The Book of Mormon is another testament of the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not a history or a story of the Mormons. It is not a replacement for the Bible; it is a companion to the Bible. It is the record of two fallen civilizations that ultimately chose not to follow Christ and his teachings and thus experienced annihilation. Of its 6,607 verses, 3,925 make reference to Christ. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
The Book of Mormon was written by many ancient prophets. Their words, written on gold pates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.
The book is not like other books. It was written with specific purposes in mind. It is for the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations.
The Book of Mormon came into being as a result of the prayers of the boy Joseph Smith Jr. In 1820 he desired to know which of all the many churches was true. He decided to ask of God and find out for himself after reading James 1:5, which reads, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
He did ask of God, and he received a vision of God the Father and the resurrected Jesus Christ. He was told to join none of the existing churches and that he would be an instrument in the hands of God to bring the complete truth to the earth as it had been available anciently.
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. It teaches of prayer, of the power of scriptures, of the necessity of following prophets of the Lord, of teaching one another the doctrines of Christ, and of how to avoid deception and false teachings. It teaches the importance of enduring to the end and of not giving up on ourselves or on others.
The book ends with the prophet-historian Moroni as the last survivor of the Nephite nation. He gives his last words and some of the teachings of his father, Mormon, and then ends the book with a promise to all seekers of truth. From its first page to its last page, the focus of the book is to invite all to come unto Christ. Its second major theme is to invite the lost tribes of the House of Israel to come home to the God from which they were scattered.
from: setting the record straight/ THE BOOK OF MORMON by Jack R. Christianson
5 comments:
Good sunday post. I love the Book of Mormon and never more so than after visiting the sacred grove where God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and the hill Cummorah where Joseph received the golden plates that is the Book of Mormon today. The book is true, and you can't help but know it if you read it with a sincere heart desiring to know of it's truthfulness!
I absolutely love how you are using your blog to share our faith with the world. You are awesome.
Another great post, and I add my testimony to its truthfulness. Thanks for the comment on my blog. Grandchildren #3 and #4 have very special stories of their own. Check out my daughers Tammy and Nancy's blogs listed on the side. You will see that miracles still happen.
More blogs for you to look at? Are we going to even see you when we come? Kid, this could be the beginning of the end.
I hope these inspirational words are reaching those who feel it's power.
Another great post! Completely with Melinda on this one, she summed it up exactly.
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