The purpose of The Book of Mormon

Note: I missed posting on time last week due to the holiday weekend, but posted on Mormon 1-6 today also. See post before this one, or click on the link.

Reading: Mormon 7-9

The last three chapters in Mormon are authored by him and his son, Moroni.  Chapter 7 is Mormon’s last testimony and plea to the modern day remnant of the Lamanite people.  Chapters 8-9, are Moroni’s first words to written in The Book of Mormon.  He lets us know why The Book of Mormon was written for our day and what behaviors and trends we need to avoid.

Moroni witnesses the death of his father and all of his other kin and people, so what he has to say to us is very heartfelt and even anguished because he has witnessed the consequences of turning away from righteousness.  Not only is his plea poignant because of his circumstance, but because he knows what issues we will face:

Mormon 8:34-35  (he has seen our day)

We will begin the major portion of our reading in chapter 7, where Mormon speaks directly to the seed of the Lamanites in the future, but is applicable to all of us.

Mormon 7:2-6
• The first things that Mormon wants to make clear is that the Lamanites are of the house of Israel and that they should know their fathers.  In other words, they come from a covenant people.  Now, if I were a person first reading this statement, I would imagine that it wouldn’t mean very much to (especially because I have only recently begun to understand the significance, or even cared to really know).  But at the very least, this message says: “you belong to something,” “here is something that you should know about yourself.”
• He assures them they can be part of that covenant through repentance and accessing the atonement of Jesus Christ.
• As we talked about a few weeks ago, should they partake of this covenant they would receive more direction and hope.

Then Mormon talks about how they can know what their part of the covenant consists of:
WHAT FEELINGS OR EXPERIENCES DO YOU HAVE REGARDING THE BOOK OF MORMON AND BIBLE SUPPORTING EACH OTHER?

Mormon 7:8-10
• Laying hold upon the gospel of Christ
• The gospel of Christ is found in The Bible and The Book of Mormon
• Those who believe the Bible will believe The Book of Mormon
• The Book of Mormon is meant to establish the truth of The Bible.
o This is an interesting way to think about The Book of Mormon.  Think about President Benson commanding that we need to flood the earth with The Book of Mormon.  While it is an extraordinary book on its own, it is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” implying that it verifies and witnesses to the events of the Old and New Testament of Christ.
• Note that in the chapter heading it says “All who believe the Bible will also believe the Book of Mormon.”  How many people do you think believe the Bible?  33% of Americans believe The Bible is the literal or actual word of God, other believe it’s just a book of folk tales or stories written by man. (Gallup Poll)

In the next chapter, Moroni continues to talk about the importance of The Book of Mormon and how it is treated:
Mormon 8:12-17
In these verses, Moroni talks a lot about not condemning the book itself, or the writers of The Book of Mormon for their imperfections.

SO, WHAT IMPERFECTIONS IS MORONI REFERRING TO?  WHAT DOES HE MEAN FOR US TO KNOW BY HIS STATEMENT?
• He is humble and apologizing personally?
• Suggests that if there are faults found, that we should learn from them, not condemn them. (Mor 9:31)
• He recognizes that the people of The Book of Mormon have made many mistakes as all people do.
• He admits that reformed Egyptian is not adequate to communicate all that has been written. (Also in Mor 9)
• He even says in verse 17 that to their estimation, there is no fault, but perhaps there are faults for reasons that only the Lord knows.

Whatever the reason is, those who condemn The Book of Mormon will be judged rashly:
Mormon 8:18-22
• Those who say “prove it to me!” will be smitten
• Those who judge rashly will be judged rashly themselves, but that is God’s right to do. Especially if people are criticizing for the sake of criticizing – finding things wrong just to prove themselves right.
• Their criticisms will be in vain, because the work of the Lord will roll on.
• Ether 12:26   “Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;”  Despite the imperfections, The Book of Mormon will be received by the meek.
• The meek will know the purpose of The Book of Mormon and will put themselves in line to “know greater things than these”:

Joseph Fielding Smith: “I would like to call your attention to one thing in the Book of Mormon. The Lord has promised us greater knowledge, greater understanding than we find in the Book of Mormon, when we are prepared to receive it. When the brother of Jared went upon the mount to have the Lord touch stones to give them light to light their way across the great ocean, the Lord revealed to him the history of this world from the beginning of it to the end. We do not have it. …Now the Lord has placed us on probation as members of the Church. He has given us the Book of Mormon, which is the lesser part, to build up our faith through our obedience to the counsels which it contains, and when we ourselves, members of the Church, are willing to keep the commandments as they have been given to us and show our faith as the Nephites did for a short period of time, then the Lord is ready to bring forth the other record and give it to us, but we are not ready now to receive it. Why? Because we have not lived up to the requirements in this probationary state in the reading of the record which had been given to us and in following its counsels.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1961, pp. 19-20)

