Christ in the Book of Mormon
The birth of Jesus Christ, his coming into the world
Many passages in the Book of Mormon speak of the coming of the Messiah of the
Jews, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
First Nephi, Chapter 10
4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet
would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a
Savior of the world.
5 And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of
these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer
of the world.
6 Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save
they should rely on this Redeemer.
The Book of Mormon has many passages about the coming of Jesus Christ into the
world and about his great atoning sacrifice and resurrection. The following are the
words of the prophet Alma, given somewhere on what is now called the “Western
Hemisphere,” around 83 B.C., when some (but not all) of the ancient people were
looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, even though the prophets told them
that the Savior would be sent to their kindred on the other side of the world.
Alma, Chapter 5
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been
born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced
this mighty change in your hearts?
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward
with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption
raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which
have been done in the mortal body?
This site is neither created by nor sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Copyright 2012 Jonathan Whitcomb
Was Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem or Jerusalem?
Except for two unnecessary commas which were removed from the
1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, the following modern version
of Alma 7:10 is identical and noteworthy, bringing up an interesting
question: Why does it refer to the birth of Christ at Jerusalem?
“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land
of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel,
who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy
Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.”
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem,
a town fairly close to Jerusalem. But why does the Book of Mormon
say it was “at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers?” Those
were the words of the prophet Alma, as he taught the Nephites, in
about 83 B.C., on the American continent. Those people had been
separated from their homeland in Israel for five centuries, surely
ignorant of geographic details like the names of smaller towns
around Jerusalem. They were thousands of miles away.
We could compare their situation to ours, should we travel across
the world and visit people who knew nothing about small towns
in our homeland. Why would we use the name of a small town
to tell them about where we came from, if there is a large city
near that town and the foreigners we were talking with knew
of that large city?
Joseph Smith translated that passage correctly, by the gift of God,
not by his imagination and the use of the Bible to imitate scriptures.
The Baptism of Little Children - Is it necessary? (Home Page)
Changes in the Book of Mormon - Introduction
Changes to the Book of Mormon