Day 36 - Book of Mormon 6-9; Ether 1-2

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Discussion

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Mormon 6:17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord!

The scene over which Mormon laments must have been harrowing. Nephi was given to see the same thing and was overcome with grief, I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall (1 Ne 14:5).

Jeffrey R. Holland

“Following the tremendous battle at Cumorah, Mormon looked out over the catastrophic carnage—the destruction of a thousand years of dreams—and cried to ears that could no longer hear:

‘O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.

O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!

But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.’ (Mormon 6:17-20)

“In a soliloquy of death, Mormon reached across time and space to all, especially to that ‘remnant of the house of Israel’ (Mormon 7:1) who would one day read his majestic record. Those of another time and place must learn what those lying before him had forgotten—that all must ‘believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God,’ (Mormon 7:5)” (Christ And The New Covenant, p. 321 – 322)

Gordon B. Hinckley

“Here is a voice that has spoken from the dust with a familiar spirit, and touched the hearts of men and women in many lands. Those who have read it prayerfully, be they rich or poor, learned or unlearned, have grown under its power.

“Let me tell you of a letter which we received a few years ago. A man wrote saying in substance: ‘I am in a federal reformatory in Ohio. I recently came across a copy of the Book of Mormon in the prison library. I have read it and when I read Mormon's lamentation over his fallen people--O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. (Mormon 6:17-18.) When I read this I felt that Mormon was talking to me. Can I get a copy of that book?’

“We sent him a copy. He walked in the office some months later, a changed man. I am happy to report that a boy who had stolen gasoline, and then stolen automobiles, and then done other things until finally he was placed in a federal reformatory, was touched by the spirit of this book, and the report today is that he is now a successful man, rehabilitated, earning a living honestly for himself and family in a west coast city.

“Such has been the power of this great book in the lives of those who have read it prayerfully.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1959, pp. 119-20)

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Mormon 7:9 if ye believe that ye will believe this also

Bruce R. McConkie

“From these passages we reach certain clear conclusions relative to believing in Christ and in his holy word. Among them are these: A belief in Christ and a belief in the Book of Mormon go together; they are locked in each other's arms; they cannot be separated. Like Ezekiel's two sticks, they are one in the hands of the Father. Those who believe in Christ also believe the Book of Mormon because it contains the words of Christ. Those who believe the words of Christ, as given by his disciples and as recorded in Book of Mormon, believe in Christ. And those who do not believe these words do not believe in him. The Book of Mormon bears witness of Christ and of the Bible; it is written to persuade men to believe in their Lord and in his ancient word. Those who believe the Book of Mormon believe the Bible, and those who believe the Bible believe the Book of Mormon.” (The Millenial Messiah, p. 177)

Brigham Young:

“No man can say that this book (laying his hand on the Bible) is true...and at the same time say, that the Book of Mormon is untrue...There is not that person on the face of the earth who has had the privilege of learning the gospel of Jesus Christ from these two books, that can say that one is true, and the other is false. No Latter-day Saint, no man or woman, can say the Book of Mormon is true, and at the same time say that the Bible is untrue. If one be true, both are.” (Journal of Discourses, 1:38)

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Mormon 8:5 I would write…if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none

Initially, Moroni’s record was limited by the amount of room left on the plates of Mormon. We are reminded of the words of Amaleki, who ran out of room while working on the small plates of Nephi. He said, these plates are full. And I make an end of my speaking (Omni 1:30). In contrast, to Amaleki, Moroni would return to record more. By the time Moroni begins abridging the record of the Jaredites and adds his own record, he is no longer limited by the amount of room left on the plates. He must have made more plates, like Nephi before him, I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people (1 Ne 19:1).

Gordon B. Hinckley

“While wandering as a lonely fugitive, Moroni added to his father’s record. His words ring with pathos: ‘I would write … if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go. … And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.’ (Mormon 8:5, 7.)

