The Book of Mormon. What is it?

Most people I've talked to have heard of the Book of Mormon, but few know what it is or how it's relevant to our religion. I hope to address several of these points in this post.

Probably one of the most common responses I've heard from people as I've introduced the Book of Mormon is the scripture found in Revelation 22:8-9, which says the following:

 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I will not attempt in this post to fully address this response, but if anyone is interested in the doctrine behind it, the following video is very enlightening ------------------------------------->

So, first of all, what is the Book of Mormon? The introduction the book offers a pretty good explanation.

"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 Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel."

As the introduction states, the Book of Mormon is viewed as scripture to Latter-Day Saints in the same way that the Bible does to the rest of Christianity. However, the Book of Mormon takes place in a different part of the world. The Bible was written by prophets living in the Holy Land, while the Book of Mormon was written by prophets in America.

  I've had many people ask me, "Why do you need the Book of Mormon? Isn't the Bible sufficient if it contains the fulness of the gospel?" While that may be true of the Bible, how many Christian denominations have their own idea of what the gospel is? As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained in the above video, the Book of Mormon does not diminish the Bible in any way. In fact, it builds it up and solidifies the doctrine. One analogy of used a lot for this is that of a picture frame. If you only put one nail in one corner of the frame, you can turn it in any direction you want. But if you put a second nail into the frame, it will stay solid. In fact, the Book of Mormon itself talks about this. 2 Nephi 3:12, a quotation from Joseph of Egypt, says the following: 

"Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord."

The fruit of Judah, as we know, are the Jews and the fruit of Joseph, as we understand it, are the Book of Mormon people, who are predominantly descendants of Manasseh (see Alma 10:3). Ezekiel in the Old Testament saw this in vision as well. He records in Ezekiel 37:15-17:

 "15 ¶The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."

In addition, the Book of Mormon is the convincing witness that the Restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith did indeed happen. Joseph Smith is quoted in the introduction as saying: "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

The Book of Mormon was delivered to Joseph Smith by an angel named Moroni, who was the last man to write in the book in around 421 AD. Joseph was commanded to translate the book into English. And this is where the miracle occurred. Joseph Smith had the equivalency of a 4th-grade education. He couldn't write a letter himself if his life depended on it. And yet we have a 531-page work of extreme complexity and sophistication, containing Hebrew phrases, practices and poetry forms that he could not have known. It is a witness of his prophetic ministry.

The introduction closes with the following two paragraphs:

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.
 Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah."

This is how we know it is true. We ask God in the name of Christ if the Book of Mormon is true and He will tell us it is true through the Spirit. It is something that I have personally done and I have received a witness of its truthfulness.

The following website is a great resource for those wanting to know more: http://mormon.org/book-of-mormon

The following talk, also by Elder Holland, is a powerful witness of the Book of Mormon:

The following talk by Elder Tad R. Callister also shows in a little bit more detail of why the Book of Mormon is relevant to us:

I know the Book of Mormon is true! Read it! It will change your life!