My brothers, I want you to listen. I have more things to tell you. I have important things to tell you about what will happen.
An Angel Brings Good News
An angel from God told me these things. He said to me: Wake up! I woke up and saw him standing in front of me. He said to me: Wake up and hear what I will tell you. I came to tell you good news that will make you very happy. The Lord has heard your prayers. He knows you are good. He sent me to tell you this so you can be happy. You can tell your people so they can be happy too.
Jesus Will Come to Earth
The time is coming soon when the Lord God will come down from heaven to live with people. He will live in a human body. He will do amazing miracles like healing sick people, bringing dead people back to life, making people who can’t walk be able to walk, making blind people see, making deaf people hear, and curing all kinds of sickness. He will make evil spirits leave people’s hearts. He will face temptation and pain in his body. He will be hungry, thirsty, and tired. He will suffer more than any person can suffer without dying. Blood will come from every part of his skin because he will be so sad about the bad things his people do.
He will be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the Father of Heaven and Earth. He created everything from the beginning. His mother will be called Mary. He will come to his own people so they can be saved by believing in him. But after all this, they will think he is just a man. They will say he has an evil spirit. They will beat him and kill him on a cross. He will come back to life on the third day after he dies. He will judge the world. All these things will happen so God can judge people fairly.
Jesus Will Pay for Our Sins
His blood will pay for the sins of people who died because of what Adam did. It will pay for people who died without knowing God’s will or who sinned without knowing better. But trouble will come to anyone who knows they are fighting against God. These people can only be saved if they are sorry for their sins and believe in Jesus Christ. The Lord God has sent his holy prophets to all people everywhere. They tell everyone that Christ will come. Anyone who believes that Christ will come can have their sins forgiven. They will be very happy, as if he had already come.
But the Lord God saw that his people were stubborn. So he gave them the law of Moses. He showed them many signs and wonders about Christ’s coming. Holy prophets told them about his coming too. But they made their hearts hard. They did not understand that the law of Moses could not help them without Christ’s blood paying for their sins. Even if little children could sin, they could not be saved without Christ. But I tell you, they are blessed. Just as all people fall because of Adam, Christ’s blood pays for their sins too.
Only Jesus Can Save Us
There is no other name or way that people can be saved. Only through the name of Christ, the Lord God. He judges fairly. Babies who die do not go to hell. But people bring trouble on themselves unless they become humble like little children. They must believe that salvation came, comes now, and will come through Christ’s blood. All people naturally fight against God. This has been true since Adam fell and will always be true. But if someone listens to the Holy Spirit and stops being natural, they can become a saint through Christ. They become like a child who is willing to obey, gentle, humble, patient, full of love, and ready to accept whatever the Lord wants them to go through, just like a child obeys their father.
Everyone Will Know About Jesus
The time will come when everyone in every nation will know about the Savior. When that time comes, no one will be without blame before God except little children. People can only be forgiven through being sorry for their sins and believing in the Lord God. Even when you teach your people what the Lord God has told you to teach them, they will still not be without blame before God, except as I have told you.
I have spoken the words the Lord God told me to speak.
God Will Judge Everyone
The Lord says: These words will stand as clear proof against this people on judgment day. Every person will be judged by what they do, whether good or bad. If their works are bad, they will see their own guilt and terrible sins. This will make them afraid to be near the Lord. They will live in sadness and pain forever. They can never come back from this. They have brought trouble on themselves.
They have drunk from the cup of God’s anger. God’s justice had to punish them, just like Adam had to fall because he ate the forbidden fruit. So God’s mercy could not help them anymore. Their punishment is like a lake of fire that never stops burning. The smoke goes up forever and ever. The Lord has told me to say this. Amen.