Moroni continues to talk about The Book of Mormon by informing us when it will come forth, which will be in a day when churches will be defiled and their leaders will be lifted up in pride.  There will be wars, earthquakes, pollutions, etc.  After describing these horrible scenes, he pinpoints what our problems as a people are in a very stinging observation:

Mormon 8:36-37
• Walk in the pride of your hearts (fine apparel, envyings, iniquities
• Ye do love money more than ye do the poor and needy, sick and afflicted

HOW DO WE CHANGE THAT?  HOW CAN WE LOVE THE POOR, THE NEEDY, SICK AND AFFLICTED MORE THAN MONEY?  IS IT REALLY MONEY HE’S TALKING ABOUT?

Moroni addresses chapter 9 to those who do not believe in Christ.  He covers three different groups of people, or perhaps the same group with a number of issues: Those who do not believe in Christ, those who do not believe in revelation and those who do not believe in miracles.  All three of these topics are addressed in the scriptures and are evident in their very existence.

Mormon 9:1-4
• Right away give them a warning that if they do not believe in Christ in this life, they will believe when they are standing at the judgment bar before him. Scare tactic? No, just reality.
• When at the judgment bar, they will be racked with a “consciousness of guilt.” President Kimball made an interesting statement on what a “consciousness of guilt” is.

“As repentance gets under way, there must be a deep consciousness of guilt, and in that consciousness of guilt may come suffering to the mind, the spirit, and sometimes even to the body. In order to live with themselves, people who transgress must follow one or the other of two alternatives. The one is to sear their conscience or dull their sensitivity with mental tranquilizers so that their transgression may be continued. Those who choose this alternative eventually become calloused and lose their desire to repent. The other alternative is to permit remorse to lead one to total sorrow, then to repentance, and finally on to eventual forgiveness.
“Remember this, that forgiveness can never come without repentance. And repentance can never come until one has bared his soul and admitted his actions without excuses or rationalizations. He must admit
to himself that he has sinned, without the slightest minimization of the offense or rationalizing of its seriousness, or without soft-pedaling its gravity. He must admit that his sin is as big as it really is and not call a pound an ounce. Those persons who choose to meet the issue and transform their lives may find repentance the harder road at first, but they will find it the infinitely more desirable path as they taste of its fruits” (“The Gospel of Repentance,” Ensign, Oct. 1982, 4).

Those who do not believe in revelation:
Mormon 9:7-9
• Note that all the things he listed in verse 7 are different kinds of revelation.
• If you don’t believe in revelation, you must not be reading the scriptures
• In the scriptures we find that God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

HOW DO YOU RECONCILE A GOD THAT DOES NOT CHANGE, BUT GIVES REVELATION THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING?  For example: The Book of Mormon as addition scriptures to The Bible, or all worthy males being able to hold the priesthood after years of not being able to do so.
• God is unchangeable because he knows everything in it’s proper place and time.  He reveals to us more information as we need it.  Just because it’s something we haven’t known doesn’t make HIM changeable.

Moroni connects the unchangeableness of God to the ability to do miracles:
Those who do not believe in miracles.
Mormon 9:15-20
• If miracles happened when Christ was on the earth, why should miracles stop, just because he’s not on the earth.  If he is unchangeable there will always be miracles.  He gave the example of Christ’s apostles performing miracles, which happened by the power of the priesthood, which can exist on earth without the presence of Christ.
• If miracles cease it’s because nobody believes, because what good would the miracles be?

Mormon 9:21-25 talks about how to receive personal miracles:
• Verse 21 defines personal miracles: believing in Christ, doubting nothing, ask and it will be granted.
• So, Christ told his apostles to preach the gospel so that people would believe and experience the miracles wrought by faith.
• Then miracles will come, i.e. casting out devils, testimony, etc.

The bottom line is in verse 26, read to them.
WHO THINKS THEY ARE BETTER THAN THE LORD?  Even if you don’t believe in a God right now, it’s worth consideration. You don’t have much to lose.

Moroni adds this great plea to sum up:
READ Mormon 9:27-29

27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

 28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

 29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out.


The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Christ.  It's purpose is to prove that there really was a Christ and that he has a gospel that contains all truths that will bring us joy in this life and unspeakable joy in the next.  The very existence of The Bible and The Book of Mormon confirms to us that continuing revelation comes from God from himself and through his servants, the prophets.  When that revelation is believed there are miracles on a personal level and on a larger level.