The doctrine of the Godhead is developed in several Book of Mormon passages. Some of these scriptures simply confirm what is taught about the Godhead in the Bible and other modern revelations. Other passages, however, offer unique and unparalleled insights concerning this foundational doctrine. None is more important and authoritative than what Jesus Himself says here in 3 Nephi 11:27–37.
The Book of Mormon consistently affirms the unity and oneness of the Godhead. In 3 Nephi 11:27, Jesus said, “[V]erily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.” Jesus goes on here to emphasize that, while unified in purpose, each member of the Godhead is distinctly separate and unique, each bearing record of the other two (11:32, 36). Just as they testify of each other without disputation, their followers shall have “no disputations among [them]” (11:28).
The prophet Joseph Smith taught, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God.” He also testified that readers of the Book of Mormon would “get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (Book of Mormon Introduction).
The Book of Mormon account in 3 Nephi is a beautiful depiction of Christ’s love and universal outreach to all. He invited the people to “come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel” (3 Nephi 11:14). In the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ invites all of God’s children, one by one, to be intimately familiar with Him. He wants them all to personally witness and comprehend the effects of His infinite Atonement in their own lives. By coming unto Christ, by repenting and being baptized, and accepting the eternal benefits of His atoning powers, all can come to intimately be visited by God the Father, can build upon the rock of Christ, and live under the sanctifying power and guiding influence of the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 11:35, 39).
Joseph Smith, Jr., “The King Follet Sermon,” Ensign, April 1971, online at churchofjesuschrist.org
Book of Mormon Central, “How Are the Book of Mormon’s Teachings About the Godhead Unique? (3 Nephi 11:27),” KnoWhy 266 (January 25, 2017).