Keywords

come unto me, enduring to the end, gospel, merismus, Book of Mormon

Abstract

In this paper I have reconciled the well established six-element gospel of salvation taught by Christ and his prophets throughout the Book of Mormon with the recurring invitation to come unto Christ and be saved. Once we can understand that most statements of the gospel in the Book of Mormon are formulated meristically—that where only a few or even just two of the gospel elements are mentioned explicitly, the full set of six is implied—the door is opened for a more precise account for the invitation to come unto him. In this detailed survey, I have shown that in almost all cases, “come unto me” in its various formulations, can readily be understood as a parallel phrasing for the Book of Mormon requirement that converts must “endure to the end” to receive eternal life.