Hello. Im new here but very curious about your Church

[lightlamp96]

I've never been religious before and grew up without it but your church seems very interesting. I got a Book of Mormon from my friend today but ive never read anything like it. Its a little hard to understand. Don't know if its because im to young? I'm just wondering where i should start really.

[tesuji]

Welcome to the site.

Here's some info about the Book of Mormon. I love that book.

https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon

I love being a Mormon. It helps me everyday. Basically we believe in following Jesus Christ. Our church is different from other churches, because we believe the church that Jesus created was lost after he died. So we believe it was necessary for God to give modern prophets to re-establish again the church in modern times.

Edited July 17, 2016 by tesuji

[LeSellers]

The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Even people who may not accept The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the restored church of the Savior in modern times often recognize it as the most Christ-centered book in the world.

If I were reading it for the first time, I'd start with the Introduction. It's not, technically, part of the text (and we do not consider it Scripture), but it will explain what it's all about.

It is important to note that this book is a book of scripture, and that it teaches doctrine and give examples of people who live the principles and who do not. Because it's scripture, each of us needs to discover whether it is true. See Moroni 10:4~5 (page 529). There are four parts to the promise this ancient prophet makes for when you ask (pray) if it is not true: 1) your heart must be sincere 2) you must have real intent, 3) you must have faith in Christ, and then 4) He will manifest its truth to you by the Holy Ghost. I find that item 2) is often the most difficult. For an example of a prayer with "real intent", see Alma 22:18 (page 265). The king says he'll "give away all [his] sins to know [God]". He followed through, so we know that this prayer was both sincere and was based on real intent. The idea of real intent is the answer to the question, if God were to tell you that the Book of Mormon is true, what will you do about it? (You may or may not want to pray about the truth of the Book of Mormon right now. Most of us would, but you may want to know more first. Your choice. But even if you do not, be open to the sensation of the Holy Ghost's witnessing to you its truthfulness and power.)

Then I'd skip to Third Nephi, Chapter 11 (page 441) and read through chapter 26. It's the account of the ministry of Jesus Christ to His "other sheep". Much of it parallels His Sermon on the Mount (and those chapters are laid out the same as in Matthew 5~7 for verses, etc.) But they are to another people who knew the Law of Moses, but who had had their own history of apostasy and restoration. The emphases are slightly different. I find chapter 17 particularly moving, especially (in context), verses 23~25.

Here's an artist's rendition of this scene:

In any case, my personal experience is that I cannot read the Book of Mormon in sincerity without feeling a warm, spiritual sensation in witness to the truthfulness of this volume of scripture and that it did, indeed, come from the bosom of the Father.

Lehi

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by LeSellers

[lightlamp96]

Thanks for all the replies so far. This Book sounds really interesting for sure. Sounds like their is a lot to it. It's my first religious book

[Jane_Doe]

Feel free to ask questions, either about the story line, language, or theology.  The language is fairly similar to Shakespeare style English.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Welcome to the forum.  Glad you are here. 

[Guest]

13 hours ago, lightlamp96 said:

Thanks for all the replies so far. This Book sounds really interesting for sure. Sounds like their is a lot to it. It's my first religious book

The older language is a barrier for many.  But if you just force yourself to start (just to get over the language -- not necessarily for comprehension) you'll find it gets much easier after just a few chapters.  Once you get more comfortable with the language, then try to comprehend the story and its meanings.  That's where you need to consult your friend for proper background on characters and timeframe and so forth.

And, of course, you're welcome to ask questions here.

[tesuji]

14 hours ago, Jane_Doe said:

Feel free to ask questions, either about the story line, language, or theology.  The language is fairly similar to Shakespeare style English.

I wouldn't say it's nearly as hard as Shakespeare. The language is similar to that in the Bible, but the Book of Mormon is easier to understand than the Bible.

[Sunday21]

Happy to have you here! Confess I read 'the 24 hour book of Mormon' which gives the major plot points for about 5 chapters, then I read the same 5 chapters in the real Book of Mormon. I think, well I know, that reading the real Book of Mormon has a special power. I pray before reading for understanding. Before I joined the church, I prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true before reading. Worked for me!

[bytebear]

I would consider picking up a Bible. King James Version if you can, as a companion to the Book of Mormon. If you can get an LDS published version, it will also have related footnotes and cross references.  For the Bible, I would start with the Gospels (New Testament:  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then go on with the rest of the New Testament).  You will find some correlation since both books are testaments of Jesus Christ.

[An Investigator]

Hi, I'm a recent convert, The Book of Mormon is awesome.. but I found it a little hard to get into too.. What I did was downloaded the childrens Book of Mormon off the app store to my phone.   Then I could get familiar with the stories and start with Alma and then once you get into it you can always start at the beginning.  Most important though is praying about it to see if it's true, if you really want to know, God will give you the answer.

Let us know how you get on

[Guest MormonGator]

18 minutes ago, An Investigator said:

Hi, I'm a recent convert, The Book of Mormon is awesome.. but I found it a little hard to get into too.. What I did was downloaded the childrens Book of Mormon off the app store to my phone.   Then I could get familiar with the stories and start with Alma and then once you get into it you can always start at the beginning.  Most important though is praying about it to see if it's true, if you really want to know, God will give you the answer.

Let us know how you get on

This is a GREAT idea. When I took Spanish in college the professor suggested we watch childrens videos on how to speak Spanish. It was a great idea. 

[UtahTexan]

It is a great book.  I am a Gospel Doctrine teacher and I love finding little things in the Book of Mormon that prove it is the Word of God