Reading this requirement against a Mesoamerican context suggests an interesting social possibility, given Amulek’s emphasis on the “great and last sacrifice.” For Amulek the effect is not simply atonement but a sacrifice so great that it absorbs all past and future sacrifices, making further sacrificial bloodshed unnecessary. In the Mesoamerican context, not only the Mosaic animal sacrifices but also human sacrifices would be done away with. Amulek evidently sees the Messiah’s coming as ushering in some of the social changes that are predicted for the Triumphant Messiah (Christ’s second coming). This conflation of the two missions into one is quite common in the Old World and not surprising in the New, even though their understanding of the mission of the Atoning Messiah was definitely clearer than that of their counterparts in the Old World.
Reference: The language here reflects Matthew 5:18: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Amulek’s understanding that the Mosaic law of sacrifice was fulfilled in Christ clearly parallels Matthew’s understanding, and Matthew’s language influenced Joseph’s translation of this passage. “Jot and tittle” refers to markings for vowels in scriptural texts, but such a system had not been developed by the time Lehi left Jerusalem. It is highly unlikely that they would have been independently invented in the New World where Hebrew appears to function as a classical language that is preserved and read but not as a living, spoken one. Therefore, Joseph picked up the “jot/tittle” phrase from his familiarity with the New Testament, capturing the meaning, though not the literal words, that Amulek used. (See commentary accompanying 3 Nephi 1:25 for a discussion of jots and tittles.)