Book of Mormon Witness: By Gale B.

I first read the Book of Mormon as a Jew, and it felt to me like an Israelite document, yet much simpler to read than the Old Testament (to Jews: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings). I loved that the Book of Mormon people kept the Law of Moses but looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, whom their prophets identified as Jesus Christ. They lived in the Americas, and I could sense their feeling of separation from the Holy Land: “…and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days (Jacob 7:26).

Some biblical stories are questioned by religious scholars. Was Jonah really swallowed by a great fish? Was there really a Tower of Babel? But the Book of Mormon prophets had brought scriptures from the Holy Land when they made their journey and refered to these stories, adding a second witness that these things really happened. The scholars also question whether Christ really lived, and they look for archaeological evidence that He did. If He did live, was He really resurrected, and was He the Son of God? The Book of Mormon adds its witness to that of the Bible, that Christ lived and taught in Israel, that He was crucified, that He rose and appeared as a resurrected being to organize His Church and send the gospel to the world, that He died for our sins. Some time after He departed into heaven from teaching His apostles, He appeared to the Book of Mormon peoples, taught them, and organized His church among them, just as He had done in Israel. The Book of Mormon people all converted, and they enjoyed over two hundred years of perfect peace and prosperity.

However, these people became envious and greedy, and they descended into wickedness, bringing on their destruction at the hands of their enemies. This, too, has a message for us in these modern times. The Book of Mormon has plenty to say about freedom, oppressive government, and even organized crime. It was compiled and abridged by the warrior prophet Mormon, who under God’s direction, knew which records would benefit us the most. Said his son, Moroni, the last living of his race, “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” (Mormon 8:34, 35).

I’ve read the Book of Mormon many times now, and it enlightens me in a different way every time I read it. I love the Bible more because of the Book of Mormon. I have an idea of how the Lord has worked with His children since before the beginning of time, and how He answers when they need Him. The Book of Mormon is my favorite book.