This book can change your life
The Book of Mormon is the keystone of the restored Gospel. Latter-day Saints place a lot of importance on it. Every person should read it. Here's why you should.
WHAT IS THE BOOK OF MORMON?
The Bible tells us that, before the destruction of Jerusalem by the the Babylonians in 600 B.C., the Lord called many prophets to call the Israelites to repent of idolatry and wickedness. One of those prophets was a man named Lehi.
Lehi preached repentance and the people in Jerusalem tried to kill him, like they did with the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. Lehi was then commanded to take his family and flee Jerusalem. God promised to lead him to a land of promise, one choice above all other lands. The Lord led Lehi and his family to the New World. So begins the story of the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ, similar to the Bible. It is a testimony that God remembers the scattered tribes of Israel and will fulfill his covenant with them. It is a testimony that Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind and that salvation and exaltation depend on placing faith in him alone.
The Book of Mormon contaiins the writings of many prophets over a 1000-year period that were compiled by a man named Mormon. He is the editor who abridged these writings and added his own commentary. Mormon engraved the book on gold plates so that they would endure for centuries and could not be altered.
The Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus Christ appeared to his "other sheep" who were of the house of Israel in a distant land. Jesus Christ taught these Israelites, ordained 12 disciples among them, and taught them how to live in peace and harmony. It contains the marvelous account of this visitation by the Resurrected Lord to these people.
The Bible says that all things shall be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. The Bible is the first written witness of Christ. The Book of Mormon is the second witness. It carries the subtitle, "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." It is the "sealed book" of Isaiah 29:11-14, the Stick of Joseph described in Ezekiel 37:16-20, and the gospel restored by the angel in Revelation 14:6.
HOW DID WE GET THE BOOK OF MORMON TODAY?
The last prophet to write on the gold plates buried them in a hill in what is now upstate New York, near Palmyra township. The plates were revealed to the young man Joseph Smith, who translated them by the power of God into English and published them. Joseph Smith is regarded as a prophet by Latter-day Saints. The Book of Mormon is considered a "proof" of his Divine calling. Joseph was an uneducated farm boy, yet he translated the Book of Mormon by the Spirit of God in approximately two months time. Joseph was permitted to show the gold plates to eleven witnesses after he had translated them.
SO WHY SHOULD YOU READ IT?
If you are a Christian, you will find teachings that will inspire you and bring you closer to Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon teaches in great plainness the need for faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, and obedience to God's commandments. It clarifies the Bible, helps you discern the teachings of men from the teachings of Christ, and shows you the Lord's plan in the last days. It testifies of the resurrection, explains why God permits suffering and misfortune to befall mankind, and how we can live to be truly happy. Its passages will touch your heart and help you live the gospel more fully. It teaches you that God still speaks to mankind and that he is a God of miracles today, yesterday, and forever.
If you are not a Christian, the Book of Mormon provides a second witness that Jesus Christ lived and that he was truly the Son of God. It confirms the testimony of the Bible in an age when many find reason to doubt the Bible's veracity. The Book of Mormon is for the convincing of men that Jesus is the Christ. The Book of Mormon comes with a promise that you can know for yourself that God lives, that Jesus is the Savior, and that he can speak to you through the Holy Ghost. The Book of Mormon invites you to know for yourself, independent of anyone else, that it is true.
HOW CAN YOU KNOW THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE?
Moroni, the last prophet to write upon the gold plates of Mormon invited us to ask God if the book was true or not. He wrote:
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask 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 gtruth 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."
When you read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is true, with sincerity and real intent to follow the answers you'll get, God will speak to you through the still, small voice of the Spirit. At that moment you will know that God lives, that Jesus is real, that he died for us and rose from the dead. You will know that God calls prophets in our time and that Joseph Smith was one of them. When you know that Joseph Smith was truly called of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon by God's power, you will know that God is real and that his Church is on the earth once again.
For these reasons, Latter-day Saints invite you to read the Book of Mormon. It will change your life.
Comments
Mark Twain said it best when he described the Book of Moron as "Chloroform in print."
I am starting to wonder about the last two articles. I do not think Mr. West wrote them. They read like official apologetics. Now, he may well have permission to reprint them, but if they are not his, I wish he would make the attribution.
Mark Twain obviously wasn't a Book of Mormon expert:
" 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. " (Helaman 5:12)
Rejoice, O my heart,
And cry unto the Lord, and say:
O Lord, I will praise thee forever;
Yea, my soul will rejoice in thee,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.
(2 Ne. 4:30)
Chloroform in print? Nope.
DA:
If you believe that Greg's article is a Mormon apologetic then you haven't read much Mormon literature.
Notice the absence of Greg's response to criticisms against Mormons. In this way, it does not read like an apologetic.
Greg's article states what the Book of Mormon is, how Mormons received it, and the faith-claims of it's veracity.
I think what you meant to say that the article is a proselyting tool, in a sense.
Having followed the promise above, I can see with assurance that the Book of Mormon is true. The plain and precious truths revealed in the Book of Mormon clear up the confusion and disagreements within Christianity and brings peace to the soul.
The Book of Mormon is a 2nd witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that the resurrection is literal.
Read the bible and you will know that you have no truth in you.
Truth: (?)
The LDS Church affirms the truth of the Bible. Latter-day Saints (Mormons) read the Bible and the Book of Mormon testifies that the Bible is a necessary and valid witness of Jesus Christ.
There is nothing in the Bible that disproves or discredits Mormonism or the beliefs of Mormonism.
However, the LDS Church acknowledges that many different Christian denominations all interpret the Bible differently.
Truth, which interpretation is correct? Why can't all of the Christian religions agree on a single Bible interpretation based on the text alone?
