The Ancient Prophets' Testimony of Christ

One of the clear messages of the Book of Mormon is that all prophets have taught of Christ, even those who came before Him.  We see that of course with the way that the Book of Mormon prophets taught of Christ, but they also specifically referred to the prophets who had gone before them (i.e. in the Old World) and bore witness that they too had known of Christ and preached of Him.  For example, Lehi “spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world” (1 Nephi 10:5).  Nephi specifically taught how both Isaiah and Moses had known of Christ.  He wrote, “And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.  And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness” (1 Nephi 22:20-21).  As a preface to his quotation to the words of Isaiah he also declared the Isaiah “verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him” (2 Nephi 11:2).  He also stated that one of the reasons he quoted Isaiah was that he might “might more fully persuade [his brethren] to believe in the Lord their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 19:23).  In the Bible it can appear as if Christ doesn’t come on the scene until His mortal arrival in the New Testament, but the Book of Mormon makes it clear that the prophets of the Old Testament knew of Him and testified of Him, even if some of their plainness has been lost. 

               Jacob, King Benjamin, Abinadi, and Nephi the son of Helaman all likewise declared that the prophets long before them had testified of Christ as a defense of their own testimony of the Savior.  Jacob wrote, “Not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name” (Jacob 4:4-5).  He further questioned, “For why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?...  We are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old” (Jacob 4:12-13).  King Benjamin, quoting the angel, taught his people, “And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them” (Mosiah 3:13).  The message of the prophets has always been to believe in Christ and to receive a remission of sins from Him. Abinadi questioned the priests of King Noah in these words: “For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people?  Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?  Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth?” (Mosiah 13:33-34)  Nephi the son of Helaman spoke to the wicked Nephites of his day with his testimony of the ancient prophets’ knowledge of Christ: “Ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.  Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come….  And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.  Yea, and behold, Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled with gladness and did rejoice.  Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.  And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things” (Helaman 8:13-19).  True prophets, no matter what age of the world they have lived in, have always testified of the Savior.