Text: The chapter break at this point obscures the narrative flow. It is helpful to read this verse in context to understand what Mormon is doing:
And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.
And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common
among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.
And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.
And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ.
And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting. (3 Ne. 26:17–3 Ne. 27:1)
Orson Pratt made this chapter division in the 1879 edition, apparently assuming that the “and it came to pass” of 3 Nephi 26:17 was a different incident from 3 Nephi 27:1’s repetition of “and it came to pass.” True, Mormon typically uses this phrase to mark the passage of time and events, but he is not maintaining a strictly chronological narrative at this point. The passage above is a generic text from 3 Nephi 26:17–21 covering an indeterminate time period. That text ends with the information that the church is “called the church of Christ.” Mormon has given an overview of the history and will now give a specific instance. This is the same process we saw in 3 Nephi 26:14–15 where the generic overview preceded the specific detail.
In this case, the overview ends with “were called the church of Christ,” and Mormon will now relate how the church came to have that name. He begins by a parallel from 3 Nephi 26:17 where the disciples are teaching and baptizing; here in verse 1, the disciples are again preaching and baptizing, with the added detail that they are also praying.