Abstract: The Book of Mormon repeatedly outlines a six-part definition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but most writers within the book refer to only two or three of them at a time in a biblical rhetorical device called merismus. Throughout the scriptures, the term “come unto Christ” in its many forms is used as part of these merisms to represent enduring to the end. This article examines the many abbreviations of the gospel, connects the phrase “come unto Christ” with enduring to the end, and discusses some of the alternate uses of these types of phrases.

While the oft-repeated scriptural invitation “to come unto Christ” is widely recognized and appreciated in Latter-day Saint discourse, no one has as yet undertaken the task of clarifying precisely how this broad phrase relates to the six-part definition of the gospel that is laid out in the Book of Mormon and is used in Church curricular materials, including Preach My Gospel and Handbook of Instructions. The phrase “come unto” occurs many times in the Book of Mormon, referring to situations where men or even the Lord come to each other in one context or another. By my count, 48 of these occurrences in 29 separate passages do not refer to a physical coming but to a spiritual one. The Lord has invited all men “to come unto him and be saved.” This indicates a more extensive use of this phraseology in the Book of Mormon than we see in either the Old or the New Testament, though it does occur in each.

Scholars have recognized some limited use of this terminology in the New Testament that seems consonant with this Book of Mormon usage. While the Greek verbs érchomai and eisérchomai are employed in a wide variety of contexts where they can mean “to come” or “to go,” the [Page 2]gospels do feature a small subset of those passages that reflect a spiritual meaning similar to Book of Mormon usage. Geoffrey W. Bromiley has summarized all these usages succinctly. In one part of this entry, he reviews the occurrences in the Gospel of John where érchomai is used to imply a “coming to Jesus.”

Here again we find a general coming (3:6; 6:5; 10:41). Jesus invites people to come (7:37). Those who respond come in a special sense (6:35) by becoming disciples (cf. 1:47). Disciples can also issue the invitation (1:46). Jesus will not reject those who come (6:37) but give them life (6:35). Yet only those whom the Father draws (6:65) and who are taught by him (6:45) can come. Coming means believing in Jesus as the coming one (11:27), and believing means deliverance from judgment (5:24) and new birth by the Spirit (3:8). The opposite is a refusal to come to Jesus (5:40) or to come to the light (3:20).1

More generally, eisérchomai is often used in the New Testament for going into the temple, a synagogue, or even Jerusalem. But, as Bromiley points out, it is also used for the most significant theological statements:

The Synoptists speak about entering the kingdom, for which the following requirements are found: becoming as little children (Mark 10:15), keeping the commandments (Matthew 19:17), doing God’s will (Matthew 7:21), a new beginning (Matthew 5:20), a clean break (Matthew 18:8–9), vigilance (Matthew 25:10), and fidelity (Matthew 25:21ff.). Jesus and the disciples summon people into the kingdom; they are to enter by the strait gate (Matthew 7:13), but may be hindered by wealth (Mark 10:23) or by the self-righteous (Luke 11:52). John adds the need for regeneration by water and the Spirit (3:5) and stresses that access is only through Christ (10:2, 9). Tribulation precedes entry (Acts 14:22).