Knowing and Unknowing Christ

Relational discipleship in 3-4 Nephi

The books of 3 and 4 Nephi are unique in the degree to which they focus on Jesus Christ, his teachings, and their transformative effects. Yet when Mormon, who abridges and narrates these records, speaks about the Savior’s visit to the Nephites, he remarks that “there cannot be written . . . even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach” (3 Ne. 26:6). This statement suggests that the reader must approach these texts with the understanding that they never claim to be the full picture of or final word on Jesus Christ. Rather, they point beyond themselves, serving as tools whereby “greater things” may be revealed (3 Ne. 26:9). 

In my book, 3–4 Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction, I explore what the two books of scripture reveal about Jesus Christ and Christian discipleship. My exploration is founded on the assumption, hinted at by Mormon, that scripture gestures beyond itself. I approach these texts believing that the role of theology is not to draw a box around God but to search him out and, in so doing, to clear a path toward him.

The coming of Jesus to the Nephites is the most significant event in the Book of Mormon. It had been prophesied for generations. Signs and wonders heralded the day it would occur. Yet when Christ descended from heaven, the Nephites did not recognize him. They “wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them” (3 Ne. 11:8). I wonder what they were expecting. Someone less like an angel? Maybe more like a God? Whatever it was, Christ seemingly did not meet their expectations. 

One idea that has been foundational for me is that Jesus Christ has a multifaceted nature and that this text offers numerous resources for better understanding it. Mormon draws upon a variety of terms and images to invite the reader to see Christ in all his divine complexity. At the same time, Mormon is also aware of the limitations of such language. That Christ can be both God and human, both male and female (a mother hen), both the Father and the Son, both wounded and resurrected, and both individual and collective, reminds us that the words used to describe him gesture toward, rather than completely circumscribe, his multifaceted nature. 

In 3 and 4 Nephi we are thus taught that Christ often transcends the boundaries we construct around him. This teaching should give the aspiring disciple cause to pause and reflect because the character of our discipleship emerges from our understanding of Jesus Christ. By focusing too much on one aspect of Christ’s nature we can risk ignoring or blinding ourselves to other aspects. I believe that coming unto Christ involves both knowing and unknowing him, meaning that as disciples we must allow Christ to teach us as well as to defy our expectations.

A related foundational idea is that Christlikeness—the end goal of discipleship—finds its fullest expression in community, collaboration, and collectivity; this is a clear theme of 3–4 Nephi. If we were to look at how Christ describes himself in these books, we would see that he frequently “overlaps” with other persons, making it difficult to discern where he ends and another person begins. He teaches, for example, “The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one” (3 Ne. 1:27).

In passages like this, we see Christ is not uniquely himself, but rather, he is one with or in other members of the Godhead. And this has important implications. Because Christ cannot be fully understood independent of his relation to others, discipleship must also be understood in relational terms. If we are to become like Christ, we must mirror his relationality. 

Practically speaking, relational discipleship entails mutual forgiveness, social equality, care for the needy, love, fidelity, honesty, generosity, mercy, and suspension of judgment. These are the ideals that characterize a society in which kinship with God and covenantal relationships transcend all earthly cultural identity, a society in which there are no “manner of -ites” and the people “are one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God” (4 Ne. 1:17). 

Relational discipleship also entails a recognition that we are irrevocably implicated in one another’s moral formation, meaning that relationships are like a laboratory in which we are molded to God’s image. It is one thing to make plans for ourselves to help us to become better people. It is quite another to allow the needs of others to dictate our daily spiritual exercise—to be our best selves for the sake of others. Almost every commandment given by Jesus in these books relates directly or indirectly to how humans view and interact with each other (see “Universal Commandments in 3 Nephi below”). In this sense, these books position themselves against what might be called moral narcissism, by which I mean (1) an overly robust estimation of one’s ability to independently affect spiritual growth and (2) undue attention to one’s own spiritual development, at the neglect of others’. In 3–4 Nephi, the disciple’s growth in sanctity is predicated upon principles of interdependence, co-responsibility, and other-centeredness.

For this reason, spiritual development—i.e., growth in Christlikeness—often occurs as a byproduct of selflessly seeking the welfare of others. I believe that Mormon would have us understand that the path to the Savior is more circuitous and scenic than one might expect. We see here that coming to Christ is what happens when the disciple focuses on other things. We make progress on the road not by speeding as quickly and efficiently as we can to our destination but by stopping to help others who have broken down along the way and by taking detours to search for those who are lost or stranded. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.”

Mormon’s focus on other-centeredness and outward-orientation in 3–4 Nephi invites the disciple to see salvation less as a goal that can be sought out for its own sake and more as a byproduct of trying to love and serve others. It is the accumulation of small and simple things made great by God. 

Daniel Becerra is an Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He is scholar of early Christianity and holds secondary specialties in New Testament and in Greco-Roman philosophy.

Art by Brian Kershisnik.

These essays appear in Theological Insights from the Book of Mormon, a Wayfare series that pairs the 2024 Come, Follow Me curriculum with authors of the Maxwell Institute’s Brief Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon series.

Wayfare is a publication of Faith Matters.

UNIVERSAL COMMANDMENTS IN 3 NEPHI

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