The Truth of the Book of Mormon

Often, in response to questions about the truth of the Book of Mormon, people will quote from Moroni 10:4, "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask ... , he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Now, this simplification of what Moroni said leaves out a lot of what Moroni actually said. But, setting that aside, assume I follow this admonition and receive a witness that the Book of Mormon is true. Now what do I do? Am I done with the Book of Mormon? Is it enough to be able to say, "I know that it is true!"? Is the Book of Mormon now just a prop for me to use in inviting others to know for themselves the truth of the words it contains?

Of course it seems silly to just carry the book around, proclaiming that it is true, without doing something with it. If it is, in fact, the word of God, then it should become one of our most prized books. It should be where we turn to hear the voice of God. Its words should inform who we are, how we treat people, how we approach God, etc. We should read it regularly, looking for guidance and allowing it to help us repent and know God.

In Doctrine and Covenants, section 84, the Lord says:

  45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
  46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
  47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.

So, if we know the truth of the Book of Mormon then we know that it contains the word of the Lord, light, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And, it is up to us whether that light is enlightening, or not. Notice in verse 46 it says that only those who hearken to the light (the truth, or word of the Lord) are enlightened by it. And, in verse 47, those who hearken come to God the Father.

Nephi teaches us what to do once we know that we have the truth, the word of the Lord, and are in the path. He says, in 2 Nephi 31:

  19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
  20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

We must press forward and live by the words of the Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, because we have come to know the truth of these words. Knowing the truth is not enough on its own. We must live by the words that are true.

Just over two years after Joseph Smith organized a church, the Lord told the members that they were under condemnation. Notice that this is in Section 84 and follows right after the verses quoted above:

  54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
  55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
  56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
  57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

How do we treat the Book of Mormon lightly? According to verse 57 we treat it lightly when we say that it is true, but fail to do according to the words of the Lord contained in the Book of Mormon. And, how do we know if we are doing the things taught in the Book of Mormon? We know because we are coming unto God, feasting on the words of Christ, and receiving the promise of eternal life (walking the path as described in an earlier post).

Here is a simple idea that can help with turning our reading of the Book of Mormon into an active process of becoming closer to God. The basis of this idea is Joseph Smith's statement in the introduction to 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.” (A precept is defined as a principle or general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.)

As a means of hearkening to the word, try to identify, and act upon, precepts as often as possible. To get started, as you read the Book of Mormon this week, pray for help to identify a precept that you can experiment upon to see if it will help you get nearer to God. Next, you might try to find other places in the scriptures where that same precept is taught. Making connections with other scriptures that teach the same ideas will refine your understanding. Then, identify specific things you can do to live that precept as an experiment upon the word. Keep track of the experience you have as you live (hearken to) the precept over a period of time. See if, in fact, through the power of the Holy Ghost you feel closer to God. Then, repeat ;-). (Here is more on this idea, if you are interested.)

I have tried this repeatedly and can tell you from my own experience of the truth of the words of the Book of Mormon. I know this because it has brought me closer to God than has any other book.

The Small Plates

From time to time you will hear someone say that they would love to have the contents of the 116 pages of manuscript that were lost when Joseph Smith allowed Martin Harris to take them to show to his wife. Of course, we mourn the loss of the writings of a prophet like Mormon. But, it may be that we got exactly what the Lord wanted us to have. Consider these three passages of scripture from Nephi, Mormon and Joseph Smith (the three prophets involved in the first part of the Book of Mormon.

About 30 years after leaving Jerusalem, Nephi created a record of the ministry among his people. Unlike the larger plates that included a more comprehensive history, these plates contained the more sacred portions of Nephi’s experience and teaching. He creates them because he is commanded of the Lord to do so, as described in 1 Nephi 9:

  4 Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people.
  5 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.
  6 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.

These plates passed on through Nephi’s family until they were delivered to King Benjamin and then kept with the other records of the Nephite people.

Now, fast forward to Mormon. He was commanded to create an abridgement of the large plates (the more complete historical record of his people). About the time that he got to King Benjamin in his abridgement, he rummaged around in the records and found the small plates of Nephi. This is described in the Words of Mormon:

  3 And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi.
  4 And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass—
  5 Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people.
  6 But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.
  7 And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.

