To the Galatians, Paul wrote, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). Some Latter-day Saints might be surprised that the cross was at the center of Paul’s teachings. But actually, it’s the same in the Book of Mormon.
Savior himself put his Crucifixion at the center of his gospel. Speaking to the Lehites he said, “This is the gospel…my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross” (3 Nephi 27:13-14). Six hundred years previously, Nephi saw in vision that Christ “was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (1 Nephi 11:33). Of course Christ’s Crucifixion is central to Paul’s teachings – it’s central to the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Paul’s clear message was that those who had been saved understood that “the preaching of the cross…is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). He consistently prioritized Christ’s Crucifixion in his epistles:
- “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
- “We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10).
- I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1–2).
- “Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” (Colossians 1:20).
- “Who died for us, that . . . we should live together with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10).
In our day, the message of Jesus Christ may not always be a popular one to declare. But like Paul we can be bold in testifying of our witness of the Savior. There are lots of nice things about the Church but the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is at its center. As Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
Read more about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
