This is the first time the Book of Mormon mentions the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in the same verse. While each of the names/titles has appeared earlier, this is the first strong assertion of unity among the three. In the context of the three titles, the Nephites would have understood the Father as the Most High God. The title “Son” in this case refers to Yahweh-Messiah in his position as the son of the Most High God. Until this point in the text, the Nephites have not needed to define the relationships among the members of the Godhead, preferring (as did post-exilic Israel) to simply use the name “Yahweh” to reference the important God of Israel. That there was a heavenly father to that God did not figure in the main religious thought either in the Old World or the New—until the presence of Jesus on earth required an elucidation of those relationships. The presence of Yahweh-Messiah on earth with a Father who announced his Son from the heavens forcibly returned God the Father (the Most High God) to the forefront of religious consciousness and required that theology clarify his place. Therefore, from this point on, the Book of Mormon delineates the identity and relationship of the three. The simple association of the Messiah as the one God is replaced by a Godhead with an important Father/Son relationship. This same shift occurred for the apostles in the Old World and for the same reason. The presence of the Messiah on earth with the simultaneous presence of a deity in the heavens required a conceptual restructuring.