“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life” (3 Nephi 5:13).
This verse was written by the prophet Mormon, who paused from writing the history of his people to tell us something about himself. I first noticed the verse when I was 18 years old, while I was preparing to serve a mission by falling in love with the gospel of Jesus Christ and growing nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon.
“That’s exactly how I feel!” I said to myself. “How did I never notice this verse before?” It is a simple and powerful statement of identity and purpose, and I really connected with it. In fact, I chose it as my personal missionary theme.
A disciple is a learner or a follower. Discipleship usually refers to a religious devotion, but it doesn’t have to. I have met disciples of various religious and secular persons, including Buddha, Mao Zedong, Muhammad, Confucius, Richard Dawkins, Kurt Cobain, Sai Babba, and Warren Jeffs. There may be useful things to learn from many teachers and thinkers, and even the most abhorrent ones may still be interesting to learn about.
But the only thing that really matters is following Jesus.
Disciples of Jesus Christ learn his teachings and follow his example. The New Testament frequently tells of the disciples of Jesus, who followed him around Judea to hear his parables and witness his miracles. Not all of these disciples were able to follow him in every point of doctrine. John records a time when many of them were offended at his teachings:
“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
“Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
“Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69).
The word disciple has a special usage in the Book of Mormon. As Paul taught the Ephesians, the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ includes a foundational layer of apostles. The Lord used a similar organization for his church in the new world, as was first explained to Nephi:
“And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.
“And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.
“And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel” (1 Nephi 12:7-9).
The Church of Jesus Christ in ancient America was built on a foundation of twelve disciples:
“And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his brother whom he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiah—now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen—and it came to pass that they went forth and stood in the midst of the multitude.
“And behold, the multitude was so great that they did cause that they should be separated into twelve bodies.
“And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should kneel down upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus” (3 Nephi 19:4-6).
These twelve disciples in the Book of Mormon filled the same leadership function in the Church that the twelve apostles filled in the New Testament. I can only find one usage of the word disciple in the Book of Mormon which does not refer to the twelve ministers of the Church of Jesus Christ, and that is in a quotation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.
When the prophet Mormon declares himself to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in 3 Nephi 5:13, he is not just saying that he is a follower of Jesus; it is the Book of Mormon equivalent of him telling us that he has been ordained an apostle. He is thus a special witness of Christ. That is part of what makes his testimony, and the book that he wrote, so powerful.
3 Nephi 5:13 was chosen as the 2024 theme for the Church’s youth program, because we should all strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ and to let his light shine in our lives.
For those who want to be modern disciples of Jesus Christ, where do we start? What does it actually mean to be his disciple today? Is there a list of things we should believe or works we should do? How will we know when we have become his disciples?
I think the simplest answer to these questions comes from the Lord himself, when he taught his apostles at the Last Supper:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35).
Alan B. Sanderson, MD is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a practicing neurologist.
Medicine and Faith 