one by one

This week in class, we discussed Christ's visit to the Americas beginning in 3 Nephi 11. When Christ came down to visit the people, He invited them to come forth and thrust their hands into His side and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet. Verse 15 reads 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, an did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophet, that should come."

The phrase "one by one" in this verse struck me. Christ invited the people to come forth one by one to feel His side, hands, and feet. This crowd consisted on 2,500 men, women, and children, and Christ wanted to meet with each one individually. Even if Christ only spent 30 seconds with each person in that crowd, it would have taken Him almost 21 hours to visit with each person. However, I can't imagine Christ rushing anyone through a line, and, instead, I think that He spent much longer wrapping those beloved people in His arms and caring for their individual needs. He wanted a real and personal relationship with each and every one of them so that they could know that He was their Savior, the living Christ, and that He loved them.

Christ's desire for us to know Him and have a relationship with Him still applies today. While Christ is not here in the flesh, we can have that infinite and intimate relationship with Him as we seek Him during personal prayer and scripture study. We can feel of His love and come to know Him on an individual level when we serve others, strive to see the good in the world around us, and repent of our sins as well as forgive others. Christ knows us perfectly and loves us more than we can comprehend, and He wants us to know Him just as the people in Americas knew Him, one by one.