Having found these small plates of Nephi he discovers that they contain precious prophecies of his people. And, he finds that all of the prophecies up to his time have been fulfilled. Mormon is thrilled to realize how much his distant fathers knew of God’s dealings with his people. So, Mormon decides to include the small plates, verbatim, in his record and to base the rest of his record upon them. As he said in verse 5, he “chose these things, to finish my record upon them.” He seems to say that he will use the rest of his record to, among other things, show the fulfillment of the prophecies of Nephi, Jacob and others, up to Mormon’s day. He does this so that we will have confidence that the rest of their prophecies will be fulfilled.

As with Nephi, Mormon does this for a “wise purpose” that he does not know. But, once again, the Lord makes sure that what He wants us to know is written by Nephi and being included and expanded upon by Mormon.

Now we jump to Joseph Smith’s day. Joseph lost 116 pages of Book of Mormon manuscript. He lost everything up to the time of King Benjamin. But, the Lord has provided the solution. The small plates of Nephi cover the same timeline and they include a more particular account of what the Lord wants us to know. Joseph is taught about this, by the Lord, in D&C 10:

  38 And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi;
  39 Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.
  40 And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account—
  41 Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;
  42 And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.

Verse 40 is quite clear. The small plates of Nephi are a better telling of what the Lord wants us to know than were the large plates or Mormon’s abridgement from the large plates.

Nephi wrote what the Lord wanted us to know on the small plates. Mormon found the small plates and completed his record based upon those. Neither knew why this was important, but they were inspired to do what they did. Finally, Joseph was told that this is a better version of what the Lord wanted us to know than what Joseph had lost. I may be wrong, but it appears that the first 116 pages that Joseph translated may have been practice for Mormon as an abridger and practice for Joseph as a translator. And, we have received just what the Lord wants us to know. I am amazed by the power and wisdom of God and grateful for the Book of Mormon.

Hearken to the Lord's Precepts

I recently heard a friend in our ward talk about the various approaches we take when we read the Book of Mormon. One in particular caught my attention. He described the process of reading for some number of minutes, pages, or chapters per day as treating the Book of Mormon like comfort food. This is not always the case with regular reading. Yet, we can often fall into a comfortable pattern of enjoying the satisfaction of reading every day without actually getting to the real purpose of our reading. It is comforting to do a good thing, yet we may miss the real power of the Book of Mormon.

In the introduction to the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith is quoted as saying, “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.” This is a promise that can be tested. We can abide by the precepts of the Book of Mormon and see if we, in fact, get nearer to God. (Just to be sure I am understanding this promise, I looked up the word precept and found that it means, "a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.")

Near the end of his record, Nephi teaches us something very important about people in our day. Nephi warns, in 2 Nephi 28:

  29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
  30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

Nephi saw our day. And, in speaking to us he warned us that we might be tempted to feel that we have received the word of God and that we have enough. We have been blessed with abundant modern scripture. Yet, we might feel that simply having, and reading, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price is enough.

Joseph Smith promises us that if we abide by the precepts of the Book of Mormon we will draw closer to God. Nephi reinforces that promise with the added insight that as we hearken to God's precepts we will receive line upon line, precept upon precept. And when we receive more, God will give us more. These are wonderful promises that require active reading to receive the blessings.

I want to suggest an approach to active reading that I have found to be very effective. Here is a process that can be followed to actively hearken to, and abide by, the precepts of God taught in the Book of Mormon. First, as you read, notice any verse that seems to catch your attention. At first you may not even know quite why that verse (or passage) caught your attention. Stop and think about what precept may be taught by that passage of scripture. Write down the reference and the precept. Then, look for other places in scripture where that same precept may be taught. Comparing other scriptures will enhance your understanding the of the precept. Next, translate what you learned into something you can do as an experiment to see if the precept does, in fact, bring you closer to God. Spend a week (or more if needed) living the precept as you pray and ask to understand and to be closer to God. Finally, write down what you learned through the experience.

