"Christ... This Should Be His Name"
What's in a name? How many names are there for Jesus Christ? When were all these different names revealed?
There are three names I want to focus on in this post: 1) "Christ", 2) "Jesus", and 3) "Alpha and Omega".
I've recently been keeping a digital notebook of lots of small, interesting details I've found in The Book of Mormon. I call it "Book of Mormon Proofs." As part of my blog, I'll be writing about some of these Book of Mormon proofs.
If Joseph Smith made up The Book of Mormon, there are literally thousands of little details he would have had to keep straight, all while verbally dictating the Book of Mormon in one go, without notes or reference material of any kind. (There are many accounts and articles that describe the nature in which Joseph Smith translated and dictated The Book of Mormon. See Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 6.)
1) Christ
The first time that the name "Christ" is used in The Book of Mormon is nearly 80 pages into the text, in 2 Nephi 10:3. The ancient prophet Jacob is speaking to his people. He says: "And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved brethren... It must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews..."
This is yet another detail among thousands that Joseph Smith would have had to keep straight if he made this book up.
1) First, Joseph Smith would have had to be astute enough to observe that Nephi's people were born in a time when the name of Christ was not yet known. How easy it would have been for him to assume that Nephi and his people already knew the name of Christ. The entire known world in Joseph Smith's day knew the name of Christ. This detail could have easily slipped Joseph's mind. He could have so easily confused his own culture with the culture of the Nephites, and accidentally introduced an anachronism into The Book of Mormon. But he didn't.
2) Second, after making the observation that the Nephites did not know the name of Christ, Joseph Smith would have had to mentally keep track, 80 pages into his verbal dictation of The Book of Mormon, that this was the first time he had used the name "Christ". And then he would have had to casually add a note. 'Oh, and by the way, since this is the first time this name has been used among this people, let's mention that an angel revealed it to Jacob.'
Up to this point in The Book of Mormon, there have been literally hundreds of references to the Savior: Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, Lord, etc. But never the name of Christ. That's a lot to keep track of while verbally dictating 80 pages of spiritual writings.
2) Jesus
And now, moving forward in his translation, Joseph Smith would have to keep track of every other name Christ was known by, and figure out if the Nephites should have already known that name, based on when it appears in the Bible.
And so, when the name “Jesus” is used for the first time (100 pages into the record, in 2 Nephi 25:19), Nephi says: "According to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus". (This reference to "Jesus" faces the same two challenges as noted in the section above about "Christ".)
And in a verbal dictation, how easy it would have been to confuse the first time you used the name "Christ", and the first time you used the name "Jesus", and the first time you used a dozen other names for Christ.
3) Alpha and Omega
But that isn't all. Joseph Smith would not only have to keep track of each name of Christ that he had used thus far, but he would have to choose when and in what context to introduce all these many different names; at a time that makes sense; at a time that is consistent with the Bible.
For example, in the Bible the name "Alpha and Omega" is only ever used after Christ's resurrection. And The Book of Mormon is consistent with this; "Alpha and Omega" is only ever used after Christ's resurrection.
Again, just one of literally thousands of details Joseph Smith would have had to keep straight while dictating all 531 pages of The Book of Mormon in one go.
To end where I started, what's in a name? How many names are there for Jesus Christ? When were all these different names revealed? Would you be up for the task of cataloging all these different names and when they were revealed? And then integrate them into a 531 page book? Without any notes or rewrites?
See also my blog post about the name "The Father and the Son" as used in Mosiah 15 and 3 Nephi 1, (especially the "Conclusion" section of the post).
Thanks for reading. For my next post about Book of Mormon proofs, click here.
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