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Mormon Beliefs
"What Is The Book Of Mormon?"
The
Book of Mormon is an ancient record of
God’s dealings with a people who lived in ancient America, but were
all destroyed around 400 A.D. Mormon, one of the last prophets of
God who taught these people compiled their records and made the Book
of Mormon under inspiration from God. His son, Moroni, then finished
the record and buried it until 1827, when an angel showed Joseph
Smith where the book was buried.
With God’s help the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the record.
From
the Book of Mormon, members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints get the nickname Mormons.
The Book of Mormon tells the story of
several ancient peoples; most prominent were the Nephites and
Lamanites. The Book of Mormon is the record of the Nephites who for
most of their history were righteous.
There were many periods of war and peace throughout their 1000 year
history. At times they were righteous and at times they were wicked.
Eventually, the Nephites became so wicked that God let them be
destroyed in a huge war and only a few survived who intermarried
with the other ancient peoples in America.
The central focus of the Book of Mormon is to testify
that
Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind
and that the only path to peace and salvation is to follow Him. The
highlight of the Book of Mormon is when Jesus Christ visits the
Nephites after His resurrection to teach them the Gospel.
The Book of Mormon is written for our day. It is a
voice of warning, reminding us all of the dangers of ignoring God
and rejecting His prophets. It contains the basics
of
what Mormons believe about Jesus Christ
and teaches clearly about faith, repentance, and obedience to God.
The
Prophet Joseph Smith said, “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” (History of The Church 4:461).
To know if the Book of Mormon is really the word
of God, you must read it, ponder it, and pray to God to tell you if
it is true. You must compare its teachings to those of the Bible.
Only by the power of the Holy Ghost can a person truly know if the
Book of Mormon comes from God.
See the Mormon Church’s website to get your
own
free copy of the Book of Mormon.
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