3 Nephi 19

The crowd left and went home. All night long the word went out that Jesus had not only been but would come back tomorrow. People started to throw their blankets and rugs out to save spaces at the spot.

The next day came and the crowd was so huge that Jesus’ twelve had to organize and teach twelve different groups. (The twelve, by the way, were Nephi, of course, Timothy, Jonas, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Kumen, Kumenonhi, Jeremiah, Shemnon, Jonas, Zedekiah, and Isaiah.) What did they teach? How to pray to get God’s spirit. (They even practiced kneeling.) After prayer, some quick baptisms at the river. Nephi went down himself, then baptized all the other twelve. When each came out of the water he felt some heavenly rumblings in his chest—the Spirit! When they were all done, angels appeared with flaming bodies that touched off the air around them. A bewildering sight, courtesy of God, ringmaster of bewilderment.

This seemed a good moment for Jesus to reappear, which he did. He told everyone to kneel. He told the twelve to pray, which they did— to him, whom they addressed as God himself. What were their options?

Jesus, seemingly oblivious to their affection, walked off to pray himself, in secret, as he had taught others to do. I’m not sure where we got this report, but here are the words he allegedly said: “Father, thanks for giving the Spirit to my friends, whom I chose very carefully, as one should always do with friends. Please give the Spirit to everyone that believes what they say about me. Don’t fault them, by the way, for praying to me. I’m the best manifestation they’ve had of you, of course, and they’d probably feel stupid praying more generically. (Not that you’re generic.) Please, when converts start lining up, send your Spirit of unity. They really need that.”

When he finished, he came back and saw the twelve still praying to him, simply, with a common touch. What they asked for seemed public, generic, as it should be, since they were public servants now.

Jesus smiled broadly at this public testament of faith. Their skin was what we call “white”—as opposed to the Lamanite hue, anyway—but they positively glistened under Jesus’ smile. No one had seen anything so white.

Jesus said, “Pray on,” then went off to pray himself. Here is what Jesus prayed in secret (again, sourcing for this?): “Thanks, Dad, for cleaning up my friends. Please help everyone whom they teach become so pure. I’m not praying for anybody else. Seems a waste sometimes. Let’s focus on the ones who are already halfway there. Make us all one, in whatever sense you want to construe that.”

He went back to the twelve and they were still at it, in a trance of devotion, not even aware Jesus had left them while they prayed to him. Another smile, which provoked more glowing, bleachy skin. It was powerful, though to some maybe a little creepy.

Since, aside from the smile-followed-by-whitening, he seemed invisible to them, he went off again to pray by himself. This time he was quite audible to the crowd. But I’m not at liberty to write what he said. Not sure why. But we have to be more than careful anymore. Still, don’t misinterpret: he is truly God’s gift to the world and when he wants to act aloof, let him.

When Jesus ended, he assured the twelve that he’d never seen such great faith. Ever. Jews, Christians, et al. They overlap alot. But this one stood out Jesus said he’d never seen faith as unswerving as this.