While I know that most people reading this blog will probably be my family, I hope that my friends and others who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will read this as well. As such, I figured that I should start with a brief introduction and summary of what the Book of Mormon actually is, and a little bit about how I came to be reading it.
The website Mormon.org (an AMAZING website by the way), is pretty much the official missionary website of the Church, and allows people to learn more about what member of the Church believe. Most of my summary comes from that page.
So, what is the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon is the word of God, like the Bible. It is Holy Scripture, with form and content similar to that of the Bible. Both books contain God's guidance as revealed to prophets as well as religious histories of different civilizations. While the Bible is written by and about the people in the land of Israel and surrounding areas, and takes place from the creation of the world until shortly after the death of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon contains the history and God’s dealings with the people who lived in the Americas between approximately 600 BC and 400 AD. The prophets in the Book of Mormon recorded God's dealings with His people, which were compiled by a prophet named Mormon onto gold plates.
Before these faithful Christians perished, their record was safely hidden away. Joseph Smith obtained these ancient records in 1827, and with the gift and power of God Joseph was able to translate the ancient writings into what we have today. The Book of Mormon, along with the Bible, testifies that Jesus Christ is our divine Redeemer and that by living according to His gospel we can find peace in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come.
What do members of the Church believe about the Bible?
Some people think that because we read the Book of Mormon, we don't read the Bible. That's just not true. It's like saying that we don't eat oranges because we eat apples. Both are good fruit! The Book of Mormon is not a replacement for the Bible. In fact, because the Book of Mormon and the Bible both contain the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was revealed to different civilizations, studying them together can clarify some concepts that are difficult to understand. The Book of Mormon tells us to read the Bible and affirms that its message is true (Mormon 7:8-10). And in the Bible, Jesus told His apostles, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Christ visited these “other sheep” in the Americas after He was resurrected, teaching the same message to the Nephites that He taught to the people of Israel. The Book of Mormon makes it clear that Jesus Christ's message and His atonement are not for one group of people at one time. They are for everyone, everywhere, from the beginning of the earth to the end. Having the Book of Mormon as another testament of Jesus Christ reminds us that He is mindful of every one of us.
As mentioned above, the Book of Mormon contains the record of the people of God living in the Americas anciently. These people are classified into two general populations, one called the Nephites, and another called the Lamanites, who lived at the same time, and often saw conflict between each other. The original ancestors of both groups were brothers, one named Nephi, and another named Laman. I will go into more detail about these groups later, and explain what happened to drive these two families apart, and cause a bitter hatred for many centuries. In general, the Nephites, although not perfect by any means, were the more righteous of the two groups, although there are many times when the Lamanites are more righteous, despite their wicked traditions. The records which were compiled, and eventually translated, into the Book of Mormon were written by various Nephite prophets.
Another group, the Jaredites, is mentioned later, and I will discuss them once I reach the specific part of the Book of Mormon that talks about them.
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