In the final chapter of 3 Nephi, Mormon wrote a call to the Gentiles to accept the doctrine of Christ. He knew that he was not writing the record to his own people; they were a lost cause. Mormon was aware, from the prophecies of Jesus recorded in 3 Nephi 21, that the covenant was now being fulfilled and that the record he was compiling would come forth to the Gentiles. He knew that the coming forth of the book would be a crucial moment and, if the Gentiles would hear it, this book would then fulfill the promises and the purposes for which Mormon had devoted so much of his life.
In 3 Nephi 30, there is a list of what people must do to be numbered among God’s people and enter the presence of the Lord. The destruction in the beginning of 3 Nephi occurred to create a pure, clean environment so that Jesus could minister, as He did, in full righteousness. When people went into ancient temples, they had certain purity requirements and could not enter if they were impure. As Jesus said in 3 Nephi 27:19, “No unclean thing can enter into his kingdom.” The Ten Commandments were posted in the temple in Jerusalem as requirements for entering that holy place. For example, it was written, in effect: “You cannot enter if you have any other God before me,” “You cannot enter if you do not keep the Sabbath day holy, “You cannot enter if you murder,” and so on down the list.
At the conclusion of 3 Nephi, Mormon recorded a similar checklist given to him from the Savior. This checklist included not ten commandments, but ten things that the Gentiles must repent of and not do in order to be worthy to have this holy record effective in their lives. Those of us living in this modern era must repent of:
It is interesting that in the middle of his covenant Sermon, on the second day among the Nephites, Jesus promised that the items on this list would all be done away: “and it shall come to pass that all lyings and deceivings and envyings and strifes and priestcrafts and whoredoms shall be done away” (3 Nephi 21:19). Jesus was promising that these things could be overcome by the Nephites because of the change the people would experience following his appearance to them. Note that six of the sins mentioned by Jesus to the Nephite people are included among the sins of this final invitation and warning to the Gentiles.
After repenting of all things on the checklist, all modern-day readers are invited to “Come unto me, and be baptized in my name” to “be numbered with my people who are of the House of Israel” (3 Nephi 30:2). That is a great concluding statement that summarizes the whole purpose of 3 Nephi.