“God Hast Loved the World, Even Unto the Laying Down of Thy Life”

Brant Gardner

Reference: Although Moroni unquestionably understood the Savior’s sacrifice, the language again reflects the King James Version: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). New World prophets understood that the Savior’s death, leading to the resurrection, simultaneously predicted the Atoning Messiah’s mission and invoked the cultural understanding of life coming from death. It would be inaccurate to see the Savior’s sacrifice as the foundation for the native Mesoamerican understanding that death leads to new life (a virtually universal agricultural metaphor). Nevertheless, that understanding certainly provided an environment in which the Savior’s sacrifice concept was well understood.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6

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