Him Shall Ye Hear in All Things

As the children of Israel prepared to enter the promised land, God promised Moses that He would send a representative who would deliver messages to His children:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Deuteronomy 18:18-19

Nephi understood this prophecy. After quoting these verses, he declared “that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel” (1 Nephi 22:21). Centuries later, when Jesus appeared to some of Nephi’s descendants, He affirmed this interpretation: “Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you” (3 Nephi 20:23).

Nephi quoted the passage differently from the way it appears in our Bible. He added, “Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people” (1 Nephi 22:20). Jesus quotes Nephi’s version of this passage nearly word for word.

It’s not surprising that Nephi would gravitate to this passage, particularly the version he quotes. Faithful obedience is a major theme in his books, from the first assignment he received from his father (1 Nephi 3:7) to his final farewell (2 Nephi 33:15). Near the end of his writings, he repeated the same phrase, declaring that the Holy Ghost will teach us “all things what [we] should do” (2 Nephi 32:5). And then he added:

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.

2 Nephi 32:6

Jesus fulfilled the role of a prophet by revealing God’s word. As Moses taught, God expects us to hearken to those words. As Nephi emphasized, we should follow “all things” which Jesus taught, and “observe to do” them.

Today, I will remember Moses’s and Nephi’s admonition and warning. The Savior has come and, like Moses, has given us commandments from God. We are accountable for how we respond to those commandments. I will strive to follow “all things” which He taught.