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If I were to ask, “Who is the main character in the Book of Mormon?” a person might be tempted to say Nephi, Alma, or Mormon. But these answers are clearly wrong. The real main character in the Book of Mormon is Jesus Christ. After all, even when we hear the voice of other narrators, their whole purpose is “to persuade [everyone] to believe in Christ” (2 Nephi 25:23). Within the Book of Mormon, titles and pronouns that refer to Christ occur 7,452 times—an average of more than one reference per verse.[1] Thus, no voice is more vital to study than the voice of Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of his record, Nephi wrote that the “fulness” of his intent was to persuade people to come unto Christ (1 Nephi 6:4). Moroni concluded his words by inviting readers to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32). An explicitly stated purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince all people that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (title page).

Because of the central importance of Jesus Christ, focusing on his voice has been particularly meaningful for me. His words challenge, testify, comfort, and teach truth. In this chapter, I will first briefly contrast the patterns when Jesus Christ is explicitly speaking versus when “the Lord” is cited as the speaker. I will then examine three key words Christ uses in the Book of Mormon and explore what his emphasis on them can mean in our lives. This study has changed the way I think about key gospel principles; I hope it does the same for you.

Jesus Christ and the Lord’s Speaking Patterns

As described in chapter 1, when my colleagues and I were parsing the text of the Book of Mormon, one critical issue was how to split apart the different references to the Godhead. We chose to combine all generic references (such as “the Lord God,” “God,” “the Lord,” and so forth) as referring to the voice of “the Lord.” When there was an explicit identification or clear textual evidence that we were hearing the words of “the Father,” “Jesus Christ,” or “the Spirit,” we designated those words as belonging to that specific individual. For example, in Mosiah 26:23–24 we read, “It is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they shall come forth, and shall have a place eternally at my right hand.” In this passage, while Jesus Christ is not explicitly named, context makes it clear that he is the speaker.

Dividing the text in this manner assigns 14,161 words to Jesus Christ (5.3 percent of the total text of the Book of Mormon) and 11,971 words to the Lord (4.5 percent of the total text). While to some this might seem like an arbitrary distinction, parsing the text in this way showed several clear differences between the voice of Jesus Christ and the voice of “the Lord.”[2] Some of these differences are highlighted in table 5.1.

Table 5.1. Jesus Christ and the Lord’s different speaking patterns.

In several instances, Jesus Christ and the Lord have very different patterns in words they use. For example, Jesus heavily uses the words you and your while the Lord instead employs thee and thy.

One particularly noteworthy example of the differences in these two voices is the word verily, which appears seventy-six times in the Book of Mormon. Of these occurrences, seventy-one are in the voice of Jesus Christ (this word is never said by the Lord).[4] It is striking that this small word is also predominantly used by Jesus Christ in the Bible. For example, the phrase “verily, verily I say unto you” appears twenty-five times in the New Testament, exclusively in the book of John and always in the words of Jesus. This same phrase appears twenty-five times in the Book of Mormon, twenty-four times in the voice of Jesus Christ and once in Mormon’s words. The shorter phrase “verily I say” appears fifty-two times in the New Testament (exclusively in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, always in the voice of Jesus). This same phrase appears twenty-three times in the Book of Mormon and is used only by Jesus Christ. To a casual reader of the Book of Mormon, the word verily might seem like a “scriptural” word, like behold or the phrase “it came to pass,” that would be randomly distributed throughout the Book of Mormon. However, this is not the case. The word verily, connected with Jesus Christ in the Bible, is also connected with him in the Book of Mormon.

Perhaps more importantly, there are several doctrinally significant words that the Savior uses much more frequently than other speakers. In this chapter I will focus on three of these important words: baptize, name, and Father.

Baptize[5]

In the Book of Mormon, the word baptize first appears in 1 Nephi 10, when Nephi describes a dream Lehi had depicting the work of John the Baptist. The final occurrence of baptize is in Moroni 8:10: “Teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.” Thus, from the beginning to the end, Book of Mormon writers consistently emphasize the importance of being baptized.[6] Although the word baptize appears throughout the Book of Mormon, it is emphasized to different degrees by individual speakers. Table 5.2 shows how many times major speakers in the Book of Mormon say baptize.

Table 5.2. Use of baptize by major Book of Mormon speakers.

Although Mormon numerically uses baptize more than any other speaker, Jesus Christ proportionally uses the word much more than Mormon does.[7] Christ’s emphasis on being baptized is not simply a function of his focus on this topic in 3 Nephi 11. In fact, not only does Jesus Christ say baptize more per one thousand words than any other speaker, but he also consistently uses the word baptize throughout the text.