Influences
- 3:1 — Ephesians 1:21 (KJV)Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
- 3:3 — Luke 2:10 (KJV)And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
- 3:4 — 2 Timothy 1:4 (KJV)Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
- 3:5 — Revelation 19:6 (KJV)And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
- 3:5 — Westminster Confession chapter 3:1God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin,
- 3:5 — Matthew 15:31 (KJV)Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
- 3:5 — Matthew 11:5 (KJV)The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
- 3:6 — Matthew 7:22 (KJV)Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
- 3:6 — Acts 19:12 (KJV)So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
- 3:8 — Matthew 13:55 (KJV)Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
- 3:9 — Acts 3:16 (KJV)And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
- 3:9 — Mark 10:34 (KJV)And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
- 3:9 — Matthew 20:19 (KJV)And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
- 3:10 — Mark 9:31 (KJV)For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
- 3:11 — Mark 3:35 (KJV)For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
- 3:13 — Revelation 14:6 (KJV)And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
- 3:13 — Luke 1:77 (KJV)To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
- 3:15 — Acts 5:12 (KJV)And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
- 3:16 — Ephesians 2:13 (KJV)But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
- 3:17 — Acts 4:12 (KJV)Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- 3:18 — 1 Corinthians 11:29 (KJV)For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
- 3:18 — Matthew 18:3 (KJV)And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
- 3:19 — 1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 3:20 — John 16:4 (KJV)But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
- 3:20 — Revelation 5:9 (KJV)And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
- 3:21 — 1 Timothy 3:10 (KJV)And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
- 3:22 — 1 Corinthians 1:8 (KJV)Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 3:24 — Revelation 20:13 (KJV)And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
- 3:26 — Revelation 14:10 (KJV)The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
- 3:27 — Revelation 14:10-11 (KJV)The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
- 3:27 — Acts 13:47 (KJV)For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Notes
- 3:2-8
It appears evident that King Benjamin is claiming revelation from an angel revealing the name Jesus Christ to him, and his people should take upon them the name of Christ (see also Mosiah 1:11-12; Mosiah 6:2).
"This address raises a very serious question with regard to the material which appears in the book of 2 Nephi. Why would King Benjamin have to receive a special revelation informing him of the name of Christ if the plates of Nephi already contained this information? According to Mormon, 'Amaleki had delivered up these plates [the small plates of Nephi] into the hands of King Benjamin' (Words of Mormon 1:10). Furthermore, King Benjamin also had the large plates of Nephi. Benjamin himself told his sons that the 'plates of Nephi' were 'true' and instructed them to 'remember to search them diligently' (Mosiah 1:6-7). In the small plates alone, the name Jesus appears ten times and the word Christ is found eighty-two times (See 2 Nephi 25:16, 26; 2 Nephi 31:13)..In light of this information, it seems highly unreasonable to believe that King Benjamin and his people would have been completely in the dark concerning the 'name of Christ' before the angel visited Benjamin and revealed this information."-Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 217.
See also the Book of Mormon 1830 edition, page 28 (1 Nephi 12:18). The 1830 edition says, ".. and Jesus Christ." This was changed to read, "... and the Messiah" in 1837. Current editions read, "... and the Messiah."
- 3:5
"After some of Joseph Smith's family joined the Presbyterian faith in the mid-1820's, he evidently spent some time reading the Westminster Confession and Catechism, a vital part of that church. The Confession was formally adopted by the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1729. Significantly, many phrases that are peculiar to that document appear in the Book of Mormon. The Westminster Confession, chapter 32, appears to be the source for Alma, chapter 40." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 28.
See Footnotes on Alma 40:11, 12, 13, 14, 20.
Additionally, compare the following:
Mosiah 3:5-"The Lord... from all eternity"
Westminster Confession, ch. 3:1-"God from all eternity"The word eternity is only used once in the KJV (Isaiah 57:15) and not in connection with the words from all.
Mosiah 5:3-"infinite goodness of God"
Westminster Confession, ch. 5:4-"infinite goodness of God"The word infinite is found only three times in the Bible and never in connection with goodness of God.
Alma 42:2-"our first parents"
Westminster Confession, ch. 6:1-"our first parents"All three of these words are found in the Bible, but they are never used in that order.
Alma 5:18-"before the tribunal of God"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:1-"before the tribunal of Christ"The word tribunal is never used in the KJV.
Mosiah 4:30-"thoughts, and your words, and your deeds"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:1-"thoughts, words, and deeds"Although these words are used in the Bible, they are not found in this order.
