What Think Ye of the Book of Mormon?

We live in a glorious day where the fullness of the Gospel has been restored upon the face of the Earth. The heavens are opened to men once more, revelation is received and the Kingdom of God on the Earth moves forth. While we as the Saints have a certain conviction that this is the Lord's work and His only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, there must be a divine witness of the reality of the great and marvelous latter-day work. The Savior declared that a prophet may be know by his fruits, for truly, no false prophet could create something divine as a true prophet could not be the author of something evil. The grand and powerful evidence of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a 531 page book of scripture known as the Book of Mormon.

What is the Book of Mormon? Is it the result of a youthful Joseph Smith's vain fantasy or is there something more? Is it the word of God or the words of a man? Do we consider it to be stories of good men or do we accept it as pure scripture?

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture, comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the American continent and it contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To sum its history in a concise manner, the Book of Mormon begins with a prophet named Lehi who lived in Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Christ. After warning the people that if they would not repent, Jerusalem would be destroyed, he fled with his family into the wilderness. After 8 arduous years of wandering in the Arabian Peninsula, they sail to America and land at an unidentified location in the American continent. After Lehi's death, the small company of people split into two factions. The first are called Nephites, named after Lehi's righteous son Nephi. The Nephites, for most of the Book of Mormon, are the righteous people who believe in God and follow his commandments. The other faction is called Lamanites. They are the followers of Lehi's unrighteous son Laman and they do not follow the commandments and continually hate the Nephites. The Book of Mormon follows the history of the preaching, the wars, the political intrigues, the faith, the sins, the prophecies and the history of these great civilizations for over a millennium The records of these great civilizations are recorded by prophets and Nephite historians. The climax of the Book of Mormon's history is the personal visit of the Lord Jesus Christ to His American flock. In John 10:16, Christ told His brethren in Jerusalem, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

In the fourth century after Christ's birth, both the Lamanites and Nephites became very wicked. Mormon, a prophet-historian who lived during these times, knew that the Nephites would be destroyed since they rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He took and abridged the histories and sacred writings of the Nephites and wrote them upon plates of gold. After the Nephite civilization was destroyed in 385 AD, he gave charge to the sacred writings to Moroni, his son. Moroni completed his father's words and added some words of his own, before burying them up unto the Lord around 421 AD.

Fourteen centuries would pass before men upon the Earth would learn about this sacred record again. On the night of September 21, 1823, Joseph Smith, after his glorious vision of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, prayed to know what the will of the Lord was for him. He records the following as an answer to his prayer:

“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.

He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.

He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.

He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;

Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted "seers" in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book...

Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.” (Joseph Smith-History 1:30-35,42)

After hearing this message repeated three times, he felt impressed to find the place where Moroni, now a resurrected being, had told him of. He was then instructed by Moroni that he would obtain the record in four years if he remained faithful to the commandments Heavenly Father had given him. Joseph was faithful and he obtained the golden plates and the translation process, done by the power and inspiration of God, was completed in approximately 80 days of actual translation and facing much persecution.

The Book of Mormon is a companion to the Holy Bible. Both witness of Christ; both are loved and respected by the Latter-day Saints. Nephi, an ancient prophet, saw that men would hold the Book of Mormon in derision, saying, “We need no more Bible!” Nephi responds with this inspired declaration, “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever. Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.” Furthermore, the Book of Mormon further prophecies that the Bible and Book of Mormon work together to bear witness of Christ's divinity. Mormon, that great prophet-historian, in his final words exhorted all men to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ “which shall be set before you, not only in this record [the Book of Mormon] but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews [the Bible], which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe that[the Bible]; and if ye believe that [the Bible], ye will believe this[the Book of Mormon] also” (Mormon 7:8-9) Lehi, the origin of the Nephites and Lamanites, in quoting a prophecy of Joseph in Egypt prophesied that the words in the Bible and Book of Mormon would “grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions and establishing peace...” (2 Nephi 3:12)

A valid question is, why a Book of Mormon? Why do we need this ancient American record? Would the Bible be sufficient to know what the will of our Father in Heaven is? The purpose of why we have the Book of Mormon is the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For if Joseph Smith, Jr. is a true prophet, he would have a grand evidence, given to him by heaven, to allow all men to know with the certainty that only the Holy Ghost can bring that he is a true prophet; that he saw the heavens opened unto him, he entertained angels, received knowledge about God and His laws. All of this comes by the Book of Mormon. On the day the Church was organized in 1830, the Lord Himself spoke of the purpose of the Book of Mormon. He said that it “prov[es] to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old; Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever.” (D&C 20:11-12) In effect, this is what the Savior was saying:

I have allowed the Book of Mormon to come forth to testify that the Bible is true, that I called Joseph Smith, Jr. to be a prophet and have given Him commandment to speak and testify that he shall restore My Church as it was in ancient times and the Church he restored is the only true and living church on the face of the entire earth. And this shows that my Father is the same yesterday, today and always and His work shall continue until I return again in power and glory upon the Earth.

Now might we now ask ourselves, “What do I think of the Book of Mormon?” Do I accept the testimony of the Latter-day Saints or do I still doubt? Do I have the conviction in my soul that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in its plainness, is taught in the Book of Mormon? Do I esteem this volume of scripture to be of more worth than all of the treasures of the earth? Do I believe that a careful study of the Book of Mormon will answer the grand questions of the soul and that I can obtain guidance from God from its pages?

For over 180 years, men have sought to destroy the Book of Mormon. They have sought to show it is a work of man and not of God. While they seek for signs and evidence, there is a far more powerful promise in the Book of Mormon to know if that sacred record is true. Moroni, the last prophet to record his words in the Book of Mormon, gave us a way to know that the Book of Mormon is true. In his final words he wrote, “And when ye shall receive these things (meaning the Book of Mormon), I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:4-5) The test of Moroni is plain and true: If, after we receive the teachings of the Book of Mormon into our hearts, we get upon our knees in earnest prayer and ask our Father in Heaven if the Book of Mormon is true, we can and will gain an answer by the power of the Holy Ghost that this Book is everything we say and testify it is.

Having said all this, there remains but one thing more: and that is my personal testimony of the Book of Mormon. I have done what Moroni has exhorted all men to do and I have gained the testimony that I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God; that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that he did all that he testified that he did and saw everything he said he saw. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the Plan of Salvation, explains why we need Christ in our lives and helps us know that God's plan will allow us to return back to live with Him. I also testify it teaches the Gospel in plainness; how we can develop faith in Christ; how baptism is to be properly done; the importance of having the Holy Ghost in our lives; and how we can endure in faith to the end. I love this volume of scripture and I know that everyone can also gain the same witness millions of Latter-day Saints do that this record is divine. I exhort and invite each of us to start a serious study of the Book of Mormon if we have not done so before. I know that there will be a spiritual empowerment in our lives if we take the time to study the Book of Mormon and apply its teachings into our lives. That we may do so is my prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.