The Book of Mormon: what is it, and why
do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints care so much about it?
Mormons--properly referred to as Latter-day Saints,
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints--read and revere the Bible as all Christians do.
But they read and believe in an additional book
called the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus
Christ.
For them, it's not a replacement for the Bible.
It's not a substitute.
It's a companion.
Just as the Bible is scripture, the Book of Mormon
is also scripture.
Let's talk a little about what scriptures are
and how they come about.
The word scripture means sacred or religious writings.
Scriptures are written by God's spokesmen
called prophets, His representatives.
Although God often teaches and communicates with His children
individually--something Latter-day Saints call personal
revelation--when God interacts with or teaches His children
as a people, His prophets record those events and teachings
for the benefit of all.
The Holy Bible is one example of scripture.
It is an account of God's interactions and teachings
with the people in and around the eastern Mediterranean
region before, during, and after the ministry of Jesus Christ.
It is a collection of writings both spiritual and historical,
written by prophets.
In the Holy Bible, there are miraculous stories of faith,
sacrifice, trial, and love.
You might have heard of Noah and the ark,
or Moses and the children of Israel,
and of course the birth, ministry, death,
and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
These stories and events were written down, collected,
and shared from generation to generation.
They were eventually compiled into a collection of scripture,
a book called the Holy Bible.
Originally written in both Hebrew and Greek,
the Bible has since been translated
into English and hundreds of other languages
available throughout the world.
What about the people that lived beyond the geographical setting
of the Bible, outside the Mediterranean area?
What kind of interaction did God have with them?
Well, in the Bible, from the book of John,
Jesus revealed to His disciples 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."
Some of these other sheep to which Jesus refers
are the inhabitants of the ancient Americas
who lived at that time.
The Book of Mormon is a compilation
of the sacred writings of many generations of the people
that lived there and received instruction and teachings
from God.
They had prophets who, just like the Bible,
recorded spiritual and historical events
over thousands of years.
And similarly to the Bible, these stories and events
were written down, collected, and shared from generation
to generation.
They too were eventually compiled into a book.
It is called the Book of Mormon: Another Testament
of Jesus Christ.
And like the Bible, the Book of Mormon
is a collection of writings both spiritual and historical,
written by God's prophets.
In the Book of Mormon there are also
miraculous stories of faith, sacrifice, trial, and love.
The crowning event in the Book of Mormon
is the account of Jesus Christ ministering to the other sheep,
as He said He would.
Shortly after His death, the Savior
appeared to the inhabitants of the ancient Americas
as the resurrected Lord with a body of flesh and bones.
As He did in His earthly ministry in Jerusalem,
Jesus taught the inhabitants His gospel, and they recorded it.
They handed it down to future generations
through prophets, leaders, and other inspired individuals.
So how did the Book of Mormon get its name?
Who is Mormon, and what does he have
to do with this book of scripture?
In the fourth century AD--again, in the Americas--there lived
a prophet and historian named Mormon.
He was charged by God to abridge all of the scriptural records
that had been kept and passed down from past prophets
in that part of the world.
Mormon engraved the abridgment on gold plates in a language
his people called reformed Egyptian.
As Mormon was the prophet whom God
called to compile the centuries of records,
the book carries his name: the Book of Mormon.
At the end of his life, he passed
these engraved plates to his son Moroni, also a prophet of God,
who was last to add to the book.
Before he died, Moroni buried the gold plates in a stone box
on a hillside in what is now upstate New York.
1,400 years later, in 1823, the same prophet Moroni,
now a resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph
Smith.
He told Joseph about the gold plates,
showed him where to find them, and commanded
him to translate the record into English,
which Joseph did under the power and inspiration of God.
And since then, the Book of Mormon has been translated
into over 100 languages and is, like the Holy Bible,
also available throughout the world as an additional book
of sacred writings written by God's prophets--scripture.
So what's in the Book of Mormon?
As stated on its introduction page, the Book of Mormon
puts forth the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
outlines God's plan of happiness for His children,
and tells them what they must do to gain peace in this life
and obtain salvation and eternal life with God.
Nephi, an early prophet found in the Book of Mormon, preached,
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ,
we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ,
and we write according to our prophecies,
that our children may know to what source they may look
for a remission of their sins."
In fact, the Book of Mormon has over 500 pages
containing nearly 3,500 references to the Savior Jesus
Christ.
It testifies of Jesus Christ.
It declares the mission of the Savior.
It reveals the gospel of Jesus Christ and clarifies doctrine.
As the Bible contains the Old Testament and the New
Testament, the Book of Mormon is yet another testament
of Jesus Christ.
It is another witness of God's dealings
with His children in a different part of the world.
The Bible and the Book of Mormon work together
to teach and testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and God's dealings
with His children.
Today millions of Latter-day Saints
believe the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus
Christ to be scripture.
They believe it is the word of God to His children
and stands as a companion to the Holy Bible.
God loves His children and wants them to know about Him,
learn of Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.
He has provided holy scripture to show His children the way.
Through living the teachings found
in the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible,
they can find peace in this life and salvation in the life
to come.
The Book of Mormon: what it is, where it came from,
and what it teaches.
Now you know.