The steps are summarized as follows:

Precept (Identify a precept that will help you get closer to God. Include the Book of Mormon reference containing the precept.) 

Other Scriptures that Teach the Precept (Identify other scriptures that teach the same precept either directly or indirectly through stories or analogy.) 

What You Can Do to Live this Precept (Determine what specific actions you could take to live this precept to see if you get closer to God.) 

Your Experience (Write down what you learned based upon your experience trying to live the precept you have identified. Be honest. Do you feel closer to God? Did you misunderstand the precept? Did you learn that living the precept requires something different than you thought? Really learn from what you are doing.) 

If you repeat this process week after week, you will soon find that each of these experiments has become a building block in the foundation of your testimony of the Book of Mormon (See Alma 32:26-27). You will know that abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon brings you closer to God. You will know Jesus Christ better because the Book of Mormon testifies of Him.

I have written about the importance of learning before (Click here for that post). I believe that we must be pro-active in our learning. It is not enough to feel good about the Word of God. We must allow it to guide us. We must come to know God through the process of obeying His commandments. One way to do this is to notice the commandments that are implicit in the precepts taught in the Book of Mormon. We are promised that when we obey His commandments we will have His Spirit to be with us.


(Note: Here is a link to the form I give my students.)

The Parable of the Diamond

A wonderful parable from Hugh Nibley. This was quoted, with commentary, by Richard L. Bushman in an article about Hugh Nibley and Joseph Smith. The article can be read on the Maxwell Institute web site.

A young man once long ago claimed he had found a large diamond in his field as he was ploughing. He put the stone on display to the public free of charge, and everyone took sides. A psychologist showed, by citing some famous case studies, that the young man was suffering from a well-known form of delusion. An historian showed that other men have also claimed to have found diamonds in fields and been deceived. A geologist proved that there were no diamonds in the area but only quartz: the young man had been fooled by a quartz. When asked to inspect the stone itself, the geologist declined with a weary, tolerant smile and a kindly shake of the head. An English professor showed that the young man in describing his stone used the very same language that others had used in describing uncut diamonds: he was, therefore, simply speaking the common language of his time. A sociologist showed that only three out of 177 florists' assistants in four major cities believed the stone was genuine. A clergyman wrote a book to show that it was not the young man but someone else who had found the stone. 

Finally an indigent jeweler named Snite pointed out that since the stone was still available for examination the answer to the question of whether it was a diamond or not had absolutely nothing to do with who found it, or whether the finder was honest or sane, or who believed him, or whether he would know a diamond from a brick, or whether diamonds had ever been found in fields, or whether people had ever been fooled by quartz or glass, but was to be answered simply and solely by putting the stone to certain well-known tests for diamonds. Experts on diamonds were called in. Some of them declared it genuine. The others made nervous jokes about it and declared that they could not very well jeopardize their dignity and reputations by appearing to take the thing too seriously. To hide the bad impression thus made, someone came out with the theory that the stone was really a synthetic diamond, very skilfully made, but a fake just the same. The objection to this is that the production of a good synthetic diamond 120 years ago would have been an even more remarkable feat than the finding of a real one.

To know if the Book of Mormon is from God, read it and find out for yourself. You will learn more about Joseph Smith's prophetic work through the Book of Mormon, than by focusing on Joseph directly.

Source of the parable: Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 121—22.

Learning to Search the Words of Isaiah

How often have we started into the Book of Mormon only to find ourselves struggling when we hit chapters that are quoted from Isaiah? Then, after plowing through those chapters we rejoice in the plainness of the words of Nephi, Jacob, or the resurrected Savior. Yet, Jesus Christ commanded us, saying in 3 Nephi 23:

  1 And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.

So, we are caught between a Rock (the Lord commanding us to search diligently in the words of Isaiah) and a hard place (the actual words of Isaiah). Fortunately, we have the assurance from Nephi that, "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Nephi 3:7)." So, what is the way that the Lord has prepared for us to successfully search in the words of Isaiah? I would suggest that one of the keys that the Lord has given us is the Book of Mormon. There are at least two important ways that the Book of Mormon helps us to read Isaiah:

1. Nephi gives instructions for understanding Isaiah, and 
2. Nephi, Jacob, and Jesus Christ offer commentary on Isaiah. 

It is remarkable to think that the Lord chose a prophet to lead out of Jerusalem at a time when Isaiah's words were understood. Then, that prophet wrote down instructions for understanding Isaiah in a record that would be brought forth at the time when we would need to search, and understand, Isaiah's words. We need to recognize the tools that the Lord has given us and search diligently within that light.