The Book of Mormon is the 2nd witness through which we can "check" the interpretation.
The Book of Mormon is a "plain" and "precious" witness that brings clarity to the many disagreements within Christian doctrinal interpretation.
When mark twain said the BOM is chloroform in print he meant that reading it will put you to sleep. In fact its better than ambien and works faster. However ambien is cheaper, you don't have to pay 10% of your income to the drug maker and you don't have to participate in 3 hour long meetings that resemble a combination of a World of Warcraft convention and an AA meeting
The Book of Mormon is anything but "chloroform in print." It is very diverse, rich history, stories of triumph, tragedy, and personal victory. The most important event is the visitation of Jesus Christ to the Americas and the destruction that preceded his coming and the peace that followed and how it impacted the lives of the people.
The Book of Mormon is excellent!
And if you believe any of the "history" in the Book of Moron you are an uneducated deluded fool.
"... and you don't have to participate in 3 hour long meetings that resemble a combination of a World of Warcraft convention and an AA meeting "
Bruce, don't forget the magic underpants.
Crumpet:
You must be unaware of the many evidences for the Book of Mormon that PROVE Joseph Smith could not have written the Book of Mormon. Many specific predictions of the Book of Mormon have been verified in modern archeology or through professional studies.
While there were few Book of Mormon evidences 50 years ago, today there are many.
And Todd, Mormons do not wear magic underpants. Underpants are worn by children.
Mormons where a t-shirt and longer than briefs underwear which is a symbol of the covenant Temple Mormons make with God.
For Mormons, there is no such thing as "magic" or "creation out of thin air" or "creation out of nothing." Everything "real" is composed of energy or matter.
Crumpet:
The Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by a man named Moroni.
He was the son of Mormon, an ancient prophet, military general, and record keeper who lived circa 380 AD. As a resurrected being, Moroni visited Joseph Smith, under the direction of Jesus Christ, first in 1823 and then each year for 4 years, to prepare Joseph Smith to receive the metal plates in 1827 and to give Joseph Smith instructions how to translate them.
There are 5 people in LDS history who saw Moroni and 13 total who saw and handled the metal plates with their own hands.
Recently, archeological evidence was found in Southern Arabia that corroborates that the Book of Mormon was real history and that Nephi’s record (2nd prophet in the Book of Mormon) is authentic.
Also, there are the countless millions who have read the Book of Mormon, applied the principles in their lives, and have received a personal witness from God that it is true through direct revelation and measurable blessings.
"underpants are worn by children"
Yes they are, TomH. However, in English the word "underpants" also refers to the garments worn by adult males to cover their genitals and botty underneath trousers/pants. I'm wearing some right now TomH.
"there is no such thing as magic"
"everything real is composed of energy or matter"
I agree, TomH. But if you believe in supernatural divine entities and "energies" then this is by definition "magic". If the "energy" you refer to has no units of measurement and cannot be detected with instruments then it is "magic" energy like "Crystal Healing", "Reiki", "Voodoo" and "Astrology". Magic and bogus.
Crumpet (2)
It was only recently that a very qualified scientific community discovered "dark matter and dark energy." It has always been there, we just didn't have the technology to detect it.
However, if someone had proposed it was there, they would have been laughed to scorn because we couldn't detect it. In fact, we now know that dark energy is Einstein's "constant" that was considered a scientific blunder for nearly 100 years.
The appreciation I have for Joseph Smith is that he FOUNDED the Church upon the principle of eternal energy (Law of Conservation of Energy) (neither created or destroyed) which was a 180 degree departure from Christianity's "creation ex nihilo."
Joseph Smith's teaching on eternal energy came 90 years before Einstein discovered the proof of it. This roots all belief, all experience in "energy." Joseph Smith taught that eventually we will discover and be able to see that its all energy. Miracles therefore are experiences INSIDE eternal energy.
Crumpet: (1)
You wrote:
"I agree, TomH. But if you believe in supernatural divine entities and "energies" then this is by definition "magic". If the "energy" you refer to has no units of measurement and cannot be detected with instruments then it is "magic" energy like "Crystal Healing", "Reiki", "Voodoo" and "Astrology". Magic and bogus."
The term "supernatural" is foreign to Mormonism. In the 1830s and 1840s, Joseph Smith claimed that God instructed him to do away with such notions belonging to the metaphysical definitions invented by Catholic and Protestant councils.
Specifically the doctrines of "creation out of nothing, " "immateriality", and all doctrines or notions related to those metaphysical positions.
In Mormonism, everything: God, the power of God, the soul, Heaven, hell, is all composed of energy, that cannot be presently or adequately measured by human mechanical inventions, but in the end, its all energy and refined matter.
Good example of delusional thinking below...
@TomH
Believing in Angels, Gods, Heaven and Hell is no different, as you have described it, to believing in Pixies, Genies in bottles, Faeries, Qetzlcoatl, the invisible pink unicorn, Santa and his Elves and the Easter Bunny. All things that I can claim to be "composed of energy, that cannot be presently or adequately measured by human mechanical inventions."
You are using the exact same argument as Astrologers, Homeopaths, Crystal Healers, Witches and Wizards and other Charlatans, as Crumpet correctly pointed out to you.
I have read all the "holy" books, bible, torah, qoran, Bhagavadghita, Sutras, Vedas, Book of the Law, even L Ron Hubbard's tedious stuff.
I did once try to read the Book of Mormon but for the life of me couldn't stomach it. It really is such transaprently made-up pulp. I entirely understand Mark Twain's stingingly accurate quip. "CHLOROFORM IN PRINT."
To believe in the book of Mormon you first have to ignore history,geography,science,astronomy,archaeology,palaeontology and common-sense.
Aidan
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