The Book of Mormon

Ether 12:7

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~AD 401–421

1830 Edition

for it was by faith that Christ shewed himself unto our fathers, after that he had risen from the dead; and he shewed not himself unto them, until after they had faith in him; wherefore it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he shewed himself not unto the world.

Influences

Matthew 28:7 (KJV)
And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
Matthew 18:7 (KJV)
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Changes

fFor it was by faith that Christ sheowed himself unto our fathers, after that he had risen from the dead; and he sheowed not himself unto them, until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he sheowed himself not unto the world.

Simple English

It was by faith that Christ showed himself to our fathers after he rose from the dead. He did not show himself to them until after they had faith in him. So some people had to have faith in him first. He did not show himself to the world.

Paraphrase

It was through faith that Christ revealed himself to our ancestors after he rose from the dead. He didn’t show himself to them until after they had faith in him. That’s why some people had to believe in him first—he didn’t appear to just anyone.

Notes

12:4-22

LDS scholar Grant Hardy writes, "Any quotations in the Book of Mormon from biblical writings composed after 600 BC are anachronistic, potentially challenging both the book's historicity and its credibility. This is all the more so when the borrowed expressions appear in the exact words of the King James Version of 1611. Nonbelievers simply view the English Bible as one of Joseph Smith's sources, while Latter-day Saints look instead for more apologetic explanations... it is difficult to explain how it is that Moroni and his father before him had access to writings attributed to the apostle Paul.... Ether 12 is written as if Moroni is as fully familiar with the text of Hebrews as he is with Nephi's or Mormon's writings."

He continues, "There can be little doubt that Moroni's discourse on faith at Ether 12 is, in some way, based on the Epistle to the Hebrews, but it is more than simply an imitation; it is a creative adaptation."

He further states, "From the perspective of believers (LDS), it would be rather ironic if Moroni, who eschewed his father's program of evidence-based faith, here inadvertently ended up providing perhaps the strongest textual validation for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Paradoxically, though, with Ether 12's clear and thorough dependence on Hebrews 6 and 11, Moroni has simultaneously supplied some of the most compelling evidence that the book has its origins in the nineteenth century." -Hardy, Understanding the Book Of Mormon, pp. 255, 257, 260.