Nephi's Instructions
In 2 Nephi 11, Nephi states that his soul delights in Isaiah's words because Isaiah has seen his Redeemer, just as Nephi, and Jacob, have seen the Redeemer (v. 2). Thus, in addition to his own testimony and the testimony of Jacob, Nephi is providing us the testimony of Isaiah regarding our Redeemer. Through this, we learn of the need for, and the provision of, a Redeemer through the covenants God has made with us. This will cause us to lift up our hearts and rejoice (v. 8). Reading Isaiah should be encouraging. It should show us how our life. in a world that is fallen, may lead to redemption and living in God's kingdom.

In 2 Nephi 25, Nephi acknowledges that Isaiah spake many things which were hard to understand (v. 1). So, don't be too concerned if, at first blush, the words of Isaiah seem hard to understand. But, remember that the Lord has commanded us to search Isaiah's words and that he has prepared a way for us to learn to understand. Here are a few insights from Nephi:

1. Isaiah is written after the manner of prophesying of the Jews (v. 1,2,5). Thus, learning of the history, geography, literary styles, and religion of the people of ancient Israel will make it easier to understand Isaiah. Will this be easy? No. But, we have better access to this kind of learning today then Nephi's people did after arriving in the promised land. 
2. Nephi quotes Isaiah, "that [we] may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken (v. 3)." 
3. Isaiah's words are plain to those who are filled with the spirit of prophecy (v. 4). As the angel taught John on the Isle of Patmos, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10)." It is important to understand that Isaiah is teaching us about Jesus. In particular, that Jesus is the Redeemer that God covenanted would be sent to redeem us from our fallen state. 
4. Nephi describes his ultimate purpose in quoting Isaiah when he says, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (v. 23)." 

With these in mind as we read Isaiah we will begin to see patterns of prophecy of Jesus Christ, of blessings of obedience to God's covenants, of consequences of breaking those covenants, of the ultimate redemption of God's people. All this will be understood by the power of the Holy Ghost who testifies of Jesus Christ and the Father, and who is the source of the spirit of prophecy.

Commentary by Nephi, Jacob and Jesus Christ
Think back on the last time you gave a talk or prepared a lesson. You likely selected passages of scripture that you felt gave important insight or instruction relative to your topic. You did not just randomly drop scripture into your talk, just in case someone might find it important at some future time. No, you selected scriptures carefully for their power in conveying, through the Holy Ghost, the ideas that are important to your message. The same should be understood about Nephi, Jacob and Jesus Christ. They give us quotes from Isaiah in the context of a larger sermon.

Consider Nephi's discourse given in 1 Nephi 19:24 - 22:31. Nephi begins with an invitation to hear the words of the prophet Isaiah and then quotes from Isaiah chapters 48 and 49 (in 1 Nephi 20-21). Chapter 22 then begins with Nephi responding to his brothers' question, "What meaneth these things which ye have read?" This is an important indication that chapter 22 contains Nephi's explanation of what we are to understand based upon the words of Isaiah that were just quoted. Nephi did not just include quotes of Isaiah chapters 48-49 because they might, someday, be of use to us. He included them to teach the ideas that he further elaborates in chapter 22 of First Nephi. In other words, chapter 22 is Nephi's commentary on the words of Isaiah in chapters 20-21.

