My Son, My Son

Abraham becomes a son of God by the Lord's outstretched hand.  This is exactly what John describes, and also the brother of Jared.  For Nephi, grasping the bearer of the iron rod brings one into the presence of the tree of life.

Many Have Believed

A son of God is something you become.

John and Ether teach the same thing.

A Genealogy Was Kept

The genealogy is of the "children of God."  This is not primarily a record of physical descent, but of priesthood descent -- those who grasp the Word receive the authority to become the sons of God.

Behold, Thou Art My Son

In the moment of seeing God, Moses is pronounced to be his son.

The Brother of Jared had the same experience.   For John, the "sons of God" are those who grasp Jesus (Greek elabon; received is a bad translation).

Because of Your Peaceable Walk

The shalem followers of Christ, who must be the children of God (per Alma, John, and Ether, and see Matthew), walk in a shalem fashion among the "children of men"... the people who are not shalems.

From This Time the Disciples Began to Sorrow

When it comes, the Nephite apostasy resembles the one from which Lehi fled.  Church leaders go bad (wearing "fine things"), seeking wealth and inappropriately sharing sacred things.  As in Lehi's day, the visionary men are persecuted (the children of God). A corrupt hierarchy leaves no one to fight the Gadianton robbers, who return with all their oaths.  This combination is the one-two punch that kills the Nephites.

They Were in One

The peaceful Nephites have the blessing of unity and are children and heirs to the kingdom of God.  The children are those who worship in private, and the place they enter is the kingdom.

United in Mighty Prayer and Fasting

Later, the disciples are together, "united in mighty prayer and fasting" and Christ appears to them again.  Alma's description of the private meetings of the "children of God" is that they would "join in fasting and mighty prayer."  I think we have to read this chapter as a later appearance of Christ to his disciples in a temple worship context.

Whoso Eateth and Drinketh

As part of his exhortation to the participants, the Lord urges them to admit even "unworthy" people to their churches and synagogues, and to minister unto them.  They are not, however, to drink the Lord's blood and eat his flesh, for fear of damnation.

I don't think this means that someone who wandered in off the street during an LDS sacrament meeting and ate the bread would be damned.  I think this is an instruction to the same point as what is described in Alma 6: everyone was allowed into the general assembly, but the "children of God" met privately.  The feast of bread and wine was a temple feast, and not everyone could participate.

The Children of Your Father Who Is in Heaven

In 3 Nephi 11 the congregants at Bountiful were told they had to become as little children in order to inherit the kingdom of God and build upon the rock.

Now here at the end of the first room of the ordinance, just before they are pronounced shalems, they are taught that they become children of their Father in heaven by loving their enemies.  Again we see (as in Alma 6 and Job 38) that the children of God was a temple concept, and something one could become.

Become as a Little Child

Christ teaches the Nephites his "doctrine," and it's the same doctrine Nephi teaches in 2 Nephi 31-32: repentance and baptism, the visitation of the Holy Ghost, and then entry into the temple, which he describes in strictly traditional terms, entry into the kingdom of God or building upon the rock.  Those who inherit the kingdom and build on the rock are those who "become as a little child," reminding us of Alma's "children of God" who met in private worship for prayer and fasting.