Table 5.3. Christ’s use of baptize inside and outside 3 Nephi 11–28.

Table 5.3 illustrates that in addition to regularly saying baptize in 3 Nephi 11–28, Jesus Christ also consistently uses the word throughout the entire text of the Book of Mormon. In 3 Nephi 11 he designates the specific manner of baptism; however, apart from that deviation, Christ is fairly consistent in his use of baptize throughout the text. He typically focuses on the idea that people should be baptized in his name and receive the Holy Ghost (for example, see 2 Nephi 31:12).

In addition to quantitatively using baptize more than other Book of Mormon speakers, Jesus Christ uniquely collocates specific words with baptize. For example, Christ is much more likely than any other speaker to associate name with baptize, as illustrated by table 5.4, which compares the three speakers in the Book of Mormon who use the word baptize more than ten times.

Table 5.4. Appearances of baptize and name in the same verse.

There is a stark difference between these speakers in terms of their propensity to use baptize and name in the same verse. Christ uses name in 61 percent of the verses in which he utilizes baptize. Jesus frequently uses phrases like “be baptized in my name” (3 Nephi 11:38; see also 2 Nephi 31:12; 3 Nephi 11:23; 11:27, 37; 18:5, 11, 16, 30; 21:6; 27:16, 20; 30:2; Ether 4:18; and Moroni 7:34). In contrast, Mormon employs name only 11 percent of the time he speaks of being baptized. We never hear Nephi’s voice use baptize and name in the same verse, although Nephi quotes both the Father and Jesus Christ in this way (see 2 Nephi 31:11–12). Importantly, Mormon’s use of name and baptize appears to be related to Christ’s.

On several occasions Mormon utilizes the phrase baptized unto repentance. For example, Mormon writes phrases such as “They did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words” (Alma 48:19), and “There were thousands who did join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance” (Helaman 3:24). However, a shift takes place after Christ’s extensive emphasis on being baptized in his name. Before 3 Nephi 26, Mormon never speaks of being baptized in the name of Christ. However, after Mormon provides an account of Christ’s ministry to the Lehites,[9] we see several examples where he might previously have employed the phrase baptized unto repentance but now substitutes it with a reference to being baptized in the name of Christ, as illustrated in table 5.5.

Table 5.5. Mormon’s descriptions of baptism before and after Christ’s ministry to the Lehites.

Why does Mormon employ the phrase baptized unto repentance eight times before 3 Nephi 9 and never thereafter? Why does he use the phrase baptized in the name of Jesus five times after Christ’s visits to the Lehites but never previously? One answer could be that Mormon took his textual cues from the Savior. Perhaps once he understood through his redaction of 3 Nephi the extent to which Christ emphasized being baptized in his name, he followed suit. If this is the case, it demonstrates an interesting textual way in which Mormon’s voice changes to better harmonize with the Savior’s voice. Another possibility is that Mormon wanted to stay true to the text of those who went before them. Perhaps those who wrote on the plates before Christ’s visits spoke of being baptized unto repentance,and Mormon simply followed their lead.

Another example of Christ’s unique use of baptize in the Book of Mormon is in the personal connection he makes between it and himself. Jesus uses phrases like “Whoso believeth in me and is baptized shall be saved” (3 Nephi 11:33) and “Come unto me and be baptized” (3 Nephi 21:6). When we look at every possible reference to Christ in the Book of Mormon (such as “come unto him” and “be baptized unto the Lord”), Jesus Christ still is much more likely to say baptize in reference to himself than other speakers are. Christ associates himself with being baptized in twenty-three verses, more than all other speakers combined, making him responsible for 56 percent of the appearances of baptize that relate to Christ. This number is disproportionate with the fact that he is responsible for only 30 percent of the appearances of baptize in the text.

An additional unique way in which Christ uses the word baptize is in his frequent invitations for others to be baptized. Of the 119 instances of baptize in the Book of Mormon, 12 are invitations or commands to be baptized.[10] Of those who frequently say baptize, only Jesus Christ and Mormon issue invitations to be baptized. Table 5.6 illustrates their relative usage, along with the others who issue invitations to be baptized.

Table 5.6. Invitations to be baptized.

