Mormon’s Testimony of the Mission of Jesus Christ

Mormon expanded upon his fourth desire from verses 2–5, which was itself, a lucid summary of the mission of Jesus:

• Believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and
• Believe that he was slain by certain of the Jews, and
• Believe that by the power of the Father he hath risen again, and
• Believe that not just Jesus is risen but that from the Father he hath gained the victory over the grave, and that in him is the sting of death swallowed up.

Mormon echoes here the words of Abinadi (which he would have been aware of), quoting Isaiah, regarding “the sting of death” being swallowed up in Christ (Mosiah 16:8; Alma 22:14). His listing of these elements of belief also track in style and content King Benjamin’s words (Mosiah 4:9–10), as well as the consistently repeated elements in the standard Nephite declarations of faith (compare especially 2 Nephi 9:4–15; Alma 33:22).

Mormon’s summary statement here and its expansion illustrates his sincere love for his people and his powerful testimony of the details of Christ’s Atonement. He wanted his people to know:

• that Jesus will bring to pass the resurrection of all the dead,
• that all mankind will be resurrected to stand before the divine judgment seat,
• that Jesus will provide redemption for all who will repent and accept his atonement, and
• that those who accept it and are thus found guiltless will dwell in the presence of God.

“to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.”

Then in verse 8, Mormon added literally the “therefore.” Because he knew, and (presumably by the nature of his description) had seen what lay ahead, he returned to his very forthright listing of what the people needed to do to attain this beautiful goal. They needed to “repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon [and cling to] the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you” (7:8).

Further Reading

John W. Welch and Greg Welch, “Consistent Elements in Nephite Declarations of Faith,” in Charting the Book of Mormon, chart 43.