Another example of a sermon that contains words of Isaiah and commentary on those words is Jacob's discourse that is in 2 Nephi 6-10. Jacob is speaking at Nephi's invitation. Interestingly, Nephi asks Jacob to speak on Isaiah 49:22-23. These were among the last verses of Nephi's earlier discourse. Nephi is asking Jacob to pick up where Nephi left off. So, in chapter 6 Jacob begins his sermon by referring to the verses he was assigned to speak on. He introduces his theme and then begins to quote the last two verses of Isaiah chapter 49. He then quotes all of chapters 50-51 of Isaiah and concludes with the first two verses of Isaiah 52. These quotes are in 2 Nephi 6-8 and are followed by Jacob's discussion of, and elaboration on, the words he quoted from Isaiah.

One example of Jacob's commentary is seen in a comparison of Isaiah 50:1-2 (2 Nephi 7:1-2) with what Jacob says in 2 Nephi 9:6-7. Isaiah presents the Lord asking rhetorical questions about whether it is the Lord that has cast us off or us who have separated ourselves from him:

  1 Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
  2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? ...

Jacob helps us to understand these ideas in plainness. He says:

6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

Jacob makes it clear that Isaiah is talking about our fallen condition and the need of a Redeemer. It is because of transgression that we are in bondage and in need of redemption. Jacob's discussion of the details of how we are redeemed adds much to what we learn from Isaiah.

Another example is seen by comparing Isaiah's words in 2 Nephi 8:9-10 with what Jacob says in 2 Nephi 9:10-12. Isaiah talks about the strength of the one who cut Rahab and wounded the dragon (Rahab is the name used in mythology for the monster of the deep or of chaos). Isaiah asserts that this is also the same person who made a passage for the ransomed to cross through the depths of the sea (possibly referring to Israel being delivered from Egypt by the parting of the Red Sea).

  9 Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
  10 Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

Jacob takes the imagery of Isaiah and helps us to understand that it connects to overcoming that "awful monster ... death and hell." And, Jacob makes it clear that Isaiah is describing Jesus Christ.

  10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.
  11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
  12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

These are just two examples of many that can be found in Nephi's discourses in 1 Nephi 19-22, or 2 Nephi 11-30, Jacob's discourse in 2 Nephi 6-10, or the Savior's teaching in 3 Nephi. In each case the words of Isaiah are quoted and commented upon in order to help us learn to understand, and better search, the words of Isaiah.

Learning to search the words of Isaiah is not an easy task. Searching in this manner will not be accomplished with 15 minutes of reading every day. Rather, this will require careful effort and "searching" of the scriptures. The reward, though, will be a witness through the Holy Ghost of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Believe in Christ, Believe the Book of Mormon

I noticed something interesting in Moroni 10:

  4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. (emphasis added)

Moroni includes "having faith in Christ" in the recipe for having the truth of the Book of Mormon manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost. If we take this verse at face value it would seem that having faith in Christ is a prerequisite for the revelation of the Holy Ghost regarding the truth of the Book of Mormon. And, we hear the message of Christ in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

The Bible was written and sent to all people to convince the world that salvation is in and through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As is said in John 20:

  31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is for, "the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." It testifies that the God of the Old Testament lived in mortality as the Jesus of the New Testament. Nephi asserts, in 2 Nephi 33, that those who believe in Christ will believe the truth of the Book of Mormon.

  10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

It seems that, as always, Jesus Christ should be the focus. We do not seek a testimony of the Book of Mormon for the book's sake. We seek it because the Book of Mormon teaches of Christ. We believe in the Book of Mormon because it increases our belief in Jesus Christ. In fact, the truth of the Book of Mormon is manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost because it is the role of the Holy Ghost to witness of the Father and the Son (see 2 Nephi 31:18).

If Two Things Exist ...

Learning is essential to following Jesus Christ.  This fact is taught in many ways in the scriptures.  For example, in D&C 88: 118 the Lord commands, “… seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”  Or, in D&C 93 wherein is described Jesus’ example of the critical importance of learning.  The testimony of John identifies this essential element of Jesus’ example:

And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.[1]

Later in this same section of scripture the Lord explains the “fulness” that He received.

