“Becometh a Saint”

Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet
The word saint is tied to the Hebrew root kadosh, which means to separate, to be apart from, and to become sacred and holy (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 872). In all dispensations of time the Lord’s people have been called Saints, thus emphasizing that they are a people who have separated themselves from that which is worldly and are seeking through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel to become a holy people. They have consecrated themselves-they have through covenant agreement chosen to do all that they do “with sacredness.” The angel’s choice of words, “becometh a saint,” stresses that sanctification-becoming a saint-is indeed the labor of a lifetime, a process rather than a singular spiritual experience or event.

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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