The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The Book of Mosiah, a historical narrative of 29 chapters, begins a section of texts in The Book of Mormon that represent abridgements of the Large Plates of Nephi, as redacted by the prophet Mormon. (The other abridgements in this section are Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, and 4 Nephi.) The original author of Mosiah (prior to Mormon’s abridgement) is unidentified in the text and thus unknown. The book covers a time period of about 40 years (roughly 130-90 BCE), not counting an extended flashback to certain prior events some 70 years earlier. Mosiah picks up where the Words of Mormon left off, in the reign of King Benjamin over the Nephites of Zarahemla. Benjamin instructs his sons in following the commands of God, and his discourse is considered one of the most compelling expressions of LDS spirituality in The Book of Mormon, underscoring the grace of God, the necessity of keeping God’s commandments out of gratitude, and of serving one another as the ethic of godly living. He also describes further prophetic details concerning the coming of