“Who can sense the depth of his pain, the poignant loneliness that constantly overshadowed him as he moved about, a fugitive relentlessly hunted by his enemies? For how long he actually was alone we do not know, but the record would indicate that it was for a considerable period. His conversation was prayer to the Lord. His companion was the Holy Spirit. There were occasions when the Three Nephites ministered to him. But with all of this, there is an element of terrible tragedy in the life of this man who became a lonely wanderer.” (Heroes From the Book of Mormon, p. 197)

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Mormon 9:11-20 I will show unto you a God of miracles

Howard W. Hunter

“I welcome this [Easter] season…which reminds us that God is a God of miracles, that his Only Begotten Son is ‘the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in [him], though he were dead, yet shall he live.’ (John 11:25.)

“Among the signs of the true church, and included in the evidences of God’s work in the world, are the manifestations of his power which we are helpless to explain or to fully understand…Not surprisingly, these signs and marvels were most evident in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the very Son of God himself. But startling and wonder-filled as they were, Christ’s many miracles were only reflections of those greater marvels which his Father had performed before him and continues to perform all around us. Indeed, the Savior’s humble performance of such obviously divine acts may be just one very special application of the declarations he made:

‘The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise’ (John 5:19) and ‘I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me’ (John 8:28).

“For example, the first miracle by Jesus recorded in the New Testament was the turning of water into wine at the marriage at Cana. (See John 2:1-11.) But poor, indeed, was the making of the wine in the pots of stone, compared with its original making in the beauty of the vine and the abundance of the swelling grapes. No one could explain the onetime miracle at the wedding feast, but then neither could they explain the everyday miracle of the splendor of the vineyard itself.

“It is most remarkable to witness one who is deaf made to hear again. But surely that great blessing is no more startling than the wondrous combination of bones and skin and nerves that lets our ears receive the beautiful world of sound. Should we not stand in awe of the blessing of hearing and give glory to God for that miracle, even as we do when hearing is restored after it has been lost?

“Is it not the same for the return of one’s sight or the utterance of our speech, or even that greatest miracle of all—the restoration of life? The original creations of the Father constitute a truly wonder-filled world. Are not the greatest miracles the fact that we have life and limb and sight and speech in the first place? Yes, there will always be plenty of miracles if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.” (Conference Report, May 1989 Ensign, “The God That Doest Wonders”)

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Ether 1:33 the Lord swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth

Some critics of the Book of Mormon have wondered why the Bible doesn’t tell of the exodus of the families of Lehi and Ishmael. The answer, of course, is that Lehi and company left Jerusalem in secret, that the Jews might not know concerning our flight into the wilderness (1 Ne 4:36). In the case of the Jaredites, there is no scripture which explicitly names Jared, but there are references to the scattering of groups all over the earth, the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth (Gen 11:8). Furthermore, we learn from Josephus that some of these groups specifically traveled by sea, “there were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands.” (The Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chap. V) Thus, there is a scriptural and historical precedent, outside of the Book of Mormon itself, which acknowledges the scattering of many people from the tower of Babel.

Milton R. Hunter

“A few years ago an apostle said to me: ‘It would be a discovery of great significance if one were to find an Indian book which sustained the Book of Mormon.’

“Such a book exists; in fact, I shall present quotations from…such Indian books produced during the American colonial period that contain materials similar to those found in the Book of Mormon. The Indian writers add their witness to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Ixtlilxochitl, an Indian prince who lived in the valley of Mexico, wrote a book containing the history of his ancestors from the time of their arrival in America until the coming of the Spaniards…

“Ixtlilxochitl…claims that the first settlers to come to America following the flood came from ‘a very high tower’ or the Tower of Babel. Observe how similar the accounts are as I quote from them.

‘Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.’ (Eth. 1:33.)

“Ixtlilxochitl, the Indian writer, puts it this way:

‘And . . . men, multiplying made a . . . very high tower, in order to shelter themselves in it when the second world should be destroyed…When things were at their best, their language was changed and, not understanding each other, they went to different parts of the world.’ (Works of Ixtlilxochitl, cited in Milton R. Hunter and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and The Book of Mormon, 1950, p. 24.)

“In order that we might make additional comparison of the Book of Mormon and the Works of Ixtlilxochitl, we quote the Jaredite record:

‘. . . the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of [Jared's people]. . .’ (Eth. 1:35, 37.)

“Then the Lord guided Jared's colonists over the land to the seashore and, in barges brought them to America, ‘into a land which [he declared] is choice above all the lands of the earth.’ (Eth. 1:42.)