From table 5.6, we see that while Christ is responsible for about 30 percent of the instances of baptize in the Book of Mormon, he is disproportionately responsible for 58 percent of the invitations to be baptized. Except for 2 Nephi 31:12,[11] all these invitations are associated with the concept of repentance. Clearly Christ places emphasis on the importance of repenting and being baptized.

In addition to Christ’s distinctive use of baptize within the Book of Mormon, it is interesting to note his unique patterns in using baptize in the Book of Mormon as opposed to the New Testament.[12] In contrast to his frequent use of baptize in the Book of Mormon, in the four Gospels Christ says baptize only 0.25 times per 1,000 words. Put differently, given any 1,000 words, Christ is ten times more likely to use the word baptize in the Book of Mormon than in the New Testament. We find one possible explanation for this in 1 Nephi 13:26, 28, when an angel speaking to Nephi says, “For behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. . . . Wherefore, thou seest that . . . there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.” Perhaps some of the “covenants of the Lord” that were taken away were some of Christ’s biblical teachings about baptism. If this were the case, it could account for the drastic differences in Christ’s use of baptize in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament.[13]

Christ also uses baptize differently in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. Primarily, in the four Gospels Christ’s use of baptize centers around the phrase “baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.”[14] However, Christ never uses this phrase in the Book of Mormon. Similarly, most of the phrases Christ uses in the Book of Mormon are not used in the New Testament. For example, although Christ frequently associates baptism with his name in the Book of Mormon, Christ collocates name and baptize in only one New Testament verse (Matthew 28:19).[15] While Christ frequently extends invitations to be baptized in the Book of Mormon, he never employs baptize as part of any invitation to others to be baptized in the New Testament.[16] It is clear that Jesus Christ focuses on the word baptize in unique ways in the Book of Mormon, both within the text itself and in comparison with his words in the New Testament.

Name

The word name appears 338 times in the Book of Mormon; in 64 of these instances (19 percent of the total), it is used by Jesus Christ. Proportionally speaking, Jesus Christ uses this word more than anybody else in the Book of Mormon; only one speaker even comes close to Christ’s usage.[17] Table 5.7 shows how many times major speakers in the Book of Mormon say name.

Table 5.7. Use of name by major Book of Mormon speakers.

There are three principal ways in which Christ refers to his name.[18] Most frequent is how he speaks of being baptized in his name (described in the previous section).

The second most frequent is in his exhortations to ask, pray to, or call on the Father in Christ’s name. On five occasions Jesus tells his followers to “ask the Father in my name”;[19] five additional times Christ tells people to “pray unto the Father in my name”;[20] and five more times he invites people to “call on the Father in my name.”[21]

Christ’s consistent invitations to pray to the Father in his name emphasize the importance of his Father and show the unity that they have (discussed further in the next section). In addition, the command to call on the Father in Christ’s name reminds us that “there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ” (Mosiah 3:17). We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, reminding us that it is through the Savior that we converse with, and eventually will be brought back into the presence of, the Father.

The third primary way that Christ uses name is to connect it with the name of his Church. Shortly after the Savior’s appearance to the Nephites, a group of his disciples was disputing about what the name of the Church should be. During their discussion, Jesus himself appeared to them once again and asked, “How be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. . . . Ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name” (3 Nephi 27:8–9).

In a modern context, the name of his Church continues to matter to Jesus Christ. In the beginning of the Restoration, the name of the Church was “the Church of Christ” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:1), and it was later changed to become “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:4). For many years I thought that all that happened was that Church leaders simply later added the phrase “Latter-day Saints.” But in fact, although the restored Church was originally called “The Church of Christ,” in 1834 Church leaders voted to change the name to “The Church of the Latter-day Saints.”[22]

The name of Jesus was removed.

The title page for the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants says “The Church of the Latter-day Saints.” This same name for the Church also appears on the Kirtland Temple. Thus, when Jesus revealed in 1838 that the Church should be called “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:4), he wasn’t adding “Latter-day Saints”; he was restoring his name to the name of his church.[23]

Christ’s proportional use of the word name is dramatically higher than that of nearly every other speaker in the Book of Mormon. Jesus Christ focuses on being baptized in his name, asking the Father and calling upon him in prayer in Christ’s name, and calling the Church after his name. Collectively, this emphasis on his name reminds us that Jesus should be at the center of everything we do.

Father

The word Father (with a capital F) appears 271 times in the Book of Mormon, and 171 of these occurrences come from the words of Jesus Christ. Although twenty-one other individuals use this word, no other Book of Mormon speaker comes close to using Father as frequently as Jesus Christ does,[24] as illustrated in table 5.8.

