They Are Choice Unto Me

In the short book The Words of Mormon, Mormon explained why he was going to include the small plates directly with his record. He wrote, “I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi. And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass.” He added, “I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren” (Words of Mormon 1:4, 6). His comments invite us to ask ourselves if the words of the beginning books of the Book of Mormon (i.e. that came from those small plates) are “choice” unto us. That is an interesting word, and the 1828 dictionary defines it as “Worthy of being preferred; select; precious; very valuable.” Are the words of the scriptures, and in particular those of Nephi and Jacob in the small plates, precious and valuable to us? Of course, that word also means “the act of choosing,” and though that’s not the sense in which Mormon used it here, it reminds us that we must choose ourselves to read and study the Book of Mormon. If we make the choice to spend time with these scriptures, they will indeed be choice unto us. 

            Mormon suggested that one of the reasons he liked these small plates so much was their prophecies of the coming of Christ. There are several passages that he may have been referring to. Nephi wrote, “Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world…. Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:4, 6). Nephi himself saw in vision the coming of Jesus Christ in great detail: “And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him…. And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him…. I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out…. And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (1 Nephi 11:24-33). He saw many details of the life of the Savior and prophesied unto us of His birth, baptism, ministry, and crucifixion.

            Other passages written by Nephi and Jacob also prophesied of the coming of Christ. Nephi wrote, “The day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks. Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name.” He also prophesied, “There is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (2 Nephi 25:12-13, 18-19). He had seen the coming of the Messiah and surely these prophecies from Nephi were part of what made Mormon want to include the small plates. Jacob likewise prophesied of the coming of Christ. He taught, “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, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God” (2 Nephi 10:3). Later after Nephi’s death he wrote more about the coming of the Savior: “For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.” He knew that Christ would come and he rejoiced in that fact. He also taught, “And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; 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?” (Jacob 4:12) Jacob spoke of the atonement of Christ as if it had already happened because he was sure of the coming of the Messiah. His words were surely among the “choice” prophecies about the Savior that inspired Mormon to include them so that they could likewise be choice unto us who read them today.