This month's Ensign has the First Presidency message from President Eyring about the Book of Mormon. They are requesting article submissions regarding member's feelings about the Book of Mormon. My wife lovingly suggested I make a submission. I sheepishly declined, not out of laziness or fear. I just would not know where even to begin.
I might start out in pretty general feelings; I see the Book of Mormon as a spiritual survival handbook for the last days. It testifies of Christ in direct simplicity and it exposes false teachings and deceptive paths with a spotlight of truth. It points out safe havens and righteous paths for the willing disciple. I could (and hope to) write more.
So this thread is pretty open ended yet specific: What think ye of the Book of Mormon?
A tad over 51 years ago I found the Book of Mormon in a library, checked it out, and right from the get go I felt it was a true account of events on the American continent. Only after I finished it did I go visit the mission office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and began meeting with missionaries. I have only read it front to back 3 times, but use it frequently to explore certain subjects and aspects of the Gospel. In addition to being an excellent witness of Christ, the Book of Mormon has helped me understand much of what has been and is now going on in the world, and why.
I should mention that when reading the Book of Mormon I find myself especially excited about those scriptures that address the establishment and history of America. Certain events, prophecies and warnings that the Lord obviously wanted us to know about remain fixed in my mind. In 1 Nephi 13, I have always been thrilled by the brief account of the discovery and colonizing of America thru the power of God. In 2 Nephi 1, I was reminded of the Lords statement that He covenanted this land unto "all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord." and that "there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord." In Mormon 5, I noted how the Lamanites would receive the gospel from the Gentiles after first being subdued by them. 3 Nephi Chapters 16, 20 and 21 contain the conditional prophecy that the Gentiles shall be established as a free people in America, that the remnant of Jacob shall come to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and shall inherit the Americas, and a warning that if the Gentiles sin against the gospel, the Lord "will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them (the Gentiles) and shall tread them down,..." In 2 Nephi Chapter 26 is the warning that in the "last days"" the gentiles shall build up false churches and secret combinations", "even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil,..." And finally, in Ether 8, "Modern Gentiles are warned against the secret combination which shall seek to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.", and we are told that "when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of the secret combination which shall be among you;" and "suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain..."
-- Edited by lundbaek on Wednesday 29th of September 2010 10:19:13 PM
The Book of Mormon is replete with messages surely selected by God to help bring about the immortality and eternal life of all of us. An acquaintance was asked to speak in her ward about the Book ofMormon. Her effort inspired me to write the following.
The most important message to me in the Book of Mormon is that In our premortal state, Jesus Christ became our foreordained Savior in the Fathers plan of salvation. (See Mosiah 4:67; Alma 34:9.) He is the captain of our salvation and the only means through whom we can return to our Father in Heaven to gain that fulness of joy of immortality and eternal life. For me the most effective speaker about the Book of Mormon among Church General Authorities was President Ezra Taft Benson. While Prophet and President of the Church, Ezra Taft Benson testified that The Book of Mormon brings men to Christ through two basic means. First, he stated, it tells in a plain manner of Christ and His gospel. I think most Latter-day Saints who have seriously read the Book of Mormon would agree that it has helped them draw closer to Christ, and that it has been a catalyst for change for the better in their lives. As a witness for the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ and our covenant relationship to him, it shows us how to become more like Christ. To bring men to Christ and to be reconciled to him. It teaches us things that we must do to live with God some day. But President Benson called attention to another way in which the Book of Mormon brings men to Christ. Secondly, the Prophet said, the Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It stands as a warning to our generations as it exposes the enemies of Christ and of righteousness so effectively. That may sound daft at first, but in order to more fully emulate Christ. a person needs to know not only how to BE, but also how NOT TO BE. Or put another way, what to BECOME, and also what NOT TO BECOME. The Book of Mormon is a great teacher in that respect.
The Book of Mormon is replete with commandments with which we need to comply in order to prepare ourselves for the blessings of immortality and eternal life. In that connection, the Prophet Joseph Smith once stated, He [the Lord] never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of His law and ordinances. And in the Book of Mormon we learn from Nephi that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way that they may accomplish the thing which He commandeth them. The Book of Mormon relates many good examples of obedience to commandments of the Lord that not only brought great blessings to the faithful, but also contributed greatly to the gospel going forth to various peoples in the world. And the Book of Mormon also documents the agonies and ultimate demise of two once great civilizations on the American continent due to disobedience to the Lords guidance and commandments. No other written testament so clearly illustrates the fact that when men and nations walk in the fear of God and in obedience to His commandments, they prosper and grow, but when they disregard Him and His word, there comes a decay that, unless arrested by righteousness, leads to impotence and death. The Book of Mormon is an affirmation of the Old Testament proverb: Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people ( Proverbs 14:34). And I want to interject here that To keep Gods commandments requires a specific knowledge of what those commandments are. So how do we LDSs measure up, we who have far greater understanding of Gods commandments, have the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have the priesthood, have the Holy Ghost, and consequently have greater incentive as well as greater responsibility to do the things God has asked or commanded us to do? And I have to remind myself often enough that Gods commandments are not just some kind of smorgasbord of divine rules from which I can just pick and choose. And again, To keep Gods commandments requires a specific knowledge of what those commandments are.