Table 5.8. Use of Father by Book of Mormon speakers who speak 2,000 or more words.

Although he speaks only 5 percent of the Book of Mormon text, Jesus Christ accounts for 63 percent of all uses of Father. Five major ways Christ speaks of his Father regard prayer, commandments, quotations from him, his unity with the Father, and covenants. Let’s briefly explore each of these themes.

The most frequent way that Jesus employs the word Father is in conjunction with prayer. As discussed in the previous section, on fifteen occasions Christ speaks of calling on, praying to, or asking the Father in his name. In addition, Christ uses the word Father several times in the prayers he offers. Jesus prays to the Father nine times in the Book of Mormon, beginning in 3 Nephi 13, when he provides a model for prayer beginning with “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (3 Nephi 13:9). Each occurrence of Jesus praying in the Book of Mormon includes an address to the Father, highlighting this as an important component of prayer.[25]

Another way that Jesus uses the word Father is in talking about his commandments. Commandments and Father appear together fifteen times in Christ’s voice in the Book of Mormon, with the Savior often emphasizing the importance of his Father’s commandments. For example, in 3 Nephi 11:32 Jesus says, “I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.” Jesus gives the people the commands of his Father (see 3 Nephi 12:19) and speaks of his efforts to do what his Father has commanded him to do (see 3 Nephi 15:14–16:3). He is also clear that he will fulfill the Father’s commandments; in 3 Nephi 18:27 he declares, “I must go unto my Father that I may fulfil other commandments which he hath given me.”

Christ also emphasizes the Father by quoting him; he uses the phrase “saith the Father” thirteen times.[26] For example, in 3 Nephi 16:8 Jesus states, “Wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles” in the latter days. Two verses later, in describing what will happen if the Gentiles reject the gospel, Jesus says, “Behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them” (3 Nephi 16:10). Christ continues quoting his Father regarding this theme of destruction for the Gentiles if they harden their hearts, continuing with “I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father” (3 Nephi 20:28). Christ’s longest quote from his Father comes in 3 Nephi 24–25, when he specifically attributes the words of Malachi 3–4 to him.

Jesus also uses the word Father in the context of describing their unity. Christ speaks of his unity with the Father ten times.[27] He says he was “with the Father from the beginning” and teaches, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (3 Nephi 9:15). Christ also frequently says, “The Father and I are one” (3 Nephi 20:35; 28:10; see also 3 Nephi 11:27) and also declares, “The Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one” (3 Nephi 11:36).

A final theme of Jesus using Father relates to covenants. Father and covenant are used together by Jesus Christ nine times in the Book of Mormon. He most commonly uses it to teach how the Father’s covenant to his people will be fulfilled. In various ways, Jesus says that he came to fulfill the covenants the Father made with his covenant people. For example, in 3 Nephi 16:5 Jesus declares that he will gather his people together and “fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.” Then he connects his audience with the house of Israel, declaring, “Ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers” (3 Nephi 20:25). Jesus promises that “this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people [will] be fulfilled” (3 Nephi 20:46). Jesus points to the fulfilling of covenants in the latter days, stating that when the Book of Mormon comes forth to the descendants of Lehi, they will know that “the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 21:7).

Therefore, What?

Identifying and analyzing words that Christ emphasizes in the Book of Mormon can help us see what is important to him—topics such as the ordinance of baptism, his name, and the Father.[28] More than any other speaker, Christ personally associates himself with baptism, connecting it with coming to him and his own name. More than any other speaker, he personally invites people to be baptized. Seeing how often he speaks of baptism has deepened my understanding of how important baptism is to Savior and, therefore, how important it should be to me. Christ’s emphasis on this ordinance can motivate us to attach more meaning to it and to be bolder in inviting others to be baptized.

Jesus Christ’s name is personally important to him. The Savior’s consistent teachings in the Book of Mormon regarding his name perhaps stand in contrast to Doctrine and Covenants 107:4, which states that “out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name,” the term Melchizedek Priesthood was used by ancient Church members instead of “the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:3). These verses suggest caution in frequent usage of the name of Christ.

However, the Savior himself in the Book of Mormon says, “In my name shall [my people] be called” (Mosiah 26:18); “Go forth in my name” (Mosiah 26:20); “Believe on my name” (3 Nephi 9:17); “In my name shall ye baptize” (3 Nephi 11:23); “Call on the Father in my name” (3 Nephi 21:27); and “Whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name” (3 Nephi 27:7). Christ’s emphasis on his name suggests a point of balance—yes, we should avoid using his name in a casual way. At the same time, for some the danger might not be using his name too frequently but rather not using his name enough.