And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; The Spirit of truth is of God … I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth; … He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.[2]

The fulness received by Jesus Christ includes truth or, in other words, knowledge.  The Son of God set the example of continual learning.  We should base our approach to learning on His example.  In fact, there is one additional gem of insight given along with these two passages.  The Lord says,

I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.[3]

Learning is more than just following the example set by Jesus in His mortal life, it is the essence of worship. 

There is a pattern identified in the Lord’s revelation to Abraham.  In Abraham 3:16 the Lord says, “If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them.”  The Lord applies this to the reckoning of time on one planet compared to another with time being longer on each planet as you approach the Lord’s time.  He next applied it to the greatness of the stars with one star closer than another to the Lord until you arrive at Kolob, the closest to the Lord.  He finally applies this pattern to spirits where one is more intelligent than another with the Lord being more intelligent than them all. 

It seems that this pattern might be profitably applied to learning.  Any time we learn something we then also know that there are two levels of knowledge, i.e., the level before learning and the level after learning.  The application of the Lord’s lesson to Abraham, then, is straightforward.  It might go something like this, “If two levels of knowledge exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them.” 

It seems that it is in the nature of people to enjoy learning, but to miss the opportunity to learn more.  An example would be those who heard the Savior say in John 10: 16, “And 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.”  They failed to ask who the “other sheep” are and, thus, failed to learn of their brethren, the Nephites. (See Denver Snuffer's Blog for more on the Nephites' failure to ask about the "other sheep.")

The Savior emphasized this point when he taught the Nephites in 3 Nephi 15:

  18 And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them.

  19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.

And, interestingly, there is no mention of the Nephites asking for more information about the yet other sheep the Savior told them about.

Nephi warns us of the severe consequences of learning a little and then being satisfied.  His strong warning in 2 Nephi 28 is:

  29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

  30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

The application of the pattern revealed to Abraham is clear.  Through Nephi the Lord says that, “unto him that receiveth I will give more.”  When we receive we go from one level of learning to another.  Then, as long as we don’t fall into the trap of thinking we have enough, the Lord will give us more and our level of learning becomes greater above the previous levels.  The end of continued learning is that we receive the fulness of the Father as described in D&C 76, 84, and 93, among others.

There are many ways in which we can fall into the trap of thinking, “A Bible! A Bible! I have a Bible!” as condemned by Nephi.[4]  For example, we might study a passage of scripture and have a good insight through the inspiration of the spirit.  We then have experienced the level of knowledge before, and the level of knowledge after, the inspired insight as proof that there is a level of knowledge still above what we have experienced.  Yet, it is easy to have the moment of inspiration and close the scriptures with gratitude for having learned.  We then might fail to go back for more thinking that we have learned, and that is enough.

In fact, Mormon warns of this very thing.  Mormon tells us that we have only enough of the record of Jesus’ teachings to try our faith.  In 3 Nephi 26 we have the following:

  6 And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people;

  7 But behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.

  8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

  9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

  10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.

  11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people.

We must believe what we have received.  The promise is explicit that there is more for us to learn.  The fact that we have not received the rest of the record is a condemnation of how we have responded to what we have.

Mormon’s admonition is not just for us as a people but also for us individually.  Concluding the record of his father, Moroni tells us that, “whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these” (Mormon 8:12).  The Book of Mormon is meant to lead us to greater revelation.  We need to read it as a guide.  It provides a list of “to-do” items that will lead to greater learning (M. Catherine Thomas in, “Light in the Wilderness”).

How often do we fail to learn because we are satisfied with the good things we have received through scripture study, temple attendance or great teachers?  Are we grateful for the things we learn, yet satisfied?   Should we seek for more because we have proof that there is more that the Lord wants to give us?  Remember, if we have experienced a level of knowledge before learning and a higher level of knowledge after learning then there exists yet a higher level of knowledge above those two.  That yet higher level of knowledge is the next thing to seek for as we try to approach our Father in Heaven.

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[1] Doctrine & Covenants 93: 12-14.

[2] Doctrine & Covenants 93: 24, 26, 28.

[3] Doctrine & Covenants 93: 19.

[4] See 2 Nephi 29: 3.