“The comparable story in Ixtlilxochitl states:

‘. . . and the Tultecas, who were as many as seven companions and their wives, who understood their language among themselves, came to these parts, having first crossed lands and seas, living in caves and undergoing great hardships, until they came to this land, which they found good and fertile for their habitation.’(Ixtlilxochitl, op. cit., pp. 24-25.)” (Conference Report, Apr. 1970, pp. 100-101)

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Ether 2:12 this is a choice land…if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ

Thomas S. Monson

“Are we today serving the God of the land, even the Lord Jesus Christ? Do our lives conform with His teachings? Are we entitled to His divine blessings?

“Headlines from America's leading newspapers, depicting recent events, pass silently in review, that you and I may judge: ‘Serious Crime Registers 10% Increase in Past Year,’ ‘Violence Rocks South,’ ‘Racial Strife Hits East.’ Murder, rape, arson, burglary, assault, narcotics violations are all on the increase in the America of today. These are the headlines of today's newspapers.

“The revered Abraham Lincoln accurately described our plight: ‘We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.’ (Proclamation for a National Fast Day, March 30, 1863.)

“Can we extricate ourselves from this frightful condition? Is there a way out? If so, what is the way? We can solve this perplexing dilemma by adopting the counsel given by Jesus to the inquiring lawyer who asked: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Matthew 22:36-39.)” (Be Your Best Self, p. 96-97)

Joseph Fielding Smith

“These passages of scripture from the Book of Mormon are true; this nation is not exempt, and the people, if they continue to pursue the course of evil and ungodliness that they are now treading, shall eventually be punished. If they continue to disregard the warning voice of the Lord, deny their Redeemer, turn from his gospel unto fables and false theories, and rebel against all that he has through his servants in this day declared for the salvation of man; and if they increase in the practice of iniquity, I want to say to you, that if they do these things, the judgments of the Lord will come upon this land, and this nation will not be saved; we will not be spared from war, from famine, from pestilence and finally from destruction, as a nation.

"Therefore, I call upon the people, not only Latter-day Saints but to all throughout the whole land, to repent of their sins and to accept the-Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Redeemer and the God of this land. Turn from your evil ways, repent of your sins and receive the fulness of the gospel through the waters of baptism and obedience, that the judgments which shall be poured out upon the ungodly may pass you by." (Doctrines of Salvation 3:321-22.)

[KeithLBrown]

The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. ~Articles of Faith 1:8


Scripture Reference: Mormon 7:8-10

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.
9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.
10 And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.

From Gospel Library - Gospel Topics

The primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince all people "that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (title page of the Book of Mormon). It teaches that all people "must come unto him, or they cannot be saved" (1 Nephi 13:40). Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon is "the keystone of our religion, and a man [will] get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (introduction to the Book of Mormon).

The Book of Mormon is another witness for the truths taught in the Bible. It also restores "plain and precious" truths that have been lost from the Bible through errors in translation or "taken away" in attempts to "pervert the right ways of the Lord" (see 1 Nephi 13:24–27, 1 Nephi 13:38–41). The Bible and the Book of Mormon "shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace" (2 Nephi 3:12).

President Ezra Taft Benson, "The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God," Ensign, Jan 1988, 3

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "we believe … the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (A of F 1:8.) God has so declared it, so have its writers, so have its witnesses, and so do all those who have read it and received a personal revelation from God as to its truthfulness.

In section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says that He gave Joseph Smith "power from on high … to translate the Book of Mormon; which contains … the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ … which was given by inspiration." (D&C 20:8–10.)

Nephi, one of the prophet-writers of the Book of Mormon, testifies that the book contains "the words of Christ" (2 Ne. 33:10), and Moroni, the last writer in the book, testifies that "these things are true" (Moro. 7:35).

This same Moroni, as an angelic being sent from God, showed these ancient records to three witnesses in our day. Their testimony of the records is contained in the front of the Book of Mormon. They state: "We also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true."

And Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the instrument whom God used to translate this record, testified 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." (History of the Church, 4:461.)