A young mother recently shared the following insight with me: “I’ve used Christ’s name more since I’ve had children. I want the Savior to be very real to them. The first thing a child does when they meet somebody is ask them their name. I want my children to know who Jesus is and know that he is their friend. So we use his name a lot in our house!”

She’s exactly right. After all, as Elder Neil L. Andersen stated, “You and I speak of Jesus Christ, but maybe we can do a little better. If the world is going to speak less of Him, who is going to speak more of Him? We are! Along with other devoted Christians!”[29]

In 2019 Elder Ronald A. Rasband gave an address to the seminary and institute leaders of the Church. He spoke about the sobering realities of suicide and said that we must help those in desperate circumstances connect with those who can help them. He encouraged teachers to find new ways to help those who are deeply struggling. He specifically suggested, “Try just saying the name ‘Jesus Christ’ in a perilous setting with one who has lost hope. Just calling upon Him by name, with reverence, can make a difference in a difficult moment.”[30] There is power in the name of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s consistent speaking of his Father shows us their unity. At times in my life, in response to individuals who say that Jesus Christ and God the Father are literally the same individual, I’ve focused on their differences. Although they are different individuals, it might be helpful for us to focus more on their unity than we sometimes do. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “Part of the reason we are so misunderstood by others in the Christian tradition is because in stressing the individual personages of the Godhead, we have not followed that up often enough by both conceding and insisting upon Their unity in virtually every other imaginable way. For this we have reaped needless criticism, and we have made our . . . position harder to be understood than it needs to be.”[31] Christ’s emphasis on linking himself with the Father teaches of the unity that exists between the members of the Godhead and points to a unity we should strive for. Just as Christ is completely one with his Father, so too can we be united to Christ and the Father as we do their work.

The words Jesus Christ chose to use are significant. As we study the Savior’s voice, we can better come to know what matters to him and make those things more central in our own lives. Focusing more on baptism has changed my experience in sacrament meeting, the temple, and baptismal services. Concentrating more purposefully on Christ’s name has changed both what I say at the dinner table and share on social media. Pondering the unity of Christ and his Father increases my desire that the Savior’s prayer will be answered: “I pray unto thee for . . . all those who shall believe on [my disciples’] words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one” (3 Nephi 19:23; see also 3 Nephi 19:19; John 19:21–22).

Notes

[1] Of course, some verses contain multiple references to Christ, while others do not have any. On average, there is one reference to Christ for every 0.88 verses in the Book of Mormon. See John Hilton III and Madison Sinclair, “Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon” (forthcoming).

[2] Some might wonder why a difference in voice exists in the Book of Mormon between when Jesus Christ specifically is cited as speaking versus the Lord. That a difference exists is statistically certain. But it is not possible to state with certainty why there is a difference. One possibility (and I offer this only as conjecture) is that perhaps when people say, “The Lord said,” they might not always speaking the verbatim words of the Lord, but rather putting the general message that the Lord has given them into their own words.

[3] As stated previously, an LL score of 6.63 is equivalent to a p value < .01, indicating statistical significance. In other words, in every case in table 5.1 when “the Lord” and “Jesus Christ” use the same word, there is a probability smaller than 1 percent that this happened by chance.

[4] The word verily is used one time each by Alma₂, Korihor, and Nephi₁, all of whom use it differently than Jesus Christ does. For example, Nephi says, “He [Isaiah] verily saw my Redeemer” (2 Nephi 11:2). On one occasion Mormon says “Verily, verily” to start a sentence (see Alma 48:17); this is the only time this construction appears in the Book of Mormon outside the words of Jesus Christ.

[5] This section is adapted from John Hilton III and Jana Johnson, “The Word Baptize in the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 29 (2018): 65–80. Note that in this chapter I’m examining the verb baptize as well as its variants baptized and baptizing. The noun form, baptism, was not included in this study. Baptize is used much more than baptism in the scriptures (257 versus 85 times), particularly in the Book of Mormon (119 versus 26 times).

[6] For more insights on baptism in the Book of Mormon, see Noel B. Reynolds, “Understanding Christian Baptism through the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies Quarterly 51, no. 2 (2012): 5–37.

[7] Comparing Jesus’s use of baptize and baptized with all other Book of Mormon speakers provides LL values of 24.3 and 54.7 respectively.

