Why The Book of Mormon?

[clarkgoble]

3 hours ago, snowflake said:

Great scriptures, sounds so much like the trinity, I just don't understand why Mormonism seems to "back off" these scriptures. If you believe Jesus is God, then why do the LDS refuse to pray and worship Jesus as God, no? In the BOM the apostles worship Jesus.

Main difference - and how significant this is depends upon the person on the traditional Christian side - is that Mormons are fine with saying Jesus is a god, the Father is a god, and the Holy Ghost is a god. Typically trinitarian formulations don't like that.

However as I've often said the real difference isn't the trinity (which most Mormons and many lay Evangelicals confuse with modalism) but whether the Father is essentially embodied and whether there's an ontological gap between creator and creation.

Anyway, I wouldn't say Mormons back off from those scriptures. Jesus is called god pretty regularly not only in Mormon scripture but in conference talks.

Typically in terms of rhetoric Mormons tend to use God to refer to God the Father and Godhead to refer to the divine unity. But it's completely fine to say Jesus is God and it's said quite regularly.

Edited April 7, 2017 by clarkgoble

[Jane_Doe]

7 hours ago, snowflake said:

I'm very aware that the LDS Jesus and mainstream Christians view the person of Jesus differently.

But what about the similarities between the views?  (I ask this of both LDS and Athanasian's).

[nobcis]

I would hope that the focus of our spiritual study would be Christ Himself and the words He has spoken, whether by Himself or through His chosen mouthpieces. Now, whether His words are contained in one book or the other is only a means to an end, and not the end in itself. I do love the testimonies of Christ as contained in the Book of Mormon, as well as in other books of scripture. The most important thing is that my personal testimony of Christ is nourished and my relationship with God is strengthened, regardless where I heard the words from, as long as they are true. Maybe for one person, the Book of Mormon provides the best means to experience a strong relationship with God, and for another it may be the New Testament, and so on. After all we are all different and we are at different stages in our personal relationship with God, and so our approach to building our faith may differ from one to another. I would personally prefer that we are encouraged to seek the words of Christ, not from a particular book, but from wherever we may find it. 

[Calm]

Autocorrect strikes again.

I get so tired of having to correct "Pres. Monsoon".

[clarkgoble]

BTW for a good example of a conference talk where Jesus is God, this one is prominent in the LDS media library.

[Robert F. Smith]

Book of Mormon Central, “Why is the Book of Mormon So Important to the Restoration? (Mormon 9:36),” KnoWhy #281, March 1, 2017, https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-is-the-book-of-mormon-so-important-to-the-restoration .

[Kenngo1969]

Rivers,

I haven't been following the thread closely. My ability to do so at work is somewhat limited. Perhaps many of these points already have been made. I hope you (along with anyone who may have already made these points) will forgive me. As others have pointed out, making study of the Book of Mormon a priority doesn't necessarily preclude studying other standard works at the same time. I had the following additional thoughts.

Joseph Smith reported, “I told the brethren 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.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007) 64, History of the Church 4:461) I take Brother Joseph's “most correct” comment to mean that the Book of Mormon teaches the most correct principles in the clearest manner. As clearly as the Gospel is taught in many places in the Holy Bible, many of its more opaque concepts and precepts are elucidated much more clearly in the Book of Mormon.

As for “get[ting] nearer to God by abiding by its precepts,” who wouldn't want to do that? I take a John 7:17 approach to such an invitation: Christ said, “If any man will do His will, he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself,” and I think that's true of any man claiming to speak on God's behalf, including (and especially, in many respects) Joseph Smith. And as for being the keystone of our religion, Dictionary.com (s.v. “keystone” http://www.dictionary.com/browse/keystone) and last accessed April 10, 2017) defines “keystone” as “the wedge-shaped piece at the summit of an arch, regarded as holding the other pieces in place,” and “something on which other things depend.” The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion in both of these senses.

President Ezra Taft Benson called the Book of Mormon “one of the most siginficant gifts given to the world in modern times” (General Conference, October 1986, “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion”). President Benson goes on to say that the Lord Himself impressed upon us the importance of the Book of Mormon:

 

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By His own mouth He has borne witness (1) that it is true (D&C 17:6), (2) that it contains the truth and His words (D&C 19:26), (3) that it was translated by power from on high (D&C 20:8), (4) that it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (D&C 20:9, D&C 42:12), (5) that it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels (D&C 20:10), (6) that it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true (D&C 20:11), and (7) that those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life (D&C 20:14).

