Does the Book of Mormon Testify of Jesus Christ?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week concerned Christmas. The lesson was titled “He Shall Come into the World to Redeem His People” and was introduced by the following information. 

From Nephi to Moroni, every Book of Mormon prophet was committed to the sacred purpose summarized on the book’s title page: “the convincing of [all people] that Jesus is the Christ.” One prophet saw Him as a premortal spirit, and another saw His mortal ministry in a vision. One stood on a wall to proclaim the signs of His birth and His death, and another knelt before His resurrected body, touching the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. All of them knew this essential truth: “There is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who … cometh to redeem the world” (Helaman 5:9).

So during this Christmas season, as believers around the world celebrate the goodness and love of God in sending His Son, ponder how the Book of Mormon has strengthened your faith in Christ. As you think about His birth, ponder why He came and how His coming has changed your life. Then you can experience the true joy of Christmas—the gift that Jesus Christ gives to you.

There were several principles taught in this lesson with all of them being worthy of this discussion. Two of the principles were (1) Jesus Christ was born to be my Savior and (2) Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world. I feel prompted to discuss a third principle: The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ.

“Another Testament of Jesus Christ” is more than just a subtitle for the Book of Mormon. It is also a statement of the divine purpose of the Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The following scriptures are just a few of the scriptures that testify of Jesus Christ.

1 Nephi 6:4

4 For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.

1 Nephi 19:18

18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.

2 Nephi 25:23, 26

23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

2 Nephi 33:4, 10

4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.

10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

3 Nephi 11:8-11

8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

I love to study the Book of Mormon because it always brings me closer to Christ. There are numerous stories that strengthen my testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. However, my favorite story is found in 3 Nephi 17, and it took place during the personal visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ to some people living in ancient America.

In 3 Nephi 17, we are told that Jesus Christ had instructed the people for several days. He could see that they could not understand all that He had taught them, so He told them to go home, ponder the things that He had taught to them, and prepare their minds to be taught some more on the morrow. He said that He needed to go to the Father, and He also needed to show Himself to the lost tribes of Israel, who are not really lost because Heavenly Father knows where they are.

The people had tears in their eyes, and He understood that they wanted Him to stay longer with them. He had compassion for them and asked them to bring forward all people who were sick, lame, blind, halt, maimed, leprous, withered, deaf, or afflicted in any manner. The people were brought forward and were healed.

Then Jesus Christ commanded that all the little children should be brought forward, and the multitude gave way to make room for the children. Once the children were brought forward, Jesus commanded the multitude to kneel down on the ground. Then He prayed for all the people, and the multitude bore the following record:

16 …The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;

17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. (3 Nephi 17:16-17)

After praying for the people, “he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them” (3 Nephi 17:21).

Verse 23 tells us that He said to the multitude: “Behold your little ones.” Then verse 24 tells us that the people cast their eyes towards heaven, and “they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them” (3 Nephi 17:23-24). Then verse 25 tells us:

25 And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children. (3 Nephi 17:25).