Another example of how the Book of Mormon clarifies the Bible
is in the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We regard the Atonement as one of the premiere facets
of the whole Restoration so that we understand more
about the life, mission, and ministry of Jesus Christ.
But the word atonement appears only one time
in the King James translation of the New Testament.
That's in Romans, chapter 5, in verse 11.
It's a perfectly beautiful verse and adequate,
but that's all there is.
If you were to ask a wonderful Christian friend,
"Tell me about the Atonement of Jesus Christ,"
that friend may not be able to respond very adequately.
But just in this original--this is one of the few remaining
pages of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon.
This was dictated by the Prophet Joseph Smith
and recorded by Oliver Cowdery.
On this one leaf--it has writing on both sides.
Paper was hard to come by there, and of course some of the paper
is missing now.
But in this one leaf of document,
the Atonement of Jesus Christ is referred to seven times.
So the Book of Mormon is a great clarifying scripture.
While we're referring to the artifacts here on this table,
let me hold this precious document.
This is a copy of--this is one of the original 5,000 copies
of the Book of Mormon.
You can tell one of the original pages of the Book of Mormon
always has this imprint here, because they had to put an iron
weight on the page.
But this is one of those original copies
of the Book of Mormon.
These are of great value now.
Well, I don't know; our historians
tell us it's worth several thousand dollars.
But I tell them that they can get a--they can get a copy
of the Book of Mormon for a dollar if they want,
or, if they ask a missionary, the missionary will probably
pay the dollar for them.
They probably would.
Give it to him free.
The doctrine is the same as this one that is worth
thousands and thousands of dollars.
The value of the Book of Mormon is not
measured in monetary units.
It changes lives.
Its purpose is elaborated on the title page.
The purpose of the Book of Mormon has a twofold aspect.
One, it is for the convincing of individuals
that Jesus is the Christ.
And number two is to show people the promises God has made
to covenant Israel and that God remembers
His promise made to Israel.
So the Book of Mormon text is for the convincing
of all mankind and the gathering of Israel, covenant
Israel, which, throughout Old Testament history was abusive,
disobedient to the commandments of God.
They stoned the prophets, and God scattered them
to every part of the world.
But He scattered them with a promise,
that one day they would be gathered again.
And the Book of Mormon is the instrument
by which that will take place.
People will understand how covenant Israel was dispersed.
And now they will be given the opportunity to come unto Christ
and participate in His ordinances and blessings.
So it is the great convincing tool.
That's why we have missionaries.
That's why they have a Book of Mormon,
because they can debate biblical passages till doomsday,
and it won't make much difference.
But the Book of Mormon is absolutely irrefutable.
So it is a great blessing for all of us
as we help to gather Israel and prepare
the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.
This is the instrument by which it'll happen.
Do you know how many copies we've had
published now, or distributed?
How many?
More than 181 million copies.
Wow.
The full Book of Mormon translated
in more than 90 languages.
And parts of it in other languages.
So it's above 100 different languages,
which parts of the Book of Mormon have been translated.
So, literally, that prophecy has been fulfilled.
The name of Joseph Smith will be known far and wide,
every corner of the earth, whether it's
in Tasmania or Tanzania.
People know about the Book of Mormon,
and they know it because of the work of Joseph Smith.
You know, when I think about what you just said,
about gathering of Israel and how important the Book
of Mormon is--it's a keystone for that gathering--I think
about all the miracles that led up not only to its translation
but to even its compilation and its being made by the ancient
prophets.
Think about what was chosen to be put into that book.
There're so many things that they could have chosen,
Mormon and Moroni and Nephi and all the others who wrote in it.
They could have chosen so many different things.
But the things that are in there are things that we need today.
It's so interesting, when I was a young child, I thought,
Why did they put this part in?
Why didn't--why is this included in the Book of Mormon?
And I see as I get older and older that that really
prepares us, as you said, for the gathering of Israel,
for us to be prepared for when the Savior comes again.
It's remarkable that an ancient record of ancient peoples
would be so relevant to our day.
And it is absolutely relevant to this day,
to the gathering of Israel, who are dispersed
throughout the world, and how this Book of Mormon
appears in so many different places, in different languages,
and people are touched.
Their hearts are touched.
And they know--they are given that gift through the Book
of Mormon to know that Jesus is the Christ,
that He is the Savior, that His Atonement is what makes it
possible for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father
and Heavenly Father's plan.
It's marvelous.
Sometimes we get annoyed by all the wars, the battles,
and the contention.
But the fact is that we live in a day
where there are wars and rumors of war and contention
is the mode of society in so many places.
You can't watch the television, you
can't read the newspaper without being confronted
with contentious activity.
So the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ,
and that's its great purpose.
Forget the wars, forget the coinage,
forget the way they weigh things and measure things.
It's--the Savior's name is mentioned by one of 100
different titles in about every six or seven verses
of the book.
It is truly another testament of Jesus Christ.
So if you read the book with that in mind,
then the other distractions can be sorted out.
Focus on the doctrine of the Atonement, and it's
so rich in the Book of Mormon.
We say that it contains the fulness of the gospel.
I've often wondered what that really means.
And I think it means it's the fulness because it explains
the most important activity of human existence,
and that is the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It explains it more fully than any other resource
available to man.
The Savior's name appears on the average of once
in every 1.7 verses of scripture.
Amazing.
And this original manuscript covers Alma 33 and 34,
parts of Alma 33 and parts of Alma 34.
Which talks about all the Atonement.
The Atonement is mentioned seven times
in that one piece of paper.