In And Through Christ

I listed to a talk today by Professor Wade Hollingshaus from BYU who mentioned that the phrase “in and through” was repeated several times in the Book of Mormon.  I looked and found that this is repeated seven times, and each time it is found in connection with Christ and the atonement.  Lehi taught Jacob, “Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth” (2 Nephi 2:6).  Jacob then taught his people, “Remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved” (2 Nephi 10:24).  King Benjamin repeated these words of the angel to his people: “I say unto you, 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, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17).  He then said it again in the next verse: “Believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:18).  Abinadi said to the priests of Noah: “Ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved?” (Mosiah 16:13)  Alma taught the people of Ammonihah that the Priesthood was “prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son” (Alma 13:5).  He also testified to Shiblon his son: “And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ” (Alma 38:9).  So what exactly does the phrase “in and through Christ” mean? 

                Professor Hollingshaus suggested that the phrase has to do the actual coming of Christ to the earth and perhaps we can see that represented by the word in.  A few of the references use the word come in conjunction with the phrase, and so maybe we can understand the word “in” to referring to the actual coming of Christ to the earth: redemption cometh in the Holy Messiah (i.e. redemption comes in the form of the Messiah descending to earth); salvation is to come in the atoning blood of Christ (i.e. salvation comes through Christ’s blood that would come to the earth).  All of the in and through statements were given before Christ had actually come to the earth, and they seem to point towards the physical coming of Christ on the earth; phrases such as “redemption cometh”,  “there shall be no other name”, and “salvation is to come” all point to the future event of Christ’s coming to earth.  We are saved in the actual mortal existence of Christ on the earth; He could not redeem us without descending below all things to take upon Him the human condition. 

                The word through seems to indicate to me an idea both of a process (as opposed to an event) and a partnership (as opposed to Christ simply doing everything for us).  When we go through something such as a city, there is an extended period of time in which we are passing.  It’s a process to travel through a place; we are not transferred in a single moment of time.  In that same way, when we are saved through Christ it is a process that we go through.  It is as it was for the city of Enoch: “Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven” (Moses 7:21).  We must labor with Christ to get through the challenges of our lives and become as He is one step at a time.  The word through also seems to connote to me a sense of togetherness or a partnership: being saved through Christ means that we have to go to Him and make the effort to receive of His aide.  We work through our salvation together; or as Moroni said it: “Come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him” (Mormon 9:27).

                The overall message from these in and through verses in the Book of Mormon is that there is simply no other way to be saved except by Christ.  We are saved in and through and of and with and by Christ; there is no other name or means that salvation can come to us.