Mathoni and his brother Mathonihah are listed in the Book of Mormon as two of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus Christ during His visit to ancient America after his resurrection (3 Nephi 19:4). According to Richardson, Richardson and Bentley, the roots of these names can be found in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Mathonihah: the first syllable, math, means "an adult," while the second, anaya, means "Jehovah has answered." Combining these two words results in a name which would seem to indicated "a man whose prayers have been answered by Jehovah." Similarly, Mathoni seems to be a combination of math, and adoni, which means "Lord." Putting the two together would represent "a man of the Lord." Both names are fitting for apostles or emissaries of the Lord Jehovah. [Allen H. Richardson, David E. Richardson and Anthony E. Bentley, 1000 Evidences for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Part Two-A Voice from the Dust: 500 Evidences in Support of the Book of Mormon, p. 229]
3 Nephi 19:4 Now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen ([Illustration]): Christ Calls the Twelve [Gary Kapp, Verse Markers, Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 2]