Christ Appears Soon After the Destruction

A great multitude had gathered around the temple in Bountiful. They were marveling and wondering, showing each other the great and marvelous changes that had been made over the entire landscape. They were also talking about Jesus Christ, of whose death these signs had been given.

As they were speaking, they heard a voice from heaven. They looked around, not understanding the voice. It was not harsh or loud, but calm. Although it was a calm voice, it made their entire bodies quake as it penetrated them to the very center of their souls. They all heard the voice a second time, but still did not understand it. A third time they heard the voice, and they looked intently toward heaven from where it came. Only after looking upward did they understand the voice, which said, “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name. Hear Him.”

As they understood, they looked up again and saw a Man dressed in a white robe, descending out of heaven. He came down and stood among them. All eyes were upon Him, and no one dared speak, for they thought He was an angel. He held out His hands and said, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified would come into the world. I am the light and life of the world. I have drunk out of that bitter cup that the Father has given me. I have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”

After Jesus said this, the whole multitude fell to the earth, remembering that it had been prophesied that Christ would show Himself to them after going up into heaven from Jerusalem. Then the Lord said, “Arise and come to me, that you may put your hands into my side, and feel the prints of the nails in my hands and feet, that you may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”

One by one, the multitude put their hands into His side and felt the prints of the nails in His hands and feet. They all knew and witnessed that it was He of whom the prophets had written, who would come. After they had all witnessed for themselves, they cried out with one voice, “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!” And they fell down at Jesus’s feet and worshiped Him.

Then Jesus asked Nephi to come forward. Nephi came forward, bowed himself before the Lord and kissed His feet. The Lord commanded Nephi to rise, and then said to him, “I give you power to baptize this people after I ascend into heaven again.”

The Lord called eleven others and also gave them power to baptize. He said to them, “This is how you will baptize, and there will be no disputes among you: Those who repent through your words and desire to be baptized will go down into the water, and you will baptize them in my name. Calling them by name, you will say, ‘Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.’ Then you will immerse them in the water and bring them out again. This is how you will baptize in my name, without disputes, for you must be unified, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are unified.

“There must be no more disputes about how to baptize, as there have been in the past. There also must not be anymore arguments about the points of my doctrine. For whoever has the spirit of contention is not of me, but of the devil, the father of contention. He stirs up people to become angry and fight with one another. My doctrine, which the Father has given me, is that such things should be done away. I bear record of the Father, the Father bears record of me, and the Holy Ghost bears record of us both. I bear record that the Father commands all people everywhere to repent and believe in me.

“Those who believe in me and are baptized will be saved to inherit God’s kingdom. Those who do not believe in me and are not baptized will be damned. This is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father. The Father will bear record of me to those who believe in Him, and in me, by visiting them with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Just as the Father bears record of me, the Holy Ghost will bear record of the Father and of me. This is because the Father and I and the Holy Ghost are one. I repeat, you must repent, become like a little child, and be baptized in my name. Otherwise, you cannot receive these things and inherit God’s kingdom.

“This is my doctrine. Those who build upon my doctrine build upon my rock, and the gates of hell will not prevail against them. Those who declare more or less than this, and call it my doctrine, are inspired by the devil. They are not built upon my rock but upon sand. When trials and temptations come, they will fall, and the gates of hell will be opened to receive them.

“Now, declare the words which I have spoken, to the ends of the earth.”