Modern day "Book of Mormon"

[askandanswer]

If you were a modern day Mormon or Moroni, compiling and editing the history and records of this people for the use and instruction of a people far into the future, what would you focus on and why and what would you leave out. 

[skalenfehl]

I would first obtain mine errand from the Lord, include my own proceedings, ministry, revelations, etc. I'd include prophecies from prior prophets (Isaiah, etc) that were allowed/commanded to be preserved that I am not ordained to divulge. I would chronicle relevant history and whatever admonitions I am prompted to include before sealing it up. That's about it. I would leave out whatever the Lord commanded me to leave out, probably because the Lord wants to try the faith of said future people.

[Blackmarch]

If you were a modern day Mormon or Moroni, compiling and editing the history and records of this people for the use and instruction of a people far into the future, what would you focus on and why and what would you leave out. 

I'd start with all the conference talks.

[Traveler]

The question is not far from anyone considering a legacy.  We are told to keep a family history.  So in essence - are we not all asked to create our own modern Book of Mormon.  I have started this task - It includes my genealogy, my experiences growing up in the shadow of goodly parents and noble brothers and sisters.  It includes the courtship and marriage to my wife and our struggles raising our children.  There are views of current events and how economic changes affected our family, friends and neighbors.  There are views of social political events and my opinions concerning such things.  I have included some of my posts from this forum as well as some posts from various others to demonstrate how topics of our day are discussed. 

 

I have only begun and hardly scratched the surface.  But like Nephi I have divided my record in two parts.  One of spiritual incites and one a life record.

[Pa Pa]

If you were a modern day Mormon or Moroni, compiling and editing the history and records of this people for the use and instruction of a people far into the future, what would you focus on and why and what would you leave out.

I lack the wisdom to answer that question and the calling. :)

[askandanswer]

papa, I can't help but notice the similarities between your response, and the responses of Moses, Enoch and Mormon when they were asked to do something similar. By suggesting your inability to do the task, you have perhaps demonstrated one of the key requirements needed to do the task well.   :)

 

 

Ether 12

23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

 

Moses 6: 31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?

 

Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue

[askandanswer]

If I was compiling the records of today into a future Book of whoever for a future generation I would write:

 

More on:

 

Word of Wisdom. Mormon’s book is a little light on the principles contained within the Word of Wisdom, and given how much damaged is being caused by not following these principles, I think a future “Book of whoever” would need to contain some pretty strong stuff on this. Ditto for pornography.

 

Excessive adherence to, and attempted applications of, various political ideologies. The ideologies of fascism, communism, socialism, and colonialism, and the attempts to establish states based on these ideologies have caused untold suffering to millions for decades. With the exception of colonialism, modern day church leaders have provided an abundance of material on these subjects that could be incorporated into a latter Book of whoever.

 

Strengthening families. There’s not much in the Book of Mormon that specifically focusses on how to strengthen families, and it’s a topic to which recent and current church leaders have given a lot of emphasis, thereby creating many records from which to choose. Of course there is much in the Book of Mormon about principles and teachings that can be used to strengthen families, but most of the time, these are presented in a general sense, rather than a family specific sense. Given that families are one of Satan’s biggest targets, I think that the compiler of a latter day Book of whoever would do well to include some of those records.

 

Anti-semitism and racial tolerance. Again, there is very little in the Book of Mormon on these two topics. Given how wide-spread anti-semitism and racial intolerance are, and the damage and evils caused by these two practices, and their remarkable persistence across differing times and cultures, I think it would be very useful if a latter day Book of whoever addressed these issues.

 

Living true to our principles in a morally decaying world, and accommodating ourselves to laws and practices that stem from principles and beliefs that are not based on the Lord’s standards of truth and righteousness. Given the new struggles today involving legislative attempts to impose penalties on those who seek to follow the dictates of their own conscience, the need for a future Book of whoever to continue material on this topic is quite strong.

 

Self reliance. The tendency to rely on others, particularly governments, to solve our problems, may have reduced our own ability or willingness to solve our problems and reduced our sense of personal responsibility. This tendency seems to apply across many western cultures and is probably causing much harm.

 

Following the prophets. When all is said and done, all we really need to do to gain salvation is to simply follow the counsel of the prophets, so I’d give a very strong emphasis in a latter day Book of whoever to the importance of following the prophet.

 

Less on:

 

Battle and war scenes. Helpful as they may be to some, I think there are other topics that are more deserving.

 

The atonement. This has already been covered pretty well in the existing Book of Mormon.

 

Missionary work. Given the frequency with which missionary techniques, techniques and approaches change over time, and the level of adaptation required to maintain the effectiveness of these techniques across different cultures, I don’t think I’d try to instruct future generations on how to conduct missionary work in their time. They can get their own revelation on that.

Edited April 19, 2015 by askandanswer

[Vort]

Less on:

 

Battle and war scenes. Helpful as they may be to some, I think there are other topics that are more deserving.

 

Interesting. On this, my latest pass through the Book of Mormon (maybe my 30th or 35th or so), I noticed for the first time how amazingly spiritual the "war" chapters of Alma are. They are a gritty and rubber-meets-the-road example of how the gospel is very real and how it applies to the situations you might be facing right this second.

