Keywords

Nephites, Faith, Book of Mormon

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Readers of the Book of Mormon agree that faith in Jesus Christ is a basic principle of the gospel, or doctrine of Christ, taught therein. And they agree, at least superficially, on the meaning of the word faith to the extent that is allowed by their modern, westernized worldview and background in New Testament Christianity. However, as I engaged in an in-depth study of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Nephites understood it, I realized that (1) our modern cultural understandings shield us from those of the Nephite prophets in many ways, (2) the Nephite concept of faith is far from simple, and (3) the Nephites’ dependence on Old Testament covenantal concepts constitutes an essential dimension of their approach to faith in Jesus Christ. In this essay, I will reconstruct the Old Testament perspective as it relates to Nephite understandings and then examine the full range of relevant Book of Mormon usage by trying to document and discover the meanings of faith in Nephite discourse.