The Living Christ, a doctrinal statement issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued in the year 2000, states that Jesus “was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New.”¹²³ What does it mean to say that Jesus was or is the Messiah?

The word Messiah simply means “anointed” in Hebrew. The ancient Jews held expectations of a figure or figures (plural) who were chosen or “anointed” by God to come and save God’s people. These expectations are outlined in “texts in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 49:8–12; Numbers 24:15–19; 2 Samuel 7:12–17; Isaiah 11:1–9; Psalm 89:36–38; Amos 9:11–15; and Jeremiah 23:5–8; 33:15–18) and expansions on biblical traditions in non biblical texts (Psalms of Solomon 17–18; 4 Ezra 13; 2 Baruch 72–74; and texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls like 1QM V and 4Q175)."¹²⁴ Based in these texts, many Jews affirmed one or more of the following: that the Messiah would lead Israel, that he would heal the sick, lame, deaf, and blind as well as raise the dead, that he would be righteous, that he would hold sovereignty over all nations, that he would establish a kingdom that would last forever and that he would be its king, that all people would worship him, that he would reestablish the dynasty of David, that he would be a judge to the wicked, that he would raze Israel’s enemy nations, and/r that he would be a figure who had a premortal existence before the world was created and that, in some way, he’d be divine.¹²⁵ The Book of Mormon adds its own expectations for the Messiah: that he would be our redeemer (1 Nephi 10:4–5; 2 Nephi 1:10; 2:6), the Son of God (1 Nephi 10:17), that he would come in the meridian of time (2 Nephi 2:26), and that he would be killed and resurrected (1 Nephi 10:11; 2 Nephi 25:14).¹²⁶ Not all Jews believed that the messiah would meet all of these expectations and thus it may not be necessary for us either to believe that the messiah will meet all of them.¹²⁷ 

FAIR writes that “[s]ome Jews expected there to be one figure that would satisfy all of these requirements with one and only one arrival or advent. Others thought that there would be two separate figures that would satisfy these requirements. Still others thought that there would be one figure but that he or she would satisfy these requirements with two arrivals or comings. It is this last one that Christians have held onto as the basis of their belief in Jesus as the Messiah.”¹²⁸ They further note that “Skepticism to Jesus is not entirely unmerited given that the expectations for his [sic] advent are at least mildly uncertain. Among early prospective converts, we also note that there were at least 11 people who had monarchic and possibly messianic aspirations; people who would have likely also claimed, along with Jesus, that they were the Jewish Messiah.”¹²⁹

Those caveats in mind, it is remarkable how well Jesus fulfills these expectations in His earthly ministry and how uniquely Latter-day Saint scriptures give us some of the clearest witnesses that Jesus fulfilled them. The word “messiah” is used twice in the Old Testament, twice in the New Testament, and 26 times in the Book of Mormon. Jesus, in Latter-day Saint theology and scripture, was a divine, preexistent figure (2 Nephi 31:21; Mosiah 15:4; 3 Nephi 15:5; Moses 4:1–4; Abraham 3:27–28), healed the sick, lame, halt, deaf, and blind (3 Nephi 17:7–9), raised the dead (3 Nephi 19:4; 26:15), will judge the wicked (3 Nephi 27:16; Doctrine & Covenants 76:68; Joseph Smith–Matthew 1:26–31; Joseph Smith History 1:36–41), is associated with all righteousness (1 Nephi 10:10; 11:21; 2 Nephi 31:5–6; Alma 7:14), and, at His second advent, will hold sovereignty over all nations, establish a kingdom that will last forever and be its king, have all people worship him, will reestablish the dynasty of David, and will raze Israel’s enemy nations.¹³⁰ He was considered the Son of God, came in the meridian of time, was our Savior and Redeemer, and died and lived again for our sins.

The key to gathering the Jews to the covenant people of God is the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon’s title page, written by the prophet-historian Mormon, states that it is designed partly unto the end of “convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.” The Book of Mormon is the convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, called in part to effectuate the gathering of Israel, God’s covenant people, and bring them back into God’s presence.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland wrote: “I know [Jesus Christ] is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name given under heaven whereby a man [or woman] can be saved.”¹³¹ Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in a similar manner, exultantly testified that “[Jesus Christ] is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He is the promised Messiah. He lived a perfect life and atoned for our sins. He will ever be at our side. He will fight our battles. He is our hope; He is our salvation; He is the way.”¹³²