The necessity of The Book of Mormon


maiku
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In Sunday School classes, 2012 will be focus on The Book of Mormon. I, being the Sunday School teacher in my branch, am quite excited to be delving into the pages of this great book of scripture.

Once, on my mission, I ran into someone of another faith and he asked me a good question,

"Why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" "Why do we need it if we have the Bible?"

I gave him the best answers I had at the time (clearness of doctrine, 2nd witness of Christ, etc.). I wanted to hear some of your input on why we need The Book of Mormon. What does it offer to you? Any input is welcome.

Thanks.

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The perfect answer to that question is the Joseph Smith First Vision... and his questioning of the various doctrines he was taught as a young man. That was (unfortunately) the fruit of only having one form and source of scripture.

The Book of Mormon is the gathering tool and message for the house of Israel. Those who will read its pages, ponder the message and follow the Spirit, will be lead by God.

If there was a church restored by God, how else would He announce such a restoration than with a new message, a new testament of Christ and the Spirit to accompany that message?

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Thanks for your response skippy.

I didn't think this thread would be such a dud.

Is there anyone else out there that has any input into why the Book of Mormon is valid and necessary in these latter days?

Try finding your way home - even with a map - with only one point of reference.

We travelled 3,000+ miles in 10 days and I tell ya - without knowing North from South on the road you are on, google maps is virtually useless - well, unless you got the GPS system that talks to you and tells you to go left or right.

The church was in apostasy. There was no longer an authority on earth that talks to you and tells you to go left or right. Therefore, the Bible - the map - is open to any interpretation. The Book of Mormon then becomes the 2nd point of reference - the compass that tells North from South so that you will know by looking at the Bible - the map - and looking at the Book of Mormon - the compass - whether to go left or right on the fork in the road.

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For me, the most necessary reasons for having the Book of Mormon are included in the book itself:

2 Nephi 3:12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the (1) confounding of false doctrines and (2) laying down of contentions, and (3) establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and (4) bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and (5) also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

1. True doctrines of salvation

2. No more contention

3. The establishment of peace

4. Understanding of the gospel had by the ancients

5. Understanding the necessary covenants that must be made with God

The fact is, I can testify to how each of these has impacted my individual family on a day-to-day basis.

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Guest gopecon

The Book of Mormon is a 2nd witness of Jesus Christ's Gospel. With the Bible alone we've seen scores of different interpretations and 1000's of denominations. The 2nd source of truth that is the BofM helps to clarify issues and keep us on the right path. It was written for our day, with parallels and solutions that can apply to us.

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President Benson stated:

“The Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the ‘fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ’ (D&C 20:9). That does not mean it contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. Rather, it means that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).

Lesson 1: “The Keystone of Our Religion”, Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999),1

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The question isn't "why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" The question is "why is additional revelation necessary?".

The Book of Mormon contains a number of doctrinal restatements and clarifications; but fundamentally it filters out those who will receive further light and knowledge via God's appointed latter-day messengers, from those who won't.

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"Why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" "Why do we need it if we have the Bible?"

Thanks.

Hi Maiku,

My response would be that the Book of Mormon was written for our day specifically and that it distils the gospel down to those parts which are necessary for salvation.

Although these truths are in the Bible too, we are constantly have to sift through a lot of difficult/incorrect or outdated information in the process. The Book of Mormon helps in this sifting process.

Roy

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Look at it this way; The Bible has always been available once it was compiled. Over the centuries, interesting things have happened dealing with what it teaches.

Just look at the number of denominations that have used the Bible by itself....how much harmony is there in their teachings? While not attempting to discredit the great good Christianity has accomplished over the ages, there has been a lot of confusion, disagreement, and even war as well.

The Book of Mormon is essential as a part of cutting through the mass of confusion surrounding the doctrines found in the Bible. Let it be remembered that there is yet confusion over the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith as evidenced by the FLDS, RLDS, and other groups that have broken off from the LDS Church.

It seems the only thing us humans are truly good at is disagreeing with each other, or just getting stuff wrong.

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We are a people in constant need of reminders and redirection. God's word is there for us, to help us and to guide us, but we are imperfect and will mess things up with time. God knows this and sets us straight again.

Think of a game of telephone- A phrase gets whispered into one person's ear and passed down the line... By the time it reaches the end, what the last person heard and what the first person whispered is totally different. This is a great analogy for what happens when we try to pass information down through history. Distance from the original source causes misinterpretations and misunderstandings until eventually, the message we have is entirely different from the original intended message.

Think of science- One experiment doesn't really tell you anything, because there are any number of factors that could have influenced your results. A simple example would be trying to determine whether a paper airplane will fly farther with long-thin wings or short-broad wings... Would you trust your results if you threw each plane only once? What happens if you throw them outside? Inside? With a fan on? Where you grip the plane? If you give it a good hard thrust or a light toss? If you throw it from up high or down low? Science is all about repeating an experiment over and over again, trying to replicate your results with as much accuracy and precision as possible in order to factor out all the possible outer influences. Is not God's word more clear and easier to understand when we have it repeated in multiple sources and locations, much like a repeated experiment?

