Thursday, February 19, 2009

Jesus Christ: The Central Figure of the Book of Mormon


Jesus Christ is the central figure of the Book of Mormon.  

The purpose of this inspired book of scripture is to testify and teach of Him, and it does this quite thoroughly--referring to our Savior, Jesus Christ once every 1.7 verses.

Of course, the beauty and power of the Book of Mormon is found in more than the quantity of references to the Savior.  The concepts and truths taught about Christ in this book are profound and life-changing for all who diligently seek confirmation of its teachings.  

In my personal study of the Book of Mormon this year, I have made an effort to highlight all references to Jesus Christ, but He is mentioned so often, that I have found highlighting each and every reference to be quite a daunting task.  

Luckily, someone else has already combed through the text of the Book of Mormon and listed some astonishing statistical information about the number of times Christ is mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

Here is a link to her article and an excerpt:

"Being aware of the number of references to Christ, having an understanding of the meanings for each name, and knowing when his influence can be greatest upon the earth can inspire reverential awe for our Savior. The witness of his divinity, however, must come personally to each of us—we cannot rely exclusively on the testimonies of others. The conviction that Jesus is the Christ occurs only when God, the Eternal Father, manifests the truth of it “by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moro. 10:4.) To the prayerful and the sincere, the Book of Mormon bears a powerful testimony that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.”


Table 1  Average Number of References to Christ’s Name Per Verse of the Book of Mormon

Books

References to Christ

Number of verses per book

Average number of verses per mention of Christ’s name

First Nephi

474

618

1.303

Second Nephi

591

779

1.318

Jacob

156

203

1.301

Enos

22

27

1.227

Jarom

8

15

1.875

Omni

20

30

1.500

Words of Mormon

15

18

1.200

Mosiah

492

785

1.596

Alma

1,012

1,975

1.950

Helaman

225

497

2.209

Third Nephi

293

788

2.689

Fourth Nephi

42

49

1.167

Mormon

188

227

1.207

Ether

220

433

1.968

Moroni

166

163

1.018

TOTAL

3,925

6,607

The above figures show that some form of Christ’s name is mentioned in every 1.7 verses of the Book of Mormon.


Table 2  Names for Jesus Christ as Found in the Book of Mormon

Names

One Specific Verse Using This Name

Total Number of Times the Name Appears

1. Almighty


2  

2. Almighty God


4  

3. Alpha and Omega


1  

4. Being


5  

5. Beloved


2  

6. Beloved Son


3  

7. Christ


312  

8. Christ Jesus


1  

9. Christ the Son


1  

10. Counselor


1  

11. Creator


7  

12. Eternal Father


4  

13. Eternal God


6  

14. Eternal Head


1  

15. Eternal Judge


1  

16. Everlasting Father


3  

17. Everlasting God


2  

18. Father


31  

19. Father of heaven


1  

20. Father of heaven and of earth


2  

21. Founder of Peace


1  

22. God


1,351  

23. God of Abraham


5  

24. God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob


2  

25. God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob


1  

26. God of Isaac


5  

27. God of Israel


11  

28. God of Jacob


6  

29. God of miracles


1  

30. God of nature


1  

31. God of the whole earth


2  

32. Good shepherd


8  

33. Great Creator


2  

34. Great Spirit


18  

35. Head


3  

36. Holy Child


1  

37. Holy God


2  

38. Holy Messiah


2  

39. Holy One


8  

40. Holy One of Israel


40  

41. Holy One of Jacob


1  

42. Husband


1  

43. Immanuel


2  

44. Jehovah


1  

45. Jesus


113  

46. Jesus Christ


51  

47. Keeper of the gate


1  

48. King


4  

49. King of heaven


1  

50. Lamb


34  

51. Lamb of God


35  

52. Lord


1,350  

53. Lord God


104  

54. Lord God Almighty


4  

55. Lord God Omnipotent


1  

56. Lord God of Hosts


5  

57. Lord Jehovah


1  

58. Lord Jesus


2  

59. Lord Jesus Christ


14  

60. Lord of Hosts


52  

61. Lord of the Vineyard


33  

62. Lord Omnipotent


5  

63. Maker


5  

64. Man


1  

65. Master


7  

66. Mediator


1  

67. Messiah


28  

68. Mighty God


3  

69. Mighty One of Israel


1  

70. Mighty One of Jacob


2  

71. Most High


1  

72. Most High God


5  

73. Only Begotten of the Father


4  

74. Only Begotten Son


5  

75. Prince of Peace


1  

76. Prophet


6  

77. Redeemer


37  

78. Redeemer of Israel


1  

79. Redeemer of the world


2  

80. Rock


7  

81. Savior


8  

82. Savior Jesus Christ


2  

83. Savior of the world


2  

84. Shepherd


1  

85. Son


44  

86. Son of God


51  

87. Son of Righteousness


3  

88. Son of the Eternal Father


2  

89. Son of the Everlasting God


1  

90. Son of the Living God


4  

91. Son of the Most High God


1  

92. Stone


2  

93. Supreme Being


1  

94. Supreme Creator


1  

95. True and Living God


1  

96. True Messiah


2  

97. True Shepherd


1  

98. True Vine


1  

99. Well Beloved


3  

100. Wonderful


1  

TOTALS

3,923

2 comments:

  1. I love this post. I was taught by an awesome institute teacher that you mark in one color all the times anyone in the Godhead is mentioned, even the He and His. Then Mark in another color or 3, the creation, the fall and the atonement. Then in one color or 5 Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. That is is the gospel in a HUGE nut shell. I've been doing it for over 10 years and it's really helped my faith increase in my savior and what he is capable of doing for me.

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  2. Great job! I am giving a talk Sunday and I used to have a notebook filled with positive numbers and parallel truth`s about the Book of Mormon. I needed the number of times the B.O.M. mentions the Savior. In my notebook I also lost how society was before Joseph Smith brought the gospel to the earth and how everything from science to industry took off. I would really like to find a site that provides that so I don`t have to re-search it again. Keep it going. This is a grat page. Ric

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