The Book of Mormon was written for us today. God is the author of the book. It is a record of a fallen people, compiled by inspired men for our blessing. Those people never had the book—it was meant for us. Mormon, the ancient prophet after whom the book is named, abridged centuries of records. God, who knows the end from the beginning, told him what to include in his abridgment that we would need for our day. Mormon turned the records over to his son Moroni, the last recorder; and Moroni, writing over 1,500 years ago but speaking to us today, states: "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Morm. 8:35.)

Elder Richard G. Scott, "The Power of the Book of Mormon in My Life," Ensign, Oct 1984, 7

It is not sufficient that the Book of Mormon be found in our homes; its principles must be captured in our minds and hearts. Through consistent reading, prayerful pondering, and conscientious application, its teachings will become an essential part of the fabric of our lives.

What does the Book of Mormon mean to you? Has it been a source of inspiration and power in your life? Will it continue to be?

If you have not yet drunk deeply from this fountain of pure truth, with all of my soul I encourage you to do so now. Don’t let the consistent study of the Book of Mormon be one of the things that you intend to do but never quite accomplish. Begin today.

I bear witness that it can become a personal "Urim and Thummim" in your life.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "‘Another Testament of Jesus Christ’," Ensign, Mar 1994, 60

This talk was delivered at a Church Educational System Satellite fireside originating at Brigham Young University on 6 June 1993.

President Benson has frequently reminded us of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s declaration that the Book of Mormon is "the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (History of the Church, 4:461). In a landmark address during the first year of his service as President of the Church, President Benson explained these two ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.

"The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. … Its testimony of the Master is clear, undiluted, and full of power. …

"The Book of Mormon is also the keystone of the doctrine of the Resurrection" (Ensign, Nov. 1986, pp. 5–
6).

Note that both of these ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion focus on our relationship to Christ—our witness of him and our testimony of his atonement and resurrection.
In addition, President Benson has often reminded us of the Lord’s declarations through the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon is "the most correct of any book on earth" (History of the Church, 4:461) and that it "contains … the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (D&C 20:9). This does not mean that the Book of Mormon contains a full explanation of every principle of the gospel. What it means, President Benson has explained, is that "in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation" (Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 6). Most significantly, he notes, "It also provides the most complete explanation of the doctrine of the Atonement" (ibid., p. 5).

Having reminded ourselves of the major theme and purpose of the Book of Mormon, we can proceed to consider why we have been directed to intensify our study of it at this time.

Moroni's Promise - Moroni 10:3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
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.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.


See also: A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1988); Ezra Taft Benson Edited August 7, 2009 by KeithLBrown

[Seanette]

Mormon 5 – Mormon agrees to again lead the Nephites, who still will not repent. The Lamanites drive and defeat the Nephites in blood and carnage. The Book of Mormon will come forth to persuade Israel of Jesus the Christ. The Lamanites will be dark, filthy, and loathsome. They will receive the Gospel from the Gentiles in the last days.

Mormon 6 – Among the saddest chapters to be found anywhere in Scripture, I think. This chapter tells of the final battle at Cumorah and the destruction of the Nephite nation, with only 24 Nephites surviving, including Mormon and his son Moroni. Mormon hides the records, except for a few plates he gives to Moroni.

Mormon 7 – Mormon urges the latter-day Lamanites to believe in Christ, repent, accept the Gospel, and be baptized. Those who really believe the Bible will believe the Book of Mormon.

Mormon 8 – Another very sad chapter. The Lamanites hunt and kill the remaining Nephites, with only Moroni (now the narrator) escaping. “I even remain alone”. The Book of Mormon will come forth by the power of God, in a time of iniquity and apostasy. Woe will come to those who fight against the work of the Lord.

Mormon 9 – Moroni calls for unbelievers to repent. He proclaims a God of miracles, who gives revelations, gifts, and signs to the faithful. Miracles cease because of unbelief, while signs follow those who believe. Moroni exhorts men to be wise and keep the commandments.

Ether 1 – Abridgement by Moroni of Jaredite records. Ether’s genealogy is set forth. The confounding of languages at the Tower of Babel is described. The Lord grants the pleas of Jared and his brother that their family and friends not have their language confounded. The Lord promises to lead them to a choice land and make of them a great nation.