For those who are just learning about the Book of Introduction, which is placed just after the Title Page of the Book of Mormon.
From the Introduction we learn that the Book of Mormon contains holy scripture similar to the Bible. But whereas the Bible contains scriptural accounts from the Old World (near and in Jerusalem), the Book of Mormon is full of scriptural accounts from the ancient inhabitants in the Americas.
Just as Biblical prophets were moved upon by the spirit to write the word of God, the ancient American prophets also were called to do the same thing. In fact, so many were their words and so many were their records, that the prophet-historian Mormon abridged those records into what we have today, called The Book of Mormon.
We learn from the Introduction that one main group highlighted in the Book of Mormon came from Jerusalem in the year 600 B.C. Now remember what was going on during this time in Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah had been imprisoned and much wickedness reigned in the hearts of the children of Israel near and in Jerusalem.
The first group of people mentioned in The Book of Mormon fled that rampant wickedness and were led here to the Americas. Their history, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, is full of rich verses teaching of the importance of hearkening to the Lord and seeking the Savior’s ways.
Another civilization is mentioned in the pages of the Book of Mormon. This civilization also fled a difficult time in the Old World, but at a much earlier date. This group of people, eventually known as the Jaredites, were led to the Americas during the era when the Lord confused the languages of the people during the building of the Tower of Babel. Both civilizations teach well what happens when a people turn from God and destroy themselves with wicked choices.
One of the most important portions of the Book of Mormon is the account of the Savior’s visit to the early American inhabitants after his resurrection. The Lord loves all his people; the Savior knew of these people and taught them many of the same truths He’d taught those in Jerusalem and in the surrounding areas.
We learn in the Introduction how we now have the Book of Mormon through a modern prophet called Joseph Smith, born at the beginning of the 19th century and only a few decades after the Revolutionary War. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared,
“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” (“Introduction,” The Book of Mormon).
What a privilege it is to hold this book in my hands and to learn from its teachings about the Savior and the joy His gospel brings; it is the perfect companion volume to the Bible.
There is only one way to enjoy all that the Book of Mormon contains – by reading it! Here is a link so that you may view its contents and read from The Book of Mormon itself.
