Members of the Mormon Church believe two things about the Book of Mormon:
1. Joseph Smith translated it by the gift and power of God.
2. It is scripture.
In our day, the story of the Book of Mormon began on September 21, 1823. Joseph Smith was seventeen, and for the past three years the heavens had been silent. Earlier he had the First Vision, where God the Father and Jesus Christ had appeared to him, and told him to join no church. He was obedient to the command, and had continued on in the normal doings of daily life. But still, the heavens had been silent.
That night, Joseph Smith could not sleep. He was kept awake by several things. The first was his situation. He had seen a vision. He knew it, and God knew it. But he was still ridiculed by the townsfolk of Palmyra. Second, he was concerned about his sins.
Joseph Smith wrote:
“I was left to all kinds of temptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God.”
“In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native cheery temperament.” (JS-History 1:28)
In other words, Joseph Smith’s big sin was that he was a teenager.
Nonetheless, he felt guilty about his mistakes. So that night, after his family had gone to sleep in the tiny log cabin, he stayed awake and prayed for forgiveness.
In his own words, this is what happened:
“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.”
“He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.”
“Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.”
“He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.”
“He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants.” (JS-History 1:30-34)
The next morning, Joseph Smith went to the Hill Cumorah where the plates where buried. Joseph Smith did not immediately take the plates, but, after several years of preparation and returning to the hill on the same date, he eventually received the plates. He then translated them by the gift and power of God.
His translation was published in 1830, and is still in print. For a free copy of the Book of Mormon, click HERE.
The book itself is not mystery. The title page of the book, written by an ancient prophet, explains everything:
THE BOOK OF MORMON
AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF MORMON UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI
“Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.”
“An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment–seat of Christ.” (Title Page)
That is it: the Book of Mormon is an ancient book of history. It is also a witness or testament of Jesus Christ. Once you understand that the book is about Jesus Christ, everything else makes sense.
Mormons see the Book of Mormon as a compliment to the Bible, as the Old Testament compliments the New Testament. We learn of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the principles, laws, ordinances, covenants, and the undergirding Atonement—which allows us to be like our Father in Heaven, and return to be with Him after life.
Joseph Smith said this about the Book of Mormon:
“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.” (“Chapter 4: The Book of Mormon: Keystone of Our Religion,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007], 57–68.)
I keep a regular habit of reading all of the scriptures. I love them all. Even so, I feel there is something different about the Book of Mormon. It is shorter than the Bible, but is equally powerful. I think this doctrinal density is part of it.
And, unlike the Bible, its editing and compilation was overseen by prophets with authority and revelation. The Bible, on the other hand, has a looser history.
I’m not insulting the Bible. I’ve read it six times, and I have written a commentary on the book of Job. But we all know the all scripture is not of equal worth: the Beatitudes far outstrip the usefulness of “the begats.”
(For a free copy of the Bible, click HERE.)
So for me, the Book of Mormon has fulfilled its promise of being a witness of Christ and of drawing me closer to God. I know it can do the same for anyone.
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