The Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 11:15

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~AD 34

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one, until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes, and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety, and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets that should come.

Changes

And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one, until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes, and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety, and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

Simple English

The crowd went forward. They put their hands into his side. They felt the nail marks in his hands and in his feet. They did this one by one until everyone had gone forward. They saw with their eyes and felt with their hands. They knew for sure and told others that it was him. He was the one the prophets wrote about.

Paraphrase

So the crowd came forward. One by one, they put their hands into his side and felt the nail marks in his hands and feet. Every single person went through, until they’d all seen with their own eyes and felt with their own hands. They knew beyond any doubt, and they testified that this was the one the prophets had written about.

Notes

11:14-17

"The impersonal nature of the Book of Mormon becomes evident when we compare Jesus' ministry among the Nephites with his work among the Jews in Palestine. For example, in the Bible (John 20:24-28) we that Thomas, who was one of the twelve disciples, doubted Jesus' resurrection and said, 'Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.' Some time later Jesus appears to the disciples and said to Thomas, 'Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.' In the Book of Mormon this personal experience which Thomas had with Jesus is transformed into a scene which reminds one of a production line in a factory..." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 220.

M.T. Lamb observed, "Just think of it, reader, 2500 people go forth one by one and 'thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the print of the nails in his hands and in his feet.' It would be very rapid work, requiring so much haste as to give the whole thing the appearance of a farce, to suppose five persons could thus pass the Savior every minute, giving each one only twelve seconds to thrust his hand into the side and feel the print of the nails both in his hands and in his feet. But at this rapid rate it would require just eight hours and twenty minutes of time!!" -M.T. Lamb, The Golden Bible; or The Book of Mormon, Is It From God? (New York: Ward and Drummand, 1887), pp. 161-62.

We find it curious that the New World inhabitants would want, or need, to feel Jesus' wounds in the first place. Besides the numerous clear prophecies of his death and resurrection in the Book of Mormon, we are told that they saw Jesus "descending out of heaven" (3 Nephi 11:8).

In addition to 2500 people personally examining Jesus' wounds, it seems that the New World Sermon on the Mount, the healing ceremony, blessing the children, serving the Lord's supper, and additional preaching all occurred "before it was yet dark" (3 Nephi 19:2).