After Jesus had established the Church, He encouraged the people to do good works, and from 3 Nephi 27:13–22, He elaborated on the theme that he had mentioned several times in 3 Nephi 27:8–10. In verses 9 and 10, He said:
Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel … And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.
The Savior emphasized His church being built on the gospel several times, and then elucidated what He meant by “the gospel.” Thus, in 3 Nephi 27:13–22, we have a full statement of what the Lord himself considers the gospel to be.
The New Testament gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John presented the gospel as they perceived that message of “good news” (the euaggelion) to be in those early Christian days. Here we have the gospel according to Jesus Christ himself. Nowhere in the four Gospels of the New Testament is there a statement like this one—Jesus, Himself, defining what He means by the gospel. What a precious text this is.
Earlier, in 3 Nephi 11, Jesus had presented a quick introduction to the part of the gospel that includes faith, repentance, baptism, and a requirement for no disputations. It was presented very simply at this early stage. One may ask how this definition in 3 Nephi 27 compares with the definition in 3 Nephi 11. They are not exactly the same.
In 3 Nephi 11, Jesus defines what He calls His “doctrine” as faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God, repentance, baptism, receiving the witness of the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end, and living together without disputation. Those precepts are what people today speak of as the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, and that is what the Nephite disciples had been going around teaching. Jesus had emphasized these points so much that some people today have used 3 Nephi 11 to claim that this is His only doctrine and the only content of the gospel.
However, the points in 3 Nephi 11 were only the initial requirements. Here in 3 Nephi 27, the Savior used the more expansive word “gospel” rather than “doctrine,” and presented more detail on the core points of the Plan of Salvation in which “the doctrine of Christ” is embedded. The “gospel” includes not only what Jesus will do in order to deliver salvation to all mankind (3 Nephi 27:13–15), but also what people must do in order to “be lifted up at the last day” (3 Nephi 27:16–20). Altogether, this is “my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do” (3 Nephi 27:21).
3 Nephi 27:13–14 briefly summarize what the Savior will do:
I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil
In Alma 32 and 33, Alma compared the word or the truths of the gospel to a seed to be planted in the heart, and here, Jesus was teaching that same “word” (3 Nephi 27:18, “this is the word”). Alma 33:22 says:
cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.
Alma 33:23 says, “I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts.”
The main goal of Jesus is to bring us all back worthily into the presence of the Father through obedience and ordinances. Throughout 3 Nephi, there is an escalation of teaching, beginning with the simplest first principles. His later statements include principles that clarify why and how one must prepare for the judgment process (3 Nephi 27:15–19). In verse 30, the Savior then explained why He was doing and teaching all of this. Both He and the Father and all the holy angels are joyful when the children can return to them. In that case, their joy was full because none of that generation would be “lost.” Jesus’ joy is full because He has been able to glorify the Father.
The last things Jesus taught and exemplified were the importance of His love for His Father and His obedience as a Son to the Father.
Book of Mormon Central, “Where Does the Book of Mormon Declare the First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel? (3 Nephi 27:20),” KnoWhy 276 (February 17, 2017).
Book of Mormon Central, “How Does the Gospel Bring Us unto Christ? (3 Nephi 27:20),” KnoWhy 338 (July 12, 2017).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why is 3 Nephi Sometimes Called the ‘Fifth Gospel’? (3 Nephi 27:21),” KnoWhy 222 (November 2, 2016).
Book of Mormon Central, “Was the Book of Mormon Used as the First Church Administrative Handbook? (3 Nephi 27:21–22),” KnoWhy 72 (April 6, 2016).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Must We Do What Jesus Did? (3 Nephi 27:22),” KnoWhy 221 (November 1, 2016).