How Is Christ the “Messenger of the Covenant?”

We receive messages in many forms. Some are written, some are spoken, and some are delivered by actions.

When the Savior appeared to a group of people on the American continent following His death and resurrection, He quoted two chapters from the book of Malachi, asking them to write the words down. The name Malachi means “my messenger” in Hebrew, and the first words the Savior quoted are about two messengers:

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts (3 Nephi 24:1, Malachi 3:1).

The first messenger (“my messenger”) will prepare the way for the second (“the messenger of the covenant”) . Malachi identifies the second messenger as the Lord Himself.

How is Jesus Christ the “messenger of the covenant?”

When the wicked priests of King Noah challenged the prophet Abinadi to explain a difficult passage from Isaiah about a messenger who brings good tidings, Abinadi pointed out that many different messengers might fit Isaiah’s description. All of the prophets, “every one that has opened his mouth,” have testified of the Savior and of His Atonement which would break the bands of sin and of death. Every one of them has “published peace” and “brought good tidings of good” (Mosiah 15:14). But the ultimate messenger was the Savior Himself, who had made all of this possible:

For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people (Mosiah 15:18).

The Savior is the ultimate messenger of God’s covenant with His children, because His atoning sacrifice sends a more powerful message to us than any other:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Today, I will be grateful for the message the Savior has delivered to me by taking upon Himself my sins, my sorrows, and my weaknesses. I will be grateful that, through His Atonement, He has made clear the extent of God’s love for me and His commitment to my eternal happiness.