Think of anatess' example of traveling- If you don't have a gps, how are you going to find your way? With a map and compass and multiple points of reference. You try to find your way on your own, with just one guiding tool, and you will end up lost. There's an episode of Mythbusters that shows it is virtually impossible for people to travel in a straight line if our vision is obscured, and our spiritual journey is a "blind" one. How could we reach our end destination, if we are not constantly redirected?

I have always struggled with the "I already have a Bible, I don't need anymore Bible" arguments, because it seems such people are essentially saying "I have enough of God's word. I don't want anymore." When do we ever have enough of God's word? I can understand many of the arguments for believing that the Bible is the only word of God we have, but when people ask something like "Why do we need more?" I can only shake my head and ask "Why not?"

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I believe we are all looking at this through LDS rose colored glasses. When we are speaking of what we need it is historically obvious that the Bible, by itself, is not what man needs - but it is also obvious that even with the Book of Mormon the spiritual needs of awakening mankind are not met - nor are all thing necessary even for the restoration. (see Articles of Faith #9).

Take a look around. The bible has been available in various forms in English for around 700 years and has been an entity available to certain scholars for about 1700 years. Are we a well grounded religious society? Hardly the quest for truth has been abandoned by the religious community and it appears to me that it has been replaced with a desperation to maintain religious ideal that historically never worked to provide an enlightened society.

One could claim that the USA is an enlightened society - Really? Perhaps if they do not listen to the news.

The Traveler

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In Sunday School classes, 2012 will be focus on The Book of Mormon. I, being the Sunday School teacher in my branch, am quite excited to be delving into the pages of this great book of scripture.

Once, on my mission, I ran into someone of another faith and he asked me a good question,

"Why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" "Why do we need it if we have the Bible?"

I gave him the best answers I had at the time (clearness of doctrine, 2nd witness of Christ, etc.). I wanted to hear some of your input on why we need The Book of Mormon. What does it offer to you? Any input is welcome.

Thanks.

In addition to what has been said already I think another reason is that we will be judged by what is written. We are given a "fullness" as we are judged by a higher standard, in general. In the same way it allows us to do more to do "great and marvelous things", in the preparation for the second coming. Our doctrine and precepts are much more available and therefore judging this people based on what is written seems more reasonable than ever before. That is why, what is written is more specific and detailed, as opposed to having to obtain the detail from a religious leader expounding on the basic teachings.

2 Nephi 25:21 "Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand.

Wherefore, these things shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand; and they shall go according to the will and pleasure of God; and the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them according to the words which are written."

2 Nephi 27:22 "Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men."

Mormon 8:34 "Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you. 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."

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All of the differing Christian churches there are is a testimony to me of why we need the Book of Mormon now more than ever in the history of the world. With the Bible being translated into newer versions, and into more languages than ever, and many people arguing about different meanings to the same scripture, we need another testament of Jesus Christ's teachings. More than has ever been on the earth previously, there are attacks on the divinity of the word of God, what better time to be armed with the Book of Mormon which teaches the same gospel, testimonies of Christ from the other side of the earth, and testifies of the truthfulness of the Bible.

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I don't know if it has been said yet, but the Book or Mormon says the purpose is to convince men that Jesus is the Christ. It is to bring people to a belief and faith in Him,

It also shows that Christ is the Savior of the world, and not just one area of the Middle East. He visited the lost tribes of Israel, and did not forget them. That, I think is a very important thing to know.

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In Sunday School classes, 2012 will be focus on The Book of Mormon. I, being the Sunday School teacher in my branch, am quite excited to be delving into the pages of this great book of scripture.

Once, on my mission, I ran into someone of another faith and he asked me a good question,

"Why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" "Why do we need it if we have the Bible?"

So you can get approved in heaven. ["No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon." (Conference Report, Oct 1961)]

You don't want to be unapproved do you?

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The point I think that is missing is that all ancient and modern scripture is not an end but rather a means and even as a means, is not the means to eternal life. At best scripture is an aid to witness and bring us to Christ.

However, the real question that the Book of Mormon put out is - Is the Book of Mormon a sham or is it G-d's work to bring it forth?

Are the Christian communities in no more need of direction? Is G-d through speaking to man? Does man have all the divine enlightenment he can use?

It is my opinion that there is no society currently on earth ready to receive the Christ in his glory - and that includes the LDS. I personally believe the pride and arrogance that presumes we currently have all we need; is the single most blatant sign of the foolishness of apostate human society.

Every real Christian should be on their knees everyday praying with all their heart, might, mind and strength for more enlightenment and instruction and glad for everything from G-d. The fool that asks why a marvelous work and wonder is necessary - is no child of G-d but a servant or slave of ignorance.

I have personally found the Book of Mormon to be a wonderful source of light and cause for me to rejoice in Christ - not for what once was among some ancient society but what is still in process and happening at this very moment and a great hope looking forward for all peoples of all times. A joy not just for me but for those before and those after; for all in every people, generation, place and time that seek the blessings of heaven.

The Traveler

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