[8] Other speakers who use baptize and name in the same verse include an angel who speaks in Alma 9:27 (one time) the Father (one time), Jacob (two times), Moroni₂ (one time), and Alma₁ (one time).

[9] While people commonly refer to Christ visiting the “Nephites,” there were in fact Lamanites among those who heard Christ speak (see 3 Nephi 10:18). Thus, I use the more inclusive term “Lehites” while acknowledging that other groups (e.g., the Mulekites) had also merged with the Lehites.

[10] There are also two invitations to be baptized associated with the word baptism (out of twenty-six instances of baptism).

[11] Note that repentance is addressed in the surrounding verses.

[12] Baptize appears about as frequently in the Book of Mormon as in the New Testament (0.42 times per 1,000 words in the Book of Mormon and 0.41 times per 1,000 words in the King James Version of the New Testament).

[13] Another plausible explanation is that the Nephites were particularly confused about baptism. In 3 Nephi 11:28 Christ suggests that there had been arguments among the Nephites about baptism: “According as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.” We might also look to the compilers of these records for an explanation of Christ’s different uses of baptize. With limited space and resources, Mormon had to decide what was most valuable to include in the record. It is possible that Christ spoke very similarly to the Nephites as he did to those in Jerusalem, but Mormon saw baptism as being a particularly important concept and other things as being less so. Similarly, those who recorded Christ’s words in the New Testament may have felt it more necessary to focus on certain other points of Christ’s doctrine.

[14] Matthew 20:22–23; Mark 10:38–39; and Luke 12:50.

[15] In the New Testament, baptize and name appear together in Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:12, 16; 10:48; 19:5; 22:16; and 1 Corinthians 1:13, 15.

[16] Neither does he extend any such invitations using the word baptism.

[17] Comparing Jesus’s use of name with all other Book of Mormon speakers provides an LL value of 86.6.

[18] Aside from these more frequently appearing patterns, Jesus uses the word name in several different ways. For example, he invites people to believe on his name (e.g., 3 Nephi 9:17), take on his name (e.g., 3 Nephi 27:5), and go forth in his name (e.g., Mosiah 26:20).

[19] See 3 Nephi 16:4; 17:3; 18:20; 27:28; Moroni 7:26. Moroni₂ is the only other person to use this phraseology (see Mormon 9:21, 27; Moroni 10:4).

[20] See 3 Nephi 18:19, 21, 23, 30; 20:31.

[21] See 3 Nephi 21:27; 27:7, 9; Ether 4:15; Moroni 2:2.

[22] K. Shane Goodwin, “The History of the Name of the Savior’s Church: A Collaborative and Revelatory Process,” BYU Studies Quarterly 58, no. 3 (2019): 19; citing Richard S. Van Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1994), 149.

[23] In the October 2018 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson similarly emphasized employing Christ’s name in how we refer to his Church: “The Lord [has] impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He decreed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . The name of the Church is not negotiable. When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be . . . He is serious.” Russell M. Nelson, “The Correct Name of the Church,” Ensign, November 2018, 87.

[24] Comparing Jesus’s use of Father with all other Book of Mormon speakers provides an astronomical LL value of 660.

[25] In 3 Nephi 17:15 Christ prays by kneeling on the ground and then directly addressing the Father. In the next chapter, he tells the people that they have all witnessed that he “prayed unto the Father” (3 Nephi 18:24). This pattern continues in 3 Nephi 19, where Christ uses phrases such as “Father, I thank thee” and “Father, I pray thee” (3 Nephi 19:20–21).

[26] One of these thirteen is the derivative phrase “Thus said the Father” (3 Nephi 24:1). The only other person in the Book of Mormon to use the phrase “saith the Father” is Nephi (see 2 Nephi 31:20). Nearly all the quotations of the Father in the Book of Mormon come from Jesus Christ.

[27] See 3 Nephi 9:15; 11:27, 32, 36; 19:23, 29; 20:35; 28:10; Ether 3:14; 4:12.

[28] Other words could be added to this list. For example, Jesus Christ disproportionately speaks of Gentiles. See John Hilton III et al., “Gentiles in the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 33 (2019): 267–88.

[29] Neil L. Andersen, “We Talk of Christ,” Ensign, November 2020, 89.

[30] Ronald A. Rasband, “Jesus Christ Is the Answer” (evening with a General Authority, February 8, 2019).

[31] Jeffrey R. Holland, “Knowing the Godhead,” Ensign, January 2016, 37–38.