 

Mormon absolutely knew what he was doing in including the "war chapters", and without doubt was guided by the Spirit. Without those amazing chapters, the profound messages of the Book of Mormon would have been seriously compromised.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Vort

[Traveler]

Interesting. On this, my latest pass through the Book of Mormon (maybe my 30th or 35th or so), I noticed for the first time how amazingly spiritual the "war" chapters of Alma are. They are a gritty and rubber-meets-the-road example of how the gospel is very real and how it applies to the situations you might be facing right this second.

 

Mormon absolutely knew what he was doing in including the "war chapters", and without doubt was guided by the Spirit. Without those amazing chapters, the profound messages of the Book of Mormon would have been seriously compromised.

 

Having read the scriptures myself many time - sometimes looking for different reasons - I believe the Book of Mormon to be written explicitly for our day.   Realizing war is parameter of the last days - I find the Book of Mormon prophetic and enlightened.

[mordorbund]

Mormon’s book is a little light on ...

 

There’s not much in the Book of Mormon that specifically focuses on ...

 

Again, there is very little in the Book of Mormon on ...

 

... has already been covered pretty well in the existing Book of Mormon.

 

 

Interesting... Your approach seems to assume that whoever read your book would also have The Book of Mormon to read alongside it. Nephi had some confidence that portions of the brass plates would be available, but still included entire section of Isaiah. Other lost prophets were quoted partially or extensively. Do you think there are some key passages (or entire sections, chapters, or books) from the standard works that you would include?

[pam]

Interesting. On this, my latest pass through the Book of Mormon (maybe my 30th or 35th or so), I noticed for the first time how amazingly spiritual the "war" chapters of Alma are. They are a gritty and rubber-meets-the-road example of how the gospel is very real and how it applies to the situations you might be facing right this second.

 

Mormon absolutely knew what he was doing in including the "war chapters", and without doubt was guided by the Spirit. Without those amazing chapters, the profound messages of the Book of Mormon would have been seriously compromised.

 

I think the war stories are very appropriate.  Are we not seeing so many of these same things today?  The Book of Mormon was written for our time.

[skalenfehl]

I believe that Nephi included specific chapters of Isaiah concerning the future of the Lord's covenant people, which Isaiah was ordained to reveal. In other words, prophets who have seen all things from beginning to end are not all lawfully allowed to reveal all. This is why Nephi was forbidden to write down what he saw, which only John was ordained to reveal. This is why Jacob included Zenos' allegory, although Jacob claims ownership of the same prophecy. But why write what has already been lawfully written? Jacob didn't need to rewrite the allegory. Nephi didn't need to write John's revelations. Finally, Nephi didn't need to write all that he saw concerning our day, when Isaiah had already done so and profoundly. Every time I read first and second Nephi, I sense the utter anxiety in Nephi's soul to reveal to us as much as he could get away with. And if he was forbidden to reveal it, he surely found a way around it. It has given me such an appreciation of not only Nephi and Jacob, but also and especially of Isaiah.

[askandanswer]

Interesting... Your approach seems to assume that whoever read your book would also have The Book of Mormon to read alongside it. Nephi had some confidence that portions of the brass plates would be available, but still included entire section of Isaiah. Other lost prophets were quoted partially or extensively. Do you think there are some key passages (or entire sections, chapters, or books) from the standard works that you would include?

 

An interesting question, Yes, my OP assumed that whoever might read this latter day book would also have read the Book of Mormon. I'm not talking about a future book that replaces the Book of Mormon, but a latter day Testament of Christ made up of teachings from latter day prophets, just as the Book of Mormon is made up of teachings from ancient American prophets, with a few additions from Isaiah and Zenos.

So, what to include in the latter day Testament of Christ, from existing standards works? hmm, The Sermon on the Mount. Nephi's prophecies in 1st and 2nd Nephi. Sections 84, 88, 20, 107, 134, 135, JS-H, most of Moses, Abraham 3, Mormon 8 and 9, Mormon 7 and 10.   

Edited April 29, 2015 by askandanswer

[askandanswer]

Interesting. On this, my latest pass through the Book of Mormon (maybe my 30th or 35th or so), I noticed for the first time how amazingly spiritual the "war" chapters of Alma are. They are a gritty and rubber-meets-the-road example of how the gospel is very real and how it applies to the situations you might be facing right this second.

 

Mormon absolutely knew what he was doing in including the "war chapters", and without doubt was guided by the Spirit. Without those amazing chapters, the profound messages of the Book of Mormon would have been seriously compromised.

 

Just out of curiosity, I'd be interested in hearing how these chapters have influenced you and what important lessons you have learned from them that isn't taught equally well or better in other scriptures? 

[askandanswer]

I think the war stories are very appropriate.  Are we not seeing so many of these same things today?  The Book of Mormon was written for our time.

 

Just to clear up the possibility of any uncertainty, I want to state here that I completely agree that the Book of Mormon was written for our time. The OP was asking about a possible book that could be written for some future time, based primarily on latter day sources.