After declaring his spiritual lineage by connecting his name to a spiritual event, Mormon declares the important information about his current position. It is one thing to be well-named, but quite another to fulfill the promise of his naming. Mormon declares simply and powerfully that he is “a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” While Mormon uses “disciple” rather than “apostle,” his intent is clearly to declare his position as a living apostle. He further notes that he has a direct commission to “declare his [Yahweh-Messiah’s] word among his people.”
Mormon discharges this commission by creating this text. We have the Book of Mormon because Mormon was faithful to Yahweh’s command that he declare the word. Mormon’s battle-torn world had little space for preaching; nevertheless, Mormon’s impact as a preacher is perhaps greater than that of any other prophet who has written. No prophet has provided a larger, longer, or more complete testimony of the Savior than Mormon. His entire text is that testimony.