From the Book of Mormon I have learned that America is a choice land, foreordained to be a land of liberty, (See 2 Ne. 1:5.) and will be a blessed land unto the righteous forever and is the base from which God will continue to direct the worldwide latter-day operations of His kingdom. (See 2 Ne. 1:7.) I have always been thrilled by the brief account of the discovery and colonizing of America thru the power of God. (See 1 Nephi 13) But I note the Book of Mormon warns us that those inhabitants of this land who do not serve God will eventually be swept off from the land. In fact, Moroni spelled that out in 3 consecutive verses in the Book of Ether. (See Ether 2:8,9,10) The Book of Mormon warns us of certain threats to our modern American nation and commands us to guard against those threats and to protect the freedoms we have. In that connection, I recall President Benson telling us that The Book of Mormon contains no conspiracy theories. It contains conspiracy fact. It is clear in the Book of Mormon that the Lord will fulfill His covenants that he has made with His faithful, regardless of Lucifers efforts to thwart Him. But if I understand Moroni correctly, He does not absolve Latter-day Saints from their responsibility of doing everything within their power to protect Americas freedom. In fact, we are advised in D&C134:1 that He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them [governments] both in making laws and administering them. Another of the great messages of the Book of Mormon is that freedom, upon which our free agency is dependent, is hard to come by. And we are warned, especially by the Lord thru Moroni in Ether Chapter 8, that once freedom is obtained, it must not be lost. If we as Latter-day Saints think that this warning is directed just against our gentile neighbors, we should ask ourselves how they could be responsible for this divine mandate when they dont even know it exists. This means that the burden is on US much more than it is on our fellow citizens, which is fair enough. The ball is clearly in our court.
We also learn from the Book of Mormon that Lucifer is the enemy of all righteousness and seeks to bring about the misery of all mankind. (See 2 Ne. 2:18, 27; Mosiah 4:14.) The Lord has warned us thru Moroni and Nephi that this nation is beset by secret combinations like those in ancient America that sought and acquired great wealth and control of government at the expense of the righteous. In the October 1988 General Conference, President Benson told us that Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world. (See Ether 8:1825, 2 Nephi 26:22) But in the Book of Mormon we learn that God will provide strength for the righteous and the means of escape; and eventually and finally truth will triumph. (See 1 Ne. 22:1523.) But we need to keep in mind the commandments given us thru Moroni that we awake to a sense of the awful situation caused by the secret combinations and suffer not that they get above us. (See Ether 8: 23-24) Again, that puts the ball squarely in our court.The Book of Mormon also serves as a warning about the deceptions of atheists and agnostics who make non-belief their religion and attack faith and belief. In that connection, President Packers article in the August 2010 Ensign magazine tells us they are now organized, they pursue political power, we will be hearing more from them, and much of their attack is indirect in mocking the faithful, in mocking religion. I highly recommend a careful study of that entire article .
And very importantly, We learn that God will give rewards to each according to the deeds done in the flesh. (See Alma 5:15.)
A couple more gems of wisdom about the Book of Mormon:
President Hinkley once stated that The Book of Mormon narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of todays society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions of those problems.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said 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.
I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith was His prophet. Thomas Monson is His prophet now. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.
"What is your favorite book (other than the standard works) that has deepened your knowledge of the gospel? Why?"
My contribution is this:
I think the book that has deepened my knowledge of the gospel over the past few years is "American Historical Documents." It's volume 43 of The Harvard Classics. From "The Letter of Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel Announcing His Discovery," through "The Mayflower Compact," "The Declaration of Independence," "The Federalist Papers," "The Constitution of the United States," to "Washington's Inaugural Address," and "Washington's Farewell Address," I can see the guiding hand of God in preparing for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have no doubt that He cares about what happens to this country, and that we as citizens and as saints have a solemn duty to uphold those laws that protect our freedom to worship how we choose--to support those in our government who will champion the cause of liberty.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
I had been in the Church about 7 years when I bought the books "Doctrines of Salvation" by Joseph Fielding Smith. This work helped me better understand many tenets of our faith that I was not able to glean for myself from the Standard Works.
Roper's comments remind me that way back in April 1972, President Ezra Taft Benson stated in General Conference: "Fortunately we have materials to help us face these threatening dangers in the writings of President David O. McKay and other church leaders. Some other fine sources by LDS authors attempting to awaken and inform us of our duty are: Prophets, Principles, and National Survival (Jerreld L. Newquist), Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen (H. Verlan Andersen), and The Elders of Israel and the Constitution (Jerome Horowitz)." I have read all of these books over the years and from them gained considerable insight into why, for example, an Apostle (Ezra Taft Benson) would state in the October 1961 Church General Conference that "God [has] placed a mandate upon his people to befriend and defend the constitutional laws of the land and see that the rights and privileges of all mankind are protected."
