A few weeks ago you mentioned something about so much emphasis on the Book of Mormon. I’ve been thinking a lot about that and some of my thoughts are below. I’ll just focus on three of those for now.

The Book of Mormon Is a Second, Clarifying Witness

I imagine most of the people you come in contact with already know about the Bible and maybe have read it or at least know what it teaches. There are many interpretations on a variety of Bible principles–baptism by immersion is a great example. The Book of Mormon serves as a second witness to verify that the correct principle is baptism by immersion.

Elder Tad Callister taught:

“The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

“What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.

“Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible.”¹

The Book of Mormon FOCUSES ON the Plan of Salvation

It may be surprising to someone who grew up learning about it, but the plan of salvation² is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Its principles are everywhere in the Bible, but to someone who has never had the plan plainly laid out for them, it may not be clear. We hear about the plan from the very beginning of the Book of Mormon. It is explained concisely here:

“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.

“Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption” (2 Nephi 9:6-7).

And the whole book speaks about it. Here is one of my favorites toward the end:

 “Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

“And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death” (Mormon 9:12-13).

We cannot take for granted the clarity the Book of Mormon brings regarding God’s plan for His children.

The Book of Mormon Is God’s Missionary Tool

Ezra Taft Benson said:

“The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to ‘sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect.’ (Moses 7:62.) This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.”²

Why is the Book of Mormon this instrument?

Other than the two reasons above, it helps people feel the Spirit, it helps answer concerns and questions, and it helps people make commitments.³ But most powerful to me is because when someone knows the Book of Mormon is true, then they can also grow their testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Jeffrey R. Holland wrote:

“To consider that everything of saving significance in the Church stands or falls on the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and, by implication, the Prophet Joseph Smith’s account of how it came forth is as sobering as it is true. It is a ‘sudden death’ proposition. Either the Book of Mormon is what the Prophet Joseph said it is, or this Church and its founder are false, a deception from the first instance onward.

“Not everything in life is so black and white, but the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and its keystone role in our religion seem to be exactly that. Either Joseph Smith was the prophet he said he was, a prophet who, after seeing the Father and the Son, later beheld the angel Moroni, repeatedly heard counsel from Moroni’s lips, and eventually received at his hands a set of ancient gold plates that he then translated by the gift and power of God, or else he did not . . .

“I am suggesting that one has to take something of a do-or-die stand regarding the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the divine origins of the Book of Mormon. Reason and righteousness require it. Joseph Smith must be accepted either as a prophet of God or else as a charlatan of the first order, but no one should tolerate any . . . middle ground about the wonderful contours of a young boy’s imagination or his remarkable facility for turning a literary phrase. That is an unacceptable position to take—morally, literarily, historically, or theologically.”⁴

TESTIFY OF THE BOOK OF MORMOM

Joseph B. Wirthlin shared the following:

“You may have many opportunities to teach and to bear witness of the gospel. May I suggest that you emulate the example of the Prophet and take every opportunity to bear witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the divine mission of Joseph Smith.

“When President David O. McKay’s father was serving a mission in Scotland, he encountered antagonism toward the Church. He decided to preach the doctrines of the gospel without mentioning the Restoration or the Book of Mormon. As the days passed, President McKay said, his father continued with this approach until his mind became so darkened and despondent that he felt he would have to leave his mission and go home.

“As a last resort, he decided to go into a cave and pray for help. While he was praying, a voice came to him, ‘Testify that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God.’ He consequently changed his approach and began to testify of the Book of Mormon and of the Prophet Joseph Smith. As a result, President McKay said, his father discovered that many were touched by the spirit of his words and believed and were baptized.

“I hope we can learn from this experience. If you want to reach people, if you want to change hearts, if you want to be successful in your missionary work, testify of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.”⁵

The Book of Mormon is a companion to the Bible. It does not replace it. But it is another testament of Jesus Christ and there are many people who want more Jesus. That, in and of itself, is a reason enough for me to share it with others.

I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and I testify that it is true. As a missionary, I saw it change lives. I have seen it change lives since. There is a power in that book.⁷

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Lead image by Siera Chadwick on Unsplash

1. Tad R. Callister, “The Book of Mormon—a Book from God,” General Conference, October 2011
2. see also “A Phrase Is Coined” at www.razingtherameumptom.com
3. Ezra Taft Benson, “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon,” General Conference, October 1988
4. see Joseph B. Wirthlin, from an address to new mission presidents, Provo Missionary Training Center, June 1999, Ensign, September 2002
5. from Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 345–46 as quoted in see Joseph B. Wirthlin, from an address to new mission presidents, Provo Missionary Training Center, June 1999, Ensign, September 2002
6. Joseph B. Wirthlin, from an address to new mission presidents, Provo Missionary Training Center, June 1999, Ensign, September 2002
7. see also “17 Testimonies of the Book of Mormon from Latter-day Prophets” at www.razingtherameumptom.com