During his second visit to the Nephites at Bountiful, Jesus “bowed himself to the earth” and prayed three times to his Father in heaven:
1. “And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said: Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world. Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words. Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them. And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one” (3 Nephi 19:19–23).
2. “And he turned from them again, and went a little way off and bowed himself to the earth; and he prayed again unto the Father, saying: Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me. Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them” (3 Nephi 19:27–29).
3. “And it came to pass that he went again a little way off and prayed unto the Father; And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can be written by man the words which he prayed. And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed” (3 Nephi 19:31–33).
From the pattern Jesus establishes in his first two prayers, in which he prays “that we may be one” (3 Nephi 19:23, 29), we may assume that in his third prayer he prayed for much the same thing. The third time he prayed, however, the multitude was able to interact in a personal way with Jesus and could feel and sense the things for which he prayed more than they actually heard them: “Their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed” (3 Nephi 19:33).
This experience of hearing and understanding follows the pattern of what happened the first time Jesus appeared to the Nephites. On that day, they heard a voice calling out of heaven three times, but only the third time did they understand what it said (3 Nephi 11:3–6). All we actually know about Jesus’ third prayer is that “so great and marvelous were the words which he prayed that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man” (3 Nephi 19:34).
We nevertheless find clues of the substance of Jesus’ third prayer in his last great intercessory prayer for his apostles in Jerusalem, for whom he similarly prayed that “they may be one.” Just as he repeated much of the substance of his teachings to the Jews when he appeared to the Nephites, so we may assume that when Jesus prayed for them “that we may be one,” what he had additionally prayed for among his Jewish apostles would also be a part of his prayer among the Nephites.
In Jerusalem, just before he was taken and condemned to death, Jesus had prayed, “[Father,] as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:18–26).
Were we to fully “understand in our hearts” the things for which Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven in this great intercessory prayer, would we not also consider them “great and marvelous,” so great, in fact, that “tongue cannot speak the words”? Taken on its own merits, even John’s account of Jesus’ prayer, as accurately as he tries to describe the things for which Jesus prayed, is not so intelligible as to be easily understood. Without exceeding faith in Jesus’ words, and without spiritual purity and the power of the Holy Ghost, his words might, in fact, remain largely meaningless. Only those who have some conception of what his words could imply may appreciate their significance.
The whole question of God’s oneness—and of our oneness with God—simply cannot be comprehended unless such truths are opened up to our understanding by a power higher than our own. Thus, immediately upon ending his third prayer among the Nephites, Jesus says, “So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard” (3 Nephi 19:35–36). The Nephites, in other words, actually previewed the things for which Jesus prayed.
Of all heaven’s mysteries, the oneness with God that he promises those who love him is surely the most profound and hoped for. As Jesus is no respecter of persons, we may look forward with an eye of faith towards the fulfillment of his prayer for oneness not only among his ancient apostles and among the Nephites but also among Latter-day Saints (cf. D&C 29:13; 35:2).