest desires are for all of Heavenly Father’s children to have the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to heed His teachings and for Israel to be gathered as promised in these latter days. And I desire that we will believe and receive the love the Savior has for each of us.”