 

 

 

 

(Id.) Further, President Benson says that the Book of Mormon's importance can be seen in where its coming forth occurred in the overall timetable of events comprising the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, noting that only Joseph Smith's vision of the Father and the Son preceeded it (Id.) President Benson also notes that the Lord condemned the early Saints for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, quoting Doctrine and Covenants 84:54-57:

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54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written[.]

 

President Benson goes on to ask, if the Saints of the Restoration were condemned for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, whether we are under any less condemnation in our day if we do the same (Id.). I think the very fact that President Benson asks the question indicates that, no, we are under no less condemnation than were they if we treat the Book of Mormon lightly.

Regarding Joseph Smith calling the Book of Mormon the keystone of our religion, President Benson goes on to say that “a keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place and if [it is] removed, the arch crumbles.” (Id.) He goes on to cite three ways in which the Book of Mormon is “the keystone of our religion”: “It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony.”

The Book of Mormon “is the keystone of our witness of Christ,” President Benson says, because “t bears witness of His reality with power and clarity.” It is the keystone of our doctrine because “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.” And the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony because if the Book of Mormon were not true, then Joseph Smith's prophetic calling is not divine, his claim to restored priesthood keys is fraudulent, and the restoration fails in toto. (See id.)

I wish you well. Personally, while I would be hard-pressed to quantify or to reduce to words exactly how, I have been blessed by taking up President Monson's challenge. Recently, I have been blessed with an increased measure of peace amidst personal turmoil.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Kenngo1969

[PeterPear]

On 4/6/2017 at 1:03 AM, Robert F. Smith said:

Yes, you really cannot understand the Book of Mormon without reading the Bible.  They go together.

Wrong. It's the opposite. 1Nephi 13:40.

Haven't your daily personal studies gotten you to Chapter 13 yet?

Edited April 11, 2017 by PeterPear

[Robert F. Smith]

4 hours ago, PeterPear said:

Wrong. It's the opposite. 1Nephi 13:40.

Haven't your daily personal studies gotten you to Chapter 13 yet?

I'd give you a rep point if I could, Pete.  However, thanks for calling me to repentance.  

[Mormons Talk]

On ‎4‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 1:47 AM, Rivers said:

Don't get me wrong.  The Book of Mormon is great but I fear church members are missing out on all the great stuff in the Old and New Testaments by only focusing on The BOM.

 

Not only all the great stuff in the Bible, but all of the wonderful *scholarship* related to the Bible that stretches back centuries across different cultures. 

[Jeanne]

On 4/7/2017 at 9:04 PM, Calm said:

Autocorrect strikes again.

I get so tired of having to correct "Pres. Monsoon".

[Rivers]

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 8:50 PM, Kenngo1969 said:

 

I wish you well. Personally, while I would be hard-pressed to quantify or to reduce to words exactly how, I have been blessed by taking up President Monson's challenge. Recently, I have been blessed with an increased measure of peace amidst personal turmoil.

I regretfully haven't taken up his challenge. I'm still making my way through the New Testament. I'll probably get back to the Book of Mormon when I'm done. 

I'm in the middle of the Pauline epistles right now and am remembering how hard they can be to understand.  The Book of Mormon is certainly more comprehensible for most church members once you get accustomed to the KJV English.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Rivers

[Rivers]

6 hours ago, Mormons Talk said:

Not only all the great stuff in the Bible, but all of the wonderful *scholarship* related to the Bible that stretches back centuries across different cultures. 

Good point. This is why enjoyed learning about the Bible more in seminary and institute.  You can't really dig into the Book of Mormon the same way.

[Kenngo1969]

2 hours ago, Rivers said:

I regretfully haven't taken up his challenge. I'm still making my way through the New Testament. I'll probably get back to the Book of Mormon when I'm done. 

I'm in the middle of the Pauline epistles right now and am remembering how hard they can be to understand.  The Book of Mormon is certainly more comprehensible for most church members once you get accustomed to the KJV English.

Oh, c'mon!  You can squeeze a chapter a day from the Book of Mormon into your study schedule!   (You're not accountable to me for what scriptures you choose to study and when, but, personally, I do try not to dilly-dally when a prophet of God says I will be blessed for doing something.  I'm certainly not holding myself up as any kind of example in that regard, but ...)

I wish you well.