2 Nephi 28:21-"carnal security"
Westminster Confession, ch. 33:3-"carnal security"Although both these words are found in the Bible, they are not found together.
- 3:8-12
In Ephesians 3, Paul describes the “mystery of Christ” as something hidden from all previous generations but revealed in the apostolic era. In Ephesians 3:4–6, this mystery is that Gentiles are now equal heirs, members, and partakers in God’s promises through Christ—without the former distinctions of Jewish law. Paul reinforces in Colossians 1:26 and Romans 16:25 that this truth was not known in earlier ages, meaning it was not fully understood by Old Testament figures.
This is supported in Acts 10, where Peter struggles to accept Gentile inclusion even after revelation, and in Acts 15, where early Christians debate whether Gentiles must follow Jewish law. Likewise, Hebrews 11 and First Peter indicate that earlier prophets only saw partial foreshadowings of Christ, not the full picture.
In contrast, the Book of Mormon (e.g., 1 Nephi 10; 1 Nephi 14) portrays ancient prophets as clearly teaching about the Messiah, the gospel, and Gentile inclusion with New Testament-level clarity, including ideas similar to Romans 11.
This creates a chronological and theological conflict: if Paul is correct that this mystery was only revealed in the first century, then the Book of Mormon’s depiction of earlier prophets possessing that same knowledge suggests an anachronism—projecting later doctrine into an earlier time.
"When one begins to read the Book of Mormon, if he is well-acquainted with the Bible, he will at once be impressed with the large scale use of the biblical materials in the book. Not only is there an unskilled mimicking of the style of the King James Version, but there is an artificial clarity added to that portion of the Book of Mormon that claims to date from the Old Testament period. This contrived clarity is the result of writing back into that Old Testament period New Testament words, phrases and quotations, as well as the introduction of New Testament concepts and teachings into that time-frame... The usual Mormon defense is that such knowledge was supernaturally made known to the people in America, just as God in a vision showed Ezekiel that Jerusalem was about to fall and the temple to be destroyed, or Peter given a vision of Cornelius before he met him in person. Such an explanation might be more readily accepted if the Book of Mormon had presented its material in the format of a vision. Instead it introduces its material in much the same way that a nineteenth century frontier preacher introduced biblical quotations into his sermons. The frequency with which the Book of Mormon introduces this chronologically misplaced material into its text would require that God supernaturally provided this American colony with virtually the entire New Testament text, as well as those portions of the Old Testament which postdated their departure for America.... passages from the New Testament... are sprinkled generously into the speeches and sermons of the Book of Mormon characters in the same manner as one might find them in the sermons of a Methodist or Baptist preacher of Joseph Smith's day. This type of usage implies an acquaintance with the New Testament books themselves. Only after knowing the entire work can one select from it appropriate words and phrases to employ in this sermonic manner. It is naive to suggest that in every one of those instances God made known each of those biblical phrases and quotations so that the Old Testament Book of Mormon speakers could work them into their message. It is far more reasonable to believe that the insertions of such phrases and quotes came from one who already had the New Testament in hand before him while composing the Book of Mormon... The really fatal blow to the proposal that the New Testament material in the Old Testament portion of the Book of Mormon is due to Joseph Smith's employment of such phrases in the process of translating the book is that such material goes much deeper than the mere use of words and phrases. New Testament concepts, interpretations and theology are all worked into the text itself." -Wesley P. Walters, "The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon," (Master's thesis, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1981), pp. 7, 10-13.
LDS author Grant Hardy writes, "In 1831, Alexander Campbell, one of the book's first critics (and certainly the first one to read it carefully), famously observed that it seemed to weigh in on all the popular religious questions of the day, including 'infant baptism, ordination, the trinity, regeneration, repentance, justification, the fall of man, the atonement, transubstantiation, fasting, penance, church government, religious experience, the call to the ministry , the general resurrection, eternal punishment, who may baptize, and even the question of freemasonry, republican government, and the right of the man.' This is a fair list, and references to these topics-or their analogous counterparts-can be found throughout the Book of Mormon." -Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon, p. 184