The Book of Mormon and its Miraculous History
What is the Book of Mormon? One thing I can say for sure: it is not what people expect when they think about classical religious texts. Unlike the biblical texts, the Book of Mormon - or short BoM - has not been written by ancient people, passed on continuously for generations, and translated to modern languages by scholars. Well, partially those things are true, let me explain. Yes, the BoM has been written by ancient prophets and historians, and yes, it has been passed on for generations, BUT no scholars were involved when a young man from New York obtained the ancient records to translate them. He, at that point, was as far away from being a scholar as I am from being the Catholic pope (which I truly am not, believe me). Most of his life, until these days, young Joseph Smith had spent working on his parents' farm and had only received a very basic education in school. But how could a frontier boy from the 19th century translate ancient records, written in a language that is still unknown today? Well, he couldn't; but God could. It was with divine help that Joseph was able to transfer the meaning of the reformed Egyptian symbols into English. >> Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee. << (2 Nephi 27:20) God made Joseph see the meaning of the words while scholars would not have been able to translate this text. Sounds miraculous? Exactly, and this is precisely what this book is all about. It is not primarily about understanding the how in every little detail, it is about the why; an exercise of faith. If you are like me, you are a fan of historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence. Don't worry, there is proof, too. But still, the main point is to be truly converted to the Lord, especially by faith, not only by knowledge of the limited things that we have; the Book of Mormon can be a major help in this challenge if you give it a chance to teach you.
So, why do we need the BoM, don't we have enough with the Bible already? Let's ask God Himself what He thinks: >> [...] at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. << (Deut 19:15). This is exactly the reason why the subtitle of the BoM is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Mormon said it best why we would need the BoM; he wrote on the plate that became the title page of the BoM the following: >> 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 << (emphasis added). This book should become the witness of the love and justice of God. Whenever His children were faithful and lived according to His word, He helped them prosper wherever they were. The last part is the crucial part here: WHEREVER they were. The BoM showed us that Israel was and is not just limited to the Near East, but that His people are spread across the globe.
It should also be mentioned what the BoM did for the Bible. Through the BoM, some biblical narratives have been supported, since the BoM bears witness of events that are to be found in the Bible. For example, if we think of the story of the tower of Babel from the Genesis 11, the BoM explains what a group of the pople from back then have gone through and what has happened to them. Their traces have been found on the American continent, as we can read from Mormon's edition of the Book of Ether, a part of the BoM. Most importantly though, the BoM gives us a report of the appearance of the resurrected Jesus Christ on the American continent, and thus, it serves as a witness of this world-changing event. Remember, this was written when these people had already been separated from their relatives in Israel for centuries. How should they have known of the resurrection if not through Christ Himself?
I am truly convinced that the BoM is what it claims to be: a divine volume of scripture, brought forth to bear witness of the truthfulness of the Bible and of Jesus' sacred mission. I have read both volumes, the BoM and the Bible, several times and I can find no contradiction. Through the Holy Ghost, I have gained a testimony that showed me that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Lord, just as Moses, Isaiah, and many others have been before him, and subsequently that this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is God's true church on earth today.
Picture sources:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/960x540/book-of-mormon-languages.jpg
https://cdn1.loyaltylobby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Marriott-The-Book-of-Mormon-700x525.png
So, why do we need the BoM, don't we have enough with the Bible already? Let's ask God Himself what He thinks: >> [...] at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. << (Deut 19:15). This is exactly the reason why the subtitle of the BoM is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Mormon said it best why we would need the BoM; he wrote on the plate that became the title page of the BoM the following: >> 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 << (emphasis added). This book should become the witness of the love and justice of God. Whenever His children were faithful and lived according to His word, He helped them prosper wherever they were. The last part is the crucial part here: WHEREVER they were. The BoM showed us that Israel was and is not just limited to the Near East, but that His people are spread across the globe.
It should also be mentioned what the BoM did for the Bible. Through the BoM, some biblical narratives have been supported, since the BoM bears witness of events that are to be found in the Bible. For example, if we think of the story of the tower of Babel from the Genesis 11, the BoM explains what a group of the pople from back then have gone through and what has happened to them. Their traces have been found on the American continent, as we can read from Mormon's edition of the Book of Ether, a part of the BoM. Most importantly though, the BoM gives us a report of the appearance of the resurrected Jesus Christ on the American continent, and thus, it serves as a witness of this world-changing event. Remember, this was written when these people had already been separated from their relatives in Israel for centuries. How should they have known of the resurrection if not through Christ Himself?
I am truly convinced that the BoM is what it claims to be: a divine volume of scripture, brought forth to bear witness of the truthfulness of the Bible and of Jesus' sacred mission. I have read both volumes, the BoM and the Bible, several times and I can find no contradiction. Through the Holy Ghost, I have gained a testimony that showed me that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Lord, just as Moses, Isaiah, and many others have been before him, and subsequently that this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is God's true church on earth today.
Picture sources:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/960x540/book-of-mormon-languages.jpg
https://cdn1.loyaltylobby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Marriott-The-Book-of-Mormon-700x525.png
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