After expounding some latter-day prophecies about the covenants made to the House of Israel and their relationship to an Isaiah passage, the Lord declared that they were weak in understanding. Apparently, these were topics which the Nephites had not given much thought. But how much different are we? If the Lord were to comment on our understanding of unfulfilled prophecy and the words of Isaiah, would He also say to us, I perceive that ye are weak? If so, then we are to follow His counsel about increasing our understanding through pondering, prayer, and mental preparation.
"Their difficulty in understanding the gathering seems to have had more to do with their lack of intellectual understanding of the doctrine itself. The gathering of Israel is a profound doctrine filled with implications about God, his plan, and our place in it. It reminds members of the kingdom of God that they are a covenant people and implies that they will be saved only by keeping those covenants." (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, 3 Nephi 9-30, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 212)